World Cup Capsules: Unprecedented hype for U.S.-England match
IRENE, South Africa (AP) — American soccer players have been on magazine covers and the nightly news shows in ever increasing numbers. The World Cup is receiving unprecedented promotion in the United States.
"For the last six months all we've seen is U.S.-England," Landon Donovan said Wednesday. "And so, if you were a casual sports fan at home, you might think that this was the World Cup final, U.S. vs. England."
But it's not. Saturday's much-hyped game is just the beginning.
It's the first competitive meeting between the nations since the 1-0 American upset in the first round of the 1950 World Cup. Fans in both nations seem to be fascinated with the opposing team.
Well, that's natural given how much the U.S. and England are alike. As Winston Churchill said: "Two nations divided by a common language."
"It's an unprecedented moment, partly because of who we're playing, partly because of where the game is in the United States. Frankly, partly because of the promotion on television in Spanish and English," U.S. Soccer Federation president Sunil Gulati said. "So there will be a lot of people watching this game on Saturday, and it's one of those opportunities that we don't get very often."
England's stars are known from Broadway to Brighton. Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John Terry and other Premier League stars are seen even more on U.S. television than they are on British TV.
And top American players such as Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard have become well known in the Premier League, as familiar in the colors of Everton and Fulham as they are in the red, white and blue.
While all the buzz may be about Saturday's game in Rustenberg, U.S. players say are giving equal emphasis to their other two first-round games, against Slovenia on June 18 and vs. Algeria on June 23. The England game is primary only because it comes first.
"I think we have a good understanding about the way it works in the first round, with three matches determining who moves on," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "Our ability to move through those games and those situations is something that we have experience with."
Four years ago, the U.S. was routed 3-0 by the Czech Republic in its opener. Even with a 1-1 draw against Italy, the Americans still had a chance to advance. Only with a 2-1 defeat to the Ghana was the United States eliminated.
Players know that a team has a good chance to reach the knockout phase with four points and almost surely will with five. Players say they won't get too high or too low after the opener.
They think back to last year's Confederations Cup, when the U.S. started with a 3-1 loss to Italy and a 3-0 defeat against Brazil. To reach the semifinals, the Americans needed to beat Egypt by at least three goals while the world champion Italians lost to Brazil by at least three. The U.S. responded with a 3-0 victory, and Brazil won by the same score.
Then came one of the great upsets in American soccer history. Jozy Altidore and Clint Dempsey got goals in 2-0 victory over Spain, ending streaks of 15 wins and 35 unbeaten games for the European champion.
"Obviously there's a lot of talk about this first game, but, you know, we've proved last year that it is about the three games, that really matters as a collective," defender Jay DeMerit said. "These next two games are probably even more important for us. If we can get points from those two games, then we'll probably be through."
Last June, the U.S. took a 2-0 halftime lead over Brazil in the Confederations Cup final only to lose 3-2. While players were disappointed, Saturday's match is far more significant. And back home, more people are likely to be watching the U.S. team than in any game since at least the 1994 second-round World Cup loss to Brazil. That was at Stanford, Calif., when the Americans were the host.
"This game is about where the sport is in the U.S.," Gulati said. "It's water cooler talk. People are clearly talking about the U.S.-England game. You know, whether it's former students of mine that are writing to me or people that aren't normally involved in the game. They'll be doing it that day. They'll be doing it the next day. The question is what's happening on July 15? And so that's the opportunity we have. To get a whole bunch of people that might be casual observers, to get turned on by it, to get turned on by the hype.
"And I don't think there's any doubt that Americans are now more part of the World Cup and the international scene that they've been. And ticket buying and ratings will show that."
Donovan prefers to concentrate on the big picture.
"We have to be ready to react no matter what happens on Saturday," he said.
The 1950 win at Belo Horizonte, Brazil, on Joe Gaetjens' goal, was celebrated in the 2005 movie "The Game of Their Lives." Donovan didn't want to imagine what would happen if the U.S. wins again.
"I don't know who the hell would play me in a movie," he said. "I like Johnny Depp, though."
Card shark: Ref for England-U.S. loves yellow
IRENE, South Africa (AP) — Carlos Simon went through cards with the speed of a Las Vegas dealer at the 2006 World Cup.
The Brazilian referee issued five yellows during Italy's 2-0 first-round victory over Ghana, handing the first to Danielle de Rossi 10 minutes in. He gave out eight more in Spain's 3-1 win over Tunisia, and added four yellows and a red to his total as Germany beat Sweden 2-0 in the second round.
He's been selected to officiate the big U.S.-England game at this year's World Cup on Saturday. Given an English team and an American side filled with Premier Leaguers, it could make for a match of attrition
"A foul in England is a foul," American goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann said. "In another country, they're wondering if it's a yellow card or a red card."
The U.S. had its own card-filled night at the last World Cup. In the 1-1 tie against Italy, the Americans went a man up when De Rossi was ejected by Uruguayan Jorge Larrionda in the 28th minute for an elbow that split Brian McBride's left cheek. Seventeen minutes later, the sides were evened when Pablo Mastroeni was ejected for a cleats-up tackle on Andrea Pirlo. American defender Eddie Pope was sent off two minutes into the second half for his second yellow, a tackle in which he got the ball first, then took down Alberto Gilardino.
World Cup matches generally are called tighter than league games, especially those in the wild, wild west of England.
"You go into a World Cup, you always want to have a little bit of sense of what FIFA has now chosen to clamp down on," American midfielder Michael Bradley said. "That will be something we think about."
Bradley, who plays for Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany, missed last year's Confederations Cup final against Brazil after getting a red card in the semifinal victory over Spain for a lunging tackle.
Yet, he doesn't want think about curbing the roughness too much.
"Having a physical edge is something that we bring on our best days and I think we need to look to have on Saturday," he said.
English forward Wayne Rooney will be playing his first World Cup match since his team's penalty-kicks loss to Portugal in the 2006 quarterfinals. He got a red card that night for stomping on Ricardo Carvalho's groin — with then-Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo running over to Argentinian referee Horacio Elizondo to plead for Rooney's dismissal.
"I think you always have to be conscious of referees and their decisions," said American defender Jay DeMerit, captain of Watford in England's League Championship. "If you go in and do a tackle that you think you might be able to get away with in England, you might not be able to get away with it on this type of stage, you know. And I think that's our job, to realize that, and to understand the rules."
FIFA has tried to increase protection of goal-scorers, telling referees to give red cards for career-threatening fouls. But just because Simon gave out a few full houses of cards four years ago, American right back Steve Cherundolo doesn't necessarily expect a similar spate.
"I think the game Saturday, of course it will be a hard-fought game," he said. "Both teams want to win. Both are physically talented. So I assume there will be some tackles that may be reported or punished by a yellow card — I hope no red cards. It's part of the game, but I don't expect the referee to show more only because he has in the past."
Coach Bob Bradley knows games probably will be called tightly, and has made his feelings known.
"It's important that there's discipline," he said Wednesday. "I think we've seen in a number of World Cups, especially in the first round, the fact that players must respect the game, must respect their opponents. Otherwise, there will be cards given."
-- Ronald Blum
Bradley says Onyewu ready to go 90 against England
IRENE, South Africa (AP) — Jozy Altidore and Oguchi Onyewu are fit enough to play in the United States' World Cup opener against England this weekend should U.S. coach Bob Bradley decide to use them.
Altidore resumed full practice on Tuesday, six days after the forward sprained his right ankle in practice. His missed Saturday's 3-1 exhibition win over Australia.
"Cost him a couple days, but from the start we knew that this was very minor," Bradley said Wednesday. "The fact that he's back in regular training certainly means that he's available for whatever role we choose for Saturday."
Onyewu tore his left patellar tendon Oct. 14 during the final World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica. The defender didn't get back on the field for AC Milan during the remainder of the season.
He played in all three World Cup warmups, but saw limited action. He started against the Czech Republic on May 25, entered at the start of the second half four days later versus Turkey, and came in as a 61st-minute substitute against Australia.
Speaking before the team's next-to-last workout in Pretoria ahead of the opener, Bradley was pleased with the team's health.
Defender Carlos Bocanegra appears to have recovered from sports hernia surgery May 5, playing in the last two exhibitions. Jay DeMerit also played in the last two games after getting over an abdominal strain.
"The overall fitness is, I think, quite good. Some of the players that were a little behind, I think the work continues to move them in the right direction," Bradley said. "The fitness program that we put our players through to prepare for the World Cup I think has every player in our 23 ready to play 90 minutes if asked. It's a credit to (assistant coach) Pierre Barrieu and it's a credit to the players, because they worked incredibly hard."
-- Ronald Blum
U.S. Notebook: For Capello, wine is a metaphor for soccer
IRENE, South Africa (AP) — Bob Bradley sounds more like a student discussing a teacher than a coach talking about a rival when he speaks about Fabio Capello.
Speaking Wednesday, three days before the U.S. plays England in its World Cup opener, Bradley recalled taking his Princeton team to Italy in the 1990s when Capello coached AC Milan. Bradley has gotten to know Capello over the years.
"His quote to me, his coaching advice is always something along the lines of: 'When you make wine, the grapes aren't always the same,'" Bradley said. "And the first few times he said that to me, I thought he was actually talking about wine. But since then, I thought about it and I realized that he was trying to tell me a little something about football."
TO THE DOCTOR: While all 23 U.S. players have been in training with no substantial injuries, midfielder Jose Torres had to go see a dentist and skipped Wednesday's practice.
"Just discomfort," team spokesman Michael Kammarman said.
WHICH SIDE IS SCOTLAND ON: Having spent several months on loan to Everton this year, Landon Donovan got to know Toffees manager David Moyes, who is Scottish.
Donovan hasn't received any messages from Moyes leading up to Saturday's game. But he assumes he knows which side the Everton manager is on.
"Learning a little bit of how the English and the Scottish are, my guess is he'll be rooting for us," Donovan said.
HIGH PRICES: Asking prices for Saturday's U.S.-England game in Rustenburg averaged $402.90 on Wednesday afternoon, according to StubHub.com. That's nearly half the $804.62 average for Friday's opener between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City in Johannesburg.
The U.S.-Slovenia match at Johannesburg's Ellis Park on June 18 averaged $259.52 and the U.S.-Algeria game on June 23 in Pretoria averaged $287.96.
In addition to the opener, the highest asking prices were for Portugal-Brazil on June 25 in Durban ($550), Brazil-Ivory Coast on June 20 at Soccer City in Johannesburg ($417.12) and Chile-Spain on June 25 in Pretoria, and Cameroon-Netherlands in Cape Town on June 24 (both $402.90).
WAGS: The U.S. wives and girlfriends are welcome.
The English WAGS, the nickname for the wives and girlfriends of the England players, caused quite the fuss when they were in Baden-Baden during the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Photos of their shopping sprees, dinners and trips to nightclubs routinely made the British newspapers.
Wary of a repeat of that circuslike atmosphere, current England coach Fabio Capello is limiting the WAGS' access in South Africa. He has said the WAGS will only be welcome to visit the squad only on the day after a game.
Bradley said balancing personal and professional lives won't be a problem for the Americans.
"Many of the players' wives and girlfriends will be coming to South Africa and U.S. Soccer has done a great job of a family and friends program," Bradley said. "We look forward to having some opportunities to get together with our families and friends, but to fit that in with the work that we continue to focus on."
-- Ronald Blum
Commentary: Let Roo be! Rooney unfairly targeted for cursing
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Cursing is not clever but many footballers do it, which is why the pre-World Cup fuss about Wayne Rooney's foul mouth has gone too far.
The striker who carries England's World Cup hopes on his pasty-white shoulders chewed out a South African referee in a training match this week. His use of ugly language, as common as trouble on the tough streets of Liverpool where Rooney grew up, was, of course, naughty and disrespectful. It earned the 24-year-old the wrong type of headlines about his hot temper and whether he could be a liability for England's campaign to rule the football world again for the first time since 1966.
Perhaps he could. But it seems unlikely. Rooney is almost a Zen master of cool compared to the raging bull he used to be. He has matured, if not mellowed, under manager Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, learning that it is better to sweat out some of his natural aggression on the training pitch than in the heat of a match. Becoming a dad seems to have taken
a bit of the boxer's edge off him, too.
Needle him as they might, U.S. players who will try, perhaps in vain, on Saturday to stop him from scoring, should not expect Rooney to make the petulant mistake of being sent off for stomping on a player's groin — as happened in his last World Cup match in 2006.
Really, however, Rooney's temperament shouldn't be the issue going into the game. Nor would it have been save for Jeff Selogilwe, the South African who seems to have unusually thin skin for a referee and was far too eager to tell the world that Rooney verbally abused him.
Selogilwe says Rooney directed the F-word at him during England's 3-0 win in a training match Monday against club side Platinum Stars.
"I said, 'No, Rooney, you don't use that word again. ... He was so aggressive,'" Selogilwe told The Associated Press in a phone interview. "I was very much disappointed because Wayne Rooney is my role-model player."
Not to excuse him, but cursing just makes Rooney a child of our times. Footballers, their fans and pretty much all of us do it. Words that a few decades ago were regarded as very bad are now common on TV. Plus Rooney curses in English, which makes him more liable to upset referees who are expected to speak the language to officiate at the very top of the game. Players who cuss in other languages might be likelier to slip under the radar.
"At the end of the day, you don't understand half of it," former Premier League and FIFA referee Graham Barber says, referring to non-English-language cursing. "So what do you do about it? Say: 'I think he swore at me, so I sent him off?' You don't, do you?"
Also, if Selogilwe was as insulted as he says he was, then he should have sent Rooney off. That's what the laws of the game call for when there is "offensive, insulting or abusive language and/or gestures."
Then, Selogilwe might have kept quiet, because what happens on the pitch should stay on the pitch. Otherwise, referees are going to get into the losing game of having to constantly defend and justify their decisions.
But Selogilwe instead cautioned Rooney and then basked in the international fame that his yellow card generated.
"The minute you leave the player to insult you, then he's going to insult you again," he told the BBC. "The last thing, he's going to punch you."
Selogilwe, 48, says he usually officiates lower division South African matches and that the England game was his first involving a national side in 12 years as a referee. He was clearly a little star struck: Selogilwe says that before the player's outburst, he asked Rooney to give him his shirt after the match. After cautioning him, however, he told Rooney: "You can keep your shirt."
Selogilwe is not a FIFA-designated referee and will not officiate at the World Cup. That is a good thing, because this mini-affair could have been handled better or, at least, with more discretion.
Selogilwe says England manager Fabio Capello asked him beforehand to "please be gentle" with his players because the match was only for training. Selogilwe says he promised in return that "on bookings, I won't be so harsh."
Yet now there is a risk, however small, that because Selogilwe went public about Rooney's cursing, the player whom England is relying on for World Cup goals will carry an even bigger label marked 'potential troublemaker' into the tournament.
"What is very unfair about singling Rooney out is that you are almost putting a problem in the referee's mind before anything happened," says Barber, who has hands-on officiating experience of dealing with the player.
For the sake of fairness, let's hope that is not the case.
John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester@ap.org.
Television & Media
ESPN's World Cup coverage has an English accent
PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) — Standing on the sideline — er, touchline — at U.S. soccer practice, Martin Tyler looked on. After more than three decades of broadcasting in England, he was getting ready for his American debut on ESPN.
Enough of the vague soccer commentary by much-maligned Dave O'Brien. For this World Cup, ESPN and ABC brought in the best English-language soccer announcer in the business.
"We have the NFL, we have the NBA, we have the Stanley Cup, all your major sports events are broadcast in this country," Tyler said by telephone from his home in England before heading to the World Cup. "Nobody has ever sent an Englishman over to do it."
So just as U.S. sports have American broadcasters much of the time in Britain, the game invented by England will have an all-British flavor for its play-by-play men on U.S. broadcasts this time around.
Authenticity is the buzz word. ABC and ESPN got bashed for their coverage of the 2006 World Cup and responded by hiring the 64-year-old Tyler, an acclaimed broadcaster for Britain's Sky Sports, as its lead announced for the tournament in South Africa that opens Friday. He will be joined by Adrian Healey, Derek Rae and Ian Darke to create an all-British play-by-play crew for the 64 World Cup matches.
"The decision is a strange one in some ways to me," said former ABC and ESPN analyst Seamus Malin. "I don't think you have to be a cheerleader for Americans, but I think you have to a lot of reference places."
Tyler's voice is familiar to U.S. soccer fans from his coverage of the English Premier League and the European Champions League, which is relayed regularly on Fox Soccer Channel.
His voice also is known from the EA Sports FIFA video games, where he partners on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox360 versions with former Scotland forward Andy Gray, another Sky Sports announcer. Gray also will be working for a U.S. network, broadcasting a World Cup studio show from California for FSC.
"I guess the U.S. audience, in fairness, is still learning the game in many ways. It's taken us 100 years to learn the game and we're not still sure we've got it right," Gray said with a chuckle.
ESPN/ABC is investing a huge amount in its World Cup coverage, sending 200 people to South Africa to produce the telecasts along with 100 local hires. Among the soccer stars who will be participating are Juergen Klinsmann, Ruud Gullit, Ally McCoist; the network talked with Jose Mourinho, but couldn't come to terms.
Tyler, who has broadcast every World Cup since 1978, will announce Friday's opener between South Africa and Mexico with former Nigerian player Efan Ekoku. Tyler will cover Saturday's high-profile match between the U.S. and England with former American captain John Harkes, who partnered with him for last weekend's exhibition between the Americans and Australia.
Tyler actually worked in the United States early in his career: He produced the world feed for soccer coverage at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.
"Most of the really, really, really sort of super duper guys had been allocated to much more American-orientated sports, obviously to track and field and all that stuff," he said. "I was dispatched somewhere downtown to get a football and in the Rose Bowl I took corners, free kicks, any set-piece situations because the guys, the directors, they went: 'On a corner, I want the camera to do this.'"
He used to visit the U.S. on holiday in the summer, too, catching up with old soccer buddies such as Bobby Moore and George Best when they played in the North American Soccer League. And he broadcast the 1986 World Series on a delayed basis for the British network ITV.
"I was standing behind the curtain when Bill Buckner let the ball through his legs. I was going to run on and interview him for English TV," Tyler said. "I remember Gary Carter. I had to ask really basic questions, and he took real care with me and didn't go, 'What is this English guy asking me about?'"
Because Game 7 was delayed by rain, Tyler missed it due to soccer commitments back home. He returned to the U.S. to broadcast England's national team games in Chicago and New Jersey in 2005. During various trips to America, he became familiar with a certain renowned baseball broadcaster.
"I'm a big fan of Vin Scully and I think his anecdotal stuff is sensational," Tyler said. "But you know, I think baseball people accept if a few pitches go flying in and the ball is up on a screen. He can just break up the story and say '2 and 1' or something like that. And everyone knows, you can't really do that in football."
That is likely the biggest difference between British and American announcers. On the olde island, the broadcasters are more restrained, more likely to keep talk to a minimum.
"I'm not sure that it's a style difference as much as a cultural difference," said JP Dellacamera, a frequent U.S. national team broadcaster for ESPN who has been relegated to ESPN Radio for the World Cup. "Let's say British announcers and probably those in other countries, too, I think they talk less than American announcers. I think they talk more about their particular game they're calling than other games. There's not as much storytelling, not as much promos."
ESPN didn't wind up with four British broadcasters by chance. It was a conscious decision.
"We spent a great deal of time listening to announcers and discussing the various attributes that each had, and ultimately these were the people that we felt were best-equipped to present this event to the United States regardless of whatever accent they might have," said Jed Drake, the executive producer of ESPN's World Cup coverage.
Until this year, Tyler had broadcast the World Cup for the Australian network SBS. He lives in London near the Chelsea and Fulham training grounds and estimates he covers about 100 matches per season.
Since he started, the speed of the game has sped up and soccer has become more defensive. The United States has gone from an outsider to a regular World Cup participant.
"I always say, I sit in exactly the same sort of place I sat in December 1974: reasonably good seat on the halfway line," he said. "My colleagues tease me that everything I did was in black and white, but I'm not that old. Obviously, the monitors have got bigger and the screens have got wider and HD has come in and now 3-D is coming in, but the fact is I still sit there. And when people ask me what I do, people who don't know me, I shout 'goal' for a living. And that's what I've done. And it's done with affection and care and respect for the game and the audience."
Dellacamera, obviously, is aware there are as many different styles to broadcasting a soccer match as there are to playing one. He wouldn't call a game in the understated British manner no more than he would shout "Goooooaal" in the hyper-excited way of Andres Cantor and other Latin announcers.
"Somebody once told me I should call goals like that," Dellacamera said. "That's not our style. That's not our way. That's not our culture. That's theirs. It would be disrespectful of me to call a game that way."
-- Ronald Blum
World Cup coverage expands on the Web, cell phones
NEW YORK (AP) — With games airing live on cell phones and computers, the World Cup will get more online coverage than any major sporting event yet. Watching highlights the next day on TV or YouTube will suddenly seem a downright ancient way to keep up with the action.
When the soccer tournament begins Friday, footy fans can follow the action from an array of mobile and Web applications and share in triumph and heartbreak across social media.
Walt Disney Co. networks ESPN and ABC, which are broadcasting the games in the United States, will stream 54 games live on the newly launched ESPN3.com, formerly ESPN360. The games are free to those in the U.S. who get their Internet from a service provider affiliated with ESPN, including AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and many others. The 10 games that will air live on ABC won't be available on ESPN3.com, but all 64 matches in the World Cup will be available live on mobile devices to customers whose plans include TV on their phones.
Univision Communications has the Spanish-language broadcasting rights in the United States, and it, too, will have games available on Univision.com and Univision Movil.
The digital coverage will be an especially important component for the World Cup because U.S. audiences will be watching many of the games — all being played in South Africa — during the day, possibly on their computers at work.
Comparing the digital experiences of the 2010 World Cup to the 2006 tournament, Josh Kosner, senior vice president and general manager of ESPN Digital Media, said, "Things have changed utterly."
"This is going to be the biggest and most powerful demonstration of this, and it's just the start," Kosner said. "It's the playbook, it's the blueprint for what's coming."
NBC's online coverage of the last Winter Olympics, also an international, daytime event, was extensive, drawing 45 million video streams. Traffic to NBCOlympics.com more than tripled from the 2006 Winter Games, with 45.7 million total visits compared to 13.3 million in 2006. That happened even though NBC held a lot of the footage for its prime-time broadcasts. ESPN expects worldwide online traffic for the World Cup to double or even triple that of 2006.
The 32-team World Cup, a mixture of global and niche audiences — where some games mean much more to citizens of Honduras, for example — is particularly suited to the Internet. ESPN3.com, for example, will have the option to watch some games in either Portuguese, Arabic, German, Japanese or Korean.
The actual games are only part of the experience. Many media outlets have launched mobile applications, most of which feature live scores, news updates and some integration with Facebook or Twitter. Among them are apps from The Associated Press, Fox Soccer Channel, Goal.com, Mundial and many others.
ESPN has several, including an ESPN Radio app that gives live play-by-play audio. Turner Sports' SportsNow app promises direct linking to Facebook and Twitter to facilitate "trash-talk directly from the app."
Online interest in the World Cup has been building. The elaborate Nike World Cup commercial directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has been watched by more than 13 million on YouTube since debuting on May 17.
For the past year, Akamai Technologies Inc., which delivers about 20 percent of the world's Internet traffic, has been building its capability in anticipation of the World Cup. It expects traffic to be two or three times as heavy as what was measured during President Barack Obama's inauguration — thus far, the high point for traffic volume at 1 trillion bits of data per second. (Higher-quality video is also a major factor in boosting volume.)
"It could well be another watershed event in terms of people understanding what is now possible to do with video online," Akamai chief scientist Tom Leighton said. "This will draw a lot of people at once and that will cause people to be aware en masse that, hey, you can do some very cool things with video online that you can't even do with broadcast right now."
The World Cup is also shaping up to be a benchmark in the evolution of mobile TV, which is common in South Korea, growing in the rest of Asia, Africa and South America, but nascent in the U.S. and Europe. ESPN has partnered with AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, FLO TV and MobiTV to bring games to cell phones.
Any surge in bandwidth for live video could test those networks, which are already clogged. Just last week, AT&T announced that to ease congestion on its network, it would no longer offer unlimited Internet data plans for new smart-phone customers.
ESPN's Kosner acknowledged that those with live TV on their mobile phones are still a "relatively small audience," but predicted that the World Cup will be "a galvanizing event" for the capability.
Of course, technology is also being used for more quirky ends.
If you hurry, you can catch the final ticks to the World Cup Countdown app, which has simply been counting down to kickoff in South Africa since last year.
The Drinksin Footy Pubs 2010 app lets U.K. fans know the nearest pubs carrying the games. LiveSoccerTV.com, similarly, offers "soccer friendly" bars in the U.S.
Technology truly meets soccer enthusiasm in South Korea, where a World Cup iPhone app from KT Corp. includes a "glow stick mode" that lights up the screen with fluorescent colors when the phone is shaken — perfect for exuberant waving in South Africa or anywhere near a screen playing the games.
That still leaves one, essential question: Where's Becks?
Fear not. David Beckham, the dashing British wingman, has signed on with Yahoo Inc., as its "global football ambassador." Along with its extensive Cup coverage (which includes a toolbar just for updates and scores), Yahoo will offer a Beckham channel to share the midfielder's thoughts on the World Cup.
-- Jake Coyle
A few things to watch while watching the World Cup
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Wayne Rooney doesn't look so threatening camped out on the left side of the field, his back to the opposing goalkeeper.
If he gets the ball in that spot at the World Cup match on Saturday against the United States, shut your eyes, all you Yanks. The U.S. defense should be afraid. Very afraid.
England's burly boxer-turned-striker has made defenses all over Europe look silly with what's become his patented move: a quick spin that will leave Steve Cherundolo dizzy, a cut 'cross the field and, when he gets about 25 yards out, a blistering shot off his right foot.
GOAL!!!!!
Whether you're new to the beautiful game or have filled out a World Cup bracket, here are a few things to watch that will make you sound like an expert:
— Rooney's spin move isn't the only trick that could confound the Americans — and anyone else England faces in the tournament that starts Friday and runs through July 11. Few are better when it comes to give-and-go passing, so if he's on the attack and happens to dish the ball to an open teammate on his right, don't dare take your eyes off him. Cherundolo, Carlos Bocanegra and the rest of the U.S. backline sure won't.
Rooney will sprint toward the far post and stop just outside the box, a perfect target for a teammate with the ball, and a goal just waiting to happen.
— The U.S. backline. The defense was one of the best things going for the United States at last year's Confederations Cup, helping it upset top-ranked Spain and give Brazil all it could handle in the final. But this U.S. defense is held together by Band-Aids and duct tape. Big, bruising Oguchi Onyewu hasn't played a full game since he tore his left patellar tendon Oct. 14. While he swears he's fit again, he looked like he was playing in slow-motion during the World Cup warm-ups. Captain Bocanegra had hernia surgery May 5, and Jay DeMerit arrived at the U.S. training camp nursing an abdominal strain.
Watch how well they keep up with the opposition. If you see England, Slovenia or Algeria creating wide, open spaces, or looking as if they're playing in a different gear, the Americans are cooked.
— Lionel Messi, Argentina. The reigning world player of the year seems almost boylike with his slight build and hair flopping as he runs. Getting the ball transforms him. It sticks to the tip of his shoe as if it's held there with a tiny spot of glue. It's not as if opponents don't have opportunities to get the ball back. Unlike other players who avoid defenders at all costs, Messi runs right at them, bobbing and weaving his way upfield as if it's his personal obstacle course.
— Italy's 4-3-2-1 formation. It translates to four defenders, three midfielders, a forward on each wing and only one true striker. It's unusual, with most teams, including the United States, using two players up top to give the offense more punch and keep defenses honest. It's a lot easier to put pressure on a defense and keep it on its heels with two Energizer Bunnies coming at you. But Alberto Gilardino's speed and dexterity — left foot or right foot, it doesn't matter — is more than enough for any defense to handle, which opens things up for Antonio DiNatale and Vincenzo Iaquinta.
But Italy might be forced to switch tactics. Midfielder Andrea Pirlo likely will miss the entire group stage with an aching calf, which could mean a different look.
— Brazil. When Robinho stops and steps over the ball, it's not a whiff. This little sleight of feet — Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo does it, too — is actually incredibly hard, requiring agility, control and full-speed flair. Few things do more to throw off a defender. Commit to a tackle or try to steal the ball, and a player ends up on his face, the sound of Robinho's laughter wafting through the air as he sambas toward the goal.
This won't be the only thing Brazil does that will leaves fans shaking their heads. The squad is loaded with talent. Brazil is a five-time champion, and this might be the deepest team it's ever had at a World Cup. It has the world's top goalkeeper in Julio Cesar and an almost impenetrable backline of Maicon, Lucio, Juan and Santos. Midfielders Silva and Felipe Melo clog the middle, giving Kaka space to roam — something no opponent wants to see.
— Spain. Spain might be the most well-rounded team in the tournament, with third-stringers who could start for any other country. But several of its key players are nursing significant injuries and if they're stuck in sick bay, that's bad news for Spain — and good news for everyone else. Forward Fernando Torres and midfielder Cesc Fabregas, two of the most potent playmakers, are coming back from serious leg injuries, as is Andres Iniesta.
-- Nancy Armour
Overall World Cup Capsules
South Africa revels in its World Cup moment
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Soccer's stars have converged on South Africa from across the globe, but on the eve of the World Cup it is the host nation — with all its flaws and all its wonders — that has seized the spotlight.
Crime is rampant, in shantytowns and posh suburbs. An HIV-AIDS epidemic rages. Yet the welcome for the world — from Cape Town to Soweto — couldn't be warmer, or more proud.
Blaring their plastic trumpets, or "vuvuzelas," and displaying their multicolored flag on their cars and their homes and themselves, South Africans are embracing this historic moment. It's by far their boldest foray onto the world stage since Nelson Mandela formally ended the apartheid era by winning the presidency in 1994.
"It has unified all South Africa," said Irvin Khoza, chairman of the local organizing committee. "It doesn't matter if you're black or white, or if you're close to the sport or not. Everybody in this country is wearing the flag."
The four-week, 32-team tournament opens Friday with South Africa's national squad — a longshot to bookmakers but a favorite to adoring local fans who call it Bafana Bafana — taking on Mexico at Soccer City, the 94,700-seat stadium rising amid old gold mines between Johannesburg and Soweto.
It will be the first time the world's most-watched sporting event is held anywhere in Africa, where soccer fever runs deep, and it takes place in a country that for decades was an international sports outcast, boycotted because of its racist policies.
Brazil and Spain are the favorites to win the title. Other popular teams, according to a worldwide survey released this week by Nielsen Media Research, include former champions Argentina, England and Germany — along with the United States, which was picked to win by 46 percent of North Americans.
Even enigmatic North Korea is here, its unheralded and longshot team qualifying for a World Cup for the first time since 1966 amid a flare-up of tension with its neighbor and fellow tournament entry, South Korea.
A few top stars are absent due to injury, but England's Wayne Rooney is here, as is Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo. Argentina has arguably the world's best player, Lionel Messi, and the most flamboyant coach, Diego Maradona.
Estimates vary as to how many foreign visitors will come — perhaps 350,000 or 400,000. When ticket sales lagged last month, organizers made more of them available to South Africans, and now nearly all have been purchased.
First-time visitors, if they venture beyond the hotels and stadiums, will see a land of dramatic contrasts: first-world luxury and infrastructure closely coexisting with squalid shacks, a dazzlingly varied landscape of jagged mountains and unspoiled beaches, deserts and vineyards and wildlife preserves. There are 10 stadiums in nine cities across South Africa, with two of them — Soccer City and the long-established 62,500-seat Ellis Park — in Johannesburg.
Racial reconciliation remains a work in progress, yet is remarkable given the white minority's harsh oppression of blacks under apartheid's web of segregation policies.
The end of apartheid was no panacea for the nation's many problems. More than 40 percent of South Africans live below the government-defined poverty line, a quarter of the work force is unemployed. The huge security force mobilized for the World Cup will have its hands full keeping visitors safe, restraining hooligans, monitoring possible terrorist threats and maintaining crowd control to prevent any stadium stampedes.
The government and private businesses spent huge sums renovating airports and building roads, transportation systems and stadiums. Traffic jams are expected, but a new high-speed train linking Johannesburg and its airport opened Tuesday, and a new bus line serves the downtown business district, Soccer City and Soweto.
Newspaper columnist Oupa Ngwenya of The Sowetan, a black-oriented daily, marveled in a column this week at how the projects were completed on time despite widespread doubt.
"Enjoy the games by laughing doubting Thomases out of your lives," he wrote.
In an interview, Ngwenya said a successful World Cup could be a morale booster for the many South Africans struggling with poverty.
"People always talk about how we are part of the global village, but it's never been this close," he said. "You're feeling part of the world. The sense of anticipation is electric."
Heightening that anticipation is the possibility that Mandela, 91 and frail, may make an appearance at Friday's opening ceremony. He's admired worldwide — and deeply beloved by millions of South Africans of all races.
Since Mandela retired from the presidency in 1998, his African National Congress has remained in control of the government and worked closely with World Cup organizers to ensure preparations were completed.
To some critics, the cooperation went too far.
Amnesty International, echoing the complaints of South African activists, said this week that tournament preparations had included increased police harassment of street vendors, homeless people and squatters living or working near World Cup venues.
Dale McKinley, a left-wing activist and writer, said many South Africans were conflicted — aggrieved at the ANC government, yet elated that the World Cup is here.
"It's a sport everybody loves," McKinley said. "It's a dilemma for quite a lot of people. They don't want to be seen as a spoiler."
The pervasive mood seems to be exhilaration. Under a canopy of helium balloons, a euphoric, multiracial crowd greeted the mostly black national team Wednesday when it appeared in Sandton — the heart of Johannesburg's privileged white suburbs.
Young South Africans are thrilled. Their elders share the excitement, with extra perspective.
Simon "Ox" Malhangu, who played pro soccer in the 1970s with the Soweto-based Moroka Swallows, was among many world-class stars who never got to play official international matches for his country because of a sports boycott imposed to protest apartheid.
"To be honest with you, we never thought we'd host such a tournament of this magnitude in our lifetime," Mahlangu, 58, said in a telephone interview. "We're counting ourselves lucky, as people now approaching their 60s, to be hosting such a great event."
The origin of Mahlangu's nickname could apply to South Africa's exertions in hosting the World Cup.
"We South Africans, we say an ox never gives up," Mahlangu said. "When it's given a task, it wants to see that task completed."
-- David Crary
World Cup stadiums give nation, workers, big boost
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Every night, when Louis Dubazana passes Soccer City in a bus heading toward his apartment in Soweto, the look of the rusty-colored dome over the stadium fills him with pride. When other passengers also marvel at the World Cup stadium, it is just too much for him. The junior foreman has to tell everyone he helped build the new symbol of South Africa.
"Other people were saying: 'Hey this is a big thing. Ooh, it is this and that.' That makes me feel great," Dubazana said. "I was part of the people working here."
The 94,000-seat Soccer City Stadium often had more than 3,000 people working on it at the same time and, despite skepticism that it would never be finished on time, it will be ready for Friday's opener between South Africa and Mexico.
And if the stadium itself is living proof of the legacy of the World Cup, the confidence and pride of the 32-year-old Dubazana point toward something more important: a nation put to the task came through with new sports arenas from Soccer City to Cape Town and Durban.
But for a long time, progress was only assured by men and women in multicolored hardhats working long hours and days to meet the deadlines.
Such is construction in South Africa that Dubazana finds the time and money only once a month to get home for a weekend with his wife, Nelisiwe, and two daughters about 240 kilometers (149 miles) away in Amersfoort, in the poor province of Mpumalanga.
Still, this is progress compared to the days of apartheid, when black workers were denied a decent education and good jobs.
Now, Dubazana is close to becoming a construction supervisor. After Soccer City, he went to the headquarters of the LTA-Grinaker company to work at the glass facade division, where he supervises 20 workers.
That is a far cry from his first job in construction, as a storeman checking the quality of cement and other materials.
With the global financial crisis hitting construction, the future is less secure than a few years ago. But Dubazana, like so many others in South Africa, has one thing in ample supply — optimism.
The government has already spoken of redirecting public works to hospitals and schools after the World Cup. Beyond his conviction that there will be work for him, Dubazana says that he has "no idea what to do next, no idea at the moment."
His first priority, though, is to see his stadium in action firsthand. When work was slowed at several stadiums because of strikes, FIFA president Sepp Blatter went out of his way to promise tickets to each of the 27,000 workers at the venue they helped build.
Dubazana has two for Argentina's match against South Korea at Soccer City.
"Those are good teams," he said. Yet the present also came with a tinge of disappointment. Because, like every South African, he wanted to see Bafana Bafana play.
The only time South Africa plays at Soccer City in the first round is the tournament opener on Friday.
"I was going to look for Bafana Bafana, but we were promised that we will get the tickets for free," he said. "I didn't look to buy the tickets until they were all sold out. I was disappointed."
Instead, he will watch the South African games from his Soweto apartment. When he pondered the suggestion of watching it in a bar, he burst out laughing.
"Sometimes I work the following day," he said.
If the World Cup has already given him some of the best work in his career, he still hopes for a special project. He is convinced South Africa will win the cup on July 11, and that will give him one more assignment.
"We must start making a building only for the World Cup trophy. We are going to keep it here," he said.
-- Raf Casert
De Klerk: South Africa specializes in miracles
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — For Nobel Peace Prize laureate F.W. De Klerk, football in South Africa has changed as much as the country itself.
From growing up in an uppercrust white setting and never considering playing the sport, to the reality of today with every hue of the "rainbow nation" rooting for Bafana Bafana at the World Cup, the former president has witnessed an amazing transformation.
"Regardless of race, culture, language or economic background, we shall all be cheering for Bafana Bafana," the 74-year-old De Klerk wrote in an e-mail exchange with The Associated Press.
It was in 1995, shortly after Nelson Mandela took over as president of a multiracial nation, that South Africa won the Rugby World Cup. Back then, rugby was a sport long abhorred by blacks, but it transcended its historical and political overtones and for the first time held everyone in the young nation in a communal embrace.
For the World Cup, the politician who oversaw the end of the racial policies of apartheid said everyone will jump on the football bandwagon. The only difference is that South Africa's Springboks, a team that previously symbolized racial segregation, actually won the rugby tournament. Bafana Bafana, a Zulu nickname meaning The Boys, might be lucky to survive the first round.
"Winning the 1995 Rugby World Cup was not exactly a miracle — since South Africa has historically been one of the top rugby-playing countries in the world," De Klerk said. "Winning the 2010 football World Cup would by contrast be a miracle.
"However, watch out! We South Africans specialize in miracles."
De Klerk knows plenty about defying expectations. He and Mandela joined in orchestrating the largely peaceful transition from racist apartheid to a one-man, one-vote democracy. It is considered one of the greatest political achievements of recent times.
For De Klerk, a paragon of the white establishment, it meant a major transition and it showed in sports, too.
"The reality is that when I was a young boy we simply did not play football. The only winter game we knew was rugby," De Klerk said. "In summer we played cricket and tennis."
They all were as white as the official dress for cricket and tennis at the time. And when De Klerk was in politics, football did not really matter. It was played mostly by the majority nonwhites and, as such, was largely negligible.
"I cannot recall that soccer was ever a great factor in our politics," he said.
Rugby and the Olympics were, though, if only because of the international boycotts that deeply hurt Afrikaner souls.
"There were huge debates over multiracial cricket and rugby," De Klerk said.
During those days, Mandela's fellow prisoners on Robben Island just off Cape Town found in football a vital release from the pressure in prison.
Mandela was freed in 1990 and elected president of a multiracial South Africa in 1994. With great skill, he used the 1995 Rugby World Cup to draw black and white together, despite the often deep hatred of many nonwhites for the Springboks.
"Nelson Mandela was a great leader who masterfully used the 1995 World Cup to promote national reconciliation," said De Klerk, who shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Mandela in 1993.
Fifteen years have passed since the rugby tournament and the tension between South Africa's ethnic groups has largely decreased.
"The 1995 World Cup was special in its own way because it was one of the first opportunities for us to come together as a nation," he said. "I have the fullest confidence that our present government will rise to the occasion and will make sure that the World Cup is a success — even if they do not have the international stature of Nelson Mandela."
Still, there are challenges ahead. The game is still overwhelmingly played by nonwhites and the national team reflects that.
De Klerk, however, is loath to advise too much government interference.
"One of the things we learned from the past is that it is much better if sport is left to the various codes and to the people that play them," he said. "Football is becoming more multiracial because the country is becoming more multiracial. However, it might help to speed things along if government schools were to concentrate more on football than they do at present."
-- Raf Casert
'Vuvuzela Day' honors Bafana ahead of 1st match
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — The deafening din of the vuvuzela filled the air Wednesday, all to honor South Africa's national soccer team as it prepares to open the World Cup in two days.
About 25,000 fans flocked to the streets of Sandton, an upscale suburb of Johannesburg, to blow on their long plastic horns on what some are calling "Vuvuzela Day."
Many danced in the square in front of a massive statue of Nelson Mandela, shouting "Ayoba!" — South African slang for super or awesome — while others climbed trees and let their vuvuzelas ring out on those standing below.
"I feel like an African when I blow the vuvuzela," said Hendrik Maharala, a 26-year-old construction worker from Johannesburg who participated in the celebrations.
The festivities spread across the city, where passengers in cars hung out of windows to blow on their horns. In Sandton, fans formed a human chain and marched through the streets, blowing their vuvuzelas and carrying posters saying "United 4 Bafana."
Bafana Bafana, the national team's nickname, will play Mexico in the opening match of the World Cup on Friday at Soccer City, and "Vuvuzela Day" had South Africans of all ages and races united in support.
In Pretoria, kids were out in the streets and outside schools blowing vuvuzelas. And in Irene, as the Italian team bus drove by, kids were blowing their vuvuzelas as it passed.
Some people call the sound marvelous, while others call it terrible, but the sound of the vuvuzela will definitely be heard throughout the World Cup.
"I love the noise," said Jessica Dyrand, a 21-year-old law student.
But Hans Somsen, a Dutchman who has lived in South Africa for 15 years, said he hoped vuvuzelas would be barred from matches.
"It takes away the atmosphere," Somsen said. "It's a ridiculous thing. They must ban it."
Some players have spoken out against the plastic trumpet, with Germany defender Arne Friedrich saying he doesn't like them because they are too loud.
"I hope that as the tournament gets longer we won't be noticing them so much,' Friedrich said.
No matter what any players think, it will be the fans who decide how loud it will be in the stadiums, and some of them are already planning a supersonic noise level.
"I like the vuvuzela," said Colinne Sammons, a local housewife. "I want to buy one."
-- Mia Snyman
South Africans celebrate before World Cup opener
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Never mind that the World Cup hasn't started yet. South Africans celebrated Wednesday as if their national team already won the trophy.
Wrapped in flags and tooting vuvuzela horns, thousands of fans danced in the streets as the Bafana Bafana greeted fans in Johannesburg.
After years of anticipation, the country of nearly 50 million has gone soccer crazy and is counting down the hours until Africa's first World Cup gets under way Friday.
South African Football Association president Kirsten Nematandani expressed thanks for the support, but also cautioned that the team "has to stay focused for the task ahead."
South Africa kicks off the tournament against Mexico on Friday and must also face 1998 world champion France and Uruguay in Group A.
It's a challenging group and South Africa risks becoming the first host nation to exit a World Cup in the opening round. South Africa has never advanced from the group stage.
That hasn't stopped South African supporters, including President Jacob Zuma, from dreaming of a World Cup final, just 16 years after the nation's first post-apartheid election.
Speaking to the players ahead of a training session Wednesday, Zuma said he hoped the team was "in combat mode" and aiming to win the tournament.
"The Cup has landed in Africa for the first time and it landed in South Africa," Zuma told the team. "It should stay here."
-- Karl Ritter
