Kevin De Bruyne turned a heroic night for U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard into defeat on Tuesday with an extra-time goal and an assist that gave Belgium a 2-1 victory and a quarterfinal match against Lionel Messi and Argentina.With three extra-time goals in a thrilling match, De Bruyne and substitute Romelu Lukaku gave Belgium a big lead before Julian Green closed the gap with 12 minutes to go.``For my heart, please don't give me too many games like this,'' said Belgium coach Marc Wilmots, who must n

SoccerJuly 2, 2014

Argentina's theme at this World Cup seems to be scrappy wins with Lionel Messi pulling through at the last minute to save the day.This time he didn't score on his own, but set the stage for Angel Di Maria to score an extra-time winner against Switzerland.``It doesn't matter if it's beautiful or ugly,'' Di Maria said. ``Only that Argentina won and will play another game in the tournament.''Argentina will play Belgium in the quarterfinals.(AFP-Yonhap)Except for its final group-stage win over Niger

SoccerJuly 2, 2014

Germany’s Thomas Mueller takes a tumble against Algeria on Monday. (AP-Yonhap)PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil (AP) ― When it comes to the knockout stages of the World Cup, wins are worth more than style.That was on full display Monday when Germany labored to a 2-1 extra-time win over an aggressive Algeria side to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals for the ninth consecutive time.“You don’t have to play fantastic every match,” Germany coach Joachim Loew said. “You have to win.”All three goals came in extra

SoccerJuly 1, 2014

France qualified for the World Cup quarter-finals here Monday after a late Paul Pogba header and a Joseph Yobo own goal clinched a 2-0 victory over Nigeria.Juventus star Pogba made the key breakthrough for France 11 minutes from time, punishing a rare mistake by Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.Nigeria's Juwon Oshaniwa, left, and France's Paul Pogba challenge for the ball during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between France and Nigeria at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil, Monda

SoccerJuly 1, 2014

When it comes to the knockout stages of the World Cup, wins are worth more than style.That was on full display Monday when Germany labored to a 2-1 extra-time win over an aggressive Algeria side to reach the tournament's quarterfinals for the ninth consecutive time.``You don't have to play fantastic every match,'' Germany coach Joachim Loew said. ``You have to win.''Germany's Mesut Ozil, right, holds off Algeria's Saphir Taider and Sofiane Feghouli during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match b

SoccerJuly 1, 2014

Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo speaks to reporters at Incheon International Airport on Monday. (Yonhap)INCHEON (Yonhap) ― An apologetic Korean national team coach Hong Myung-bo on Monday was noncommittal about his immediate future in the wake of the team’s early exit from the FIFA World Cup.Hong and his 23-man team returned home to little fanfare after getting eliminated from the tournament in Brazil with a winless record in three group matches.South Korea played Russia to a 1-1 draw but lost to

SoccerJune 30, 2014

INCHEON (Yonhap) ― The South Korean men’s soccer team returned home early Monday following an early exit from the FIFA World Cup in Brazil with a winless record.The 23-man squad, coached by Hong Myung-bo, arrived at Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, from Sao Paulo via Los Angeles a little before 5 a.m. to little fanfare.South Korea, which had set out to reach the knockout phase in South America, finished last among four nations in Group H with one draw and two losses. It opened the t

SoccerJune 30, 2014

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ― Regulation time doesn’t seem to mean much at this stage, judging by the way Netherlands, Costa Rica and Brazil have advanced through the first of the World Cup knockout rounds.The Dutch needed a penalty deep in stoppage time to seal a 2-1 comeback win over Mexico and advance to a match against a Costa Rica lineup that beat Greece on penalties later Sunday to reach the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time. The Costa Ricans had to play for almost an hour with 10 men, an

SoccerJune 30, 2014

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar struck a stoppage-time penalty as the Netherlands staged an incredible late fightback to beat Mexico 2-1 and reach the World Cup quarter-finals here Sunday.Huntelaar kept his cool in furnace-like conditions to fire Holland into the last eight after Wesley Sneijder had scored an 88th-minute equaliser to cancel out Giovani Dos Santos's goal for Mexico.The dramatic Dutch fightback left Mexico's players in tears as their last 16 jinx struck again.Netherlands' Klaas-Jan Huntelaar

SoccerJune 30, 2014

Bryan Ruiz calmly guided 10-man Costa Rica through a tense penalty decider against Greece on Sunday and into the World Cup quarter finals for the first time in the country's history.The Ticos' captain scored the goal that put Costa Rica ahead and also put away his penalty as the Central Americans kept their nerve to win the decider 5-3.The two sides were 1-1 after regulation time with Sokratis Papastathopoulos cancelling out Ruiz's goal in injury time to force extra time which also ended in dead

SoccerJune 30, 2014

SAO PAULO (Yonhap) ― The head coaching position of the South Korean men’s national team is often referred to as the “poisoned chalice” ― for the job isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be.It is arguably the most visible job in South Korean sports. And with fame and the high profile come unreasonable expectations, which have been so heightened after the Dutch coach Guus Hiddink guided South Korea to the semifinals at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.Though it was a historic run that probably will never b

SoccerJune 29, 2014