Honduras lost all three of its matches at the World Cup, and then lost its coach. Luis Fernando Suarez, a Colombian who led Ecuador to the second round of the 2006 World Cup, quit his job Wednesday following a third straight loss in Brazil. “I'm sorry I didn't manage more,” said Suarez, who has been Honduras coach since March 2011. “I'm sad because I had a dream about this World Cup.” Honduras...

Bosnia-Herzegovina ended Iran's hopes of advancing to the knockout stages with a 3-1 victory in Group F on Wednesday, registering its first World Cup win in the process. The Bosnians, who were already relegated from the tournament, took a commanding 2-0 lead with goals from Edin Dzeko in the 23rd and Miralem Pjanic in the 53rd before Iran hit back in a desperate late bid to qualify for the secon...

Xherdan Shaqiri's hat trick put Switzerland into the second round of the World Cup, and kept coach Ottmar Hitzfeld gainfully employed for at least a few more days. Shaqiri scored a pair of first-half goals and added another in the second Wednesday to give Switzerland a 3-0 victory over Honduras, a result that put the Swiss in second place in Group E behind France. “We knew that we were going to...

Lionel Messi scored at the start and end of the first half as Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in a thriller on Wednesday to top World Cup Group F and the already-eliminated Bosnia recorded a pride-salvaging 3-1 win over Iran that meant both teams are heading home. The battle for the World Cup's golden boot heated up between Barcelona teammates as Messi latched onto a rebound in just the third minute ...

BRASILIA (AP) ― Brazil heads into the knockout stage of the World Cup with added confidence after finally coming up with a convincing win at its home tournament. The host played well in a 4-1 win over Cameroon on Monday to secure a spot in the Round of 16 and regain the trust of fans after two mediocre games. Players said that more important than the victory was the team’s performance, which sh...

About a minute later, the decisive goal was scored on a powerful thrust of head and shoulder from captain Diego Godin that somehow had perfect direction. Italy was down to 10 men since the 59th minute, when Claudio Marchisio received a red card for putting his boot into Egidio Arevalo’s knee. It was the second straight time that Italy, a four-time champion, went out in the first round. “When yo...

SAO PAULO ― In one painful outing, Korea’s hopes of passing the group stages for the second straight World Cup were all but wiped out. Korea seemed to have left behind the poor form it showed in the run-up to the World Cup with a solid 1-1 opener against Russia. But the concerns about its crucial defensive weaknesses returned with Sunday’s 4-2 loss. “I don’t think I’ve ever played such a terribl...

Greece doesn't score often at the World Cup, but its goals certainly come at the right time. Greece doubled its total scoring tally at World Cup tournaments by netting twice against the Ivory Coast on Tuesday _ the second coming through an injury-time penalty that secured a 2-1 victory and a spot in the knockout rounds. Celebrations erupted in Greece, where the game ended well after midnight. T...

The beach ball being thrown around the stand by bored, cheering fans captured just how serene Costa Rica's progress has been at the World Cup. It should never have been this easy for the only team in Group D which isn't a past World Cup winner and doesn't feature in the top 10 of the FIFA rankings. But history and status proved no hindrance for the central American minnows, who turned the group ...

Underscoring a power shift away from Europe, Uruguay fought _ and apparently even bit _ its way to a 1-0 victory over Italy Tuesday to move to the World Cup's next round with Costa Rica, which sent England home without a single victory after a goalless draw. South America's strength was further highlighted when Colombia capped its perfect record in Group C with a 4-1 win over Japan. Europe did g...

Luis Suarez shocked the World Cup with a new biting storm Tuesday as Uruguay sensationally dumped ten-man Italy out of the tournament with a dramatic 1-0 victory. Uruguay captain Diego Godin hit an 81st-minute winner in the gritty Group D battle that saw Italy knocked out in the first round for the second straight World Cup. But Italy's stunning exit was overshadowed by an incredible incident i...

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) ― First came boos and whistles. And then, a Brazilian taunt cascaded down the stands of the Maracana stadium ― “Little team, your place is in the second division.” The Belgians had felt honored to play at the famous stadium but the local fans didn’t exactly return the love during Belgium’s struggling 1-0 win over Russia at the World Cup. One day later, the Belgium squad was ...