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Sports
U.S. Faces a Familiar Opponent Americans counting on German-born players in vital clash
When Jermaine Jones stands for the national anthems of his countries today, he will soak in the moment. Jones, like four American teammates and his coach, will be familiar with both “The Star-Spangled Banner” and the “Deutschlandlied” before the United States’ World Cup game against Germany. After playing three games in 2008 for the nation in which he grew up, Jones switched allegiance to the U.S. two years later. “When I hear the anthem from the United States, I will close my eyes and let everything go through,” the tenacious midfielder said. And then comes the big game. Four years of work by the U.S. come down to 90 or so minutes in the afternoon heat and possi-
JULIO CORTEZ (AP)
World Cup
in at record levels. While the Germans have four off days between matches, the U.S. has only three. And teams are 0-4 after games in the steamy Amazon rainforest capital of Manaus, where the Americans played Sunday night. “It’s the biggest game of all of our lives,” midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. “Any fatigue in our legs will be erased. We’ve got to give it everything we’ve got and more.”
U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann is facing Germany, the team he used to coach, today.
bly rain at Arena Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. Having squandered the chance to clinch advancement earlier this week against Portugal by allowing a stoppage-time goal in a 2-2 draw, the Americans might need at least a tie against the three-time champions to reach the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time.
Five American players — Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Timothy Chandler and Julian Green — were eligible to play for both the U.S. and Germany under FIFA rules. FIFA eligibility rules say that a player can play for a country if he, a parent or a grandparent was born on that country’s soil. All five players are children of a German and an American serviceman. (E XPRESS)
Both the U.S. and Germany have four points, though Germany has a better goal differential. Ghana and Portugal, with one point each, play simultaneously in Brasilia, knowing a tie in either game would eliminate both of them. U.S. Soccer Federation officials will have a system to relay the score of the other match to the bench. Millions in the U.S. will be tuned
RONALD BLUM (AP)
Suarez Awaits Bite Punishment
STAYING THE COURSE
Bento Won’t Quit Paulo Bento intends to stay on as Portugal coach even if the team fails to qualify from its World Cup group, saying Wednesday his tenure will be judged on results at the 2016 European Championship. Portugal has just one point from its first two Group G games. (AP)
$3M
As the world was judging Uruguay’s Luis Suarez for biting a player in the World Cup, his teammates, coaches and fans in his soccer-crazy country defended the star, blaming the foreign media, his Italian opponents and uneven treatment. World Cup organizers scrambled Wednesday to quickly decide on a punishment before Uruguay plays Colombia Saturday in the round of 16. “We have to resolve it either today or tomorrow,” FIFA disciplinary panel member Martin Hong told reporters Wednesday. “It’s our duty to see justice done.”
RICARDO MAZALAN (AP)
World Cup
Luis Suarez could receive a lengthy suspension from FIFA for biting a player.
A day after he tangled with defender Giorgio Chiellini, Suarez was coping well, according to the Uruguay football federation president.
“Luis is fine. He’s been through 1001 battles,” Wilmar Valdez told the online site Tenfield.com. “We all know who Luis is and that’s why we have to defend him.” The bite — just before Uruguay scored the clinching goal to eliminate the four-time champion Italians — will now test FIFA President Sepp Blatter’s often-stated commitment to “fair play, discipline, respect.” The maximum penalty would be a ban of 24 international matches. FIFA can also choose to ban Suarez for up to two years. That would cover club and international games and would ruin a widely speculated transfer to Barcelona or Real Madrid. GR AHAM DUNBAR (AP)
The estimated amount — in cash — sent by Ghana’s president that was expected to arrive in Brazil on Wednesday in a bid to appease members of the country’s World Cup squad who are unhappy at being denied bonus payments. The dispute has seriously disrupted Ghana’s preparations for its game against Portugal today. (AP)
FERNANDO VERGARA (AP)
Dual Eligibility
Lionel Messi celebrates his second goal in Wednesday’s 3-2 win over Nigeria.
Messi Stars In Win for Argentina World Cup Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in their last World Cup group match on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi and Ahmed Musa scoring two goals each before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner. Argentina won Group F while Nigeria also advanced despite the loss, becoming the first African team in the round of 16 in Brazil. Messi had his best match of the World Cup so far, scoring twice in the first half to boost his tournament total to four goals, and repeatedly cutting up Nigeria’s defense with dazzling runs and clever passes. “Messi is from Jupiter, he is different,” Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said. The Argentina captain needed less than three minutes to finish Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama’s clean sheet in Brazil, slamming in the rebound after Angel Di Maria’s shot bounced off the post. K ARL RIT TER (AP)
Today’s Schedule USA vs. Germany (noon, ESPN) Ghana vs. Portugal (noon, ESPN2) Belgium vs. S. Korea (4 p.m., ESPN) Algeria vs. Russia (4 p.m., ESPN2)