MEXICO CITY (AP)?Javier Aguirre quit Wednesday as Mexico coach, three days
after the national team was knocked out of the World Cup in a 3-1 loss to
Argentina in the round of 16.

It marked the fifth straight time that Mexico has been eliminated in the
second round of the World Cup.

?Im the person responsible, said Aguirre, adding that hed made a
commitment to reach the quarterfinals.

Mexico has only twice reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup?in 1970
and 1986, when it hosted the event.

?We didnt qualify for the next round, and because of this one can consider
it a failure, Aguirre added. ?The plan was tobe among the best eight in
the world. This was the plan. If we didnt do it, its clear staying on the job
is not an option.

Aguirre made the announcement at a packed news conference in Mexico City.
The Mexico-born Aguirre was appointed 15 months ago to his second stint at
Mexico coach. He also coached the team in the 2002 World Cup, but was replaced
after Mexico was eliminated by the United States.

Aguirre is Mexicos fourth coach in four years and the fifth since Argentine
Ricardo La Volpe was released after the 2006 World Cup.

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He said the next coach should be retained for the entire four-year World Cup
cycle, which will end with the 2014 tournament in Brazil.

Aguirre said he had faith in a younger generation of Mexican players who
will be the core of the team in the next World Cup. They include forwards Javier
Hernandez, Giovani Dos Santos and Carlos Vela.

?I think the future is in the hands of our young players, Aguirre said.

He suggested he might be out of work for a while and said he did not know
where he could coach next, but suggested England or Spain were possible
destinations. He took over the Mexico job just weeks after being fired by
Spanish club Atletico de Madrid.

Mexico played more warm-up games than any team ahead of the World Cup, but
opened with a disappointing 1-1 draw with South Africa. Mexico defeated France
2-0 and then lost 1-0 Uruguay, meaning it fell behind the South Americans to
second place in Group A. This forced Mexico to face Group B winner, Argentina.

Several reports suggest Aguirre is one of highest paid national team coaches
with an annual salary of about $4 million. Only Italy coach Marcelo Lippi and
England coach Fabio Capello are believed to earn more.

?Everything I did, I did thinking of the well-being of Mexico, Aguirre
said.

?I have to be honest. If Im not enthusiastic about something, I can leave
the job.

Associated Press Writer Molly OToole contribued to this report.

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP)?A British tabloid journalist has been arrested for
his role in what police say was an ?orchestrated attempt to undermine World
Cup security.

National police commissioner Bheki Cele said Tuesday that police arrested
Simon Wright on Monday. He said the Sunday Mirror journalist admitted to
harboring and interviewing England supporter Pavlos Joseph while police were
searching for him.

Cele said Wright allegedly booked hotel accommodations for Joseph using
false details. Wright also had a contract with Joseph for exclusive interviews
for seven days ?after he made news, according to South Africas most senior
policeman.

?Police have reason to believe that this incident was orchestrated and
involved the cooperation of a number of individuals, Cele said.

Cele said to expect more arrests in the case.

?Police strongly believe the motive was to put World Cup security in a bad
light and possibly to profit from this act, Cele said of the June 18 incident
in which the uncredentialed Joseph entered the dressing room after England drew
0-0 with Algeria at Cape Towns Green Point Stadium.

Joseph gave an exclusive interview to the Sunday Mirror afterward, claiming
he was directed to the England locker room when he asked a security guard where
he could find a toilet. He was quoted in the newspaper telling David Beckham
that the England teams performance wasnt good enough.

?Do we believe that it was orchestrated by this journalist for Mr. Joseph?
Yes, we do, Cele said of the incident.

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The Sunday Mirror released a statement Tuesday confirming Wrights arrest
but denying any wrongdoing and calling his reporting of the incident
?legitimate.

?Sunday Mirror reporter Simon Wright was arrested and charged in Cape Town
last night, the newspaper said. ?He is currently on bail and will appear in
court tomorrow Wednesday.

?He was engaged in a legitimate story for his newspaper and any suggestion
that he or the newspaper was involved with Pavlos Joseph before he entered the
England dressing room is entirely false.

Cele would not say if charges would be brought against the newspaper, but
confirmed Wright had been arrested on Monday night for ?defeating the ends of
justice and ?flouting the provisions of the Immigration Act.

Celes wide-ranging security briefing at a hotel in the capital Pretoria was
the commissioners first public news conference since the tournament kicked off
June 11. He said 316 people had been arrested since the start of the World Cup,
207 of them South African citizens. Six Americans and eight U.K. citizens were
also among those arrested.

The commissioner cited swift and efficient justice in the case involving
Portuguese and Spanish journalists who were robbed at gunpoint near the town of
Magaliesburg on June 9. The arrest of the three culprits 24 hours after the
incident and their convictions 48 hours later sent ?a stern warning out to
those considering committing similar offenses, he said.

Cele also confirmed there was a burglary at the FIFA headquarters in the
plush Johannesburg suburb of Sandton, where seven replica World Cup trophies
were stolen.

?We are looking at it and we suspect that it will be people very familiar
with the FIFA offices. We are looking closely at that, Cele said.

FIFA was asked about the theft at its daily media briefing in Johannesburg
on Tuesday but would not comment, saying it had no information about the
break-in.

BLOEMFONTEIN, South Africa (AP)?Legitimate goal or not, England flopped at the
World Cup, and its not just the future of coach Fabio Capello thats in doubt.

The 4-1 score in Sundays loss to Germany in the second round provided a
stark reality that the so-called golden generation of Premier League stars
wasnt good enough to mount a strong World Cup challenge even with one of the
most respected coaches in the game in charge.

Capello asserted that Frank Lampards disallowed goal when behind 2-1 might
have changed the game if it had been awarded. He may have a point. Lampards
shot hit the underside of the crossbar, clearly bounced over the line and spun
back into play. It wasnt counted, the score remained 2-1, and Germany went on
to win with ease.

But the blunder by the referee and his linesman could not disguise how a
young German team repeatedly sliced through Capellos midfield and defense while
his tired strikers rarely threatened in front of the goal.

Since it won the World Cup in 1966?helped, coincidentally, by an eerily
similar incident which was counted as a goal?Englands attempts to win
soccers biggest prize have been futile.

Bobby Robsons team got to the 1990 semifinals but lost on penalty kicks in
a shootout to the Germans. Apart from that, England has not managed to get past
the quarterfinals and its failures have almost become part of the games
folklore.

With stars such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and John
Terry, England has the backbone of what should be a successful squad.

The teams failure to make an impact at the World Cup, however, has
observers scratching their heads.

Capellos best excuse for this flop, apart from the disallowed goal, was
tiredness.

?We probably arrived a little bit tired at the end of the season, he
said. ?But after the game that they played against Slovenia, we suffered from
Germanys speed today.

Capello, whose contract runs through the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign and
championship, was asked repeatedly at the postgame news conference whether he
would resign.

Despite saying ?absolutely not he raised uncertainty about his position
by saying he would have to talk over his future with the Football Association
chairman when the squad arrives back in London.

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But what about the futures of his players?

Although Rooney is only 24 and clearly has plenty of international years
ahead, Lampard has just turned 32. Gerrard is 30, Terry is 29 and the absent Rio
Ferdinand, who would have been captain if he had not been injured, is 31.

At age 35, David Beckhams England days may well be over.

Capello, assuming he sees through his contract, has few young stars coming
through from the under-21s.

Rooneys form prior to getting injured in a Champions League game against
Bayern Munich at the end of March was outstanding, with 34 league and cup goals
for Manchester United. But that ankle injury, followed by groin and neck
problems, clearly slowed him, and he has not hit the target since.

At the World Cup he was misfiring and looked frustrated. Despite hitting the
post in the 1-0 victory over Slovenia, Rooney looked nothing like the player he
had been all season.

Team captain Gerrard did little right in the 0-0 draw with Algeria, a result
and performance labeled one of the worst in Englands World Cup history.

Lampards failure to transmit his form at Chelsea, which won the Premier
League, to when he plays in an England shirt continued. But he was desperately
unlucky not to be credited with a score against Germany.

Although Terry led Chelsea to a first league and cup double, he had the
captaincy taken away by Capello after newspaper revelations about an affair with
the ex-girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge, who then refused to play for
the national team.

Terry was one of the defenders at fault for Miroslav Kloses first goal
Sunday, badly caught out of position, a fault clearly noted ahead of the game by
Germany coach Joachim Loew.

?We managed to expose the England defense. We wanted to get into the
penalty area quickly and we did it a couple of times extraordinarily, Loew
said.

?We knew that the midfielders?Gerrard and Lampard?always support the
forwards, and that their midfield would be open. We knew there would be spaces.
Our objective was to set Terry up with Klose to force him to come out of the
defense. We knew the fullbacks would be very much to the side, and that would
create space that we could penetrate.

Loew clearly won the tactical battle with Capello and England is once again
going home from the World Cup a lot earlier than the final.

And loaded with questions.

JOHANNESBURG (AP)?South African companies lost more than $850,000 (6.5 million
rand) in World Cup ticketing scams, a report in a local newspaper said Sunday.

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The Sunday Times said the companies, along with many South African and
foreign fans, had lost large amounts after buying tickets that were later
canceled because they were not bought through FIFA-accredited agents.

The report said Clifford Green, a lawyer acting for FIFA and accredited
ticket sales company Match, had a dossier of affidavits from seven companies,
including petrochemicals group Sasol, detailing their losses.

The affidavit reportedly showed that Sasol had paid $434,000 (3.3 million
rand) to a ticketing company for 110 tickes to group games, the semifinals and
the final.

With the final 16 set at the World Cup, Brazil has been installed a 7-2
favorite to win its sixth title by BetUS.

The Brazilians won Group G and will play Chile on Monday in the knockout
round. Chile is 30-1.

Spain and Argentina both are 4-1 as second favorites. The European champion
Spaniards won Group H and face Iberian neighbor Portugal (12-1) on Tuesday,
while Argentina has a Sunday game against Mexico (50-1).

The United States, which faces Ghana on Saturday, is 40-1, the same as the
Africans, the only team from the continent to advance.

The Netherlands (6-1) meets Slovakia (80-1) on Monday. Germany (8-1) plays
England (9-1) on Sunday. Uruguay (10-1) takes on South Korea (125-1) on
Saturday. Paraguay (20-1) faces Japan (50-1) on Tuesday.

World Cup betting has been brisk in the United States, according to BetUS
spokesman Reed Richards.

?The World Cup has exhibited some really heart stopping action so far?
particularly in the case of the U.S. squad, Richards said. ?It was apparent
that this World Cup showing was a big one for the sport of soccer in the U.S.
before the tournament started, but has been backed up by the amount of interest
people have shown in our site long before and even more so since the tournament
has begun.

ETOO READY FOR MORE: Cameroon striker Samuel Etoo pledges to continue
playing for the west African nation despite its poor performance at the World
Cup.

The 29-year-old striker scored twice in Cameroons three group defeats in
South Africa. Early elimination was a massive disappointment for a player so
prominent in promotional material for the first World Cup in Africa.

It also was a letdown by the country that put Africa on the soccer map with
its stunning run to the quarterfinals in 1990, beating defending champion
Argentina and Diego Maradona along the way.

Two decades later, it was the first team to leave the tournament and went
out without a single point.

?Theres no point blaming one person or another, Etoo said. ?We have to
focus on the future, and we dont have much time to build it.

The captain was one of the few who acquitted himself well in South Africa.
He gave Cameroon the lead against Denmark before the team succumbed to a 2-1
defeat, and equalized the match against the Netherlands with a penalty kick.

Still, there were missed opportunities.

Etoos touch betrayed him on a couple of occasions against the Dutch, and
he hung his head after moments when he was a step short of catching up to the
ball.

Etoo urged Cameroons federation to focus immediately on the future.

?Everyone has to join together on this project, and we shouldnt have to do
everything last minute, Etoo said. ?Its not good for our people, for our
team or for our football.

Etoo said he would remain a part of the team, regardless of personnel
decisions.

?Im ready to continue with whatever coach we get, he said.

NOT ENOUGH BANG FOR THE BUCK: South Africa failed to justify the money
pumped into the team with its opening-round exit from the first World Cup to be
held in Africa, former national coach Jomo Sono said Friday.

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Sono said its a real loss to the tournament that South Africa exited the
World Cup stage at the first hurdle. South Africa was the first host not to get
out of the group round.

?I strongly believe we could have done better with the preparations we put
in, with the money we put in, with a highly qualified coach as well, Sono
said. ?For any tournamentthe host country must not go out too early
because it can affect the competition.

Sono ruled himself out for a return as South Africa coach now that Brazilian
Carlos Alberto Parreira has resigned, saying its time for someone younger to
take the reins.

?I wouldnt consider going back. I think I had my timeit would be
advisable to get somebody younger, the 54-year-old Sono said.

Sono couldnt lead South Africa out of the group stage at the 2002 World
Cup, noted its been a disappointing tournament for Africa as a whole. Ghana is
the only African team to land a berth in the round of 16.

The biggest African disappointments were Cameroon, which lost all three
games, and Nigeria, which managed one point.

?If you look at Ghana, Ghana dont have big-name players, they dont have
television playersits a unit, theyre working as a unit, theyre working
for each other, theyre fighting for each other, same as Algeria, Sono said..

?Sometimes, we Africans tend to be more individual than being collective,
Sono said. ?I think we should learn from this World Cup that collective is more
important than relying on the individuals.

QATAR DEBATE: Qatars bid to host the 2022 World Cup is provoking a heated
debate in South Africa.

?Ultimately, everybody asks about the weather??What is your solution
towards the weather? bid chief executive Hassan Al Thawadi told The
Associated Press on Friday.

Football officials are curious because a Qatari World Cup would be played
from June 3-July 3, when temperatures can reach 122 Fahrenheit.

Daytime temperatures this week hit 109, with the heat easing to 95 at 9:30
p.m. local time, when late matches?including the final?would kick off.

Al Thawadi has heard the concerns this month, especially from European and
South American officials who want to know what kind of World Cup their national
team might face in 2022.

?Previously it was curiosity or it was more of an astonishment, Al
Thawadi said. ?Now I believe people are genuinely interested.

Qatar proposes to combat searing heat by a system of solar-powered,
air-cooled stadiums with roofs designed to shelter fans and players.

A scaled-down prototype is being built around a five-a-side field in Doha to
showcase the technology, and will be unveiled to FIFA in September during an
official inspection visit.

Qatar proposes playing World Cup matches in 12 stadiums equipped with the
technology. Development plans for five are under way.

The bid claims venues would be regulated at 80.6 degrees.

Organizers also will need to cool each training camp provided for 32
competing teams.

?Technology evolves. Youve got 12 years from now, he said.

Qatars intended gift to the world is the cooling technology. It also would
donate parts of some dismantled stadiums to developing nations because a country
of about 1.4 million people has little need of so many 40,000-seat stadiums.

Also bidding for 2022 are the United States, Australia, and 2002 co-hosts
Japan and South Korea, this time in separate bids.

POLOKWANE, South Africa (AP)?Paraguay was held to an uneventful 0-0 draw by
New Zealand on Thursday but still won its World Cup group and moved into the
round of 16.

Neither team created much in the way of scoring chances, despite displaying
more urgency in the final minutes than in a turgid first half at Peter Mokaba
Stadium.

Paraguay finished with five points in Group F. Slovakia, which upset
defending champion Italy on Thursday, also advanced with four points. New
Zealand finished third in the group with three points off as many draws, while
the Italians finished last.

Probably the best chance of the match came when Paraguay substitute Edgar
Benitez struck a low shot that was saved by New Zealand goalkeeper Mark Paston
in the 76th minute. The other notable chance came 12 minutes earlier, when
Cristian Riveros headed straight at Paston from a short corner.

The Paraguayans?who also reached the second round at the World Cup in
1986, 1998 and 2002?continued South Americas dominance of the tournament.

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The continents teams have 10 wins, no losses and three draws. Four of the
five South American squads have qualified for the next round and the fifth,
Chile, can do so Friday night.

A few of the Paraguayan players pulled their socks off at the end of the
match and threw them into the midfield section of the stands where their fans
stood and cheered.

?It was a very hard match, but in the end it was the most important thing
to qualify, Paraguay coach Gerardo Martino said. ?We had many problems in our
attack today, to get through their defense. But the result is in our favor.

Having lost all three matches back in 1982?in its only other World Cup
appearance?New Zealand now heads home unbeaten, and winless, at this
tournament after earlier 1-1 draws with Slovakia and Italy, a team ranked 73
places above the Kiwis.

New Zealand coach Ricki Herbert, who played on that 82 team, made no
apologies for sticking to a conservative gameplan against Paraguay and hoping
for a couple of good scoring chances.

?Well never go through another World Cup unbeaten, he said.

JOHANNESBURG (AP)?Already through to the next stage of the World Cup, Brazil
wants to keep its momentum going into the round of 16 by beating Portugal on
Friday.

A win would also allow Brazil to finish first in Group G, possibly avoiding
a match against European champion Spain in the next round.

Brazil can finish first even with a draw in Durban. The team leads the group
with six points, two more than Portugal, which virtually clinched a second-round
spot after defeating North Korea 7-0. Ivory Coast has one point and the Koreans
zero.

?Brazil needs to go into the match thinking about winning it, said Kaka,
who will not play after being sent off against Ivory Coast. ?Its fundamental
to finish first. We know a draw will be enough, but winning will be important to
give us confidence and motivation for the round of 16. Brazil will try to win
this match.

A victory also would allow Brazil to play the second-round match in
Johannesburg, where it has been training since arriving in South Africa last
month. The second-place team will have to travel to Cape Town for the round of
16.

?Our goal is to keep playing better during the competition, Brazil
captain Lucio said. ?We need to use this match to try to fix the mistakes we
have made, to be prepared for the decisive stages.

Brazil began its quest for a sixth world title with a difficult 2-1 win over
North Korea at Ellis Park, struggling to break through the tough defending of
the Asian nation. Brazil played better in the second match, beating Ivory Coast
3-1 at Soccer City.

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?Its important for the team to keep improving as the tournament goes on,
coach Dunga said. ?Its what we want to happen.

Brazil and Portugal are deeply connected nations. They are the only
Portuguese-speaking countries at the World Cup, and Portugal enters the
tournament with three Brazil-born players?Deco, Liedson and Pepe.

The teams have played two friendlies since the 2006 World Cup in Germany,
with Portugal winning 2-0 in 2007 in London and Brazil coming out victorious 6-2
a year later in Brasilia, Brazils capital.

?There is always a rivalry between Brazil and Portugal, Kaka said. ?It
was one of the teams we played the most in the last few years.

The group winner could avoid another high-profile match in the next round if
Spain tops Group H. That group is wide open, however, with Chile, Spain and
Switzerland all with a good chance to advance.

Chile currently leads the group with six points, followed by Spain and
Switzerland with three each. Honduras has zero points. Spain will face Chile in
the last match and Switzerland plays Honduras.

?Its a very equal group, weve been taking a close look at all the
matches, Kaka said. ?Chile plays more offensively, while Spain has excellent
players and a very strong group. Switzerland is more European in style, relying
more on set pieces and counterattacks.

Lucio said Brazil needs to focus on its own game regardless of which team it
will face.

?In a World Cup, we cant pick opponents, the defender said. ?We have to
try to win our matches and face the next opponent the best we can.

France chiefs have accused World Cup veterans William Gallas and Thierry Henry of being behind the mutiny against manager Raymond Domenech.

Domenech has indicated that some big names might be dropped against South Africa on Tuesday and French officials believe that Gallas and Henry were involved in the controversy.

“Three or four are leaders taking the rest along with them, French official Henri Monteil told The Sun.

“Some went to see Domenech. They were crying, saying sorry for what happened. They were young players.

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“The leaders are players who’ll never play in a World Cup again. Who? William Gallas, Eric Abidal and Thierry Henry, who is friends with Nicolas Anelka.”

Anelka was the player that caused an uproar in the France camp after he lashed out at Domenech during the 2006 finalists defeat against Mexico.

The Chelsea striker was kicked off the squad and sent home, leading to the team striking in his defence.

Sports minister Roselyne Bachelot was disappointed with the players actions and warned the team that they were reflecting poorly on France.

“I told the players they’d tarnished the image of France,” Bachelot said.

The 2010 World Cup is finally upon us, so keep up to date with all the news at Goal.com’s World Cup homepage and join Goal.com USA’s Facebook fan page

Welcome to Goal.com – Know Your Rivals for World Cup 2010

In this special series we bring you the local knowledge of theworld’s leading football tournament. With our worldwide team of experts,each one based in the country in question – from Brazil to North Korea -you’ll hear first-hand the latest team news, exclusive interviews, andfan opinions of your World Cup opponents.

1 – Overall impressions of the game

Once again, the regrets will be infinite. The adage “too little too late” will have to apply once again and the frustration will be immense in the country. Let’s be honest, Cameroon should have made it out of the group but a reckless manager and an ego-clash made it pretty much impossible to manage. Instead of assessing his authority, Le Guen sided with one clan on the first match and changed four players in the second match. That alone was worrying, the rest was just Cameroon being Cameroon. Aside from Eto’o and a few defensive players nobody up top seemed good enough to be on the squad. It will be time to take a lesson from this debacle and create a true project for Cameroonian football that is going to face a crisis unlike any they have seen in the past