World Cup | featured news

The first documented soccer games in Africa were staged in the future World Cup cities of Cape Town and Port Elizabeth in 1862.

Diego Maradona, mad genius on the soccer field, madman off it, would seem to be an absurd choice to coach Argentina's team in the World Cup.<p/> Maradona, a former cocaine addict who weighed an obese 240 pounds before stomach-stapling surgery, often juggles the ball on the sideline during games. Or he's an emotional wreck, his face contorting operatically. After Argentina scored against Peru in a qualifying match, Maradona dove into a belly slide on the wet grass.

While many soccer fans expect Brazil to win the World Cup for a record sixth time, almost half of the North Americans surveyed predict an unexpected triumph for the United States.

Of all the South African sights and sounds that will make the 2010 World Cup unique, none promises to rouse more controversy than the blare of a plastic horn.

Ivory Coast captain Didier Drogba broke his right arm Friday during a 2-0 win against Japan in a warmup for the World Cup on Friday.

We showed you the teasers last weekend, but now we have Nike's full three-minute World Cup ad that will...

David Beckham's bid to become the first English player to appear in four World Cups is almost certainly over after he tore his left Achilles' tendon while playing in AC Milan's 1-0 win over Chievo.

Lindsey Vonn of the United States claimed her third straight overall World Cup title when she won Friday's super-G race. Vonn was the last racer to go down the Kandahar hill and could have chosen not to race since she knew by then she had the title.

Fans of soccer, known as football in much of the world, are glued to their TVs to watch the draw for the 2010 soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Ireland has given up hope of a World Cup playoff replay against France because of Thierry Henry's hand ball. Henry's deliberate handling set up a goal for William Gallas in Wednesday's 1-1 draw that sent France to next year's tournament and knocked out Ireland. The Irish appealed to the French federation to agree to a replay but were turned down Friday.