Soccer, World Cup | featured news

Brazil turned on the style to defeat their South American rivals Chile 3-0 on Monday and set up a World Cup quarterfinal against the Netherlands.

Brazil meet Portugal in a mouth-watering finale to the World Cup group matches on Friday after holders Italy were knocked out in a humiliating defeat by tournament debutants Slovakia.

By winning its group, the United States has given itself a route to the semifinals.

Italy's World Cup title defense came to an embarrassing end with a dramatic 3-2 defeat by European footballing minnows Slovakia on Thursday

England shook off a traumatic start to the World Cup on Wednesday to beat tiny Slovenia and squeeze into the second round while the United States booked their place with a last-gasp goal against Algeria.

South Africa went out with heads high on Tuesday, despite being the only hosts ever to exit the World Cup's first round, but France headed home in shame and Latin American giants Argentina cruised into the second round.

Portugal put on the most dominant performance of the World Cup on Monday, knocking in a flurry of second-half goals and routing North Korea 7-0, a win that puts Portugal on the brink of advancing to the round of 16 and means the Koreans won't make it out of group play.

Algeria held England to a 0-0 draw at the World Cup on Friday, leaving Group C wide open headed into the final game of first-round play.

Milan Jovanovic scored one minute after Germany striker Miroslav Klose was ejected Friday, giving Serbia a 1-0 upset win over the three-time World Cup champions.

Baby-faced Javier Hernandez and ageless Cuauhtemoc Blanco came off the bench early in the second half and combined for two goals, giving Mexico a clutch 2-0 win over punchless France on Thursday in chilly Polokwane, moving El Tri a giant step closer to a berth in the the second round of the World Cup.