FIFA opened an investigation after Argentine referee Nestor Pitana missed the incident which happened as Suarez tussled with Gonzalo Jara as they lined up for a corner during Chile’s 2-0 win in Santiago.

“The matter in question does not require the intervention of the FIFA disciplinary committee and therefore the disciplinary procedure in question is declared closed,” FIFA said.

Uruguayan Football Association president Sebastian Bauza, who has claimed Liverpool striker Suarez is persecuted – especially in England – said the forward needed to realise that he was being scrutinised.

“It’s very good news for Luis, the national team and for the whole group,” he said.

“We understand that from now on, Luis should realise that he will be watched from all sides and we hope that this experience, when added to others, will be useful, so that he becomes the player will all want him to be.”

The AUF had argued in his defence that Suarez reacted to provocation by Jara, who grabbed his genitals. It also submitted video evidence of incidents missed by referees in other games and which were not followed up by FIFA.

Suarez will, however, miss Uruguay’s next World Cup qualifier away to Venezuela on June 11 because of accumulated yellow cards after he was booked in a separate incident against Chile.

Uruguay, semi-finalists in South Africa three years ago, are in danger of missing the 2014 tournament in Brazil after taking only two points from their last six qualifiers and dropping to sixth in the South American group.

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World Cup – Suarez escapes punishment for punch

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has declared that he will step down from his post after the 2014 World Cup.

The former Real Madrid boss led his country to glory in South Africa in 2010, and secured la Roja’s second consecutive European Championships crown with last summer’s triumph in Poland and Ukraine.

The 62-year-old has confirmed that next year’s finals in Brazil will be his last in his current capacity, and says he would consider moving into an ambassadorial role for the Spanish Football Federation [RFEF} in future.

“My final responsibility as Spain national coach will be at the World Cup in Brazil next year,” Del Bosque told Telam. “Afterwards, maybe I will continue to work with the Spanish federation carrying out representative duties like this, traveling to different places and accepting invitations to public events.”

Looking ahead to next summer’s showpiece tournament, Del Bosque believes Argentina and hosts Brazil will pose the biggest threat to his side’s crown.

“Argentina have a great team, from the midfield going forward, and can count on a player like Lionel Messi who can unbalance any defense,” he continued. “I have always been an admirer of Brazilian football. As hosts, they will be one of the main challengers for the trophy.”

Del Bosque also believes it is too early to claim that Germany has moved to the pinnacle of European football after Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund’s respective Champions League triumphs over Barcelona and Real Madrid this week, insisting it could all change in the second legs.

“I do not believe that Germany is going to unseat Spain just because of these results,” he said. “We had three teams in the knockout rounds, and now the two ties are still not decided. When that happens, we will speak. We should not get ahead of ourselves. It could be next week we have to take back what is being said at the moment.

“Nobody expected these results as Spanish football is in a privileged position. The first leg results were very bad. But, we have the best foreign players in our country and Spain has been leading the FIFA rankings for some years now. This shows we are in a good moment, and we cannot enter into pessimism just because of two games.”

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Del Bosque to step down after World Cup 2014

By JENNY BARCHFIELD and TALES AZZONI Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) – Brazilian officials said Tuesday they were closely following the investigation into the explosions at the Boston Marathon as they consider whether to change security measures for next year’s World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

But a top official with FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, said his organization was already planning tougher security for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil in light of the Boston attack.

FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke said during a visit to Haiti on Tuesday that the measures would include secret service agents, police officers, military and Interpol.

Valcke also said a perimeter adding a second layer of security protection would be set up around Brazil’s stadiums, with inspections of everyone passing through. As during the last World Cup in South Africa, a satellite will provide surveillance over Brazil, he said.

“As you can imagine with what happened in Boston, (security) will be even … stronger,” Valcke said at a news conference in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. “We will push the limit to make sure that we have the security, from the beach, to the airport, to the stadium.”

Valke, who was in the Caribbean country as part of a delegation led by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, said the soccer organization will work with police departments from all 32 countries participating in the 2014 World Cup and will draw on security measures adopted during the 2010 event in South Africa.

While Brazil has never been a target of international terrorism, Monday’s attack in Boston underscored how vulnerable big sporting events can be, and Brazil’s foreign minister stressed that “all necessary measures” would be taken to make sure the upcoming mega-events are safe. Brazil is also two months away from hosting the Confederations Cup, the World Cup warm-up tournament.

“We are confident there will be measures which will guarantee the security of the events,” Antonio Patriota told reporters in the capital, Brasilia, adding that authorities here were awaiting the conclusions of the investigation into the two Boston blasts.

Alexandre Castilho, a spokesman for the government department that oversees safety during major events, stressed that no changes to security plans had been made, but didn’t rule out future changes.

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Brazil official: World Cup, Olympics will be safe

Brazilian government officials fear a drastic drop in visitor numbers for the World Cup and Olympic Games following the gang rape of an American tourist in Rio de Janeiro last weekend.

The South American country’s high crime rate was brought into sharp focus when the woman and a male companion were subjected to a brutal six-hour attack allegedly carried by operators of a private transport service.

The National Stadium in Brasilia, Brazil, will play host to the 2014 World Cup. (AP)With soccer’s showpiece, the FIFA World Cup, starting in Brazil in 14 months and the Rio Olympics set for 2016, members of the government and organizing committee realize swift action is needed to prevent potential visitors from being “scared away.”

A source connected to the World Cup organizing committee told Yahoo! Sports that an aggressive plan is being urgently implemented as a direct response to the bus attack.

“There are three parts,” said the source. “Obviously the first is to take firm action against the perpetrators of this crime and any similar crimes. The law enforcement officials have had some success in controlling crime, specifically in relation to drugs, but there is clearly still work to be done in many areas.

“Secondly, it is necessary for there to be an appropriate deterrent; for criminal elements both in the city of Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere to know that illegal activities now carry a far greater risk of apprehension and punishment.

“Finally, it is agreed that there is a need for the world to see that action is being taken and that making the city and country safe for tourists is an overwhelming priority ahead of these huge international events.”

There were security concerns ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but despite a handful of incidents, the event largely passed without serious drama and was considered a significant success.

However, the graphic nature of the ordeal suffered by the pair of tourists last weekend has sent shockwaves around the world and it has been likened to the horrific December gang rape in the Indian capital of New Delhi. Female tourists traveling to India have dropped by more than a third since.

Over the weekend, the man and woman hailed a van effectively a multi-person taxi in the famous Copacabana beach area that has been described as “Brazil’s Disneyland.” Soon after the journey commenced, the van operators forced other passengers from the vehicle, before taking turns raping the woman and beating her handcuffed French boyfriend with a metal bar.

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Violent crime a serious concern for organizers of World Cup , 2016 Olympics in Brazil

Football’s Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off this weekend, will enjoy the same kind of security as the World Cup in South Africa three years ago, organisers said Thursday.

“For this tournament, the operational security concept as was applied during the 2010 FIFA World Cup is being followed, on a reduced scale,” said Elias Mawela, who heads the country’s top security operations, Natjoints.

The structure groups several government services and departments, from police and defence forces to the weather service.

Authorities have stepped up surveillance and security from ports of entry to the various stadiums.

Phased security will ensure safety around stadiums during matches, including permanent aerial surveillance.

The competition kicks off on Saturday at Soccer City and the final on February 10 is also at the Soweto stadium which hosted the 2010 World Cup final.

Each of the 16 teams will have a permanent police escort.

Security forces will have their “finger on the pulse of every team and match official”, said Mawela.

South Africa was lauded for its successful World Cup security programme.

But there was a scare last November when children threw rocks at the Zambian team bus outside Soccer City, shattering glass and inflicting facial injuries on goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene.

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World Cup security plan to cover Africa Cup

He is one of three key figures missing from the 23-man squad named by the small island nation for the tournament in South Africa from January 19-February 10.

Cape Verde make their debut at the continental championship without the 32-year-old Pacos de Ferreira defender, whose club are fourth in the Portuguese league standings.

Cape Verde coach Lucio Antunes, the first boss of the 16 finalists to name his squad, left out veteran captain Lito and striker Dady, both prominent players for the team in recent years.

The squad has just one home-based player, uncapped reserve goalkeeper Rilly from Mindelsense. The rest come from clubs in Angola, Cyprus, France, Romania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Portugal.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Fock (Petro Atletico), Rilly (Mindelense), Vozinha (Progresso Sambizanga)

Defenders: Carlitos (AEL Limassol), Fernando Varela (FC Vaslui), Gege (Maritimo), Guy Ramos (RKC Waalwijk), Josimar (FC Dordrecht), Nando (Chateauroux), Nivaldo (Academica Coimbra), Pecks (Gil Vicente)

Midfielders: Babanco, David Silva (both Olhanense), Marco Soares (Omonia Nicosia), Odair Fortes (Stade Reims), Roni (Fola Esch), Stenio (Feirense), Toni Varela (Sparta Rotterdam)

Forwards: Djaniny (Olhanense), Heldon (Maritimo), Julio Tavares (Dijon), Ryan Mendes (OSC Lille), Ze Luis (Sporting Braga)

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World Football – Ricardo opts for club as Cape Verde squad named

* Dunga takes up first coaching role since 2010 World Cup

* Ex-Inter player demands total commitment from players (adds quotes, detail)

RIO DE JANEIRO, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Dunga took charge of Porto Alegre club Internacional on Wednesday, his first coaching job since leading Brazil at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

“To work with me, you have to be committed, you have to have the will to win,” he told reporters after being presented by the club with which he started and ended his playing career

“I never left Inter, I was always here as a fan. Inter opened their doors to me when I was 14 years old and now I’m ready to pay them back.”

Dunga’s four years with Brazil between 2006 and 2010 are his only previous experience as a senior coach. He succeeded Carlos Alberto Parreira after the 2006 World Cup and won the Copa America one year later, followed by the Confederations Cup in 2009.

Under his leadership Brazil developed a physical, counter-attacking-based game which was unpopular with many fans and their World Cup campaign ended with a 2-1 quarter-final defeat by the Netherlands.

Dunga also alienated the media with what they called his siege mentality.

“Inter have a strong tradition,” he said. “Inter fans will accept everything, except when players don’t give everything for 90 minutes.

“The worst defeat of all is when you get home and think you could have done better. Everybody has to be committed.”

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UPDATE 1-Soccer-Former Brazil coach Dunga joins Internacional

Nelson Mandela Faces More Medical Tests
The former president of South Africa has been in hospital for three days and is said to be “in good hands”. Nelson Mandela is to undergo more medical tests today, the South African government has announced. A statement from President Jacob Zuma's office said: “Mandela had a good night's rest. The doctors will still conduct further tests today. He is in good hands.” The 94-year-old has been in hospital in Pretoria for three days – and has been receiving military medical care since 2011. The exact nature of his illness has not been revealed. Defence minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula spoke to journalists after visiting Mr Mandela. “He's doing very, very well,” she said. “And it is important to keep him in our prayers and also to be as calm as possible and not cause a state of panic because I think that is not what all of us need.” An earlier statement from Mr Zuma's office had said Mr Mandela was receiving care that was “consistent for his age”. Mr Mandela has suffered a series of health problems in the past and underwent seven weeks of radiation therapy for prostate cancer in 2001. After spending 27 years in prison for fighting racist white rule, he became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and served one five-year term. The Nobel laureate later retired from public life to live in his remote village of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape area, and last made a public appearance when his country hosted the football World Cup in 2010. He has grown increasingly frail in recent …From:NightwalkersViewViews:0 0ratingsTime:00:06More inNews Politics

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Nelson Mandela Faces More Medical Tests – Video

JOHANNESBURG (AP) South Africa spent more than $3 billion on the 2010 World Cup, and in return gained an “intangible legacy” from the first world soccer showpiece in Africa, the country’s government said Friday in its final report on the tournament.

In the “2010 FIFA World Cup Country Report,” released nearly 2 years after the event, South Africa’s government said it spent $1.1 billion on building and upgrading stadiums alone.

Transport was the biggest cost, with $1.3 billion dedicated to improving road, rail and air links and a further $392 million on the country’s main ports of entry.

In the absence of any final definitive figures on how much South Africa earned in total from being the host, the report said the World Cup had left an intangible legacy of pride and unity among South Africans and had changed the country’s image as undeveloped, crime-ridden and dangerous in the eyes of the rest of the world.

“To top it all, we didn’t have lions roaming the streets and we did have ATMs,” the report, published by the ministry of sport, added light-heartedly.

It did predict a $6 billion boost to South Africa’s economy as a result of the monthlong World Cup, according to a study by risk analysis and finance company Grant Thornton, but that was a mid to long-term projection.

FIFA reported it made a $631 million profit from the 2007-10 World Cup cycle and earned income of $3.65 billion from 2010 World Cup contracts. FIFA said it spent $1.298 billion on the World Cup in South Africa and also gave $100 million to the World Cup Legacy Trust, a fund that supports grassroots soccer projects.

“The World Cup in South Africa was a huge, huge financial success for Africa, for South Africa and for FIFA,” FIFA president Sepp Blatter said in 2011 as the world body published its own financial report.

While critics have said that such a huge outlay on a 30-day sports event was impractical for South Africa and the final word on whether it was an economic success was still pending the government could argue that it had already earned over $400 million from the more than 300,000 tourists that visited for the World Cup.

The upgrade to much of South Africa’s transport infrastructure was a long-term investment, the government said.

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South Africa Spent $3 Billion on 2010 World Cup

The call-up puts Ameobi in line to play at the upcoming African Nations Cup finals, which would mean missing matches in January and possibly February for his club who are already losing midfielder Cheik Tiote to the continental championship in South Africa.

“This is a big chance for Shola to fight for a place alongside other strikers hoping to be in South Africa,” Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said in a BBC interview.

Ameobi is a former England under-21 international but last year was granted FIFA permission to change his international allegiance.

The high-profile switch came as Nigeria missed out on a place at the 2012 Nations Cup finals. When Keshi took over as coach, Nigeria lost interest in Ameobi.

The 31-year-old now gets a chance for an international debut after a change of heart from the coach who is turning to overseas-based talent to beef up the squad for the Nations Cup finals.

“He brings something special, a different dimension to the team,” Keshi said of Ameobi.

The coach also called up teenager Ogenyi Onazi from Italian club Lazio for a possible debut and recalled Obafemi Martins of Levante.

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World Football – Ameobi to finally get Nigeria chance

While the next Rugby World Cup in England is still more than three years away, the events of the next month may have a direct bearing on shaping its outcome.

On the surface, the autumn Tests are merely the latest building block in a four-year cycle between global gatherings, a chance for the home nations to assess their options before the Six Nations, blood some new players, and claim the odd southern hemisphere scalp.

But this year’s matches have an added edge, given the draw for the 2015 tournament will take place on Monday 3 December, two days after the forthcoming international series ends.

New Zealand

92.91

Australia

86.37

South Africa

84.69

England

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World Cup shadow hangs over autumn Tests

The upcoming European series of rugby union internationals has been given an added dimension as they will determine the seedings for next month’s draw for the 2015 World Cup in England.

The International Rugby Board’s world rankings will be used to rank the 12 directly qualified teams for England 2015 into three bands for that draw.

Those teams ranked one to four will, importantly, avoid each other until the knockout stages, with those in positions five to eight in band two and the remaining four in band three.

Avoiding reigning world champions and current world number ones New Zealand will be on the agenda for such rival leading teams as England and France.

England, who face Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday, are currently fourth but just 0.06 rating points in front of France, who play Australia this weekend.

However, as the rankings reward a side beating a team above them, England’s matches against Australia, South Africa and New Zealand in consecutive weeks will have more bearing on the battle for a top four World Cup seeding.

Ireland will be gunning for a fourth win in five Tests over South Africa when they play the Springboks in Dublin on Saturday.

If France lose, they could slip further from their top four goal with Wales climbing above them if they start their November campaign with victory over Argentina at the Millennium Stadium.

New Zealand will look to bounce back from a draw with Australia that ended their hopes of setting a new world record for most consecutive Test victories when they face Scotland, who’ve never beaten the All Blacks in more than a hundred years of trying, at Murrayfield on Sunday.

Victory will have no impact on New Zealand’s rating but were Scotland to cause one of the all-time great upsets they would enter the top eight, a place they need if they are to avoid a possible ‘group of death’ scenario that could scupper their hopes of getting into the knockout stages of the 2015 World Cup.

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World Cup seedings battle up Tests

LONDON, Nov 7 (Reuters) – A year into the rebuilding process after their deflating Rugby World Cup campaign, England have laid some solid foundation stones but are still arranging the materials before putting the main structure in place.

Coach Stuart Lancaster and his assistants have undoubtedly changed the culture of the squad and, bearing in mind the widespread changes of personnel, have achieved encouraging results and performances.

They remain very much a work in progress, however, with question marks over almost every position as Lancaster has made no secret that his approach is to build a team capable of winning the World Cup on home soil in 2015.

The dilemma is how much he can risk sacrificing in the name of experimentation particularly over the next month when England’s results against Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand will have such a tangible impact on their prospects three years down the line.

Assuming England have enough firepower to beat Fiji on Saturday, encouraging performances and lively debuts will be scant consolation for the probably dire consequences should they lose the remaining three.

The seedings for the 2015 World Cup will be based on the world rankings on Dec. 3 – the draw is made in London on that day – and England are desperate to hold on to fourth place behind the three big southern hemisphere nations.

If they do so Lancaster’s men would avoid the high probability of facing one of the three heavyweights in the pool phase of the tournament and they would also be likely to face a far easier quarter-final.

France and Wales are breathing down England’s neck in the rankings but the system is so complicated, with points gained weighted by the strength of opposition, that nobody is quite sure what combination of results will produce what order.

What is certain is that if England were to upset the odds and win all four Twickenham tests they would be assured of a top-four ranking.

That, however, looks a big ask for a team who lost two and drew one of their tests in South Africa in June and have won only one of the last nine home games against a Tri-Nations side.

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Rugby-Still early days in England's rebuilding job

LONDON (Reuters) – The most important rugby internationals of the next three years take place over the forthcoming four weeks when the main test nations play almost 40 matches which will determine the seedings for the 2015 World Cup.

Such is the importance of the World Cup in the rugby calendar that these fixtures (the sport refuses to embrace the concept of “friendlies”) just about comprise a qualifying competition for the England-based tournament.

The big three southern hemisphere nations are all touring, with world champions New Zealand, fresh from winning the inaugural four-nations Rugby Championship but denied a world record run of victories by last month’s draw with Australia, secure on top of the rankings.

Second-placed Australia also look safe for an all-important top-four place but South Africa (third), England (fourth), France (fifth)and Wales (sixth) could all spend the next four weeks climbing and falling before the final positions are settled for the December 3 World Cup draw in London.

Anyone outside the top four will face one of the big guns in the pool stage in three years’ time, making their potential path to the final likely to become significantly tougher.

Further down the rankings Ireland, Argentina, Scotland, Samoa, Italy and Tonga, the only other automatic qualifiers, are desperately battling to fill the next four slots to secure a second seeding and greatly enhance their hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.

Coaches, of course, will rarely be drawn on such long-term issues. “We just have to look after our performances, that will look after our results and the results will look after the rankings,” said England’s Stuart Lancaster as he prepared for a gruelling programme against Fiji, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

In truth, there is little point in anyone trying to work out what they might need to do to or to avoid to secure a certain ranking, such are the complications of the system where teams gain or lose points against their opposition but have those points weighted by the teams’ relative strengths, the margin of victory and location.

If the form lines of recent years are to be followed, it is unlikely that the Six Nations sides will make much of an impression on the travelling big guns, even though the tourists arrive at the end of their seasons.

Since the 2007 World Cup the Six Nations teams have lost 31 of the 38 home games they have played against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa – a shocking record surpassed in mediocrity only by their even worse performances south of the equator.

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World Cup seedings spice up November tests

It’s a FIFA weekend! I dont need to tell you, do I? The smell of it is in the air.

Early October, crunching leaves, changing seasons, and, wait…what’s that I smell? No, not pumpkin pie or apple cider, it’s (sniff, sniff), yes, lopsided UEFA matches in World Cup qualifying.

For every juicy geographic rivalry match like Wales vs. Scotland, we get the Faroe Islands hosting Sweden. For intriguing matches involving two Euro 2012 participants such as Ireland vs. Germany, there’s the Netherlands hosting Andorra. Betting on the favourites won’t earn you a higher percentage of payback than even your worst chequing account will at your bank of choice.

Of course, England hosts San Marino at Wembley on Friday, with San Marino 101-1 underdogs to win the match outright at many betting sites. And as noted, you’ll receive a $1 return on every $100 you stake if you bet on England. Trust me, as an experienced lousy soccer wager, stay as far away as you can. I’m not saying England could or will lose (of course they won’t) but could they draw? I don’t know, you tell me.

Since 2000 in qualifying for either the World Cup or the Euros, England has drawn against Finland and Macedonia, and narrowly escaped draws against Azerbaijan and Liechtenstein.

But is it that common? Well, why don’t we consider some of the more shocking upsets and results in UEFA qualifying, in no particular order:

NORTHERN IRELAND 1, ENGLAND 0 Sept. 7, 2005 – World Cup qualifier

This was the night when many teetering between keeping or moving on from Sven-Goran Eriksson decided on the latter. Northern Ireland came in ranked 60 spots lower than England in the, yes, at times, bizarre FIFA rankings, but fair is fair: England had no business not dominating this one. It’s not like England didn’t play their big guns Rooney, Beckham, Lampard and Owen. They were all out there, but to no avail. A great night for Northern Ireland supporters, and an evening some claim meant more to them than actually making the 1982 World Cup

LUXEMBOURG 2, SWITZERLAND 1 Sept. 10, 2008 – World Cup Qualifier

Wow. It doesn’t even look right reading that. Though Switzerland would still finish first in a rather soft Group 2 featuring Greece and Latvia, this one was a stunner. Luxembourg wouldn’t win another match in the group, failing even to beat Moldova, settling for a pair of draws against them. Switzerland would go on to beat Spain in group play at the World Cup in South Africa, but on this night, a nation roughly the size of Hamilton (509,000) celebrated like mad. A year later, they’d be thrashed by Israel 7-0.

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Brady on World Cup: When minnows attack!

As Mexico labored through qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Jose Manuel “Chepo” De La Torre diligently built his rsum as one of the sport’s brightest young coaches.

The nephew of a former Mexican national team coach, he was already a household name, dating to his days of playing for the renowned Chivas de Guadalajara.

Mexico eventually reached the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but there was plenty of high-profile carnage on the side of the road to verify how much pressure is placed on the team’s head coach, a position that now belongs to De La Torre.

Beginning with Mexican icon and former Real Madrid star Hugo Sanchez, El Tri employed three coaches in qualifying for South Africa. De La Torre, 46, won three titles as a coach in the Mexican 1st Division before he was hired Oct. 10, 2010, as head coach of the country’s national team, which plays a World Cup qualifier against Guyana on Friday night at BBVA Compass Stadium.

He arguably holds the most pressure-packed job in North American sports because, unlike Joe Girardi of the New York Yankees or any other high-profile coach in the U.S., De La Torre has an entire country scrutinizing his decisions all year.

“The expectations for Chepo are very high,” said Manuel Gomez Cruz, the soccer chief for Mexico’s largest sports daily, ESTO.

“Mexico has evolved and now ranks among the best teams in the world. And if you look, our youth teams have had many triumphs. That puts Mexico on the world stage as one of the strong teams that is producing at this time.”

At this time four years ago, few in Mexico bragged about El Tri. Despite all the goodwill he gained while winning multiple scoring titles in Spain’s La Liga for one of the most popular clubs in the world, Sanchez was relieved of his duties as the Mexican national team coach after El Tri failed to reach the 2008 Olympics.

In June 2008, the Mexican Football Federation turned to Sven-Gran Eriksson, who coached England’s national team in 2002 and 2006. He didn’t last a year. So Javier Aguirre, who starred for the national team at the 1986 World Cup and coached El Tri at the 2002 World Cup, returned for his second stint as coach in April 2009 and helped Mexico qualify for South Africa.

But after being unable to reach the quarterfinals of the World Cup in South Africa, Aguirre resigned, saying it was the most honorable thing to do.

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Coach De La Torre brings successful times to Mexican team

The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) urged world football governing body FIFA Tuesday to do more to ensure an environmentally friendly 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

A UNEP study released here assessed South Africa’s performance at the 2010 World Cup and highlighted lessons Brazil could learn as it gears up to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio summer Olympics.

“The investment in environmental management is not sufficient. This issue needs to be addressed by FIFA,” it noted.

“FIFA should consider compensating for its own carbon footprint and encourage its partners to do the same,” it added.

The report was unveiled as UNEP officials met this week with representatives from the Brazilian government, FIFA and the Olympic committee to consider concrete steps to make the two major sporting events go easy on the environment.

Brazil has pledged to organize the first World Cup in which all stadiums have green certifications, said Claudio Langone, the sustainability coordinator for the 2014 World Cup.

These certifications focus on reuse of demolition material, efficient lighting, energy use and water management.

The UNEP review showed that South Africa 2010′s carbon footprint was far lower than projected, “due to fewer visitors than expected, carpooling and Park and Ride schemes, and efficient stadia that cut energy use by an estimated 30 per cent.”

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UN urges FIFA to do more to ensure green Brazil World Cup

The only group to contain two British nations, Group A remains wide open in terms of who we might see advance but is looking slightly more assured with who might see the drop.

Wales have no points after two matches and have conceded an average of four goals per game, sticking them firmly at the bottom of the pile.

Group A also consists of three countries that used to be a part of the former YugoslaviaCroatia, Serbia and Macedoniamaking for some promising encounters.

Serbia sit atop the pool thanks to their 6-1 thrashing of Wales but are level on points with both Belgium and Croatia as things stand.

Many look upon Belgium as an emerging power on the international level given the amount of their players that feature in elite European leagues, but now need to prove those predictions correct and form as a unit.

The Taming of the Dragon: Despite the tragedy of Gary Speeds death in 2011, many were under the impression that the good work the former Premier League star had put in meant a bright future for Wales.

However, Chris Coleman has failed to pick up where Speed left off and theres an evident gulf in quality between Wales and their competitors, although stars such as Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey are a joy to watch at times.

Qualification Dark Horses: Its hard to look past Belgium as the dark horses of this group. Croatia have featured in three of the last four World Cups and Serbia successfully competed in South Africa even though they only played their first fixture as an independent country in 2006.

Belgium havent played in a major international tournament since 2002 and, judging by their quality of football at times, certainly have what it takes to make it to 2014.

As things stand, the Belgians sit in second, level on points with Serbia and Croatia, and just need one vital result to claim that edge over their opponents.

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World Cup European Qualifying: Group-by-Group Guide to How Things Stand

ANALYSISBy Peter PedroncelliAfrican players grace football pitches the world over, and the appreciation they receive has grown due to their impact throughout the top championships, including those of the Italian Serie A, Spain’s La Liga and the English Premier League, amongst many others.There are certain moments where the spotlight has been firmly fixed on the African game. Some players have broken records, while others won awards or formed part of teams which changed public opinion with regards to African football.Below, Goal.com runs through the 10 moments that put African football firmly on the map.

10. Unknown Senegal defeat World & Euro champions France

An exciting moment for Africa, few would have expected an upset in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup between defending champions France and little known Senegal. The Teranga Lions had a point to prove, however, with many of their players employed in the French Ligue 1 alongside a number of their illustrious opponents.The game ended 1-0 in favour of the Senegalese, who had gained the respect and love of neutral supporters throughout the world, while uniting African fans all over the continent as Senegalese sympathisers for the duration of the tournament and beyond.The west Africans went on to equal Cameroon’s record of a quarter-final finish at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, remaining undefeated until a 1-0 golden goal loss to Turkey at the last eight stage.In so doing they carved a place for that national team in World Cup history – a place that is still yet to be overshadowed by another African side, though Ghana came bitterly close at the 2010 event in South Africa.

9. Abedi Pele wins 1993 Uefa Champions League with Marseille

Abedi Pele is known as one of Ghana and Africa’s greatest ever players, and one of the reasons for that perception is the fact that he was successful in Europe with his French club, Marseille.Africas appetite for football is unrivalled, particularly for the top leagues in Europe where most of its best players develop, but the Ghanaian legend was one of Africa’s first real superstars to do well in the top competitions and Uefa Champions League, proving instrumental in leading Marseille to the final of the Champions League.In 1993 he made the entire African continent proud when he won the elite club competition with his French team, defeating the mighty Milan 1-0 in the final. It was the first time that a French team had won the European Cup, and no French side has repeated that feat since.The number 10 on that day for the victors was Abedi Pele, and he became a European champion following his man of the match performance for the Ligue 1 outfit.

8. George Weah wins European and World Footballer of the Year awards

George Weah followed in the footsteps of Abedi Pele in finding fame and success during his career in Europe. The strong and skilful striker was supremely gifted, and his talent did not go unnoticed. In 1995, he was named Fifa World Player of the Year, European Footballer of the Year, and African Footballer of the Year.This trio of personal accolades put African football on the map by acting as a catalyst for the interest that European clubs developed for African players, realising that Weah was one of many players on the continent with potential, and leading to modern football in Europe, which is now home to many African stars.

7. Pele’s prediction that an African team would win the World Cup before 2000

As many fans who follow football know, Pele’s predictions do not often come true, but the shear magnitude of the legend means that his words are always broadcast, published and tweeted to an audience of millions.This particular prediction was one that gained him fame and more than a few fans in Africa, but once again his prediction would prove to be wrong.Nonetheless, the fact that the embodiment of football greatness believed that an African team could have the potential to be world champions before the turn of the century meant that fans and experts began to shine a light on African football that was not previously seen.

6. South Africa win the right to host the 2010 World Cup

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Roger Milla dancing at Italia 90, South Africa's World Cup & the Top 10 moments that put Africa on the football map

World football supremo Sepp Blatter on Sunday said Russia was well ahead of schedule towards hosting the 2018 World Cup, despite the huge task of realising a project costing almost $20 billion.

Blatter said one day after FIFA and Russia unveiled the final list of the 11 Russian host cities that Russia’s “new approach” was more efficient than that of South Africa in 2010 or Brazil, which will host the 2014 edition.

“We are one year ahead of schedule. This is a new approach for organising World Cups,” the FIFA president told reporters alongside Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko.

“With this approach we have already come so far, six years before the start,” he said.

After a bid championed by President Vladimir Putin, Russia was in December 2010 awarded the right to host the World Cup in a hugely controversial decision which was bitterly criticised by beaten rivals, including England, as tainted by corruption and vote-selling.

But Blatter emphasised the historic nature of hosting the event for the first time in eastern Europe, saying FIFA had decided to skip the “traditional houses” of western Europe.

He said that after winning the right to host the World Cup in 2010, the South Africans were “just dancing” with joy and had to be told by FIFA to get to work.

Brazil, meanwhile, has expressed confidence that it is ready “but that is not exactly the case,” Blatter said.

“The Russians started to work so hard right from the start. It is a different approach. I am very happy.”

The 11 Russian cities that will host matches extend from the Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad on the borders of the European Union to Yekaterinburg in the Urals, three time zones and 2,500 kilometres (1,500 miles) to the east.

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Blatter hails Russia progress in $20 bn World Cup