At Rio de Janeiro:
Goals from Fred (2', 47') and Neymar (44', the two are shown celebrating after one of the former's goals; that's Fred on the left) helped enable Brazil to dominated Spain 3-0 on Sunday to win their third successive FIFA Confederations Cup title at historic Maracana Stadium. The defeat was the first for the Spaniards (who were reduced to ten men after Gerard Pique's red-card ejection in the 68th minute) in a competitive match since their group-stage opener against Switzerland in the 2010 World Cup (which Spain still won). The Confederations Cup championship is the fourth overall for the Samba Kings, making this the third time that the tournament was won by the host nation (Mexico in 1999, France in 2003). Brazil will host next year's FIFA World Cup.
Photo from Yahoo-Eurosport website
At Harrison, New Jersey:
In the lone Sunday Major League Soccer contest, Fabian Espindola (60') and Jonny Steele (88') each delivered a goal for the New York Red Bulls, who blanked the visiting Houston Dynamo 2-0.
MLS STANDINGS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Montreal (GP: 15; GF: 27; GD: +6; PTS: 29)
2. New York (GP: 18; GF: 25; GD: +3; PTS: 28)
3. Philadelphia (GP: 17; GF: 27; GD: +1; PTS: 26)
4. Kansas City (GP: 17; GF: 23; GD: +6; PTS: 26)
5. Houston (GP: 17; GF: 19; GD: +1; PTS: 23)
6. New England (GP: 16; GF: 19; GD: +5; PTS: 21)
7. Columbus (GP: 17; GF: 21; GD: 0; PTS: 20)
8. Chicago (GP: 15; GD: 15; GD: -6; PTS: 18)
9. Toronto FC (GP: 16; GF: 14; GD: -7; PTS: 12)
10. DC United (GP: 17; GF: 8; GD: -19; PTS: 9)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Real Salt Lake (GP: 18; GF: 27; GD: +11; PTS: 33)
2. FC Dallas (GP: 17; GF: 27; GD: +5; PTS: 30)
3. Portland (GP: 17; GF: 28; GD: +12; PTS: 30)
4. Vancouver (GP: 16; GF: 26; GD: +2; PTS: 25)
5. Los Angeles (GP: 17; GF: 25; GD: +4; PTS: 24)
6. Colorado (GP: 18; GF: 21; GD: -1; PTS: 23)
7. Seattle (GP: 14; GF: 19; GD: +2; PTS: 21)
8. San Jose (GP: 18; GF: 18; GD: -9; PTS: 21)
9. Chivas USA (GP: 16; GF: 15; GD: -16; PTS: 12)
At Salvador, Brazil:
In a match that was deadlocked at 2-2 after 120 minutes (including thirty scoreless overtime minutes), Alberto Aquilani, Stephen El Shaarawy, and Emanuele Giaccherini converted their spot kicks as Italy, who finished the contest with ten men, won the penalty-kick shootout 3-2 to claim the third-place playoff in the FIFA Confederations Cup on Sunday. Azzurri goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved three of five Uruguayan shots during the shootout. Here are (left to right) Leonard Bonucci, Stephen El Shaarawy, Alberto Gilardino, and Antonio Candreva celebrating following the shootout victory.
Reuters photo
Seven games were played in Major League Soccer on Saturday.
At Toronto:
In a game that saw both teams reduced to ten men due to red-card ejections, Yordany Alvarez scored the only goal of the match as Real Salt Lake moved into sole possession of first place both in the Western Conference and Supporters' Shield races with a 1-0 road win over Toronto FC.
At Chester, Pennsylvania:
Walker Zimmerman (24') and Blas Perez (90'+7, some five minutes after an earlier, apparent goal was not counted) each scored once as ten-man FC Dallas battled back to gain a 2-2 road draw with the Philadelphia Union. Amobi Okugo (20') and Aaron Wheeler (87') each tallied once for the hosts.
At Washington:
Camilo Sanvezzo's penalty kick in the 48th minute provided the only goal of the match as the Vancouver Whitecaps defeated DC United 1-0 on the road.
At Montreal:
Atiba Harris (24'), Dillon Powers (59'), Deshorn Brown (77'), and Tony Cascio (90'+6) each delivered a goal as the Colorado Rapids overcame a 3-2 second-half deficit and knocked off the Montreal Impact 4-3 on the road.
At Kansas City, Kansas:
Kei Kamara scored twice (34', 80') as Sporting Kansas City defeated the visiting Columbus Crew 3-2.
At Carson, California:
Chad Barrett's equalizer in the 88th minute enabled the New England Revolution to gain a 1-1 road draw with Chivas USA. Laurent Courtois scored for the Goats (whose seven-game losing streak came to an end) in the 18th minute.
At Palo Alto, California:
Before more than 50,000 fans at Stanford Stadium, Alan Gordon scored twice (68', 90'+3) with a Shea Salinas tally sandwiched in-between (90'+2) as the San Jose Earthquakes, in a repeat of last year's encounter at the same stadium, overcame a two goal deficit (and Victor Bernardez's 77th-minute red-card ejection) and knocked off the visiting Los Angeles Galaxy 3-2.
At Fortaleza, Brazil:
After 120 scoreless minutes, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Juan Mata, Sergio Busquets, and Jesus Navas (after whose game-winning kick, his teammates are shown here celebrating) all converted their spot kicks on Thursday as Spain outlasted Italy 7-6 in the penalty-kick shootout to advance to Sunday's FIFA Confederations Cup final against Brazil at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana Stadium. The Azzurri will face Uruguay in the third-place game, also slated for Sunday, as Salvador.
Reuters photo
The quarterfinal round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup tournament took place on Wednesday with four games.
At Boyds, Maryland:
Chris Pontius (45'), Dwayne De Rosario (69'), and Lionard Pajoy (PK-89') each scored a goal as DC United defeated the visiting New England Revolution 3-1 in a battle of Major League Soccer clubs.
At Bridgeview, Illinois:
Chris Rolfe scored twice (6', 64') as the Chicago Fire hammered visiting Orlando City (USL Pro League) 5-1.
At Frisco, Texas:
Second-half goals from Darlington Nagbe (61'), Diego Valeri (63'), and Frederic Piquionne (72') enabled the Portland Timbers to come from behind and hold off FC Dallas 3-2 on the road, stretching their unbeaten streak to eighteen games in all competitions. The Timbers have reached the semifinal round of the US Open Cup for the first time in their history, as well as winning for the first time in the state of Texas.
At Sandy, Utah:
Tony Beltran (26'), Chris Wingert (50'), and Alvaro Saborio (86') each scored a goal as Real Salt Lake defeated the visiting Carolina Railhawks (NASL) 3-0, leaving the tournament without a non-MLS club left in it.
The semifinal round will take place on August 7, with Portland visiting RSL in Sandy, Utah, and the Chicago Fire will host DC United at Bridgeview, Illinois. The semifinal winners will square off in the final, which will be played on October 1 or 2.
At Belo Horizonte, Brazil:
Paulinho headed in the game winner in the 86th minute on Wednesday (shown here) as Brazil defeated Uruguay 2-1 to advance to Sunday's final of the FIFA Confederations Cup. The Samba Kings will face the winner of Thursday's Spain-Italy clash in the championship match which will be played at historic Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Uruguay will face the Spain-Italy loser in the Sunday third-place game at Salvador, Brazil.
Photo from ESPNFC website
Monday saw the draw for the first two qualifying rounds for next season's Europa League at Nyon, Switzerland.
The opening games of the two-match series in the first qualifying round will take place on July 4 (except noted) with the return matches to take place on July 11 (except noted. The game-one hosts are listed first:
Vikingur (Faroe Islands) vs. Inter Turku (Finland)
Zalgiris Vilnius (Lithuania) vs. St. Patrick's Athletic (Republic of Ireland)
Airbus UK Broughton (Wales) vs. FK Ventspils (Latvia)
JK Narva Trans (Estonia) vs. Gefle IF (Sweden) (Game one on July 2)
KR Reykjavik (Iceland) vs. Glentoran FC (Northern Ireland)
Chikhura Sachkhere (Georgia) vs. FC Vaduz (Liechtenstein)
Milsami Orhei (Moldova) vs. F91 Dudelange (Luxembourg)
FK Metalurg Skopje (Macedonia) vs. Qarabag (Azerbaijan) (Game one on July 2)
Videoton FC (Hungary) vs. Mladost Podgorica (Montenegro)
FC Flora Tallinn (Estonia) vs. FK Kuseki (Albania)
FK Teteks (Macedonia) vs. Pyunik FC (Armenia)
Teuta Durres (Albania) vs. Dacia Chisinau (Moldova)
FK Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) vs. AC Libertas (San Marino)
Sliema Wanderers (Malta) vs. Khazar Lankaran (Azerbaijan) (Game one on July 2)
Levski Sofia (Bulgaria) vs. Irtysh Pavlodar (Kazakhstan)
Hibernians FC (Malta) vs. FK Vojvodina (Serbia)
FC Astana (Kazakhstan) vs. Botev Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
UE Santa Coloma (Andorra) vs. Zrinjski Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
NK Domzale (Slovenia) vs. Astra Giurgiu (Romania)
FK Rudar Pljevlja (Montenegro) vs. FC Mika (Armenia) (Game two on July 9)
Breidablik UBK (Iceland) vs. FC Santa Coloma (Andorra)
Drogheda United (Republic of Ireland) vs. Malmo FF (Sweden)
Inter Baku (Azerbaijan) vs. IFK Mariehamn
IF (Faroe Islands) vs. Linfield FC (Northern Ireland)
Prestatyn Town FC (Wales) vs. FK Liepajas Metalurgs (Latvia)
Tromso IF (Norway) vs. NK Celje (Slovenia)
FC Tiraspol (Moldova) vs. Skonto FC (Latvia)
Crusaders FC (Northern Ireland) vs. Rosenborg BK (Norway)
IBV (Iceland) vs. Hanvar Boltfelag (Faroe Islands)
Jeunesse Esch (Luxembourg) vs. TPS (Finland) (Game two on July 9)
Bala Town FC (Wales) vs. Levadia Tallinn (Estonia) (Game one on July 2)
Kruoja Pakruojis (Lithuania) vs. Dinamo Minsk (Belarus)
SP La Fiorita (San Marino) vs. Valletta FC (Malta)
KF Laci (Albania) vs. Differdange 03 (Luxembourg) (Game two on July 9)
Gandzasar FC (Armenia) vs. FC Aktobe (Kazakhstan)
Celik Niksic (Montenegro) vs. Budapest Honved FC (Hungary)
Torpedo Kutaisi (Georgia) vs. MSK Zilina (Slovakia)
FK Suduva Mariejampole (Lithuania) vs. FK Turnovo (Macedonia)
The opening games of the respective two-match series in the second qualifying round will take place on July 18 with the return contests to be played on July 25. The game-one hosts are listed first:
BK Hacken (Sweden) vs. Sparta Prague (Czech Republic)
Libertas-Sarajevo winner vs. Flora Tallinn-Kukesi winner
FC Thun (Switzerland) vs. Chikhura Sachkhere-FC Vaduz winner
Xanthi (Greece) vs. IF-Linfield winner
IL Hodd (Norway) vs. Gandzasar-Aktobe winner
Dila Gori (Georgia) vs. Aalborg BK (Denmark)
Maccabi Haifa (Israel) vs. Sliema Wanderers-Khazar Lankaran winner
Hajduk Split (Croatia) vs. Suduva Marijampole-Turnovo winner
Airbus UK Broughton-Ventspils winner vs. Jeunesse Esch-TPS winner
Domzale-Astra Giurgiu winner vs. Omonia (Cyprus)
Tiraspol-Skonto winner vs. Slovan Liberec (Czech Republic)
Pandurii Targu Jiu (Romania) vs. Bela Town-Levadia Tallinn winner
Slask Wroclaw (Poland) vs. Rudar Pljevlja-Mika winner
Drogheda United-Malmo FF winner vs. Hibernian (Scotland)
FK Jagodina (Serbia) vs. Rubin Kazan (Russia)
Stromgodset IF (Norway) vs. Debreceni VSC (Hungary)
Petrolul Ploiesti (Romania) vs. Vikingur-Inter Turku winner
HNK Rijeka (Croatia) vs. Prestatyn Town-Liepajas Metalurgs winner
Zalgiris Vilnius-St. Patrick's Athletic winner vs. Teteks-Pyunik winner
Beroe Stara Zagora (Bulgaria) vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv (Israel)
FC Honka (Finland) vs. Lech Poznan (Poland)
Red Star Belgrade vs. IBV-HB winner
FC Shakhtyor Salikhorsk (Belarus) vs. Milsami Orhei-F91 Dudelange winner
Hibernians-Vojvodina winner vs. Celik Niksic-Honved winner
Olimpija Ljubljana (Slovenia) vs. Torpedo Kutaisi-Zilina winner
Inter Baku-Mariehamn winner vs. Tromso-Celje winner
FC Chornomorets Odessa (Ukraine) vs. Teuta Durres-Dacia Chisinau winner
IFK Gothenburg (Sweden) vs. FK AS Trencin (Slovakia)
Kruoja Pakruojis-Dinamo Minsk winner vs. NK Lokomotiva (Croatia)
KR Reykjavik-Glentoran winner vs. Standard Liege (Belgium)
UE Santa Coloma-Zrinjski Mostar winner vs. Astana-Botev Plovdiv winner
Metalurg Skopje-Qarabag winner vs. Piast Gliwice (Poland)
Crusaders-Rosenborg winner vs. St. Johnstone (Scotland)
Trabzonspor (Turkey) vs. Derry City (Republic of Ireland)*
*Based in Northern Ireland but plays in Republic of Ireland's top-flight league and is entering Europa League qualifying through the League of Ireland's Premier Division.
La Fiorita-Valletta winner vs. FC Minsk (Belarus)
FK Senica (Slovakia) vs. Videoton-Mladost Podgorica winner
Anorthosis Famagusta FC (Cyprus) vs. Narva Trans-Gefle winner
SK Sturm Graz (Austria) vs. Breidablik-FC Santa Coloma winner
Levski Sofia-Irtysh Pavlodar winner vs. NK Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
KF Laci-Differdange 03 winner vs. FC Utrecht (Netherlands)
The draw for the first two rounds of qualifying for next season's UEFA Champions League took place on Monday at Nyon, Switzerland.
The opening contests of the two-game series in the first qualifying round will take place on July 2 and 3 with the return matches on July 9 and 10. Here are the matchups with the game one hosts listed first:
Shirak FC (Armenia) vs. Tre Penne (San Marino)
Lusitanos (Andorra) vs. EB/Streymur (Faroe Islands)
The opening games of the second qualifying round will take place on July 16 and 17 with the return contests to be played on July 23 and 24. The game-one hosts are listed first:
Neftchi Baku (Azerbaijan) vs. Skenderbeu Korce (Albania)
Steaua Bucharest (Romania) vs. FK Vardar (Macedonia)
FC Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic) vs. FK Zeljeznicar Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
FC Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova) vs. Sutjeska Niksic (Montenegro)
CS Fola Esch (Luxembourg) vs. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
The New Saints (Wales) vs. Legia Warsaw (Poland)
Gyori ETO FC (Hungary) vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel)
Sligo Rovers FC (Republic of Ireland) vs. Molde FK (Norway)
Birkirkara FC (Malta) vs. NK Maribor (Slovenia)
IF Elfsborg (Sweden) vs. Daugava Daugavpils (Latvia)
HJK Helsinki (Finland) vs. Nomme Kalju (Estonia)
FK Ekranas (Lithuania) vs. FH Hafnarfjordur (Iceland)
Celtic FC (Scotland) vs. Cliftonville (Northern Ireland)
FC BATE Borisov (Belarus) vs. FC Shakhter Karagandy (Kazakhstan)
Sharak-Tre Penne winner vs. Partizan Belgrade (Serbia)
Slovan Bratislava (Slovakia) vs. Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria)
Dinamo Tbilisi (Georgia) vs. Lusitanos-EB/Streymur winner
With Fenerbahce (Champions League) and Besiktas (Europa League) banished from European club competitions for next season due to match-fixing allegations, Bursaspor, who finished fourth this past season in the Turkish Super League, will enter Champions League action in the third qualifying round. Kayserispor (who finished fifth) will take part in the Europa League's playoff round, while Kasimpasa (sixth) will play in the Europa League's third qualifying round and Trabzonspor will play in the Europa League's second qualifying round.
In the aftermath of the 2012 Allsvenskan season, let's see who were relegated from---and promoted to---the top flight in Swedish soccer. We'll also find out who's getting a crack at European club competition.
SWEDISH ALLSVENSKAN:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
IF Elfsborg
EUROPA LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
BK Hacken
IFK Gothenburg (won 2012-13 Svenska Cupen--or Swedish Cup)
First Qualifying Round:
Malmo FF
Gefle IF (via Sweden ranking among UEFA's top three Fair-Play rankings; Gefle receiving Europa League qualifying berth based on receiving Allsvenskan's top fair-play rating)
RELEGATED TO SUPERETTAN:
GIF Sundsvall (lost two-game promotion/relegation playoff to Halmstads BK 6-4 on aggregate and were relegated)
Orebro SK
GAIS
SUPERETTAN:
PROMOTED TO ALLSVENSKAN:
Osters IF
IF Brommapojkama
Halmstads BK (via promotion-relegation playoffs; won two-match series with GIF Sundsvall 6-4 on aggregate)
Well, let's see who were relegated from---and promoted to---the top level of soccer in Belarus resulting from the 2012 season and who's getting a shot at European club competition.
BELARUSIAN PREMIER LEAGUE:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
FC BATE Borisov
EUROPA LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
Shakhtyor Soligorsk
FC Minsk (won 2012-13 Belarusian Cup)
First Qualifying Round:
Dinamo Minsk
PROMOTION/RELEGATION PLAYOFFS:
Torpedo-BelAZ Zhodino (won two-match playoff with second-division club FC Gorodeya 5-1 on aggregate and maintained their top-flight status)
BELARUSIAN FIRST LEAGUE:
PROMOTED TO BELARUSIAN PREMIER LEAGUE:
FC Dnepr Mogilev
Let's take a look and see whom amogst Romanian clubs are heading to European competition, and who's dropping down from Liga I---and climbing up to the top flight for next season.
I LIGA:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
Steaua Bucharest
EUROPA LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
Pandurii Targu Jiu
Petrolul Ploiesti (won Cupa Romaniel---or Romanian Cup)
RELEGATED TO LIGA II:
Rapid Bucharest*
Universitatea Cluj*
Turnu Severin*
Gloria Bistrita
* Denied licenses for 2013-14 due to accumulated debt and therefore relegated to Liga II.
LIGA II:
PROMOTED TO LIGA I:
Seria I:
FC Botosani
Sageata Navodari
Serie II:
Corona Brasov
Poli Timisoara
Let's see who's being relegated from (and promoted to) the top soccer league in Croatia and who will take part in qualification for next season's European club tournaments.
1.HNL:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
Dinamo Zagreb (who else but?)
EUROPA LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
Lokomotiva
HNK Rijeka
Hajduk Split (won Croatian Cup)
RELEGATED TO DRUGA HNL:
Inter Zapresic
HNK Cibalia
NK Zagreb
DRUGA HNL:
PROMOTED TO 1.HNL:
Hrvatski Dragovoljac
Three Sunday contests took place in Major League Soccer.
At Chester, Pennsylvania:
Conor Casey scored twice (7', 64') as the Philadelphia Union blanked the visiting New York Red Bulls 3-0. The Red Bulls played the last hour of the match with ten men after Lloyd Sam was ejected via the red card in the 28th minute.
At Portland, Oregon:
Frederic Piquionne (12'), Will Johnson (45'), and Ryan Johnson (84') each produced a goal as the Portland Timbers stretched their MLS unbeaten streak to 15 games (17 in all competitions) following their 3-0 home domination of the Colorado Rapids.
At Carson, California:
Gyasi Zardes scored the only goal of the match in the 44th minute as the Los Angeles Galaxy defeated Chivas USA 1-0 in what was designated as a Goats home game (as the two clubs share the recently-renamed StubHub Center).
MLS STANDINGS:
EASTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Montreal (GP: 14; GF: 24; GD: +7; PTS: 29)
2. Philadelphia (GP: 16; GF: 25; GD: +1; PTS: 25)
3. New York (GP: 17; GF: 23; GD: +1; PTS: 25)
4. Kansas City (GP: 16; GF: 20; GD: +5; PTS: 23)
5. Houston (GP: 16; GF: 19; GD: +3; PTS: 23)
6. Columbus (GP: 16; GF: 19; GD: +1; PTS: 20)
7. New England (GP: 15; GF: 18; GD: +5; PTS: 20)
8. Chicago (GP: 15; GF: 15; GD: -6; PTS: 18)
9. Toronto FC (GP: 15; GF: 14; GD: -6; PTS: 12)
10. DC United (GP: 16; GF: 8; GD: -18; PTS: 9)
WESTERN CONFERENCE:
1. Real Salt Lake (GP: 17; GF: 26; GD: +10; PTS: 30)
2. Portland (GP: 17; GF: 28; GD: +12; PTS: 30)
3. FC Dallas (GP: 16; GF: 25; GD: +5; PTS: 29)
4. Los Angeles (GP: 16; GF: 23; GD: +5; PTS: 24)
5. Vancouver (GP: 15; GF: 25; GD: +1; PTS: 22)
6. Seattle (GP: 14; GF: 19; GD: +2; PTS: 21)
7. Colorado (GP: 17; GF: 17; GD: -2; PTS: 20)
8. San Jose (GP: 17; GF: 15; GD: -10; PTS: 18)
9. Chivas USA (GP: 15; GF: 14; GD: -16; PTS: 11)
Group-stage play in the FIFA Confederations Cup concluded with two games in Group B played on Sunday in Brazil.
At Fortaleza:
Jordi Alba scored twice (3', 88') while Fernando Torres (here congratulated by teammate Alvaro Arbeloa) added another score in the 62nd minute as Spain dominated Nigeria 3-0 to win Group B.
Photo from Yahoo-Eurosport website
At Recife:
In a game that saw both teams reduced to ten men, Abel Hernandez delivered a quadruple (2', 24', 45'+1, PK-67') while Luis Suarez--who became his country's all-time leading goal scorer---added a double (82', 90', he's here being congratulated by teammate Alvaro Pereira) Uruguay clinched a berth in the semifinal round following their 8-0 frontier-styled fistbeating of overmatched Tahiti.
Reuters photo
FINAL GROUP B STANDINGS:
1. Spain (GP: 3; GD: +14; PTS: 9)
2. Uruguay (GP: 3; GD: +8; PTS: 6)
3. Nigeria (GP: 3; GD: +1; PTS: 3)
4. Tahiti (GP: 3; GD: -23; PTS: 0)
Spain and Uruguay advanced to the semifinal round.
Semifinal match-ups:
Wednesday @ Belo Horizone, Brazil:
Brazil vs. Uruguay
Thursday @ Fortaleza, Brazil:
Spain vs. Italy
Five games were played in Major League Soccer on Saturday.
At Washington:
Chris Pontius' penalty kick in the 11th minute provided the only goal of the match as DC United ended their club-record 13-match MLS winless streak by knocking off the visiting San Jose Earthquakes 1-0.
At Columbus, Ohio:
Dilly Duka (52') and Mike Magee (54') each scored a goal two minutes apart as the Chicago Fire came from behind to upend the Columbus Crew 2-1 on the road and stretch their unbeaten MLS run to five games.
At Frisco, Texas:
Andrew Jacobsen (88') and Walker Zimmerman (90') each delivered a goal two minutes in the final moments as FC Dallas came back from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 home draw with ten-man Sporting Kansas City, whose scoring came through the courtesy of Kei Kamara (PK-43') and Je-Vaughn Watson (OG-57').
At Houston:
Toronto FC held the home-standing Houston Dynamo to a 0-0 stalemate.
At Sandy, Utah:
Kyle Beckerman (41') and Robbie Findley (46') each scored once as Real Salt Lake blanked the visiting Seattle Sounders 2-0 to take over first place in the Western Conference.
Action from Group A in the FIFA Confederations Cup concluded on Saturday with two games played in Brazil.
At Salvador:
Fred scored twice (66', 89') as Brazil doubled up on Italy 4-2 to win the Group A title. Neymar (left) is seen here celebrating with Oscar after scoring for the Samba Kings in the 55th minute.
At Belo Horizonte:
Javier (Chicharito) Hernandez scored twice (54', 66') as Mexico held off Japan to avoid finishing in the Group A basement.
Reuters photos
FINAL GROUP A STANDINGS:
1. Brazil (GP: 3; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
2. Italy (GP: 3; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
3. Mexico (GP: 3; GD: -2; PTS: 3)
4. Japan (GP: 3; GD: -5; PTS: 0)
Brazil and Italy advanced to the semifinal round.
Let's see who's being relegated from Poland's Ekstraklasa---and who's going up, as well as who's heading for European club competition for next season.
EKSTRAKLASA:
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE:
Second Qualifying Round:
Legia Warsaw
EUROPA LEAGUE:
Lech Poznan
Slask Wroclaw
Piast Gliwice
NOTE: Since both finalists for the Polish Cup, Legia Warsaw (who won) and Slak Wroclaw finished in the league's top three, fourth place Piast Gliwice also gained a Europa League qualification berth.
RELEGATED TO I LIGA:
Polonia Warsaw (who, despite finishing sixth, were relegated since they failed to obtain a license for the 2013-14 due to financial problems)
GKS Belchatow
NOTE: Due to what happened to Polonia Warsaw, Ruch Chorzow, who finished 15th and would have been relegated, instead remained in the Ekstraklasa for next season.
POLISH I LIGA:
PROMOTED TO POLISH EKSTRAKLASA:
Zawisza Bydgoszcz
Cracovia
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