World Cup Soccer

The United States, considered a favorite to qualify for its first World Cup in 39 years, lost to Costa Rica, 1-0, Sunday in its opening match of final-round qualifying. Forward Gilberto Rhoden scored the game's only goal at 15 minutes of the first half. Rhoden deflected a wide shot by teammate Evaristo Coronado into the net. The United States, eliminated by Costa Rica in 1986 World Cup qualifying, plays host to the Costa Ricans April 30 at Fenton, Mo. The United States' best chance to tie came with nine minutes remaining in the first half, but Costa Rican goalkeeper Luis Gabelo Conejo lunged high to his right to make the save.

The Fox network and the Spanish-language Telemundo network have scored future U.S. television rights to FIFA's World Cup soccer from longtime incumbents ESPN and Univision. The new deals take effect in 2015 — after the 2014 World Cup in Brazil — and run to 2022. The pacts include rights to two World Cup men's finals in 2018 and 2022 and two World Cup women's finals in 2015 and 2019. Although terms of the two agreements were not disclosed, people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly said that News Corp.'s Fox paid $425 million for its package while Telemundo, owned by Comcast, shelled out about $600 million for its rights.

The United States national soccer team is likely to be without both its most experienced player, Rick Davis, and its most creative player, Hugo Perez, when it plays Costa Rica in a vital World Cup qualifying match today at St. Louis. Davis, who has been the backbone of the U.S. team for more than a decade, is questionable because of an injury, and Perez, arguably the most inventive and technically skilled of the American players, is definitely sidelined with one. That leaves Coach Bob Gansler with a problem.

World Cup soccer officials are investigating reports that North Korea's outmatched national soccer team faced punishment by government officials back home after losing all three of its matches in South Africa. Sepp Blatter, president of the International Federation of Association Football, or Fifa, said this week that the organization had received tips that players and coaches "have been condemned or punished" after an embarrassing appearance in which they conceded the most goals of all 32 teams in the tournament.

With puddles of water on the field and talk of under-the-table payoffs in the air, the United States tries to improve its chances of qualifying for next year's World Cup of soccer with a game today against hopeless, and perhaps hapless, Guatemala. After his players worked out Saturday on the soaked field of the Mateo Flores National Stadium, named for the 1952 Boston Marathon winner from Guatemala, U.S. Coach Bob Gansler called the 10 a.m. (PDT) game a "must" for the United States.

Andres Escobar could have been here this weekend instead of in his violent hometown of Medellin, Colombia. The popular soccer player, who was murdered early Saturday, was asked to be a color commentator for Carcol radio, Colombia's premier network, after his team failed to advance to the second round of the World Cup. Escobar would have been in Carcol's cramped quarters at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas, where thousands of commentators are covering the World Cup.

Next year's World Cup soccer finals in earthquake-stricken Mexico City may have to be postponed for a year, a senior official of the sport's governing body indicated Saturday.

German police arrested a 24-year-old man suspected of brutally beating a French policeman after a World Cup soccer game last month. The suspect was arrested at his Hamburg home and taken to Hanover, the prosecutor's office in Hanover said in a statement. The suspect admits being in Lens, where the attack took place, but has denied he beat or kicked the policeman, Daniel Nivel. Nivel was hit on the head with an iron bar and remains in a coma.

Director David Anspaugh and screenwriter Angelo Pizzo love the underdog. They first collaborated on "Hoosiers," the acclaimed 1986 basketball drama teaming Gene Hackman as a coach with a dubious past and Dennis Hopper as a player's alcoholic father who together take a small town high school team to the Indiana state championship.

The hoopla over the World Cup soccer tournament is everywhere in town. You couldn't miss it if you tried. Snack bars have napkins printed with trivia questions dealing with soccer. Taxis are adorned with bumper stickers that show a soccer ball and two hemispheres, the official World Cup symbol. Newspapers follow the fortunes of every key player.

ESPN's World Cup soccer coverage and the strong box-office performance of films including Disney/Pixar Animation Studios' "Toy Story 3" helped buoy Walt Disney Co.'s bottom line in the third quarter. The media giant reported a 40% jump in earnings to $1.3 billion, up from $954 million a year earlier. Revenue reached $10 billion for the three-month period ending July 3, an increase of 16% from a year ago. In a call with analysts, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert A. Iger highlighted the film studio's summer performance, noting that it released three of the top five films worldwide in "Toy Story 3," Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" and Marvel Entertainment's "Iron Man 2. " The three pictures not only were a financial success but also have fueled other businesses such as merchandise sales, he said.

SERIES Three Rivers: Andy (Alex O'Loughlin) confronts a former nemesis on a new episode of the medical drama (8 p.m. CBS). iCarly: Our girl and her pals are powerless in Seattle thanks to a heat wave in this new episode (8 p.m. Nickelodeon). SPECIALS John Wooden: The Legacy: The late, great UCLA basketball coach is remembered in this special (8 p.m. KTLA). The AFI Life Achievement Award: Director Mike Nichols ("The Graduate") is feted in this new special (9 p.m. TV Land)

ESPN said 1.1 million people watched at least some of the United States' dramatic World Cup victory over Algeria as it was streamed on an ESPN website Wednesday. The match, which was also watched on ESPN and Univision by 8.6 million people, lasted from 10 a.m. to noon EDT, during working hours for most of the United States. The network says it was the biggest online audience for a sporting event, beating the Duke-Butler NCAA championship basketball game on a Monday night from earlier this year.

And then there were 23. Bob Bradley, the U.S. national team coach, on Wednesday named his World Cup roster and in doing so demonstrated a welcome but previously unsuspected gambling streak by making some surprise choices. The best examples? How about including three forwards — Edson Buddle, Herculez Gomez and Robbie Findley — who have played a grand total of nine international matches and did not feature in a single qualifying game for South Africa 2010?

Grahame L. Jones' All-Time Brazilian World Cup Team • Playing in a 3-4-3 formation. GOALKEEPER — GILMAR: The first 'keeper to win the World Cup twice, in 1958 and 1962, Gilmar also played in the 1966 tournament. An agile shot-stopper with excellent reflexes, he represented Brazil 94 times between 1953 and 1969 and was on the losing side only once in 14 World Cup matches. LEFT BACK — NILTON SANTOS: "The Encyclopedia," as he was known, was a superb reader of the game, renowned for his tactical awareness and his knowledge of the sport.

1 South Africa Soccer's World Cup in South Africa in June and July marks a coming of age: It's the first time an international sporting mega-event has been held on African soil. But it's also a chance to see game parks, Cape Town's stunning coastline and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Ticket sales are low so far, whether because of security fears, the global recession or doubts that an African nation can pull off the event. Half a million tickets recently went on sale.

Since he was a child in Bologna, Luca di Montezemolo has been a fan of the soccer team Juventus, which is the Italian equivalent of being a Yankee fan. Juventus' home is Turin, but it has long been recognized as Italy's Team. On the shelves of his office in the hills high above the Olympic Stadium in Rome, Montezemolo has souvenirs from some of Juventus' more memorable international victories.