Reduced to 10 men after captain Costas Katsouranis was sent off in the 38th minute with his second booking, Greece held on for a 0-0 draw with Japan on Thursday that kept both alive in Group C and sent rival Colombia through to the knockout round of the World Cup.  Japan's Shinji Kagawa, left, and Greece's Giorgos Karagounis challenge for the ball during the group C World Cup soccer match between Japan and Greece at the Arena das Dunas in Natal, Brazil, Thursday, June 19, 2014. (AP-Yonhap)Both t

Colombia maintained South America's strong start to the World Cup on Thursday, downing the Ivory Coast 2-1 to stay on course for a place in the last 16.Colombia's Mario Yepes, second right, heads the ball during the group C World Cup soccer match between Colombia and Ivory Coast at the Estadio Nacional in Brasilia, Brazil, Thursday, June 19, 2014. (AP-Yonhap)A day after Chile eliminated defending champions Spain, Colombia produced a fine attacking display to down the powerful Ivorians in Group C

Luis Suarez made a sensational return to action by scoring a brace to lift Uruguay past England with a 2-1 victory at the World Cup in Sao Paulo on Thursday. England's Wayne Rooney hits the goal post with a header defended by Uruguay's Martin Caceres during the group D World Cup soccer match between Uruguay and England at the Itaquerao Stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Thursday, June 19, 2014. (AP-Yonhap)The victory resurrects Uruguay's last 16 hopes following the 3-1 defeat to Costa Rica in their G

FOZ DO IGUACU, Brazil (Yonhap) ― After playing Russia to a 1-1 draw to open Group H action at the ongoing FIFA World Cup, South Korea returned to its Brazilian base camp of Foz do Iguacu on Wednesday.South Korea, coached by Hong Myung-bo, will face Algeria in Porto Alegre, about 600 kilometers east of the base camp, on Sunday. The group finale will be against Belgium in Sao Paulo, some 850 kilometers northeast of Foz do Iguacu.Before the South Korea-Russia clash, Belgium defeated Algeria, 2-1, t

Striker Mario Mandzukic scored two second-half goals as Croatia knocked 10-man Cameroon out of the World Cup with a 4-0 rout in Manaus on Wednesday. Cameroon's Pierre Webo (left) and Croatia's Dejan Lovren challenge for the ball during the group A World Cup soccer match between Cameroon and Croatia at the Arena da Amazonia in Manaus, Brazil, Wednesday, June 18, 2014. (AP-Yonhap)Croatia bounced back from their opening defeat to hosts Brazil to keep alive their hopes of progressing from Group A wi

Arjen Robben and Robin van Persie scored as Netherlands came from behind to beat brave Australia 3-2 at the World Cup on Wednesday.(AFP-Yonhap)A second-half strike from Memphis Depay settled an electrifying Group B encounter at Porto Alegre's Beira-Rio Stadium after a stunning Tim Cahill volley and a Mile Jedinak penalty helped the Socceroos take a 2-1 lead.Netherlands -- who thrashed reigning champions Spain 5-1 in their opening match -- are now in pole position to finish top of the group with

Holders Spain sensationally crashed out of the World Cup on Wednesday with a 2-0 defeat to Chile that condemned them to become the fifth champions to fail to get past the first round.On a day when King Juan Carlos tearfully sealed his abdication after a four-decade reign, Spain's players were booted off their throne in 90 minutes after six years as the dominant force of world football.Chile's Eduardo Vargas and Charles Aranguiz administered the killer blows as a trophy-laden Spanish era was brou

CUIABA, Brazil ― South Korea’s meticulous World Cup preparations paid off enough to stop its losing streak, as the Taeguk Warriors reached a 1-1 draw with Russia on Tuesday in the final opening group match in Brazil.Korean forward Lee Keun-ho scored the opening goal in the 68th minute, followed by a dramatic equalizer by Russia’s Aleksandr Kerzhakov just six minutes later.The draw stopped Korea’s painful pre-World Cup slide after being routed by Tunisia 1-0 and Ghana 4-0. It also marked Korea’s

MANGARATIBA, Brazil (AP) ― Call it tik-Italia.Italy has taken Spain’s famed “tiki-taka” system and revamped it to deal with Brazil’s heat and humidity.The Azzurri mesmerized England by completing an astounding 93.2 percent of their passes during a 2-1 win on Saturday according to data company Opta Sports ― the highest accuracy recorded in a World Cup match since the statistic began to be recorded in 1966. The previous record belonged to Denmark at 92.7 percent from a 6-1 win over Uruguay in 1986