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MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015 SPORTS South America toughest group, says Pekerman ST PETERSBURG: South America is still the as high-risk opponents.”Remarkably, the most difficult continent to qualify for the South American group has used exactly the World Cup from, Colombia coach Jose same order of fixtures for the last four Pekerman said after draw on Saturday. World Cup qualifying competitions, from Teams face long journeys and must play 2002 to 2014, but this time it was decided in heat, cold and high altitude during the to make a change. marathon 18-match, two-year campaign Saturday’s draw, while not sorting the but Pekerman said it was also the quality of teams into groups, established the order of the opposition which made qualifying from matches and landed crisis-torn Brazil with a South America such a challenge. tough start at Copa America champions “It’s always been (the most difficult) and Chile. now, it’s even more so,” he told Reuters. “If Argentina will host Ecuador while you analyse the last World Cup, six out of Uruguay must travel to La Paz to face the 10 South American teams were pres- Bolivia at 3,600 metres above sea level. ent, five of them got into the last 16 and Brazil will always be missing Neymar as he four of them knocked each other out when completes a four-match suspension any of those could have reached the final,” imposed at the Copa America. he said. “It’s always nice at the draw, the prob- Pekerman, who led his side to the quar- lems start when you start playing,” Brazil ter-finals in 2014, added that traditionally coach Dunga told reporters. “Neymar will moderate teams like Ecuador, Paraguay be us for the rest of the qualifiers, so we and Venezuela had improved significantly. have to think about the whole competition “We have all these teams trying to qualify and not just the first two games. for the World Cup,” he said. “In a long competition, you have good “The others have improved a lot, they moments, not so good moments and when have developed, they have players in things get difficult, you have to be able to Europe, in important leagues, they have react. “A team is not built on technical qual- experience and this gap that existed before ity, you have to have personality, you need is getting smaller all the time. dedication and you have to know how to “You have to take them all very seriously suffer.” —Reuters Russia getting on with WCup CHESTER: Panama’s Luis Mejia blocks a ball during the penalty kick shootout in the CONCACAF Gold Cup third place soccer match against job as FIFA fights scandal United States. —AP ST. PETERSBURG: As he shared the stage redesigned three times,” project director with FIFA’s departing president Sepp Lazutkin said Monday. “That required Blatter, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s quite a long time for redesign work and Panama defeat US on message was simple. FIFA may be in also for rebuilding the stadium.” chaos, but Russia is getting on with the Since a Soviet-era stadium on the site job. “I’d like to emphasize again that all the was demolished in 2006, the Zenit Arena plans to prepare for the World Cup will be project has seen not only cost rises, but penalties in Gold Cup fulfilled,” Putin said, standing alongside fraud investigations into subcontractors, the embattled Blatter at Saturday’s prelim- the death of Japanese architect Kurio inary draw for the 2018 tournament. Kurosawa and political disputes. PHILADELPHIA: Reserve goalkeeper Luis Mejia handed another humiliating embarrassment by Anibal Godoy and Americans Yedlin and Tim “Hosting it is one of our key tasks.” Now the stadium’s roof has been fitted denied the last three US shooters and suspen- a Panama side that was 1-12 with three drawn Chandler. Against the backdrop of Swiss authori- and work is under way to put in the seats, sion-weakened Panama edged the United against the US team in prior matches. The Canaleros, who cried robbery after a ties investigating how the 2018 World Cup Lazutkin says the first games could be States 3-2 on penalties Saturday to claim third It was the first penalty shoot-out for the controversial 89th-minute foul call in the semi- was awarded to Russia, the draw was held held in little more than a year’s time. place in the Gold Cup. After the teams played to Americans since they beat Panama 3-1 in the final set up Mexico’s penalty kick equalizer, in St. Petersburg, both Putin’s home town Calling the stadium “disgraceful” is no a 1-1 draw through extra time, Aron Johannsson 2005 Gold Cup final. The US beat Panama 1-0 in faced the US team without starting goalkeeper and the site of the most troubled of all the longer possible, he insists, adding: “Mr and Clint Dempsey scored for the Americans last year’s Gold Cup final. Jaime Penedo and top scorer Luis Tejada, each 12 World Cup stadiums. Medvedev said that earlier. Now he has a while Roman Torres and Abdiel Arroyo Panama striker Roberto Nurse charged into suspended two matches on Friday by regional For years, the construction of St. different opinion, as far as I know.” One of answered for Panama in the shoot-out. Fabian the penalty area, faked past US defender John governing body CONCACAF. Petersburg’s 68,000-seat arena - due to Russia’s 12 World Cup arenas is raising Johnson sent his shot over the crossbar but US Brooks and curled in a left-footed shot around Penedo was banned for pushing the assis- host a semifinal in 2018 - was a costly, concerns, however. Construction is fully goalkeeper Brad Guzan responded by diving US goalkeeper Brad Guzan to open the scoring tant referee after the semi-final loss while Tejada repeatedly delayed symbol of Russian under way at every stadium but the one in right to deny Armando Cooper and keep the in the 55th minute. was banned one game for a red card and anoth- state inefficiency, so bad that Prime the western exclave of Kaliningrad, near shoot-out level. The Americans brought strikers DeAndre er for not promptly leaving the pitch when Minister Dmitry Medvedev publicly said it the Polish border. Mejia then dove right to stop US captain Yedlin of Tottenham Hotspur and Clint Dempsey ejected in the 25th minute against Mexico. Both looked “disgraceful.” That stadium was caught in a political Michael Bradley and after Panama’s Harold of Seattle, a former Fulham and Spurs standout, will miss Panama’s next international match as Finally, almost a decade after construc- tug-of-war between the regional and fed- Cummings scored, Mejia denied DaMarcus off the bench in the 60th minute and in the well. Until the Jamaica shocker, no regional rival tion began, it is close to completion. eral governments over its location. By the Beasley to secure the podium spot in the bien- 70th they combined on the equalizer. had ever denied the Americans a berth in the Estimated at 75 percent ready by project time the regional authorities’ costlier plan nial North and Central American regional foot- Yedlin controled the ball with his chest in the Gold Cup final. South American guest invitee chief Vitaly Lazutkin, much of the remain- to put the stadium on an island prevailed, ball championship. penalty area and flipped a pass right to Brazil stopped the US squad 1-0 in a 1996 semi- ing work is focused on installing seats and precious time had been lost. For the Americans, it marked the second Dempsey, who blasted the ball into the vacant final and 2-1 in a 2003 semi-final while 2000 finishing off complex systems such as the The stadium’s design has only been time in four days they had been upset by a team net to pull the US level. special guest Colombia beat the US team on retractable roof and movable pitch. signed off by a federal architecture watch- which had only beaten them once before. It marked the sixth Cup match in a row in penalties in a quarter-final. The final stages of the St. Petersburg dog in recent days, allowing work to Jamaica’s “Reggae Boyz” stunned the United which Panama took a 1-0 lead only to surrender The Americans have September friendlies build coincide with optimism that the begin. Worries over the stadium lying States 2-1 on Wednesday to reach Sunday’s final a second-half equalizer. Several players against Brazil and Peru and an playoff match for 2018 World Cup, while beset by controver- empty after the tournament also led to a against six-time champion Mexico. exchanged shoves after a midfield foul about a 2017 Confederations Cup berth before start- The Americans, who last month won away halfway into the first extra 15-minute period, a ing their bid to qualify for an eighth consecutive sies over corruption allegations and cut in capacity by 10,000 seats to 35,000. matches against the Germans and Dutch, were flurry that sparked yellow cards for Panama’s World Cup on November 13.—AFP racism by fans, will at least avoid the con- Organizers say the reduced size will allow struction chaos that marred preparations construction workers to make up for lost for last year’s tournament in Brazil. time. It’s a “relaxing situation,” FIFA general “We have absolutely no doubts that the secretary Jerome Valcke, who expects to stadium will be ready on time and that Mexican champions Santos lose leave office in February along with his everything will be up and running there longtime boss Blatter, told journalists soon,” organizing committee CEO Alexei MEXICO CITY: Champions Santos Laguna had the ball first and deflect it past him before steer- Friday.