World Best Sports

Gabriel Obertan scored in the 76th minute as English Premier League giant Manchester United defeated Philadelphia Union 1-0 in an exibition match at Lincoln Financial Field.

Obertan received the pass from Danny Welbeck and sailed a shot past netminder Brian Perk for the only goal of the game in front of a crowd of 44,213.

Manchester United was missing several of its stars on Wednesday against the North American Major League Soccer side. They played without Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick during the second leg of its North American tour.

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England  managed only one win and two draws during the group stages and then suffered a humiliating 4-1 World Cup exit at the hands of Germany  in the knockout round. But Fabio Capello's men have risen to seventh place in the rankings. World and European champions Spain top the rankings ahead of Holland, Brazil, Germany, Argentina  and Uruguay.

Portugal, who lost to eventual winners Spain in the knockout round, have dropped five places to eighth. Italy, world champions in 2006, have dropped six places to 11th. Egypt are ninth and the top 10 is completed by Chile. The Republic of Ireland are up five places to 36th and Scotland are up two spots to 41st. Northern Ireland have dropped three places to 59th and Wales have slipped seven spots to 84th. New Zealand, who were unbeaten in their three group matches in South Africa, have climbed 24 places to 54th.

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Dimitar Berbatov scored one goal and contributed to two more as English powerhouse Manchester United launched their North American Tour with a 3-1 friendly victory over Celtic. Substitutes Danny Welbeck and Tom Cleverley also scored for Manchester United, while Georgios Samaras converted a penalty for Scottish Premier League club Celtic. Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a strong lineup that included Berbatov, Edwin van der Sar, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs – who received an especially warm welcome from Canadian fans.

The match was played at the 50,000-seat Rogers Centre, where a temporary grass pitch was installed where the Toronto Argonauts normally play their Canadian Football League gridiron games on a synthetic surface.

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Fabio Capello is likely to drop John Terry from the England team next season, according to Italy defender Fabio Cannavaro.

Cannavaro got an insight into Capello's ruthless style of management when he worked with the Italian at Real Madrid and the Juventus star is convinced Terry is in severe danger of losing his England place after his controversial comments at the World Cup.

Earlier this year Capello had stripped Terry of the captaincy following revelations about the Chelsea player's affair with the ex-partner of former team-mate Wayne Bridge.

And Capello was further angered when Terry used a press conference during the World Cup to claim that he was ready to confront the Italian over his tactics and team selection.

Terry was forced to back down after Capello called his comments a "big mistake" but he gave a poor performance as England slumped to a 4-1 second round defeat against Germany.

Cannavaro is convinced Capello will make changes for the 2012 European Championship qualifying campaign, with Terry the most likely to lose his place.

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Newly recruited Barcelona utility player Adriano Correia said Monday he did not hesitate when the Spanish champions offered to sign him from La Liga  rivals Sevilla.

"I was very excited. I didn?t think twice about it and now I?m really pleased to have the chance to defend the Barca colours. This was something I couldn?t let pass by," he said during his official presentation.

"I?m very happy. I have worked hard to achieve this," the 25-year-old Brazilian added.

Barcelona completed the signing of Adriano, who can play at full-back or as a wide midfielder, on a four-year deal on Saturday after the player passed his medical tests.

The Catalan side will pay Sevilla 9.5 million euros for the 25-year-old, plus another four million euros depending on results.

The champions also have an option to extend the deal by another year.

"I?m comfortable playing in any of the four positions out wide. This is the best team in the world and I?m going to give everything for this club," said Adriano.

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The 36-year-old Manchester United star, who is heading into his 18th season at Old Trafford, is currently working on his fitness at the club's training camp in Chicago.

Giggs, a record appearance holder for the Red Devils, managed to land a one-year extension on his contract this year despite his age, and is expected to wind down his career where it started in the 1991/92 season.

When asked in a phone interview posted on USA Today's website about the prospect of joining the MLS, Giggs played down the idea of a possible move across the pond, insisting his age would be a deterring factor.

"Being in America you have a great lifestyle, good for raising a family," said Giggs. "The play is getting better. I still have a year left with Manchester United. After that maybe, maybe I will be too old."
Tough.

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 Soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo's baby boy was rushed to hospital by his family in a mystery scare. The baby boy was taken into emergency care at a private hospital in Portugal.

A blonde woman pal tightly clutched the handle of his carrycot, which was draped in a white blanket, as the party hurried into the hospital on the Algarve. They had driven there at top speed in a black 4×4 Audi Q7 with Ronaldo's sister Katia at the wheel and security men following in a BMW.

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The Barcelona midfielder scored the winning goal in extra time of an aggressive, bad-tempered game in which seven Holland  players were booked and John Heitinga was sent off. “I had the opportunity to score the goal that was so important for my team, and it’s incredible,” he said. I’ve made a small contribution in a very tough game, a very rough game – there were all sorts of things happening on the pitch – but Spain  deserved to win this World Cup.

"It’s something we have to remember and enjoy, and should feel very proud of everyone in this squad.” Iniesta was himself booked for taking off his shirt in celebrating his goal, revealing a t-shirt with “Dani Jarque – always with us” written on it. Jarque, an Espanyol player, died of a heart attack during pre-season training in Italy last year, aged 26.

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Holland will contest the World Cup final with Germany or Spain on Sunday. The victors have pursued the prize with more illustrious line-ups in days gone by.

But this one showed resilience in responding to an equaliser with goals from Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben in the second-half.

The 3-1 lead was trimmed by Maxi Pereira's curling effort in the 90th minute, but the Dutch were not to be denied.

The semi-final reeked of history as it pitted South Americans who had won the trophy twice against opponents beaten in two finals. Few anticipated that they would both be in the last four.

There was no risk of anyone in either squad being star-struck by the wonder of it all. The problems that had to be dealt with were instead to the fore in the minds of both sides.

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The atmosphere at this World Cup has been one of festive mood and pride among the locals, with South Africans pleased to have hosted the month-long extravaganza. This all culminates with the final to be played tomorrow night at the impressive Soccer City Stadium between two teams that have shown their pedigree throughout the competition, Netherlands and Spain.

With the showdown between the two European heavyweights beckoning, Goal.com hit the streets of Jozi to get a feel for the atmosphere in the run up to the final. There is no better place in Johannesburg than the shopping malls to get a solid picture of the city's mood and speak to a number of fans at one time.

For this reason the popular malls of Eastgate and Sandton City provided the perfect place to speak to fans and ordinary South Africans. There is a great deal of excitement in the city, and after being involved in every round of the tournament until the semi-finals, which were played in Cape Town and Durban.

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