International Soccer
PARIS - The French soccer federation suspended four players, including Nicolas Anelka for 18 games, for a World Cup mutiny that was criticized by President Nicolas Sarkozy and underlined an embarrassing first-round exit.
BERLIN - Youssef Bassal's heart swelled with pride when he draped an enormous German flag on the building where he runs a cell phone store in support of the World Cup team.
JOHANNESBURG - Bad bounces plaguing the goalkeepers? Try an NFL ball.
MEXICO CITY - American soccer star Landon Donovan is so famous in Mexico that he's appearing in a new TV commercial for a product he'd never be promoting in the United States - gambling on a soccer lottery.
ZURICH - Iraq faces suspension from world soccer if it does not restore the disbanded national federation by Thursday.
