The Americans allowed a goal on a free kick by Gerald Sibon in the third minute of injury time, forcing them to settle for a 2-2 tie with the Netherlands on Sunday night and swallow a lot of frustration.

"We were very close to being in the quarterfinals, and now we are very far," U.S. coach Peter Nowak said. "Before the game, nobody gave us a chance. And I think we played pretty good. You can look at his as half empty or half full."

The result left the United States with four points, tied atop Group B with Nigeria and two ahead of the Netherlands. Japan has zero. Only two teams advance.

The U.S. team faces off against the Nigerians on Wednesday in the final group game for both in Beijing. The Dutch will need a victory against Japan while the United States, with a superior goal difference to Nigeria, will require only a tie to advance.

"I'm still really bummed," U.S. midfielder Robbie Rogers said. "That's the best I've seen us play."

The Americans fell behind in the 16th minute on a goal by Ryan Babel, but made a tactical change soon afterward and began to control the match.

Sacha Klejstan and Jozy Altidore scored eight minutes apart to give the United States a 2-1 lead by the 72nd minute.

Klejstan tied the game in the 64th minute, running onto a through ball from Freddy Adu, cutting inside and turning defender Kew Jaliens before blasting a right-footed shot past goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer.

"When I scored that goal, we went and picked it up," Klejstan said. "Our confidence just continued to grow."

Eight minutes later with the Americans pressing again, the ball squirted wide left to defender Michael Orozco, who drove it back across the penalty area and Altidore knocked it in with his right knee.

But as the game wore on and the Dutch saw their Olympic chances dwindling, caution was no longer an option.

Sibon entered the game in the 75th minute with fellow forward Roy Makaay, who injured his foot in the Netherlands' 0-0 draw with Nigeria on Wednesday and initially was reported to be unavailable.

The United States fought off all chances until the Dutch earned a free kick 25 yards from goal, and Jonathan de Guzman and Urby Emanuelson were unsure who should take it.

"When I came in, they said they weren't sure, and so I said 'I'll take it," Sibon said. "You just blast it on goal and see where it lands."

Sibon's low drive eluded goalkeeper Brad Guzan to send the Dutch to its game against winless Japan with renewed hopes of reaching the quarterfinals.

"If you look at the replay, it goes right under the wall," Guzan said. "Unfortunately, we were the better team for 70 minutes. We let two points get away from us.

"After tonight, we'll put this behind us. We'll go to Beijing looking for a win. You don't go into these games looking for a draw, or looking to score 'x' amount of goals. We're completely confident."Here

With Louis Saha written out of his plans and Wayne Rooney only just returned to training after picking up a virus in Nigeria, the Manchester United boss had only Carlos Tevez to call on for this afternoon's Community Shield win over Portsmouth at Wembley.

Tevez responded with a man-of-the-match display containing everything but a goal as United triumphed in a penalty shoot-out.

But Ferguson admits getting a forward in time for Sunday's Barclays Premier League opener with Newcastle is now a pressing concern.

'It has been pressing since the end of last season,' said the Scot.

'We like to operate with four strikers and we have not been able to do that.'

There is bound to be fresh speculation over a move for Tottenham's Dimitar Berbatov, while Karim Benzema, David Villa and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar have also been linked with Old Trafford over the last few months.

Henry's name has just been added to that list despite the 31-year-old's obvious link with Arsenal.

Tellingly, it was an issue Ferguson chose to skirt round rather than reject.

'There is a name every day,' he said.

'I can't answer the question because I don't have the right answer.

'It is possible I will sign someone this week. We are trying and we are looking at one or two options.

'Hopefully we will get something done.'Here

Midfielder Jean Makoun, making his competitive debut for Lyon, opened the scoring after 12 minutes before France striker Benzema struck either side of the hour mark to wrap things up.

Les Violets offered precious little going forward and, on this showing, look set for a repeat of last season, when they struggled badly and only survived relegation on the final day of the campaign.

Makoun, a summer signing from Lille, scored with the only decent chance of the first half.

Juninho, so often a provider of Lyon goals down the years with his whipped set-pieces, was at it again here, his left-wing free-kick finding an unmarked Makoun seven yards out.

The Cameroon midfielder beat Tefece goalkeeper Cedric Carrasso to the ball and stooped to head home low into an unguarded net.

Toulouse's only effort of a listless first 45 minutes came through Andre-Pierre Gignac, but the striker's angled shot was comfortably dealt with by Lyon custodian Hugo Lloris.

Les Gones right-back Francois Clerc limped off with a knee injury just before the break but it did not affect the hosts, who went up a gear in the second half.

Sidney Govou should have doubled the lead when he was played clean through by Benzema, but the France winger's attempted chip over Carrasso went awry.

With Lyon looking increasingly dangerous, Benzema opened his account for the season in the 57th minute, chesting down Govou's cross from the right and firing home a left-foot shot that took a slight deflection off Mauro Cetto before flying in at the near post.

Last season's Ligue 1 top scorer and player of the year made the game safe with 24 minutes left, nodding home a rebound from three yards out after Jean-Alain Boumsong's header from Juninho's free-kick had been tipped onto the bar by Carrasso.Here

The Ivory Coast international has been linked with a move away from the club all summer, with Barcelona, AC Milan and Internazionale all thought to be possible destinations for the 30-year-old.

However, Drogba insists he is going nowhere and that he will happily see out his contract with the Blues.

'I have always said that I am very happy at Chelsea,' he told France Football. 'It's a great team with great players and a great coach.

'Everything's going well here and I have two years left on my contract and I will spend them at Chelsea.'

In an interview with the same magazine last October, soon after the departure of Jose Mourinho as manager, Drogba claimed he wanted to quit Stamford Bridge.

'I want to leave Chelsea,' he said. 'Something is broken with Chelsea. Nothing can stop me from leaving now.'

He later said he regretted the remarks and was '100% committed' to Chelsea.Here

There was none of the same drama though as United sauntered through three successful spot-kicks with only Jermain Defoe successful in reply.

It represented the first of what could turn out to be seven trophies for the Red Devils this season.

But more important for Sir Alex Ferguson, who has now completed a lucky seven victories in the curtain-raiser, it emphasised the class United proved last season still remains as they prepare for the defence of their Premier League and Champions League crowns.

Portsmouth have been held up by some, including United captain Gary Neville, as potential top-four material this term.

Yet for all the added bulk and height Peter Crouch brings to a forward line Defoe was only introduced to in January, it has come at the expense of key midfielder Sulley Muntari, who has left for Inter Milan.

Undoubtedly, pivotal figures such as David James, Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin are a year older, which hardly points to greater success given the added weight of UEFA Cup fixtures after last season's FA Cup triumph.

Not that the veterans in Harry Redknapp's squad were tested too much in an unspectacular opening half-hour.

It was 26 minutes before either side forced a save, James beating away Ryan Giggs' near-post piledriver.

Carlos Tevez had seen his shot blocked, while Lassana Diarra volleyed wildly over at the other end but it was United who looked most likely to create a clear opening, which duly arrived at Darren Fletcher's feet just past the half hour.

With Fabio Capello watching from the stands, Glen Johnson would have been mildly embarrassed to be robbed so easily by Nani.

The winger's cross caught the Portsmouth defence flat-footed. But instead of sliding the opener into an unguarded goal, Fletcher somehow managed to get the ball stuck under his body. The scoring chance gone, Fletcher attempted to scoop a pass to Tevez, only to meet with failure there as well.

It was the start of a purple patch for United. Nani was heavily involved, coming close himself on a couple of occasions and setting up Paul Scholes with an accurate corner to the edge of the area which his team-mate screwed wide.

As Ronaldo - who watched from the stands alongside Wayne Rooney - is sidelined until the end of September following his ankle operation, Nani is going to be a major figure for United in the coming weeks.

It does not help that the Portugal international is suspended for two games following his dismissal against West Ham in May but his speed, skill and movement make him an opponent to be feared. He even remonstrates in the same way as good friend Ronaldo, although it was Distin and Nemanja Vidic who showed scant regard for the FA's laudable `Respect' the referee campaign, both booked for dissent as they questioned officials' decisions.

After spurning the earlier golden opportunity, Fletcher came agonisingly close to giving United the lead they deserved with a superb chip that was heading in until James touched it onto the bar.

The rebound came at Tevez pretty quickly, leaving him no time to do anything other than nod it straight to the Portsmouth keeper.

Neville signalled his well-being on his first domestic appearance since March 2007, thundering into John Utaka to earn a booking after enjoying a relatively quiet hour.

Whether it will be enough to get him into Ferguson's side to face Newcastle next week is debatable though, with Wes Brown still perceived to be the man in possession of that coveted right-back berth.

The chances started to mount for United as James denied both Giggs and Nani before producing a full-length fingertip save to touch round a Tevez effort that was heading for the corner.

Both sides had good penalty appeals turned down, Hermann Hreidarsson pulling Tevez down with a firm grip of the ankle, before prospective England skipper Rio Ferdinand smashed a shot into the side-netting.

It was the prelude to a niggly last few minutes as Fraizer Campbell was buffeted around and Paul Scholes caught Papa Bouba Diop.

Amid the fraying tempers, Tevez's shot flew over after flicking off Distin.

But in the end, it went down to penalties. And one suspects, after their nailbiting win over Chelsea, this time there was no pressure for United at all.Here

Sorenstam eagled the par-4 17th to move into second place. The Swedish Hall of Famer took a double-bogey on the last hole, hitting her tee shot into the water and three-putting.

Sorenstam, the tournament host, shot 72 and finished seven strokes back to tie for sixth with three other Swedes. She was greeted by a packed gallery on the 18th green.

"I decided to forget that I hit the ball in the water," Sorenstam said. "I enjoyed seeing the fans making the wave and applauding when I went up to the green. It felt really good."

The 19-year-old Yang captured her second win as a professional in the rain-shortened 54-hole tournament with a 14-under 202 total at the Frosaker Golf and Country Club.

"I never thought I could win the tournament," said Yang, who accepted the trophy and a hug from Sorenstam. "The leader was four shots ahead of me, so I thought I'd just go out and have fun. I'm very happy."

Yang birdied seven of 10 holes from the third to move atop the leaderboard. She stayed there, finishing with birdies on the last three holes. Her only bogey came on the second hole.

Minea Blomqvist of Finland set the course record (63) earlier in the day. She shared second with Melodie Bourdy of France (66), overnight leader Lill Saether of Norway (73) and Maria Hjorth of Sweden (72) in the European Ladies Tour event.

Saether and Hjorth set the course record with 64s on Saturday. Sorenstam had lowered the record to 66 on Thursday.

Yang won the ANZ Ladies Masters at 16 in 2006, becoming the first amateur to win a major women's pro tournament in Australia. Her first pro win came at the Ladies German Open in June.

Joining Sorenstam at 209 were Liselotte Neumann (66), Louise Friberg (69) and amateur Anna Nordqvist (71). American Jill McGill (71) tied for 13th. Catriona Matthew of Scotland did not defend her title.

Yang played the first two rounds of the tournament with Sorenstam, her idol.

"I was nervous. I hardly dared to talk to her," Yang said. "Before the tournament, I wanted Annika to win it. She's my favorite player."

Sorenstam won the tournament six times from 1997-2006 when it was the Compaq Open, HP Open and Scandinavian TPC Hosted by Annika. Sorenstam, who will retire at the end of the season, acknowledged the Swedish fans for the final time.

"Naturally, it was special to walk out there today," Sorenstam said. "I knew this was my last tournament in Sweden. I'm enormously thankful for the fans' support this week."

The 37-year-old Sorenstam, a winner of 10 majors and 72 LPGA titles, plans to get married, start a family and focus on business and golf interests.

She will make her final competitive appearance in Europe on Sept. 5 in Denmark. Her last start will be at the Dubai Ladies Masters on Dec. 11. Here

Not that he felt any pain.

With President Bush cheering him on, Phelps dominated his first event of the Beijing Olympics on Sunday morning, crushing his own world record and all hopes of his challengers with a mark of 4 minutes, 3.84 seconds in the 400-meter individual medley.

One down, seven to go in Phelps' quest to break Mark Spitz's record of seven gold medals.

"I'm not downplaying this race by any means, but I have to put that race behind me," Phelps said. "I have to act like it never happened because I have so many tough races ahead of me."

This was supposed to be one of the toughest, especially after fellow American and good friend Ryan Lochte matched Phelps stroke for stroke at the U.S. Olympic trials just over a month ago. Both went under the previous world record in the 400 IM then, with Phelps touching first in 4:05.25.

But Phelps beat Lochte when it really mattered. Laszlo Cseh of Hungary took the silver in 4:06.16, while Lochte faded to third in 4:08.09 -- more than 4 seconds behind.

"Going into the last 50 and looking to my right and seeing that I was ahead of Ryan and Laszlo, I sort of started smiling," Phelps said.

He didn't even know he bumped his head.

"If I did, I didn't feel it," he said.

After spotting his time, Phelps pumped both arms in the air, and quickly spotted his mother and two sisters in the massive stands at the Water Cube. He then looked the other way, where Bush was waving his American flag, accompanied by the first lady, their daughter Barbara and his father, former President George H.W. Bush.

Phelps smiled, pointed and gave a thumbs-up.

"I looked up and he waved the flag and nodded his head," Phelps said. "That was a pretty cool feeling to have the president say congratulations and have him in the crowd."

On Sunday, Phelps advanced out of the 200-meter freestyle preliminaries, qualifying fourth-fastest about nine hours after winning the 400 IM.

"Tonight was just a race to get into tomorrow," he said. "I just try to conserve everything and make it into the semifinal. I try to bank as much rest as I can tonight -- recover and sleep and try to warm down and get out of here as fast as I can, so I'm not getting so run down."

Phelps never led in his heat and touched in 1 minute, 46.48 seconds, well off his world record set at last year's world championships.

Dominik Meichtry of Switzerland led the way in 1:45.80. Jean Basson of South Africa was second-quickest in 1:46.31, followed by Canadian Brent Hayden.

American Peter Vanderkaay also moved on to Monday's semifinals.

Phelps said this might be his last 400 IM. He's eager to try some new events and ditch a grueling race that combines all four strokes, though coach Bob Bowman may have something to say about that.

"We had a deal. I told Bob that I wanted this to be my last 400 IM. He said I have to end on a record," Phelps said.

"In my opinion, that was my last one."

If so, what a way to go out.

The top three traded the lead over the butterfly and backstroke legs. Cseh got off to a quick start, touching the first wall just ahead of Phelps, and Lochte claimed the lead midway through the back.

Phelps had a slight lead at the 200 mark, and it began turning into a blowout from there.

"Looking and seeing all three of us together pretty much at the 200, I wasn't really comfortable with having that close of a race," Phelps said. "I usually have more of a gap, but it made my breaststroke a lot stronger."

No one was catching Phelps in the freestyle. He stretched his lead and powered to the wall with nearly his entire body in front of the world-record line -- a green marker superimposed on the video screen to show the pace of the previous record.

"The freestyle is just downhill," Phelps said. "The freestyle is all adrenaline."

Added Cseh, "I saw Lochte was going [slower] and I tried to do everything to go better than Phelps, but I don't have enough power for that."

No one does.

On the medal stand, Phelps' eyes watered as the U.S. flag was raised to the rafters. The only glitch came during the playing of the "Star-Spangled Banner," which cut off a few seconds before the end, cracking up Phelps.

Lochte, who thought he could give Phelps a run for the gold, was blown out by the world's greatest swimmer.

"I did everything I could, so that's all I can ask for," Lochte said. "That was amazing. Setting another world record, you can't ask for anything else. That was a great way to start off the meet for USA."

Phelps wasn't the only swimmer to dazzle on what figures to be another assault on the record book over the nine-day meet.

In the men's 400 freestyle, Park Tae-hwan of South Korea won the gold medal, snapping Australia's dominance of the event at the Olympics.

Park, the current world champion, touched in 3:41.86. Zhang Lin of China earned his country's first swimming medal of the games, claiming silver in 3:42.78. American Larsen Jensen took the bronze in 3:42.78, his second U.S. record in as many days.

Favored Aussie Grant Hackett, who was in the lead off the blocks, struggled home in sixth. He was second four years ago to countryman Ian Thorpe, who won the second of two straight golds in the event. Hackett will get a chance to make up for it in his best event, the 1,500 free.Here

Wakefield returned to Boston on Sunday for a cortisone shot after cutting short a throwing session the previous day. The 42-year-old right-hander experienced some stiffness while holding Kansas City to four hits over six innings in an 8-2 win on Wednesday.

"We took him out a little early the other night," Francona said before the Red Sox lost to the White Sox 6-5 on Sunday. "He was getting stiffer and stiffer as the game progressed. It was getting hard to get loose. He was still throwing great."

The Red Sox are taking a cautious approach with Wakefield, who missed the AL Division Series and World Series last year with a similar injury.

"We're trying to not have this thing get to the point where it did last year," Francona said.

Wakefield, 7-8 with a 3.67 ERA, was scheduled to start Tuesday, but the Red Sox will call up a minor leaguer instead. Francona said Bartolo Colon, on the disabled list since June 17 with a stiff lower back, is not ready to return yet.

Also on Sunday, the Red Sox scratched first baseman Kevin Youkilis from the lineup because of a sore left shoulder.Here

Sure, Mike Lowell was at the plate. Yes, the bases were loaded. And, by the way, a one-run lead was hanging in the balance.

"I just tried to throw strikes," Dotel said. "The last thing I wanted to do was walk that guy."

He got Lowell to bounce into an inning-ending double play, and the Chicago White Sox hung on to beat the Boston Red Sox 6-5 Sunday.

Carlos Quentin hit his American League-leading 32nd homer, Jim Thome and Jermaine Dye connected, but nifty relief pitching from Dotel helped preserve the win.

"It was the perfect time for us because of our situation, where we're at," Dotel said. "We really need to win. Thank God everything came through my way."

He came in with Chicago clinging to a 6-5 lead with one out in the seventh after Matt Thornton walked Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz and J.D. Drew to load the bases. Lowell sent a grounder toward Juan Uribe at third, who started the double play, and Dotel retired the side in the eighth.

"Guy throwing hard, threw me a good pitch, it sunk," said Lowell, who had a three-run homer offset by two errors.

Bobby Jenks pitched a perfect ninth for his 24th save in 27 chances, and the White Sox hung on after a brutal 6-2 loss the previous night. Not only did they briefly fall out of first place, they lost Jose Contreras to a season-ending Achilles injury early in that game, after he was activated from the disabled list.

The Red Sox, who had won six of eight, jumped ahead when Lowell went deep in the first, but the struggling Clay Buchholz (2-8) couldn't hold it. He is 0-6 in his last eight starts and still is searching for his first win since May 2, after a White Sox team that leads the majors in homers rallied behind the long ball.

Dye led off the second with his 27th homer, and Quentin and Thome hit two-run shots in the third to make it 5-3. Gavin Floyd (12-6) got the win even though he struggled at times, allowing five runs and seven hits while striking out six and walking one in 5 1/3 innings. He improved to 7-1 after White Sox losses but lost his hair in the process.

With some prodding from Jenks in spring training, Floyd agreed to shave his shaggy locks if he won 12 games.

"I just wanted him to get a haircut," Jenks said.

The closer also believed it was a bet Floyd would win. His emergence is one reason Chicago is fighting for the division title, and with Contreras finished for the season, they'll need him to keep up the pace.

"I believe in what I can do," Floyd said. "You can't really change your attitude because of that."

It was another rough outing for Buchholz, who allowed seven hits, five runs and a season-high three homers while throwing 74 pitches in three-plus inning -- his shortest outing this year.

A.J. Pierzynski delivered a broken-bat single with one out in the third, and Quentin sent the next pitch out to left-center, tying it at 3. After Dye singled, Thome gave the White Sox a 5-3 lead when he drove a hanging breaking ball an estimated 431 feet to right -- his second homer in as many games, his 24th this season and his 531st in all.

"Tough to swallow, whenever you go out there and you have a game plan and execute it and it still doesn't work out," Buchholz said.

The White Sox got a run against David Aardsma in the fifth, but the Red Sox answered with two in the sixth to pull within 6-5.

Floyd left with a 6-4 lead after allowing a leadoff triple by Drew in the fifth and one-out singles by Jason Bay and Sean Casey. Thornton came in and threw a wild pitch on a third strike to Jason Varitek, allowing Bay to score. Alex Cora then struck out to end the threat.

The Red Sox stayed in it thanks to Dustin Masterson, who allowed one hit while striking out five in 2 2/3 scoreless innings.

"We just couldn't push that tying run across," manager Terry Francona said.

Game notes
Pedroia extended his road hitting streak to 29 games when he doubled in the first inning, the longest by a Red Sox player since Tris Speaker hit in 29 straight in 1913. ... Knuckleballer Tim Wakefield will miss at least two starts and go on the disabled list because of a stiff right shoulder, Francona said. ... 1B Kevin Youkilis was scratched from the lineup because of a sore left shoulder. ... The White Sox placed Contreras on the 15-day disabled list with a ruptured left Achilles' tendon, a season-ending injury. They also recalled RHP Lance Broadway from Triple-A Charlotte, optioned LHP Boone Logan and purchased infielder Chris Getz's contract from the minor league club.Here

"Of course I definitely want to be out there," Burress said Sunday after watching the morning workout at the University at Albany. "Like I said, Plaxico Burress has to take care of Plaxico Burress."

Burress, who caught the game-winning pass in the upset of the New England Patriots, has not practiced since the Giants opened training camp on July 25. The last time he practiced was before the Super Bowl. He skipped the optional offseason workouts and refused to take part in the veteran minicamp in June because his contract, which will pay him $3.25 million this season, was not renegotiated.

The veteran wide receiver noted Sunday that he has given up hope that he will get a new deal, although general manager Jerry Reese said that the team hopes to have a new one by the start of the season.

While a new contract might help, the big issue for Burress is his ankle. He is determined not to let it bother him all season. He injured it in training camp last season and practiced less than 10 times because it hurt too much.

The right ankle is the same one that prevented him from practicing last season, but the injury is different. Doctors are trying to stabilize it with orthotics.

"I have to make all the right judgments as far as my health, as far as my ankle, before I go out there on the football field," Burress said. "When I go out on that football field, I want to be running 100 mph with no restrictions. That's what I am trying to accomplish being on the sidelines, getting healthy and going out and being explosive and jumping up in the air and catching ball."

Despite his limited practice time, Burress had a team-high 70 catches for 1,025 yards, combining with Eli Manning for a career-best 12 touchdowns last season.

Coach Tom Coughlin has said he would like Burress to practice before the team breaks camp next Sunday.

Burress doesn't know if that will happen. He is receiving treatment three times a day.

"I probably could get out there, but I want be to my normal self, like I know I can and that's what I want to accomplish," Burress said. "Why wouldn't everybody want that from me? I think everyone would be a lot happier when I am 100 percent. I know my quarterback would be. I don't see why there is a problem."

Getting used to the orthotics is taking time, Burress said. He started some light running last week and feels he is making progress. He insisted no one in the organization is pushing him to practice.

"Like I said, they would like to have me out there, but they know nobody wants to get healthy more than me," Burress said. "I mean, I am excited about being 100 percent because I know I have a pretty good idea of some of the things I can do. I can take my game to the next level, so to speak. That's what I want more than anything."

Burress felt his performance last season was worthy of the Pro Bowl, considering he limped around most of the season. He also criticized the Pro Bowl selections, saying a receiver with two touchdowns (Donald Driver of Green Bay) was picked over him.

Driver had 82 catches for 1,048 yards.

"I don't think 100 receptions for a guy like myself is possible," Burress said. "You know for a guy who has not been to the Pro Bowl, I get double- and triple-teamed enough. I don't set goals. I just try to go out and dominate each week."

Burress said his hope for a new contract is "long gone." He said he does not expect Drew Rosenhaus, his agent, to return to Albany again. Rosenhaus was here last week to talk to the Giants.

Reese thought otherwise.

"I'm optimistic we'll get something done," he said.

Either way, Burress is waiting on his ankle to heal so he can "dominate and rip it up."

"I just want to get healthy," he said. "I am going to go out and do things that I am capable of doing when I get healthy. I think everybody around here will have a lot of appreciation for that when I am on the football field when I am healthy."Here