Trouble Breaks Out in France and Argentina

Rival groups of fans brawled into the early morning hours in Saint-Etienne, France, and local youths broke store windows and damaged cars after Argentina defeated England on penalty kicks to advance to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

A number of fans and locals were arrested, but police couldn’t say how many. About 10 people were slightly injured by thrown bottles.

Police closed off much of the town center, and trams and buses were diverted to avoid further trouble.

In Buenos Aires, celebrations collapsed Tuesday night into rock-throwing by rowdy youths whom police dispersed with tear gas and a water cannon.

Authorities said at least 20 people were injured in the disturbances that lasted more than an hour around the soaring Obelisk, a Buenos Aires monument that serves as a rallying point for fans.

The violence tainted what had been a largely peaceful outpouring by thousands of Argentines that paralyzed rush-hour traffic in the capital.

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Showing a solidarity that was seldom displayed on the field, four members of the U.S. World Cup soccer team distanced themselves Tuesday from teammates who have ripped former coach Steve Sampson.

“I look at it as a whole. It was everybody’s fault, not one person,” said Brian McBride, who scored the U.S. team’s lone goal in a three-game, three-loss exit from the World Cup.

McBride is one of four members of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew who were selected to play for the U.S. team. All four returned to Columbus on Tuesday to begin preparations for the Crew’s game Friday at San Jose.

When a youth-league player asked about Sampson’s controversial 3-6-1 alignment, McBride said it was confidence and not a configuration that resulted in the opening loss to Germany.

“In the second half, it worked a lot better because we got our ears chewed off and decided to play soccer,” he said.

“We could have played a 9-9-18,” said Thomas Dooley, the U.S. team captain. “The difference between teams is not that big. I still believe we came closer to Germany than a lot of teams.”

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Four years after the World Cup was played in the United States, half of Americans didn’t even realize it’s a soccer tournament.

Only 52% of adults in the United States knew the World Cup is a soccer competition and only 25% were aware it is being played in France, according to a survey released Tuesday by Lou Harris & Associates.

Only 19% of Americans have watched a World Cup game, according to the survey.