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Stuttgart, Germany - German international striker Mario Gomez has signed a contract extension with VfB Stuttgart to stay with the defending Bundesliga champions until 2012.

Gomez, 22, scored 14 goals in 25 matches last year. He was sought after by Italian giants Juventus, among other clubs, but decided to stay with Stuttgart.

“By extending his contract Mario has clearly shown that he doesn’t think about any other club,” Stuttgart sporting director Horst Heldt told the club’s Web site. “Despite interest from a lot of clubs he never thought about leaving. We are delighted the he opted for a future with VfB and include him in our long- term plans.”

Gomez has three goals in three appearances for the German national team.

Stuttgart claimed its first Bundesliga title since 1991-92 last season. The club held off Schalke and Werder Bremen, which finished two and four points back in the standings, respectively.

Stuttgart visits Schalke on Aug. 10 to kick off the Bundesliga season. The clubs split two meetings last year, with Stuttgart winning 3-0 on Oct. 29 and Schalke winning 1-0 on March 17.

Stuttgart is trying to win back-to-back Bundesliga titles for the first time in club history. Schalke is searching for its first league title since the 1957-58 season.

The rest of the league opens the season on Aug. 11.

Toronto, Canada - Mauro Zarate scored in the 86th minute to give Argentina a 2-1 comeback win against the Czech Republic in the final of the U-20 World Cup.

Martin Fenin put the Czech’s ahead on the hour mark, but Sergio Aguero equalized four minutes later and Zarate clinched Argentina’s sixth U-20 World Cup title with just minutes to play.

Fenin’s goal came on the heels of a sloppy first half, but Argentina was able to grab the tying goal as Ever Banega slid a nice through-ball to Aguero, who worked his way behind the defense and slid home his tournament-leading sixth goal to even the match.

The game looked as though it would require extra time, but Zarate came through with the game-winner. He took a pass on the left of the goal and turned with the ball before drilling a hard shot at the near post. The ball had plenty of pace and Czech keeper Radek Petr was only able to get a piece of the shot before it crossed the goal line.

The win only reaffirms Argentina’s dominance in the competition as the South American giants have now captured five of the last seven U-20 World Cups.

Carson, CA - The David Beckham era in the United States officially began on Saturday night as the midfielder walked onto the field of The Home Depot Center in the 78th minute of an international friendly between the Los Angeles Galaxy and Chelsea.

Beckham’s Galaxy fell to the English Premiership power, 1-0, but the sold-out crowd was just happy that it saw the international superstar make his Los Angeles debut.

Beckham, who was a game-time decision, did not start for Los Angeles because he was nursing an injured left ankle all week. He arrived to the stadium about 90 minutes before the game, and did not come out of the locker room until minutes before kickoff when he was swarmed by cameras on the bench.

With the Galaxy down 1-0, Beckham started warming up on the sidelines in the 65th minute. After getting loose and getting his ankle looked at by trainers, the flashbulbs went off as Beckham entered the match for Alan Gordon. Beckham played the final 13-plus minutes and had eight touches, including a corner kick in the last few seconds.

“I’m not fit,” said Beckham. “I haven’t trained since I got here, but it’s nice to be out there.”

Beckham’s ankle was swollen Monday, but the injury had improved slightly in the last few days since the it worsened when Beckham flew from England to the United States last week.

Beckham first injured the ankle playing for England in a Euro 2008 qualifying match on June 6. He aggravated the injury in his final game for Read Madrid.

Los Angeles needs a healthy Beckham before it returns to its Major League Soccer schedule on August 5, at Toronto FC. The Galaxy are fifth in the Western Conference - ahead of only Real Salt Lake.

He signed a five-year deal with L.A. worth $32.5 million, which will total nearly $250 million with endorsements.

Included in the crowd which came to see Beckham’s first game in a Galaxy uniform were Katie Holmes, Kevin Garnett, Eva Longoria, Sharon Stone, Drew Carey and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The sole goal of the game came in the 49th minute when John Terry blasted a one-timer from the top of the box down low.

Madrid, Spain - Striker Thierry Henry successfully completed his first full practice with Barcelona on Saturday, and is now scheduled to travel with his new team to Scotland for his Spanish debut.

Henry, a soccer knocker who came to Barcelona from Arsenal on June 25, had been sidelined due to a groin injury since March.

However, on Saturday it was decided that he will be ready for the club’s preseason match with Dundee United on July 26.

“He will play some minutes,” said Barca coach Frank Rijkaard.

Henry’s health was in question after he suffered injuries to his foot, stomach, back and groin last season. Barcelona team doctor Richard Pruna concentrated on the groin injury due to the previous problems there, and put Henry on a special program for that area once he joined the team.

Henry, one of the premier strikers in the world, had been with Arsenal since 1999. In 364 games with the English Premier League team, he scored a club- record 226 goals. He missed much of last season because of the various injuries, but still scored 10 goals.

Henry helped Arsenal win two Premier League titles and three FA Cups. Arsenal also advanced to the finals of 2000 UEFA Cup and the 2006 Champions League.

He led the Premier League in scoring four times, and was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year twice.

Henry, 29, still had three years left on his contract with Arsenal. Rumors about him leaving the club increased after Arsenal finished fourth in the Premier League for the second year in a row.

Barcelona finished tied with Real Madrid atop the Spanish La Liga, but lost the title on a tiebreaker on head-to-head results.

Henry’s career started when he was just 13 and joined French first division club Monaco in 1991. He didn’t make his debut until the 1994-95 campaign but was voted French Young Player of the Year a season later.

In 1997, he scored nine goals in 36 matches to help Monaco to the French title. He earned his first cap for France’s national team at the beginning of the following season.

He played in six of France’s seven games during its 1998 World Cup triumph. He scored three first-round goals, but was on the bench for the 3-0 win against Brazil in the final.

Henry joined Juventus of the Italian Serie A in January of 1999 and started just 12 games before going to Arsenal for $20.99 million. He won his first Premier League scoring title in the 2001-02 season.

In 2004, he became the first to be named Player of the Year by the football writers in consecutive seasons after leading Arsenal to the first undefeated season in Premier League history.

Henry scored his 186th goal with Arsenal in 2005 to overtake Ian Wright as the club’s all-time leading scorer.

He scored his 200th goal for the team in the 2005-06 season and captained the team to its first Champions League final, a 2-1 loss to Barcelona. He was again named writers’ Player of the Year to become the only player to receive the honor three times

Rome, Italy - Roma legend Francesco Totti announced on Friday that he was retiring from international soccer.

Totti made 58 appearances for Italy during his international career and tallied nine goals. He was a member of Italy’s World Cup champion squad in 2006, and said that he would take an extended break following the tournament. He has now decided to stop playing for the Azzurri all together.

After breaking his ankle prior to last year’s World Cup, Totti rushed back to play in the competition after having surgery to insert a plate in his ankle.

The result of last year’s World Cup is a nice way for Totti to make his exit. His last effort on soccer’s biggest stage in 2002 ended with Italy being eliminated in the Round of 16 by Korea after Totti had been sent off for picking up his second yellow card.

“The word finished is ugly but I have taken this decision to end the chapter with the national team for various physical reasons and not technical,” Totti said at a news conference. “I have weighed up for a year after the World Cup what to do and I have decided to finish with the national team in order not to create problems for the Azzurri staff. I am sorry, but health is the most important thing.”

The 30-year-old Totti has always been a supremely talented player, but his international career has never quite lived up to the one he enjoyed domestically. He was an inconsistent performer at times with the national team, while he is a legend at Roma, the club he has played his entire career at since his debut at age 16.

Totti captured the European Golden Boot last season as he recorded 26 goals to lead Serie A while helping Roma to a second-place finish in the league.

David Beckham is not expected to debut this Saturday as he nurses an ankle injury. The injury itself is healing nicely but his new team, The LA Galaxy, remains concerned about his long term future and wishes to ensure full healing before Beckham takes to the field.

“We want to get him on the field as quickly as we can but we don’t want to put him in any danger of re-injuring it,” Galaxy head coach Frank Yallop said.

“There is always a possibility he won’t play because of his injury but we’re never going to force him to play. If he’s ready to play, he’ll play. We’re just waiting to see how he responds.

If there is any doubt that David Beckham will have a major impact on American Soccer Knocker fans, search queries should help put minds at ease, not to mention the US tabloids and their fascination with the Beckhams.

TMZ.com seems to be devoting a substantial portion of its time covering Becks and Posh, his wife.

Today’s quest for Beckham news, the latest in a series of reports that has Posh attempting to adapt to the American way of life (or should we say, keep from adapting)

Victoria Beckham was more liked Scared Spice stepping out of her limo while hubby David ensure she did not pull a Britney and expose that crotch.

Posh got slammed by critics in the US regarding her much-hyped program, Welcome to America - shown in the US on Monday.

Critics savaged the show and dubbed its star “vapid”, “condescending” and just another “rich, idiotic It girl”.

Beckham so far is doing just fine, drawing 5,000 to a glorified news conference last Friday where he was officially introduced to Galaxy soccer knocker fans. Adidas reports shipping 250,000 of Beckham’s new jerseys to stores over the past week or so.

But there are issues, as well. How, for instance, will a guy who signed a five-year, $32.5 million contract fit into a league where the median salary is $52,965 and 91 players made $17,700 or less.

“It feels like a slap in the face,” All-Star Dwayne De Rosario said.

It’s more like a kick in a soccer knockers crotch.

Zurich, Switzerland - The FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings for the month of July were released on Wednesday, and they saw Brazil regain the top spot with their win in the Copa America competition this past Sunday.

Brazil edges out Argentina, who moved into the second spot because of its good form in the Copa America, after a 3-0 win in the Copa final. The top three teams in last year’s World Cup came in next with defending champions Italy at number three, runners-up France in fourth place and host-nation Germany finishing up the top five. A 50 percent devaluation of last year’s World Cup matches cost these three teams significant points, but they were still able to maintain lofty positions in the rankings because of strong play in EURO 2008 qualifying.

The Netherlands moved up three places to the sixth spot, followed by top-10 newcomers Croatia at seventh. Portugal, Spain and Mexico round out the top 10, with the Mexicans improving a whopping 16 places after making it to the Gold Cup final and a third-place finish in the Copa America.

Mexico is now the highest ranked team in CONCACAF after jumping ahead of the United States. The Americans moved up into 16th after their Gold Cup title, but a disappointing effort in the Copa America allowed the U.S. to climb just two spots into 14th. The team will next get a chance to improve on its ranking in September with a couple of friendlies in Europe.

There were three teams who suffered large drops in the rankings after the devaluation of last year’s World Cup matches as the Ivory Coast fell 11 places to 31st, Ghana dropped to 37th after moving down 18 spots and Switzerland was knocked down 20 places to 45th.

The Copa America competition did not just benefit the teams at the top. Others such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Peru also benefited from good results. Uruguay’s semifinal appearance moved them up 11 spots to 19th, Paraguay moved into 29th for an eight-place improvement, while both Chile and Peru moved into the top 50 by getting into the knockout round.

The next FIFA/Coca-Cola rankings will be released on August 22.

Points are accumulated based on the results of a team’s matches over the past four years, the importance of each match, the strength of the opponent, the strength of the region and the number of matches per year that each team plays.

Maracaibo , Venezuela - Brazil surprised most observers on Sunday as they captured the Copa America title with a comfortable 3-0 win against Argentina.

Playing without star players Ronaldinho, Kaka and Ronaldo, the Brazilians did not appear to have enough firepower to match the high-flying Argentine’s, who brought a full squad to the championship of South American soccer.

However, Brazil stunned their opponents from the start as Julio Baptista put Brazil on top five minutes into the match. An own goal from Argentina’s Roberto Ayala in the 40th minute put Brazil up two goals at the half, and Daniel Alves put the contest out of reach in the 69th minute with a goal of his own.

The high-powered Argentina attack was snuffed out time and again by a stubborn Brazil defense, and after a few early chances in the first half, Argentina did not have enough to crack the scoreboard and suffered another tough loss to their South American rivals.

The game started quickly with Brazil grabbing the opener after just five minutes. A long ball from the back by Elano allowed Baptista to charge into the box and gain possession of the ball. He took a touch and then curled a brilliant shot around the defender and into the far corner of the net, leaving Argentina keeper Roberto Abbondanzieri with no chance.

Argentina nearly responded just four minute later as Leo Messi carried the ball up the left flank and crossed for Juan Sebastian Veron at the center of the area. The midfielder nodded the ball down into the path of Juan Riquelme, and he fired a half-volley on net. The shot easily beat keeper Doni but it came crashing back off the post.

Argentina continued to pressure and spent much of the next 15 minutes inside the Brazil end. In the 35th minute Carlos Tevez got the ball at edge of the area but the Brazil defense quickly collapsed on him and knocked the ball away. However, it ended up on the foot of Riquelme and he aimed a shot at the right corner, forcing Doni to come up with a diving stop.

Five minutes later, Brazil doubled its lead with a bit of help from Ayala. Alves came on as a substitute for the injured Elano, and he brought the ball up the right wing and crossed into the area for Vagner Love. The ball was on its way to the Brazilian striker but Ayala slid in and tried to knock the ball away. Unfortunately for the Argentine defender, he ended up knocking the ball into his own net to put his team behind 2-0 at halftime.

Brazil’s defense continued to hold firm in the second half with Argentina sending a number of crosses into the area but the Brazil back line capably dealing with every one.

In the 69th minute Argentina tried to take advantage of a free-kick chance but after Riquelme’s cross was cleared, Brazil immediately went on the attack and gave themselves a three-goal cushion.

Love picked up the ball at midfield and dribbled at the Argentina defense. He then slid a pass between two defenders that put Alves in on goal, and Alves struck the ball first-time with his right foot into the far corner taking the air out of the Argentina side.

Toronto, Canada - Stars Freddy Adu and Jozy Altidore combined to give the United States an early lead but Austria rallied for a 2-1 overtime victory in the quarterfinals of FIFA Under-20 World Cup on Saturday.

Austria’s Erwin Hoffer scored the game-winning goal in the 105th minute - two minutes after he entered as a sub. Hoffer also scored the tiebreaking goal in a 2-1 win over Gambia earlier in the tournament after entering as a sub.

Hoffer’s goal came after a free kick following the ejection of United States’ Anthony Wallace, who received his second yellow card of the game.

Austria plays the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal between Spain and the Czech Republic in the semifinals on Wednesday. The U.S. was eliminated.

Altidore, who plays for Red Bull New York in Major League Soccer, put the U.S. in front in the 15th minute. Adu got space on the left side and crossed into the box where Altidore scored off a header just inside the left post.

Austria’s Rubin Okotie tied the game late in the first half with his second goal of the tournament. He scored when Sebastian Proedl’s initial shot slipped away from U.S. goalie Chris Seitz, who plays for Real Salt Lake in MLS, and Okotie beat a U.S. defender to the ball.

Altidore, 17, finished the tournament with a team-high four goals. Adu, who also plays for Real Salt Lake, had three goals and two assists in the Cup.

Toronto, Canada - United States midfielder Michael Bradley described the feeling as “unbelievable.”

Bradley scored in overtime Wednesday to rally the United States Under-20 Men’s National Team to a 2-1 victory over Uruguay in the FIFA World Cup. The contest went to overtime after the United States got an own goal in the 87th minute.

The U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth time in team history and plays Austria on Saturday at 2:15 p.m. (ET). Austria advanced with a 2-1 win over Gambia on Wednesday.

“I think as a team you have to be able to win all types of games. (Wednesday) was a game where we just needed to roll up our sleeves and fight for each other and run for each other and leave everything out on the field,” said Bradley. “To be able to win a game like that where you go down 1-0, it’s not going your way, but then come back and get two late goals is an unbelievable feeling.”

Uruguay’s Luis Suarez scored in the 73rd minute, but the U.S. didn’t fold. Although the Americans needed the own goal, coach Thomas Rongen was proud of the team’s effort.

“We showed some great mentality to come from behind,” Rongen said. “This is the kind of game where you find out what your players are made of and how good a team you actually have. It was just a great battle over 120 minutes and a fantastic result.”

Bradley’s game-winner was in the 106th minute off a corner kick. U.S. captain Freddy Adu played the ball into the box and it was punched out by Uruguay’s goalie, but went to the United States’ Julian Valentin. He played the ball toward the goal and Bradley eventually got a shot off to score unassisted.

“Uruguay made it very, very hard for us to establish any kind of rhythm and we struggled quite frankly throughout the game,” Rongen said. “But great teams find ways to win and I think our will power, the willingness to sacrifice, the willingness to go where it hurts, which we did, to go down and come back and eventually win the game and hold on for dear life, showed me the quality of the team that only through games you find out.”

U.S. goalie Brian Perk, starting in place of Chris Seitz, played well in the win over Uruguay. He made seven saves but doesn’t expect to be in the goal when the U.S. plays Austria on Saturday.

“It would be nice, obviously, but I want Seitz to play. He’s the number one goalkeeper on this team,” Perk said. “I’m going to do everything I can to get him better. I hope he’ll be able to go, but it not, then I’ll be ready and try to do exactly I did (Wednesday). That’s all you can do.”

The United States is in the quarterfinals for the second time since the field expanded to 24 teams in 1997. Rongen was also the coach when the U.S. made the quarterfinals in 2003, losing in overtime to Argentina in the quarterfinals.

“No team can win a world championship,” Adu said after Wednesday’s victory, “without winning one of these ugly games.”

The United States has won three of its four games in the tournament, defeating Poland and Brazil and tying Korea Republic to win Group D.

The U.S. is the second highest scoring team in the World Cup with 11 goals in four games. Only Spain with 12 goals has scored more.

Adu, Jozy Altidore and Danny Szetela each have three goals for the U.S. Adu’s three were in a 6-1 win over Poland. Sal Zizzo leads the United States with three assists and Robbie Rogers is second on the team with two.

If the United States wins, it will play the winner of Saturday’s other match between Spain and the Czech Republic. The other quarterfinals are Sunday when Chile plays Nigeria and Argentina plays Mexico.

The semifinals are July 18-19 and the third-place match and championship are July 22.