Adu Leads U.S. to 3-0 Win

Not bad for an opening act.

Freddy Adu, the 13-year-old sensation for the United States, finished his first international tournament with another goal and an assist to lead the U.S. under-17 team to a 3-0 victory over Guatemala on Saturday at Guatemala City, clinching a spot in the World Championship on August 13-30 in Finland.

Adu, who had two goals and two assists in three games, scored in the 72nd minute to give the U.S. a 2-0 lead and later assisted on Jamie Watson’s goal in the 89th minute.

John DiRaimondo scored the first goal in the 43rd minute. Goalkeeper Phil Marfuggi made 11 saves for his second shutout.

The U.S. won its qualifying group with seven points, pushed its unbeaten streak in qualifying to 13 games and remains the only country to have qualified for the Under-17 World Championship all 10 times since 1985.

“We put on a great team performance out there,” U.S. Coach John Ellinger said, “and now we get to celebrate this and then turn our focus to Finland.”

In the tournament’s other game, Jamaica tied El Salvador, 1-1, to clinch second place and a chance to play itself into a championship berth at a later date.

Losing at Leeds

A tough season got tougher Sunday for English club Leeds United after a 1-0 loss to English first division Sheffield United on a late goal by Steve Kabba in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

Leeds, foundering in 15th place in the English Premier League, became the victim of a rare double because it also lost to Sheffield four months ago in the third round of the League Cup.

In other FA Cup quarterfinals Sunday, Watford defeated English first division counterpart Burnley, and Southhampton knocked off Wolves, both by 2-0 scores.

On Saturday, in the other quarterfinal, Chelsea earned a replay with Arsenal after a 2-2 tie, getting a late goal by Frank Lampard. Arsenal’s Thierry Henry had a goal but suffered a calf injury to put his availability in doubt for Tuesday’s Champions League game against AS Roma.

Ballack Injured

Michael Ballack, the German midfielder whose goal knocked out the United States in the quarterfinals of last summer’s World Cup, suffered torn ligaments in his left ankle and will be lost to his club team, Bayern Munich, for at least six weeks.

Ballack limped off the field Saturday in the 22nd minute of Bayern’s 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, which helped increase its lead in the Bundesliga to a commanding 13 points.

Ballack will not be available when Germany plays a European Championship qualifier against Lithuania on March 29 at Nuremberg.

Italian Intrigue

One day after Uruguayan star Alvaro Recoba scored two stellar goals in Inter Milan’s 2-0 victory over Bologna in the Italian league to tie Juventus atop the standings, David Trezeguet answered to put his team back in front.

Trezeguet’s 84th-minute goal was all defending league champion Juventus needed in a 1-0 victory over Udinese, which played the final 30 minutes with 10 players after the ejection of midfielder Giampiero Pinzi.

Quick Passes

Real Madrid maintained its one-point lead in the Spanish league over Real Sociedad, getting goals from Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane in a 4-1 victory over Racing Santander.... In the French league, Brazil’s Ronaldinho helped Paris Saint-Germain to its first victory in Marseille in 15 years, a 3-0 decision. Ronaldinho had a goal and an assist. Second-place Marseille had not lost at home since December 2001.... Barcelona’s Luis Enrique will miss Tuesday’s Champions League game against Bayer Leverkusen because of a torn leg muscle suffered against Valladolid.

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Times wire services contributed to this report.