CHICAGO - David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy were knocked out of playoff contention Sunday when the Galaxy fell 1-0 to the Chicago Fire on the final day of Major League Soccer’s regular season.

The Galaxy, who had mounted a late-season surge to keep their playoff hopes alive, needed a victory in order to advance to the eight-team championship playoffs of the 13-team league.

The Fire only needed a draw but managed to go one better with a 90th-minute goal to claim the last playoff spot.

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BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Blanco’s going to the playoffs. Beckham’s not.

John Thorrington scored in extra time Sunday and the Chicago Fire beat theLos Angeles Galaxy 1-0 to earn the MSL’s eighth and final playoff spot.

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LONDON - West Ham rode their luck to beat Sunderland 3-1 on Sunday thanks in large part to a freak own goal by goalkeeper Craig Gordon.

A hard-fought match looked to be turning in Sunderland’s favour when Kenwyne Jones cancelled out Carlton Cole’s first half strike.

Then, with time running out at Upton Park, Nolberto Solano’s shot struck a post and then rebounded into the net off Gordon, who was lying prone after his attempted save.

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ROME - AC Milan chief Adriano Galliani claimed Sunday that the club’s Brazilian playmaker Kaka deserves to be named world player of the year.

Kaka has already received one award this season for being the best player during last season’s Champions League, where AC Milan emerged victorious.

And now he is the big favourite to be awarded the Ballon d’Or in Paris on December 2.

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LAHORE, Pakistan - Asian Cup champions Iraq take on Pakistan here Tuesday when they open their campaign to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

Iraq won the Asian Cup title in July to give their war-plagued country rare sporting joy, and now hope to qualify for the World Cup to be held in South Africa in three years’ time.

The encounter will be the eighth clash between Pakistan and Iraq, although the last between the two was 10 years ago.

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MANCHESTER, England - China defender Sun Jihai wants to sign a new contract at Manchester City even though he hasn’t started a Premier League match this season.

Sun has been reduced to a bit-part role at Eastlands since Sven Goran Eriksson took charge in July, but he is happy in England and is determined to stay and fight for his place.

The 30-year-old has made only two substitute appearances in the league so far this season, but the former Dalian Shide star is confident he can convince Eriksson to give him a chance.

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LONDON - Steve McClaren knows the knives are out for him as England stumble towards Euro 2008 failure, but the beleaguered coach believes he is still the right man to lead his country.

McClaren’s team will be eliminated from the race to next year’s finals if Russia win their last two matches, forcing England’s star-studded squad to miss a major tournament for the first time in 14 years.

It is a position that reflects badly on McClaren and the tone of the debate after England’s potentially decisive defeat against Russia was that he had been out-witted by opposition manager Guus Hiddink, providing conclusive proof that he was out of his depth.

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MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United striker Louis Saha will miss his side’s Champions League trip to Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday as he struggles to recover from a knee injury.

The France international aggrevated the long-standing problem in the warm-up before a match against Wigan earlier this month and he was absent again when United won 4-1 at Aston Villa on Saturday.

Serbian defender Nemanja Vidic has been named in United’s squad but he is also a doubt with the concussion that kept him out of the Villa match.

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LONDON - Jose Mourinho insists he is not interested in replacing Steve McClaren as England coach.

McClaren faces the sack if England’s stuttering Euro 2008 qualifying campaign ends in failure and former Chelsea manager Mourinho is the bookmakers’ favourite to take over.

But the Portuguese wants to stay in club management and, claims even if he did consider an international job, the only challenge that appeals to him is leading his own country.

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CHICAGO — When David Beckham and Cuauhtemoc Blanco meet on the field forthe first time in the MLS season-finale Sunday, a playoff berth may well be onthe line.

The two marquee players of the league’s new designated player rule havecertainly had opposite results in their first seasons in the MLS. Even so, bothof their teams were still hunting a playoff berth on the final weekend.

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