Football round-up: Beckford moves to Everton on a free
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Your support makes all the difference.Jermaine Beckford is on the brink of signing a four-year contract with Everton after ending his prolific career with Leeds United. Beckford and the Elland Road club agreed to terminate his deal, clearing the way for the striker to tie up a free transfer to Goodison Park.
Beckford's Leeds contract was due to expire on 30 June but the club have cancelled that agreement and freed the 26-year-old to travel to Merseyside and undergo a medical.
West Ham, Parma and Newcastle tried to sign him in January, with a top offer of £1.8 million, but Beckford favoured a switch to Everton and settled on the move after being offered a four-year contract. The 26-year-old scored 85 goals for Leeds and became the first player in the club's history to hit 30 goals in successive campaigns.
In World Cup warm-ups Manchester United's Nemanja Vidic, the stand-in captain, called for calm as Serbia's match against New Zealand in Klagenfurt was disrupted by rioting fans. About 10,000 Serbs were at a game where their nation's experimental line-up failed to gel and was beaten by the only goal from the former Mansfield striker Shane Smeltz.
After Algeria lost 3-0 to the Republic of Ireland on Friday, another of England's group rivals, the United States, came from behind to beat Turkey 2-1. Their equaliser came from Jozy Altidore, matching his League goal tally from his sorry 28-game loan spell with Hull, and Fulham's Clint Dempsey scored the winner.
Spain, favourites to win the World Cup, struggled to beat Saudi Arabia 3-2 in Innsbruck, Fernando Llorente scoring the winner in the last minute.
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