Stewart hired as first GM for national team

Former midfielder Earnie Stewart was hired Wednesday as general manager of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, likely delaying the search for a new coach.

Stewart has been sporting director of Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union since October 2015 and will start his new job Aug. 1, the U.S. Soccer Federation said Wednesday. Stewart does not plan to attend the World Cup, a shopping center for federations and clubs seeking coaches.

Bruce Arena quit as coach after a loss at Trinidad and Tobago last October ended the Americans’ streak of consecutive World Cup appearances at seven. Dave Sarachan, Arena’s top assistant, has been coaching the team on an interim basis.

“Making the right choice is the most important thing,” Stewart said during a conference call. “It’s process over speed.”

After the World Cup failure, Carlos Cordeiro succeeded Sunil Gulati as USSF president in February, and the USSF board created GM positions for the men’s and women’s national teams. Stewart will recommend a coach to Cordeiro and USSF chief executive Dan Flynn. The choice must be ratified by the board.

Argentina cancels match in Israel: Argentina created an uproar in Israel with its abrupt cancellation of a World Cup warmup match following pro-Palestinian protests, with some of the country’s leaders accusing Lionel Messi and his teammates of caving to terrorism.

The sold-out international friendly was scheduled for Saturday night at Jerusalem’s Teddy Kollek Stadium but after a fierce Palestinian campaign, which included images of Argentina’s white and sky-blue striped jersey stained with red paint resembling blood, Argentina’s football federation announced it was skipping the event.