Snak

Nilo ud for Reyna.

Fantastisk gennembrud af Guardado, igen ude ved Beasley, men indlægget går ud til hjørne.

MEX appellerer vildt for straffe, da Edu klokkeklart går i ryggen på Aquino.

Hjørnespark.

Slut 0-0.

Massivt Mexico-pres i de døende minutter, hvor man får sit 14. og 15. hjørnespark.

Som ventet en noget atypisk CONCACAF taktisk affære, hvor Aquino var den helt store profil og blev snydt for et straffe. Mexico kunne med lidt held have fået et til.

MEX uden sejr i de første 3 kampe, hvilket noget overraskende bringer dem under stregen, hvorimod Costa Rica fra sidstepladsen er højdespringerne:

Panama 5
Costa Rica 4
United States 4
Honduras 4
Mexico 3
Jamaica 2

CONCACAF


U.S. holds off Mexico for 0-0 draw

http://www.youtube.com/w…OPjWgTWVRno

MEXICO CITY -- The United States withstood a frantic finish by Mexico to register a surprising scoreless draw in a World Cup qualifier at the Estadio Azteca on Tuesday night.

It was only the second time the Americans managed a result in a qualifier here, having played to a goalless tie in a 1997 qualifier.

The tie improved the U.S.´s record to 1-1-1 and four points, while the disappointing Mexicans played their third consecutive draw in as many games in the CONCACAF hexagonal round, their second successive 0-0 tie at home.

The result could place additional pressure Mexico head coach Jose Manuel de la Torre, who had guided El Tri to a 6-0-0 in the semifinal round.

The Mexicans attempted 15 corner kicks against the U.S. defense that bent, but never broke.

El Tri felt they should have been awarded a penalty kick, when Javier Aquino was tackled from behind by Maurice Edu in the 76th minute. Referee Walter Lopez of Guatemala, though, said to play on.

Striker Javier Hernandez, who has never scored against the U.S., came close to breaking the ice when he sent a corner kick over the crossbar in the 87th minute.

The U.S. did not have many serious scoring opportunities, but did enough to frustrate the Mexicans, who had a solid first half, but seemed to lose their focus on attack in the second half.

There was little doubt that Mexico owned the opening half. Slowly, but surely the host penetrated the U.S. midfield and backline, taking particular advantage of the right flank and left back DaMarcus Beasley. His effectiveness was restricted by an eighth-minute yellow card for fouling Aquino.

Central defender Mike Besler, making his second international appearance, also was booked for a foul on dos Santos in the 20th minute.

The Mexicans´ first scoring opportunity came in the 16th minute when dos Santos fired a shot wide right.

Five minutes later, dos Santos tried to test U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan from distance and the U.S. goalkeeper easily handled the shot on one bounce.

Mexico, though, refused to give up. Moments later Chicharito was fed from the right side by Aquino, but his header traveled wide right.

Chicharito tried again to get his team on the scoreboard in the 28th minute, but he sent his close-range shot over the crossbar.

With two minutes remaining in the first half, Carlos Salcido launched a chip pass into the penalty area. Guzan collided with Jesus Zavala as nothing came of the play.

Mexico will have to wait more than two months to accrue points as it will play its next two qualifiers on the road -- at Jamaica on June 4 and at Panama on June 7.

The United States next will visit Jamaica on June 7.


Panama beats Honduras, tops Hexagonal

http://www.youtube.com/w…rYtV9S0tvsw

PANAMA CITY, Panama - In an all-Central American clash at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez on Tuesday, Panama claimed the summit of the Hexagonal table after three rounds with a 2-0 win over former leader Honduras.

An early goal from Luis Tejada and a late one from Blas Perez sandwiched an extended, but ultimately fruitless, push from the Catrachos, who couldn´t find a way past a resolute Panamanian back line stewarded by stand-in goalkeeper Luis Mejia.

The host got off to a dream start in just the second minute, when Leonel Parris got into the box alone on the right side. His pinpoint cross provided Tejada with the easiest of finishes, staking Panama to the early lead.

Honduras immediately took the initiative, and nearly tied through Carlo Costly - the hero of last week´s draw with Mexico in San Pedro Sula - who rose to beat Mejia with a powerful header which rang the crossbar in the 20th minute.

Panama went to the half with the minimum advantage. Just minutes into the second stanza, however, the Hondurans had another golden opportunity to tie through Costly, but his shot was stopped by Mejia after the forward got into the box alone.

In the 75th minute, Panama finally made their guests pay for the missed chances, when second half sub Nelson Barahona picked out Blas Perez with a long pass from midfield. The 32-year-old forward took a touch and then slammed a right footed shot past goalkeeper Noel Valladares.

The victory left Panama atop the Hexagonal table with five points after three matches, one better than Honduras. The Canaleros will next host Mexico on June 7, while Honduras visits Costa Rica that same day.


Costa Rica bounces back, blanks Jamaica

http://www.youtube.com/w…NuAuqIdsXdw

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica - Costa Rica scored a goal in each half and rejuvenated its World Cup Qualifying campaign, defeating Jamaica 2-0 on Tuesday in front of a capacity crowd at the Estadio Nacional.

It was the Central American champion´s first win in three final round outings, lifting it out of last place on four points. Conversely, the loss dropped the Reggae Boyz to the bottom of the six-team table with two points.

After losing 1-0 to the United States in adverse weather conditions on Friday in Colorado, the Costa Ricans returned to San Jose for their first home match of the final round. Judging from the comprehensive performance, the Ticos were more than content to be on familiar ground.

Only two months ago, Costa Rica defeated Honduras 1-0 at the same stadium to capture its seventh UNCAF Copa Centroamericana title and qualify for the 2013 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The good feelings returned in abundance against a Jamaican side that has scored only once over the course of 270 Hexagonal minutes.

The Reggae Boyz started quickly, forcing a full-stretch save in the third minute from Costa Rica goalkeeper Keylor Navas.

Costa Rica responded resolutely to the early wake-up call and went ahead in the 22nd minute. Alvaro Saborio fed defender Michael Umaña, who drilled a shot past Jamaican goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

The visitors should have leveled in the 43rd minute through Luton Shelton. The 27-year-old weaved past three defenders in the penalty area before his point-blank attempt was saved by Navas.

Twelve minutes after the break, Jamaica´s Marvin Elliott shot wide from 25-yards out. From that moment on, it was all Costa Rica.

Joel Campbell, 20, remained extremely active for the home side, but failed to find the back of the net numerous occasions.

In 77th minute, though, he provided near inch-perfect service to Saborio, who could not connect from close range.

Then, with eight minutes left on the clock, second-half substitute Diego Calvo offered a moment of absolute magic to give his team a 2-0 lead. The Alajuelense striker, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday, dribbled into the left side of the Jamaican box, danced around three defenders and curled an effort inside the far post.

Costa Rica returns to qualifying action on June 7 against visiting Honduras, while Jamaica will take on Mexico three days earlier at home.

Chile wins and keeps dreaming (2-0)

http://www.youtube.com/w…-yNPEGFkKkw

Chile has kept its dreams alive; after a vibrant game this Tuesday in which they hosted and beat the Uruguayan selection in Santiago´s National Stadium, they are in the fourth slot in the qualifying rounds and can classify for World Cup Brazil 2014.

The Chilean team - ´La Roja´, colloquially - had few options left: they had already changed their technical director, and the defeat they received from the Peruvians had negatively effected team morale.

Before the game, Uruguay could sympathize with their rival´s feelings: they came to Santiago with the stench of a recent 1-1 tie with Paraguay anchored in their nostrils.

Chile, anxious from the pressure but with a fluid game, drew first blood when they found the back of the net 10 minutes in. Esteban Paredes, the forward who plays for Atlante in Mexico when he isn´t representing his country, was an 11th hour call up who was called last Saturday to replace Alexis Sánchez against Peru. The lack of time spent with his team didn´t seem to have any ill effects: he beat goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to put Chile up 1-0.

The goal infused the team directed by coach Sampaoli with tranquility and optimism, and kept taking advantage of the wings to run up and down the field. Uruguay, on the other hand, was disoriented as it watched the minutes tick by without being able to score a tying goal.

In the second half, Uruguay began to trap Chile in its defensive zone, and Alejandro Silva and Luis Suárez threatened to score, but Suárez recieved a yellow card and will be suspended from playing in the coming game against Venezuela.

A long play, in which almost everyone touched the ball, came before the goal-scoring Chilean attack. Isla was stopped by the defense of Fernando Muslera, but Eduardo Vargas took advantage of the rebound and scored the second and definitive goal in the 77th minute of play.

With this encounter, Uruguay now has six games without victories in the qualifying round, and falls to sixth position in the standings with 13 points.

Chile, on the other hand, rises up and returns to the fourth position with 15 points, and again has entered the zone of berths which qualify for entry to the World Cup.

Bolivia and Argentina draw 1-1

http://www.youtube.com/w…HSM3WyWKRpY

Argentina came from behind to draw Bolivia 1-1 and remain firmly on the road to the 2014 World Cup. The twelfth round match was played Tuesday in the Hernando Siles stadium in La Paz.

Striker Marcelo Martins opened the scoring with an accurate header for the local team in the 24th minute. Ever Banega (44) leveled the game right before the half for Argentina.

The Argentinians planted themselves in a defensive posture and allowed the attacking duo of Angel Di María and star Lionel Messi to have free reign on the pitch. They were supported by Banega, Rodrigo Palacio and tireless midfielder Javier Mascherano.

Argentina keeper Sergio Romero was up to the challenge snuffing out many of Bolivia´s attacks.

The Argentines seemed to forget the 11,000 foot altitude of La Paz measuring out their exertion. They played well the entire 90 minutes putting behind the catastrophic pasting (6-1) they received from Bolivia in the 2010 qualifiers.

The first half consisted of Argentina conserving their energy while Bolivia set resolutely to have Diego Bejarano attack goalkeeper Sergio Romero.

In the first twenty minutes of play Bolivia continually fired shots on goal until finally in the 24th striker Marcelo Martins received a cross from Carlos Saucedo and struck the ball away from Romero and into the net to make the score 1-0 in favor of the hosts.

Thereafter Argentina cautiously went forward with their lines and found Angel di María the best option in front of keeper Sergio Galarza.

Because of an unpardonable defensive error Ever Banega was able to take a cross from winger Clemente Rodriguez and strike the ball past Galarza to make it 1-1 as the first half expired.

Bolivia will next play Venezuela in La Paz on June 7 in the thirteenth round while Argentina will host Colombia.

Ecuador punishes Paraguay in Atahualpa 4-1

http://www.youtube.com/w…aRjXEqvErf4

Ecuador defeated Paraguay 4-1 on Tuesday in Quito in a twelfth round South American qualifier. Ecuador stays in an automatic qualifying spot with 20 points.

Ecuador got goals from Felipe Caicedo (38 minute), Jefferson Montero (50 and 75) and Christian Benítez (54). Paraguay, who with the loss stay on 8 points, had taken the lead 1-0 on a goal by Luis Caballero (15).

In the 15th minute Luis Caballero took advantage of a corner taken by teammate Miguel Angel Samudio to slot home the opening goal past keeper Alexander Domínguez.

Ecuador got the tying goal in the 38th off the head of their leading goal scorer Felipe Caicedo who now has five goals in these qualifiers.

Jefferson Montero made it 2-1 in the 50th minute when he entered from the left to shoot without mercy on Paraguay´s goal.

Four minutes later Christian Benítez´s header extended the lead to 3-1 and suck what little air was left in Paraguay who were already playing at 9,350 feet above sea level in Quito.

Montero, midfielder for Mexican club Monarcas Morelia, finished off the slaughter in the 75th minute taking a pass from Luis Saritama, who came on in the 70th for Pedro Quiñónez, and hitting home to make it 4-1.

In the thirteenth round scheduled for June 7, Ecuador will visit Peru while Paraguay welcomes Chile.

Venezuela derails the Colombian train (1-0)

http://www.youtube.com/w…LrwD2GC0mxQ

Venezuela keeps its hopes of participating in its first football World Cup alive after beating the Colombian selection 1-0, with the winning goal coming from Salomón Rondón.

The star for the Russian team Rubin Kazan took advantage of a pinpoint pass that came from the foot of veteran Juan Arango to score a goal in minute 13. After receiving the pass he dropped the hammer on the ball with his left food sending it through the corner of the goal. It was the only goal scored in Cahcamay Stadium, PUerdo Ordaz, but it was enough: the Venezuelans won.

Getting this goal for the win woke up the euphoric fan base in the noisy and cacophonous stadium, but the team left points on the table, as forwards Fernando Aristeguieta and Miku Fedor and defender Oswaldo Vizcarrondo had clear-cut opportunities to score but did not convert.

Radamel Falcao also did not take advantage of his opportunities on goal. He missed a golden opportunity to tie, after shaking off his defender he was alone on the edge of the penalty area in front of the goal guarded by Hernández, but the shot he launched harmlessly bounced off the crossbar.

With this game Colombia falls to third place in the leader board, with 19 points, and Venezuela is in fifth position. Venezuela is tied with Chile, who beat Uruguay 2-0 minutes before the game started, both teams being on 15 points but with Chile having the advantage as they have scored more goals in the tournament.

Suárez: “No hay que hacer drama por la situación...”

El seleccionador de Honduras dijo que le hizo falta el puntillazo final en las jugadas.

Luis Fernando Suárez, DT de Honduras, no pudo descifrar el esquema de los panameños y se llevó una derrota en tierras canaleras.

El técnico sabe que no siempre se puede ganar en la eliminatoria. “Queremos ganar todos los partidos, pero la única manera de hacerlo es generando más volumen de ataque. Se hizo un buen juego, pero Panamá se llevó los puntos”, dijo el adiestrador colombiano. Suárez no contaba con ese gol de camerino en el primer minuto, aunque es consciente de que después de esa anotación Honduras se vio mejor.

“Habíamos hablado mucho de lo que podía presentar Panamá para hacernos daño y esa falta de atención que tenemos que no es buena. Al final nos tocó remar río arriba y es complicado así ganar”.

Falta concretar

Con relación a la actitud mostrada por la Bicolor, Luis Fernando remató que “haciendo un balance general, el equipo me deja tranquilo porque siempre intentamos anotar y jugando de buena forma, por desgracia nos está faltando dar ese puntillazo final”.

Agregó que “me quedo con la actitud y la entrega del equipo, pero en el fútbol se gana con goles”.

Suárez llamó a la tranquilidad a la afición y comentó que “no hay que hacer tanto drama por la situación. Esto siempre va a ser reñido. La propuesta del rival también vale, pero somos seres humanos y a veces nos equivocamos”.

Honduras terminó en el cuarto lugar de la Concacaf tras este duro golpe, pero el técnico no se siente vencido. “Voy a seguir pensando en la igualdad, las fuerzas están muy parejas. Esos próximos encuentros ante Jamaica, Costa Rica y Estados Unidos serán muy intensos. La resolución de esta eliminatoria es complicada y seguiremos con la misma propuesta”. Luis Suárez finalizó diciendo que “los meses que vienen serán de mucho trabajo”.




Dely: “Honduras tuvo más iniciativa que nosotros”

Al DT panameño no le gustó para nada el juego de su selección, pero está feliz de ganar.

A Julio Dely Valdés le tocó sufrir desde el palco del Rommel Fernández. El entrenador de Panamá estuvo tras un vidrio observando cómo su hermano Jorge dirigía el compromiso ante Honduras.

“Sin duda que sufrimos mucho y pensamos que podíamos ir perdiendo en cualquier momento. Futbolísticamente no fue buen partido para nosotros, pero no nos importa, yo me quedo con el triunfo”, dijo Valdés.

El DT canalero aseguró que sus jugadores no pueden darse el lujo de lanzar las campanas al viento. “Ganamos tres puntos importantísimos, pero no hemos clasificado al mundial. El hecho de vencer a Honduras nos pone a pensar que se vienen rivales más difíciles y hay que seguir trabajando”.

En lo futbolístico, Julio es consciente de que su planteamiento fue deficiente.

“Jugamos un partido muy regular. En la segunda parte fuimos un poquito mejor, equilibramos el encuentro. Honduras tuvo más iniciativa que nosotros, pero no crearon ocasiones de gol muy claras”.

Cuando la prensa canalera le preguntó sobre ese primer gol del Matador Tejada en el minuto uno del partido, Valdés aseguró que “no estuvimos bien durante todo el partido. Haber marcado tan pronto no nos ayudó a mejorar futbolísticamente”.

Añadió que “el 2-0 es un marcador importante que nos sirvió para liquidar el encuentro. Nos dio más seguridad”.

Lo mejor de los panameños fue la defensa; “defensivamente somos muy buenos, recibimos pocos goles y por eso podemos ganar partidos. Eso es algo importante para esta selección”, finalizó Julio Dely Valdés.

The poverty of this world

Tonight was meant to be the night when it all came right. When a team, which has spent the past year and more playing as though it’s been trapped in ever decreasing circles, would miraculously throw off its mounting limitations and remind the world of what Uruguay was all about. Everything was going to be OK – after all, this is Uruguay, right? And suffering is what they do, right?

Wrong. Certainly, La Celeste have turned suffering into an art form over recent World Cup qualifying campaigns – but never, ever like this. Never with a once talismanic captain and central defender creaking so alarmingly, he’s become an apology of the hero he once was. Never with formerly reliable, rock solid players like Diego Godin or Egidio Arevalo Rios palpably suffering the consequences of having to carry their more celebrated teammates in match after match after match. Never with a playmaker – magnificent three years ago – somehow trying to recapture the magic of the increasingly distant past, all the while being indulged by his manager to a quite extraordinary, unfathomable extent. And never with a manager who has so utterly run out of ideas and energy; and whose anxiety and general air of cluelessness has inevitably been translated onto the pitch.

Oscar Washington Tabarez has done so much good for Uruguayan football. He will go down in history as the man who won its seemingly interminable battle with those who preferred to play dirty in order to win (or rather, in too many cases, not win); who redefined La Garra Charrua and brought it up to date; who led a team of heroes – of dignity, courage and no little skill – to exceed themselves beyond imagination in South Africa, and at last put his country back on the world footballing map; and who then delivered an incredible fifteenth Copa America title a year later.

But unhappily, Tabarez will also go down as the man who, when blessed with Uruguay’s two finest strikers in generations, each lighting up two of the greatest leagues on the planet every weekend; a playmaker who has made a mounting and remarkable impact for his club, supposed to be relegation certainties in England, yet which now seems likely to survive, mainly as a result of his efforts; and even a holding midfielder who is hugely respected in Italy, and has been a mainstay for two of its biggest clubs, somehow managed to neglect and misuse all of them – preferring instead to hang on to his (very) old guard.

“Must. Pick. Forlan! Must. Pick. El Capitano! Must. Pick. Ruso!” But in clinging onto the past, El Maestro ignored the present and future until it was far, far too late: so much so that tonight, he effectively expected a new team to just fall into place by magic. But international football does not work like that: international football is about building a team, brick by precious brick, and staying true to a long term plan.

The great irony here is that Tabarez perfectly understood this in 2006 – but as with so many successful managers, grew too conservative, too egotistical and too plain scared in his old age to have the courage to start again and build for Brazil. The end result? There will be no Brazil.

In the aftermath of this latest defeat, straws will inevitably be clutched: “Look at the table – we can still do it! We played well, and it was the (admittedly awful) ref’s fault we lost! It’s still in our own hands – vamos Uruguay carajo!”

But all this would be to spectacularly miss the point. Teams who qualify for World Cups don’t play like this for over a year. Teams who qualify for World Cups are hungry and sharp. Teams who qualify for World Cups don’t follow home draws with away defeats, home draws with away defeats as though they’re a stuck record; as though, indeed, they’re the main character in the film Groundhog Day.

No doubt, Tabarez and the AUF will soldier on until the bitter end: the time for change was after Bolivia, not now, after all. But all that will happen is this story just keeps repeating itself until the team is finally put out of its all too obvious misery: it’s too late for anything to change now. Too late for destiny to be re-written.

What a waste. What an absolutely appalling waste. Because this is not your average tale of an over-achieving small country inevitably brought back down to earth: properly managed, Uruguay have more than enough world class individuals and game-breakers to have sauntered into the World Cup Finals in Brazil. Let nobody tell me that their qualifying rivals would not love to have their own Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, Gaston Ramirez or Walter Gargano; and let nobody tell me either that a hungrier, more focused manager would not have made far better use of these individuals and others. Above all, by playing to their strengths, as La Celeste have so singularly failed to do.

For a spell in the second half in Santiago, a few of Uruguay’s ageing heroes – notably, Forlan – seemed to be gathering themselves for one last hurrah. One final, illogical, against the odds escape. A last ditch effort to somehow recapture the spirit of Quito four weary years on. But all this was merely an illusion: a team playing on memory. So this time, unlike in South Africa, Forlan’s efforts didn’t crash into the net, but merely into the arms of the grateful goalkeeper; this time, unlike in Ecuador, the referee didn’t award a last second penalty, but instead helped open the trapdoor for the gleeful Chileans; and this time, the opponents showed no mercy and slammed it shut. Game well and truly over.

In the end, though, all that happened tonight are mere details in the chapter of accidents to have befallen the national team over the past year – and properly managed, most of those accidents were perfectly foreseeable, and could and should have been avoided. Uruguay, and especially their ageing manager, have been the authors of their own downfall.

So enough excuses, El Maestro. It’s time to face facts. This team is doomed.