Mexico cruised to a 6-0 rout of a shorthanded Paraguay squad, advancing to the semi-finals of the Copa America on Sunday.
Mexico were in control from as early as the second minute when a woeful back-pass from Julio Cesar Caceres allowed Nery Castillo to get a clear run on goal which was crudely halted by Paraguay goalkeeper Aldo Bobadilla.
Bobadilla was shown the red card and Castillo slotted home the spot-kick past replacement custodian Joel Zayas.
PHOTO: EPA
Mexico will face Argentina -- who beat Peru 4-0 on Sunday -- in tomorrow's semi-final.
The Guaranies went on making mistakes and it cost them a second goal in the 26th minute when Juan Carlos Cacho burst through midfield without a challenge before laying the ball off to Gerardo Torrado and his rising drive flew past the helpless Zayas.
Twelve minutes later, Castillo proved why he has been one of the Copa America's outstanding performers with his fourth goal of the tournament -- a fine volley from the edge of the area.
Castillo was taken off nine minutes into the second half with a leg injury but it is not expected to keep him out of the last four clash against Argentina.
Caceres threatened a consolation for Paraguay with a header which was well saved by Oswaldo Sanchez but it only spurred Mexico into action and they made it 4-0 when Fernando Arce fired a shot over Zayas from 20m.
Paraguay's misery was not yet complete and Mexico added two more goals before the final whistle.
In Sunday's second game, Argentina continued the high-scoring trend in the quarter-finals as a second-half salvo saw Alfio Basile's side thrash Peru 4-0 in Barquismeto.
Juan Roman Riquelme's double plus goals from Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano keyed the victory.
With Brazil beating Chile, 6-1, and Colombia ousting hosts Venezuela, 4-1, the last eight has certainly not been short on goals, although for a while that looked like it was going to be the case in Barquisimeto.
A frustrating opening 45 minutes for Argentina ended scoreless as Diego Milito failed to make any impact against the Peruvian defense.
However, Basile brought on Carlos Tevez for Milito during the interval and that made the difference as Riquelme and Messi came into their own.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care