Taiwan yesterday ran rampant over the Northern Mariana Islands, scoring four goals in each half on the way to an 8-1 thrashing in Guam, picking up their first win in an international competition in more than a year.
Players and coaches congratulated each other at the final whistle for the superlative performance, with accolades going to midfielder Lin Chieh-hsun, who scored four goals, and striker Wu Chun-ching, who grabbed a brace, in the first-round qualifier for next year’s East Asia Football Federation Championship.
Although the team and Taiwanese fans were overjoyed at the lopsided victory, there was a big gap between the two sides, with Taiwan 191st in the FIFA rankings and the Northern Mariana Islands 233rd in the World Football Elo rankings and picked from a population of about 52,000.
It was the first international win for Taiwan since they defeated Brunei 2-0 in an Asian region FIFA World Cup qualifier in March last year and their largest margin of victory since a 10-0 rout of Guam in an EAFF qualifier in 2007.
Japanese head coach Toshiaki Imai earned his first win after being appointed in May. He has reorganized the squad and instituted new training regime.
Imai started with an attacking line-up, operating a 4-5-1 formation with the in-form Wu in front of five midfielders.
Three attacking midfielders — Lin, Chen Yi-wei and Lin Chang-lun — were well organized and linked up effectively.
Taiwan scored first in the 30th minute when Wu received a pass from the right and slotted home. Six minutes later, a corner saw defender Chen Wei-chuan chase down a pass on the edge of the box and, after beating a defender, he blasted home.
In the 40th minute, Lin Chieh-hsun scored the first of his four goals with a snap-shot and just before halftime Chen Yi-wei made it 4-0 with a header.
Wu found an opening between defenders and beat goalkeeper Johan Noetzel with a low shot for his second goal in the 56th minute.
Six minutes later, Lin Chieh-hsun netted his second, dribbling past two defenders and finding the net.
The home side salvaged some pride through Kirk Schuler, who sent a header in from a free-kick to make it 7-1.
Lin made no mistake with a first-time shot in the 81st minute and added a stoppage-time goal for his fourth.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
RSS