Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero struck two goals apiece in Argentina’s 7-0 romp against an out-of-sorts Bolivia, while Mexico were held by Trinidad & Tobago in friendlies in the US on Friday.
A largely second string side, with captain Lionel Messi coming on for the final 20 minutes, took to 12 the number of goals Copa America runners-up Argentina have put past Bolivia in two friendlies this year.
Ezequiel Lavezzi also scored two goals, while Angel Correa struck Argentina’s seventh on his debut against a Bolivia side under new coach Julio Cesar Baldivieso, who barely had time to prepare them for the match in Houston, Texas.
Photo: AFP
Veteran Bolivia defender Ronald Raldes lent the squad US$21,000 of his own money to cover the travel costs to the US for the squad, with the Bolivian Football Federation (FBF) in turmoil over corruption charges against leading officials, Bolivian media reported.
FBF president Carlos Chavez signed the agreement for the match to go ahead from prison, where he has been awaiting trial since his arrest in July, before the organization sacked him, elected new authorities and appointed Baldivieso last week.
“I think the result was right given how seriously and intensely we played with good performances by the debutants and kids who have played little in the team,” Argentina coach Gerardo Martino said.
“The game was useful over and above the problems our opponents had to put a team together and comes in handy at least to impose our gameplan,” he added.
Top-ranked Argentina, warming up for the FIFA World Cup 2018 CONCACAF qualifiers, play again on Tuesday in Dallas, Texas, where they meet Mexico, who drew 3-3 with Trinidad & Tobago in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Friday.
Mexico, under interim coach Ricardo Ferretti, are preparing to meet the US in next month’s playoff for a berth at next year’s FIFA Confederations Cup.
Substitute Hector Herrera salvaged a draw when he equalized four minutes from time with a long-range shot into the top corner.
Striker Jozy Altidore scored twice in the second half, his first from the rebound of his penalty saved by Pedro Gallese, as Juergen Klinsmann’s US side recovered from a goal down to beat Peru 2-1 in Washington.
Uruguay, missing suspended strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, beat Panama 1-0 in Panama City, with an 82nd minute goal by Cristhian Stuani.
Honduras won 3-0 against Venezuela, while in Europe, France beat Portugal 1-0 in Lisbon in their international friendly.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
Batting great Virat Kohli yesterday announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket, just days before India name their squad for a tour to England. Kohli, who scored 9,230 runs in 123 matches at an average of 46.85, posted his decision on Instagram five days after India captain Rohit Sharma called time on his own Test career. Since making his debut in 2011, Kohli struck 30 hundreds and 31 fifties with a highest score of 254 not out, mainly batting at number four in the order. “It’s been 14 years since I first wore the baggy blue in Test cricket,” the
RSS