Ten-man Martinique, sparked by nine saves from goalkeeper Yannis Clementia, on Monday held off El Salvador for a 2-1 Group C victory in the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Martinique, eliminated in the group stage in the team’s past five Gold Cup appearances, had goals from Patrick Burner in the 11th minute and Kevin Fortune in the 16th, plus a late penalty save by Clementia.
After Jonathan Rivierez was sent off with a red card in the 48th minute, the Caribbean side tightened defensively and denied the Salvadorans a goal until the dying seconds of extra-time.
Photo: AFP
In a later match, Panama defeated Costa Rica 2-1 at the home stadium of Major League Soccer’s Inter Miami, soon to be the club of Argentine star Lionel Messi.
Panama opened the scoring in the 23rd minute on Jose Fajardo’s header off a cross from Eric Davis.
The Ticos were denied in the 25th when Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera was caught well away from the woodwork, but still able to deny a chip from Costa Rican teen Josimar Alcocer.
Unmarked Edgar Barcenas gave Panama a 2-0 lead in the 68th minute when he took a cross in the heart of the penalty area from Michael Murillo and nodded in a header off the left post.
Costa Rica scored in the first of three minutes of stoppage-time on a give-and-go goal from a steep angle off the left foot of Aaron Suarez.
It is to be a fight for the group lead when Panama and Martinique meet on Friday in Harrison, New Jersey.
Salvadoran turnovers set up both Martinique goals, the first after a cross-field pass found onrushing fullback Burner, who fired a left-footed shot over a sliding defender and just inside the far post.
Barely five minutes later, an interception by Brighton Lebeau and a setup pass from Karel Fabien led to Fortune blasting in a one-touch shot off the outside of his right foot from the heart of the box to give Les Matinino a 2-0 advantage.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in has pleaded with South Korea fans to get behind the team at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after more boos were aimed at coach Hong Myung-bo despite leading them to qualification. South Korea reached next year’s finals in North America without losing a game, but that does not tell the whole story. The country’s soccer association has been in the firing line, having scrambled about to find a successor after sacking the unpopular Jurgen Klinsmann in February last year. They eventually settled on Hong, the decorated former skipper who had an unsuccessful stint as coach in 2013-2014, during which
Lionel Messi drew vast crowds and showed flashes of his brilliance when his Inter Miami side were held to a goalless draw by African giants Al-Ahly as the revamped FIFA Club World Cup got off to a festive start on Saturday. Fans showed up en masse for the Group A clash at the Hard Rock Stadium, home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, but Messi could not fully deliver, his best chance coming through a last-second attempt that was deflected onto the crossbar. Inter Miami next face FC Porto on Thursday in Atlanta, while Al-Ahly, who benefited from raucous, massive support, are to
Ferrari’s F1 fortunes might be flagging, but the Italian team start this weekend’s 24 Hours of Le Mans as favorites, targeting a third consecutive triumph in motorsport’s fabled endurance classic. Roger Federer is acting as celebrity starter with the tennis icon getting the 93rd edition of the jewel in four-wheeled endurance racing’s crown under way tomorrow. Twenty-four hours later, through daylight, darkness and dawn, the 21 elite hypercars are to battle it out over 300 laps (more than 4,000km) in front of a sold-out 320,000 crowd burning the midnight oil with copious quantities of coffee and beer. Ferrari made a triumphant return after
RSS