Panama on Friday moved into the quarter-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-1 win over Martinique after Costa Rica and El Salvador produced a frantic, but goalless draw.
The Canalmen have six points from their opening two games in Group C with Martinique on three points, and El Salvador and Costa Rica on a point each with a game remaining for all teams.
Martinique, surprisingly, made eight changes from the team who had beaten El Salvador in their opening game and faced relentless pressure from Panama from the outset.
Photo: AFP
A shot from Panama striker Jose Fajardo and an Eric Davis header brought Martinique ’keeper Theo de Percin into action early in the encounter at Red Bull Arena.
It was a busy night for De Percin, but the breakthrough finally came in the 57th minute when Panama midfielder Adalberto Carrasquilla found Davis on the left, and the latter’s pinpoint cross was met with a bullet header from Fajardo.
Michael Murillo doubled the lead when he latched onto Alberto Quintero’s clever chip over the top and took his time before drilling the ball into the top corner.
Photo: AP
Martinique pulled a goal back in stoppage-time from Karl Fabien, but the Caribbean team’s defeat means they will likely need a win against Costa Rica on Tuesday if they are to progress to the last eight for the second time in their history.
There was a packed and passionate crowd for the all-Central American clash that followed and the two teams responded with a performance packed with energy and high-tempo play, but no goals.
Joshua Perez’s long-range effort was tipped wide by Costa Rica goalkeeper Kevin Chamorro, while at the other end veteran Celso Borges’ thunderbolt from outside the box brought a fine save out of Mario Gonzalez.
El Salvador’s Brayan Gil had the best chance of the game when the ball fell to him 4m out, but he blasted his snap shot against the bar.
Costa Rica threw centerhalf Kendall Waston into attack and he had the ball in the net with a delicate flick, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Waston had an opportunity to clinch a stoppage-time winner when he was found in space by a smart back-heel from Anthony Contreras, but the defender curled his shot wide.
There was fury at the end of the game when the referee blew for time as El Salvador rushed to take a corner and their livid assistant coach Mauricio Cienfuegos was shown a red card for his protests.
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS