Big wins for Costa Rica, Mexico, Jamaica to open the Gold Cup
Costa Rica, Mexico and Jamaica all opened with dominating victories to begin the 20th anniversary Gold Cup.
Marco Urena scored two goals Sunday to lead Costa Rica past Cuba 5-0, inaugurating the 2011 championship at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Ticos face El Salvador on Thursday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Later Sunday, Mexico scored five goals in the second half to beat El Salvador 5-0. Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez completed a three-goal night with a penalty in injury time to pace Mexico, which will face Cuba in Charlotte on Thursday. Last night at the Home Depot Center in Los Angeles, Jamaica defeated Caribbean rival Grenada 4-0.
Later, Honduras was forced to settle for a 0-0 tie with Guatemala despite having two players ejected in the second half. Jamaica faces Guatemala on Friday in Miami while Honduras will meet Grenada.
Tonight, Panama defeated Guadeloupe 3-2 and the United States faces off against Canada in Detroit.
Canadian spot to be decided July 2
The final spot for the CONCACAF Champions League will be decided on July 2 when Toronto FC and Vancouver meet in the final of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship.
Lightning and torrential rain caused officials to abandon the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship finals midway through the second half on May 25, forcing a replay of the match between Toronto FC and Vancouver from the start.
Officials had hoped to try to play the full 90 minutes Thursday at 11 a.m., but more rain Thursday morning with the forecast of continued electrical storms throughout the day resulted in the Canadian Soccer Association deciding to postpone the match until July 2. Vancouver led 1-0 on Eric Hassli's 17th-minute goal when play was abandoned in the 60th minute. Both teams entered the second leg tied on aggregate after drawing 1-1 May 18 in Vancouver.
The winner of the match will qualify for the Preliminary Round of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Mexico advances to semis of Toulon tournament
After losing 4-1 to France last week, the Mexican U-20 side rallied to win its
next two matches and qualify for the semifinals of the French Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon youth tournament. Mexico beat Hungary 2-0 on Saturday before defeating China yesterday 2-1.
The team coached by Juan Carlos Chavez will meet Colombia on Wednesday.
Wins for Canadian and American women
In preparation for the upcoming Women's World Cup in Germany, Canada beat Hungary 1-0 in Telja, Hungary today.
Diana Matheson scored the lone goal for the Canadians.
On Sunday, the United States beat Mexico 1-0 at Red Bull Arena in New Jersey on a last-second goal by Lauren Cheney.
National association matches
3.25.2011: Panama City:
PANAMA - BOLIVIA 2:0
3.24.2011: Havana, Cuba:
CUBA - EL SALVADOR 0:2
3.25.2011: Seoul:
SOUTH KOREA- HONDURAS 4:0
3.25.2011: Montego Bay, Jamaica:
JAMAICA - VENEZUELA 0:2
3.26.2011: San Jose, Costa Rica:
COSTA RICA - CHINA 2:2
3.26.2011: Bassaterre, St. Kitts and Nevis:
ST. KITTS & NEVIS - GRENADA 0:0
3.26.2011: New York:
UNITED STATES - ARGENTINA 1:1
3.26.2011: Oakland:
MEXICO - PARAGUAY 3:1
3.26.2011: Havana, Cuba:
CUBA - PANAMA 0:2
3.27.2011: San Salvador, El Salvador:
EL SALVADOR - JAMAICA 2:3
3.28.2011: Mazatenango, Guatemala:
GUATEMALA - BOLIVIA 1:1
3.29.2011: San Jose, Costa Rica:
COSTA RICA - ARGENTINA 0:0
3.29.2011: Nashville:
UNITED STATES - PARAGUAY 0:1
3.29.2011: San Diego:
MEXICO - VENEZUELA 1:1
4.1.2011: St. Georges, Grenada:
GRENADA - ST. KITTS & NEVIS 0:0
5.28.2011: Seattle:
MEXICO - ECUADOR 1:1
5.28.2011: Houston:
EL SALVADOR - HONDURAS 2:2
5.28.2011: Panama City, Panama:
PANAMA - GRENADA 2:0
5.30.2011: San Jose:
COSTA RICA - NIGERIA 1:0
6.01.2011: Denver:
MEXICO - NEW ZEALAND 3:0
6.04.2011: Boston:
UNITED STATES - SPAIN 4:0
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