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Monday, July 1, 2019
Monday, July 1, 2019
Gallese denies Suarez as Peru beat Uruguay on penalties to reach Copa semis Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese saved Luis Suarez’s spot-kick as Peru beat Uruguay on penalties on Saturday to reach the Copa America semi-finals, where they will face Chile. Edison Flores scored the decisive penalty as Peru, who were thrashed 5-0 by Brazil in their previous match, qualified for the semi-finals for the third time in the last four editions of the Copa. It was a remarkable turnaround for Gallese, who was the villain of that thumping by the hosts, gifting Brazil their second goal by clearing the ball straight to Roberto Firmino, while he was also partially at fault for the first and third scores. But in Salvador he guessed the right way for the first shoot-out penalty to deny Barcelona forward Suarez, after which Peru’s own penalty-takers were faultless. “I’m very proud of our team, I can’t really put it into words,” said Peru captain Paolo Guerrero. “A lot of people said we don’t have the fortitude and guts. But we showed today on the pitch that we could take them on head-on. “Peru has hunger, Peru is a warrior, Peru has guts.” It was the third Copa quarter-final to finish goalless and head to penalties after Uruguay had three goals ruled out for offside during normal time. Giorgian de Arrascaeta, Edinson Cavani and Suarez had all put the ball in the net, only to be denied by a linesman’s flag. “It’s a bitter and sad feeling. We had high hopes to qualify, but simply couldn’t,” said Uruguay’s captain Diego Godin. “We lacked a goal. We tried, we looked for it... (But) three were disallowed.” Brazil beat Paraguay on spotkicks on Thursday and champions Chile did likewise to knock-out Colombia on Friday. In the only match to feature any goals, Argentina defeated Venezuela 2-0 on Friday. Peru will face Chile in the second semi-final in Porto Alegre on Wednesday, a day after hosts Brazil take on Argentina in Belo Horizonte. Copa winners in 1939 and 1975, Peru lost to Chile in the semi-finals four years ago. - Incredible miss After a slow opening, Uruguay
burst into life on 15 minutes when Federico Valverde surged onto a loose Peru pass in their own half and picked out an unmarked Luis Suarez on the penalty spot, but the Barcelona forward couldn’t keep down his header. Two minutes later Nahitan Nandez broke into the box from the flank but his shot was blocked by a sliding defender. In pouring rain, Uruguay looked set to take the lead on 24 minutes with a rapier counter-attack, but Cavani ballooned the ball into the sky from six yards after Gallese parried Suarez’s shot, although it wouldn’t have counted as the Barcelona forward was retroactively deemed offside when he received the ball. Moments later Nandez headed over from six yards. De Arrascaeta had the ball in the net on 28 minutes but that was chalked off for an offside against Nandez. Peru finally created a worthy chance late in the first half but Jose Gimenez made a stunning recovery tackle to deny Guerrero a goalscoring chance. Up the other end, Gallese made himself big to block Cavani’s shot on the turn. - Cavani and Suarez denied Gallese was called into action early in the second period to punch out a dipping Valverde free-kick. Center-back Godin, up for a throwin deep in Peruvian territory, emulated Cavani’s first-half howler, spooning over from seven yards after he was picked out by Suarez. Cavani appeared to have broken the deadlock just before the hour mark as he latched onto a Suarez through ball and chipped Gallese, but he was pulled up for offside. Suarez poked home a Martin Caceres cross inside the six yard box on 73 minutes, but that too was ruled offside. Uruguay pushed hard late on but Peru held out as Suarez failed to make contact with the ball when trying to lob Gallese in the clearest chance.
Mexico advances to Gold Cup semis, Haiti shock Canada Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa saved a sudden death penalty as Mexico edged Costa Rica 5-4 on penalties to reach the CONCACAF Gold Cup semi-finals in Houston, Texas on Saturday. Ochoa stopped Costa Rica’s Keysher Fuller after the teams played to a 1-1 draw following extra time in front of 70,788 fans at NRG Stadium. Mexico will now face Haiti in the semi-finals on Tuesday in Glendale, Arizona. Costa Rica goalkeeper Leonel Moreira saved Raul Jimenez’s first penalty in the shoot-out, but Randall Leal smashed Costa Rica’s third penalty wide, setting the stage for Ochoa to send Mexico through by stopping Fuller. Jimenez handed Mexico the lead in the 44th minute, with Bryan Ruiz levelling from the spot for Costa Rica eight minutes later after Joel Campbell was judged to have been brought down by Luis Rodriguez inside the area. Television replays later showed that the foul was outside the box. Mexico manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino will be suspended from the touchlines for the semis against
Haiti after he was slapped with his second yellow card of the tournament. In the other fixture, Haiti -- one of the biggest surprises of the tournament after winning all its games in the group stage -- scored three second-half goals to stun former champions Canada 3-2 and advance to the last four for the first time. Duckens Nazon got the comeback started by scoring in the 50th minute and Herve Bazile brought the sides level from the penalty spot in the 70th, with both goals coming courtesy of some sloppy defensive play by Canadian defender Marcus Godinho. And six minutes later WildeDonald Guerrier sealed victory for Haiti with a spectacular individual effort, sneaking past the Canadian defence then bouncing the ball twice in the air before tapping it past goalkeeper Milan Borjan. Jonathan David and Lucas Cavallini scored for Canada, who were guilty of complacency once they had built up their lead. It was a gut-wrenching loss for the Canadians who won this tournament in 2000 but haven’t made it to the semis since 2007. (afp)
Ronald Martinez/Getty Images/AFP
Guillermo Ochoa #13 of Mexico rmakes a save against Costa Rica during the quarterfinals of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup at NRG Stadium on June 29, 2019 in Houston, Texas.
‘Bitter’ World Cup exit for Germany as Blackstenius fires Sweden into semis
LOIC VENANCE / AFP
Luis ACOSTA / AFP
Peru’s goalkeeper Pedro Gallese celebrates after stopping the penalty taken by Uruguay’s Luis Suarez during the shoot-out after tying 0-0 during their Copa America football tournament quarter-final match at the Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, Brazil, on June 29, 2019.
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Sweden’s forward Stina Blackstenius celebrates at the end of the France 2019 Women’s World Cup quarter-final football match between Germany and Sweden, on June 29, 2019, at the Roazhon park stadium in Rennes, north western France.
Germany were left “bitterly disappointed” after Stina Blackstenius’s winner knocked them out of the World Cup and sent Sweden into the last four of the women’s World Cup with a 2-1 victory in Rennes on Saturday. The Swedes had last claimed a tournament win over Germany at the 1995 World Cup but here they came from behind to triumph in an enthralling game played in ferocious heat. Lina Magull gave Germany the lead, but the Swedes ran the German back line ragged for much of the match. Sofia Jakobsson got their equaliser before the front three of Fridolina Rolfo, Jakobsson and Blackstenius combined for the winning goal just after half-time. “We are bitterly disappointed. We started well, but we just couldn’t deal with their long balls,” Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult told ARD. Once the dominant force in European women’s football, two-time world champions Germany have now failed to reach the semi-finals in two of their last three World Cups. Defeat also robs them of the
chance to defend their gold medal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo next year. Germany won the title at the Rio Olympics three years ago, beating Sweden in the final, but still needed to finish among the top three European teams at this World Cup to book their ticket to Tokyo. Sweden will join the Netherlands and Great Britain at the Games instead. “The defeat hurts, but we are in a process. We will grow from this experience,” coach Martina Voss-Tecklenburg told ARD, and suggested that the setback may spark a generational shift in the national team. “I know that some players are considering (ending their international careers). We have young players coming up, and we will use the next two years before the European Championships,” said Voss-Tecklenburg. The Germans looked the sharper side in the opening exchanges, and they took the lead on 15 minutes through Magull. A darting run and a neat through ball from Sara Daebritz unleashed Magull in the box, and she swept in from point-blank range after a
deft first touch. Sweden took just seven minutes to respond, though, Jakobsson leaving the German centre-backs in the dust as she chased down a long ball and slotted it past goalkeeper Almuth Schult. The German goalkeeper kept her side in the game with several more saves in the first half, but could do nothing to stop Sweden’s winner just after the break. After parrying away a Rolfo header from Jakobsson’s cross, Schult lay helpless as Blackstenius prodded the ball in from close range. It was a deserved lead for Sweden, despite the Germans’ protests that Magull had been lying injured when the goal was scored. Despite bringing on star player Dszenifer Marozsan, who had missed the previous three games with a broken toe, Germany remained blunt as the clock ticked down. Lena Oberdorf came agonisingly close with a header in the dying minutes, but Sweden held on to set up a semi-final meeting with the Netherlands in Lyon next Wednesday. (afp)