L.A. Gold Cup Soccer Tournament : Semifinals Scheduled Today at Coliseum

The Los Angeles Gold Cup soccer tournament will move into the semifinal round today at 11:30 a.m. at the Coliseum when Argentina’s Rosario Central plays A.S. Roma of Italy.

Rosario, the only unbeaten team and the leader in Group B, advanced to the semifinals with a 3-1 victory over Scotland’s Dundee United Wednesday.

A.S. Roma, the second-place team in Group A, fields five of Italy’s World Cup stars, including Benjamin Conti, who played on the Italian national team that won the World Cup in 1982. Roma also has the services of Polish national Zbigniew Boniek, who scored both goals in the 2-1 first-round victory over Club America. Boniek, who pulled a leg muscle in that game, sat out Wednesday’s quarterfinal but is expected to return today.

In the other semifinal, scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Brazil Vasco da Gama, the Group A leader, will play Mexico’s Club Guadalajara, the second-place Group B team, considered the crowd favorite.

Guadalajara, which won the Mexican championship this year for the first time in 17 years and 11th time since its inception in 1906, will regain the services of star forward Benjamin Galindo, who missed the first two games with an injury.

Vasco da Gama, however, will be playing without star players Dunga and Romario, who were recalled to the Brazilian national team after Wednesday’s game and will miss the rest of the tournament.