Mexico Beats El Salvador, Wins L.A. Soccer Cup
Mexico won the Los Angeles Soccer Cup Thursday night, defeating El Salvador, 2-0, before a crowd of 42,762 at the Coliseum, but the United States may yet prove to be the real winner.
Although the United States elected not to participate in the tournament, what its coaches learned from the four matches could prove decisive later in the year when the U.S. team meets three of these same countries in World Cup qualifying play.
Among the lessons:
--Costa Rica, which was beaten, 3-2, by Guatemala in Thursday night’s third-place match, is nowhere near as strong as it was four years ago. Then, Costa Rica ended the Americans’ hopes of reaching the 1986 World Cup by defeating them, 1-0, in Torrance.
Of course, the Costa Ricans may merely have been taking things easy this week, hiding their true ability until qualifying play begins March 19. The United States plays Costa Rica there April 21 and in St. Louis April 30.
--Guatemala, which lost, 2-1, to Mexico Tuesday night and then changed eight of its 11-man starting lineup for Thursday’s match, should prove to be a handful for the United States, especially in Guatemala City Oct. 8.
The Guatemalans were impressive in Thursday’s win, building a 3-0 lead in the first 21 minutes on goals by Edwin Wesphal, Juan Funes and Victor Belteton, before Leony Flores scored for Costa Rica just before halftime.
Costa Rica applied most of the second-half pressure but netted only a headed goal by Claudio Jara in the 80th minute.
--El Salvador, a winner on penalty kicks over Costa Rica Tuesday, has the speed and technical ability to cause the United States some problems, and its European coach, Miroslav Vucacinovic, has molded the team into an adventurous, if somewhat erratic, unit.
Against Mexico in Thursday’s championship match, El Salvador’s defense was put to a severe test in the first half-hour, time and again surviving close calls.
The inevitable Mexican goal finally arrived in the 25th minute, when midfielder Alberto Aspe beat goalkeeper Ricardo Mora with a low shot from the right.
The Mexicans almost extended their 1-0 lead in the 51st minute when 1986 World Cup star Manuel Negrete hammered a free kick against the crossbar, with Mora beaten.
El Salvador was limited to breakaway counterattacks, but Mexico’s experienced defense was seldom troubled. Gonzalo Farfan’s goal for Mexico in the 70th minute put the match out of reach.
Soccer Notes
Total attendance for the two-day tournament came to 76,362. . . . The Federation Internationale de Football Assn. (FIFA), world soccer’s governing body, has nominated its president, Brazilian Joao Havelange, for the Nobel Peace Prize. . . . France and Switzerland are the first two nations to apply to play host to the 1998 World Cup. The French bid has the endorsement of the country’s president, Francois Mitterrand, as well as that of Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac, who said the city would construct a new stadium for the event. Brazil, Morocco and Japan are considered other likely candidates, according to Jospeh Blatter, FIFA’s general secretary. The decision will be made in 1992. . . . Tickets for the 1990 World Cup in Italy went on sale at 400 banks throughout that country earlier this month. The 24-nation tournament runs from June 8 to July 8. A limit of four tickets per person is being imposed, and identity and background checks are being carried out on buyers to discourage black market sales.
