It Rains Mainly on Spain, 4-0

With a devastating spurt at the start of the second half, Argentina eliminated defending champion Spain, 4-0, in a men’s quarterfinal soccer match in Birmingham, Ala.

A crowd of 43,507 sat through steady rain as Argentina, which has won only a silver medal in soccer, stayed on course to vie for its first gold.

After a scoreless first half, Argentina broke through only two minutes into the second. Matias Almeyda intercepted a pass, faked two defenders and rang a shot off the crossbar. It bounced in front of the net, and Hernan Crespo headed it.

With Argentina applying more pressure in the 53rd minute, a crossing pass in front of Spain’s goal was knocked in by defender Augustin Aranzabal for a 2-0 lead.

In another quarterfinal, Calado converted a penalty kick in the 105th minute, lifting Portugal to a 2-1 overtime victory over France at Miami.

Calado got his chance when French goalkeeper Lionel Letizi came out to stop a shot in the penalty box and tripped Dani in the process.

In the ensuing argument, France’s Jerome Bonnissel received a red card.