Routs Lift Mexico and Costa Rica

Costa Rica and Mexico swept into the semifinals of CONCACAF’s Olympic soccer qualifying tournament Wednesday night, brushing aside Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica in the process.

The Costa Ricans, unspectacular but methodical, first wore down Trinidad and Tobago, then dismantled the hapless islanders, winning, 4-0, on two goals by Erick Scott and one each by Alvaro Saborio and Winston Parks in front of a few thousand at Estadio Jalisco.

The crowd had grown to an estimated 30,000 by the time Mexico took the field for the second half of the doubleheader. The goals kept coming too, as Coach Ricardo Lavolpe’s players turned in perhaps the most impressive performance of the eight-nation tournament so far.

The Mexicans won, 4-0, but could have and should have scored even more against a Jamaica team that was outclassed.

Their failure to do so left Costa Rica in first place in Group B with a plus-seven goal difference compared to plus-six for Mexico. Both teams have six points, but Costa Rica needs only a tie when the two play Friday night in order to win the group.

That has massive implications for the United States, because if Costa Rica succeeds, and should the U.S. also win its group, as expected, the Americans would have to play red-hot Mexico in Tuesday’s semifinals, with the distinct prospect of being denied a trip to Athens.

Only the semifinal winners go to the Olympics.

Mexico got off to a flying start, with its captain, Diego Martinez, scoring from the penalty spot in the fifth minute. Jamaica’s captain, Shavar Thomas, was ejected for protesting the call, leaving his team to play a man down for almost the entire match.

Luis Ernesto Perez and Juan Pablo Garcia made it 3-0 by the half, but Jamaica’s defense stiffened in the second 45 minutes, and all Mexico could add was a goal by Rafael Marquez two minutes into injury time.

The losses eliminated both Caribbean teams, even though they still have to play each other Friday night.

The U.S. and Honduras can reach the final four by beating, respectively, Canada and Panama tonight.

U.S. players spent Wednesday counting the cost of Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory over Panama, a game in which they allowed a three-goal lead to evaporate.

Coach Glenn “Mooch” Myernick was contemplating lineup changes in the wake of an injury to defender Zak Whitbread, who suffered a torn left thigh ligament and will fly home today, reducing the U.S. roster to 19.

Galaxy defender Ricky Lewis is expected to start against Canada because Jose Burciaga, who replaced Whitbread on Tuesday night, has a groin injury.

Myernick also has to consider the yellow cards given to Brad Davis and Kyle Beckerman. Yellow cards carry over from the first round, meaning that if the players were cautioned again, they would sit out a more important match later.

Bobby Convey, who scored two of the U.S. goals, was still unhappy over the foul he suffered after scoring the game-winner with 10 minutes left.

Convey was left writhing on the ground after the foul by Felipe Baloy, who received only a yellow card from Mexican referee Gilberto Alcala.

“He elbowed me in the stomach and then tried to say I was wasting time while on the ground,” Convey said. “You have to know it’s coming in qualifying, and against these teams, and you just have to play through it.”

The U.S. also has to ignore the Mexican fans, some of whom have taken to not only cheering for U.S. opponents and booing the Americans, but also to injecting international politics.

On Tuesday night at Estadio Tres de Marzo, fans chanted “Osama, Osama” after Panama mounted a second-half rally to tie the score, in reference to terrorist Osama bin Laden.