Mexico, U.S. Women Rout Opponents
Mexico and the United States swept into the semifinals of the CONCACAF women’s Olympic qualifying tournament Thursday night with resounding victories over their Caribbean opponents at San Jose, Costa Rica.
Mexico reached the final four by crushing Trinidad and Tobago, 8-1. Maribel Dominguez scored three times to bring her tournament total to five goals in two games.
Patricia Perez scored two goals and Juana Lopez, Iris Mora and Alma Martinez one apiece for the Mexicans, who dominated the match on a rainy evening at Estadio Rosabal Cordero.
The U.S. followed suit in the nightcap by routing Haiti, 8-0. Cindy Parlow scored three goals and assisted on two others.
The Americans overwhelmed the Haitians, leading, 14-0, in shots in the first half and 30-0 in the game. The U.S. also earned 13 corner kicks; Haiti had one.
It was the seventh time in Parlow’s career that she had scored three or more goals in a game for the national team.
Aly Wagner, Shannon MacMillan, Lindsay Tarpley and Abby Wambach also scored for the U.S. Haitian defender Judith Fenelon accidentally scored an own goal while trying to clear a shot by Angela Hucles.
The U.S. and Mexico will play each other on Sunday to determine which team wins Group B in the eight-nation tournament that will send two teams to Athens.
Today, Canada and Costa Rica have the chance to also reach the semifinals if they defeat Panama and Jamaica, respectively, in Group A.
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Rule Changes Weighed
The International Football Assn. Board will meet in London, England, today to consider several rule changes that would become law worldwide if approved.
Prime among is a proposal by Joseph “Sepp” Blatter, FIFA’s president, that would limit teams to five substitutes per match in friendly internationals. Blatter has branded as “farcical” England Coach Sven-Goran Eriksson’s use of as many as 11 substitutes in recent games.
“If a friendly match is organized and you announce it and you sell tickets, the public and everybody is asking for one match, not for two matches,” Blatter said, adding that the credibility of the sport is at stake.
England has countered that coaches need to evaluate as many players as possible in friendly games, and Eriksson has received support for this view from Portugal Coach Luis Felipe Scolari, France Coach Jacques Santini and Italy Coach Giovanni Trapattoni, among others.
Also on the agenda are:
* A proposal from the German soccer federation that the halftime break be extended from 15 minutes to 20 minutes in order to raise more revenue from in-stadium concession sales and television advertising.
* A proposal that any player removing his shirt while celebrating a goal should receive an automatic yellow card.
* A proposal from FIFA that the “golden goal” be incorporated into the laws of the game, thereby ending overtime once a goal is scored rather than playing the full overtime period.
* A proposal that would allow matches to take place on artificial surfaces without requiring the approval of the participating teams.
* A proposal that free kicks be advanced 10 yards if defending players try to obstruct or delay a free kick.
The board consists of four FIFA members and representatives of the soccer federations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Six votes out of eight are required for any law to be passed.
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Quick Passes
A 15-year-old Colombian fan was stabbed to death in Armenia, Colombia, during fighting after Deportes Quindio’s 2-1 loss at Armenia to Atletico de Medellin. Police have not made any arrests.... Coca-Cola signed a three-year, $7.4 million agreement to sponsor the English Football League starting next season....1997 European champion Borussia Dortmund of Germany reported losses of $37.3 million for the six months ending in December 2003....Authorities will conduct random sobriety tests outside stadiums at June’s European Championship in Portugal and will bar fans who fail a Breathalyzer test.... Coach Leo Beenhakker, defender Alvaro Ortiz and striker Reinaldo Navia of Club America of Mexico City were red-carded during a 3-1 loss away to Atlas of Guadalajara on Thursday night.... Benfica of Portugal, a 30-time league champion and two-time European Cup winner, is marking its centenary this weekend....Italian Prime Minister and soccer entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi, reacting to a court-ordered crackdown on Italian teams for alleged financial wrongdoing, said, “We are heading off cheerfully toward a police state.”
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Compiled by Grahame L. Jones
