U.S. Men Impressive in 4-0 Victory
Two first-half goals by Brian McBride powered the United States to an impressive 4-0 victory over Honduras in front of 11,533 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., Wednesday night in the Americans’ final warmup game before they begin World Cup qualification.
The Fulham forward scored on a header in the 22nd minute off a cross from Steve Cherundolo, then struck again 15 minutes later with a searing, left-foot shot that flashed past Honduran goalkeeper Hector Medina.
Honduras, coached by former U.S. mentor Bora Milutinovic, was reduced to 10 men when New York/New Jersey MetroStar midfielder Amado Guevara was ejected six minutes before halftime for taking a swing at DaMarcus Beasley.
The Central Americans yielded two more goals in the second half, with Eddie Lewis scoring in the 77th minute and Tony Sanneh adding the fourth goal nine minutes from the end.
Midfielder Claudio Reyna played in his 100th international, becoming the seventh U.S. men’s player after Jeff Agoos, Marcelo Balboa, Paul Caligiuri, Cobi Jones, Joe-Max Moore and Eric Wynalda to reach that milestone.
Galaxy Beaten
An 85th-minute goal by Flavio earned Sao Paulo FC’s reserve team a 1-0 victory over the Galaxy in front of an announced crowd of 10,009 at the Home Depot Center.
Galaxy goalkeeper Dan Popik dived low to his right to block a shot by Jean and the ball rebounded to Flavio, who lashed it into the net.
World Cup 2006
Ronaldo scored three goals, all of them on penalty kicks, as Brazil defeated Argentina, 3-1, in a World Cup 2006 qualifying game at Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
The victory put the defending world champions back atop the 10-nation South American qualifying group, one point ahead of Argentina and two ahead of Chile and Paraguay.
Juan Pablo Sorin scored for Argentina.
In another match, Ecuador defeated Colombia, 2-1, at Quito on goals by Augustin Delgado and Franklin Salas. It was Ecuador’s first victory in 39 years against its neighbor.
In the Oceania region, unbeaten Australia thrashed Fiji, 6-1, as Tim Cahill scored three goals, but New Zealand was upset, 4-2, by Vanuatu, jeopardizing its hopes of advancing.
Athens Olympics
Portugal, Sweden, Italy and Serbia-Montenegro have advanced to the semifinals of the European under-21 championship in Germany, meaning that three of the four teams are guaranteed a place in the Athens Olympics.
The Portuguese got goals from Hugo Almeida and Luis Lourenco in a 2-1 upset of Germany in Mainz on Wednesday, and Sweden came from behind to beat Switzerland, 3-1, in Mannheim, where Markus Rosenberg scored twice.
In one semifinal on Saturday, Portugal will play Italy, which beat Croatia, 1-0, on Tuesday on a goal by Daniele De Rossi. In the other, Sweden will play Serbia-Montenegro, which beat Belarus, 3-1, Tuesday to also make the final four.
The two finalists and third-place finisher qualify for Athens.
MLS Update
The chances of Real Madrid playing in the MLS All-Star game on July 31 disappeared Wednesday when the Spanish club announced that it would go on a five-day, two-match tour of Japan from July 27 to Aug. 1.
The only way Real could now take part is if MLS reverted to its original All-Star date of July 24, a move that would force the league to again alter the schedules of all 10 of its teams.
Elsewhere, the New England Revolution said former U.S. national team defender Carlos Llamosa would be sidelined for six to eight months after undergoing reconstructive surgery on the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
In the lone MLS game Wednesday night, Pat Noonan scored three goals, including two in the final four minutes, as the New England Revolution (2-3-4) beat the Kansas City Wizards (3-2-4) in front of 8,014 at Kansas City.
Quick Passes
FIFA has suspended Kenya from all international competition and has frozen the financial support it provides, citing government interference in the running of the Kenyan soccer federation.... Several hundred Thais launched a petition drive in Bangkok aimed at stopping Thailand’s government from holding a national lottery, funds which would be used to buy a 30% stake in Liverpool for $115 million.... One week after leading FC Porto to the European Champions League title, Jose Mourinho, 41, has left to become coach of Chelsea. He signed a three-year, $9-million contract as the replacement for Claudio Ranieri.
-- Compiled by Grahame L. Jones
