Costa Rica drops third straight at Beach Soccer World Cup

November 19, 2009

Richard Sterling scored Costa Rica’s second goal of the tournament but Italy overwhelmed the Ticos 3-1 on Wednesday and sent them home from the Beach Soccer World Cup with a third straight loss.

Costa Rica was joined by CONCACAF champion Honduras, which was beaten 7-2 by Japan and also returned home with a third loss.

Sterling equalized at 8:41 of the first period after Simone Feudi put Ialy ahead a little more than a minute earlier. Pasquale Corotenuto restored Italy’s lead by converting a penalty with 2:08 remaining in the first and Paolo Palmacci added an insurance goal with a minute and a half to play.

The result finished Italy in second place in Group C and sent it to the quarterfinals while Costa Rica completed its stay in Dubai having been outscored 14-2.

El Salvador, which jumped ahead in its first two games before allowing its opponents to rally, fell behind early and was overwhelmed the Asian champion.

Japan scored four times in the first eight minutes and cruised past los Catrachos, who already had been eliminated from quarterfinal contention before the match. Second-period goals by Masakiyo Maezono, his second of the game, and another by Hiofumi Oda extended the lead to 6-0 before El Salvador’s Tomas Hernandez scored his third goal of the tournament with 2:25 remaining in the period.

After Japan restored the six-goal advantage, Walter Torres scored his second of the tournament with five seconds remaining to complete the scoring.

Dubai United Arab Emirates

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Tags: asian champion, beach soccer, catrachos, contention, dubai united arab emirates, first period, goal advantage, insurance goal, oda, opponents, pasquale, period goals, quarterfinals, richard sterling, second period, soccer world cup, tomas hernandez, two games, united arab emirates

El Salvador falls on late goal at Beach Soccer World Cup

November 17, 2009

El Salvador allowed a goal with 48 seconds remaining, wasting a four-goal lead and enabling Ivory Coast to beat the CONCACAF champion 7-6 in the opening game for both Monday at the Beach Soccer World Cup.

Ludovic Ehounou scored three of his five goals in the final 11 minutes — including the winner, for Ivory Coast, after El Salvador jumped ahead 5-1 in the first 10½ minutes.

In another game, Russia scored twice in the first 10 minutes and coasted to a 5-1 victory over Costa Rica.

Ehounou put Ivory Coast ahead after only eight seconds, but Tomas Hernandez equalized less than six minutes later, Agustin Ruiz gave El Salvador the lead by 6:30 of the first period. Walter Torres scored less than a minute later and Frank Velasquez added a pair to put “los Catrachos” ahead 5-1.

After Kouassitchi Daniel scored to get Ivory Coast within 5-2 by the end of the first, Ehounou scored his second midway through the second and Frederic Aka added another to pull Ivory Coast within one. Ehounou then tacked on a pair less than a minute apart to give the Ivorians their first lead by 6:38 of the third.

Torres scored his second to equalize, but Ehounou completed his effort with less than a minute to play to disappoint El Salvador.

“I think we played well but we lost confidence after going four goals clear,” Torres said.

Russia used goals by five different players to take a 5-0 lead over Costa Rica 5:55 into the second period.

Delbert Cameron converted a penalty with 7:37 remaining leaving the Ticos to look toward their next game Tuesday against Argentina.

“The next thing we have to do is go into our next match with the conviction that we can win,” Costa Rica coach Jose Calvo said. “This is our first time in a World Cup, so nerves were a factor at times.”

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates

Tags: beach soccer, cameron, catrachos, conviction, delbert, dubai united arab emirates, eight seconds, El Salvador, first period, Ivory Coast, jose calvo, ludovic, midway, nerves, second period, six minutes, soccer world cup, ticos, tomas hernandez

El Salvador wins CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship for first regional title since 1943

June 22, 2009

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – Tomas Hernandez scored twice to spark a four-goal surge and rally El Salvador past Costa Rica 6-3 on Sunday for the CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship, its first regional title since 1943.

Both teams already had clinched berths in the Beach Soccer World Cup in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates November 16-22 with their semifinal victories on Saturday. El Salvador earned a second straight trip to the world finals while Costa Rica advanced after five years of trying.

Earlier in the third-placed game, host Mexico edged the United States 5-4.

El Salvador, which made headlines last year by qualifying for the World Cup with its infamous band of local fishermen, led on Jose Israel’s goal with 1:26 left in the opening period. But Greiven Pacheco scored the first of his two consecutive goals 26 seconds later to put Costa Rica ahead 2-1 with 9:27 remaining in the second.

Hernandez then scored twice in 17 seconds midway through the period and Jose Agustin Ruiz and Walter Torres added goals before the end of the second to put El Salvador in control 5-2.

Pacheco scored a third goal early in the third but Francisco “Frank” Valasquez restored the three-goal cushion and ended any rally hopes with 4:49 remaining.

“We’ve improved a lot compared to last year,” El Salvador goalkeeper and captain Luis Rodas said. “The experience we’ve had going to Marseille and compete with the best teams in the world helped us a great deal.”

The title for El Salvador was the first since it won the Central American and Caribbean Confederation (CCCF) title during World War II.

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