The world's equal-lowest ranked national team Belize won the first leg of its CONCACAF World Cup qualifier on Wednesday to put itself on course for a shock matchup against regional power Mexico.
Belize, standing 201st and equal last on FIFA rankings, beat St. Kitts and Nevis 3-1 in the home leg of their first round tie, with the eventual winner to meet Mexico in the second round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
El Salvador posted the most authoritative win on Wednesday, thrashing Anguilla 12-0 in the home leg to all but secure a second-round tie against Panama.
In another surprise result, the Netherlands Antilles won 1-0 away at Nicaragua to raise hopes of a second-round meeting with Haiti.
Dominica drew 1-1 away at Barbados in the first leg of their tie, with both teams striving for a glamour second-round tie against the US.
Turks and Caicos Islands recorded a 2-1 win over St. Lucia, while Antigua and Barbuda strolled to a 3-0 win away at Aruba and look set for a second round tie against Cuba.
The second legs of those matchups, and both legs of other ties will all be completed in late March.
FRIENDLIES
The US and Mexico drew 2-2 in a friendly match played in Houston on Wednesday, with Jonny Magallon scoring either side of halftime for the visitors, which had the support of the majority of the 70,103-strong crowd.
The home side took the lead in the 30th minute through defender Oguchi Onyewu as he headed home off the inside of the post, with Magallon equalizing five minutes later.
The US went into halftime with a 2-1 lead thanks to teenager Jozy Altidore's 40th minute headed goal, but Magallon restored parity with a goal just over a minute into the second half.
The US are now unbeaten in 10 matches against their fierce rivals, but were lucky to come away with a draw as Mexico dominated the match, outshooting the hosts 13-3.
Jamaica escaped with a 1-1 home draw against Costa Rica in a friendly in Kingston, thanks to an injury-time goal by Tyrone Marshall.
Substitute Victor Nunez, a native of the Dominican Republic, looked to have scored the winner for the Ticos in the 78th minute, only for defender Marshall to storm past the defense and equalize for the Reggae Boyz.
Both teams will enter World Cup qualifying in June's second-round CONCACAF matches. Costa Rica will play the winner of the Grenada-US Virgin Islands first-round tie, while Jamaica will meet either the Bahamas or British Virgin Islands.
In San Salvador, Honduras downed Paraguay 2-0 in a friendly on Wednesday.
Amado Guevara put the home team ahead with a 47th minute penalty and Carlo Costly made it 2-0 in the 54th minute.
Both sides were missing their star forwards, with David Suazo absent for Honduras and Roque Santa Cruz missing for Paraguay.
Honduras' World Cup campaign will begin in June when it hosts the winner of the first-round tie between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
Guatemala were also in action on Wednesday, losing 5-0 to Argentina in a friendly in Los Angeles.
Real Madrid's Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for Argentina, who got further goals from Ezequiel Lavezzi, Jonatan Maidana and Marco Ruben.
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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