Ronaldinho scored two second-half goals yesterday to lead Brazil to a 5-0 rout over New Zealand and a spot in the quarter-finals of the Olympic soccer tournament.
Ronaldinho netted his first goal of the tournament with a free kick in the 54th minute, and added another with a penalty kick in the 61st. The two-time FIFA Player of the Year hadn’t scored for Brazil in an official competition in nearly a year.
Anderson opened the scoring less than three minutes into the match. Alexandre Pato scored in the 34th and Rafael Sobis added another goal in second-half injury time to keep Brazil on track for its first gold medal in soccer.
PHOTO: EPA
Nigeria 2, Japan 1
Victor Obinna scored one goal and set up another to lead Nigeria to a 2-1 victory over Japan yesterday, bolstering the Africans’ claim for a place in the men’s Olympic quarter-finals.
Obinna found the net in the 58th minute and set up Victor Anichebe to score on another counterattack in the 74th as Japan’s defense was exposed on each flank.
Second-half substitute Yohei Toyoda scored for Japan in the 79th and his team continued to create chances, but heavy rain from a thunderstorm for the final 10 minutes of the match hampered its chances.
Cameroon 1, Honduras 0
Midfielder Stephane Mbia scored in the second half yesterday to lift Cameroon to a 1-0 victory over Honduras.
Mbia collected the ball 25m out in the 74th minute and hit a low right-footed drive past the outstretched arms of Honduras goalkeeper Kevin Hernandez and inside the left post.
Belgium 2, China 0
Strikers Moussa Dembele and Kevin Mirallas scored a goal each to give Belgium a 2-0 win over nine-man China yesterday, putting the hosts in a difficult position to advance.
Dembele opened the scoring in the eighth minute, escaping from three defenders inside the area before firing a low left-footer past China goalkeeper Qiu Shengjiong.
Mirallas sealed the win with a shot from the top of the area in the 80th minute when China was already playing two man down.
Defender Tan Wangsong was red-carded in the 52nd for a vicious foul and midfielder Zheng Zhi in the 63rd for elbowing an opponent.
Argentina 1, Australia 0
Ezequiel Lavezzi ended Australia’s stubborn resistance and led Argentina to a 1-0 victory yesterday to put his team into the quarter-finals.
After Lionel Messi had missed three chances, Lavezzi ended a well-worked move to score a 78th-minute goal to give Argentina six points from two games.
Italy 3, South Korea 0
Italy secured a spot in the quarter-finals yesterday, beating South Korea 3-0 on goals from Giuseppe Rossi, Tommaso Rocchi and Riccardo Montolivo.
The Italians dominated a tough South Korea side that was undefeated in Olympic qualifying.
Rossi scored in the 15th, pouncing on the deflection of a shot from Rocchi and slotting a left-footed strike past South Korea goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong from 10m.
Rocchi doubled the lead in the 32nd when he knocked in a cross from defender Marco Motta, while Montolivo finished off the scoring with an injury-time goal.
Ivory Coast 4, Serbia 2
Ivory Coast beat Serbia 4-2 yesterday to revive their chances of reaching the quarter-finals.
Sekou Cisse gave the Ivorians a third minute lead at the Shanghai Olympic Stadium, and although Milan Mrdakovic equalized in the 16th minute, Serb defender Slobodan Rajkovic headed the ball into his own net in the 24th and Salomon Kalou added a third goal in the 69th.
Djordje Rakic scored a second for Serbia with a minute to go but the Ivorians added a fourth in injury time through Gervinho.
Netherlands 2, US 2
Gerald Sibon scored from a free kick in the third minute of injury time yesterday to salvage a 2-2 draw for the Netherlands with US yesterday and keeping alive its hopes of advancing.
Sibon’s low drive from 25 meters eluded goalkeeper Brad Guzan and sends the Dutch to its final game against winless Japan with renewed hopes of reaching the quarter-finals.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
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
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
RSS