The US, Mexico and Costa Rica remained unbeaten in the semi-final phase of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying on Wednesday. The US stretched their lead atop Group 1 with a 3-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico downed Canada 2-1 in Tuxtla Gutierrez to consolidate their position atop Group 2, while Group 3 leaders Costa Rica beat hosts Haiti 3-1.
Bryan Ruiz scored in the 12th and 73rd minutes for Costa Rica and Alejandro Alpizar added a third in the 86th in Port-au-Prince.
The US, with nine points from three matches, are virtually assured of reaching the final phase of qualifying after pulling five points clear of Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala.
Guatemala joined Trinidad on four points with a 4-1 win over Cuba in Guatemala City.
The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the final phase. From there, three teams advance to the finals in South Africa, while the fourth-placed finisher plays off for a berth against a team from South America.
Bradley and Dempsey got the US off to a quick start.
Bradley struck first, firing home in the ninth minute.
Nine minutes later, Dempsey made it 2-0 with a powerful shot. Ching added a header in the 57th to round off the scoring.
Mexico received a spark from sub Omar Bravo when he fired a header past Lars Hirschfeld in the 58th minute.
Rafael Marquez made it 2-0 for Mexico in the 72nd, and Canadian Ali Gerba’s 77th minute goal wasn’t enough to prevent Mexico from remaining perfect with nine points from three matches in Group 2.
Honduras maintained their second-placed spot in Group 2 with a 2-0 victory over Jamaica in San Pedro Sula.
Ramon Nunez in the 60th minute and Amada Guevara from the penalty spot in the 73rd secured the victory for Honduras.
El Salvador stayed in position to advance with a 2-0 away win over Suriname in Paramaribo that left them on six points.
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
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
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
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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