Thiago Ribeiro’s first-half hat-trick guided Brazil’s Cruzeiro to a 3-1 first-leg win over Nacional of Uruguay in the Copa Libertadores round-of-16 on Thursday.
In other first-leg matches, Diego Rivarola’s late goal gave Universidad de Chile a 1-0 win at Peru’s Alianza Lima, while 2004 champions Once Caldas of Colombia drew 0-0 with Libertad of Paraguay.
Cruzeiro, last year’s losing finalists, took the lead in the seventh minute against Nacional when Ribeiro got behind the defense and slotted through the legs of goalkeeper Rodrigo Munoz.
Ribeiro earned his second with a header in the 22nd minute and again found space behind the defense to complete his triple with a low strike from the edge of the box in the 42nd minute.
Mario Regueiro pulled a goal back for Nacional five minutes after halftime, but the Uruguayans face a difficult task overcoming the deficit in the return leg on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, Universidad de Chile have a one-goal cushion ahead of their home leg after Rivarola capitalized on a mixup in the Alianza defense to race through and shoot high past goalkeeper George Forsyth in the 86th minute.
The return leg will be played in Santiago on Thursday.
The day’s final match saw surprise 2004 champions Once Caldas held to a goalless draw at home.
Roberto Gamarra hit the post for Libertad with a long-range drive following a free-kick in the 52nd minute and Victor Caceres’ deflected shot pounded the crossbar for Once Caldas in the 65th minute.
The return leg in Asuncion will also be played on Thursday.
The other first-leg results this week were San Luis 0, Estudiantes La Plata 1; Guadalajara 3, Velez Sarsfield 0; Universitario 0, Sao Paulo 0; Flamengo 1, Corinthians 0; and Banfield 3, Internacional 1.
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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