Mexican club Toluca won the Clausura championship on Sunday, giving the club 10 titles to equal Club America and leaving them only one short of Guadalajara Chivas’ record.
Toluca beat Santos in a sudden-death penalty shootout in the second leg of the final.
Alfredo Talavera saved Fernando Arce’s penalty — Santos’ sixth spot kick — to win the title for Toluca after the match finished 0-0 following extra-time.
PHOTO: AFP
The first leg ended 2-2 on Thursday at Santos’ stadium in Torreon, with away goals not counting in the final.
The title was the third for Toluca coach Jose Manuel De La Torre following wins with Toluca in the Apertura 2008 tournament and Chivas in the Apertura 2006.
“I don’t know what to say, it’s indescribable how it all happened,” De La Torre said.
“Santos were extraordinary opponents. Now it’s time to celebrate and plan for next season,” he said.
Toluca striker Hector Mancilla, who missed a penalty in the shootout, said: “It was dramatic. We didn’t expect it to come down to this, but we are champions again.”
“Thousands of things went through my mind after missing ... I felt I had to score, but I didn’t and thank God my teammates could win it,” he said.
Santos had two opportunities to win the shootout, but Matias Vuoso and Carlos Morales both dragged their penalties wide. Edgar Duenas scored Toluca’s sixth penalty, before Talavera saved Arce’s attempt.
Vuoso also had a clear chance to win the match for Santos in the 14th minute of extra-time, but skewed his shot wide from 8m out.
In Argentina, the lineup is set for next season in the Apertura tournament.
All Boys became the third team promoted to Argentina’s first division, defeating Rosario Central 3-0 on Sunday to go through 4-1 on aggregate. All Boys join Olimpo and Quilmes, who had already won automatic promotion to the first division.
In the other promotion showdown on Sunday, Gimnasia La Plata defeated Atletico Rafaela 3-1 to stay in the first division.
Atletico Rafaela won the first leg 1-0.
Chacarita and Atletico Tucuman were automatically relegated when the season ended last weekend. Rosario Central are the third team to be relegated.
Marcelo Vieytes, Mariano Campodonico and Cristian Vella scored for All Boys, a club that returns to the first division for the first time in 30 years. The Buenos Aires team last played in the top-tier in 1980.
Rosario Central are going down for the first time since 1984.
In Brazil, Corinthians defeated Fluminense 1-0 on Sunday to top the league table in Brazil with three victories in three games.
Defender Chicao scored the winner in the 11th minute.
In a preview of the Copa Libertadores semi-final, Sao Paulo defeated Internacional 2-0 with goals by Fernandao and Hernanes. The two clubs will meet after the World Cup in the semi-final of the South American club championship. Chivas of Mexico will meet Universidad de Chile in the other semi.
Flamengo striker Vagner Love scored twice to give the defending champions their first win in this year’s tournament, 3-1 over Gremio Prudente. Flamengo played without striker Adriano and Serbian midfielder Dejan Petkovic, both injured.
It was Flamengo’s first match since being eliminated by Universidad de Chile in the quarter-finals of the Copa Libertadores on Thursday.
After only three rounds, four clubs are tied in second place with seven points — Avai, Botafogo, Palmeiras and Ceara.
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
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
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tomorrow for the final berth at next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome yesterday. The home team's loss means that Nicaragua finishes No. 1 in the qualifier round held in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to the games. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier yesterday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, finished third, while South Africa placed at the bottom
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