Panama were the surprise winners of the 2017 CONCACAF Beach Soccer Championship after defeating three-time champions Mexico 4-2 in the final. With the scores level at 2-2, Panama proceeded to score two unanswered goals to secure their first ever championship.
Mexico scored the first, but Panama responded with their goalkeeper hurling one down the beach for an attacker to side volley home.
Toluca suffered a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Puebla on Sunday, the result seeing Tijuana leapfrog them at the top of the Liga MX Clausura table. A goal from Puebla’s Francisco Torres in the 80th minute pretty much ended any hopes of a Toluca comeback, but they did have one chance that really couldn’t have been any simpler.
Argentine striker Gabriel Gauche was gifted a tap-in from a little more than a yard out. He managed to make contact with his right foot, his left foot and then his right again, sending the ball meekly rolling to the goalkeeper outside his own post.
I'm going to be honest, I haven't watched Conan O'Brien in ages, although Late Night with Conan O'Brien was a staple of my younger years. If there's one thing that Conan does better than any other host, it's getting outside the studio and messing with people.
Chivas beat Club America Saturday in the Superclasico, with an Angel Zaldivar penalty the difference between the two sides. The real story of the game, though, was Club America manager Ricardo La Volpe making a tackle on Chivas' Jesus Sanchez.
La Volpe was rightly sent off.
I have to admit, it was a pretty good tackle. Not bad for a 65-year-old!
This is the last thing Atletico Madrid wanted to see ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League first leg: Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has hit top form again. With a brace against Augsburg on Friday, Chicharito made it five goals in three matches for Leverkusen.
After going through the longest goal drought of his career, Chicharito has been back with a vengeance throughout January and February. He put Leverkusen up 2-0 in the 40th minute with a left-footed shot.
Non-Spanish-speaking Liga MX fans will be thrilled to hear Univision is going to start live-streaming games in English on their Facebook page. The streams will only be available in the USA, and will begin with Saturday's Superclasico between Chivas Guadalajara and Club America.
Liga MX is one of the most popular leagues in the world, both in terms of attendance and TV ratings (it outdraws even the EPL in the United States).
Real Sociedad climbed above Atletico Madrid and into fourth place in La Liga after defeating Espanyol 2-1 on Friday. Carlos Vela’s sixth league goal, his second in two games, and Asier Illarramendi’s wonder strike secured the three points for Sociedad.
Vela opened the scoring in the 26th minute after brilliantly controlling a pass from Inigo Martinez and finishing with composure.
These February friendlies are always a bit of a wild card. Diluted squads, unusual locations and the determination not to get injured can often lend to a less than desirable match. Even with these issues, as a professional player, every time you put on that national team jersey, it’s an opportunity. With both teams fielding squads of mostly fringe players, El Tri were the only side to seize the chance and turn up in a one-sided affair.
The Canadian women’s national team had an impressive run at the 2016 Rio Olympics. After losing to eventual champions Germany 2-0 in the semifinals, Canada would go on to defeat the host nation Brazil in the bronze medal match, 2-1.
The result tied their best-ever Olympic performance, which was another bronze in 2012. As the nation’s player pool continues to grow with talent, the success of the last five years will be an encouragement to both young players and investors.
Mexico manager Juan Carlos Osorio has named his 23-man squad for El Tri’s February 8 friendly against Iceland in Las Vegas, Nevada. As the match does not fall on an official FIFA international date (meaning European clubs do not have to release their players for national team duty), the squad is primarily Mexico-based, apart from the LA Galaxy’s Giovani dos Santos.