Copa Sudamericana: Internacional beat Chivas; All Square in Argentina [Goals Video]

Internacional took a massive step towards reaching their first ever Copa Sudamericana final with a 2-0 victory away to Mexican side Chivas Guadalajara on Wednesday.

Chivas wasted a number of good chances - Omar Arellano guilty of the worst miss midway through the first half - and were made to pay, as excellent strikes in the last twenty minutes from Nilmar and Alex secured Internacional a healthy advantage going into the second leg next Wednesday.



Argentinos Juniors and Estudiantes played out a 1-1 draw in the second semi-final on Thursday, leaving their tie wide open ahead of the return leg next week.

Agustín Alayes gave Estudiantes a first half lead when he headed home Leandro Benitez's corner in the 26th minute, but the home side were quick to react following the half-time interval as Juan Mercier found the back of the net to level the score on the night.

Mexico: Chivas Set To Loan Nery Castillo

Chivas Guadalajara are set to sign Shakhtar Donetsk forward Nery Castillo to a short-term loan contract as cover for the remainder of their Mexican Apertura and Copa Sudamericana campaigns.

Castillo, 24, has been using Chivas' training facilities in an attempt to regain fitness ahead of Mexico's vital World Cup Qualifier against Honduras next Wednesday after being frozen out at Manchester City, with whom he is on currently on loan from Shaktar.

Chivas' vice president Nestor de la Torre confirmed that they had reached an agreement to sign Castillo until the end of the year, and that he would take to the field as soon as the necessary paperwork is completed.

Castillo will not be eligible for the first leg of Chivas' Copa Sudamericana semi-final against Internacional of Brazil on Wednesday, and will miss the second leg on international duty, but would be available for the two-legged final should Chivas progress.

Copa Sudamericana: Chivas and Internacional See Off Argentine Big Two [Goals Video]

Chivas Guadalajara and Internacional reached the final four of the Copa Sudamericana on Thursday night after maintaining their first leg advantages over River Plate and Boca Juniors respectively.

Chivas had scored a surprise 2-1 victory at El Monumental, but did not have things all their own way back on home soil as River came out of the traps at full pace, taking a 3-2 lead on aggregate courtesy of goals inside the first twenty minutes from Gustavo Cabral and Radamel Falcao.

However, Efrian Flores' side were not going to surrender easily, and came out for the second half determined to restore their first leg advantage. Marco Fabian brought the tie level with a goal on the hour mark, and the Chivas supporters had barely finished celebrating that strike when Alberto Medina put the Mexican side 4-3 up just a few minutes later.

River were unable to find a futher breakthrough despite concerted pressure on the Chivas backline in the final quarter of an hour, as the Rojiblancos held out for a memorable aggregate victory.



With the Argentine Apertura taking priority, Boca Juniors coach Carlos Ischia sent out a largely second string eleven for the second leg of their quarter final with Internacional, leaving the Brazilians to take an assured 2-1 victory on the night.

Boca went into the game with a two goal deficit from the first leg in Brazil, and could have put an early dent in it had Luciano Figueroa not conspired to miss the target from a simple headed chance. As it was, it was Internacional who took the lead in the opening minutes of the second half - Marcão all but ending Boca's hope of a comeback.

Second half substitute Juan Roman Riquelme briefly threatened to orchestrate such a feat when he converted from the penalty spot with just over half an hour remaining, but any lingering doubts were put to rest when Alex restored Internacional's lead on the night with a neat finish from Andres D'Alessandro's clever pass.

Copa Sudamericana: Estudiantes and Argentinos Reach Final Four [Goals Video]

Estudiantes and Argentinos Juniors set-up an all Argentine semi-final in the Copa Sudamericana after both progressed at the expense of Brazilian opposition on Wednesday night.

A 2-0 win at home had put Estudiantes in pole position ahead of the away leg of their tie with Botafogo, and Los Pincharratas doubled their advantage by half time to all but put the tie beyond their hosts.

Botafogo did pull the score back to 2-2 on the night with 25 minutes still left to play, but were unable to further dent Estudiantes' lead, succumbing to a 4-2 aggregate defeat.



Argentinos booked their semi-final place with a 2-0 victory over Brazilian league high-flyers Palmeiras. Andres Scotti and Nicolas Pavlovich found the back of the net inside the first twenty minutes as Nestor Gorosito's side increased the the one goal advantage they had taken into Wednesday's second leg.



Thursday night's fixtures find Argentina's traditional big two looking to overturn first leg deficits as River Plate travel to Mexico 2-1 down to Chivas, while Boca Juniors host Internacional, having lost 2-0 in Brazil.

Brazil win the Beach Soccer World Cup

Brazil did the inevitable, defeating Mexico 8-2 to clinch the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup for the second year in a row.

Mexico, who had run Brazil close in their group stage clash, just could not live with the hosts this time round and rarely looked in a position to spoil the party on the Copacabana.

Brazil raced into a three-nil lead in the first thirteen minutes, with Andre, Bruno and Benjamin all getting on the scoresheet. Ricardo Villalobos pulled one back for Mexico direct from the kickoff, but then Brazil went goal crazy, with goals from Buru, Betinho, Junior Negao, Andre and Bruno putting them into an 8-1 lead.

Mexico again replied straight from the kickoff after the eighth Brazilian goal through Morgan Plata, but it was only ever going to be a consolation goal as Brazil ran out comfortable winners.

Brazil, Mexico and Uruguay all Through to Beach Soccer World Cup Semis

It was a successful day all round for the remaining Latin American nations left in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup yesterday, as all three triumphed to book their places in the semi-finals.

Mexico continued to confound critical opinion by defeating Spain 5-4 in the opening quarter final. A Ricardo Villalobos penalty turned out to be the winning goal after the two nations swapped the lead at will for the majority of the game. Villalobos also scored Mexico's first of the game, with further strikes from Oscar Gonzales, Morgan Plata and Moises Salazar levelling the game at 4-4 prior to Villalobos' penalty winner three minutes from time.

Mexico will take on Uruguay in the semi-finals, after last year's losing finalists made easy work of Nigeria. Goals from Matias, Ricar and Parrillo gave Uruguay a comfortable lead and although Nigeria rallied late on they could only score one, leaving the final score at 3-1 to Uruguay.

In by far the most open game of the quarter finals, Brazil defeated Portugal 10-7 to secure their semi-final berth. A hat-trick for Buru, combined with double strikes from Sidney, Andre and Daniel, and a single goal from Bruno were sufficient for Brazil to overcome their colonial ancestors on the Copacabana beach.

The semi-finals take place tomorrow at the following local times:

09:30am Mexico vs Uruguay
11:00am Brazil vs France

Mexico Follow Brazil to Beach Soccer World Cup Quarters

Mexico will join Brazil in the last eight of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup after their victory over the Solomon Islands yesterday.

Mexico went into the game knowing that a win would be enough to reach the next stage after Brazil had defeated Russia earlier in the day on penalties, following a 2-2 draw after extra time.

Despite the Solomon Islands opening the scoring in the early stages of the match, Mexico were determined to get the victory and poured forward in search of goals. And goals they did get. Double strikes from Gustavo Rosales and Morgan Plata, along with single goals from Ricardo Villalobos and Alejandro Pozos were enough to overcome the Solomon Islands and record a 6-3 victory.

The quarter finals now await for both Brazil and Mexico. Brazil will face Portugal, with the Mexicans going up against Spain. Both games are to be played on Thursday.

Today, Argentina face France at 9:30am local time, with Uruguay playing Japan at 14:00. Both sides need victories to stand any chance of qualifying for the quarter finals.

Brazil Through to Beach Soccer World Cup Quarters

Brazil booked their place in the last eight of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup after a closely fought 6-4 victory over Mexico.

The Mexicans held the lead three times during the match and were 4-2 up at one point in the second period thanks to goals from Morgan Plata, Oscar Gonzales, Ricardo Villalobes and Francisco Cati, with Buru and Andre getting the Brazilian goals.

The key to their success was the amazing form of Miguel Estrada in goal, who threw himself in front of everything that Brazil could muster towards the Mexican goal.

They couldn't hold out forever though, with Buru pulling the game back to 4-3 before goals from Junior Negao, Bruno and Benjamin in the final period saw Brazil come through and maintain their two-year unbeaten record.

Mexico now need Brazil to do them a favour in the final games of the group. If Brazil beat Russia then a Mexican victory against the Solomon Islands will see them progress to the quarter finals.

Today's games involving Latin American sides see Argentina face the United Arab Emirates at 11:00am local time with Uruguay squaring off against Senegal at 12:30pm.

Mexico and Brazil Both Win on First Day of Beach Soccer World Cup

Mexico and Brazil both got off to winning starts in the 2007 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup earlier today.

Mexico beat Russia on penalties after a 2-2 draw at the end of extra time. Ricardo Villalobos and Oscar Gonzales had given the Mexicans a 2-0 lead before their opponents came back into the game with two goals in three minutes. After a goalless extra time period, Mexico held their nerve for the penalty shootout, winning 2-1.

Brazil had a much more comfortable result in their first game of the tournament, defeating the Solomon Islands 11-2. They ran the play from the opening kickoff and never looked back after Buru gave them the lead one and a half minutes in. Double strikes from Junior Negao, Daniel, Bruno and Sidney, along with a second from Buru and a single goal for Duda gave the home crowd much to cheer as Brazil romped home to victory.

The two Latin American sides now meet each other in the second game of the group on Sunday, with a win for either side likely to book a place in the Quarter Finals.

Argentina and Uruguay both get their campaigns off and running tomorrow. Argentina play Nigeria in a 9:30am kickoff, with Uruguay facing Italy at 11:00am.

Argentina Top of Latest FIFA World Rankings

FIFA have announced the updated World Rankings for October, with Argentina and Brazil both moving ahead of Italy into the first and second positions.

Mexico go down two places to fifteenth, with Uruguay and Chile both climbing two places to seventeenth and forty-fifth respectively. Colombia are down to twenty-fifth from twenty-third.

The full list can be found on the FIFA website, here.

Argentina and Chile through to U-20 Semis

Both Argentina and Chile were victorious last night to setup a mouthwatering semi-final between the two sides.

Argentina overcame fellow Latin Americans Mexico 1-0 in Ottawa. A Maxi Moralez strike just before half time was enough for the holders to take the victory over the hotly tipped Mexicans.

Four goals in extra time took Chile to a 4-0 victory over Nigeria in Montreal. Chile had chances to win the game before extra time, with Mauricio Isla and Jaime Grondona both guilty of missing good opportunities. The misses didn't come back to haunt them though, as two goals from Isla, one for Grondona and one for Mathias Vidangossy in extra time sealed their place in the semi-finals.

Argentina and Chile will now square off in the semi-final, to be played on the 19th July in Toronto.

Copa America Third Place Playoff

Mexico defeated Uruguay 3-1 last night to clinch third place in the Copa America.

Uruguay took the lead in the 22nd minute through Sebastian Abreu, but goals from Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Omar Bravo, and Andres Guardado sealed the win for the Mexicans.

All eyes now fall on the Estadio Jose Pachencho Romero stadium in Maracaibo, which hosts tonight's final between Brazil and Argentina.

Argentina, Chile and Mexico all through to U-20 Quarters

All three Latin American sides in action last night progressed to the Quarter Finals of the U-20 World Cup.

Chile suprised many by defeating the fancied Portugese side 1-0 in the opening match of the evening. A first half strike from Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Arturo Vidal, was enough to give the Chileans the victory in an ill-tempered affair which saw two Portugese players, along with Vidal himself, sent their marching orders.

Mexico beat Congo 3-0 in their second round match, although the score didn't accurately reflect the game. Despite Mexico taking an early lead through a Giovanni Dos Santos penalty, Congo did not lie down easily, storming back into the game and missing three guilt edged chances along the way. In the end, it wasn't to be their day and two late strikes from Omar Esparaza and Pablo Barrera booked Mexico's place in the quarters.

Argentina came through to defeat Poland 3-1 despite initially trailing to a Dawid Janczyk strike mid way through the first half. Maxi Moralez played a clever one-two with Sergio Aguero before sliding the ball across for Angel Di Maria to equalise five minutes before half time. Aguero himself made it 2-1 shortly after the break, flicking the ball over a Polish defender in the box and finishing superbly on the half volley. Aguero added a third, four minutes from time, calmly rounding the Polish keeper and slotting home to seal their place in the next round.

Chile now face Nigeria on the 15th July with Argentina and Mexico facing off against each other later on the same day.

Copa America Semi-Finals

Brazil and Argentina were both victorious in their semi-final matches to setup the final that everyone wanted and expected.

Brazil struggled, only defeating Uruguay on penalties after a 2-2 draw in normal time. Despite their impressive quarter final showing, Brazil reverted back to their tepid performances from the group stage and were lucky not to be beaten as Uruguay poured forward in the latter stages.

Maicon gave Brazil the lead after 12 minutes before Diego Forlan levelled ten minutes before half time. Julio Baptista restored Brazil's lead going into half time, but Uruguay once again responded; a headed goal from Sebastian Abreu giving them the equaliser twenty minutes from time.

In the penalties, Pablo Garcia has a chance to win the game for Uruguay, but struck the woodwork. A miss from captain Diego Lugano in the next round of penalties, coupled with Gilberto coverting his for Brazil, consigned the Uruguayans to defeat and allowed Brazil to progress to the final.

They will face Argentina, who overcame a resilient Mexico side 3-0 in the second semi-final. Mexico were able to keep the favourites at bay for much of the first half, closing down key players such as Juan Riquelme and Lionel Messi in numbers, and not allowing the Argentines time on the ball in any area of the pitch.

The game turned just before half time as a Riquelme free-kick picked out Gabriel Heinze to volley home past the horribly misplaced Mexico goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez. Mexico started the second half with intent, Nery Castillo hitting the crossbar with a right footed effort early in the half.

Mexico were unable to create any more clear cut chances and were caught on the counter attack for Argentina's second goal. Carlos Tevez played in Lionel Messi on the right, who took just one touch to set himself, before planting a delightful chip over Sanchez. It was a moment of pure genius, the entire stadium appearing to applaud his effort.

Argentina were in control for that moment onwards and got their third twenty five minutes from time thanks to a cheekily taken penalty from Juan Riquelme after Carlos Tevez was brought down by Rafael Marquez in the area. Argentina threatened a fourth late on, but contented themselves with a 3-0 victory to face their old rivals in the final.

The final is this coming Sunday, with the third place play off between Mexico and Uruguay a day earlier on Saturday.

u-20 World Cup Group Phase Completion Roundup

Five Latin American teams progressed to the knockout stages of the U-20 World Cup as the group games concluded last night.

Chile drew 0-0 with Austria in their final group game to setup a second round clash with Portugal.

Uruguay lost 2-0 to Zambia, but still progressed to face the USA in the second round.

Mexico finished their group with a 100% record after defeating New Zealand 2-1 thanks to goals from Christian Bermudez and Osmar Mares. They will play Congo in the second round.

Brazil were left hanging after losing 2-1 to the USA in their final group game. They were dependent on the results in other groups to gain one of the four best third place team spots. Fortunately for them, Costa Rica could only defeat Scotland 2-1 in their final group game, which meant Brazil progressed on goal difference. They will square up against the highely fancied Spainiards in the second round.

Argentina booked their place in the knockout stages with a 1-0 victory over Korea DPR, due to a spectacular freekick goal from Sergio Aguero. They will face Poland in the second round. Panama were not able to make it out of the same group after losing 2-1 to the Czech Republic.

The second round kicks off on the 11 July, fixtures can be found on the FIFA website here, with Eurosport coverage listed (strangly as Quarter Finals rather than Second Round) here.

Copa America Quarter Finals Day 2

Mexico and Argentina both comfortably despatched their quarter final opponents last night, to setup an intriguing semi-final clash for Wednesday.

Mexico opened the evening's action with a 6-0 demolition of Paraguay. The writing was on the wall for the Paraguayans within five minutes of the kickoff, after Mexico striker Nero Castillo was upended in the penalty area by Aldo Bobadilla, resulting in a red card for the Paraguay keeper. Castillo converted the resulting spot kick to begin the rout.

Further goals from Gerrardo Torrado and a second for Castillo made it 3-0 at half time. The Mexicans did not let up in the second half, with Fernando Arce, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Omar Bravo adding a further three goals to compound Paraguay's misery.

Argentina took longer to get into gear in the second quarter final of the night. Peru defended well throughout the first half, holding the Argentines to a goalless draw at the interval. Argentina manager Alfio Basile responded by substituting the largely ineffective Diego Milito, replacing him with Carlos Tevez for the second half.

Argentine, and more specifically Juan Riquelme, sprung to life with the introduction of Tevez, scoring four goals in a second half of absolutely sublime football. Riquelme opened the scoring with a left foot strike from the edge of the area, before providing an equisite pass for Lionel Messi to make it two. Javier Mascherano followed up a saved Messi effort for the third, before Tevez laid on a fourth for Riquelme to calmly slot home and clinch a semi-final place for the tournament favourites.

The semi-finals start on Tuesday with Brazil versus Uruguay, with the Argentina-Mexico semi following the next day. If they are anything like as exciting as the quarter finals then we are in for an absolute treat.

Mexico and Chile march on in Canada

Both Mexico and Chile recorded their second wins of the tournament and booked their places in the second round in last night's U-20 World Cup group stage games.

Mexico played out an entertaining affair with Portugal, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Pablo Barrera and the again impressive Giovanni Dos Santos.

Chile won 3-0 for the second successive game. Goals from Alexis Sanchez, Nicolas Medina and Arturo Vidal enough to see off Congo.

Argentina, Brazil and Panama are all in action tonight as groups D and E come to a close.

Copa America Day 8

Brazil, Chile and Mexico booked their places in the knockout stages as Group B reached its climax last night.

Chile and Mexico played out a largely uneventful 0-0 draw in the nights opening match, with Brazil following that with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador, despite another highely unconvincing performance. Robinho was once again their saviour, winning and converting a second half penalty to put Brazil through to the quarter finals.

There they will meet Chile, who went through as one of the two best third placed sides. Mexico will face the runner up in Group C, which will be either Argentina or Paraguay.

Mexico defeat Gambia in U-20 World Cup

Mexico looked impressive in a 3-0 victory over Gambia in their opening U-20 World Cup game last night.

With a group of attacking players seemingly content in any of the forward positions, Mexico's interplay was a joy to watch at times, with Barcelona youngster Giovanni Dos Santos their standout player, despite Carlos Vela's haircut trying to steal the show.

A spectacular left footed half-volley from Dos Santos gave Mexico the lead, with goals from Hector Moreno and Javier Hernandez sealing the victory.

After such a performance, Mexico will surely now be one of the main favourites to win the tournament outright.

U-20 World Cup Roundup

The U-20 World Cup (formerly known as the World Youth Championship), kicked off in Canada on Saturday. The tournament is always heavily watched by scouts from European clubs looking for the next young talent to emerge on the World stage.

There are seven Latin American teams taking part in the tournament, with Argentina, Brazil and Mexico among the favourites to win the competition. However, the results so far have been average for the Latin American contigent.

Argentina kicked off the tournament with a goalless draw against the Czech Republic. Despite dominating for large periods of the game, Argentina just couldn't force a goal and could easily have lost the game but for a goal line clearance in the closing minutes. With Boca's young schemer Ever Banega in midfield and Mauro Zarate and Sergio Aguero up front, the Argentines will surely pick up form as the tournament progresses.

The other game in Argentina's group also ended in a goalless draw, with Panama surviving an almost constant onslaught from DPR Korea thanks to a heroic goalkeeping performance from Luis Mejia.

Brazil opened their campaign with a disappointing 1-0 loss to the ten men of Poland. They will be thankful that the other game in their group ended in a draw, which still leaves them with a good opportunity to progress to the knockout stages if they can improve in time for their next game tomorrow.

Chile are currently the Latin American top dogs, defeating Canada 3-0 in their opening game thanks to goals from Nicolas Medina, Carlos Carmona and Jaime Grondona. They were never really troubled by the hosts and look like they could be a good outside bet for the tournament.

Uruguay drew 2-2 with Spain despite goals from Palermo striker Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez giving them a 2-0 lead in the second half.

Costa Rica lost 1-0 to Nigeria in an end to end game where either side could have been victorious.

Finally, Mexico start their campaign tonight against Gambia in Toronto. With start players Carlos Vela of Arsenal and Giovanni Dos Santos of Barcelona, Mexico are heavily fancied for the tournament and will be looking to get off to a winning start.

If you want to watch the U-20 World Cup, Eurosport are covering the tournament, with most games being shown live. Live Sport On TV offers a schedule of upcoming games here, which is useful to find start times, etc.