World Cup: Ecuador soar into the next round; T&T lose to England; Costa Rica and Paraguay eliminated; Mexico and Argentina ready to play today

Thursday: in the first game of the day, Ecuador convincingly beat Costa Rica 3-0 and thus ensured qualification into the round of 16. Ecuador was in complete control the entire match and scored with goals from Carlos Tenorio in the 8^th minute, Agustin Delgado early in the second half (image left, celebrating with teammates), and Ivan Kaviedes in the game’s waning minutes. Costa Rica seemed overwhelmed by Ecuador’s play and did little on offense. With two losses in two games, the “ticos” are eliminated from qualifying to the next round. Meanwhile, Ecuador only need a tie in their final group game against Germany to ensure first place in the group and avoiding playing England in the round of 16.

For 80 minutes, Trinidad and Tobago weathered constant attacks from favorites England and appeared to be on the verge of another scoreless tie. Alas, the Trinidad defense let down in the end and lost 2-0 with goals from Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard (image right). The “Soca Warriors” still have a chance to make it to the round of 16 if they can win their final group match against Paraguay and Sweden loses by more than a goal.

Speaking of Paraguay, they lost in heartbreaking fashion as a Freddie Ljungberg (image left, standing on one foot) goal in the 89^th minute gave Sweden a 1-0 victory. The game was not well played by either squad with Paraguay fouling more than attacking. Like Costa Rica, Paraguay lost two group games and are also eliminated.

Friday: Argentina and Mexico each play today with victories ensuring them qualification into the round of 16. Argentina will face Serbia and Montenegro with kickoff set for 8:55am EST and Mexico will play Angola starting at 2:55pm EST. “Albiceleste” striker Leonel Messi (image, right) will be on the bench recovering from a foot injury though the rest of the team is expected to win over an injury-plagued, bickering Serbian squad. Meanwhile, Angola is eager to give “el tri” a difficult time, especially with the absence of injured Mexican striker Jared Borguetti.

soccer, world cup, paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, ecuador, argentina, mexico