Mexico beats US 1-0 in men's Olympic soccer qualifying
Now comes the winner-take-all semifinal Sunday night against Honduras or Canada for a trip to the men’s Olympic soccer tournament. Mexico, the 2012 Olympic champion, won its 14th straight Olympic qualifier dating to 2008 and finished first in Group A at 3-0. Ad“We wanted to win the game to be at the top of our group,” American defender Mauricio Pineda said. In the first game of the doubleheader, Costa Rica routed the Dominican Republic 5-0 in a matchup of eliminated teams. Randall Leal of Major League Soccer’s Nashville scored twice, and Manfred Ugalde, Bernald Alfaro and Aaron Salazar had one goal each.
Mueller scores twice, US routs El Salvador 6-0 in exhibition
Paul Arriola scored in his first start for club or country since tearing his right Achilles tendon in D.C. United’s preseason match on Feb. 15. Brenden Aaronson, playing his second international game following his debut against Costa Rica in February, got his first goal. 22 U.S. had wide stretches of free space against 70th-ranked El Salvador in a match played outside the FIFA calendar and without top stars. Right back Julian Araujo also started in his debut, and defenders Marco Farfan and Kyle Duncan debuted as second-half substitutes. Aaronson got the lone goal of the second half in the 50th with a 12-yard right-foot shot from a Lletget pass.