The folks attending El Salvador's press conference before their World Cup qualifier against Canada got quite a surprise when the team played a tape of a man trying to bribe them to play well.
The man, alleged to be Honduran businessman Ricardo Padilla (if El Salvador draws or beats Canada, Honduras is guaranteed advancement to the 'Hex'), is probably the worst match-fixer of all time.
The Honduran under-23 side has achieved the previously unthinkable in advancing from Olympic group play over favorites Argentina and Algeria. On Wednesday, Honduras overcame alleged racism by Argentina to claim a vital draw against the South American giants.
Honduran striker Anthony Lozano gave his side the lead with a 75th minute penalty and celebrated by holding his finger to his lips.
After the match, he explained his actions: “I went to shut up an Argentine who made racist comments and I didn’t like it. That’s why I made the ‘silence’ [gesture] after the goal.
Tigers kick-started their 2016 Liga MX Apertura campaign with a fantastic 3-0 victory over Club America at the Azteca Stadium. Javier Aquino scored an unbelievable goal in the 38th minute, Andre-Pierre Gignac added another with a sublime chip in the 59th and Ismael Sosa delivered the final nail in the coffin in the final moments of the match.
With America entering the match undefeated and Tigres having to settle for two opening draws, the visitors closed the gap between the sides to a single point.
In many ways, the Copa America Centenario resembled an A-Plus B-movie; an event so bizarre that it couldn’t help but capture the imagination.
From Brazil’s decision to essentially forfeit before the matches had even kicked off, to the final drama of Lionel Messi retiring from international football after missing a decisive penalty kick, the 2016 Copa America was camp to the extreme — it had a certain self-acknowledged theatricality.
The Uruguay National Team have a successful relationship with the Copa America. Nobody has won the competition more than La Celeste, who have lifted the trophy on 15 occasions. That said, last year was desperately disappointing for them as Uruguay was knocked out in the quarterfinals by eventual champions Chile. Despite that, Uruguay has to be considered one of the favorites to win the Copa America Centenario this summer.
Andres Cantor is the best soccer announcer in the world this is not up for debate, although we do allow we have not seen/heard every single soccer announcer in the world. It's kind of like how we haven't seen every single soccer player in the world, but still recognize Lionel Messi as the best.