French Guiana players celebrate.
Concacaf
French Guiana and Guyana will contest League A in the next Concacaf Nations League edition, as both secured promotion at the end of League B action on Tuesday.
French Guiana vs. Bermuda
French Guiana defeated Bermuda 3-0, at the Pierre-Aliker Stadium in Fort-de-France, Martinique, to secure top spot in Group C.
Marvin Golitin, in goal for French Guiana, intercepted a free kick service in the 17th minute to deter any positive momentum from the visitors.
French Guiana’s Albert Ajaiso struck inside the box in the 29th on a second opportunity from a long-range hit by Zedan Charlec.
Arnold Abelinti had a hit from outside the box in 45+1 but was just wide of the mark.
Loic Baal added the second in the 49th, with a header at the right post. Abelinti was influential in keeping the play alive prior to the cross in from left field.
Joel Sarrucco added a third in the 90+4 after heading in a contested ball inside the box.
St Vincent and the Grenadines vs. Belize
St Vincent and the Grenadines were 3-0 winners over Belize at the Kirani James Athletics Stadium in St. George's, Grenada.
The win saw St Vincent and the Grenadines taking second spot on nine points, one behind French Guiana, while Belize, ended third on eight points.
Diel Spring opened the scoring in the third minute after connecting with a back pass from Oalex Anderson.
NAnderson was denied by the left post in the 24th, as St Vincent and the Grenadines pushed for the second goal.
Cornelius Stewart was also denied by the woodwork on his free kick attempt which came off the crossbar, in the 61st minute.
Stewart was denied by the right post in the 70th and Deshawon Nembhard followed the play with a clearance to deny the ball crossing the line.
Kyle Edwards found the back of the net in the 84th, with a chipped ball from midfield to put Vincy Heat 2-0 up.
Oryan Velox sealed the result in the 85th with a hit inside the box, as the host moved out of the relegation spot and secured their stay in League B.
Guyana vs. Antigua and Barbuda
Guyana registered a fifth-consecutive win to confirm their spot as Group D winners when they defeated Antigua and Barbuda, 6-0, at the Felix Sanchez Olympic Stadium in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Kelsey Benjamin opened the scoring in the seventh minute by connecting with a pass across the box from Liam Gordon.
Benjamin went from goal scorer to provider in the 36th with a pass from right field to find an incoming Omari Glasgow inside the box.
Nathan Moriah-Welsh struck from behind the halfway line in the 45th, as Guyana took a commanding 3-0 lead at the break.
Osaze de Rosario added his name to the scoresheet in the 67th by cutting inside and striking a curling shot to the far-right corner of the net.
Leo Lovell added his own in the 90th, with a crossing ball from Gordon, who earned his second assist of the night.
Deon Moore capped off a buildup in the 90+3 to secure the largest margin of victory for Guyana in this campaign, as the Golden Jaguars secured their move to League A.
Puerto Rico vs. Bahamas
Puerto Rico took a 6-1 win over the Bahamas at the Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium in Bayamon.
The win pushed them to 12 points, as they finished second behind Guyana, with Antigua and Barbuda and Bahamas on four and one point respectively.
Ricardo Rivera put the home side in the lead in the second minute after he finished from deep inside the box.
Rivera struck again from inside the box in the sixth on a second attempt after initially being denied by Charles Tillett.
And Rivera completed the hat-trick in the 19th, with a header in front of goal after he met a cross from Noeh Hernandez.
Darren Rios added a fourth in the 39th after winning an aerial ball and proceeding to beat the defenders.
Marcel Joseph cut the deficit to 4-1 in the 53rd, off a free kick opportunity that Joel Serrano was unable to keep out of his goal.
Gerald Diaz struck from outside the box in the 74th, with a right-footed strike just at the edge of the penalty arc, before Wilfredo Rivera converted from the penalty spot in the 77th for Puerto Rico’s best margin of victory during the group stage.
Nicaragua vs. Dominican Republic
Nicaragua concluded its campaign with a scoreless draw against the Dominican Republic at the National Football Stadium in Managua.
They finished tops in Group B on 16 points, six points ahead of Dominican Republic.
Oscar Acevedo tested goalkeeper Miguel Lloyd in the very first minute with a strike from outside the box.
Nicaragua’s Luis Coronel entered in the 31st due to an injury to Matias Moldskred. Coronel had a chance towards goal, but it was headed away by the defender Brian Lopez.
Riki Alba had the best chance of the first half for the Dominican Republic in the 34th but was unable to get it on frame.
Juan Pineda nearly put the visitors in front in the 51st, but the sides remined deadlocked.
Acevedo had another good look on goal in the 74th, as Nicaragua continued its pursuit of a sixth straight victory.
Dorny Romero was denied the late heroics in the 90+7, as Miguel Rodriguez made the clutch block to maintain the clean sheet.
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys
Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.
Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.
However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.
With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.
Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End.
Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough
Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.
His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.
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