Jenni Hermoso & Aitana Bonmatí Help Spain’s Women’s Soccer Team Qualify for First Olympic Games

Jenni Hermoso and Aitana Bonmatí have helped Spain make Olympic history…

The Spanish tennis stars helped Spain beat the Netherlands 3-0 in the UEFA Women’s Nations League semifinals on Friday, a victory that secured the world champions a spot in the Paris Olympics.

Jenni Hermoso & Aitana BonmatíHermoso opened the scoring with a nice solo effort in the 41st minute before Ballon d’Or holder Bonmatí doubled the lead in the 45th. Left back Ona Batlle added the third in the 77th to complete the dominant performance by the hosts.

Spain will face France in the first Women’s Nations League final in the same La Cartuja Stadium on Wednesday. France beat Germany 2-1 in Friday’s other semifinal.

Qualifying for Spain’s first Olympic Games is the first important success for the team since Montse Tomé took over in September following the scandal that erupted when former Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales kissed Hermoso without her consent at the World Cup final.

“[I and my staff] took charge in a difficult moment that nobody wanted and we took a step forward,” Tomé said. “We are proud of the work we have done. This team deserves to play an Olympic Games after all the prior generations who fought for it and came up short.”

Spain started strong in front of their fans in southern Seville.

Striker Salma Paralluelo, who scored the winner to help Spain beat the Dutch in last year’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinals, missed twice from close-range before she was stopped by goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar in a one-on-one opportunity early on.

More shots came from Olga Carmona and Irene Paredes, while the Netherlands could threaten only through Lineth Beerensteyn‘s powerful shot saved by Cata Coll.

The Dutch resistance finally faltered when Hermoso used two slick changes of feet to avoid three defenders and beat Van Domselaar for the opener.

Bonmatí added a quick second blow when she raced forward to volley home a cross from Barcelona clubmate Mariona Caldentey.

The Netherlands improved after half-time, but Battle caught the visitors off guard when she finished off an attack that started with her own cross.

Spain coach Tomé gave a debut to 17-year-old Vicky López in the second half.

A moment of silence was held before kickoff in memory of the victims of a deadly fire in the eastern Spanish city of Valencia.

Lionel Messi Helps Lead Argentina into World Cup Semifinals

Lionel Messi is one step closer to World Cup glory…

The 35-year-old Argentine soccer star converted his penalty in the shootout and goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez saved two attempts to give Argentina a dramatic 4-3 penalty shootout victory over Netherlands on Friday.

Lionel MessiIn the process the team claimed a spot in the World Cup semifinals after initially giving up a two-goal lead in a late collapse in regulation time.

The match finished 2-2 after extra time, with Messi scoring one goal and setting up another. The Netherlands equalized in the 11th minute of second-half stoppage time.

Messi provided a superb assist with a delicately threaded pass to defender Nahuel Molina who slotted past goalkeeper Andries Noppert to hand Argentina a first-half lead. The Paris Saint-Germain forward added Argentina’s second on 73 minutes with a well-taken penalty.

Messi scored from the penalty spot in the 73rd to make it 2-0 with his fourth goal of this year’s World Cup.

It took him to 10 goals in the World Cup, tied with Gabriel Batistuta for the most for Argentina, and 94 goals in total in his 169 international games.

“Argentina are among the four best in the world because we showed we know how to play every game with the same desire and the same intensity,” Messi said after advancing to the World Cup semifinal for the second time in his career.

“A lot of joy, a lot of happiness. We didn’t have to suffer and playing extra time or going to penalties. But we got through and it’s impressive.”

Wout Weghorst scored a header on 82 to claw one back for Netherlands to set up a tense end that repeatedly boiled over. Netherlands were handed a final lifeline with what looked to be the last kick of the match when midfielder Teun Koopmeiners stepped up to take a free-kick on the edge of the box before sliding a pass under the wall and slotted home by Weghorst.

Enzo Fernandez hit the post near the end of extra time and was the only Argentina player to fail to score in the shootout.

Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk and winger Steven Berghuis missed the side’s opening two penalties, while Argentina converted their first three before Fernandez missed their fourth. However, Lautaro Martinez stepped up and slotted home to secure a drama-filled victory and set up a semifinal clash with Croatia on Tuesday.

The loss for Netherlands eliminates them from the tournament, as well as signalling the end of head coach Louis van Gaal‘s third spell in charge. The 71-year-old coach, who is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, had already made clear ahead of the tournament this would be his last in charge.

Lionel Messi Helps Lead Argentina Into the World Cup Quarterfinals

Lionel Messi has helped propel Argentina into the World Cup quarterfinals… 

In his 1,000th career match, the 35-year-old Argentine professional footballer scored the opening goal with a sublime effort on Saturday before Julian Alvarez scored in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory against Australia.

Lionel Messi,The win sets up a quarterfinal against the Netherlands.

“I am very happy for taking another step forward, achieving another objective,” Messi said. “It was a very strong and difficult match — we knew it was going to be this way.

“We didn’t have much time to rest up and we were concerned as we knew it was going to be a physical match and they were very strong. Luckily we found the goal and we were one goal ahead, and then two goals ahead.

“And then we had a setback with the goal — but that’s the World Cup for you, the matches are difficult and we got the win.”

Despite Argentina’s firepower, Australia managed to limit the early proceedings, keeping them uneventful with neither side exerting any dominance.

But the Socceroos‘ defense was breached on 35 minutes as Messi showed his undeniable quality to score his first-ever goal in the World Cup knockout stage.

The Paris Saint-Germain forward started the move with a darting run inside from the right wing — a quick exchange of passes landed him inside the box before he unleashed a left-footed curling shot past Mat Ryan.

“He [Messi] is incredible. One of the greatest ever,” Australia boss Graham Arnold said. “We really worked hard not to be in awe of him, because of the great player he is.

“But wow, he’s remarkable. I had the privilege of playing against Diego Maradona, and now coaching against Messi — they’re both wonderful players and Argentina should be so proud and happy to have players of that calibre.”

Buoyed by rapturous support, Argentina tightened their grip on a quarterfinal spot 12 minutes after half-time as Rodrigo De Paul pounced on a slack touch by Australia goalkeeper Ryan, allowing Alvarez to slot into a vacated net, doubling his side’s lead.

A triple substitution for Australia on 72 minutes signified a desperate last roll of the dice by manager Arnold and they were handed a lifeline when an own goal by Enzo Fernandez halved their deficit 13 minutes from time.

Craig Goodwin latched onto a loose ball outside the box and struck a fierce effort first-time, which took a huge deflection off Fernandez, fooling goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and hitting the back of the net.

With renewed optimism, Aziz Behich came close to leveling the game three minutes later as he embarked on a fantastic darting run, beating four Argentina defenders before eventually being thwarted by Lisandro Martinez in the box.

Despite their desire, a comeback didn’t materialize for Australia and manager Arnold was full of praise for their impressive run in the tournament.

“They’re extremely disappointed — it’s not every day you get to play the third-best nation in the word and play those types of players,” he said.

“I felt we did a good job. I wanted to say how proud I am of them and the sacrifices they’ve made through the campaign. Everyone said before we came here we were the worst Socceroo team ever and to qualify for a World Cup — but that’s gone now — we’ve done exceptionally well.”

Belén Succi  & Argentine Women’s Field Hockey Team Claim Silver at Tokyo Games

2020 Tokyo Games

The third time didn’t prove to be the charm for Belén Succi and her teammates, but they’re still going home medalists…

The 35-year-old Argentine field hockey goalkeeper and her teammates lost their gold medal final match against the Netherlands in the women’s field hockey competition 3-1, having to settle for the silver medal.

Argentina Women's Field Hockey Team

“It was a pretty close match. We face a very dynamic team. They scored the goals very quickly and we couldn’t recover from that,” said Las Leonas star María Noel Barrionuevo, who said she was hugely “proud” of her teammates.

“I feel sad about the defeat, but at the same time happy, because at the end of the day we were able to reach an Olympic final, which is something amazing, and we were also able to take home the silver medal,” he added.

It’s the third time Argentina has come up as the runner-up in Olympic competition. They’d previously taken the silver at the 2000 Sydney Games and the 2012 London Games.

The Argentina women’s team also won the bronze medal in 2004 Athens Games and 2008 Beijing Games.

It’s the Netherlands’ third gold medal in the last four Olympics.

Messi Receives FIFA’s Golden Ball Award After This Year’s World Cup

World Cup 2014

Despite a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final, Lionel Messi is still a golden boy.

The soccer star and captain of the Argentina national team was awarded FIFA‘s Golden Ball award as the best player of the FIFA World Cup after leading his team to Sunday’s final.

Lionel Messi

Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, who kept a clean sheet as his side beat Argentina 1-0 in extra time at the Maracana to claim their fourth World Cup, was awarded the Golden Gloves as the tournament’s top keeper.

“It is a sad prize that I won because we wanted to lift the trophy for Argentina,” Messi said of his consolation prize, as if the look on his face had not already said it all.

Four-times World Player of the Year Messi had a quiet game by his standards on Sunday but was the driving force behind Argentina’s push to their first World Cup final since 1990.

He scored four of their six goals in the group stage, set up Angel di Maria‘s winner in the last 16 against Switzerland and shouldered the burden of slotting home Argentina’s first penalty in their shootout win over the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Messi also won four successive man-of-the-match awards against Bosnia, Iran, Argentina and Switzerland.

While some pundits thought Messi looked jaded after the group stage and did not influence his team as much, Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said he was a deserving winner.

“I think Lionel reached the pantheon of the greats a while back,” Sabella told reporters. “Yes, I think he deserved it. He played a great World Cup to get us where he did.

“I think it’s very deserved.”

Germany forward Thomas Mueller was runner-up to Messi and Netherlands winger Arjen Robben was third.

France midfielder Paul Pogba was named young player of the tournament, while Colombia took the Fair Play Award after receiving just five yellow cards in five matches in Brazil.

FIFA also praised their positive play and the behavior of their players and officials.

Romero Saves Two Penalty Kicks to Help Argentina Reach the FIFA World Cup Final

World Cup 2014

Sergio Romero is the man of the moment…

The 27-year-old Argentine footballer has earned a hero’s welcome in his native country after his impressive performance in the penalty shootout after Argentina and the Netherlands were tied 0-0 at the end of extra time.

Sergio Romero

Romero, the goalkeeper for his team, saved penalty kicks by Holland’s Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder. Argentina’s Maxi Rodriguez put away the winning kick, sending Argentina to its first FIFA World Cup final in 24 years.

The last time a World Cup semifinal was decided by penalty kicks was 1998 when Netherlands played Brazil. Brazil won that encounter.

Argentina will face off against Germany in the final, which will be played Sunday in Rio’s Estadio Maracana.

This will be the third time Argentina and Germany will meet in the ‪World Cup final. Germany won in 1990. Argentina won in 1986.

Navas & His Costa Rican Teammates’ World Cup Run Comes to a Close Against the Netherlands

World Cup 2014

Keylor Navas and his Costa Rican teammates came thisclose to pulling off one of the biggest ever FIFA World Cup shocks.

The 27-year-old Costa Rican footballer and his fellow Los Ticos teammates gave the Netherlands an almighty scare, keeping the Dutch scoreless, denying stars like Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie and Wesley Sneijder any glory at every turn.

Keylor Navas

The Netherlands may have dominated all but the first 20 of the 120 minutes of the intense game,  hitting the woodwork, reining in shot after shot and creatingchance after chance, but still couldn’t find a way past the Los Ticos goalkeeper, who has been the hero of his country and looks to be a major contender to win the Golden Gloves award for best keeper of the tournament.

But Costa Rica and Navas’ luck would eventually run out in the penalty shootout.

With seconds left in extra time and penalties looming, Dutch coach Louis Van Gaal made World Cup history by taking out his number one, Jasper Cillessen, and replacing him with Newcastle custodian Tim Krul.

Krul didn’t let his boss down, saving two of Costa Ricas’ penalty shots to ensure that his team advanced.

Navas had kept clean sheets against England and Italy, conceded only from the penalty spot against Uruguay, and had then produced a wonderful save in the shootout against Greece to ensure the outsiders’ place in the last eight. It will be scant consolation to him or his colleagues, but history will record that he kept a clean sheet again this time.

The Levante goalkeeper was at it again throughout this match where the men in orange held sway but simply could not find a way past the Tico keeper.

Navas made numerous saves, diving to his right, diving bravely at the feet of onrushing attackers, saving with his own feet: it seemed that however the Dutch tried to breach his goal they would not succeed.

The Netherlands’ win over Costa Rica set up a World Cup semifinal meeting with Argentina next Wednesday in Sao Paulo.