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Wednesday Kickoff: Mexico, Honduras through; FA cup semifinals set & more

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Photo by David Bernal/ISIphotos.com

At least one group in CONCACAF Olympic qualifying played out as expected.

Honduras captured second place in Group B with a 2-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago at the Home Depot Center Tuesday night behind goals from Eddie Hernandez and Anthony Lozano. D.C. United's Andy Najar went the distance for Honduras, while Columbus Crew rookie Kevan George did the same for the Soca Warriors.

In the final group game of the tournament, Mexico fielded a reserve-heavy team but still managed a 1-0 victory over Panama, getting a stoppage-time winner from Erick Torres to maintain a perfect mark through three games. FC Dallas' Carlos Rodriguez played all 90 minutes for Panama, which finished third in the group.

The semifinals at Livestrong Sporting Park are now set, with Mexico going up against Canada with one place in the London Olympics on the line, and Honduras facing Central American rival El Salvador for the region's other berth. Both matches are slated for Saturday, with Honduras-El Salvador kicking off at 6 p.m (ET) and Mexico-Canada slated for a 9 p.m. first kick.

Highlights and a few other stories from around the soccer world are after the jump:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVKyWVyDDl8]

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iR-WLr3UPE]

DERBIES HEADLINE FA CUP SEMIFINALS

The FA Cup semifinals have quite the storylines.

Everton and Tottenham booked places in the tournament semfinals with victories over Sunderland and Bolton, respectively, on Tuesday, to set up a pair of derbies at Wembley Stadium.

Everton will face Liverpool in a Merseyside derby semifinal, while Tottenham will meet Chelsea in a London derby to determine the other finalist. 

Tottenham's match with Bolton was a replay of the game during which Fabrice Muamba collapsed more than a week ago, and the game was preceded by a minute-long ovation coupled with players wearing shirts that said "Uniting for Fabrice" during warm-ups.

Spurs were kept off the board until former D.C. United defender Ryan Nelsen headed home the opener in the 74th minute. Gareth Bale added insurance three minutes later, and Louis Saha cancelled out Kevin Davies' tally for a 3-1 result.

Everton, meanwhile, got another clean sheet from Tim Howard and a goal from Nikica Jelavic and an own goal to top Sunderland 2-0. The semifinals are set for April 14 and 15.

5 LEAGUE TWO PLAYERS SEE RED IN LOCKER ROOM

One of the oddest scenes of the European campaign unfolded in a League Two locker room in England, where five players received red cards after a postgame brawl.

Three Bradford players and two Crawley Town players were technically sent off in the aftermath of a heated game that Crawley Town won, 2-1. Emotions boiled over into a post-match fight, and referee Ian Williamson went into the locker room to issue his ejections.

DONADONI GIVEN VOTE OF CONFIDENCE

One-time New York/New Jersey MetroStars midfielder Roberto Donadoni has been given a vote of confidence as manager of Parma despite the club's struggles. Since taking over in January, Donadoni has led Parma to just two victories, and the club sits just five points clear of Lecce at the top of the drop zone.

"Donadoni is doing a good job and we are happy with him," Parma administrator Pietro Leonardi reportedly told Italian outlet Gazzetta Dello Sport. "Donadoni is proud to coach Parma and we are delighted to have him. He is the best coach we have had since I joined Parma. Donadoni is the future of Parma."

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Who do you see winning CONCACAF's Olympic berths? Which teams do you think will make it to the FA Cup final? Imagining the scene in the League Two locker room when the referee pulled out his red card? Think Donadoni makes it to a second season with Parma?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. With the US out, I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned the competition is over.

    I also won’t bother with the Olympics themselves.

    Reply
  2. Does anyone know whether an El Salvador player got any punishment (post game via video evidence) for bloodying Boyd’s face? I’d like to think there would be some punishment…

    Reply
  3. Well i’ll cheer for anyone against El Tri so go Canada …and Honduras v. El Salvador? hm it’s like picking between a turd sandwich and a turd bagel.

    Reply
  4. The question is, do I care for anyone to win anymore? Canada took us out, so no cheers for them… do I want Mex to win? umm…:S

    Then ES? I know not to go for them, so yeah, maybe only for Honduras although I otherwise would not care for them… No interest anymore for concacaf representatives in the olympics….

    Reply
  5. I’m eligible to play for Canada (A decade too old, sadly. And not good at soccer.), but I can’t get excited about them, what with their knocking us out of the Olympics. A.B.M., I guess.

    Otherwise, let’s go…Honduras?

    Reply

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