Edwin Aguilar, Luis Tejada and Gabriel Gomez all scored to lead Panama past Trinidad and Tobago 3-0 in an international friendly Tuesday.

Interim Panama coach Jorge Dely left many of his regular players on the bench, looking at new faces for next year’s Central American championship.

Aguilar scored in the 13th and Tejada added his in the 75th. Gomez wrapped up the scoring on an 87th-minute penalty.

Panama drew 2-2 on Friday in a friendly with Costa Rica, one of the regional powers. Neither Panama nor Trinidad played at the World Cup in South Africa.

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The Sergio Markarian era has produced two immediate and pleasing results for Peru’s national soccer team fans.

Behind a pro-Peru crowd of approximately 10,000, Peru defeated Jamaica at Lockhart Stadium. Jose Carlos Fernandez broke a 1-1 tie with a go-ahead goal in the 84th minute as Peru won its second match in four days under Markarian. Markarian, who took over the team in July, guided Peru to a 2-0 victory over Canada Saturday night.

Fernandez, the match’s last substitute, in the 82nd minute, Fernandez received Juan Manuel Vargas’ pass deep in the left area of the 6-yard box and beat Jamaica goalkeeper Dwayne Miller with a shot that landed in the far post.

The match seemed headed to a 1-1 tie after both teams traded goals within a 15-minute span early in the first half.

Peru struck first on an own goal by Jamaica’s Demar Phillips in the fourth minute. Peru’s Juan Manuel Vargas took a shot near the penalty area, which Phillips accidentally headed into the goal.

Jamaica tied the score 15 minutes later on Omar Cummings’ goal. A forward with the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer, Cummings took Jason Morrison’s short pass and converted on a shot near the half circle which landed inside the left post.

Coral Springs resident Teofilo “Nene” Cubillas was honored during a halftime ceremony for his stellar career with Peru’s national team in the 1970s and early 1980s. Cubillas, 61, also had a successful run with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers of the defunct North American Soccer League between 1979 and 1983

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Bradford winger Omar Daley won his 57th international cap for Jamaica after appearing in his country’s 1-0 friendly win over Costa Rica on Sunday.

The 29-year-old stepped off the substitutes’ bench in the second half as the Reggae Boyz edged out their rivals at the National Stadium in Kingston.

It was the first time Daley had appeared for Jamaica since February 2009 when he sustained a career-threatening injury.

Daley, who damaged both his lateral and cruciate knee ligaments, which sidelined him for 10 months, is hoping to play a bigger role for the Reggae Boyz when they face Peru in Fort Lauderdale in another friendly on Tuesday.

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If day one of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Trinidad and Tobago 2010 is anything to go by, the competition should be nothing short of spectacular, with the four opening games producing 21 goals and plenty of excitement.

Proceedings got off to a colourful start with a carnival-style opening ceremony at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, which was immediately followed by a shock as defending champions Korea DPR went down to Nigeria. In a match featuring not one but two comebacks, the Flamingoes struck early only for the North Koreans to fight back and take a 2-1 lead. The Africans saved their best for last, however, replying with two goals in a three-minute burst as the clock ticked down.

The drums were still beating as the tournament hosts took to the stage, kicking off their campaign with an emotional and much-celebrated win over Chile. Over in Tobago meanwhile, Group B began with a bang as Germany opened their title bid with a tournament-record defeat of Mexico. In the second game of the day in Scarborough, an efficient Korea Republic side proved too strong for the willing South Africans, who were cheered on by the vociferous locals but paid dearly for missing a penalty only five minutes in.

Results
Nigeria 3-2 Korea DPR
Germany 9-0 Mexico
Trinidad and Tobago 2-1 Chile
South Africa 1-3 Korea Republic

Goal of the day
South Africa-Korea Republic, Jermaine Seoposenwe (53)

The Bantwana took a leaf out of the men’s national team’s book when they pulled level against the South Koreans with their maiden goal in the competition. After Seoposenwe had slotted home Robyn Moodaly’s precise through-ball, the South African players peeled off to the touchline to mimic the team celebration that greeted Siphiwe Tshabalala’s goal for the Bafana Bafana against Mexico in the opening game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™.

Memorable moments

Let’s celebrate
The day’s goal feast yielded a whole host of celebratory dance routines and gestures, although none of them were quite as unusual as that of Nigeria striker Yetunde Aluko. While her team-mates kneeled down and hugged each other after every one of their three goals against the North Koreans, Aluko would sprint across and fall down by their side, as if overcome with the emotion of it all.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Filled with music and dance and taking the Trinidadian carnival as its theme, the opening ceremony set a colourful tone for what proved to be an action-packed day. Featuring fireworks, the tournament mascot and the distinctive sound of the country’s steel drum bands, the spectacular scene was capped by the appearance of a rainbow over the stadium.

The stat
9-0 – Title candidates Germany sent a message of intent to the rest of the field by racking up the biggest win in the competition’s short history. Their thoroughly impressive demolition of the shell-shocked Mexicans featured hat-tricks from Lena Petermann and Kyra Malinowsky and a Lena Lotzen brace.

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The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago is all set to host the second FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, an exciting event that is still in its infancy and which brings together the brightest hopes in the women’s game.

The inaugural tournament was staged in New Zealand two years ago and proved to be a resounding success, attracting a total attendance of 207,803. At the end of a competition dominated by Asian teams, and in which the representatives of South and Central America failed to win a single match, it was Korea DPR who were crowned maiden champions after beating USA in the final.

A total of seven teams will be making their competition debut at Trinidad and Tobago 2010: Chile, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela and the host nation. And while the holders will be back to defend their title, the runners-up from two years ago failed to qualify from the CONCACAF Zone, a huge surprise given the strength of the women’s game in the USA.

There are sure to be yet more surprises over the next three weeks and plenty of new landmarks as well. New Zealand 2008 yielded no fewer than 113 goals, a total that could well be eclipsed in the Caribbean. And on the individual front there is also the question of who will succeed Germany’s Dzsenifer Marozsan and Japan’s Mana Iwabuchi as the respective winners of the adidas Golden Shoe and the adidas Golden Ball two years ago.

Hosts with the most
The southernmost islands in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago are looking forward to welcoming the world elite for the second time in nine years. Back in 2001 the country hosted the FIFA U-17 World Cup, a competition won by a France side inspired by a string of superb performances from former Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle.

Making their debut in a FIFA women’s tournament, the hosts have left nothing to chance, recruiting veteran women’s coach Even Pellerud, the man who made Norway a global superpower in the 1990s before raising Canada’s standing in the early years of the new millennium.

And if their most recent warm-up games are anything to go by, the Soca Princesses would seem to have a fighting chance on home soil. As well as beating Venezuela twice, T&T also downed the Irish, giving their coach genuine grounds for optimism.

“Those wins have given us a lot of confidence,” said Pellerud. “The most important thing is that the team knows it’s on the right track. We are ready for what is a major challenge and we can’t wait for this fantastic event to start.”

Among the legions of fans getting behind Pellerud’s warriors are the men’s national team, who have been voicing their support for the Soca Princesses. “I think they can go a long way and do the nation proud,” said striker Kerry Baptiste.

“The people have to get behind the players though. That’s what counts. The players need to feel that support from the stands and they need to unite with the fans to enjoy this event and give it the backing it deserves.”

The five venues for the tournament are the capital of Port of Spain, Couva, Marabella and Arima/Malabar, all of them on the island of Trinidad, and Scarborough, which is on Tobago. And no matter where they play, the 16 teams on show are sure to receive the warmest of welcomes in what promises to be a memorable few weeks.

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The New Zealand under 17 women’s football team have lost 2-1 to Ireland in a friendly in Miami today, less than a week out from the World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.

The Young Football Ferns were confident of scalping the European runners-up and looked on track when Evie Millynn put New Zealand ahead in the 25th minute, but a Siobhan Killeen equaliser before halftime and a late winner from Rebecca Kearney earned the Irish the spoils.

New Zealand’s first World Cup match is against Venezuela in Trinidad next Tuesday morning (NZT). Their other group C opponents are Spain and Japan.

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A St. Lucian soccer star in New York for a tournament was shot to death in Brooklyn early Monday, hours after scoring a goal that sent his team to the finals, police sources said.

Isidore Phillip Tisson, 27, was shot in a car outside a Crown Heights cafe around 4:25 a.m. where he’d stopped after leaving a nightclub where the team celebrated.

When Tisson climbed back into the car, an unknown gunman approached from behind, and opened fire. Sources say the bullet passed through Tisson’s head and struck a 24-year-old woman who was seated next to him in the chest.

She was taken to Brookdale Hospital in stable condition, police said. Two other women who were in the car were unhurt.

Investigators were looking at whether Tisson had gotten into an argument with someone at a popular Caribbean club called Tropiks a few blocks from the scene of the shooting, and was followed when he left, sources said.

Team officials said Tisson had been out celebrating the team’s 1-0 victory Sunday over St. Kitt’s which sent them to the finals of the Digicel Caribbean Cup tournament.

Tisson, was a center-forward and a substitute for St. Lucia’s National team when it attempted to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. He scored the winning goal in Sunday’s game, said the team’s coach Martin Daniel.

“It was only the second time in 16 years that St. Lucia has made it to the finals [of this tournament],” he said.

Relatives said Tisson, who was unmarried and had a 3-year-old daughter, was a driven soccer player well known around his country and had been in New York since May to compete in the tournament.

“I feel that my whole world is falling apart,” his mother, Rosleyn Tisson, said by phone. “He was very serious about what he was doing.”

“It’s a day of mourning in St. Lucia,” said Tisson’s cousin, Dani Hippolyte. “Everybody was rooting for him.”

The match at Thomas Jefferson HS in East New York ended around 5:15 p.m. and the team stayed around to watch Jamaica play Barbados to see who their competition in next week’s final would be. Jamaica won.

The players then went out to celebrate and Tisson ended up at the club.

Daniel said he could not imagine Tisson getting into a fight with anyone.

“He is very tall and big and gentle as a teddy bear,” he said. “Everyone is surprised.”

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Spain won the World Cup for the first time when they beat Netherlands 1-0 after extra time thanks to a goal by midfielder Andres Iniesta.

Iniesta fired home the winner when he was put through in the area by Cesc Fabregas. Keeper Maarten Stekelenburg dived to his right and got a hand to the ball he could not keep it out.

The defeat was heartbreaking for the Dutch, who were down to 10 men after John Heitinga was sent off in extra time. It was their third World Cup final loss after 1974 and 1978.

European champions Spain had looked the more assured early on in the clash at Soccer City as a nervous-looking Dutch side ceded territory to their slick opponents.

Stekelenburg was forced into a save after five minutes when Sergio Ramos headed a Xavi cross goalwards while Spain forward David Villa crashed a volley into the side netting with the goal looming.

But a series of freekicks and bookings, including two strong challenges by Dutch midfielders Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel, shook Spain out of their rhythm and stopped them from producing the swift-passing game that got them to the final.

BIZARRE INCIDENT

Netherlands offered little in attack and the nearest they came to a first-half goal was a bizarre incident when Gregory van der Wiel attempted to give the ball back in an act of sportsmanship.

The fullback’s 60-metre punt bounced up and over Spain captain Iker Casillas, forcing the startled keeper to leap and tip it to safety.

The game continued with frequent stoppages and few chances, until Wesley Sneijder split the Spanish defence with a perfectly-weighted ball into the path of Arjen Robben after 62 minutes only for Casillas to save brilliantly with his feet.

In a lively end to normal time Villa had a shot blocked in front of the line, an unmarked Ramos headed wildly over the bar from five metres out and Puyol was lucky to escape punishment after hauling down a furious Robben.

In extra time it was Stekelenburg’s turn to save with his feet when substitute Fabregas was sent clear by Iniesta.

Netherlands had to play with 10 men for the last 10 minutes of extra time when John Heitinga was sent off for hauling down Iniesta on the edge of the box.

The little midfielder got back on his feet and soon after was celebrating scoring the winning goal in the World Cup final to send the delighted Spanish fans into raptures.

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Lovel Palmer’s late goal put Houston Dynamo into the quarter-finals of the United States Open Cup, with a 1-0 victory over Miami FC on Tuesday.

The Jamaican midfielder got the breakthrough in the 80th minute, when Dominic Oduro laid off a perfect pass into the path of Palmer, who made a great run from midfield.

Palmer controlled the ball, and slotted it underneath Miami net-minder Caleb Patterson-Sewell to score the winner.

“(Miami) wanted to prove that they can play here or want to play here, so this was always going to be a tough game,” said Palmer.

“The team stuck to the task because we have to gain confidence from these games. We’re not winning games in the MLS. And games like this, we have to win to go in league games, and be confident and know that we can come out victorious.”

Both goalkeepers, Tally Hall for Dynamo and Patterson-Sewell for Miami, were called upon to earn their keep throughout the match, as both teams struggled to really control the play.

The match was relatively even leading into the half, but Houston came back out of the locker room, and dominated the second half, both in scoring chances and possession, leading to Palmer’s strike.

With the victory, Houston move on to play the winner of the Austin Aztex-Chivas USA match.

But before that, the Dynamo next travel Thursday night to play Toronto FC in league play.

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Jake Thompson, the Trinidad and Tobago-born former Southampton winger has been signed by Exeter City Football Club in Britain.

Thomson, 21, has been signed for an undisclosed fee, according to the Club.

`I can`t wait to start playing as it`s been six months since my last game, so I want to get on the field,` he said Thursday.

Thomson has also been capped two times at the senior international level by Trinidad and Tobago.

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