US edge closer to World Cup

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The United States and Costa Rica both closed in on place at next year’s World Cup by winning their home matches in Tuesday’s Concacaf qualifiers.
The U.S. had a 1-0 win over Honduras, with Jozy Altidore scoring the sole goal in the 73rd minute, while Costa Rica recorded a 2-0 victory over Panama.
With six of ten games played in the six-team group, the U.S. are in top spot in the standings on 13 points while Costa Rica are second with 11 points.
With the top three teams to qualify directly to Brazil 2014, Mexico are in third place on eight points, just a point ahead of Honduras in fourth, which yields a place in a further intercontinental play-off.
Panama are a point further back in fifth while Jamaica are last on just two points.
Honduras weres the last visiting team to win at the United States in a World Cup qualifying match, back in 2001. The Americans have won or drawn 25 straight at home since then.
The visitors made it difficult on the Americans for much of the game by slowing the pace before Altidore broke through, taking a cross from Fabian Johnson and shooting across the goalkeeper and inside the right post.
“The team now understands it’s not only a physical grind you put into these games. It’s a mental one,” coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. “Mentally we’re getting stronger. We’re getting tougher. We are now prepared to go through the games.”
It was Altidore’s ninth goal in a qualifier as he finally develops into the scoring threat the United States has hoped for.
“We are very happy for Jozy,” Klinsmann said. “We always told him from a coaching perspective that it takes a lot of hard work, it takes a lot of adjustment, it takes the right moment to be there, it takes the hunger. The energy he has put in the last four or five games has been tremendous. It’s not only that he scored those goals, the work he does for the team is awesome.”
Costa Rica also had to wait until the second half to break through against Panama.
Fulham’s Bryan Ruiz opened the scoring on a free-kick in the 49th minute, and Celso Borges clinched it just about two minutes later from long distance in a steady rain at National Stadium.
The Concacaf qualifying campaign now goes into recess before resuming in September.

Togo, ethiopia admit mistake
Togo have joined Ethiopia in admitting that they fielded a suspended player in a 2014 World Cup Africa zone qualifier.
A Togolese football federation spokesman told reporters that Marseille midfielder Alaixys Romao should not have started a June 8 Group I home game against Cameroon.
“Alaixys received yellow cards in two earlier matches but we did not check if he was eligible before selecting him for the Cameroon match,” the official conceded.
An Ethiopian official said on Tuesday that they fielded midfielder Manyahile Beyene in a 2-1 away victory over Botswana, also on June 8, when he was suspended having been yellow-carded in two previous games.
France-born Romao, 29, was cautioned in matches against Libya at home last June and away to Cameroon last March and was ineligible for the return match against the “Indomitable Lions”.
Fifa revealed last weekend they were probing several matches for the possible use of ineligible players, including the June 9 match between Togo and Cameroon in Lome.
If found guilty, Togo will most likely have a 2-0 victory changed to a 0-3 defeat, giving the the World Cup hopes of six-time qualifiers Cameroon a huge boost.
Cameroon are two points behind Libya ahead of a September showdown in Yaounde to decide who wins the group, but a “boardroom victory” would move them into a one-point lead. Assuming Ethiopia are also docked three points, eliminated Group A rivals South Africa and Botswana would come back into contention for first place.