the United States, Mexico and Costa Rica -- each booked their ticket into the final round of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The USA and Costa Rica held up their ends of the bargain with big victories, while Mexico was stunned by Jamaica at "The Office" in Kingston. That was just part of a very busy weekend of World Cup qualification throughout the region and the world for Major League Soccer players.
The U.S. did as expected, routing Cuba 6-1 at RFK Stadium to advance to the final hexagonal stage. After a first-half brace by DaMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy struck in the 48th minute, the first of four second-half goals for the USA. Houston Dynamo forward Brian Ching added a 63rd minute goal and former New York Red Bulls striker Jozy Altidore, now of Villarreal in Spain's La Liga, also scored three minutes from full time.
Joining Donovan and Ching in the starting lineup was Chivas USA midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who played 76 minutes before being replaced by Freddy Adu. Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew) was an unused substitute.
Costa Rica went to Paramaribo and defeated Suriname 4-1 to advance in Group 3. Chicago Fire defender Gonzalo Segares was also an unused substitute.
But Mexico, which had maximum points from its first three Group 2 matches, failed to clinch a berth Saturday night. Jamaica kept its slim hopes alive with a surprising 1-0 victory in Kingston. TFC defender Tyrone Marshall played the entire 90 minutes for the Reggae Boyz, being one of seven players to be booked by Costa Rican referee Walter Quesada.
Colorado Rapids forward Omar Cummings came off the bench, playing the final 21 minutes, while Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA) and Dane Richards (New York Red Bulls) were unused substitutes for Jamaica, which earned its first win of the group stage and sits five points behind co-leaders Honduras and Mexico.
Toronto FC midfielder Amado Guevara midfielder captained a Honduras side that defeated Canada 3-1 in San Pedro Sula on Saturday. The Canadians, with just one point out of its first four matches, were eliminated from World Cup qualification. Kevin Harmse (Toronto FC) was an unused substitute for the Canucks.
Haiti played El Salvador to a scoreless draw in Port-au-Prince Saturday. Columbus Crew rookie Ricardo Pierre-Louis came off the bench for the hosts to play the entire second half.
Although the result as much better than the 5-0 drubbing in San Salvador last month, the draw did little to help Haiti's hopes of advancing with just two points out of four matches.
The race for the second qualifying berth in CONCACAF's Group 1 is wide open after 10-man Trinidad & Tobago forged a 0-0 draw with Guatemala Saturday night in Guatemala City.
The Soca Warriors were reduced to 10 men when Cyd Gray was sent off with his second bookable offense in the 39th minute. It was one of eight cards handed out by Canadian referee Silviu Petrescu.
Toronto FC forward Carlos Ruiz and Chicago Fire midfielder Marco Pappa played the entire match for Guatemala, which is tied with Trinidad for second place with five points apiece.
In European qualifying, Wales defeated Liechtenstein 2-0 at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday with Toronto FC midfielder Carl Robinson coming off the bench in the 56th minute for the hosts, which sit one point behind Group 4 leading Germany.
In London, England thrashed Kazakhstan 5-1 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder David Beckham came on for Theo Walcott in the 79th minute for England, which sits atop Group 6 with maximum points out of three matches.
In African qualifying, all three countries featuring MLS players saw their World Cup dreams end. Senegal and The Gambia played to a 1-1 draw in Dakar, which left those two countries tied for second in Group 6, one point behind Algeria. The Gambia held out hope of being one of the eight best second-place qualifiers and qualifying to the second stage, but Guinea's defeat of Kenya on Sunday meant the Gambian dreams died. Sainey Nyassi and Kenny Mansally (both New England Revolution) were unused substitutes for The Gambia, while Bouna Coundoul (Colorado) was an unused substitute for Senegal.
Nigeria thrashed Sierra Leone 4-1 in Abuja. Houston Dynamo forward Kei Kamara played the full 90 minutes for Sierra Leone. Nigeria finished atop Group 4 with a maximum 18 points from six matches, while Sierra Leone finished tied for second, but outside the best eight group runners-up.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
