Trinidad and Tobago
Concacaf
The group stage of League A of the 2023-24 Concacaf Nations League came to a thrilling conclusion on Tuesday night, with Panama and Trinidad and Tobago emerging as the top two sides in Group A to qualify for next month’s quarterfinals.
Panama topped the group with 10 points, one point ahead of Trinidad and Tobago, who ended with nine points.
Panama vs. Guatemala
Panama enjoyed a commanding 3-0 victory over Central American rivals Guatemala at the Estadio Rommel Fernandez in Panama City.
Adalberto Carrasquilla has been one of the best players in the Concacaf region in 2023 and he showed why again by scoring Panama’s opener in the 14th when an initial clearance from the Guatemala defense fell right to the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup Best Player Award winner, who volleyed into net for a 1-0 lead.
Panama kept pushing and a pivotal moment came in the initial moments of the second half when a fantastic first touch allowed Cristian Martinez to get past Guatemala’s Nicolas Samayoa in the area, with Martinez then getting fouled.
A penalty was whistled, and a red card was issued to Samayoa, followed by Eric Davis converting the spot kick in the 48th for a 2-0 lead and a man advantage for almost the entire second half.
Panama’s dream night was then capped in the 90th when Abdiel Ayarza guided a header past Guatemala goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen to seal the win.
El Salvador vs. Martinique
Martinique came up just shy in their bid for a quarterfinal spot in a 0-0 draw with El Salvador at the Estadio Nacional Jorge Magico Gonzalez in San Salvador.
Martinique finish in third place with seven points, while El Salvador earned their first point of the campaign.
Martinique had some good looks early and almost forced an own goal in the 24th when a back pass forced El Salvador goalkeeper Tomas Romero into a stretch save to prevent the opener.
El Salvador started to find their footing toward the end of the half and Mayer Gil’s strong shot was saved by Martinique goalkeeper Yannis Clementia right before halftime.
The second half saw El Salvador create two good scoring chances. The first fell for Leonardo Menjivar, who ended up missing over the crossbar at the far post in the 66th with the goalmouth open, followed by a Brayan Gil header in second half stoppage time that was saved by Clementia.
Martinique would muster the final chance of the night, as Crifar Mael’s effort in the waning seconds was saved nicely by Romero, who ensured the points were shared.
Curacao vs. Trinidad and Tobago
Curacao earned their first win of the group stage in impressive fashion with a 5-3 triumph over Trinidad and Tobago at the Ergilio Hato Stadium in Willemstad.
It was an ideal start for Curacao, who took a 1-0 lead in the seventh when a long ball was played up to Rangelo Janga and the experienced striker finished with aplomb past Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Denzil Smith.
Curacao were hungry for more and they doubled the lead in the 12th when Kenji Gorre found Godfried Roemeratoe, who fired into net past Smith.
The Curacao attack was unyielding and a hard run from Gorre in the 54th ended in a foul in the Trinidad and Tobago area and a penalty kick. Gorre stepped up and easily converted from the spot, extending the Curacao advantage to 3-0.
Trinidad and Tobago were finally able to pull back a goal in the 68th as Ryan Telfer found Reon Moore with a cross from the right wing and Moore finished.
That goal shifted the momentum in Trinidad and Tobago’s and they further reduced the deficit in the 74th when a rebound fell for Kristian Lee-Him to latch onto and fire into goal.
Curacao had a golden opportunity to restore a two-goal advantage from the penalty spot in the 75th after a Trinidad and Tobago handball, only to see Smith save Brandley Kuwas’ penalty.
But three minutes later it was 4-2 via the penalty spot after a foul in the area. This time Juninho Bacuna stroked it into net for Curacao.
Curacao’s three-goal lead was then restored in the 81st when Roshon Van Eijma’s header hit the crossbar, but Janga was there to head in the rebound to make it 5-2.
Their chances at winning the group were fading away, but Trinidad and Tobago wanted to make sure they held onto the second spot, and they made it a 5-3 final scoreline in the 86th when a free kick was played in front of the Curacao goal and Kareem Moses poked home the loose ball.
Ben Smith proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite defeat at AFC Wimbledon
Ben Smith insists he is proud of Ramsgate’s FA Cup run despite elimination following a 5-0 defeat against AFC Wimbledon at Plough Lane.
Iraq international Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice for the Dons, with Jake Reeves, Josh Neufville and Connor Lemonheigh-Evans also finding the net.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in this season’s competition, but the five-goal defeat means they miss out on a home clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
However, Smith was delighted to see his side stick to their style of play against EFL opposition.
“I am proud of the boys, I thought they gave it their all,” he said.
“I can’t say a player didn’t give me everything, they went to the last minute, and we did it in bucket loads.
“I think at times we did show some composure, and we did move the ball well, I just think we came up against a much better and stronger level of opposition than we are used to.
“They pressed the life out of us at times, we just didn’t have the answers in terms of forward passes.
“I would liked to have seen us score a goal, we had a couple of chances and their keeper pulled off a great save in the first half.
“It was just not to be, but I am proud of the players, it is not about tonight it is about the journey.
“You can see from the support at the end there, it was incredible.
“We move forward, it is about the league now, and this club needs to be higher than it is, that is our job, and we will use this as a springboard.”
Johnnie Jackson believes the Tractor Boys will provide a tough test when they travel to south London in the third round.
He said: “They are a top side and they are doing a great job there.
“They are doing some great stuff, and they have a chance of going up to the Premier League this year with what they are doing in the Championship.
“It will be a really tough game, but we know that, but we have been excellent here of late.
“That is five on the bounce now at home, so we feel like we can match teams, especially here.
“It will be the other way round, we will be looking to cause the shock and they will be looking to get the job done.
“The Ramsgate fans were class, they really added to the atmosphere of the game and they will probably be a bit disappointed that they did not see their team score.
“Credit to them, credit to Ben and his team, they have done themselves proud.”
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale
Mikel Arteta insists he wants to keep Aaron Ramsdale – but refused to rule out the England goalkeeper leaving Arsenal in January.
Ramsdale lost his position as Arteta’s first-choice goalkeeper earlier this season following the arrival of David Raya on loan from Brentford.
Since September 3, Ramsdale has made just three appearances – two of which came in the Carabao Cup, with his one Premier League game in that time coming with Raya ineligible against the Bees.
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With his place at Euro 2024 in the balance as he continues to warm the bench at the Emirates Stadium, Ramsdale’s future is seemingly up in the air.
Arteta recently urged Ramsdale to be patient over any decision, saying the situation could look very different in March.
A shoulder injury to England colleague Nick Pope, however, could see Newcastle in the market for another goalkeeper in January.
Asked if he would be open to selling Ramsdale to Newcastle, Arteta replied: “I want Aaron with us.
“I am very happy to have two very, very good goalkeepers and Aaron is staying with us.
“We want to be better, so we want to add to what we already have. That’s the intention that we have.”
But, when pushed on whether he would categorically rule out a January switch for Ramsdale, the Spaniard added: “I won’t do that to any player. Any player.
“I cannot tell you that any Arsenal player is not going to leave in January. Or he is to stay here for the next three years.
“I won’t say that no player is going to go to Newcastle. Or no member of the staff either. I won’t say it. If you say yes or no, I won’t say it.
“I cannot guarantee that nobody is going to be leaving in January. For Newcastle or any other club. So it is a no.”
Ali Al-Hamadi stars as AFC Wimbledon thump Ramsgate to reach FA Cup third round
Ali Al-Hamadi scored twice as AFC Wimbledon beat Ramsgate 5-0 to set up an FA Cup third-round clash with Championship high-flyers Ipswich.
The Rams started the evening as the lowest-ranked team left in the competition and were behind after just eight minutes when Al-Hamadi pounced on a loose pass before feeding Jake Reeves, who rifled a powerful strike into the top-left corner.
The hosts doubled their advantage when Iraq international Al-Hamadi poked home at the far post following a melee in the box, and it was three when Josh Neufville stroked the ball into an empty net in the 43rd minute.
The Isthmian League South East side kept fighting, with their best chance of the half falling to Lee Martin, but his close-range effort flew over the crossbar.
Connor Lemonheigh-Evans found the bottom right corner with a driven shot to put the Dons 4-0 up three minutes after half-time.
Al-Hamadi scored his second of the match five minutes later to wrap up a convincing win, intercepting another poor Rams pass before finding the top right corner.
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