Bolivia’s 6-1 victory crushes Argentina
Argentina took its worst defeat in World Cup qualifying play when it wilted, 6-1, against host Bolivia at high-altitude La Paz.
The result eclipsed the 5-0 loss against Colombia in 1993 and ruined the early promise shown under Coach Diego Maradona, who had earned three victories in three games with no goals allowed since he took over last November.
Maradona said he wanted to tell Argentines “that I suffered with them, every Bolivia goal was a stab to the heart.”
Elsewhere, Carlo Costly scored twice as the home team Honduras got its first victory of the CONCACAF qualifying with a 3-1 win over Mexico.
With the win, Honduras leaps past Mexico from last place to third on the regional qualifying table with four points, one ahead of the Mexicans. The United States leads with seven points.
Costa Rica defeated El Salvador, 1-0, in CONCACAF play and has six points, one behind the U.S.
In Europe, defending champion Italy was held to a 1-1 draw by Ireland. The draw put Ireland two points behind Italy in their group.
Spain got a late goal from Albert Riera to beat Turkey, 2-1. Dirk Kuyt scored twice to lead the Netherlands over Macedonia, 4-0, and John Terry put in the winning goal in the 85th minute to give England a 2-1 win over Ukraine.
At Wembley Stadium, Peter Crouch’s goal put England ahead in the 29th minute, but substitute Andriy Shevchenko tied it in the 74th with a half-volley after the home side failed to clear a free kick.
Terry produced the late winner from close range after Steven Gerrard touched on David Beckham’s free kick.
“We were disappointed to concede a goal late on, but showed great character to come back and win the game, so there are some real positives,” Terry said. “There was some great fight and desire from the lads -- ‘We’re not settling for 1-1’ -- and we went on to win the game.”
In Asian qualifying, Australia almost became the first to secure a place in South Africa by beating Uzbekistan, 2-0. The Aussies needed the match between Bahrain and Qatar to end in a draw, but Fouzi Aaish’s curling free kick gave Bahrain a 1-0 win in Manama. Also, South Korea beat North Korea, 1-0, and Saudi Arabia defeated the United Arab Emirates, 3-2.
