It was a sensational moment for the Leverkusen striker: Chicharito opened the scoring for Mexico in the World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica after just seven minutes with a brilliant lob over the opposition keeper – it was his 46th goal for El Tri. The strike put him level with all-time record goalscorer Jared Borgetti and it was celebrated by the enthusiastic crowd at the Aztec Stadium. When Raul Jiminez replaced him on 66 minutes the whole stadium showed their appreciation for Chicha. Nestor Araujo doubled the lead just before the break. The 2-0 win takes Mexico to the top of the CONCACAF qualification group.
Setback for Chile
Charles Aránguiz and his Chile team-mates suffered a setback in the South American World Cup qualifiers: They lost 1-0 away to Argentina, the 44th time in succession they have failed to win there. Lionel Messi scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot on 16 minutes. Chile were unlucky with an effort from Fuenzalida being ruled out for offside. Aránguiz played for the full 90 minutes. Chile pushed the hosts back in the final half-hour but they missed brilliant chance to level with a free-kick from Alexis Sanchez on 70 minutes that hit the bar. After 13 out of 18 qualifiers Chile have slipped down to sixth in the table, which means they would not qualify for the World Cup. However, a win in the night to Wednesday against bottom of the table Venezuela could see Aránguiz and Co. considerably improve their chances.
Toprak wins against Pohjanpalo
In Europe, Turkey secured a 2-0 win against Finland to keep their hopes alive of finishing second in Group I. Ömer Toprak played the whole game for the winners and Joel Pohjanpalo was substituted on 72 minutes in Antalya. The group is led by Croatia who beat Ukraine 1-0. Tin Jedvaj played for the full 90 minutes in the Croat defence.
Late strikes from Austria
Austria took their time to get going at the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna but Marcel Koller's men ended up beating Moldova 2-0 with goals from Marcel Sabitzer (75') and Martin Harnik (90'). Aleksandar Dragovic marshalled the Austrian defence with Julian Baumgartlinger looking on due to suspension. Austria are still four points away from World Cup qualification in Group D. Benny Henrichs did not play in Germany's 1-0 win in a friendly against England in Wiesbaden.
Bayer 04 will have to manage without defender Guéla Doué for the time being. The Ivory Coast international sustained a muscle injury to his right calf during the final Werkself training session yesterday ahead of the Europa League clash with Slovenian champions NK Celje.
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Two home matches on Saturday afternoons and three long away trips: the German Football Association (DFB) has finalised the fixtures for a further five matchdays in the Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga. This means all of the Bayer 04 Women’s team league fixtures are now confirmed up to the end of November.
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Construction work continues on the ‘Haus der Talente’ on Kurtekottenweg in Leverkusen, where 36 young elite athletes will find a new home from next summer. The building team from Temmink Bau, led by Thomas Wellers, are hard at work. Over the past few days, excavators, wheeled loaders and rollers have removed 2,500 cubic metres of soil to excavate the basement.
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In a top-quality encounter, the Bayer 04 women’s team lost 3-2 at home to Bayern Munich. Paulina Tomasiak opened the scoring with a free-kick (36’) and also netted a superb goal to make it 2–1 (52’). Vanessa Gilles (51') and Edna Imade (68') equalised for FC Bayern in a fast-paced and extremely entertaining match. Alara Sehitler sealed the win late on for the reigning champions.
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