Clan-Members » North America or Russia in the first semifinal

SEVILLE, Spain -- Joaquin Sanchez placed two corner kicks for teammates to head home and give Real Betis a victory in the debut of coach Victor Sanchez on Friday.Joaquins two crosses for first-half goals by defenders Bruno Gonzalez and Aissa Mandi earned the 2-0 win over Las Palmas in Seville.Betis found the weak spot in Las Palmas set-piece defense and Joaquin exploited it with two crisp corner kicks to the near post where Gonzales and Mandi scored from close.We are very happy for the win and to see the team has a clear plan, Gonzales said.Betis hired Sanchez last week to take the team over following its firing of Gus Poyet after four losses in its previous five matches. Sanchez, a former Real Madrid player, had been jobless since he was sacked by Greek club Olympiakos in August after just two months in charge.Sanchez opted for a new five-man defense and it succeeded in limiting Las Palmas attack to a few early threats.The win over Las Palmas lifted Betis into 12th place before the rest of the matches of the 12th round are played.Las Palmas, which has cooled off after a great start to the season, remained in ninth place with only one win in the last eight rounds.We werent sharp today, Las Palmas Vincente Gomez said. We hope we figure this out in time for the next match.On Saturday, leader Real Madrid visits fourth-place Atletico Madrid in a Spanish capital derby, while second-place Barcelona hosts Malaga. Medhi Benatia Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Juventus Jerseys .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Emre-Can-Jersey/ . Pedro scored from a pass by Lionel Messi in the 33rd minute and added two more goals in the 47th and 72nd after Valdes saved his second penalty in four days following his stop in Wednesdays 4-0 over Ajax in the Champions League. Andrea Barzagli Juventus Jersey . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Andrea Barzagli Jersey . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. TORONTO -- Team Canada has trailed for all of 89 seconds at the World Cup of Hockey.Indeed, the Canadians have advanced to the semifinals without much resistance. They rolled over the Europeans 4-1 on Wednesday night, concluding an efficient preliminary round that saw them outscore the opposition 14-3. A single-elimination semifinal lies ahead on Saturday.Jonathan Toews scored twice and added an assist. He doesnt think Canada has found its best just yet.Weve shown it in moments, where we hem teams in their zone [and] they cant get out, Toews said. If they do have the puck, we have two guys all over it and were turning it over and were throwing it back their way. We want that pressure, four lines going all the time.After winning Group A, Canada will face North America or Russia in the first semifinal on Saturday night. Russia can earn the spot with a win against Finland on Thursday on the final day of the preliminary round.Europe will play Group B winner Sweden in the other semifinal on Sunday afternoon.I didnt think either team probably had the emotion theyve had, Canadian coach Mike Babcock said of the Canada-Europe game. Both teams knew they had advanced. You know, as much as I think our guys really tried to get the emotional level att a high level, we were casual with the puck.dddddddddddd We made mistakes we dont normally make, and saying that, we had the puck a lot, could have scored lots of goals. And their goalie was good.Sidney Crosby and Logan Couture also scored for Canada, and Corey Crawford made 19 saves in his World Cup debut.That was pretty special, Ive waited a long time, Crawford said. Watching as a kid, watching Olympics, watching world juniors. Its a pretty special feeling to put that jersey on. Having friends and family and my parents here, it was a great feeling.Crawford gave up the only goal when Marian Hossa -- normally his teammate with the Chicago Blackhawks -- knuckled a puck past him from a sharp angle in the second period.I dont know what I was trying to do there, Crawford said. Ill probably hear about that the rest of the year.Jaroslav Halak stopped 42 shots for Europe.I thought Canada did an amazing job of getting in the lanes and taking away any opportunities we had, Europe coach Ralph Krueger said. But theres a lot of growth in this game for us. Were where we wanted to be at this point. Were in the semifinal. ' ' '