MEXICO CITY, 29 July 2003 — Daniel Osorno struck gold in the seventh minute of extra time on Sunday, his golden goal giving Mexico the Gold Cup crown with a 1-0 victory over Brazil.

Osorno slipped past two defenders and then hit a drive from just inside the penalty area, beating Brazilian keeper Gomes and sending the crowd of 65,000 at Azteca Stadium into a frenzy.

Mexico won the right to represent the CONCACAF region at the 2005 Confederations Cup, although that tournament’s status is in jeopardy due to concerns over the crowded world soccer schedule. Mexico showed some of their finest football of the past two years.

They attacked from the kickoff, taking advantage of a young Brazilian side who looked exhausted.

Luis Perez had the first scoring chance in the 12th minute with a shot which forced Gomes to make a fine save. A poor clearance gave both Jared Borguetti and Perez additional chances in front of the net.

Mexico’s Jesus Arelleno then rattled a shot off the crossbar, and Brazilian defender Alex came to his side’s rescue when he cleared Perez’s kick off the line in the 34th minute.

Ronaldinho Debuts for Barca in Friendly

In Foxboro, Massachusetts, Ronaldinho made his first appearance for Barcelona on Sunday, coming on in the second half of a friendly against Italian giants Juventus that Barcelona won in a penalty shootout.

The 23-year-old Brazilian left Paris Saint-Germain in a 30-million-euro deal earlier this month, Barcelona winning out over English Premeirship club Manchester United in the drawn-out transfer saga.

Sunday’s match, part of the Champions World Series of Club friendlies being staged across the United States, finished 2-2 after 90 minutes. Javier Saviola of Argentina scored twice in the first half for Barcelona, in the 28th and 41st, while Marco De Vaio struck in the 86th and Fabrizio Miccoli in the 87th for Juventus to force the shootout.

Defender Carlos Puyol delivered the deciding penalty in the shootout. Ronaldinho came on in the 46th minute, and converted his attempt in the penalty shootout with a right-footed shot past Juventus keeper Buffon.

Chelsea Snatch Asia Cup on Penalty Shootout

In Kuala Lumpur, big-spending Chelsea won the inaugural Football Association Premier League (FAPL) Asia Cup on Sunday with a 5-4 penalty shootout victory over Premier League rivals Newcastle United.

After a goalless 90 minutes Newcastle’s Jermaine Jenas skied the decisive penalty to hand Chelsea victory in the four-team preseason tournament that also featured Birmingham City and Malaysia. Newcastle captain Alan Shearer and French forward Laurent Robert also missed spot kicks for Bobby Robson’s team.

Man. Utd Score Easy Win Against Club America

In Los Angeles, Manchester United’s impressive preseason tour of the United States continued on Sunday with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Mexico’s Club America at the Los Angeles Coliseum.

United’s prolific striker Ruud van Nistelrooy was once again the star, breaking the deadlock in the 46th minute after an evenly-fought first half. The Dutch striker ran onto a flick from Uruguay’s Diego Forlan and held off two defenders before slotting home a right foot shot from the edge of the penalty box.

German Man Jailed for World Cup Attack

In Berlin, a German man was sentenced to three years and four months in jail by a German court yesterday for his role in the brutal attack on a French gendarme during the 1998 World Cup. The court in the western city of Bochum convicted Daniel Kohl, 28, of grievous bodily harm. French gendarme Daniel Nivel was savagely beaten by a group of German men after a World Cup tie between Germany and Yugoslavia in the northern French town of Lens on June 21, 1998. Kohl was charged after being identified as one of the aggressors on video and photographs of the attack.