FRISCO, Texas, 2 August 2007 — With David Beckham out of action again, Landon Donovan scored a goal and helped with three more to lead the Galaxy over FC Dallas 6-5 Tuesday and earn Los Angeles a berth in the SuperLiga semifinals.
Also advancing was Pachuca, which beat fellow Mexican team Chivas of Guadalajara 1-0.
Los Angeles finished the first round with two wins and one loss, despite playing without their new star midfielder in any of the three games. While the Galaxy will play in the semifinals on Aug. 14, FC Dallas was eliminated from the tournament, which features four Major League Soccer teams and four from Mexico.
Alan Gordon scored twice for Los Angeles.
Beckham, who has played only 16 minutes since joining the club on July 21, did not make the trip to Texas because of an ankle injury. Beckham’s availability for the club’s next game on Aug. 5 at Toronto FC, which would be his MLS debut, will not be determined until after practice today.
The game started and ended with a flurry of goals as the teams combined for six after the 78th minute, including four by FC Dallas as it almost erased a four-goal deficit.
The Galaxy scored four goals in the first 18 minutes of the game with goals from Gordon in the third and 15th minutes and from Chris Klein in the 12th minute and Kevin Harmse in the 18th minute.
Carlos Pavon’s goal in the 95th minute which gave Los Angeles 6-4 lead proved to be the deciding score. Pavon fired a shot into the left corner of the net from about 12 yards away with an assist from Donovan. Seconds later, Abe Thompson closed out the scoring with a header in the 96th minute.
Donovan gave the Galaxy a 5-3 lead after he raced past two FCD defenders and placed a shot into the right corner of the net from 15 yards away for an unassisted score in the 84th minute. But Carlos Ruiz responded for FC Dallas with a goal in the 91st minute. FC Dallas had narrowed the lead to 4-3 after Arturo Alvarez scored his second goal of the game in the 82nd minute. Alvarez also scored on a header in the 43rd minute.
Rafael Marquez Lugo scored on a header in the 62nd minute off a pass from Christian Gimenez at Commerce City, Colorado as Pachuca beat Guadalajara to book its semifinals berth.
Pachuca goalkeeper Miguel Calero made two big stops on Gonzalo Pineda in the first eight minutes of the second half, then watched as Jesus Padilla sent a shot that just missed.
Alessandro Nesta Retires From
Italy’s National Soccer Team
In Milan, Alessandro Nesta quit Italy’s national soccer team yesterday, joining Francesco Totti in retirement. “I go no further with the national team,” the AC Milan defender said at a news conference. “My adventure in ‘azzurro’ finishes here. The 31-year-old Nesta hasn’t played for his country since injuring his right thigh in the third game of Italy’s World Cup run last year.
“I’m sorry because I have always clung to this jersey, but physically, I can’t play all these games any more,” Nesta said, adding that he hoped his decision would allow him to prolong his club career.
He underwent shoulder surgery in December and returned to help Milan win the Champions League in May but opted to sit out the Azzurri’s recent European Championship qualifiers because he was getting married.
Nesta also said his retirement had nothing to do with Roberto Donadoni, who succeeded Marcello Lippi as Italy coach after the World Cup.
“I’ve never had any problem with coaches in all my career. He was the very first to know about this decision,” Nesta said.
Totti, a playmaker for AS Roma, announced his retirement from national team play last month, citing similar reasons.
Nesta, who started his career with Lazio in 1993, made 78 appearances for Italy from 1996.
He joined Milan in 2002, recently signing a contract extension through 2011.
