Spain 4–Jordan 2
When looking over the Spanish lineup, one can't help but marvel at the number of talented players—including the likes of Diego Capel and Juan Manuel Mata.
Going into their match against Jordan, sitting in the driver's seat in Group B, Spanish coach Gines Melendez decided to rest Capel and Mata, but sometimes, underestimating your opponent can be costly, as the Spanish side almost learned the hard way.
Spain came out flying in the first half, as Adrian Lopez scored in the 29th, 32nd and 38th minutes to give himself a hat trick and his team a seemingly comfortable 3–0 cushion.
But Jordan found their second wind in the second half when Loiy Al Zaideh beat Spanish goalkeeper and captain Adan.
In the 56th minute, after Spain committed a foul, Abdallah Salim picked the top corner of the net on a free kick, giving Jordan a boost and leaving Spain with their jaws on the turf.
Diego Capel was brought into the game and provided an instant spark to Spain with his speed and skill.
In the 79th minute, Marcos Garcia scored giving his team some breathing room and top spot in Group B.
Afterwards, Jordan coach Jan Poulsen talked about how his team was able to turn what was looking like a blowout into a fairly competitive game.
"Well you're sitting there in halftime and you're 3–0 down and you have made some mistakes, you have to say it's 0–0, see if you can become mentally strong and move forward and that's what we did," he said.
"I give all the credit to the boys, they believed until the last second that they could do something."
Meanwhile, hat-trick hero Adrian Lopez was happy with all aspects of the game.
"I am happy for the match and I scored three goals but the most important is the victory," he said.
With top spot in Group B all locked up, Spain will await their next opponent whom they will play on Wednesday. As of press time there are a number of possibilities, including as most fans in Burnaby are hoping for, Brazil.
Coach Melendez wasn't playing favorites though.
"We don't care," said Spain's coach.
"Getting to the next match was too important for us."
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Costa Rica 2–Scotland 1
Doing a little swap with Group F, Zambia and Uruguay from Group B, took the ferry to Vancouver Island while Scotland and Costa Rica went in the other direction, arriving in Burnaby.
Along with Scotland came their loud and supportive fans. As coach Archie Gemmill said, "Scotland fans are possibly the best fans in the world."
"They're always behind the team whether [the team] is doing well or doing badly."
The Scottish fans were really roaring early on as Scotland drew first blood with Mark Reynolds' goal in the 18th minute.
Scotland went into the half with the lead but as the second half progressed, Costa Rica began pressing and their determination paid off.
After one of his team mates missed a shot, Pablo Herrera made good, burying a shot past Scottish keeper Scott Fox to tie the affair at 1–1.
Costa Rica began to dominate the play and in the dying seconds of injury time, Costa Rica's man with the Scottish-sounding name, Jonathan McDonald, scored to stun the loyal Scottish followers and send Costa Rica fans into a state of delirium.
Costa Rica doesn't control their own destiny and will have to wait until final results from Sunday's games before they know they live to fight another day.
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