Earthquakes international round up

The Earthquakes may have suffered defeat this past weekend, but at least the team’s two absent internationals, Ivan Guerrero and Kei Kamara, fared better.

Guerrero’s side, Honduras, has seen the most success over the week’s he’s been away from the Quakes. This past weekend, they tied Puerto Rico, 2-2, in the second leg of their World Cup qualifying series, with Guerrero coming on in the 71st minute. Combined with the 4-0 Honduras victory on June 4, the result gives Honduras a berth into the next stage of CONCACAF qualifying.

Results have been mixed for Kei Kamara’s Sierra Leone. The nation is Africa’s Group 4 against Nigeria, South Africa, and Equatorial Guinea, with berths in both the 2010 World Cup and the 2010 African Nations Cup on the line. While Sierra Leone fell to Nigeria on June 7 on a goal from Everton’s Joseph Yobo, they scored a stunning upset by defeating South Africa 1-0 on June 14, with Kamara playing 92 minutes.

Nigeria currently leads Group 4 with nine points from three matches, but each of the other sides in the group have three points, so second place (and the second berth from the group) is far from decided. Sierra Leone faces South Africa again this coming Saturday.

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On the Quakes’ front, our own Embele Awipi once again that he has his finger on the pulse of the Earthquakes Nation in his Monday column in the Salinas Californian.