Spain crashed out of the Olympic football tournament on Sunday after the world and European champions suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Honduras at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. Jerry Bengtson’s seventh-minute header was all that separated the sides in a stunning victory for the Central Americans that meant Spain could not qualify out of Group D following their opening defeat by Japan.
In a fractious match featuring 12 bookings, Spain’s Iker Muniain hit the post and Rodrigo the bar, before a host of Spanish players converged upon referee Juan Soto Arevalo after the Venezuelan official denied them a penalty late on. Bengtson scored when he rose high to power in Roger Espinoza’s driven cross past Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.
London a long way off for Champs League hopefuls: The London Olympics have barely begun, but qualifying for next May’s Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium is already underway, and some major names enter the fray this midweek.
Former European champions Celtic and Feyenoord are in action in the third qualifying round, along with distinguished names such as Dynamo Kyiv, Panathinaikos and Anderlecht.
There are effectively two separate qualifying stages for the Champions League these days, with domestic champions kept together and clubs who failed to win their national titles facing off against each other. For the non-champions, the possibility of a play-off round tie against Malaga, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Udinese, Lille, Spartak Moscow or Braga awaits.
