Osael Romero scored two goals, including the winner in the 86th minute, to give El Salvador a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica in Group A at the Gold Cup on Friday. El Salvador went top of the group on goals scored, after Canada defeated Jamaica 1-0 in the Cup opener. Romero's winner came as he intercepted an attempted defensive clearance and scored on a low 16-yard shot before an overwhelmingly pro-El Salvador crowd. El Salvador broke a 12-game winless streak against Costa Rica dating from 1997. Romero, a midfielder from the Vista Hermosa club, scored his first goal in the 20th minute on a diagonal 8-yard shot. Midfielder Warren Granados equalized for Costa Rica in the 64th minute with a sliding 5-yard shot under the crossbar. In the earlier game, striker Ali Gerba scored in the 75th minute to give Canada a 1-0 victory over Jamaica. Gerba, of Toronto in US Major League Soccer, volleyed Mike Klukowski's cross from the left inside the left post from while being marked tightly. Goalkeeper Greg Sutton kept Jamaica scoreless with two fine saves in the second half. In the 54th minute, Sutton dived to his right to stop Damion Stewart's 13-yard drive. Then in the 64th minute, Sutton blocked Ricardo Fuller's 14-yard shot after a counterattack. Iraq to build ‘Sport City' Iraq is to construct a “Sport City” in the southern oil hub of Basra to host the soccer Gulf Cup at the end of 2012, government spokesman Ali Al-Dabbagh said on Saturday. “The council of ministers, on the recommendation of the minister for youth and sports freed up $446m to build a 146 hectare modern complex inspired by the architectural style of Basra,” he said in a statement.
