Boca Juniors, Corinthians and Vasco da Gama moved into the Copa Libertadores quarterfinals Wednesday but with varying degrees of difficulty. Corinthians were the night's most convincing winners with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Ecuadoran side Emelec. The first leg ended goalless but it took the Sao Paulo giant just seven minutes to break the deadlock at home through Fabio Santos. Corinthians missed a hatful of chances but eventually grabbed a second in the 64th minute through Paulinho, before Alex gave them a deserved third five minutes from time. They will meet another Brazilian side in the quarter finals after Vasco da Gama knocked out Lanus on penalties. The Argentine side won 2-1 on the night, to make the aggregate all square are 3-3. Vasco scored all five of their penalties in the shootout and went through 5-4 after Silvio Romero missed Lanus's second spot kick. There was some consolation for Argentina, however, thanks to a sterling performance from Boca Juniors. Spurred on by the mercurial Juan Roman Riquelme, the six-time champion beat Union Espanola 3-2 to take the tie 6-3 on aggregate. Riquelme capped a great performance with a wonderful solo goal in the 67th minute. Boca will play the winner of the all-Brazil tie between Fluminense and Inter. Kagawa mulls EPL move Manchester United claimed in 2011 that 190 million of its global fan base of 330 million lives in Asia. The potential signing of Shinji Kagawa could not only mean an upward revision of those figures but would likely herald the first Japanese star of the English Premier League. Kagawa, 23, has been linked with a move to England for months in the European media and has promised a decision later in May. If he chooses to join the 19-time English champion, Kagawa would be the first of his countrymen to wear the famous red shirt, but not the first Asian. South Korean star Park Ji-sung has played 200 games for the club in seven seasons and has helped to establish Manchester United as one of the premier football brands in Asia. Blackpool advances Blackpool will play West Ham for a spot in the Premier League after drawing 2-2 at Birmingham in the second leg of their League Championship playoff semifinal Wednesday to advance 3-2 on aggregate. Blackpool held a 1-0 edge from the first leg and decided the series with two goals within four minutes either side of halftime from Stephen Dobbie and Matt Phillips. Nikola Zigic gave Birmingham a glimmer of hope and captain Curtis Davies headed in the equalizer on the night, but the host could not complete the comeback. Blackpool will now meet West Ham at Wembley on May 19, with the winner earning a return to the Premier League.
