MEXICO CITY -- Mexico swept to a 5-1 victory over New Zealand in the first leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday to become the overwhelming favourite for a place at next years World Cup finals. Jrue Holiday Pelicans Jersey . Paul Aguilar put Mexico ahead in the 32nd minute and Raul Jimenez made 2-0 before the break. Oribe Peralta added two more in the second half before Rafael Marquez scored in the 84th and Chris James grabbed a consolation goal for New Zealand a minute later. Mexico, which was lucky to reach the playoff, now just needs to finish the job in the second leg next Wednesday in Wellington, New Zealand. "Were going to go there like the score is 0-0, like we need a winning goal," Mexico coach Miguel Herrera said. Mexico scored only seven goals in 10 qualifying games, but broke through under new coach Herrera. Herrera, the fourth Mexico coach in two months, used only players based in the national league, omitting stars like Javier Hernandez of Manchester United. That focus on domestic league players was partly to deal with Mexico Citys altitude of 2,240 metres (7,350 feet), which seemed to fatigue New Zealand. Herrera, who also coaches Mexican club America, was hired for only the two playoff matches, declined to speculate about his future. "I am the coach for two games, and I won an important one," Herrera said. "Afterward they (Mexican football federation) will decide and we hope they make the right decision. One could put together a sensational team." Mexico finished behind the United States, Costa Rica and Honduras in CONCACAF qualifying, with those three advancing automatically to Brazil. Mexico only secured fourth place after the United States scored two late goals last month to defeat Panama -- which was winning at the time and would have reached the playoff. Aguilar broke the deadlock by chipping in from 10 metres (yards) after keeper Glen Moss was caught off his line and Jimenez found the net eight minutes later with a close-range header after threatening to score several times. Only Moss, who made several acrobatic saves, kept Mexico from scoring more in the first half at Azteca stadium. Moss punched away a shot from Jimenez in the 18th, which nearly crossed the line. In the 24th, Francisco Rodriguez hit the crossbar, and in the 27th Moss stopped Jimenezs shot from point-blank range. Peralta put the match beyond New Zealands reach just three minutes after the re-start, collecting a cross from the left and slotting home from six meters (yards), and then scored his second with an 80th-minute header. Marquez then nodded home Mexicos fifth, before James scored with a volley off the post. It was the second one-sided victory of the day. Earlier, Uruguay hammered Jordan 5-0 away in another intercontinental playoff for next years World Cup in Brazil. Jahlil Okafor Jersey . His recovery time is expected to be six to eight months. Seidenberg was injured in the third period of Fridays 5-0 victory over the Ottawa Senators, when he got his leg tangled with forward Cory Conacher. ETwaun Moore Jersey . Omar Rahou made the discriminatory gesture several times while celebrating scoring a goal against Romania at Antwerp in January, UEFA said. The sanction was double the five-match ban Nicolas Anelka received from an English Football Association independent tribunal last week for the same act. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Customized/ . Yoenis Cespedes proved he can play through a hurting right heel, giving Scott Kazmir and the As a spark with a pair of RBIs that helped spoil the Minnesota Twins home opener with an 8-3 victory on Monday. LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins exacted a little bit of revenge on Texas. So did the rest of the Kansas Jayhawks. On the eve of his 19th birthday, the freshman from Vaughan, Ont., put on a dazzling display of outside shooting and rim-rattling dunks. Wiggins finished with 21 points to lead the eighth-ranked Jayhawks to an 85-54 rout of No. 19 Texas, helping them seize control of the Big 12 race. It was a far different outcome than the first time the teams met, three weeks ago in Austin. Texas rolled to an 81-69 victory, and Wiggins managed seven points on 2-for-12 shooting. "We wanted to come out aggressive," Wiggins said. "Last time we got embarrassed at their place. We wanted to do the same thing to them, win every minute of every possession." They just about accomplished it. Joel Embiid added 13 points, seven rebounds and six blocks for the Jayhawks (21-6, 12-2), who lead the league race by three games with four to play. Kansas can wrap up at least a share of its 10th straight title when Oklahoma visits Allen Fieldhouse on Monday night. "That was our first goal to start the year off, to win a 10th straight Big 12 championship," said Frank Mason, who had 14 points off the bench. "Thats still our goal." Jonathan Holmes scored 17 points and Cameron Ridley had 11 for Texas, but they were about the only guys wearing burnt orange who seemed to solve the Jayhawks gritty man-to-man defence. Freshman guard Isaiah Taylor was held to just five points on 1-for-14 shooting, while Javan Felix was 2 of 9 from the field and finished with six points. "I talk about our guys not being as tough as wed like them to be, which were not, but they are prideful," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "Texas whipped us down there the first time. I said all along this game wasnt about the league race as much as it was playing Texas." The game actually played out in similar fashion to the first meeting, only this time it was Kansas that played flawlessly and Texas that looked like a mess. After the Longhorns jumped out to an 8-3 lead, they managed jusst one field goal over an 11-minute stretch as the Jayhawks launched a 32-5 run that put the game away. Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey. "They were really good, obviously, and you got to know after we played as well as we played against them the first time they were going to be ready to play," Texas coach Rick Barnes said. Wiggins led the way for Kansas, at one point scoring 12 points during a particularly brutal 14-0 spurt. He did it in dazzling fashion, too: There was the soaring fast-break dunk, the back-to-back 3-pointers, and the alley-oop jam off a pass from Wayne Selden Jr. that left the crowd roaring so loudly that the field house floor was shaking. "When I score early, it brings a lot of confidence to my game, especially when I hit a 3. I get on fire," Wiggins said. "My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball." By the time Connor Lammert finally hit a 3-pointer with about 5 minutes left in the half, the lead had ballooned to 28-13 and the Longhorns had exhausted nearly all their timeouts. "It can get away from you quick," Holmes said. "One or two possessions, you can look and youre down by six, eight and then 10 and then the game is over pretty much after that." Just how bad were the Longhorns in the first half? Try 6 of 29 from the field and 5 of 12 from the foul line, with five turnovers and three assists. They were dominated on the boards, dominated in the paint and, well, dominated just about everywhere else, too. Taylor, who had 23 points in the first meeting with Kansas, was 0 for 10 from the field as the Jayhawks built a 46-18 halftime advantage. And even when Texas managed to score -- as it did out of the break -- Kansas often answered with two buckets in return. It kept going like that throughout the second half as the Jayhawks outscored Texas 26-0 in transition and 38-22 in the paint, allowing them to empty their bench early. "I think we should give a refund to the fans," Barnes said. "Topeka YMCA probably would have given them a little better game, because we didnt give them a good game at all." ' ' '