MEXICO CITY � FIFA has suspended Mexican national team defender Rafael Marquez for two matches for unsportsmanlike behavior during the Feb. 11 U.S.-Mexico match.

Marquez, who plays for Barcelona in the Spanish league, will have to sit out Mexico's March 28 World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica and the April 1 matchup with Honduras.

The sanction was for Marquez's kick to the leg of U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard. Marquez, the team captain, was sent off and Mexico lost 2-0 in the opening game of the final round of CONCACAF qualifying for next year's World Cup.

FIFA's disciplinary commission also issued the same suspension against assistant manager Francisco Ramirez.