Striker Dmitry Bulykin scored three goals and Alexander Mostovoi added another Wednesday as Russia beat Switzerland 4-1 in European Championship qualifying, keeping alive its hopes for a place in the finals.
Alex Frei had given Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
If Group 10 leader Switzerland had won on Wednesday, it could have earned a berth in the Euro 2004 finals for the second time since 1996. Switzerland will now have to beat Ireland at home on Oct. 11 to qualify directly. A draw in Basel will send them into the playoffs.
Dinamo Moscow striker Bulykin, playing his second match for Russia, equalized seven minutes later with a header off a cross from Rolan Gusev. Gusev capitalized on a mistake by Swiss goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuehler, who charged out to stop him on the right flank, leaving the goalmouth open for Bulykin to head home.
Four minutes later, striker Alexander Kerzhakov forced a stunning save from Zuberbuehler to stop his right-footed drive into the right lower corner of the net off a cross from Andrei Solomatin.
In the 33rd minute, Bulykin put Russia ahead 2-1 with a solo effort as he picked up a free-kick from Solomatin. Bulykin evaded several Swiss defenders to beat Zuberbuehler one-on-one with a low kick.
Russia fully dominated the second half, with Bulykin heading in his third goal off a corner kick from Mostovoi in the 59th minute. Russian captain Mostovoi, who plays for Spanish club Celta de Vigo, set the final score at 4-1 in the 72nd minute, heading in a cross from Sergei Ignashevich.
Switzerland has never beaten Russia -- or the Soviet Union -- in 11 matches. Russia has won seven times and drawn four. Russia beat Switzerland 4-0 two years ago to take them into the World Cup finals in Japan.
The win lands Russia in a tie for second place in Group 10 with Ireland, both with 11 points.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite