Group G
Switzerland 2, Togo 0Alexander Frei and Tranquillo Barnetta scored a goal each yesterday to lead Switzerland to a 2-0 win over Togo in Group G.
Frei gave the Swiss team the lead in the 16th minute, heading in a pass from Barnetta. In the 88th, Barnetta added another with a 17m shot off a pass from Mauro Lustrinelli.
Frei missed a chance to score another goal in front of an open net early in the second half.
The win has boosted Switzerland's chances of reaching the second round. The team is tied with South Korea at the top of Group G with four points each. France is next with two points while Togo, which has been eliminated, has zero.
Switzerland is playing at the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. Togo is making its first appearance at the tournament.
The Swiss staged a much faster, more attacking game than their 0-0 draw against France and could have won by a bigger margin.
Togo struggled without its suspended captain Jean-Paul Abalo, who got two yellow cards in the first match, and injured defender Ludovic Assemoassa.
Still, forwards Emmanuel Adebayor and Mohamed Kader launched repeated surprise attacks against the Swiss defense but failed to finish when it mattered.
Westfalen Stadium resembled a mini-Switzerland, echoing to roars of "Hopp Schweiz."
The sea of red and white at the sold-out 65,000 seat stadium was punctuated by a tiny corner of drumming Togolese fans clad in the yellow and green of the national flag.
The African team came into the match after a bruising row over pay. Togo had threatened to boycott over player bonuses, but finally settled its dispute with the soccer federation a day before the match.
Earlier, Togo coach Otto Pfister had quit but returned hours before his team played South Korea in its opening match.
Full report in tomorrow's edition of the Taipei Times.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care