Pre-tournament favorites Argentina and Portugal got off to a winning start in FIFA's Beach Soccer World Cup on Thursday in Brazil.
Argentina beat Nigeria 5-4 behind two goals each by midfielder Santiago Lopez Hilaire and striker Facundo Minici -- who scored on a bicycle kick in addition to the match winner.
Portugal defeated Uruguay by the same score, rallying with two late goals by defender Hernani and forward Madjer.
In the other two matches on Copacabana Beach on Thursday, Bahrain beat Italy 4-2 and the Solomon Islands beat Cameroon 5-2.
Defending champion France was to debut yesterday against Spain, while host Brazil faced Poland.
Brazil was a nine-time champion under Beach Soccer Worldwide's reign, but France won the inaugural title when FIFA took over last year. Brazil was upset by Portugal in the semi-finals and failed to win the crown for only the second time since it was first contested in 1995.
This year's tournament has 16 teams, four more than last year. The nations in Group A are Brazil, Poland, the US and Japan. Group B has Spain, France, Canada and Iran. The Solomon Islands, Cameroon, Portugal and Uruguay are in Group C, and Italy, Bahrain, Argentina and Nigeria are in Group D.
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
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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
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB