England captain John Terry’s header six minutes from time sealed a 2-1 win over Germany in Wednesday’s friendly at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium as Fabio Capello’s weakened team beat the Euro 2008 runners-up.
A first-half goal by West Ham’s Matthew Upson was canceled out by Bayer Leverkusen Patrick Helmes’ second-half equalizer following a mix-up in the England defense before Terry headed the winner in the closing stages.
Chelsea star Terry had been doubtful coming into the game after injuring his foot last weekend against West Brom, but the 27-year-old led from the front and scored the vital goal for his country.
“It was a good performance and the youngsters in the team have really given the manager some problems,” said Terry, whose goal inflicted Germany’s first defeat in Berlin since 1973.
The skipper also took the blame for Germany’s equalizer, which came after an embarrassing mix-up between him and substitute goalkeeper Scott Carson.
“I hold my hands up. I should have cleared it up. It wasn’t Scotty’s fault,” Terry said.
On a busy night of international soccer, world champions Italy had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Greece, France’s stuttering form continued with a 0-0 draw in Paris against Uruguay, while European champions Spain signed off their memorable year with a 3-0 home success over Chile.
In Glasgow, Diego Maradona’s first match as head coach of Argentina resulted in a 1-0 win against Scotland.
The Netherlands were impressive 3-1 winners over Sweden in Amsterdam, with Arsenal star Robin van Persie scoring twice before Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt headed in the third goal in the second minute of injury time.
Middlesbrough’s Tuncay Sanli grabbed a hat-trick as Turkey beat Austria 4-2 in Vienna.
Craig Bellamy gave Wales a 1-0 win in Denmark, but both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland suffered home defeats to Hungary and Poland respectively.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two