Zlatan Ibrahimovic lit up a night of friendlies most club coaches had castigated as an unnecessary intrusion into their domestic campaigns as the Sweden star scored four times to give his side a 4-2 win over England on Wednesday.
Ibrahimovic saved his most spectacular goal for last, an outrageous long-range bicycle kick in in stoppage-time that drew a standing ovation from the Sweden dugout.
There was also further evidence France’s 1998 World Cup winning captain Didier Deschamps was having a dynamic effect on the present team as they followed up their impressive 1-1 draw against world and European champions Spain in a World Cup qualifier last month with a 2-1 win over Euro 2012 finalists Italy in Parma.
Photo: Reuters
Elsewhere, two Euro 2012 semi-finalists Germany and Portugal had to settle for draws — the Germans drawing 0-0 with archrivals the Netherlands in Amsterdam and the Portuguese held 2-2 by Gabon.
A poor result in a friendly does not often provoke a sacking, but Chile’s Argentine coach Claudio Borghi was told enough was enough after his side slumped to a 3-1 defeat by Serbia. The loss came on top of a disappointing series of results in South American qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni also will not be feeling too comfortable as his side slumped to a 1-0 home defeat by Greece — their second successive home reverse following the 6-1 humiliation by Germany in a World Cup qualifier last month.
Scotland are looking for a new manager and while they gained a welcome win in caretaker manager Billy Stark’s first game in charge since Craig Levein was relieved of his duties, a 2-1 away victory over minnows Luxembourg will not have his paymasters rushing to sign him up on a permanent basis.
Lionel Messi was kept scoreless as Argentina were held 0-0 in Saudi Arabia, but Barcelona teammate Pedro Rodriguez scored twice as Spain defeated hosts Panama 5-1.
Luis Suarez scored in the second half to cap Uruguay’s 3-1 win in Poland, while Neymar scored in the 64th minute as Brazil drew 1-1 with Colombia.
A runner who stopped during a marathon in China to pose doing the splits and another who hoarded energy gels have been banned for two years, the local athletics association said yesterday. The incidents happened during Sunday’s marathon in Sichuan Province’s Chengdu and were widely shared online. Videos showed a female runner stopping suddenly and dropping to the ground in the splits position, holding up her arms in a heart shape as she apparently posed for a photograph. She “committed obstructive fouls during the race, affecting the safe participation of other runners,” the Sichuan Athletics Association said in a statement, which identified
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
Workers are hammering, cranes are swinging and seats are being bolted into place — but the clock is ticking. Mexico City’s famous Azteca stadium, reborn as Estadio Banorte, is in a frantic race to be ready for its grand reopening on Saturday. Drone footage showed crews installing seats and attaching the new stadium name to the facade, with cranes looming overhead 48 hours before the gates are due to open for a high-profile friendly between Mexico and Portugal. For residents, the breakneck pace of construction has done little to inspire confidence. “I know they are working practically seven days a week, 24 hours
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