Valentin Stocker’s goal 10 minutes from time secured Switzerland a 1-1 draw with the US in Zurich on Tuesday, although the hosts will be kicking themselves at not having won as their opponents played the last 22 minutes with just 10 men.
The US — who won the last meeting between the two sides 1-0 in Basel, Switzerland, in 2007 — went down to 10 players when striker Jozy Altidore was sent off in the 68th minute.
The 25-year-old Toronto marksman — whose FIFA World Cup last year ended in their opening match when he suffered a hamstring injury — was booked for a foul and it was swiftly followed by a red when he objected vociferously to the referee.
Photo: EPA
The visitors were deservedly ahead by that stage, as Brek Shea’s splendid free-kick just before the halftime whistle had given them the lead against an insipid Switzerland side.
However, the hosts came out in a sparkier frame of mind in the second half, helped by coach Vladimir Petkovic’s four changes to the original lineup.
Despite this, they were unable to break the US defense until Altidore’s foul-mouthed tirade opened the door for them.
Stocker, one of the halftime substitutes, spared their blushes 10 minutes from time by stabbing in from close range following a corner.
Switzerland move on to a Euro 2016 Group E qualifier double header in June away in Lithuania and then home to Slovenia.
Juergen Klinsmann’s US outfit have three high-profile friendlies to come, with perennial rivals Mexico in April, followed by European heavyweights the Netherlands and world champions Germany on June 5 and June 10 respectively.
In other friendlies, Estonia, Ukraine and Austria were all held to 1-1 draws by Iceland, Latvia and Bosnia-Herzegovina respectively, Puerto Rico lost 3-0 to Canada, Liechtenstein edged San Marino 1-0, Turkey defeated Luxembourg 2-1 and Russia were held to a 0-0 draw by Kazakhstan.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was