UNITED BY SOCCER: Iraqi soccer captain Younis Mahmoud gave his war-weary countrymen a reason to celebrate yesterday as his headed goal won the Asian Football Cup
Skipper Younis Mahmoud's thumping headed goal crowned Iraq as the Asian Cup champions for the first time with a stirring 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in the final yesterday.

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BY DAVE CARROLL
Tubbies Juice, in what they claim is their last tournament before disbanding, won the Taiwan Summer Cup soccer tournament for expat teams in Taipei yesterday in extra time.

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Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly took India to 338 for three wickets at lunch on day three of the first Test against England, putting the tourists in a commanding position.

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Tour de France riders set off yesterday toward the finish of the three-week race on the Champs-Elysees, with Alberto Contador all but certain to take home the yellow jersey after a race more likely to be remembered for scandal.

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BY PAUL HUANG
Behind the strong pitching of starter Liu Jung-nan, the Brother Elephants edged the La New Bears 2-1 in Sinjhuang on Saturday evening to snap a three-game losing streak.

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David Beckham must deliver on the pitch and not in Hollywood if he wants to make a real impact in US soccer, Brazil's living legend Pele said in an interview published yesterday.

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PAYBACK: Bayern Munich got an early return on the 69 million euros spent on transfers during the summer when they won the German League Cup on Saturday
Miroslav Klose struck for Bayern Munich as the Bavarian giants won the German League Cup with a 1-0 win over Schalke 04 on Saturday.

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Jose Mourinho has found himself in the unusual position of being out-gunned in the transfer market, but he believes his decision to go back to basics will prove decisive in the race for the Premiership.

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'STILL RUSTY': The US boxer entered the fight coming off three wins after taking two years off because of injuries and said 'I need to fight more than once a year'
Vernon Forrest withstood a late rally by Carlos Baldomir to win the WBC super welterweight championship in a unanimous decision on Saturday night.

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John Williams scored two tries as the 15th-placed Sydney City Roosters beat the first-placed Melbourne Storm 26-16 in weekend Round 20 matches in the National Rugby League.

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Wales are sweating on the fitness of outside-half and skipper Stephen Jones ahead of their World Cup warm-up matches.

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Europe has no right to believe it is the natural host of the 2018 World Cup, as other confederations have proved they can hold the event successfully, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Saturday.

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Canadian Frank Dancevic toppled top-seeded Andy Roddick 6-4, 7-6 (7/1) on Saturday to reach the final of the Indianapolis Tennis Championships, where the two top seeds crashed out.

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LATE DRAMA: The up-and-coming Indian earned a key break in the third set, held serve to get to 5-3 and broke her opponent again to secure an important win
India's Sania Mirza reached the final of the US$600,000 WTA Bank of the West Classic on Saturday with a three-set victory over eighth-seeded Sybille Bammer.

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Ricky Hatton looks set to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr before the end of the year.

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Defending champion Maria Sharapova will make her first appearance since Wimbledon at the San Diego Classic this week as she once again tests her long-standing shoulder injury.

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Carlos Moya of Spain and Andrei Pavel of Romania advanced to the final of the Croatia Open on Saturday.

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A wealthy rebel league in India seems set to take Sri Lankan cricket by storm as several top players have been approached to join the lucrative series, sources said yesterday.

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LOCAL GIRL: Brazilian fans cheered the dramatic run by countrywoman Sabine Heitling in the women's 3,000m steeplechase as she won on the last lap
Yeimer Lopez set a Pan American Games record in the 800m on Saturday, helping Cuba dominate track and field with a total of 12 gold medals.

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Barry Bonds went hitless a night after connecting for his 754th home run, leaving the San Francisco star one shy of tying Hank Aaron's record, but the Giants went on to defeat the Florida Marlins 4-3.

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Juli Inkster of the US set up the chance to become the oldest winner on the LPGA Tour when she moved into a two-shot lead after a third round 69 at the Evian Masters on Saturday.

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Fiji's Vijay Singh fired a three-under-par 68 on Saturday to seize the third-round lead in the Canadian Open.

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Justin Wilson took the pole position with a 49.039-second lap with just 1:30 left in qualifying at the San Jose Grand Prix at Redback Raceway on Saturday.

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■ Emirates Cup
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SOCCER

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