Spain fell out of first place in its Euro 2004 qualifying group after a surprising 0-0 draw with Northern Ireland on Wednesday.
The result capped a miserable five days for the Spaniards, who lost 1-0 at home to Greece on Saturday. Greece now leads Group 6 with 12 points -- one more than Spain -- after beating Ukraine 1-0 Wednesday. Ukraine is third with nine points.
Northern Ireland, which hasn't won in 11 games and hasn't scored in 10, is last with two points.
Spain had the first good chance of the match, but striker Raul's shot was saved by Fulham's Maik Taylor. In the 10th minute, Spanish 'keeper Iker Casillas was forced to make a good save off Tommy Doherty, pushing Doherty's lob from meters over the bar. Casillas then stopped a George McCartney header in the 14th minute.
Later in the first half, Taylor make saves to stop Raul and Josebo Etxeberria. Casillas foiled David Healy on a counterattack in the 64th minute and Andrew Smith -- making his competitive debut -- had his rebound deflected away from goal.
Brazil 3, Nigeria 0
A youthful Brazilian team handily defeated an equally inexperienced Nigerian side 3-0 on Wednesday.
Brazil, led by dribbling Paris Saint-Germain star playmaker Ronaldinho, thoroughly dominated the home side Super Eagles, which struggled to test the Brazilian goalkeeper despite being cheered on by a large partisan crowd at the recently-inaugurated national stadium in the West African capital, Abuja. Brazil stars Ronaldo and Rivaldo were missing.
Corinthians forward Gil opened the scoring in the 34th minute on an intercepted pass from a Nigerian defender. Villarreal defender Belletti notched the second four minutes later on a pass from forward Luis Fabiano.
Brazil put on the pressure in the final minutes of the first half, narrowly missing several good chances on the net. The South Americans finally struck net again in the late second half when Adriano scored on a rebound off the Nigerian goalkeeper.
Nigeria, led by Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu, rarely tested Brazil's defense.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
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