Defending champions Germany reached the final of the women's World Cup with a 3-0 victory over Norway yesterday.
Germany will play the winner of today's US-Brazil semi-final, with the final set for Sunday in Shanghai.
An own goal by Trine Ronning just before halftime set Germany on their way, and they dominated the second half, with further goals to Kerstin Stegemann and Martina Mueller.
Germany's authoritative performance was reminiscent of their 3-0 win over the US in the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup.
Germany have now gone 529 minutes without conceding a World Cup goal, dating back to the 2003 tournament. That broke the record of China, who had gone 442 minutes with a clean sheet across the 1999 and 2003 events.
For Norway, the loss was their first ever to European opposition at a World Cup, and an uncomfortable reminder of their 5-0 thumping in the semi-finals of the 1999 World Cup.
Clear chances were hard to come by in the first half, with Leni Larsen Kaurin's miss-hit volley and Solveig Gulbrandsen's firm low shot from a corner the best efforts for Norway.
Germany attempted more intricate build-ups than Norway, but could not find the final pass to set up a shooting opportunity.
Germany made a tactical substitution late in the first half, bringing on pacy left-sided midfielder Fatmire Bajramaj, and the move had an immediate impact in the 42nd minute.
Bajramaj played a through-ball for Birgit Prinz, who whipped in a cross from the left, and Ronning -- attempting to block the ball with her chest -- only succeeded in divering it into the net.
Germany almost doubled their lead in the first minute of the second half when Prinz cut back a ball in the box to Sandra Smisek, but she was unable to control the shot and hit over the bar.
Norway struggled to find any rhythm in the second half, and were not helped by the loss of playmaker Gulbrandsen, who hobbled off.
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Marta Kostyuk’s maiden WTA 1000 title in Madrid came on Saturday thanks to her power, poise and a pair of unexpected lucky shorts. The world No. 23 beat eighth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-3, 7-5 in under 90 minutes to secure the most prestigious trophy of her career, her third professional singles title and second in less than a month after Rouen. Yet as the 23-year-old Ukrainian posed for photographs at the Caja Magica, it was not just the silverware that caught the eye. Held alongside her team and her two dogs, Kostyuk showed off a piece of black men’s underwear, prompting
Arsenal stormed six points clear at the top of the English Premier League as Bukayo Saka and Viktor Gyokeres put Fulham to the sword in a 3-0 win, while West Ham United’s defeat at Brentford offered Tottenham Hotspur a lifeline in the battle for survival. The Gunners have stumbled toward the finish line in their quest for a first league title in 22 years, blowing a sizeable lead over Manchester City in a series of nervous displays. However, the return of Saka, making his first start in six weeks, freed up Mikel Arteta’s men in a dominant performance that shrugged
China’s Wu Yize on Monday won the World Snooker Championship for the first time with a dramatic 18-17 victory over Shaun Murphy in the final. Wu held his nerve to seal his thrilling triumph in a tense last frame shoot-out at Sheffield’s Crucible Theatre. The 22-year-old is the second Chinese player to win the world title after Zhao Xintong beat Mark Williams to make history as the first Asian to lift the trophy last year. Wu is also the second-youngest player to be crowned world champion at the Crucible after Stephen Hendry, who was 21 when he won in 1990. “I have been trying
RSS