■EGYPT
Uruguay defeat England
Uruguay defeated England 1-0, while Germany easily beat the US 3-0 at the under-20 World Cup on Saturday. Also, Ghana and Cameroon won their opening games. Uruguay’s Tabare Viudez scored in the 84th minute, beating goalkeeper Elliott Parish with a skillful scissor-kick. England were strong in possession, but short on scoring chances. Also in Group D, Ghana came from a goal down to beat Uzbekistan 2-1. Sherzodbek Karimov gave Uzbekistan the lead in the 47th minute, but Ransford Osei leveled on the hour. Striker Dominic Adiyiah scored Ghana’s winner in the 75th minute. In Group C, Germany secured the result against the US with two first-half goals. Semih Aydilek put the Germans ahead with a penalty kick in the 30th minute. Florian Jungwirth added another two minutes later, firing the ball past keeper Brian Perk from the edge of the area. In the 72nd minute, Manuel Schaeffler sealed the Group C game after converting a cross from substitute Cihan Kaptan. Cameroon’s Andre Akono Effa and Germain Tiko scored for a 2-0 win in Group C over South Korea.
■PORTUGAL
Porto down Sporting
Radamel Falcao’s early goal gave defending champions Porto a 1-0 victory over nine-man Sporting in the Portuguese league on Saturday. Porto’s win kept them in third place, five points behind surprising leaders Braga, who won 1-0 at promoted Olhanense on Friday. Meanwhile, second-placed Benfica continued their impressive start to the season with a 5-0 win over a nine-man Leixoes to remain two points off the lead. Falcao, a Colombian striker signed from River Plate, won the game for Porto with a third-minute header from Fernando Belluschi’s free-kick. Falcao wasted the chance to double his tally when he missed a penalty that brought the ejection of Sporting defender Anderson Polga. Sporting then had midfielder Miguel Veloso sent off in injury-time for a foul on Jorge Fucile. In Saturday’s other games, it was Maritimo 1, Naval 2; Setubal 0, Pacos Ferreira 1; and Rio Ave 0, Academica 0.
■NETHERLANDS
Utrecht beat the champions
Sander Keller scored on Saturday to lift FC Utrecht to a 1-0 win over AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league, handing the defending champions a third straight defeat. Keller headed in the winner in the 14th minute from Nana Asare’s cross. Utrecht moved up to fourth, level with Ajax on 14 points with a game in hand. PSV Eindhoven top the standings with 20 points after dismissing Willem II 3-1, with goals from Otman Bakkal, Danko Lazovic and Ibrahim Afellay. Frank Demouge scored a late goal for Willem II. Steve McClaren’s FC Twente, who are undefeated this season, beat VVV Venlo to sit level on points with PSV. Also on Saturday, newcomers RKC Waalwijk grabbed their first win of the season by trouncing Roda JC 4-1.
■ARGENTINA
Estudiantes top the table
Juan Sebastian Veron’s Estudiantes opened a two-point lead in the Apertura championship with a 2-1 victory over Boca Juniors on Saturday. South American champions Estudiantes have 16 points from six matches. Striker Jose Luis Calderon put Estudiantes ahead in the 12th minute when he turned in his 299th career goal. Two minutes after the break, striker Martin Palermo volleyed an equalizer after a poor clearance out of defense, but Boca had little time to enjoy the goal. Less than three minutes elapsed before winger Enzo Perez rifled in the winning goal unmarked on the right.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
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