■UNITED STATES
World Cup bid cities named
Eighteen cities were named as part of a US bid for the 2018 or 2022 soccer World Cup on Tuesday, but Chicago was notably absent. The 18 cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas and Boston, have stadiums with average seating capacities of 78,000. Other cities named in the bid that will be presented to FIFA on May 14 were Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Nashville, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa and Washington. Asked about Chicago failing to make the cut, US Soccer president Sunil Gulati said: “I think there’s a little Olympic fatigue. They had a tough time wrestling with FIFA requirements and when we approached them they were still in the middle of their [failed 2016] Olympic bid.”
■JAPAN
Inamoto to return home
Junichi Inamoto will return to the J-League with Kawasaki Frontale after falling out of favor at French side Stade Rennes. The 30-year-old is set to be unveiled as a Frontale player this week subject to a medical after Rennes announced his move to the J-League club on their Web site. Inamoto is desperate to play at this year’s World Cup and a move to Frontale should boost his chances of being selected.
■ITALY
Roma hit back to avoid upset
AS Roma bounced back from conceding a shock early goal against Serie B strugglers Triestina to win 3-1 on Tuesday and qualify for the quarter-finals of the Coppa Italia. Roma, who will play Genoa or Catania next, joined Serie A leaders Inter in the last eight after Jose Mourinho’s team beat Livorno 1-0 last month. Triestina were ahead after just five minutes as Luigi Della Rocca converted a penalty after he had been fouled by Marco Cassetti. A shock was on the cards against a weakened Roma, for whom coach Claudio Ranieri rested the likes of Juan, Luca Toni and Daniele De Rossi. But Roma drew level on the stroke of half-time as Matteo Brighi scored. Mirko Vucini gave the hosts the lead on the hour after he was set up by Jeremy Menez. And 10 minutes from time Julio Baptista sealed the victory direct from a free-kick.
■ITALY
Ferrara keeps Juventus job
Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara retained his job after a two-hour emergency team meeting with club officials, but could be at risk if the Turin powerhouse failed to eliminate Napoli in the Italian Cup yesterday. Juventus president Jean-Claude Blanc and fellow management members Roberto Bettega and Alessio Secco addressed the underperforming squad on Tuesday. A 3-0 home loss to AC Milan on the weekend prompted fans to set fire to seats inside the Stadio Olimpico. It was Juve’s third league loss in four games _ a run that follows a 4-1 home defeat to Bayern Munich that knocked the Turin power out of the Champions League.
■SPAIN
Late penalty sinks Villarreal
Second division Celta Vigo knocked Villarreal out of the King’s Cup 2-1 on aggregate with a stoppage-time penalty at the Madrigal on Tuesday. Roberto Trashorras squeezed his 91st-minute spot kick under Diego Lopez for a 1-0 victory on the night, after home defender Angel had tripped Pedro Botelho as he raced into the area. Celta, who drew 1-1 at home in the first leg, moved into the quarter-finals next week where they will meet Atletico Madrid or second division Recreativo Huelva. Recre, who hold a 3-0 first-leg lead, visit the Calderon today.
Ademola Lookman on Thursday scored on his Atletico Madrid debut in a 5-0 rout of Real Betis Balompie that sent Diego Simeone’s team to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. David Hancko, Giuliano Simeone, Antoine Griezmann and Thiago Almada also scored for Atletico as they advanced to the last four for the third straight season. Atletico are trying to reach their first Copa final since winning the competition in 2012-2013. Hancko opened the scoring for the visitors in the 12th minute and Giuliano Simeone added to the lead in the 30th, before Lookman got his first goal for Atletico on a fast
GUNNING FOR A WIN: The victory sending Arsenal to the final for the first time in six years was cathartic for a team who had lost their previous four semi-finals Arsenal on Tuesday reached the League Cup final for the first time in eight years as Kai Havertz sealed a 1-0 win against Chelsea in the semi-final second leg. Mikel Arteta’s side had put themselves in pole position in the first leg and Havertz came off the bench to finish the 4-2 aggregate victory in the closing moments at the Emirates Stadium. It was a cathartic triumph for the Gunners, who had lost their previous four semi-finals in last year’s UEFA Champions League and League Cup, the 2022 League Cup and the 2021 UEFA Europa League. In their first final for six years,
SUPERSTAR DELIVERS: Victor Wembanyama scored 29 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to propel the Spurs to a 135-123 victory over the Dallas Mavericks The Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday shook off the early exit of injured star Luka Doncic, rallying without him in the second half for a 119-115 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers. Austin Reaves, again coming off the bench in his second game back from a 19-game injury absence, scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter, drilling a pair of back-to-back three-pointers to give the Lakers their first lead of the game early in the final frame. “Losing Luka, you know nothing’s going to be easy after that because he does so much for us, but we bonded together,” said
France head coach Fabien Galthie on Thursday lauded his team’s attacking performance after their dazzling 36-14 victory over Ireland in their Six Nations opener. A brace of tries from Louis Bielley-Biarrey and one from mercurial flyhalf Matthieu Jalibert helped France storm into a 29-0 lead before taking their foot off the gas and allowing Ireland back into the match, before winger Theo Attissogbe put some gloss on the victory late on. “In an attacking sense, with the ball, the team played with great accuracy,” Galthie said. “It was one of the most accurate attacking performances in a long time, despite the weather
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