Soccer
African big guns misfire
Heavyweights Algeria, Ghana and Nigeria all suffered poor results in Africa Cup of Nations qualifying games on Sunday. Algeria’s 2-0 away defeat against the lowly ranked Central African Republic was one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s qualifying history. It marked only the second time the Central African Republic, who rarely enter the tournament and have only ever played in a single World Cup qualifying campaign before, had won a competitive international. Their last success was in 1973. Algeria now have just a single point from their opening two qualifiers after being held at home by Tanzania last month in another upset result. Both Ghana and Nigeria have yet to appoint new coaches after their World Cup managers moved on and the instability showed on Sunday. Nigeria’s 1-0 loss in Guinea was exacerbated by the uncertainty of the status of the game up until Friday. Nigeria were suspended last week by FIFA for political interference in the running of their football association, leaving the team’s preparations in limbo until Friday when the ban was temporarily lifted. Ghana played a first match since coach Milovan Rajevac departed to a more lucrative club job in Saudi Arabia and also looked lackluster in a goalless home draw with Sudan.
Soccer
Jamaica win, Taiwan draw
Dane Richards of MLS’ New York Red Bulls scored from a penalty kick in the 19th minute to help Jamaica beat Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 on Sunday in an international friendly in Kingston. It was the teams’ second match in two months. Jamaica also won 3-1 in August in Port of Spain. In another friendly on Sunday, Taiwan drew 1-1 with the Philippines in Kaohsiung.
Volleyball
Brazil retain world title
Brazil hammered Cuba 3-0 in Rome to secure their third straight world men’s championship on Sunday. The South Americans took the final set 25-22 thanks to a winning shot from the consistently excellent Leandro Vissotto. He fell to the ground in ecstasy after securing victory in a largely one-sided final. Cuba had beaten Brazil 3-2 in the first round and finished above their rivals in Pool B. “It was a hard-fought victory,” Brazil coach Bernardinho told Italy’s Rai television. “Psychologically it was a equal game for both teams because Brazil with the pressure have to win and Cuba have a young team that were in this position for the first time.” Hosts Italy earlier lost the third/fourth place playoff to Serbia 3-1.
Cricket
Bangladesh beat Black Caps
Openers Imrul Kayes and Shariar Nafees smashed half-centuries to help Bangladesh comfortably win the third match of a five-game limited-overs series against New Zealand yesterday in Dhaka. Nafees scored 73 while Kayes collected 50 as Bangladesh reached 177-3 in just 40 overs after New Zealand were dismissed for 173. Bangladesh lead the series 2-0 after winning the first match last Tuesday. The second match was abandoned because of rain. Nafees’ runs came off 73 balls with 13 boundaries while Kayes’ 50 came from 83 balls that included four boundaries. Earlier, left-arm spinner Suhrawadi Shuvo claimed three wickets for the hosts when New Zealand batted. After losing seven wickets for only 101, Ross Taylor had attempted to engineer a New Zealand recovery hitting 62 runs off 72 balls. Taylor and Kyle Mills added 72 in an eighth-wicket partnership before Mills was dismissed.
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
Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday said that she hoped she would be able to play tennis under the Belarusian flag after the International Olympic Committee lifted its ban on the country’s athletes competing in the Olympics. World No. 1 Sabalenka has had to compete under a neutral banner as a consequence of her country’s support for Russia following its ally’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The IOC earlier on Thursday lifted its ban on Belarusian athletes competing in the Olympics, although restrictions on Russian athletes remain in place. Asked whether the women’s tour would drop the ban on her representing her country, Sabalenka said:
RSS