ENGLAND
Cole quits internationals
Chelsea leftback Ashley Cole announced on Sunday he was retiring from international soccer after being told he had been left out of England manager Roy Hodgson’s squad for the World Cup. “I got the call from Roy and agree England team should be about the young players,” the 33-year-old Cole told his Twitter followers. “We have a great manager and team, and I wish them only success. I will be supporting them like a true fan. Thanks to everyone for everything,” the 107-time capped Cole added ahead of Hodgson’s official squad announcement yesterday. Cole’s words indicated his failure to hold down a regular first-team spot at Chelsea this season, where he has been displaced by Spain’s Cesar Azpilicueta, had cost him his England career. His omission means that Everton’s Leighton Baines is set to be confirmed as England’s first-choice leftback, with Southampton teenager Luke Shaw providing cover for the 29-year-old.
ENGLAND
Rams grab playoff final spot
Derby County swept into the Championship playoff final as their 4-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion in their semi-final second leg sealed a 6-2 aggregate victory on Sunday. Steve McClaren’s team had taken a significant step on the road to Wembley with their 2-1 win in the first leg at the Amex Stadium on Thursday last week and the Rams, bidding to return to the Premier League after a six-year absence, finished the job in ruthless fashion in front of their supporters at the iPro Stadium. Will Hughes opened the scoring in the first half, before strikes from Chris Martin, George Thorne and Jeff Hendrick after the interval capped an eye-catching display from hosts. In the final on May 24, Derby face either Queens Park Rangers or Wigan Athletic, who were due to play the second leg of their semi-final at Loftus Road in London yesterday after a goalless first leg. Kazenga LuaLua got one back for Brighton in the final moments, but they were left with a familiar feeling of frustration after losing in the semi-finals for the second consecutive year.
GERMANY
SC Paderborn 07 promoted
Modest SC Paderborn 07 were promoted to the top tier of the German Bundesliga for the first time on Sunday, as SpVgg Greuther Fuerth were forced to settle for a playoff place. Paderborn, from North Rhine-Westphalia in western Germany, won 2-1 at home to VfR Aalen on the final day of the season to clinch second place behind champions Cologne, an excellent second half to the campaign seeing them finish two points clear of Fuerth. Fuerth beat SV 1916 Sandhausen 2-0, but now face a two-legged playoff against Hamburg SV. The first leg of their tie will be played on Thursday in Hamburg, with the return leg on Sunday.
RUSSIA
Anzhi drop to second tier
Anzhi Makhachkala were relegated from the Russian Premier League on Sunday, continuing the fall from grace of the one-time big-spenders who previously boasted the likes of Roberto Carlos and Samuel Eto’o among their ranks. Anzhi’s 1-0 loss to Krasnodar saw the team from the volatile Dagestan region lose their top-flight status after a miserable season in which they picked up just three wins from 29 matches. “We needed to win today, but we could not. We had a lot of chances. We now have the task of trying to get back into the Premier League next season,” Anzhi coach Gadzhi Gadzhiev said. A year ago Anzhi were on the verge of a third-placed finish in the league and dreaming of European competition.
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,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
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