COPA AMERICA
Hawk-Eye introduced
Hawk-Eye will be installed for next month’s Copa America Centenario, marking the first use of goal-line technology by soccer’s governing bodies for South, Central and North America and the Caribbean. The 16-nation tournament will be played at 10 US sites from Friday next week to June 26. Organizers also announced the match officials on Wednesday. Three of the 18 referees are from the US: Mark Geiger, Jair Marrufo and Armando Villarreal. Geiger officiated three games at the 2014 World Cup, including a second-round matchup between France and Nigeria in which he became the first American to referee a knockout stage match at soccer’s top tournament.
CLUB RICH LIST
United, Real lead pack
Accountancy firm KPMG says Manchester United and Real Madrid are soccer’s most valuable clubs, worth 2.9 billion euros (US$3.24 billion) each. The study finds Europe’s leading 32 clubs have a combined value exceeding 26 billion euros. KPMG’s report was published as the European season reaches its climax with tomorrow’s Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, valued at 592 billion euros — five times less than their crosstown rival. United remain strong financially, despite not winning the Premier League in three years.
FRIENDLY
Serbia down Cyprus
Serbia beat Cyprus 2-1 in a friendly on Wednesday between two teams that failed to qualify for the European Championship. Serbia took the lead when Aleksandar Mitrovic scored from close range in the second minute after being set up by Dusan Tadic, who then doubled his side’s lead in the 10th with a long-range shot. Cyprus scored in the 32nd with an own-goal by Serbia defender Nikola Maksimovic, whose back-pass eluded goalkeeper Damir Kahriman. The match played in Serbia’s central town of Uzice was the first for the Balkan country’s new coach Slavoljub Muslin, who took over after a disappointing qualifying campaign for Euro 2016 in France.
FRIENDLY
Romania concede late goal
Euro 2016 qualifiers Romania conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 with the Democratic Republic of the Congo in a friendly on Wednesday. Romania’s lively attacking midfielder Nicolae Stanciu opened the scoring in the 27th minute with his second goal in three internationals, capitalizing on a farcical defensive error to net with an easy finish. The 23-year-old Steaua Bucharest player almost doubled Romania’s lead nine minutes later when his curling free-kick forced an excellent save from ’keeper Nicaise Kudimbana. DR Congo levelled three minutes from fulltime when the Romanian defense failed to clear a cross from the right and substitute Jeremy Bokila scored from close range.
UNITED STATES
Union, Orlando City draw
Ken Tribbett scored a late equalizer, his first MLS goal, as Philadelphia Union came back for a 2-2 draw with Orlando City on Wednesday night. Tranquillo Barnetta gave the Union the lead in the 52nd minute before three goals in a seven-minute span opened up the game. Kevin Molino equalized for Orlando in the 68th — one minute after entering as a substitute. Cyle Larin collided with two defenders and the goalkeeper while vying for a long ball and Molino tapped in a rebound. Three minutes later, Larin gave Orlando City a lead after Kaka’s cross, before Tribbett secured the point with a goal in the 75th.
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
LOCAL SUCCESS: In the doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Italians Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini in straight sets Elena Rybakina on Monday punched her ticket to the WTA Finals last four with an impressive 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over second seed Iga Swiatek in round-robin play in Riyadh. After cruising past Amanda Anisimova in her opener on Saturday, Rybakina claimed her second win of the week to guarantee herself top spot in the Serena Williams Group. Anisimova on Monday rallied back from a set and a break down to triumph 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in her all-American battle with seventh seed Madison Keys, who has been eliminated from the competition. “Madi was playing so well, it was quite a battle out there,”
Erling Haaland on Sunday scored twice to propel Manchester City up to second in the English Premier League with a 3-1 win over AFC Bournemouth. The Cherries started the day in second thanks to the longest unbeaten run in the English top flight, but Andoni Iraola’s side were undone by the scintillating form of the Norwegian striker, who took his tally to 13 Premier League goals in 10 games. Haaland’s relentless streak is maintaining City’s title challenge as they reduced the gap to leaders Arsenal back to six points and edged one point ahead of Liverpool, who they face at the weekend. “Important
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
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