Spain’s Olympic men’s soccer campaign yesterday got off to a rocky start after they lost two players to injury in a goalless draw with Egypt, while Mexico stunned France 4-1 as the group stage began.
Spain, the last European men’s team to claim gold in 1992, arrived in Japan with a number of players from the senior team who reached the UEFA Euro 2020 semi-finals this month.
However, despite the wealth of options on the pitch, Spain failed to take their opportunities in front of goal against a dogged Egypt defense in their Group C match at the Sapporo Dome.
Photo: AP
Dani Ceballos hit the post on the half-hour mark before the Real Madrid playmaker joined fullback Oscar Mingueza on the sidelines due to injuries at the end of first half.
Ceballos hobbled off following a heavy tackle from Egypt forward Taher Mohamed, while Barcelona’s Mingueza pulled up with what appeared to be a thigh injury.
In the other Group C match last night, Australia defeated Argentina 2-0.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Unlike the women’s tournament featuring all the senior players, the men’s teams are usually restricted to under-23 sides, with three over-age players allowed per team.
With the Tokyo Olympic Games pushed back by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the age limit was tweaked to under-24.
Having won the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, Mexico justified their dark-horse status with a convincing win over France in Group A, courtesy of second-half goals from Alexis Vega, Sebastian Cordova, Uriel Antuna and Erick Aguirre.
Photo: Reuters
Also at the Tokyo Stadium, hosts Japan downed South Africa 1-0 in Group A.
In Group B, Burnley striker Chris Wood fired a late goal as New Zealand beat South Korea 1-0 at the Ibaraki Kashima Stadium — earning the Pacific island nation their first win in Olympic men’s soccer.
Later in Kashima, Romania beat Honduras 1-0 in Group B.
In Group D, Ivory Coast defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 at the International Stadium Yokohama, while the final match of the night saw Brazil beat Germany 4-2.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite