The US on Tuesday beat Iran 1-0 in a battle of geopolitical foes to reach the knockout phase of the World Cup, while England eased through against Wales.
The Americans earned a second-round meeting with the Netherlands after Christian Pulisic bundled the ball into the net in the 38th minute of an absorbing contest in Doha. Only the third international meeting of the bitter ideological rivals had been marked by a bad-tempered buildup.
The Iranian Football Federation on Sunday demanded that FIFA punish the US Soccer Federation for posting a modified version of their country’s flag on social media.
Photo: AFP
Meanwhile, the Iran team’s every move in Qatar has been scrutinized for signs the players are showing support for mass anti-government protests that have shaken the Islamic republic.
On Tuesday, having opted not to do so in their opening match, the Iranian players sang the national anthem, albeit without much enthusiasm, in the highly charged atmosphere of the Al-Thumama Stadium.
There was nothing half-hearted about the Iranians’ performance though, but the Americans were deserved winners after digging deep for the victory.
Photo: AFP
“The guys grinded, gave every single ounce and we are undefeated going into the next round,” US coach Gregg Berhalter said.
Iran substitute Saman Ghoddos wasted two clear scoring opportunities.
“The dream is over,” Iran coach Carlos Queiroz said. “Unfortunately football always punishes the team that doesn’t score.”
Photo: AFP
US President Joe Biden who had wrapped up a speech on the economy in Michigan, returned to the stage to tell the crowd: “The US one, Iran zero. The game’s over.”
ENGLAND 3, WALES 0
Photo: AFP
England’s task was easier, as they swept past Wales 3-0 to win Group B and set up a meeting with Senegal on Sunday.
After an uneventful first half in Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden pounced in the space of two second-half minutes to effectively end the contest.
Manchester United forward Rashford then added his second goal of the night to ensure Wales’ first involvement in a World Cup finals since 1958 ended in disappointment.
“This is what I play football for, the biggest moments, the best moments,” Rashford said. “I’m really happy today that we’re going through to the next round. I have massive ambition for this team and think we can play even better than we showed today.”
NETHERLANDS 2, QATAR 0
The Netherlands cruised into the last 16 with a comfortable 2-0 win over the already eliminated Qatar to win Group A.
Cody Gakpo netted his third goal of the tournament and Frenkie de Jong scored the other as the Dutch easily beat the host nation at Al-Bayt Stadium.
SENEGAL 2, ECUADOR 1
There was more excitement at the Khalifa International Stadium where Kalidou Koulibaly’s first goal for Senegal pushed his country to a 2-1 win over Ecuador and a place in the knockout phase for just the second time in their history.
The Chelsea defender’s 70th-minute strike eliminated Ecuador, and made Senegal the first African side to progress from the group stage so far in this tournament.
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
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
Inter’s defense of their Italian Serie A title was hit with a setback on Sunday as they lost 1-0 at home to AS Roma, while Scott McTominay netted a brace as SSC Napoli beat Torino 2-0 to go top of the table. No fixtures were played on Friday or Saturday because of the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome, meaning the full round of Serie A matches took place on Sunday and yesterday. Matias Soule’s first-half strike for Roma knocked Inter off top spot earlier in the day before new Napoli opened up a three-point buffer with victory in Sunday’s
Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa yesterday set a women’s only world record of 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds as she won the London Marathon, while Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe put a star-studded men’s field to the sword. For 28-year-old Assefa it was ample compensation for finishing runner-up in London and the Paris Olympics last year — especially as bitter Dutch rival, the Ethiopia-born Sifan Hassan, finished third. Assefa dropped Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei as the race, played out in blazing sunshine and with thousands lining the route, entered its business end. She came home almost three minutes clear of the Kenyan. Hassan, who beat her in
RSS