SOCCER
America exit Leagues Cup
Mexican giants Club America on Saturday night suffered a surprise exit from the Leagues Cup at the hands of MLS’ Colorado Rapids, leaving the tournament with no teams from Liga MX in the last four. In the semi-finals of the joint Liga MX-MLS tournament, reigning MLS champions Columbus Crew are to face the Philadelphia Union, while the Rapids would play Los Angeles FC. America, the most decorated team in Mexico, were playing a “home” game in Carson, California, that attracted thousands of Mexican-American supporters to back them. However, they were left disappointed after their goalless draw, with few chances for either team, went to a shoot-out which the Rapids won 9-8. The other Mexican club in the last eight, Mazatlan, also exited in a shoot-out, losing at the Philadelphia Union.
CRICKET
SA keeps berth hopes alive
South Africa’s Test series success over the West Indies on Saturday keeps up their outside chance of a place in next year’s World Test Championship final even if they must win at least five of their next six matches. The 40-run win over the West Indies at the Providence Stadium in Georgetown was their second success in six Tests in the 2023-2025 cycle and moved them up to fifth in the standings. If they are to stand any chance of challenging the likes of log leaders India and second placed Australia for a berth in next year’s one-off final, they must win at least five of their next remaining six tests.
CYCLING
McNulty wins 1st Vuelta stage
Brandon McNulty on Saturday snatched victory in the first stage of the Vuelta a Espana, edging an individual time trial ahead of Mathias Vacek as the year’s third Grand Tour began in Lisbon. American UAE Team Emirates rider McNulty was the penultimate rider to set off on the 12km run to Oeiras and beat Vacek by two seconds, with final rider Wout van Aert taking third in a thrilling finale. Defending champion Sepp Kuss finished over half a minute down on general classification contender and three-time champion Primoz Roglic, who came in eighth, 17 seconds behind McNulty’s 12 minutes, 35 seconds. “I was hoping for something good today, but this is really hard to believe for me,” 26-year-old McNulty said. “I knew if something crazy happened I could [do it], so I guess something crazy happened.”
MIXED MARTIAL ARTS
Ex-champ pleads no contest
Former UFC champion Cain Velasquez has pleaded no contest to attempted murder after he shot at a man in 2022 accused of molesting Velasquez’s relative, a Northern California district attorney’s office said. The office of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement that Velasquez on Friday entered his plea in a San Jose courtroom to felony assault and other gun charges as part of a negotiated agreement with the prosecutor’s office. The 42-year-old Velasquez was scheduled to go on trial next month. Velasquez, who retired from the UFC in 2019, still faces prison time, Rosen’s office said. A sentencing date has not been scheduled. The man charged with molesting the male relative, who was four at the time, is the adult son of a woman who ran the daycare attended by the boy.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
‘KHELIFMANIA’: In the weeks since the Algerian boxer won gold in Paris, national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women In the weeks since Algeria’s Imane Khelif won an Olympic gold medal in women’s boxing, athletes and coaches in the North African nation say national enthusiasm is inspiring newfound interest in the sport, particularly among women. Khelif’s image is practically everywhere, featured in advertisements at airports, on highway billboards and in boxing gyms. The 25-year-old welterweight’s success in Paris has vaulted her to national hero status, especially after Algerians rallied behind her in the face of uninformed speculation about her gender and eligibility to compete. Amateur boxer Zougar Amina, a medical student who has been practicing for a year, called Khelif an
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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