Page 38 - Football

FIFA World Cup Qualifier:IND vs AFG live match starts at 12:30 AM IST today

India will take on Afghanistan at Khamis Mushait Stadium in Saudi Arabia at 12:30 AM IST on Friday, March 22, 2024. The match will be telecast live on DD Sports and can be live-streamed on Fancode

McDonald's becomes French soccer league's title sponsor for 3 seasons

McDonald's will become the title sponsor of the French league from July for the next three season, the league said on Thursday. The fast-food chain is succeeding Uber Eats as the title sponsor of Ligue 1. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. According to L'Equipe newspaper, which did not specify its sources, McDonald's will pay 30 million euros per season ($33 million). The sports outlet said the food delivery service Uber Eats currently pays about 16 million euros ($17.5 million) per season. This partnership marks the coming together of two major institutions that are deeply rooted in the daily lives and collective imagination of the French people, the French league said. Through its national network of 1,560 restaurants, McDonald's will enable Ligue 1 to get even closer to its fans across the country.

Games against Kuwait, Qatar crucial for qualification to 3rd round: Stimac

The results against Kuwait and Qatar in June will be the real indicator of the Indian football team's prospects of making a maiden appearance in the third round of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, head coach Igor Stimac said on Wednesday. India will take on lower-ranked Afghanistan in their second round qualifying match here on Thursday, and a win in the hill town will only brighten their chances of progressing to the third round, something the Blue Tigers have never achieved. "Each game is important from the aspect of self-confidence and rankings. But our priority and the final goal is to qualify for Round 3. There are various options to get there and obviously, nothing will be decided in the next two games. The matches in June against Kuwait and Qatar will tell us everything," Stimac said. This will be the fourth time in five years that India will face Afghanistan in an official match. The two meetings in the World Cup Qualifiers in 2019 and 2021 ended 1-1 each, while India ran out

India's sport audience base 678 mn; 2 cricketers are most liked: Report

Cricket, football, kabaddi are top three favourites on TV and streaming platforms, it says

Cricket presses its field advantage, scores big in Rs 15.7K cr sports biz

The Indian Premier League or IPL, a cricketing event, remains the largest in revenue, reach, and popularity

I-League calendar should be in sync with FIFA windows: Indian coach Stimac

Indian football team head coach Igor Stimac said on Saturday that he is keeping a close watch on the players competing in the I-League for a possible national team call up. The Croatian also said that the I-League calendar should be in sync with the FIFA window so that players don't miss out of national selection. A 25-member Indian team, led by skipper Sunil Chhetri, underwent their first training session on Saturday evening after arriving here a week in advance to acclimatise to the high-altitude venue ahead of the away Round 2 tie of the FIFA World Cup 2026 and AFC Asian Cup 2027 Preliminary Joint Qualification here on March 21. "I watch all the games throughout the season but this time, I especially went to see some of our youngsters playing in the I-League," said Stimac, indicating how serious he is about scouting for talent in the domestic tournament. "(Coach of the India U-23 team) Mahesh (Gawali) is responsible for following I-League players and I wanted to see some of the

Europa League: Liverpool rout Sparta 11-2 on aggregate to reach last 8

Mohamed Salah scored one goal and set up three to help Liverpool demolish Sparta Prague 6-1 and march into the Europa League quarterfinals. After winning 5-1 the opening leg of their last 16 tie in Prague, Liverpool scored four in the opening 14 minutes at Anfield on Thursday to advance on a massive 11-2 aggregate score. Sparta had no answer to Liverpool's high pressure. Salah seized the ball on the right of the area before shooting inside the far post over Sparta goalkeeper Peter Vindahl for his 20th goal of the season, becoming the first Liverpool player to score at least 20 goals in seven straight seasons. Salah, who injured his hamstring with Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in January, started after having been used as a substitute in both the first leg in Prague and a 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Sunday. Darwin Nunez opened the rout with a clinical low finish seven minutes into the game after scoring two in Prague. A minute later, Salah won the ball on the edge of the

Champions League today's match: Atletico vs Inter time, streaming details

Atletico Madrid will take on Inter Milan at Civitas Metropolitan Stadium at 1:30 AM IST on Thursday, March 14, 2024. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports and can be live-streamed on Sony LIV

Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment cost Man United nearly $44 million

Jim Ratcliffe's minority investment in Manchester United cost the club $43.78 million in fees, according to financial figures released Tuesday. United's latest quarterly results also showed current gross debts of nearly $1 billion. Ratcliffe, the British billionaire, last month bought a 27.7% stake in the Premier League club more than a year after American owners the Glazer family invited offers from potential buyers. United's results stated an exceptional item of 9.6 million pounds ($12.28 million) for costs incurred in relation to the Group's strategic review and agreed sale to Ratcliffe. United said that was on top of a $31.5 million fee to U.S. investment bank Raine Group, which oversaw the deal. Ratcliffe paid $1.3 billion for his minority stake and made an added investment of $200 million. United has said Ratcliffe intends to invest a further $100 million by the end of the year. While his arrival has been warmly greeted by United fans, large sections of supporters have lon

UCL today's match: Barcelona vs Napoli live match begins at 1:30 PM IST

Barcelona will take on Napoli at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on March 13, 2024 at 1:30 AM IST. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports and can also be live-streamed on Sony LIV in India

Champions League today's match: Arsenal vs Porto live match time, streaming

Arsenal will take on Porto at the Emirates Stadium at 1:30 PM IST on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports and can also be live-streamed on Sony LIV in India

Santosh Trophy 2024: Shafeel helps Services beat Goa, win 7th title

PP Shafeel netted the winner as Services edged out Goa to clinch their seventh Santosh Trophy title at the Golden Jubilee Stadium here on Saturday. Shakeel made the winning strike in the 67th minute after both the sides battled hard to find a goal. There were no final-day nerves from either side as the game started with end-to-end action, with both goalkeepers making some early saves. As early as in the sixth minute, Vijay J's cutback was met by Samir Murmu's shot, which was easily saved by Antonio Inacio da Silva in the Goan goal. At the opposite end, Mahammad Faheez tried his luck from 20 yards only for Sayad bin Abdul Kadir to collect comfortably. It was Goa who finished the first half stronger as Faheez's dipping cross from the right was met with a first-time right-footed shot from Necio Fernandes. But it was hit straight at Kadir. Services started to pile more pressure on the Goan goal in the second half. In the 50th minute, Shubham Rana's left-footed strike from a narrow a

EPL 2023-24: Fernandes and Rashford lead Man Utd to 2-0 win over Everton

Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford converted first-half penalties won by Alejandro Garnacho as Manchester United beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday to recover from back-to-back Premier League losses that had jeopardized its Champions League qualification hopes. Fernandes tucked away his spot kick in the 12th minute for his first home goal since August after James Tarkowski clipped the leg of Garnacho just inside the area. The Portugal midfielder then handed over penalty duties to Rashford after Garnacho went down under a rash lunge by Ben Godfrey. Rashford slotted his kick into the corner after a stuttered run-up to double the lead in the 36th. Sixth-place United, which was coming off losses to Fulham and Manchester City in the league, trimmed the gap to Tottenham in fifth to three points. Spurs, which plays fourth-place Aston Villa in a crucial match on Sunday, has two games in hand on United. United will be hoping the Premier League has five places rather than the current four in ne

EPL today's match: Liverpool vs Man City match time, predictions, streaming

Liverpool will take on Manchester City at the Anfield Stadium on Sunday, March 10, 2024. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports and can also be live-streamed on Disney Plus Hotstar in India

AIFF legal head removed post allegations of corruption on President Chaubey

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Sunday terminated the services of its principal legal advisor Nilanjan Bhattacharjee after he made serious "corruption allegations" against president Kalyan Chaubey, who had termed them "baseless". In a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday, Bhattacharjee said Chaubey worked out "corruption avenues" through non-transparent tender process and preferential allotment of tender. Chaubey had said that he would "reply legally". "... inform you of the AIFF's decision to terminate your engagement as principal legal advisor with immediate effect," AIFF acting secretary general M Satyanarayan wrote in the termination letter on Sunday. The AIFF will pay Bhattacharjee for another month at the "contractually agreed rate" as a notice period of one month is required for the termination. Bhattacharjee, on his part, said the termination of his service was on expected lines. "I could foresee the termination letter," he told PTI. "I

Man City's 3-1 win against Man United provides reality check for Ratcliffe

Good luck trying to knock Manchester City off its perch. With new investment and renewed hope, Manchester United fans have been encouraged to believe the good times will return. That great revival felt as far away as ever after a humbling 3-1 loss to City in the Premier League, which could have been even worse Sunday if not for a spectacular miss from Erling Haaland and a series of saves from United goalkeeper Andre Onana. "This team is legendary," City manager Pep Guardiola said afterward. The same cannot be said for United after a 16th defeat in all competitions this season and its 11th loss in the league. The latest setback delivered another blow to Erik ten Hag's hopes of securing Champions League qualification, with his team in sixth and 11 points off fourth-place Aston Villa. City, meanwhile, marches on in its three-pronged defense of the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup. "Don't forget City, at this moment, is the best team in the world," Ten Hag said. Such word

EPL: Liverpool is exhausted, injury-hit and relying heavily on youngsters

Exhausted, injury-hit and relying on a bunch of academy prospects, Liverpool continues to pull off victories in the business end of Jurgen Klopp's final season in charge. No English Premier League win by the Reds has been sealed as late as the one at Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez came off the bench and glanced home a header in the ninth minute of stoppage time to sink Forest 1-0 and move Liverpool four points clear. It was a sixth straight win in all competitions for Liverpool and a fourth in an 11-day span that included an extra-time victory over Chelsea in the English League Cup final. "If you'd told me 12 days ago we would win all four games, I would have said no chance it was impossible," said Klopp, who will be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season after nearly nine years. "In the circumstances, winning the games is ridiculous." Second-placed Manchester City will look to restore the gap to Liverpool to one point by beating Manchester Unit

Messi now has 500 million followers on Instagram; check who is ahead of him

Argentina footballer, Lionel Messi, now has more than 500 million followers on Instagram. He is only behind his arch rival Cristiano Ronaldo

Dani Alves sentenced to four and a half years in prison for sexual assault

Soccer star Dani Alves was found guilty of sexually assaulting a woman and sentenced to four years, six months in prison by a Barcelona court on Thursday. The ruling by the three-judge panel followed a three-day trial this month. Alves was summoned to the courthouse to receive the verdict and sentence. The victim's lawyer, Ester Garca, said this week that she and her client would not be present. The ruling considered it proven that the victim did not consent to sex and there was evidence, in addition to the defendant's testimony, that she had been raped. The court also imposed 150,000 euros ($162,000) in compensation for the victim and payment of costs by Alves. Once it concluded his sentence, the court ordered that Alves, aged 40, be monitored for five years and have no communication with or go near the victim. The court found Alves sexually assaulted his victim early in the morning of Dec. 31, 2022, when she said he raped her in a bathroom of an upscale Barcelona nightclub. Sta

Tuchel to leave Bayern Munich after threee straight losses this season

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel will leave the club at the end of the season after a run of three straight losses raised the prospect of the club's first season without a trophy in 12 years. Bayern said the decision was made after Tuchel spoke with chief executive Jan-Christian Dreesen. Tuchel's contract was due to run through the end of the 2024-25 season. In a good, open discussion, we came to the decision to end our working relationship by mutual agreement in the summer," Dreesen said in a club statement. Our goal is to pursue a new footballing direction with a new head coach for the 2024-25 season. Dreesen also pledged to hold the team accountable for performances through to the end of the season. There was no word from the club on a possible successor. Tuchel said in the statement that I will of course continue to do everything I can with my coaching staff to achieve maximum success until he leaves the club. Bayern's next game is Saturday at home to Leipzig with a squad hea