Page 58 - Football

SAFF C'ship: India in final post thrilling penalty shoot-out vs Lebanon

In a very tense SAFF Championship semi-final, which involved six yellow cards and a penalty shoot-out to determine the winner, India went past Lebanon. They will meet Kuwait in final

Don't know when will be my last game for India, says Sunil Chhetri

India skipper and mercurial striker Sunil Chhetri on Friday played down the talks about his retirement saying he has not put any timeline for himself to bid adieu to the game. Chhetri is 38 but still continues to be the spearhead of Indian attack, evidenced by the five goals he netted in the ongoing SAFF Championship from three matches. "I don't know when my last game for the country is going to be. It derives from the fact that I have never had long-term targets, I think about next match, next 10 days. It (retirement) may come at a day when probably I don't want to, as there are a lot of things, and I will be done. Till that time, I never think about it," Chhetri said on the eve of India's semifinal against Lebanon. Chhetri, the second highest goal-scorer from Asia with 91 goals, said he has set some parameters for himself to determine about hanging his boots. "Generally, there are some parameters that I think about... whether I am contributing to the team or not, whether I am abl

SAFF Championship: India bank on Chhetri magic to overcome Lebanon in semis

India will bank on the striking prowess of their talismanic captain Sunil Chhetri to tame a formidable Lebanon in the SAFF Championship semifinal here on Saturday. India, the defending champions, entered the semis as the second-placed team behind Kuwait from Group A while Lebanon topped Group B in their march to the last-four stage. Chhetri has been India's primary weapon in this tournament, as he has so far netted five goals from three matches to sit on top of the goal-scorers' list. The count of goals includes a hat-trick against Pakistan. The sensational tumbling volley against Kuwait during India's last league match underlined his still burning desire to lead the team's charge. Chhetri will have to be on top of his game for India to hurdle over the Lebanon challenge, and this is not to say that others will have a lesser role. The likes of Sahal Abdul Samad, Mahesh Singh and Udanta Singh will have to up the ante to support their skipper. All of them have had their moments in the

SAFF Championship: Lebanon tops Group B, will face India in the semifinal

Lebanon set up a semifinal clash against hosts India with a 1-0 win over Maldives in a Group B match of the SAFF Championship here on Wednesday. Skipper Hassan Maatouk struck the all-important goal with his curling freekick in the 24th minute. Lebanon have topped the group with an all-win record in the four-team group. Lebanon will take on India in the battle for the summit clash on Saturday. The two teams met recently in the final of the Intercontinental Cup in Bhubaneswar, where India emerged the winners. The Maldives, ranked 154 in the FIFA Men's rankings, were hoping to punch above its weight by winning against Lebanon, whom they have never beaten in previously. Having already sealed their last-four berth, Lebanon head coach Aleksandar Ilic rested a few of his regular players including Karim Darwich. Lebanon started the match on a positive note, keeping plenty of possession and trying to stretch the Maldives defence. The deadlock was finally broken when Lebanon was awarded

SAFF Championship: Lebanon crush Bhutan, move closer to the semi-finals

Lebanon moved closer to the semifinals of the SAFF Championship with a commanding 4-1 victory over Bhutan at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium here on Saturday. Lebanon came to the match as the favourites and they underscored that status with chilling authority, slamming in four goals in the first half itself. With six points and a match to go against Maldives on June 28, Lebanon are on top of Group B and that much nearer to a last-four berth. Bangladesh and Maldives have three points apiece and they are also in the race to enter the semifinals. With two defeats from as many matches Bhutan are out of contention. On a night when the skies opened up with vengeance, Lebanon went ahead as early as in the 11th minute through Mohamad Sadek. Ali Al Haj swelled the scoreline to 2-0 in the 23rd minute, beating a diving Bhutan goalkeeper T Dendup with a sweet first-touch shot from inside the box. Lebanon seemed to have perfectly understood the group equations as they pressed on for more goals and

SAFF Cup: Bangladesh beat Maldives, keep themselves in semis contention

Bangladesh kept themselves in the hunt for a semifinal berth in the SAFF Championship with a gritty 3-1 win over Maldives here on Sunday. Hamza Mohammad (17th minute) put Maldives in front but Bangladesh struck back through Rakib Hossain (42nd minute), Tariq Kazi (67th minute) and Shekh Morsalin (90th minute) to collect three important points in a Group B match. Maldives also have three points, courtesy their 2-0 win over Bhutan in the first match. Now, both Maldives and Bangladesh are in a must-win situation against Lebanon, who also have 3 points, and Bhutan in their respective last league matches on June 28. Despite a win was mandatory for them to stay afloat, Bangladesh did not show much urgency in the initial stages of the match. Maldives made full use of that laxity to go ahead through Hamza. The goal seemed to have made Bangladesh players realise the need to be more proactive, and it reflected in their moves. They mounted quick counter attacks and closed ranks whenever Mald

SAFF Championship: Sahal, Mahesh make mark for Team India in the tournament

Amid the loud cheers that have often been reserved for talismanic Sunil Chhetri, two young footballers were quietly making their mark during India's SAFF Championship campaign so far. It's not that Sahal Abdul Samad and Mahesh Singh are unfamiliar names to Indian football afficionados, but they validated their potential to carry forward a rich legacy in Indian football. The duo were particularly impressive against a gritty Nepal whom India beat 2-0 Saturday night at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium to book a semifinal berth. Nepal had erected a defensive hurdle in front of India for a good one hour and the home side needed a moment of inspiration to break free. It came in the 61st minute. Mahesh made a run through the left flank and made a pass to Sahal, who pushed the ball back to the former around a Nepalese defender, setting him free. With oodles of space to work with, Mahesh sent the ball to an unmarked Chhetri inside the box with a laser-guided cross and the Indian captain was nev

UEFA Euro Qualifiers: France emerge victorious, defeat Greece 1-0 at home

In the UEFA EURO Qualifiers match, France defeated Greece 1-0 in a thrilling encounter on Tuesday at the Stade de France stadium.

India had the chance to host Lionel Messi's Argentina but not enough funds

Argentina were keen to play a friendly match in India, but the AIFF had trouble arranging he required funds

Mbappe insists he'll start next season at PSG, plays down fuss about letter

Kylian Mbapp insists he will start next season with French champion Paris Saint-Germain, and the superstar defended his decision to inform PSG by letter that he won't trigger a 12-month extension on his contract. The 24-year-old Mbapp has been in the spotlight all week after writing to tell PSG of his plans. By declining the option, his contract will expire at the end of next season. I've already answered the question. I said my objective was to continue with the club. Staying at Paris Saint-Germain is my only option, for the moment, he said Thursday at France's training camp. I'm ready to come back at the restart. I hope the next questions are about the (France) match. Mbapp tried to play down the fuss about his letter. The letter was sent before (the France squad met up), said Mbapp, who will captain Les Bleus in a 2024 European Championship qualifier at Gibraltar on Friday. I didn't think a letter could kill someone or that I offended anyone. All I did was send a letter. You can

Lionel Messi, Argentina set to pull huge crowd in Beijing exhibition game

Lionel Messi and his World Cup-winning Argentina teammates are expected to draw almost 70,000 fans to Beijing Worker's Stadium for an exhibition against Australia. With tickets starting at around $80 for Thursday's game, local supporters are excited to see Messi and continue the World Cup celebrations. Fans have flocked to all opportunities to see the Argentine star since the team arrived in China, with large crowds angling for photographs and chanting his name. Messi's move to continue my path in Miami last week made global headlines after he turned down extremely lucrative offers from Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia in favor of Major League Soccer. He said that after winning the World Cup, it was his time to go the United States and live football in another way. Before then, he's with the Argentina squad that is scheduled to play Australia in the Chinese capital and take on Indonesia in Jakarta four days later. Australia coach Graham Arnold said he was looking forward to giving a selec

Sky's the limit and a long way to go for Sandesh Jhingan after 50 caps

On March 12, 2015, 21-year-old Sandesh Jhingan stepped onto the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium pitch in Guwahati wearing the blue of India for the first time.

Real Madrid look to finally sign Kylian Mbappe after Benzema's departure

The door looks wide open for Real Madrid to try signing Kylian Mbapp, because Karim Benzema's sudden departure leaves the Spanish giant short of a star striker. Madrid will hope it's third time lucky, after Paris Saint-Germain rejected an offer of 180 million euros ($190 million) for Mbapp in 2021. Madrid missed out again last year when Mbapp amid frenzied speculation that Madrid would get him to join signed a new three-year deal with PSG until 2025. Now he's stunned the club by saying he will not trigger a 12-month extension on his contract, which expires at the end of next season. The France superstar confirmed his decision in a letter to PSG, a person with knowledge of the correspondence told The Associated Press on Monday. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said PSG would not allow Mbapp to leave as a free agent. This immediately raised the possibility of an immediate transfer bidding war by Madrid and other clubs this summer. The 24-year-old Mbapp has

Football: Barca striker Robert Lewandowski rules out move to Saudi Arabia

FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski ruled out moving to the Saudi Professional League this summer as "he has other priorities" and his contract with the Spanish champions is valid until 2026

Football: Five bids received for direct entry into I-League 2023-24 season

The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has received five bids for direct entry into the I-League 2023-24 season with proposals for teams from places like Delhi, Gurugram, and Bengaluru.

Here's why Messi was detained by Chinese authorities at Beijing airport

A video shows Lionel Messi standing in the Beijing airport, holding his passport, surrounded by a group of police officers

Mbappe informs PSG he will not trigger contract extension, says report

Kylian Mbappe has told Paris Saint-Germain he will not take up the option of a 12-month extension on his contract, which expires at the end of next season. The France superstar confirmed his decision in a letter to PSG, a person with knowledge of the correspondence told The Associated Press on Monday. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly. The person also said PSG would not allow Mbappe to leave as a free agent, raising the possibility of an immediate bidding war by other clubs and potential transfer this summer. The French club, which is owned by Qatar Sports Investments, has already seen Lionel Messi leave for nothing in return, with the Argentine great making a stunning move to MLS team Inter Miami. There is also uncertainty about the future of another PSG star Brazil international Neymar. But the potential departure of the 24-year-old Mbappe would be the greatest loss to PSG, given that he is a national icon and wi

Pep Guardiola wins the treble again: Is he the greatest football manager?

By winning the UEFA Champions League final with Manchester City against Inter Milan on June 11, 2023, Pep Guardiola has become the first player to win the treble twice with two different teams

FIFA U-20 World Cup: Uruguay beat Italy 1-0 to lift their maiden trophy

Forward Luciano Rodriguez scored late as Uruguay secured their first Under-20 World Cup title with a 1-0 victory over Italy here.

India clears Pakistan football team's participation in SAFF Cup: AIFF

The Indian government has cleared the Pakistan football team's participation in the SAFF Cup in Bengaluru from June 21 to July 4, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) said on Thursday. AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran said India has "done its part" by clearing Pakistan's participation in the eight-nation regional tournament and it's now up to the neighbouring country to complete the formalities. "Yes, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs and Sports Ministry all have cleared (Pakistan's participation)," Prabhakaran told PTI. "We have done our part. We welcome them (Pakistan). All the participating countries have got visa clearance. They have to do their part of the visa formalities." India and Pakistan are in the same group and they face each other on June 21 in their campaign opener. This is the first time in five years that the two neighbouring countries would be playing against each other. The last time India took on Pakistan on the football field