Page 70 - Football

Igor Stimac set to remain India's head coach till AFC Asian Cup next July

Croatian Igor Stimac is set to continue as Indian football team head coach with the Technical Committee of All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Sunday recommending the extension of his contract till the end of AFC Asian Cup in July next year. The technical committee, which met here under the chairmanship of legendary striker IM Vijayan, discussed the performance of the Indian men's team under Stimac and recommended to the AIFF executive committee his continuation at the helm of affairs. This will be Stimac's third contract extension after he took charge of the national men's team in May 2019 on a two-year tenure. In 2021, he was given a contract extension of a few months till September of that year. He was then given another tenure extension of one year which was to end this month. "In the first agenda of the meeting, the Technical Committee recommended the extension of Senior Men's Team Head Coach Igor Stimac's contract till the AFC Asian Cup 2023," the AIFF said in a release.

La Liga: Real Madrid keeps on dancing, beats Atltico to stay unbeaten

Rodrygo and Vincius Jnior didn't hesitate after Real Madrid opened the scoring at the Metropolitano stadium. The Brazilian duo went toward one of the corner flags and began doing their samba-like dance moves near the Atltico Madrid fans. With its young Brazilians not backing away from their dancing, Madrid beat city rival Atltico 2-1 in the Spanish league to extend its perfect start to the season on Sunday. Rodrygo and Federico Valverde scored first-half goals as the defending champions won their ninth match in a row in all competitions. Dance wherever you want, Vincius wrote on Twitter in a message directed at Rodrygo after the game, along with a photo of them celebrating the goal. The result restored Madrid as the league leader after it had been overtaken by Barcelona on Saturday following the Catalan club's 3-0 win against Elche for its fifth straight victory. Madrid leads Barcelona by two points. It was a different game, the derby is always different, Rodrygo said. This one

After cricket, cutting-edge tech set to transform football and chess too

A startup in Bengaluru has developed a sensor that helps batsmen and coaches gain insights on bat speed, impact speed, bat-lift angle, and bat path, with an option to replay the action in 360 degrees

Frankfurt wins by 1-0 over Marseille in Champions League amid fans' clash

Careless defending cost Marseille again in the Champions League as it lost 1-0 at home to Europa League winner Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday. Coach Igor Tudor's side is unbeaten in the French league but lacks a cutting edge at this level. Marseille looked organized and untroubled, just like last week against Tottenham, but fell behind in the 43rd minute after a defensive error allowed attacking midfielder Jesper Lindstrm to score. Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada thought he had made it 2-0 in the 79th but his effort was ruled out for offside. Tottenham's 2-0 loss at Sporting in the other Group D game means Sporting takes charge with six points, having beaten Frankfurt 3-0 last week in Germany. Tottenham and Frankfurt have three points, with Spurs in second place on goal difference and Marseille last. It was a hostile atmosphere at Stade Velodrome, where riot police intervened before kickoff and late on to quell disorder as opposing fans threw flares and fireworks at each other. A .

Hernandez, Sane lead Bayern to beat Barca by 2-0 in UEFA Champions League

Bayern Munich made it two wins from two in this season's UEFA Champions League after goals from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane, edging a wasteful Barcelona 2-0 in Group C

Leverkusen scores late to beat Atltico Madrid 2-0 in Champions League

Struggling Bayer Leverkusen left it late to earn a welcome 2-0 win over Atltico Madrid in their Champions League group-stage game on Tuesday. Two goals in three minutes from Robert Andrich and Moussa Diaby both set up by Jeremie Frimpong were enough for Leverkusen to claim just its second win of the season after six defeats in eight games across all competitions. We did brilliantly. I'm so proud of the team, Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah said. This gives us a lot of energy. Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane had been coming under increasing pressure, especially after the 1-0 loss at Club Brugge in their Group B opening game last week, but Andrich finally made the breakthrough in the 84th minute and Diaby sealed the win on a counterattack in the 87th. Both teams had largely canceled each other out in a first half of few chances. Leverkusen looked better early on, when Andrich fired a good chance over. Patrik Schick hit the crossbar for Leverkusen after the break, when Czech ...

Real Madrid keeps up 100% start of 4-1 over Mallorca as Barca beats Cadiz

Real Madrid came back from a goal down and the loss of Karim Benzema through injury to win 4-1 at home to Real Mallorca and maintain their unbeaten record at the top of La Liga

Air India announces direct flights to Doha from Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai

Ahead of the football world cup in Doha, Tata group-owned Air India on Thursday announced introduction of 20 new flights per week to Qatar from key Indian cities. "The added capacity will cater to the surge in demand expected around the football extravaganza in Qatar scheduled in November and December 2022," the airline said in a statement. The flights, to be introduced from October 30, will connect Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai with Qatar's capital Doha during this period. "Thirteen flights per week will operate from Mumbai, four from Hyderabad and three from Chennai," it said. These flights will be in addition to the existing daily flights to Doha from Delhi. The additional connectivity to Qatar follows Air India's increase of 14 new flights on its domestic network last month. These additional 14 flights included two new frequencies on each of the Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bengaluru and Mumbai-Chennai routes, as well as one new frequency on the Mumbai-Bengaluru route. "The strengthe

Champions League: Hat-trick for Lewandowski as Barca beats Viktoria Plzen

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as FC Barcelona enjoyed a comfortable start to their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 5-1 win at home to Viktoria Plzen

Indian-origin Pixstory ties up with Arsenal to promote social media ethics

European football major is third club to join platform, says partnership will focus on reducing abuse, hate speech in online fan conversations

Chelsea fires coach Thomas Tuchel after poor start to Premier League

Thomas Tuchel was fired by Chelsea on Wednesday only one month into the season. The decision by Chelsea's new ownership came a day after the team lost to Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in its first group match in the Champions League. Chelsea has lost two of its first six games in the Premier League. Chelsea was the highest-spending team in Europe during the transfer window with an outlay of nearly $300 million. Tuchel was in charge for a year and a half, winning the Champions League in his first season.

US Soccer, national team players formally sign equal pay agreements

Representatives for the men's and women's U.S. national teams on Tuesday signed their historic collective bargaining agreements with U.S. Soccer, formally closing a long and sometimes acrimonious fight over equal pay. The federation announced in May that it had struck separate agreements with the players' unions on contracts that run through 2028. The new contracts include identical pay structures for appearances and tournament victories, revenue sharing and equitable distribution of World Cup prize money. A signing ceremony was held following the women's friendly match against Nigeria at Audi Field in Washington, with Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh among those on hand. "I have to give a lot of credit to everyone involved, the women's national team and their PA (players' association), the men's national team and their PA, and everyone at U.S. Soccer. There were so many people that helped, that worked together to make this happen," said U.S. Soccer President Cindy Parlow Cone, hersel

French sports minister criticizes PSG coach Galtier for ironic comments

PSG coach Christophe Galtier's ironic comments about the club's use of planes instead of trains have drawn sharp criticism from France's sports minister. The French league champions have defended their use of chartered flights rather than more ecological trains after an executive for France's high-speed rail network called out the club for flying its players on a short-haul to Nantes last weekend. In his news conference ahead of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League opener against Juventus on Tuesday, newly-appointed Galtier was asked whether he spoke with his players about the transport options. I thought I would get that question. To be very honest with you, this morning we spoke with the company that organizes our trips, and we're trying to see if we can travel by sand yacht, Galtier replied, sarcastically. Sitting next to Galtier, PSG striker Kylian Mbapp burst into laughter when he heard the question from the reporter. Mbapp declined to comment when asked about the use of ...

Kylian Mbappe scores twice in Paris Saint-Germain win but Vitinha injured

Undefeated in six league matches including five wins and 24 goals scored, Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbapp are in scintillating form ahead of next week's Champions League clash with Juventus. Mbapp scored twice from Lionel Messi assists as they won 3-0 at 10-man Nantes to remain leader of the French league on Saturday. But the French champions were dealt a blow from Vitinha's apparent knee injury. The Portuguese midfielder was forced off the pitch in the first half after falling on the turf following a late tackle from defender Fabio, who was sent off. PSG coach Christophe Galtier said Vitinha took a "big knock on his knee cap" but did not say whether he could recover in time for Tuesday's match against the Serie A side at the Parc des Princes. Nantes trailed from the 17th minute after Mbapp's superb goal with a curled right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the opposite corner. He was set up by Messi on the break. Messi was again the provider for Mbapp's seventh

India names squad for SAFF U-17 Football C'ship set to begin from Sept 5

Head coach Bibiano Fernandes on Thursday named a 23-member India squad for the SAFF U-17 Championship which kicks off in Colombo on September 5. India begin their campaign against Bhutan on the opening day of the tournament. The final is slated for September 16. "The boys have worked so hard over the months. They are excited. They are hitting the ground with high levels of intensity and motivation," said Bibiano. "We believe this batch has what it takes to outdo what the previous two batches achieved. Our short-term aim is to win the SAFF U17 Championship and qualify for the AFC U17 Championships as group leaders," the coach stated. Squad: GOALKEEPERS: Sahil, Julfikar Gazi, Tajamul Islam. DEFENDERS: Ricky Meetei, Mukul Panwar, Manjot Singh Dhami, Balkaran Singh, Suraj Kumar Singh, Chandan Yadav. MIDFIELDERS: Gurnaj Singh Grewal, Korou Singh, Lalpekhlua, Vanlalpeka Guite, Boby Singh, Malemngamba Singh Thokchom, Huzafah Ahmam Dar, Ngarin Shaiza, Danny Meitei, Lalhmingchhuanga Fana

Copa Libertadores final set to be all-Brazil for 3rd year in a row

The Copa Libertadores final is set to be an all-Brazilian affair for the third year in a row after this week's first leg of the semifinals. Flamengo crushed Argentina's Velez Sarsfield away 4-0 on Wednesday. Striker Pedro scored in the 32nd, 61st and 83rd minutes. Everton Ribeiro also netted for the Rio de Janeiro club in the last minute of the first half. Palmeiras lost 1-0 to Athletico Paranaense but the defending champions are still the favorite to advance for a likely rematch of last year's final on Oct. 29 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. Athletico's hard-fought win came thanks to a goal by Alex Santana in the 23rd minute. It was Palmeiras' first defeat in this year's edition of the Copa Libertadores. The second legs will be played next week. Palmeiras beat Flamengo 2-1 in last year's decider. In the previous edition, the Sao Paulo team beat its local rival Santos 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium. Since Argentina's River Plate won the Copa Libertadores in 2018, only Brazilian teams have ..

Messi sets up 2 goals as leader PSG wins 3-0; Lens, Marseille win

Lionel Messi's vision was too much for Toulouse as he set up goals for Neymar and Kylian Mbapp in French league leader Paris Saint-Germain's 3-0 win at Toulouse. Four touches were enough for PSG to open up Toulouse's defense for the first goal in the 37th minute, with Messi applying the final pass to give Neymar his league-leading seventh goal in just five games. After being denied four times by goalkeeper Maxime Dup, Messi grabbed his fourth assist this season when he set up Kylian Mbapp's fifth goal. PSG's MNM attack of Messi-Neymar-Mbapp has combined for 15 of PSG's 21 goals in five games. It would have been more but Dup made nine saves. Promoted Toulouse held out until the 39th minute. The goal was slick one-touch soccer with midfielder Marco Verratti and Mbapp exchanging passes before Messi's first-time pass behind the defense allowed Neymar space to guide the ball under Dup. The goal was given following a video review when replays showed Neymar was onside as the in-form Bra

Durand Cup 2022: Kerala Blasters FC beat NorthEast United FC 3-0

Kerala Blasters FC secured the first victory of their Durand Cup campaign as they eased past NorthEast United FC in a comfortable 3-0 victory in their Group D fixture

Premier League Fixture - 27 Aug, Arsenal Vs Fulham: Live streaming, players

Arsenal vs Fulham: The Gunners will face Fulham in their fourth match of the English Premier League(EPL). Read this article to know who could be the playing XI. When and where to watch the match?

FIFA lifts ban on AIFF; women's U-17 World Cup to be held in India

World football governing body FIFA on Friday lifted the ban imposed on the AIFF after the Supreme Court terminated the mandate of the Committee of Administrators (CoA), clearing the decks for India to host the Women's U-17 World Cup in October. FIFA had suspended the All India Football Federation on August 15 for "undue influence from third parties" and the revocation came 11 days after that. "The Bureau of the FIFA Council has decided to lift the suspension that was imposed on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) due to undue third-party influence," the FIFA said in a statement. "The decision was taken after FIFA received confirmation that the mandate of the committee of administrators that was set up to assume the powers of the AIFF Executive Committee had been terminated and that the AIFF administration had regained full control of the AIFF's daily affairs. "As a consequence, the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place on 11-30 October 2022 will be held in .