Page 1413 - Sports

FIFA WC: England face Colombia challenge in knockouts

England will look to book their spot in the quarter-finals of the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup when they lock horns with Colombia here at Spartak Stadium on Tuesday.England, who have had a successful run in their group stage, will look to replicate their good performances in the tournament so far heading into the knock-out round.The Harry Kane-led side are coming off on the back of two thumping victories in the group stage. They defeated Tunisia 2-1 in the opening clash of the tournament followed by a cracking 6-1 win over Panama. The English team lost their final clash of the group stage to Belgium 0-1.Colombia, on the other hand, will also be high on confidence after beating Senegal and Poland in their last two clashes after losing their first match of the group stage 1-2 against Japan.Looking at the statistics, the English team have not won their knockout round at the World Cup since 2006.As far as the head-to-head record is concerned, England have faced Colombia five

Real Madrid denies making offer to PSG for Neymar

Real Madrid has denied it ever made any offer either to Paris Saint-Germain or to Brazilian striker Neymar.

Nadal looks to kickstart Wimbledon campaign with a bang

Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal will look to begin his campaign at Wimbledon on a winning note when he crosses swords with Israeli player Dudi Sela in their opening match of the men's singles event here on Tuesday.The 32-year-old, who has recently clinched the French Open title, will be playing his first match since his title victory on the clay court three weeks ago.Dudi Sela, who last year made it to the third round of Wimbledon, will look to give tough competition to the Spaniard as he has good playing record on the grass-court.As far as the head-to-head record is concerned, both players have played against each other two times before on the hard court, with Nadal registering wins over the Israeli player in both the matches.Nadal holds a 43-10 record at the Wimbledon and has only lost once in his first-round clash at the championship.In other clashes of the day, world number twenty one Novak Djokovic will battle with world number fifty seven Tennys Sandgren for a place in the ..

ICC brings in tougher ball-tampering sanctions

Imposing tougher sanctions on players found guilty of ball-tampering, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has said that the offenders could now be banned for up to six Test matches or 12 one-day internationals.Earlier, there was a provision of one-Test match ban on the players found guilty of ball-tampering.The decision came after the ICC concluded its five-day Annual Conference in Dublin with strong support for strengthening the ICC Code of Conduct and a range of new offences.A plan for stabilizing the financial, cricket and management structures at the Zimbabwe Cricket was also agreed.Reflecting on the sanctions introduced, ICC Chief Executive David Richardson said that the committee is committed to improve player's behaviour and reclaim cricket's unique proposition."I'd like to thank the Cricket Committee and the Chief Executives for their commitment to improving player behaviour in the game and supporting the introduction of new offences and greater sanctions," Richardson ...

Nuremberg sign Bayern's youngster Tillman on loan

Newly promoted Nuremberg have signed Bayern Munich talent Timothy Tillman on loan for one season, both Bundesliga clubs confirmed.

Midfield still a problem, but can forwards carry Brazil to World Cup win? (News Analysis)

So can Brazil go all the way in this World Cup? Their win against Mexico in the Samara Arena took them one step closer to the title they haven't won since 2002, but still left some questions to be answered.

Brazil coach, Neymar reject play-acting accusations

Brazil coach Tite refused to criticise striker Neymar after an incident in which the Brazil striker appeared to once again be guilty of over-reacting following a possible incident on the touchline in the second half of Brazil's 2-0 win over Mexico to book their place in the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

Ensure teams get good playing conditions on away tours: ICC to member boards

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has asked its member boards to ensure that visiting sides get to prepare in playing conditions that are at par with the ones provided to the home team, emphasising on net bowlers and training pitches. At the ICC annual conference that concluded in Dublin yesterday, its Chief Executive Committee (CEC) decided that the teams should be provided all the resources by the host board to ensure best possible preparation for an away side. "The visiting team should also be provided with an opportunity to prepare for upcoming international matches under similar conditions to those they will play in during the series including the same standard and variety of net bowlers and training pitches. Teams should also be provided with the opportunity to mix socially," said the ICC in a statement. The visiting teams often get to play tour warm-up games in conditions contrasting to what they eventually face in the series. "CEC also agreed to make changes to the way ..

India A complete domination with tri-series title

India A completed their domination in the 50-over tri-series with a five-wicket thumping of England Lions in the final at the Kennington Oval here. It was yet another complete performance from the Indians, who restricted the Lions to 264 for nine before breezing to the target in 48.2 overs courtesy Rishabh Pant (64 not out off 62 balls), Mayank Agarwal (40 off 41) and captain Shreyas Iyer (44 off 44). The pace trio of Shardul Thakur (2/42), Deepak Chahar (3/58) and Khaleel Ahmed (3/48) had brought back India A in the game after Lions were comfortably placed at 185 for two in the 34th over. Sam Hain's 108 off 122 balls went in vain and so did the effort of Liam Livingstone (83 off 82). India A never looked back after losing the tri-series opener to Lions, beating the hosts and the West Indies A twice to lift the trophy. While Pant starred in the all-important final, the undisputed star batsman of the series was Agarwal whom the national selectors will find difficult to ignore following

ICC introduces stricter sanctions for ball-tampering

Tampering with the ball could now lead to a ban of up to six Tests or 12 ODIs after the International Cricket Council (ICC) made it a level 3 transgression besides adding obscenity and personal abuse to the list of offences in a bid to ensure better behaviour on the field. At the end of its annual conference in Dublin, the world body came up with its plan to curb unruly behaviour on the field that has been under the scanner for a while now in the 'gentlemen's game'. Upgrading ball-tampering from a level 2 to a level 3 offence has come in the wake of the row earlier this year when Australian cricketers Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft were found guilty of changing the condition of the ball during the third Test against South Africa in Cape Town. "I and my fellow Board directors were unanimous in supporting the recommendations of the Cricket Committee and Chief Executives' Committee to drive improved behaviour across our sport," ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said. "It is ..

Smith, Warner fail to fire again in Canada tournament

Runs remained elusive for Steve Smith and David Warner as the former Australian captain and vice-captain played on opposing sides Monday in Canada's Global Twenty20 cricket tournament. Warner faced two balls for one run as his lean return to cricket continued for the Winnipeg Hawks who beat Smith's Toronto Nationals by 56 runs in the seventh match of the star-studded league. Smith fared only a little better, scoring three runs from 10 balls as the Nationals were bowled out for 108 in reply to Winnepeg's 164-6. He also conceded 34 runs from two overs in an unproductive contribution with the ball. Warner and Smith are serving a 12-month bans handed down by Cricket Australia for their roles in the ball-tampering incident during the third test against South Africa in Cape Town in March. But both are free to play in the Canadian tournament which is not covered by their bans. Warner has struggled for runs on his return to cricket, making scores of 1, 4 and 1 in his three innings to date for

Wawrinka finds old self to upset Dimitrov at Wimbledon

Out of form and a set down to Grigor Dimitrov after just 23 minutes, Stan Wawrinka was just about the only person on Centre Court who believed he could win. The three-time Grand Slam champion - whose ranking has fallen to 224 following knee surgery - proved himself right, rallying to defeat the sixth-seeded Dimitrov 1-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-4 at Wimbledon on Monday to claim just his second Grand Slam victory since last year's Wimbledon. Wawrinka received a fillip earlier when his girlfriend Donna Vekic pulled off a top-10 triumph of her own, defeating fourth-seeded Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-3. "It was a good day for us at the office," Wawrinka said. "That's for sure." After missing the second half of 2017 following surgery on his left knee, Wawrinka has struggled to regain his form since returning at the Australian Open in January. The 33-year-old Swiss won just three matches across four tournaments at the start of the year, prompting him to take another three-month break. The second ...

Real Madrid denies report of $360M offer to buy Neymar

Real Madrid has denied a report that it has offered to buy Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain for a world record transfer of 310 million euros (USD 360 million). Madrid says the report by Spanish public broadcaster TVE is "absolutely untrue," adding the team "made no offer of any kind to PSG or the player." The statement was published hours after Neymar scored to help Brazil beat Mexico 2-0 and advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. Paris Saint-Germain is under pressure from UEFA to raise cash from selling players. The French club needs to help comply with "Financial Fair Play" rules which monitor overspending on transfers and wages. PSG spent a record 222 million euros (USD 260 million) last year by buy Neymar from Barcelona. UEFA warned the French champions three weeks ago they will "remain under close scrutiny" when they submit accounts for the financial year, which ended last Saturday.

This is how we proceed, says Honda after Japan defeat

Keisuke Honda said his country had a blueprint for the future despite being knocked out of the World Cup in painful fashion by Belgium on Monday. Akira Nishino's side had been 2-0 up in Rostov-on-Don thanks to goals from Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui, and were seemingly headed for the quarter-finals for the first time in their history. But Belgium fought back and completed the turnaround with a 94th-minute winner from substitute Nacer Chadli to go through instead to a last-eight tie against Brazil. Once again the Japanese fail to win a World Cup knockout tie, after previous defeats at this stage as co-hosts in 2002, and in 2010. But Honda, one of the great Japan players of his generation who is now 32, said this defeat should not be compared with that on penalties against Paraguay at the same stage in South Africa eight years ago. "That time, our team were more than 90 percent playing in Japan, and just three or four playing in Europe," said Honda, who came off the bench late on ...

West Indies set for two-Test clash with Bangladesh

West Indies and Bangladesh commence a two-Test series on Wednesday with the hosts expected to continue the trend of greener, bouncier pitches and a pace attack seeking to put the visitors on the back foot from the outset. Having dropped below the Bangladeshis in the Test rankings to number nine, there is additional incentive for Jason Holder's team to win the series which begins in Antigua and move back up to number eight at the expense of their Asian opponents. With the second Test to follow at Sabina Park in Jamaica a week later, the tourists would have noted carefully the quality of the playing surfaces for the just-concluded three-Test series against Sri Lanka, which ended on a bowler-friendly pitch at Kensington Oval in Barbados. The Sri Lankans fought back to achieve a series-levelling four-wicket win, the first time a day/night Test was played in the Caribbean and the first time that a team from Asia had ever won a Test match at that famed venue. Without ace seamer Mustafizur ..

Martinez hails Belgium 'character' after stunning World Cup win

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said he was deeply proud after his team hit back from 2-0 down to beat Japan and claim a place in the World Cup quarter-finals. Substitute Nacer Chadli slotted home in the fourth minute of injury time to complete a memorable comeback and seal a 3-2 win in the last-16 match in Rostov-on-Don. Belgium were stunned after Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui gave Japan a two-goal advantage early in the second half. But Jan Vertonghen and Marouane Fellaini pulled them level and Chadli's winner means they will play Brazil in the last eight. "That was a test for the team and its character," said Martinez after Belgium become the first team in 48 years to overturn a 2-0 deficit in a World Cup knockout match. "We survived it, we have gone through and that is the most important thing." "No negatives today, it was about getting through," Martinez added. "It is a day to be very proud of these players. Keep believing in Belgium. "In the World Cup you want to be perfect ...

Japan stunned by manner of defeat, admits coach Nishino

Japan coach Akira Nishino admitted his desperate disappointment after seeing the Blue Samurai bow out of the World Cup in an agonising 3-2 defeat against Belgium on Monday in the last 16. "I feel it was a tragedy, but I have to accept the defeat as a fact, I feel devastated and very disappointed," said Nishino. "We started off very well, but at the end, right at the very end, to concede a goal like that is not expected. Nacer Chadli's 94th-minute strike at the end of a counter-attack gave Belgium a stunning come-from-behind 3-2 victory in their last-16 tie to floor the Japanese in Rostov. Japan had been 2-0 up after scoring twice early in the second half through Genki Haraguchi and Takashi Inui. The Japan players slumped to the turf at the end, and Nishino said they were too stunned to talk it through immediately afterwards. Instead of facing Brazil in a mouth-watering quarter-final in Kazan on Friday, Japan are heading home while Belgium march on. "I told the players to take a shower

Neymar unfazed by critics after sweet and sour display downs Mexico

Brazil superstar Neymar brushed off his critics after firing the five-time World Cup winners to victory over Mexico on Monday and into a quarter-final showdown with Belgium. Neymar scored one goal and created another as his increasingly impressive Brazil side overpowered the Mexicans 2-0 in sweltering conditions. But Neymar's sparkling performance was tarnished by yet another example of his tendency to overreact to seemingly innocuous challenges. The latest chapter in a bulging catalogue of histrionic behaviour came in the second half, when Mexico midfielder Miguel Layun appeared to step on his ankle as he lay prone. Neymar writhed around and convulsed as if he had received an electric shock. "I think it's a shame for football," Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio lamented afterwards, saying Neymar's antics had wasted precious time. "We wasted a lot of time because of one single player ... we lost our style in the second half, because of the referee. "This is a very bad example for the ..

Swiss turn to Shaqiri to prove his worth on the world stage

A frustrated talent at club level, Xherdan Shaqiri tends to save his best for the big international stage with Switzerland and is putting himself in the shop window at the World Cup. Relegated from the Premier League with Stoke City this season, Shaqiri's sprint from halfway and finish in the final minute to beat Serbia and fire the Swiss into a last-16 meeting with Sweden was a reminder of what he is capable of at his best. However, the impact of that goal, his fourth at a World Cup after netting a hat-trick against Honduras four years ago, was largely lost in the furore caused by his celebration. Kosovo-born Shaqiri and team-mate Granit Xhaka made a double eagle gesture with their hands in a depiction of the Albanian flag in a gesture that enraged Serbia, which refuses to recognise Kosovo's declaration of independence. Shaqiri also wore the Kosovan flag on one of his boots, but escaped with a fine of 10,000 Swiss francs (USD 10,100) when he could have been handed a two-game ban by ..

Uruguay's Cavani not ruled out of World Cup QF

Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani will not be ruled out of their World Cup quarterfinal match against France, despite suffering from swelling in his leg, their national football association (AUF) has said.