Page 1418 - Sports
Modric finds penalty redemption in shootout drama
Luka Modric was meant to be the man to win the match for Croatia against Denmark but he almost ended up costing his team a place in the last eight. Billed beforehand as a clash between Modric and Christian Eriksen, his rival number 10 in Nizhny Novgorod on Sunday, the Croatian skipper had the perfect chance to ensure he finished the winner in the 116th minute. As an extremely tense game drew to a close, tied at 1-1 with seemingly no one capable of winning, an exquisite defence-splitting pass from Modric sent Ante Rebic goalwards. Rebic rounded Danish keeper Kasper Schmeichel but before he could score he was brought down by Mathias Jorgensen. Penalty to Croatia. Here was Modric's chance to complete the pre-match script. He picked the ball up and waited patiently -- before seeing his tame spot kick saved by Schmeichel. Four minutes later the game ended and a penalty shootout was the only way to separate the two teams, Modric's chance seemingly gone. Croatia, and Modric, who had ...
Russia's World Cup upset of Spain 'only the beginning', says Cherchesov
Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov believes the World Cup hosts' shock victory over title contenders Spain on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the last 16 on Sunday "is only the beginning". Captain Igor Akinfeev saved two penalties as Russia triumphed 4-3 in a dramatic shootout in Moscow to reach a first quarter-final since the Soviet era, in 1970. "I'm not the man of the match, the man of the match is our team and our fans," said Akinfeev, after each converted penalty, and his saves from Koke and Iago Aspas, were greeted with a deafening roar from a crowd of 78,011 at the Luzhniki Stadium. Russia were largely expected to just make up the numbers at their own tournament after entering with a seven-match winless run and ranked the lowest of the 32 teams. Cherchesov has masterminded a remarkable upturn in fortunes, with back-to-back wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt to launch their campaign sparking a wave of national euphoria. They rode that support, and occasionally their luck, to ...
Spain blame game begins after World Cup penalty heartache
Spain's World Cup roller-coaster ride finally ground to a halt on Sunday and the finger-pointing began after their third consecutive failure at a major tournament. Following humiliation at the hands of the Netherlands in 2014 and a limp defeat to Italy at Euro 2016, this was perhaps the most galling exit of all, given it came at the hands of Russia, ranked 70th in the world, just above Macedonia and El Salvador. It would be a stretch to say Russia deserved their win, with 26 per cent possession and only six attempts at goal compared with Spain's 25, but they had a plan, stuck to it, and fought to the bitter end. A 4-3 victory on penalties, after the sides were locked at 1-1 at the end of extra time, sends the hosts through to their first World Cup quarter-final since 1970. Spain's dominance will do nothing to ease the disappointment following what can now be judged as a truly farcical World Cup campaign. Julen Lopetegui, the coach fired two days before Spain's opening match, and Luis .
FIFA WC: Subasic's heroics take Croatia to quarters
Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the showstopper for Croatia as he helped his team squeeze past Denmark in the penalty shootout in their high-voltage round of 16 clash at the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup here on Sunday (local time).Prior to the penalty round, both Croatia and Denmark were locked at 1-1 after neither of them found the net after 90 minutes and in the extra time.At the beginning of the match, defender Mathias Jorgensen gave Denmark an early lead in the first minute, when midfielder Thomas Delaney clipped the ball to the former inside the penalty box, thereby completing the goal by clipping it past Subasic.However, three minutes later, Croatia equalised when striker Mario Mandzukic took advantage of a botched clearance, wherein the ball bounced past Danish defender Andreas Christensen's head, giving Mandzukic the perfect time to guide the ball past goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.Thereafter, Croatia and Denmark fought frantically to give their respective teams a .
Spain's World Cup exit not linked to off-field turmoil: Hierro
AASpain's interim head coach Fernando Hierro denied his team has been affected by off-field turbulence following their FIFA World Cup elimination in the pre-quarterfinals on Sunday.
Spain legend Iniesta retires after 'saddest day'
A Spain legend Andres Iniesta announced his retirement from international football here on Sunday after their shocking loss to hosts Russia in the pre-quarterfinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Croatia beat Denmark on penalties to reach World Cup last eight
Goalkeeper Danijel Subasic was the hero as Croatia squeezed into the World Cup quarter-finals with a penalty shoot-out victory over Denmark here yesterday. On a night of late, late drama, Ivan Rakitic stroked home the decisive spotkick to ensure the Croats advanced to a last eight meeting with Russia after the two sides finished locked at 1-1 following extra-time. The Barcelona midfielder's winner came after Milan Badelj and Josip Pivaric saw their penalties saved by Danish goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, who also saved an extra time penalty from Luka Modric. But Danes Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone and Nicolai Jorgensen were thwarted by Subasic in the shootout to ensure Croatia won 3-2 and advanced to their first quarter-finals since the 1998 World Cup in France. The dramatic ending followed early excitement -- but little in between. In an astonishing start to the match, both teams scored within four minutes via their first attacks. First, Mathias Jorgensen turned home in the second ..
Iniesta retires from Spain after World Cup loss to Russia
Andres Iniesta, the elegant midfielder who was a symbol of Spain's golden generation, retired from international soccer following the team's loss to Russia in a penalty shootout at the World Cup. With his precise passes and clever playmaking, Iniesta was a key piece of the Spanish team that dominated soccer not so long ago. But his skills couldn't keep Spain from avoiding another disappointing elimination yesterday the team's third in a row at a major tournament. Iniesta, who scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final, had already hinted this would be his final tournament with the national team, and he confirmed his retirement after the last-16 match in Moscow. "The reality is that this was my last match with the national team," the 34-year-old Iniesta said. "On a personal level, it's the end of a wonderful phase. Sometimes the endings are not how you dreamed them." Iniesta was surprisingly benched to start the game against Russia, but came on in the second half with the ...
'Heavy-hearted' Murray withdraws from Wimbledon
British tennis ace Andy Murray announced that he will not participate in the Wimbledon due to a hip injury.In a Facebook post, Murray wrote, "It is with a heavy heart that I'm announcing that I'll be withdrawing from Wimbledon this year.""I've made significant progress in practice and matches over the last ten days, but after lengthy discussions with my team, we've decided that playing best of five set matches might be a bit too soon in the recovery process. We did everything we could to try to be ready in time," he added.The 31-year-old further said that he would start practising from Monday for the US hardcourt season.Meanwhile, Chinese Taipei player Jason Jung will replace Murray in the draw and will lock horns with France's Benoit Paire on Tuesday, ESPN reported.Murray, who returned to the Queen's Club Championships two weeks ago, said that he was doubtful about his comeback, but was ready for the Wimbledon challenge."I'm pumped. Four or five weeks ago, I didn't know whether I'd ..
Croatia pip Denmark to enter FIFA World Cup quarters
Croatia defeated Denmark 3-2 (1-1) via penalty shootout here on Sunday to enter the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals.
Croatia beat Denmark on penalties to reach World Cup quarter-finals
Croatia beat Denmark in a dramatic penalty shootout to progress to the World Cup quarter-finals. Mathias Jorgensen gave Denmark the lead after just 58 seconds yesterday but Mario Mandzukic levelled for Croatia in the fourth minute and the sides remained locked at 1-1 at the end of extra time. Croatia won the shootout 3-2 after Danijel Subasic saved three spot-kicks.
Sathiyan, Manika power Smashers to UTT title
India's golden girl Manika Batra and country's highest-ranked men's player G. Sathiyan stamped their class on the Ultimate Table Tennis championship, annexing the title for Dabang Smashers here at the Netaji Indoor Stadium on Sunday.
Australia beat India to retain Hockey Champions Trophy
Australian men's hockey team on Saturday defeated India 3-1 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw to clinch the Rabobank Men's Hockey Champions Trophy Breda 2018 here.Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Edwards scored for the winning team in the shootout while Manpreet Singh tucked one past Tyler Lovell for India.In the regulation time, it was Vivek Sagar Prasad (42nd minute) who scored the equaliser for India after a 0-1 setback when Blake Govers scored off a penalty corner (PC) in the 24th minute earlier in the match.Although Australia made a good start, India quickly took control with better ball possession (over 60 percent on a whole) coupled with eight circle entries, two shots on goal and two PCs in the first quarter.While India could not capitalise on the PC opportunities, they missed a golden chance to score a field goal towards the end of the first quarter when Surender Kumar made a beautiful pass to Dilpreet Singh who then crossed it over to Sunil but the striker pulled the ...
Indian football teams not to participate at 2018 Asian Games
Indian Football Teams faced a major setback as the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has decided against sending its senior teams to the Asian Games.The IOA chose not to clear Indian men's and women's Football Teams since they have deemed them "incompetent" to win any medals.The decision comes as a massive setback to the All India Football Federation (AIFF), who were hoping to use the Asian Games as one of the key tournaments in the build-up to next year's Asian Cup.In the last three years, Indian Football has achieved a jump in FIFA Rankings from 173 to 97, and also qualified for the AFC Asian Cup UAE 2019.In an official statement, the AIFF expressed its disappointment to IOA and has even offered to bear the expenses of the Football Team(s) to the Asian Games if permitted by the IOA.Further in this regard, president of AIFF, Praful Patel, made a call to IOA chief Narinder Batra to explain the circumstances, and accordingly, letters were sent to Rajeev Mehta, Secretary General, IOA and
Pakistan thrashes Zimbabwe in T20 tri-series opener
Pakistani cricket team thrashed Zimbabwe by 74 runs in the first T20 tri-series opener.Pakistan's Fakhar Zaman who scored 61, along with contributions from Shoaib Malik and Asif Ali lead the team to glory by scoring 182 for 4.According to ESPN Cric info, Zimbabwe could never come close to maintaining a stable run rate since wickets fell like a pack of cards.Zimbabwe's debutant Tarisai Musakanda who scored a decent 43 was the star of the team.Zimbabwe captain Hamilton Masakadza put Pakistan at the toss, in order to take advantage of the wicket flattening out later in the match.ESPN Cric info further mentioned that it wasn't the worst start for the African team since Kyle Jarvis, picked up Mohammad Hafeez early on.Pakistan who didn't get the explosive start were 78 for 3.Jarvis, the best pacer in the African team conceded nine off his first two overs, however, according to ESPN Cric info, midway through the innings, in the 14th over, he dived forward at long-on to catch and dismiss ...
FIFA WC: Hosts Russia stun Spain to enter quarter-finals
In yet another dramatic turn at the ongoing 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup, hosts Russia on Sunday defeated pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 via penalty shootouts after the high voltage round of 16 match ended 1-1 at full time at the Luzhniki Stadium.Following Lionel Messi-led Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal heartbreaking departure yesterday, Spain also didn't manage to hold on to their nerves in the first penalty shootout of the tournament.Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev proved out as Russia's hero after he saved two penalties of Koke and Iago Aspas while Russian players easily managed to beat star goalkeeper David de Gea.Sergei Ignashevich became the oldest scorer of an own goal in World Cup history when the 38-year-old gave Spain an early lead in the 12th minute of the game.But Russia soon got the equaliser in the 41st minute as Artem Dzyuba smashed home a penalty after his header was blocked by Gerard Pique's arm in the box.As Spain could not break the hosts down in ...
Brazil train ahead of last-16 World Cup clash with Mexico
The Brazilian national football team held a training session on Sunday for their last-16 knockout clash against Mexico in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Russian PM, Spanish King present at Russia-Spain match
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the Round of 16 clash between Russia and Spain at Luzhnki Stadium on Sunday where his side scored an upset, knocking pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 (1-1) via penalty shootouts to enter the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
World Cup: Russia edge out Spain to enter QF
Hosts Russia stunned pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 (1-1) via penalty shootouts here on Sunday to enter the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018.
India lose to Australia in Hockey Champions Trophy final
India suffered a penalty shootout heartbreak in the Hockey Champions Trophy final for the second consecutive time as they lost 1-3 (1-1) to defending champions Australia here on Sunday.