Page 1422 - Sports
Uruguay beat Portugal to enter FIFA World Cup quarters
Striker Edinson Cavani fired a brace as two-time champions Uruguay defeated reigning European champions Portugal 2-1 here on Saturday to set-up a FIFA World Cup quarter-final against France.
Messi and Ronaldo depart World Cup as new star Mbappe shines
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi saw their World Cup dreams snuffed out as French teenager Kylian Mbappe flew the flag for a new generation in Russia. Ten goals were scored on a gripping first day of the knockout phase yesterday as France progressed to a quarter-final tie against Uruguay but Messi and Ronaldo may have played their last games on football's biggest stage. In the first match, France roared back to beat Argentina 4-3, with Mbappe scoring twice. Later in Sochi, Ronaldo -- who started the World Cup with a hat-trick against Spain -- was powerless to prevent Portugal slipping out of the tournament as Edinson Cavani scored twice in a 2-1 win to send the European champions home. The Paris Saint-Germain striker opened the scoring with an early header and curled a superb first-time shot past Rui Patricio to win the match after a Pepe equaliser. Cavani, who forms a dangerous front-line pairing alongside Luis Suarez, later limped off, helped by Ronaldo, sparking fears for his ...
Cavani fires Uruguay into last eight as Ronaldo dream ends
Edinson Cavani scored twice as Uruguay shattered Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup dream with a 2-1 victory over Portugal here. Paris Saint-Germain striker Cavani curled home a superb 62nd-minute winner to settle a thrilling second round duel in Sochi yesterday which sent Uruguay into a quarter-final against France next Friday. Cavani had already put Uruguay in front early on, only for Pepe to head Portugal level in the 55th minute in a thrilling contest that was not the battle of attrition many predicted. Pepe's goal was the first time the South Americans' defence had been breached in this tournament, but they stood firm after that and are beginning to look like genuine contenders moving into the latter stages in Russia. The only downside for Oscar Tabarez's side was the sight of Cavani limping off late on, raising a question mark over his fitness for next week's last eight showdown with the French in Nizhny Novgorod. Meanwhile, European champions Portugal go home, as Ronaldo and Lionel .
Uruguay beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in World Cup last 16
Uruguay sent Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal crashing out of the World Cup yesterday as a pair of stunning goals from Edinson Cavani gave the South Americans a 2-1 victory. It means that the world's two top footballers have exited the tournament on the same day, after Lionel Messi and Argentina were knocked out by France.
Sweden's Ekholm guides Falcons into UTT finals
Romania's Bernadette Szocs and Sweden's Matilda Ekholm carried defending champions Falcons TTC into the finals of the Ultimate Table Tennis, setting up an exciting battle for the championship against Dabang Smashers.
'Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster 3': Will Sanju help Dutt make comeback?
The trailer of the third segment of 'Sahib Bibi Aur Gangster' tales brings us Sanjay Dutt as the Gangster, a role earlier played in the series by Randeep Hooda and which Dutt knows like the back of his hand.
India set-up Hockey Champions Trophy final against Australia
India managed to play a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in their final round-robin game here on Saturday to set-up the Hockey Champions Trophy final against Australia.
World Cup: France edge out Argentina to enter quarters
France pipped Argentina 4-3 in a classic encounter to enter the quarter-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup here on Saturday.
Marquez grabs pole position, tough qualifying for Pedrosa
Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez grabbed the pole position after a close qualifying session of the Dutch Grand Prix here today. Championship leader Marquez clocked 1 minute 32.791 seconds to earn his 75th career pole and 47th pole in MotoGP. He topped all three sessions today, showing good race pace and blistering speed. The Honda star finished 0.041 seconds faster than team-mate Cal Crutchlow. Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completed the front row another 0.018 seconds back. So close was the qualifying session here that the riders on the front row ended up within just 0.059, whilst the top-10 were split by less than 4 tenths of a second. However, Dani Pedrosa was unable to improve on his pace from yesterday and will have to start from the sixth row of the grid tomorrow. Marquez said: So far this weekend, things are going better than we were hoping for. The pole has not been one of my strongest points this year, and actually this will be the first time I'll start form the top ..
Kabaddi is not carrom, it's a tackle sport: India coach
Coach Srinivas Reddy today hit out at his Iranian counterpart's allegation that India played "unfair", saying kabaddi is meant to be a tackle sport and it's no carrom. With India leading by a slender seven points at the break, Ajay Thakur and Co hit the top gear after the change over. In a fierce move, Rishank Devadiga tackled the Iran captain Amir Hossein Maleki, who complained that he was "bitten". But referee dismissed the allegations and kept the match on with India stretching a 35-19 lead before sealing the issue 44-26. "We played with aggression. It's a body contact game, it's not carrom. Kabaddi is a tackle sport and is played like this. This was our last game in Dubai and we had to give our best," Reddy told the post-match news conference. Reddy also hailed the overwhelming response from the crowd who queued up in the scorching afternoon sun at the Al Wasl Sports Complex to cheer India. "It was amazing. I could not believe my eyes... It seemed we played in India," he ...
Coach Deschamps salutes 'great' French performance
Coach Didier Deschamps said France had responded to their critics with a "great" performance to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 4-3 win over Argentina today. France struggled to convince during the group stage of the tournament in Russia and Deschamps said he was happy they had finally lived up to expectations. "We had to respond (to the critics) and we responded well," he said. "Criticism is always there. But there is truth on the pitch and (the response) came through a strong and quality performance which we delivered tonight. We made Argentina suffer." "It was a great fixture and a great match," he told TF1. "There were mistakes, obviously. We started badly at 2-1 down but we knew what we needed to do. We could have kept things a bit simpler near the end of the game, though. "There was a lot of emotion. I am happy for the players who went out to get this qualification for the quarter-finals. "As I told them before the game, we have been preparing for months, for ...
FIFA WC: Mbappe outshines Messi as France enters quarter-finals
Mbappe, 19, was in a devastating form in the heavyweight clash, scoring two second-half goals in the 64th and the 68th minute respectively.Not just that, the Paris Saint-Germain forward's surging 70-yard burst also led to the opening goal after 13 minutes, when Antoine Griezmann slotted home a penalty spot after Mbappe had been hauled down by Marcos Rojo in the area.However, Argentina turned the game around thanks to Angel Di Maria's stunning long-range strike in the 41st minute.While both the sides were 1-1 at halftime, Gabriel Mercado got France a lead in the 48th minute.However, Benjamin Pavard scored a stunning equaliser in the 57th minute.What happened next was not expected by Lionel Messi fans as Mbappe took the centre stage with a quick-fire brace and scored two goals in quick succession.Messi, whose international career future will be a burning question in the aftermath of the defeat, did set up a late header for Sergio Aguero in extra time, but it was not enough to save ...
France end Messi's World Cup dream in World Cup classic
France roared back against Argentina to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as wonderkid Kylian Mbappe sent Lionel Messi home empty-handed following a seven-goal thriller. The 1998 champions won 4-3 and looked a different side from the one that struggled to find their cutting edge in the group stage, pouring forward with pace and purpose to stretch the ageing Argentine defence in Kazan. Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from the penalty spot but the South Americans levelled after a sweet hit from Angel Di Maria and edged ahead shortly after half-time through Gabriel Mercado. But defender Benjamin Pavard equalised with a thunderous strike to pull France level and once more change the complexion of the game. That set the scene for 19-year-old Mbappe, who netted two goals in four second-half minutes to become the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since Pele in 1958. Sergio Aguero gave Argentina late hope but they ran out of time and head home ...
Messi's disappointments with Argentina
Five-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi suffered more World Cup heartbreak with Argentina as he was no match for France's firepower in a thrilling 4-3 World Cup last-16 defeat today. Messi only scored once in Russia and is still yet to net in the knockout stages of a World Cup. Widely considered one of the greatest players ever, the Barcelona star is still looked upon unfavourably by many in his homeland compared to Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1986. Messi turned 31 last week and his best chance of ending Argentina's 25-year wait to win a major tournament may now be gone. Here, AFP Sport looks at Messi's biggest disappointments with Argentina. World Cup 2018 ============== Messi's World Cup got off to the worst possible start when he missed a penalty in Argentina's opening game, which ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw with tournament debutants Iceland. He was then largely bypassed in a 3-0 thrashing by Croatia that put Argentina on the brink of an ...
Sweden's Ekholm guides Falcons into UTT finals
Romania's Bernadette Szocs and Sweden's Matilda Ekholm carried defending champions Falcons TTC into the finals of the Ultimate Table Tennis, setting up an exciting battle for the championship against Dabang Smashers. Szocs starred in two victories while world no. 30 Ekholm, tasked with winning all three sets against Ayhika Mukherjee in the seventh and final clash of the night, easily attained her goal at the Netaji Indoor Stadium here today. Ekholm overwhelmed Ayhika 11-4, 11-3, 11-4 to upstage Mavericks, who were ahead in the contest all the way till the last fixture. Earlier, Germany's Sabine Winter put the Mavericks ahead, taming Sutirtha Mukherjee 2-1 (11-8, 11-8, 9-11) in the opening match. But India's national women's champion Sutirtha did well to extract a point from her: it proved crucial in the final analysis. India's Harmeet Desai too scored an unexpected 2-1 victory over world no. 56 Alvaro Robles. The Mavericks captain, ranked 81, took the first two sets 11-6, 11-10 but ...
Colombia 'not favourites' for World Cup match against England
Colombia defender Carlos Sanchez has insisted the South American side are not favourites against England, "the country that invented football", when they meet in the World Cup last-16 on Tuesday. England coach Gareth Southgate rested eight first-choice players in the last group match against Belgium, which they lost 1-0, setting up a meeting with the South Americans rather than the lower-ranked Japan. The result also meant England avoided the tougher top half of the draw, which features heavyweights including Brazil and France. The winner of the match between England and Colombia in Moscow will play whoever comes out on top in the clash between Switzerland and Sweden -- but first England have to overcome the quarter-finalists from the last World Cup. "We're not the favourites, we're playing against the country that invented football," said 32-year-old Espanyol midfielder Sanchez. "But we have our own weapons and once the game starts the only thing that matters is on the pitch. Matches
Guatemalan soccer clubs sign numerous foreign players ahead of new season
Guatemala's first-division soccer clubs have signed experienced players from Costa Rica, Uruguay, Argentina and Mexico ahead of the start of the Apertura tournament, which is the first of the 2018-2019 season and gets under way on July 29.
Denmark's goalkeeper brushes off discussing potential last-8 rival
Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel on Saturday declined to comment on his team's potential quarterfinal rival at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, saying they have to focus on the upcoming last-16 clash against Croatia.
Panama national team arrives home to cheering fans
Panama's national football team arrived home on Saturday after their historic first World Cup, preparing for a day of praise and joy with their faithful fans.
Bottas earns 1st pole position of season at Austrian GP
Formula One driver Valtteri Bottas of Finland (Mercedes) on Saturday snatched pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix.