Global News

[ad_1] WELLINGTON: Rampant Spain issued a Women's World Cup warning on Friday with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica while Switzerland ensured there would be no fairytale debut for the Philippines. Goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was meanwhile the hero for Nigeria by saving a penalty to earn them a 0-0 draw with Olympic champions Canada. Spain's build-up to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand was clouded by a simmering row involving a group of 15 players who refused to feature under coach Jorge Vilda. Three eventually returned to the squad for the World Cup and one of them, Aitana Bonmati, was on the scoresheet in Wellington as La Roja launched wave after wave of attacks at the overwhelmed Costa Rican defence. An own goal put Spain on their way and after Bonmati netted, Esther Gonzalez made it three in a ruthless six-minute first-half spell to kill off Costa Rica in double-quick time. In truth Spain should have won by many more -- Jennifer Hermoso fluffed a first-hal

[ad_1] MILAN: Walter Mazzarri made a winning return as Napoli coach on Saturday with the champions' hard-fought 2-1 victory at Atalanta, while AC Milan held on to third in Serie A after beating Fiorentina 1-0. Eljif Elmas netted the decisive goal 11 minutes from the end at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's headed opener for the away side on the stroke of half-time was levelled by a similar strike from Ademola Lookman. North Macedonia midfielder Elmas rolled home the winner from substitute Victor Osimhen's pass following Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi's poor clearance, making sure that Napoli stayed fourth. Mazzarri's team are still seven points behind leaders Inter Milan who travel to Turin on Sunday for the weekend's big match at second-placed Juventus. "The team dominated all last season, playing some of the best football in Europe with players who were not used to being in that position," Mazzarri told D

[ad_1] WELLINGTON: Alex Morgan said Thursday that the United States will not be content to merely qualify for the Women's World Cup last 16 and will instead do everything to win their group. The holders battled back to draw 1-1 with the Netherlands in Wellington after skipper Lindsey Horan cancelled out a first-half strike by Jill Roord. The stalemate left both teams locked on four points and neither is yet assured of a berth in the knockout phase heading into their final group games on Tuesday, when the US face Portugal and the Dutch play Vietnam. The United States however have a superior goal difference after beating Vietnam 3-0 in their opener while the Dutch defeated Portugal 1-0. "This next game is going to be extremely important," said Morgan , already a two-times World Cup winner with her country and chasing a historic third title in a row. "Goal differential is a huge factor in terms of first place in the group. "Now we have to work even h

[ad_1] LONDON: A new chapter in the celebrated rivalry between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will unfurl on Thursday when they meet in an exhibition match as the Portugal forward gears up for his first game in Saudi Arabia since joining Al Nassr. After a glittering career in Europe that saw him win four Champions League titles with Real Madrid and two Scudettos at Juventus, Ronaldo signed for Al Nassr, describing it as the "right moment" to share his experience in Asia. The Saudi club is the latest stop in Ronaldo's career that began in 2002 at Sporting CP before the forward spent two spells at Manchester United, the last of which ended on a bitter note as he exited following his acrimonious split with the club. Ronaldo and Messi, who have dominated football's debate about the greatest of all time (GOAT) for the best part of 10 years, will face off on the pitch on Thursday for the first time since December 2020 when Juventus beat Barcelona 3-0. Ronal

[ad_1] LONDON: Newcastle face an early test of their Premier League aspirations this season when they take on Manchester City , while Chelsea's £115 million ($146 million) midfielder Moises Caicedo is set to make his debut at West Ham. Tottenham are looking for the scalp of Manchester United on Saturday in their first home game since the departure of Harry Kane. AFP Sport looks at the best of the action on the second weekend of the Premier League season: The Magpies head to the Etihad top of the table after a 5-1 demolition of highly-fancied Aston Villa last weekend. Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes scored on their debuts, while Alexander Isak's classy double was further evidence of the Swede's rise to becoming one of the Premier League's top marksmen. After qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, there have been doubts over how Eddie Howe's men will balance the demands of domestic and European football. But they could be fac

[ad_1] MANCHESTER: A leading Manchester United fans' group called on Sunday for clarity on the future of the English giants amid speculation British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is set to take a minority stake in the club. United's owners, the American Glazer family, announced nearly a year ago that they were exploring "strategic alternatives to enhance the club's growth", with a full sale one of the options. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Al Thani withdrew his attempt to buy the 20-time English champions, a source close to the bid told AFP on Saturday. Ratcliffe was the other frontrunner during several rounds of bidding, but no offer has yet met the £6 billion ($7.2 billion) valuation put on the club by the Glazers. Founder of petrochemicals giant Ineos, Ratcliffe will now settle for a 25 percent stake for around £1.3 billion, the BBC said on Sunday. Ineos will reportedly seek to take control of the sporting side of United's business in retu

[ad_1] LONDON: Rival bidders for Manchester United have been invited to submit a third offer by the end of April, according to reports. Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim Bin Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe both submitted a second bid for the Premier League club last month. Several offers are understood to have been received in recent weeks but Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe remain the front runners to buy United should the Glazers give up control of the club they bought in 2005 for £790 million ($980 million). United's unpopular owners announced in November they were conducting a strategic review, with the sale of the club one option being considered. The Qatari group has reportedly made an offer of about £5 billion for 100 percent ownership of the club while Ratcliffe , a boyhood United fan, wants to buy the combined Glazer shareholding of 69 percent. The Americans' asking price is believed to be around $6 billion -- a figure that

[ad_1] PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain on Saturday threatened to quit the Parc des Princes ground, which has been their home for almost 50 years, after city officials refused to sell the stadium to them. City mayor Anne Hidalgo said in an interview published in Saturday's Parisien newspaper that the stadium "is not for sale" and "will not be sold" to Qatari-owned PSG. However, a spokesman for the club said he was "disappointed and surprised" that the city wanted to "turn Paris Saint-Germain and their supporters out of the Parc des Princes". "The mayor is forcing PSG to leave its home." He added: "Everyone loses in the position taken by the mayor. PSG is now forced to find alternative options to relocate the club. "This is not the outcome the club, nor its supporters, were hoping for." PSG has made acquisition of the ground in the city's leafy western suburbs a condition for carrying out modernisation and

[ad_1] BARCELONA: Jordi Alba struck a late winner for Barcelona in a 1-0 win over 10-man Osasuna on Tuesday to move the Catalans a step closer to their first La Liga title since 2019. Xavi Hernandez's side climbed 14 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad. The visitors had debutant Jorge Herrando sent off in the first half for a professional foul on Pedri, as they sat deep and tried to frustrate hosts Barcelona. Visiting goalkeeper Aitor Fernandez kept the leaders at bay in the second half but eventually substitute Alba, who has had reduced minutes this season, sliced home a volley to snatch a late victory. "We're going to wait and see, but it's a giant step forward," said Xavi . "We suffered too much. We missed some very clear chances, the kind where you can just push it in. "And then came Jordi's goal, which sometimes makes it better to win like that." Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate rotated heav

[ad_1] LOS ANGELES: Cincinnati extended their unbeaten start to the Major League Soccer season with a 1-0 victory over Philadelphia Union on Saturday to remain on top of the Eastern Conference standings. Luciano Acosta scored the game's only goal, rifling in a penalty in the 69th minute after Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake was adjudged to have fouled the Argentine playmaker in the build-up to a disallowed Cincinnati goal moments earlier. Cincinnati are unbeaten in seven games and lead the Eastern Conference with 17 points, one clear of second-placed New England Revolution on 16 points. New England maintained their strong start to the season with a ruthless 4-0 win over Canadian strugglers Montreal, who remain rooted to the foot of the Eastern Conference with three points. Dylan Borrero opened the scoring for New England with a superb curling strike into the top corner in the 21st minute before Spanish midfielder Carles Gil doubled the lead from the penalty spot in

[ad_1] BARCELONA: Raphinha's strike earned Barcelona an agonising 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to restore their nine-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga. Real Sociedad stumbled to a 1-1 draw at Real Mallorca, with their bid to finish in the top four losing steam at an alarming rate. Struggling Sevilla earned an important 2-1 win over Almeria to climb to 13th, two points clear of the relegation zone, leaving their opponents 19th. In Barcelona's first game after being charged with corruption by Spanish prosecutors, they shut out the noise and took another step towards their first title since 2019. The Catalans secured their 19th clean sheet in 25 La Liga games this season as they held on to earn their ninth 1-0 win of the season, keeping second-placed Madrid at arm's length after the champions beat Espanyol on Saturday. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made some superb saves in the second half and Alex Berenguer struck the post, but Athl

[ad_1] LONDON: Arsenal shrugged off Takehiro Tomiyasu's red card to extend their perfect start to the Premier League season as Martin Odegaard sealed a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace on Monday. Odegaard's second-half penalty at Selhurst Park put Arsenal on course for their second successive win. But Mikel Arteta's side had to dig deep to preserve the points after Japan defender Tomiyasu was controversially sent off for a second yellow card midway through the second half. Tomiyasu had been booked for taking too long over a throw-in before his dismissal for making minimal contact on Jordan Ayew. Arteta was delighted with the way Arsenal refused to surrender their lead as they moved up to third place, behind leaders Brighton and second-placed Manchester City on goal difference. "Great win. I'm so happy. To play 30 minutes away from home with 10 men is extremely difficult," Arteta said. "Some players were suffering physically. The subs wer

[ad_1] LONDON: Newcastle United signed a multi-year shirt sponsorship deal on Friday with a Saudi Arabian company linked to the club's owners, an agreement which may be scrutinised under the Premier League's rules on associated party transactions. British media reported Newcastle's deal with events company Sela was worth 25 million pounds ($31.42 million) annually. Sela will replace Chinese gambling firm Fun88 on the front of Newcastle's match day shirts. Sela's website says it is owned by the country's sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund (PIF), which also holds an 80% stake in Newcastle. Newcastle will play in the Champions League next season for the first time in 20 years after finishing fourth in the league in their first full season since the PIF-led takeover, which was rubber-stamped in October 2021. Following the sale, the Premier League introduced a temporary ban on clubs striking sponsorship agreements with firms linked to their owners.

[ad_1] MANCHESTER: Rampant Manchester United are eager to inflict more pain on Liverpool at Anfield as Arsenal aim to pull further clear of Manchester City in the Premier League title race this weekend. The Gunners are hot favourites to see off Bournemouth at the Emirates, while City face a Newcastle side hoping to put the bitter disappointment of their League Cup final defeat behind them. Tottenham must bounce back quickly from an FA Cup exit to maintain their advantage over Newcastle and Liverpool in the race for a top-four finish. AFP Sport looks at some of the key talking points ahead of the weekend's action in the English top flight. Liverpool won both Premier League fixtures against fierce rivals United last season by an aggregate score of 9-0. However, the fortunes of both clubs have dramatically changed over the past 12 months. Fresh from lifting the League Cup to end a six-year wait for silverware, United's run of one defeat in 22 games has kept them in

[ad_1] BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said Thursday he understood Lionel Messi's desire to avoid the "pressure" of a return to the Catalan giants this summer. Messi, 35, announced Wednesday he will play at American side Inter Miami in Major League Soccer after ending his two-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain. The Argentine playmaker, a seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, had options to return to the Catalan club where he carved out his legacy, or take a megabucks move to Saudi Arabia. "He hasn't had a good time in these two years (in Paris) and now he doesn't want that type of pressure," Xavi said on Twitch. "It's a personal decision and the circumstances didn't help, but the decision is Leo's and we have to respect it, he's the best in history." Xavi said he had spoken a lot with Messi over the past few months but he noticed "a change" over the past few days. "Maybe he didn't see it s

[ad_1] UNITED STATES: In-form Mallory Swanson scored again as the United States beat Brazil 2-1 to clinch a fourth straight SheBelieves Cup crown Wednesday. Striker Swanson has now netted in six matches in a row, the longest such run for the US women since Christen Press did the same from November 2019 to February 2020. Swanson is hitting form at the right time, with the top-ranked United States preparing to defend their crown in July's Women's World Cup in New Zealand and Australia. The 24-year-old scored twice in the tournament opener against Canada and again in the 1-0 win over Japan. She kept her streak going with a 63rd-minute strike that put the United states up 2-0. She seized on a through ball from Rose Lavelle and fired past Brazilian goalkeeper Lorena. Alex Morgan had put the United States ahead in first-half stoppage time, curling a left-footed shot past Lorena. Brazil clawed back a goal in the 90th minute as substitute Ludmila headed past Alyssa Naeh

[ad_1] LEVERKUSEN: A goal from Nigeria striker Victor Boniface with 11 minutes remaining earned Bayer Leverkusen a 1-1 home draw with Borussia Dortmund on Sunday, keeping the league leaders' unbeaten record this season intact. Dortmund scored just five minutes in through Julian Ryerson and the visitors looked set to be the first side this season to beat Leverkusen in any competition. With the clock running down, Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso brought Patrik Schick from the bench and the move paid immediate dividends, with the Czech attacker finding Boniface for the equaliser. An "unhappy" Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz told DAZN "even if we managed to equalise, when you see the match we would have hoped for better and we should have done better." Dortmund manager Edin Terzic praised his team's defence in the "fair result", but hit out at VAR, who declined to intervene despite what seemed like a late foul on winger Karim Adeyemi.

[ad_1] LONDON: Ivory Coast international Wilfried Zaha, who has signed for Turkish champions Galatasaray, has been labelled Crystal Palace's "talisman and greatest player" by the Premier League club's chairman Steve Parish. The 30-year-old forward joined Galatasaray on a free transfer after turning down a new contract with Palace and will receive a signing-on fee of 2.35 million euros ($2.6 million) and an annual salary of 4.35 million euros, the Turkish club said. Zaha had been offered a reported £200,000 ($256,000) a week from the London club whom he joined aged 12. He has scored 90 goals in 458 games for Palace and was sent on loan to the club twice during an unhappy two-year hiatus at Manchester United . Parish called Zaha "our talisman, our greatest player" and said he "remains a true inspiration for all our young players in the academy". "We would not be the club we are today without Wilfried," he added. Palace manage

[ad_1] LONDON: Jurgen Klopp has told Liverpool to go back to basics as his troubled side try to stop their season spiralling out of control in Tuesday's FA Cup clash at Wolves. Liverpool crashed to an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Brighton on Saturday to leave them languishing in ninth place in the Premier League. The Reds have lost six times in the league this season and the Brighton debacle, coming hot on the heels of a woeful defeat at Brentford, has increased the sense of crisis enveloping Anfield. Bedevilled by injuries to several key stars including Virgil van Dijk and Luis Diaz, Liverpool are a shadow of the team that nearly won the quadruple last season. Klopp believes the first step on the road to recovery is making sure Liverpool have a more solid defensive base, starting in the FA Cup third round replay at Molineux. "The issues we had were obvious. In the end, these are football problems. To play better football than we did at Brighton should not be too

[ad_1] NASHVILLE: Lionel Messi scored a screamer and won his first trophy in North American soccer as Inter Miami beat Nashville on penalties (10-9) after their final ended 1-1 in 90 minutes. The Argentine World Cup winner had put Miami ahead in the 24th minute with a wonder strike into the top corner but Fafa Picault levelled for Nashville in the second half. After Messi hit the post and Leonardo Campana missed a last second chance to win the game in regulation for Miami, the game went to a shoot-out which ended in a duel between the two keepers and Elliot Panicco's shot being saved by Miami's Drake Callender. Messi and his team-mates rushed to celebrate with the American goalkeeper, who had made some key saves late in the game to keep his team alive. Miami, in their third season of existence, were rock bottom of Major League Soccer when Messi joined them a month ago but Messi, along with Spanish pair Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba, has utterly transformed the te