Football

England face defeat in the series decider against New Zealand after another insipid batting performance on the third day of the second Test. Joe Root's side crumbled to 112-9 under glorious sunshine at Edgbaston, only 37 runs ahead. England had battled their way back into the contest on an entertaining day, taking the final seven New Zealand wickets for 96 runs to dismiss them for 388. Faced with a first-innings deficit of 85, the hosts had the opportunity to set a challenging fourth-innings

Twelve of Venezuela's players and coaching staff have tested positive for Covid-19 a day before their Copa America opener against hosts Brazil. All of those to test positive were asymptomatic and have been isolated in a hotel. The South American Football Confederation (Conmebol) is yet to confirm if Sunday's match will proceed. Venezuela arrived in Brazil, the last-minute hosts of the tournament, on Friday. Defenders Wilker Angel and Rolf Feltscher did not travel with the squad after they tested positive for coronavirus on Thursday. Venezuela's

Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen is "awake" in hospital after collapsing in the Euro 2020 match against Finland, said the Danish Football Association. The 29-year-old's condition has been "stabilised", according to tournament organisers Uefa. The game was suspended before half-time after the Inter Milan player fell to the ground and received emergency treatment on the field. The Group B match in Copenhagen restarted at 19:30 BST. Finland's players applauded their Danish counterparts as the players returned to the field to resume the match. Organisers

BUENOS AIRES: This year's Copa America gives Argentina another chance to break a 28-year trophy drought, which has been made even harder by a venue switch from home turf to that of arch-rivals Brazil. The Argentinians were supposed to stage the tournament this year, but with COVID-19 cases surging, it was moved at the last minute and Brazil are now hosting their second Copa America in succession, beginning on Sunday (Jun 13). The last time Argentina won the tournament was in 1993, their

UEFA Euro 2020 tournament begins on Friday Turkey taking on Italy in a Group A encounter at the Stadio Olympico in Rome. Google celebrated the tournament with a doodle, which had a whistle to mark the tournament kicking off. For the first time, the tournament is taking place in 11 cities across Europe -- instead of one or two countries -- despite the lingering shadow cast by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal are the defending champions but world champions France start the

Al-Arabi and Al-Duhail handball teams will leave Thursday for Jeddah in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to participate in the 23rd Asian Championship for Champions League Clubs, whose competitions will start next Saturday and continue until June 21.

European soccer governing body UEFA has ordered Ukraine to remove the phrase "Glory to the heroes" from the inside of its new national team shirt ahead of the European Championship for political reasons, after a complaint from Russia. Russia on Wednesday had complained to UEFA over Ukraine's kit, which is emblazoned with a map including Crimea and words from a military slogan. UEFA said the map was not a concern, and neither was the phrase “Glory to Ukraine” on the outside of the

LONDON: Euro 2020 finally kicks off on Friday (Jun 11) as Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal prepare to defend their title and world champions France seek a rare double a year after the tournament was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic. France's fearsome forward line makes them favourites to win a third European crown at the pan-continental event, while top-ranked Belgium and a youthful England side will be a major threat. For the first time the tournament is taking place in 11 cities across Europe instead

Wolves have appointed former Benfica boss Bruno Lage as their new manager. Lage was previously assistant to Carlos Carvalhal at Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea before joining Benfica, where he won the Portuguese title in 2019. The 45-year-old succeeds fellow Portuguese Nuno Espirito Santo, who left Wolves at the end of the season after four years at Molineux. "I'm happy, excited, with a big ambition to do great things for this club," said Lage. Nuno, who took charge at Wolves in 2017, won the Championship in

Fans attending England's Euro 2020 group games at Wembley Stadium will be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative test before entry. Uefa says UK-based ticket holders aged 11 or over can show proof of full vaccination, with both doses received at least 14 days before the match. Those not fully vaccinated must show proof of a negative lateral flow test taken within the previous 48 hours. England play Croatia in their opening group game on Sunday. Ticket holders for matches

RIYADH: Singapore fell to another World Cup qualifying defeat on Monday (Jun 7) after a 5-0 loss to Uzbekistan in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh. Singapore’s joint qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Asian Cup in China, delayed due to the COVD-19 pandemic, had resumed last week with the Lions’ 4-0 defeat to Palestine. The latest result leaves them out of the running for the next World Cup. Monday’s penultimate Group D match at the King Fahd

Qatar's football national team qualified for the Asia Football Championship in China in 2023, after defeating visitors Oman 1-0, in the match played Monday at Jassim bin Hamad Stadium in Al Sadd Sports Club. The match was part of the 8th round of Group E of the AFC World Cup qualifiers that are taking place in Doha with Qatar, Oman, India, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan all participating. Hassan Al Haydous scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick in the 40th

The president of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has been removed from office for 30 days by the organization's ethics commission, it said on Sunday, only a week before Brazil is due to host the Copa America. Brazilian news reports said Rogerio Caboclo was accused of sexually harassing an employee. The CBF gave few details. "The decision is secret and the process will proceed before the aforementioned commission with the aim of investigating the complaint that was presented," the CBF said in a

MADRID: Sergio Busquets has left Spain's pre-Euro 2020 training camp after testing positive for COVID-19, the country's football federation (RFEF) announced on Sunday (Jun 6). In a statement, the RFEF said Spain captain Busquets, 32, tested positive earlier on Sunday, with the rest of the squad all testing negative. The RFEF added that those who have been in close contact with Barcelona midfielder Busquets "will remain isolated" as a preventative measure. The squad will carry out individual training programmes in the build-up to

PARIS: The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for its postponement but, with the health situation on the continent gradually improving, the delayed Euro 2020 finally kicks off on Friday (Jun 11) in Rome when Italy host Turkey while Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal prepare to defend the title they won in France five years ago. When the action gets underway in front of a planned 16,000 fans at a quarter-full Stadio Olimpico the overwhelming feeling for European football's governing body UEFA will be of relief

The focal point of Indian Football players have shifted, it's no more about the fight put up against Qatar. That's the past. Rather, it's now about the forthcoming match against Bangladesh in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 preliminary joint round qualification round. Both India and Bangladesh had mixed results. While Bangladesh came back from behind to hold Afghanistan 1-1 and earn a point, India, despite fighting it out with 10-men against Asian champions Qatar did manage to win hearts

Star forward Neymar scored a retaken penalty as Brazil maintained their perfect start to South American World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 win over Ecuador on Friday. Richarlison had given Brazil the lead on 64 minutes and Neymar sealed the win deep into injury time, but only after another VAR farce. Referee Alexis Herrera initially gave a free-kick against Gabriel Jesus after contact between him and Angelo Preciado in the Ecuador area five minutes from time. But after an interminable four-minute VAR review, he changed

BERLIN: The late arrival of a quartet of Premier League stars is set to give Germany a timely boost as head coach Joachim Loew looks to fix his misfiring side in their final preparations for Euro 2020. The Chelsea trio of Champions League winners Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Antonio Ruediger, as well as Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, had all joined the squad by Thursday. They were given extra time off after Saturday's European final. Their arrival boosts the Loew's side, who

BARCELONA: Ronald Koeman will remain as Barcelona coach next season after the club agreed to honour his contract, president Joan Laporta said on Thursday (Jun 3). Koeman, who was appointed on a two-year deal last August by Laporta's predecessor Josep Maria Bartomeu, led Barca to victory in the Copa del Rey in his first season in charge. But the Catalans suffered an embarrassing 5-2 aggregate defeat to Paris St Germain in the last 16 of the Champions League and finished a disappointing third

RIYADH: Singapore returned to World Cup and Asian Cup qualifying action after more than 18 months on Thursday (Jun 3) with a 4-0 loss to Palestine. The second round of joint qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in China has resumed after a lengthy delay caused by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Palestine raced to a three-nil lead in the first half at the King Fahd International Stadium, prompting Singapore head coach Tatsuma Yoshida to