Football

SHANGHAI: After repeated postponements stretching back more than a year because of COVID-19, South Korea and China's women's football teams will finally meet on Thursday (Apr 8) for a last-ditch spot at the Tokyo Olympics. The first leg takes place in Goyang, South Korea, and the return fixture is on Apr 13 in the Chinese city of Suzhou, with a place in this summer's delayed 2020 Games up for grabs. The Olympic qualifier was first scheduled for March last year but became an

SEVILLE - Porto coach Sergio Conceicao said he is uneasy about facing Chelsea in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg so soon after they endured a shock 5-2 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion. Saturday’s thumping at the hands of relegation-fighting West Brom was Chelsea’s first defeat in 15 games in all competitions under Thomas Tuchel. It was all the more surprising as the Blues had conceded only twice in their previous 14 games. “I wished they had won the last game

MANCHESTER, England - Borussia Dortmund interim coach Edin Terzic has warned Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola that their Champions League quarter-final tie is far from over despite a 2-1 win for the hosts at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. Guardiola was complimentary about Dortmund’s performance after the game but Terzic, whose side had levelled the contest at 1-1 six minutes from the end before Phil Foden’s last-gasp winner, said his side were ready for another bite at the cherry. “Pep had some nice

Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool made it "too easy" for Real Madrid to win the quarter-final first leg between the sides, but feels Mohamed Salah's goal offers his side a lifeline in the return game at Anfield. The Reds were largely second best throughout an entertaining game against a Real team missing their first-choice centre-back pairing, but packed with impressive attacking talent. Much of the damage was done in the first half through Vinicius Junior's low drive after he had chested down a superb

Real Madrid will benefit more than Liverpool from the absence of fans in their Champions League quarter-final, said Rafa Benitez. Liverpool face Madrid in Spain later on Tuesday before next week’s return fixture at Anfield, where the Merseyside club have struggled in the Premier League this season, with matches taking place without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Benitez, who managed Liverpool from 2004 to 2010 and had a short spell at Madrid, said it was crucial the English side get a goal

The ‘Qatar Clasico' games between Al Sadd and Al Rayyan in the QNB Stars League (QSL) have always drawn a lot of interest from fans and teams, and it will be the same today when the two Qatar football giants face off. Despite the fact that Xavi Hernandez's Al Sadd have already clinched the QSL trophy, the arch-rivals' Round 21 clash, which kicks off at 8:30 pm at Al Sadd Stadium, still has a lot on the table. Xavi, whose team has yet

Barcelona move up to second, one point behind leaders Atletico Madrid, thanks to a sixth La Liga win in a row. Barca looked as if they were going to be frustrated but the turning point was Oscar Plano's straight red card for a dangerous foul on Dembele. Dembele volleyed home in the last minute from Ronald Araujo's flick-on. Both sides hit the woodwork in the first half - Kenan Kodro's header for Valladolid and Pedri's low drive for Barcelona being tipped on to

Liverpool's 3-0 victory over Arsenal on Saturday was a reminder of the quality that saw the champions still leading the standings in December before imploding. Without all the injuries, perhaps Liverpool would not be surrendering the Premier League title so easily to Manchester City. Liverpool’s 3-0 victory over Arsenal on Saturday was a reminder of the quality that saw the champions still leading the standings in December before imploding. Now it is City 17 points in front of Manchester United after winning 2-0

Neymar was sent off late on as a limping Jonathan David scored the only goal to give Lille a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their Ligue 1 title showdown on Saturday, a result that moves them three points clear at the top of the table. Canadian striker David was struggling with an ankle injury when he fired home in the 20th minute. He was forced off soon after and came out on crutches to watch the second half with heavy strapping where

Marco Verratti will miss the first leg of Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich next week after the French champions announced on Friday that he had tested positive for Covid-19. "After the latest PCR Sars-Cov2 test, Marco Verratti is confirmed positive. He will isolate and be subject to appropriate health protocol," PSG said in a statement. Italy midfielder Verratti, 28, will also miss PSG's top-of-the-table clash with Lille on Saturday, with the teams in first and second place and locked on

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday (Apr 2) that forward Son Heung-min is back from injury ahead of Sunday's Premier League trip to Newcastle United, but he steered clear of speculation on Harry Kane's future at the club. South Korean forward Son, who has 13 goals and nine league assists this season, was forced to come off during last month's derby loss at Arsenal with a thigh injury which prevented him from going on international duty. "He was injured, trained with

BELGRADE: The captain's armband that Cristiano Ronaldo flung to the ground in disgust after Portugal were denied an injury-time winner against Serbia was sold at a charity auction for 64,000 euros (US$75,000) to an anonymous bidder. With seconds to go while the score in the 2022 World Cup qualifier was 2-2 in Belgrade, Ronaldo thought he had netted the crucial goal, when the ball appeared to cross the goal line before Stefan Mitrovic cleared. But without video technology in use, the goal was

LONDON: Manchester United are hopeful fit-again forwards Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood can feature in Sunday's (Apr 4) Premier League match against Brighton & Hove Albion but doubts remain over Frenchman Anthony Martial, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Friday. Rashford missed United's FA Cup loss to Leicester City with a foot issue and was ruled out of England's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino, Albania and Poland but the 23-year-old has returned to training. Greenwood also completed Friday's session after missing England's

MADRID: Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil urged his players on Friday (Apr 2) to make history by beating Athletic Bilbao in the final of the Copa del Rey. La Real will face bitter rivals Bilbao on Saturday in the postponed final from last season, which has been put off as long as possible in the hope that fans could attend. As a result it will be the first of two cup finals in two weeks, with Bilbao then facing Barcelona on April 17

LONDON: Jurgen Klopp has challenged Liverpool to salvage their troubled Premier League season with a late bid to finish in the top four. Klopp's side are languishing in seventh place and sit five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League. The Reds' win over Wolves before the international break was only their fourth Premier League victory since Christmas during a spell in which they lost eight times. With just nine games remaining - starting with

SINGAPORE: In European football, incidents of racial discrimination, either on the pitch or online, are a regular feature of every season. Frequently, there are depressing headlines detailing the abuse of black players. It has long been an issue. In England, racist abuse became more common in stadiums in the 1970s and 1980s when black players started to play for clubs and the England national team. There are infamous images of Liverpool star John Barnes back-heeling a banana skin that had been thrown on

MADRID: So often over the years Barcelona and Real Madrid have fought it out between themselves for the Liga title, cruising to 95-plus points while everyone else battles to be the best of the rest. However, with 10 games to go this season, Atletico Madrid sit top of the table in what looks like a year when 85 points might be enough to secure the silverware. It is set to be the closest-run title race for some time, with just six points separating

LONDON: Barcelona advanced to the last four of the women's Champions League with a 4-2 aggregate victory over Manchester City after a 2-1 defeat in the second leg of their quarter-final at the City Academy Stadium on Wednesday. City came into the game with a 3-0 deficit after losing the away leg, played in Monza because of travel restrictions, but they began brightly and pulled back a goal when Janine Beckie prodded home in the 20th minute after Barca had failed to clear

LONDON: Eden Park in Auckland will host the opening game of the 2023 women's World Cup with the final taking place in Stadium Australia in Sydney, soccer's world governing body FIFA said on Wednesday as it announced the nine host cities for the tournament. Adelaide, Brisbane, Dunedin, Hamilton, Melbourne, Perth and Wellington were the other seven cities in Australia and New Zealand selected to host matches. Australia and New Zealand will host one semi-final each with the full schedule to be announced later

SARAJEVO: Antoine Griezmann struck again as France extended their World Cup qualifying Group D lead to four points with an unconvincing 1-0 away win against Bosnia on Wednesday (Mar 31). Griezmann, who scored in last Wednesday's opening game against Ukraine, put the world champions on seven points from three games. Ukraine, who were held to a 1-1 home draw by Kazakhstan, have three points with Finland on two points from two matches. Bosnia, who have not won in their last 11 outings, lie