Football

LONDON: Harry Maguire smashed home a late winner as England laboured to a 2-1 victory over Poland in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday (Mar 31) after an error by John Stones nearly cost the hosts all three points. Maguire swivelled and smashed home a knock-down from a corner in the 85th minute to maintain England's perfect start to their Group I campaign. England had dominated the majority of the match at Wembley, taking the lead after 19 minutes when Harry Kane fired home

DUISBURG, Germany: Germany's performance was dubbed "embarrassing" after they suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat for 20 years in a humiliating 2-1 home loss to North Macedonia which heaped pressure on coach Joachim Loew. "The disappointment is huge," said a crest-fallen Loew after the final whistle in Duisburg on Wednesday. "This is a set-back. There were a lot of mistakes and we didn't find a way to break down the deep-standing North Macedonians. "We also let them counter-attack and had no grip

Gareth Bale has praised Wales caretaker coach Robert Page for keeping the team focused despite off-the-field distractions and securing a "massive win" over the Czech Republic in a 2022 World Cup qualifier. Manchester United forward Daniel James's goal secured a 1-0 win over the Czechs on Tuesday (Mar 30). The victory moved Wales up to third place in Group E, one point behind the Czech Republic in second and four adrift of leaders Belgium, having played one game fewer than both. It was

LONDON: Amnesty International said on Wednesday (Mar 31) it hopes England will join other countries in protesting against the conditions of migrant labourers in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup there. Players from Germany, the Netherlands and Norway wore shirts before World Cup qualifiers voicing concern over human rights in Qatar, following a report last month in Britain's Guardian newspaper that at least 6,500 migrant workers had died in Qatar in the decade since it won the right to stage the event.

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu praised his side's ruthlessness after they recorded their biggest win in World Cup qualifying with Tuesday's (Mar 30) 14-0 thrashing of Mongolia. The win fell one goal short of matching their all-time record, a 15-0 victory over the Philippines in Olympic qualifying in 1967, but Moriyasu was delighted with the way his side took Mongolia apart in the Group F match behind closed doors at Chiba's Fukuda Denshi Arena. The players were focused on what they could accomplish rather

LEUVEN: Belgium's second-string used the opportunity of a rare start to impress coach Roberto Martinez as they thumped Belarus 8-0 in their World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. With Martinez warning players were under scrutiny for places in the Euro 2020 squad, Michy Batshuayi, Hans Vanaken (2), Leandro Trossard (2), Jeremy Doku, Denis Praet and Christian Benteke all scored as the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Romelu Lukaku and Dries Mertens were given the night off. It lifted Belgium to seven points from three

KUALA LUMPUR: A Myanmar footballer who plays for a Malaysian club has been hit with a one-match ban for flashing the three-finger salute used by anti-coup protesters during a game, an official said on Tuesday (Mar 30). Hein Htet Aung, who plays for second-division side Selangor FC II, made the political gesture during a match against PDRM FC earlier this month. A picture of him flashing the symbol went viral, and he was found to have broken rules prohibiting offensive gestures or language,

DEBRECEN, Hungary - World Cup hosts Qatar continued their impressive run as they drew 1-1 with struggling Ireland in Debrecen on Tuesday. Ireland were hoping to bounce back from their humiliating defeat by Luxembourg in their Group A World Cup qualifier at the weekend and took the lead in the first half through James McClean’s deflected strike. But Mohammed Muntari levelled for a lively Qatar side with a fine finish early in the second half. The non-competitive Group A game was originally scheduled

Italy head coach Roberto Mancini says he would support the introduction of larger squad limits for the rescheduled European Championship due to the risk of players contracting COVID-19. The tournament is set to be staged across 12 different host cities from June 11 - July 11 after being moved back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic. National team managers are expected to name 23 players for the competition, but Mancini believes a change to the rules would be sensible as the virus

LONDON - Poland suffered a massive blow ahead of this week’s crunch World Cup qualifier away to England when striker and talisman Robert Lewandowski was ruled out because of a knee injury on Monday. Lewandowski injured his right knee just past the hour mark of Sunday’s victory over Andorra and underwent scans on Monday. The Bayern Munich player is expected to be out for 10 days. “Robert Lewandowski will not play in Wednesday’s World Cup qualifying match against England in London due to

DUBAI - Saudi Arabia said on Monday it would allow people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 to attend sporting events at stadiums at a capacity of 40% starting May 17 as the kingdom pushes its immunisation campaign. The sports ministry said in a statement on state media that as an exception, vaccinated fans would be allowed to attend an Asia World Cup qualifiers match between the Saudi and Palestinian teams on Tuesday in the capital Riyadh. Admittance will be allowed for people

BELGRADE - A Cristiano Ronaldo goal not given in a dramatic World Cup qualifier between Serbia and Portugal would have stood if the two football associations had agreed before the game to use goal-line technology, UEFA said on Monday. Portugal captain Ronaldo was left fuming and got booked for dissent after his stoppage-time effort in Saturday’s Group A 2-2 draw at Serbia was cleared by Stefan Mitrovic after the ball had crossed the line as shown by television replays. With no Video Assistant

LONDON: Gareth Bale admits his international career could be drawing to a close, with the current World Cup qualifying campaign possibly his last in a Wales shirt. Wales play the Czech Republic in Cardiff on Tuesday seeking their first points in Group E after an opening defeat to Belgium. Wales still have the delayed Euro 2020 to look forward to, starting in June, but Tottenham's Wales captain will be 33 by the time of the 2022 World Cup finals in Qatar. "I haven't

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero will leave the club at the end of the season when his contract expires. City manager Pep Guardiola met Aguero, 32, on Monday to inform him of the club's decision not to renew his deal after a season spent largely on the sidelines, with injuries and illness keeping him to only 14 appearances. Aguero, who was signed from Atletico Madrid in 2011, was later told by City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak that he would be honoured with a

Former France international Thierry Henry says he hopes his decision to step away from social media will inspire others to stand up against racist abuse and bullying online. The ex-Arsenal and Barcelona star, who won the World Cup with France in 1998, announced on Friday that he would be quitting his social media accounts until tech companies started doing more to hold users accountable for their actions. In April 2019, professional footballers in England and Wales boycotted social media for 24 hours, but

Cristiano Ronaldo had gone from savoring a last-gasp winner for his country to protesting what he considered a clear refereeing oversight with no video review available. Cristiano Ronaldo ripped off his captain’s armband and tossed it onto the field as he stomped off in disgust after Portugal’s 2-2 draw at Serbia in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. In a split second, Ronaldo had gone from savoring a last-gasp winner for his country to protesting what he considered a clear refereeing oversight with no

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was typically decisive on his return to international football, creating the only goal for Viktor Claesson in Sweden’s 1-0 win over Georgia in their opening Group B World Cup qualifier. Returning after an absence of almost five years, the 39-year-old Milan striker Ibrahimovic became the oldest player to represent Sweden. The visitors threatened early on the break but the Swedes gradually grew into the game as their attacking quarter of Ibrahimovic, Claesson, Alexander Isak and Dejan Kulusevski took over. They went ahead 10 minutes before the

The Manchester United women’s team made its Old Trafford debut on Saturday with a 2-0 victory over West Ham. The team normally plays its Women’s Super League home matches at Leigh Sports Village but switched to Old Trafford during the international break in the men’s game. Teenage forward Lauren James headed the ball into the net from close range four minutes after the break, and American international Christen Press doubled the lead six minutes later with a left-footed strike from 12 yards out.

Liverpool will use the international break and will instead use the opportunity to scout one of the most promising goalkeepers to come out of Turkey in recent times. According to Sport Witness via Asist Analiz, the Reds will have scouts in the stadium when Turkey face Norway to watch Ugurcan Cakir, the Trabzonspor goalkeeper. Liverpool have been tracking the player for some time now and could step up their efforts to sign him in the summer. Cakir joined the Turkish side in 2012 as a

Coach Steve Clarke hailed Scotland's never-say-die attitude after they twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Austria in Thursday's (Mar 25) World Cup qualifier, a point which may prove crucial in their bid to reach the finals for the first time since 1998. John McGinn's spectacular bicycle kick five minutes from time secured a share of the spoils in the Group F match at Hampden Park as they kicked off their campaign to qualify for Qatar 2022. “We’re progressing. We can believe