Category: Football

THIMPHU: Pakistan’s 23-member squad on Friday reached here to participate in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U16 Championship 2023.

According to the details, the contingent reached the Bhutan capital, via Doha, on Friday afternoon.

They will now embark on their SAFF U16 Championship campaign on September 2 against hosts Bhutan before taking on Maldives on September 4.

Notably, Pakistan’s fixtures against Bhutan and Maldives were scheduled a day prior but a delay in the issuance of the NOC to the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) from the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB), resulted in the tweaks to the schedule.

DG PSB Shoaib Khoso asserted that the delay in the issuance of the NOC was due to incomplete documents provided by the PFF.

The PSB then issued the NOC on Wednesday after the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination shared that it had received approval from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Interior.

A week prior, the PFF announced a 23-member squad for the SAFF U-16 Championship 2023.

Pakistan Squad for SAFF Under-16 Championship

Defenders: Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Hasnain Saleem, Najeem Khan, Sameer Ahmed, Obaidullah Khan, Majid Ali, Syed Mohammad Abis Raza, and Umar Javed.

Midfielders: Abdul Samad, Mohammad Faraz, Farhad, Haroon Rashid, Hikmatullah, Khabib Khan, M. Shahab Ahmed and Muhammad Khan.

Forwards: Abdul Ghani, Hasnain Wali Raza, Subhan Karim and Syed Kabir Ali Shah

Goalkeepers: Adil Ali Khan, Balach Khan and Ghulam Abbas.

The 2023 SAFF U16 Championship is the 8th edition of the tournament and will be played from September 1 to September 10 in Thimphu, Bhutan.

India are the current champions as well as the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having won the tournament in 2022, 2019, 2017 and 2013.

Meanwhile, Pakistan won the inaugural edition of the SAFF U16 championship in 2011.

READ: Erling Haaland, Aitana Bonmati win UEFA Player of the Year prizes

Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and Spain’s World Cup-winning star Aitana Bonmati won the UEFA Men’s and Women’s Player of the Year prizes respectively at a ceremony in Monaco on Thursday.

Norway striker Erling Haaland scored 52 goals in 53 games to help City win the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, while Bonmati inspired Spain to World Cup glory earlier this month.

Haaland’s achievements in his first season at City after joining from Borussia Dortmund saw him take the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award, for which his club colleague Kevin De Bruyne and Lionel Messi were also shortlisted.

Messi was at Paris Saint-Germain last season but has since left to join Inter Miami in Major League Soccer.

“I am kind of living a dream. This was my dream when I was young, so to be able to do this together with my teammates is something special,” Haaland, 23, said after collecting his award.

Aitana Bonmati, 25, starred as Barcelona won the Women’s Champions League last season and was then named player of the tournament for her role in Spain’s World Cup triumph in Australia and New Zealand.

She pipped her Spain teammate Olga Carmona, scorer of the winning goal in the World Cup final against England, and Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr to win the UEFA Women’s Player of the Year prize.

“It was a season I will never forget,” Aitana Bonmati said.

Spain coach Jorge Vilda missed out to England manager Sarina Wiegman for the women’s coach of the year prize.

Pep Guardiola won the men’s coach of the year award after leading Manchester City to the treble.

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MIAMI: FC Cincinnati led the way into the Major League Soccer (MLS) playoffs on Wednesday as the slim post-season hopes of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami took a hit with a goalless draw against Nashville.

Second-half goals from Luciano Acosta and Brandon Vazquez lifted Cincinnati to a 2-1 victory at Atlanta, where Colombian Edwin Mosquera’s first MLS goal had put the hosts ahead in the 10th minute.

The victory was Cincinnati’s first at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and took the Eastern Conference leaders to 57 points and the first berth in the MLS Cup playoffs with eight matches remaining in the regular season.

Miami, meanwhile, made little headway in their unlikely bid to make the playoffs as they were held scoreless for the first time in the 10 games of the Messi era.

The Argentine star had scored 11 goals in nine appearances since joining Inter Miami — including their run to the Leagues Cup crown, in a US Open Cup semi-final and in his regular-season debut off the bench in New York on Saturday.

The workload may have finally caught up with him on Wednesday as he was unable to work the magic again in front of another star-studded crowd at a blustery DRV PNK Stadium, where boxing great Floyd Mayweather and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino were among the spectators.

The draw left Inter Miami 10 points out of the final playoff spot with 10 games remaining

They travel across the country to take on MLS Cup champions Los Angeles FC on Sunday.

Messi and former Barcelona teammate Sergio Busquets both started the game after coming off the bench in the 60th minute in New York.

Despite controlling possession throughout a frustrating first half, Miami struggled to create real chances against Nashville’s disciplined defense.

Miami fans were on the edge of their seats after Messi drew a foul on Nashville’s Dax McCarty in the 60th minute and stepped up to take a free kick, but his effort to the bottom left corner was gathered in by Nashville goalkeeper Elliot Panicco.

Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar had a goal erased by an offside call in the 69th minute.

Messi had another free kick from a dangerous position in the 83rd minute but his shot caromed harmlessly off the wall of defenders.

Miami looked to have one last chance deep in injury time when Messi received a ball from Busquets and dribbled past two defenders, but his low right-footed shot was saved.

“What we have to do is move on,” said Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino.

“This can happen. It is true that we were a bit unaccustomed to this. The titles, the final, with a league game won the other day in New York, but we must move forward. There are still many things left to say.”

In Atlanta, Mosquera blasted home a deflected cross to put the hosts up early.

Acosta levelled the score with his 13th goal of the season in the 75th minute, splitting two defenders and playing a pass to Junior Moreno, who headed the ball down to Acosta who beat Atlanta keeper Brad Guzan with a one-time shot into the top corner.

Five minutes later Acosta collected the ball in midfield and sent it out to Alvaro Barreal on the left wing. Barreal’s cross found Vazquez, whose fifth goal of the season sealed Cincinnati’s 17th victory.

READ: Pakistan squad reaches Sri Lanka for Asia Cup 2023 clash against India

COLOMBO: FIFA has lifted the suspension on Sri Lankan football following assurances that there will be no political interference in the sport in the country, the local federation said Tuesday.

The Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) said it received a letter from FIFA removing the ban that was imposed in January.

In its letter, football’s global governing body said it took note of moves to hold fresh elections at the FFSL next month and assurances from the sports ministry to allow the FFSL to function without government interference.

“FIFA and the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) will continue to monitor the situation until the elections on September 29, 2023,” the local board was told.

The world governing body of rugby also suspended Sri Lanka in May after alleging political interference in the administration of the game.

FIFA suspended Sri Lanka’s national federation, back in January, a month after issuing it with a “red notice” over governance issues.

That warning came after the Ministry of Sports introduced a raft of regulations that reportedly compromised the autonomy and independence of national sports bodies, including the Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL).

The FFSL held an election, which reportedly fell short of standards agreed upon with FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), in which an ally of the sports minister became chair.

In a letter, FIFA said the FFSL was suspended “until further notice”.

Sri Lanka’s men’s team are ranked 204th in the world and the women’s 153rd.

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Inter Milan stayed perfect in Serie A as they won 2-0 at Cagliari in the last match of the second round on Monday.

Inter Milan dominated the first 30 minutes and scored the goals they needed for the win.

Right wing-back Denzel Dumfries ran onto a cunning through ball by Marcus Thuram after 21 minutes and placed a low cross-shot past goalie Boris Radunovic.

After 30 minutes, Lautaro Martinez, who had earlier hit a post, leapt to control a pass from Federico Dimarco with his toe, sidestepped two defenders and left Radunovic flat-footed with a low shot inside near the post.

With three goals in two matches, the Argentina striker joined Olivier Giroud of AC Milan and Victor Osimhen of Napoli at the top of the scorers’ charts.

In the second half, Inter Milan successfully slowed the game down until the final minutes when Claudio Ranieri’s Cagliari took more risks.

Yann Sommer made a spectacular save from Cagliari substitute Paulo Azzi and Hakan Calhanoglu hit the Cagliari post on a counter-attack.

It was a second straight 2-0 victory for Inter and leaves them third in the standings. AC Milan lead on goal difference. Champions Napoli are second, ahead of Inter on goals scored. Verona lie fourth also on six points.

READ: La Liga: Atletico Madrid crush Rayo Vallecano 7-0 to jump to second position

PUENTE DE VALLECAS: Atletico Madrid ruthlessly destroyed Rayo Vallecano in their own backyard on Monday with a score of 7-0, consequently jumping to second position in the La Liga points table at Campo de Fútbol de Vallecas (Estadio de Vallecas).

Both teams went to the ground without a loss in their previous two games, however, the visitors gained an early advantage as Antoine Griezmann scored in the second minute into the game courtesy of Rodrigo De Paul’s assist.

Rodrigo De Paul also attempted to score a goal of his own, but his attempt was missed.

Rayo Vallecano made two vain attempts before Atletico Madrid’s Memphis Depay extended the lead to 2-0 at the 16-minute mark.

Rodrigo De Paul made another assist in the 36th minute as Nahuel Molina scored the third goal for Atletico Madrid.

The home side made two attempts before the first half but failed to get a goal over Atletico.

The game appeared to be over at 3-0 in the first half but the visitors did not slow down, and struck the fourth goal in the 73rd minute thanks to Álvaro Morata, who came off the bench for injured Memphis Depay. The fifth goal came a mere six minutes later as Ángel Correa netted from outside the box.

Ángel Correa assisted Álvaro Morata to score another goal in the 84th minute before Marcos Llorente hit the final nail in the coffin with the seventh goal only two minutes later to hand a humiliating defeat to Rayo Vallecano.

This was the biggest-ever away win in La Liga for Atletico Madrid.

In another La Liga game, home side Getafe clinched a late victory over Alaves after a hard-fought game at Coliseum Alfonso Pérez. The scores were level at the 80-minute mark and the game appeared to be drawn, however, Alaves’ Xeber Alkain was shown a yellow card, awarding a penalty to Getafe. Borja Mayoral successfully converted the penalty to close the game with a 1-0 win.

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VILLARREAL: Defending champions Barcelona came back from behind to steal the victory from home team Villarreal in a thrilling clash in the ongoing La Liga season at El Madrigal on Sunday.

The team Villarreal began the game strong, but Barcelona quickly turned the tables with two goals in just three minutes, scored by Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, putting the hosts under immense pressure early on.

Villarreal, however, pulled one back at the 25-minute mark as Juan Foyth rose highest at a corner and headed past a helpless Ter Stegen. They did not stop there and Alexander Sørloth scored an equalizer in the 39th minute to close the first half at 2-2.

Just five minutes into the second half Villarreal’s Alex Baena stunned Barcelona with a right-footed shot from the left side of the box to give the home side an advantage over the defending champions.

Barcelona’s 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal hit a right-footed shot from the centre of the box to equalize but it hit the bar to deny a lead to the Catalans.

However, Ferran Torres, who came off the bench to replace Oriol Romeu, scored an equalizer for Barcelona in the 68th minute. Meanwhile, they went ahead of Villarreal in the 71^st minute as Polish striker Robert Lewandowski finally got his name on the scoresheet with the winning goal, after failing to net the ball in the previous two matches against Getafe and Cadiz.

Barcelona’s Ansu Fati made two attempts in the last few minutes, however, the hosts denied any other goal to finish the game at a deficit of one goal.

In another La Liga fixture played at San Mames, home side Atheltic Club thumped Real Betis 4-2 to register their second consecutive victory in the season.

The visitors started the game tremendously with Willian José scoring at the two-minute mark into the game. They doubled the lead with a goal eight minutes later as Aitor Ruibal assisted Isco to lead by 2-0.

However, Nico Williams’ foul allowed a penalty to the home side, and Mikel Vesga converted the penalty to reduce the difference for Athletic Club. Mikel Vesga scored off another penalty to level the scores.

Just before the final whistle for the first half, Gorka Guruzeta netted the ball to give the lead to the home side.

Real Betis made several attempts in the second half but Athletic Club did not allow them to get past and dominated the game, and scored another goal in the 84^th minute to close the match at 4-2.

Meanwhile, Osasuna defeated Valencia (2-1) at their home ground Mestalla Stadium to deny them second spot in the La Liga points table.

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Lionel Messi came off the bench and scored as Inter Miami began their push for the Major League Soccer playoffs with a 2-0 win at New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

After a week in which Miami won the Leagues Cup and reached the final of the US Open Cup, Messi was left on the bench by coach Gerard “Tata” Martino but came into the game on the hour mark.

The Argentine World Cup winner had limited involvement after entering with former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets but made his mark on his regular season debut with an 89th-minute goal.

Jordi Alba acrobatically hooked the ball into the box to Messi who twisted and turned then slipped a sublime pass with the outside of his foot to Benjamin Cremaschi whose low first-time cross was tapped in by the seven-times Ballon d’Or winner.

Messi has now scored 11 goals in nine appearances in all competitions since joining Inter Miami.

“He’s unbelievable, every day it’s something new, on and off the field,” said Miami’s 19-year-old defender Noah Allen.

“He’s an amazing person to play with and I am so blessed to play with him.”

Martino had indicated that several of his players needed a break after an intense run of eight games within a month and stuck to his word with his team selection, to the disappointment of the capacity crowd at Red Bull Arena.

There were chants of ‘We want Messi’ at regular stages throughout the game which was also shown on a giant screen in Times Square.

A makeshift Miami had taken the lead in the 37th minute when Noah Allen played in a cross from the left and Paraguayan Diego Gomez was given time to turn and then slot home a left-foot effort.

Miami keeper Drake Callender had to make a series of saves to keep his side in the lead but with Red Bull pressure mounting, Martino opted to bring on his star man and the momentum of the game inevitably shifted.

The win lifts Miami off the bottom of the Eastern Conference and reduces the gap to the last playoff sport to 11 points with 11 games remaining.

Martino defended his decision to start his 36-year-old compatriot on the bench despite the hopes of the crowd.

“I understand the desire of the people who want him to play, this will happen everywhere we go,” he said.

“But as the coach, I cannot be guided by those fans’ desires. My job is to make sure Leo takes care of himself,” he said.

READ: Girona jump to second position in La Liga table after sinking Sevilla

SEVILLE: Girona rocketed to the second position in the La Liga 2023-24 points table, after thumping home-side Sevilla 2-1 to register their second win in the ongoing La Liga season at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday.

The home side started the game on high with an early missed attempt by Lucas Ocampos, however, Girona quickly took things under control with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box by Yangel Herrera in the 15th minute.

Sevilla, however, kept challenging Girona’s defence and made several attempts but all in vain until Nemanja Gudelj finally hit the centre of the net minutes before half-time to level the scores.

Girona did not wait too long, as Arnau Martínez assisted Aleix García to give visitors the match-winning advantage in the 55th minute.

Sevilla’s Ivan Rakitic scored an equalizer four minutes later, however, it was ruled out after a VAR review further adding to the frustrations of the home side.

Sevilla fought hard till the end looking to equalize but Girona held their ground to deny any goal, keeping their lead intact to finish the game at 2-1.

In another match played at Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada edged Mallorca 3-2 to register their first win in the ongoing La Liga season.

Both teams kicked off this match looking for their first win in the season, however, home-side Gernada quickly gained the lead in the eleventh minute as Miguel Ángel Rubio scored thanks to a cross by José Callejón.

The visitors scored the equalizer in the 37th minute courtesy of Abdón Prats to close the first half at 1-1. The home side, however, made a resounding comeback in the first minute of the second half to get the lead back.

They further extended their lead with a penalty by Myrto Uzuni in the 69th minute after Cyle Larin was shown a yellow card for handball.

Mallorca made several attempts and consequently scored their second goal by Samú Costa in the 87th minute before the final whistle announced victory for the home side.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Almeria scored a late equalizer in the extra-time over Cadiz to settle for a 1-1 stalemate.

READ: Pakistan triumph over India to become World Blind Games champion

VIGO: Former La Liga champions Real Madrid continued their impressive start to the ongoing season as they triumphed 1-0 over Celta Vigo, courtesy of Jude Bellingham’s late winner.

Bellingham arrived from Borussia Dortmund in the summer following a huge transfer deal and has already surpassed Madrid’s hopes by settling in quickly.

The English midfielder, having scored in the two previous La Liga fixtures for Real Madrid, made it three in a row, after heading Joselu’s cross into the nets in the 81st minute to help Los Blancos prevail.

Celta Vigo did well to keep Real Madrid at bay for longer stretches, but in the end, failed to keep a clean sheet as Jude Bellingham sneaked past their defence and scored the winner in the dying moments.

Real Madrid had a perfect opportunity to pull ahead earlier, but Rodrygo’s penalty was saved by Celta keeper Ivan Villar.

Despite scripting a perfect start to their La Liga 2023/23 campaign — winning three consecutive opening matches and sitting at the top of the standings — problems emerged for Carlo Ancelotti’s side as their key striker Vinicius Jr was taken off the field due to an injury.

Vinicius went on a dash down the left side of the field and appeared to tweak the back of his left leg just 13 minutes into the game.

The Brazilian tried to keep going but only managed five more minutes before asking to be substituted.

Los Blancos, however, avoided a major setback as the initial reports suggested a minor thigh problem.

Real Madrid next face Getafe on September 2 while Celta Vigo will take on Almeria on the same day in their next La Liga fixture.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Las Palmas and Real Sociedad settled for a goalless stalemate to share a point each.

READ: Bonmati, Carmona and Kerr shortlisted for UEFA women’s player of year