Category: Football

BRENTFORD: Australia upset England women 2-0 in a friendly at Brentford on Tuesday, to end the Lionesses’ 30-match unbeaten streak.

Sam Kerr, who plays for nearby Chelsea in the English Super League, gave the injury-hit Matildas a first-half lead and Charlotte Grant added the second after the break.

For European champions England, who beat Brazil on penalties to win the inaugural women’s Finalissima at Wembley last week, it was the last warm-up game before the World Cup in New Zealand and Australia.

The Lionesses begin their campaign against Haiti in Brisbane on July 22.

Kerr, who was rested for Australia’s loss to Scotland on Friday, pounced on a weak back header by Leah Williamson to lob England goalkeeper Mary Earps after 32 minutes.

Kerr turned provider in the 67th minute sending in a cross that Grant headed in off the unlucky Williamson for a first international goal.

“It doesn’t feel great. A big learning game against a very physical and well-organised Australian side,” said Sarina Wiegman, after her first defeat as England coach.

“We made some mistakes,” she added.

In Le Mans in France, the hosts beat Olympic champions Canada 2-1 as coach Herve Renard continued his winning start as coach.

Tamires and Ary Borges scored in the first half as Brazil rebounded from their defeat at Wembley to beat Germany, second on FIFA’s women’s rankings, 2-1, in Nuremberg

Third-ranked Sweden drew 3-3 with Norway in Gothenburg. Olivia Schough gave the hosts the lead a minute into added time but Frida Maanum levelled with her second of the game, six minutes later.

Norwegian star Ada Hegerberg who refused to play in the last World Cup, limped off after 29 minutes.

Spain, ranked eighth, and Netherlands, ranked ninth, both enjoyed three-goal victories.

Spain beat China 3-0 on Ibiza and the Dutch beat Poland 4-1 in Rotterdam.

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HISOR: Zahmena Malika’s decider helped Pakistan women’s football team beat hosts Tajikistan 1-0 and grab the consolation win in their maiden qualifying campaign for the Olympics on Tuesday. 

The England-based forward netted the ball in the 25th minute as Pakistan, already out of the race to advance to the second round of qualifying for next year’s Paris Olympics, ended their campaign on a positive note and finally got some points on the board.

With the win, Pakistan finished third in Group E after having lost to the Philippines and Hong Kong in the previous matches.

FT: 🇹🇯 Tajikistan 0️⃣-1️⃣ Pakistan 🇵🇰

Pakistan get the win to round up their Women's Olympic Qualifiers Round 1 with all three points in Group E! pic.twitter.com/gXYyLfNcMs

— #WAC2026 (@afcasiancup) April 11, 2023

The London Seaward forward got on the end of a superb through ball by Amina Hanif, springing the offside trap before running through and calmly slotting it past the Tajikistan goalkeeper to give her side the lead. It was also Pakistan’s first goal in the qualifiers.

The London Seaward attacker connected with Amina Hanif’s excellent through ball, beating the offside trap before slotting Pakistan’s first-ever goal in the Olympics qualifiers.

The Philippines, who beat Hong Kong 2-0 earlier on Tuesday, secured a ticket to the next round.

In the first round of Olympic Qualifiers, 26 Asian teams, divided across seven groups, participated.

Winners from each group will join Asia’s five highest-ranked teams – North Korea, Japan, Australia, China and South Korea – in the second round of the Paris 2024 Olympic women’s football qualifiers to be held in October.

The three group winners and one best-placed runner-up from the second round will play for the two spots for Paris 2024 Olympics in the final round to be held in November-December 2023.

READ: Rubina storms Sapphires to send Barmy Army into FairBreak semifinals

MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland scored his 45th goal of the season as Manchester City took a commanding 3-0 lead over Bayern Munich from their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday.

Rodri and Bernardo Silva were also on target for the English champions, who took a giant stride towards finally conquering Europe for the first time.

Victory was sweet for City boss Pep Guardiola as he came up against his former club for the first time since leaving Bayern for Manchester in 2016, but he warned that the job is not yet done.

“I’ve been three years there and I know in Europe this team is special. To knockout these type of teams you have to make two good games not just one,” said Guardiola.

“I know exactly what we have to do there, They are capable to score one, two, three goals. We have to do our game with huge personality.”

City also partially settled a Champions League score with Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel, who beat Guardiola’s men to lift the trophy as Chelsea manager in the 2021 final.

Tuchel was appointed less than three weeks ago by the German champions with one eye on this tie and he believed his side deserved more.

“I try to not allow my players to focus on the result because it is not the deserved result, it does not tell the story of this match,” said Tuchel.

“I’ve seen so many good things that I refuse to just focus on the result. You may say ‘that’s not Bayern’ but I was very proud on the sideline, we were courageous and showed the right character.”

City fought off interest from Bayern among other European giants to win the race to sign Haaland a year ago for nights like this and the Norwegian played his part in a clinical performance.

Haaland uncharacteristically fluffed his lines with the first big chance of the game when his weak shot was straight at Yann Sommer.

At the other end, City were grateful to a brilliant block from Ruben Dias to prevent Jamal Musiala putting Bayern in front.

Rodri then showed the forwards how it is done as the Spaniard took aim from long range on his weaker left foot and curled a sumptuous shot into the top corner on 27 minutes.

– City turn the screw –

Bayern picked up Sommer in the January window as an emergency measure after Manuel Neuer’s season was ended by a skiing accident.

The Swiss international proved the value of that move with a number of vital saves to keep Bayern in the tie, starting with an outstretched leg to deny Ilkay Gundogan.

But Bayern were made to regret not making their bright start to the second period count.

Leroy Sane twice came close to haunting his former club with powerful efforts that were beaten away by Ederson before Matthijs de Ligt and Kingsley Coman had headers from close range blocked by desperate City defending.

Instead, City turned the screw in the final quarter to take a potentially decisive lead to Bavaria next week.

Haaland showed there is more to his game than goals with a perfectly weighted cross for Silva to head in City’s second 20 minutes from time.

Sommer then produced a fine stop low to his left to turn Julian Alvarez’s shot to safety.

But City were not to be denied their third and Haaland his goal as he stretched out a telescopic right leg to turn John Stones’ knockdown beyond Sommer.

Alvarez fired another effort inches wide and Sommer needed finger tips to turn over Rodri’s header as City went in search of a final flourish.

But Bayern will need one of the Champions League’s all-time great comebacks in eight days’ time if City are to be denied a third consecutive semi-final.

READ: I hope to play with Messi next season at Barca: Lewandowski

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski would love Lionel Messi to return to the Catalan club from Paris Saint-Germain this summer, he said on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old Argentine World Cup winner left Barca in 2021 when the club could not afford to renew his contract and his PSG deal expires in June.

Amid whistles from PSG supporters who see Messi as a symbol of the club’s mistakes in chasing star signings instead of building a competitive team, Barcelona are openly courting the forward.

“Messi belongs to Barca and if he returns it would be something incredible,” said Lewandowski.

“We know that his place is here, in Barcelona. I don’t know what will happen, but I hope that next season we can play together.”

Messi is the club’s all-time top goalscorer and many consider him the best player in the history of football.

The playmaker scored a record 672 goals in 778 matches for Barcelona, winning 35 trophies, after joining the club at 13-years-old and developing at their feted La Masia youth academy.

Barcelona fans have chanted Messi’s name in the 10th minute — representing his former Barca shirt number — in their last two matches, including a 0-0 draw against Girona on Monday in La Liga.

“Leo generates excitement, they have chanted his name in two games now, we’ll see what happens,” said Barca coach Xavi Hernandez after the derby clash.

Lewandowski, top scorer in Spain, could not find the net for the league leaders against Girona and, speaking at a charity event, said he had been carrying an injury.

“I took a blow from (Real Madrid defender Eder) Militao in the game against Madrid and I could not walk,” added Lewandowski, referring to Barcelona’s 4-0 thrashing by Los Blancos in the Copa del Rey last week.

“On the pitch I have to play better but that knock from Militao left my body in a bad way.”

ISLAMABAD: The Capital Development Authority (CDA) Board has approved the construction of an international standard football stadium in Islamabad, ARY News reported on Monday.

According to the report, the decision was taken during the board’s sixth meeting of the year, which was chaired by Chairman Captain (Retd) Noor ul Amin Mengal at the CDA headquarters.

In the meeting, the CDA board approved the Establishment of the Building and Housing Control Wing. The board decided that rainwater harvesting has been made mandatory in residential and commercial buildings in Islamabad. It was decided that no building map shall be approved without the construction of a water recharging well and tank.

“Establishment of Building control wing will help prevent illegal constructions and enforce building by-laws,” it stated. Similarly, 50 teams of field staff will perform their duties in the building control wing. The building control team will consist of one assistant director and two surveyors.

Moreover, the CDA board also approved the rules and regulations for strengthening Sanitation Directorate and Environment Wing and gave it the authority to impose fines and punishments. The Board delegated the authority to determine the fee to the CDA Chairman.

Apart from this, the board also approved the amendments in the ICT Building Control By-Laws Regulation 2002. While building bylaws have also been approved for construction on IJP and Murree Road.

In the meeting, the ratio of Mouve area to floor area was increased from 3,000 yards to 15,000 yards. Similarly, the floor area ratio for H series sector institutional building has been increased. The CDA board also decided to increase the floor area ratio of the educational plots of Zone 2, 4 and 5 of Islamabad.

Additionally, approval was also given to rent plots for the establishment of schools in Islamabad. The board decided that plots will be leased for 33 years at concessional rents to build schools for the middle class.

It was also decided that all approved housing societies, community centers, dispensaries and school plots will be under the estate wing inventory. The CDA Board also approved the AGOSH-II Housing Society.

During the meeting, the CDA chairman issued instructions that the concept plan of Islamabad Bus Terminal I-11 should be presented in two weeks and work on Islamabad Bus Terminal should be started within the same period.

Similarly, CDA board also decided to resume the work on the cultural complex which had been stalled since 2010 and also approved the renaming of the cultural complex Shakarparian to Al-Hamra Islamabad.

Likewise, the decision to change the name of Ladies Club located in Sector G-10 to Citizen Center G-10 was also taken in the meeting.

The CDA board also approved the establishment of Green Fund, announcing that 2% of the total cost of all major projects to be started in Islamabad will be deposited to this fund and all the important projects will contribute to this fund under CSR. The senior officer of the environment and finance wing will be signatories for the use of these funds.

Moreover, the board gave the nod to establish CDA Pension Fund and Endowment Fund, recommending that 5% of the income should be kept in these funds.

READ: Carey-inspired Spirit sink Tornadoes as Barmy Army, Falcons reach semis

BARCELONA: Table-toppers Barcelona failed to extend their lead to 15 points over defending champions Real Madrid after the 11th-placed Girona held the home side for a goalless draw.

The title-chasing side now sits 13 points clear of second-placed Real Madrid with 10 more matches to go.

Barcelona were not at their best in a Catalan derby as Xavi Hernandez’s side appeared to be still reeling from the aftershocks of their Clasico defeat by Madrid last week in the Copa del Rey.

Mid-table Girona battled strongly and forced the leaders to drop points at home, for the first time in their home after three years.

Barcelona kept a clean sheet for the 21st time in the top flight, but they were unable to fully profit from Real Madrid’s slip-up as they sought to win La Liga for the first time since 2019.

Robert Lewandowski came close to opening the scoring for his side just four minutes into the game, after being set up by Fati, but fired it onto the top of the net.

Barcelona, once again came close to scoring the opener when Girona’s defender Santi Bueno almost netted an own goal but goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga responded well, dived and diverted the ball to safety and barred the hosts from taking the lead.

The goalkeeper made a brilliant save at his near post from Raphinha before clawing away a Ronald Araujo attempt from the resultant corner.

READ: Athapaththu, bowlers power Falcons to breeze past Sapphires

Nahuel Molina and Mario Hermoso scored first-half goals to give Atleuitoc Madrid a 2-1 win over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday and move closer to rivals Real Madrid in the standings. 

A superb streak of 12 unbeaten league games has propelled Atletico to a 57-point tally – only two points behind second-placed Real, who faced a shock 2-3 defeat at Bernabeu against Villareal on Saturday.

Barcelona, on the other hand, are leading the standings with 71 points with a game left against Girona on Monday.

Molina took the lead in the 22nd minute after Alvaro Morata set up the Argentina international for his first goal since joining the club last summer.

Hermoso doubled his side’s lead a few minutes later with a header from a corner, taking advantage of a poor clearance by Rayo goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.

The hosts were a man down after defender Florian Lejeune was sent off early in the second half, but left back Fran Garcia restored some hope by pulling one back in the 85th minute with a brilliant long-range low shot.

The hosts were reduced to 10-man after defender Florian Lejeune’s sent off early in the second half. However, left-back Fran Garcia brought some jubilant moments for the home crowd as he slotted the goal in the 85th minute with a brilliant long-range low shot.

Earlier, Almeria beat Valencia 2-1 to move out of the relegation zone with a minor advantage of three points.

Cadiz thrash nine-man Real Betis 2-0 thanks to second-half goals by Ruben Alcaraz and Chris Ramos.

Mallorca, on the other hand, held Valladolid to a 3-3 draw in the action-packed game at the latter’s home ground, thanks to an extra-time penalty by Vedat Muriqi.

READ: Dottin’s all-round exploits help Barmy Army beat Warriors in FairBreak

MADRID: Samu Chukwueze scored a brace to give Real Madrid a major blow to already faint title hopes in La Liga as they were handed a shocking 3-2 defeat by Villarreal at home on Saturday.

Just days after thrashing arch-rivals Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou to reach Cop del Rey final. Real fell to a bitter loss which left them 12 points behind the table-topers Barca.

Barcelona, however, have an opportunity to extend their lead to 15 points at the top when they face Girona on Sunday.

Despite taking the lead twice, Carlo Ancelotti’s side could not build on the momentum.

Madrid opened the scoring after 15 minutes through Villarreal’s Pau Torres’ own goal but Chukwueze slotted the equalizer in the 39th.

Vinicius Jr restored the one-goal cushion for the home side after the break with a simple finish in front of the Villarreal goal for his ninth league goal of the season.

Quique Setien’s side overcame Real’s lead again in the 71st minute when Jose Luis Morales fired home from close range, with a VAR check reversing the initial offside call.

Chukwueze scored his second 10 minutes from time and silenced the home crowd at Santiago Bernabeu with an excellent strike from the edge of the box to the top left corner.

With the win, Villarreal climbed to fifth place with 47 points and are in contention for a Champions League spot.

Earlier, Real Sociedad beat Getafe 2-0 at home to go forth on the standings with 51 points.

Meanwhile, Athletic Club thumped Espanyol 2-1 thanks to Inaki Williams and Nico Williams’ goals.

READ: New Zealand T20I squad departs for Pakistan

SEVILLE: Miguel Rodriguez and Goncalo Paciencia struck late and powered Celta Vigo to mark an astounding comeback to hold Sevilla for a 2-2 in their La Liga fixture at Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium here.

The hosts had an unwanted start to their clash with Celta as they had Pape Gueye sent off the field just after 19 minutes but still managed to take the lead with goals from Youssef En-Nesyri and Marcos Acuna as the clock ran down.

Rodriguez, though, gave Celta a sigh of relief by netting the first for his side in the 89th minute, while Paciencia struck second for Celta to level the scores at 2-2.

Minutes later, Sevilla were then down to nine men when Marcos Acuna was sent off for dissent, leaving Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side struggling.

The 2-2 stalemate against Celta barred Sevilla from soaring away from the danger zone.

Sevilla, 13th, sit five points clear of the relegation zone but have played one more game than the teams below them.

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SOUTHAMPTON: Erling Haaland is fit to return for Saturday’s Premier League trip to Southampton, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed on Friday.

Haaland, who has scored 42 goals this season, missed City’s 4-1 hammering of Liverpool last weekend after pulling out of international duty with Norway due to a groin injury.

His return is a timely boost for City’s quest to win a treble of trophies in the final two months of the season.

“He trained the last two days really good,” said Guardiola. “He will be ready.”

City welcome Bayern Munich to the Etihad for the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final just three days after their trip to St Mary’s.

But Guardiola said he was fully focused on chasing down Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

The Gunners have an eight-point lead, but City have a game in hand on Mikel Arteta’s men and host Arsenal at the Etihad later this month.

“Bayern is our last thought,” said the City boss. “It’s Southampton — the Premier League is every day, every week.”

Southampton are bottom of the table but shocked City when the sides last met, dumping the English champions out of the League Cup.

City have only won twice in their past five visits to St Mary’s and Guardiola is expecting another tough test.

“Now every team is playing for something,” he said. “Every game has its own characteristics and you have to be ready, Southampton have always been so tough.

“Always it’s been a tough, tough game. Tomorrow won’t be an exception.”

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