Category: Football

VALENCIA: Antoine Griezmann’s stellar goal in the second half helped Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 1-0 to surge in La Liga standings following their crushing defeat by Getafe in the last game.  

Atletico made a promising start and unleashed a vigorous attack against the opponent as Joao Felix nearly hit the post but Mamardashvili sprawled on the right corner to save for Valencia.

The referee slapped Valencia with a red card before halftime as Thierry Correia brought down Alvaro Morata but a VAR review upheld the foul and only granted a yellow.

Atletico continued the attack in the second half and finally took a lead in the 66th minute when Griezmann shot the ball from the area into the bottom left corner after a slight deviation with no chance for Mamardashvili to stop it.

The home side failed to equalize the lead in the remaining time taking Atletico to the sixth position in the standings after the narrow win.

Meanwhile, Athletic Club clinched a comprehensive win over the home side, Cadiz, by 4-0 in the earlier game on Monday thanks to Gorka Guruzeta’s brace with Inaki Williams and Alejandro Remiro scoring a goal apiece.

With the win, Athletic Club held off Villareal to take the fourth spot with Real Madrid running on top at the end of match day three of the ongoing season.

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SAN JOSE: Spain clinched the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup 2022 trophy as they beat Japan 3-1 in the thrilling final here at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica on Sunday. 

Pedro Lopez’s side defeated the same opponents by the same score to avenge their loss to Japan in the 2018 final. With the win, Spain ended Japan’s undefeated streak for the last nine matches in the U20 Women’s World Cup.

Salma Paralluelo starred for Spain with double strikes before Inma Gabarro scored the opening goal in the first 15 minutes putting Spain in a 3-0 lead within the first 30 minutes of the game.

Japan, on the other hand, remained persistent as they fought back in the second half with Suzu Amano scoring in the 47th minute. Spanish defence, however, skilfully resisted any further damage to their lead.

“I’m in shock. I can’t believe what we achieved. We are an incredible team. I have no words to describe what we did.” said Gabarro who finished her campaign on a high note as she scored eight goals to become the leading scorer of the tournament.

“I can’t believe it. I don’t understand what just happened. I have the medal hanging around my neck and I’m still in shock. It’s going to take me a few days to believe that I’m world champion,” she said in utter joy.

Meanwhile, Brazil outclassed Netherlands 4-1 to claim the third spot in the tournament.

READ: Pandya stars with all-round performance as India sink Pakistan in a thriller

LAHORE: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) on Friday, announced Maria Khan as the new captain of the national team for the upcoming South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women’s Championship 2022. 

The goalkeeper turned midfielder replaced Hajra Khan as the captain, whereas the latter has been retained in the squad as a player.

Maria, who grew up in the United States and played football for the University of Denver before moving to UAE, is one of the two overseas players picked in the national contingent.

UK-based Doncaster Rovers’ Nadia Khan is the other overseas player, chosen to represent Pakistan in the SAFF Women’s Cup.

Malika-e-Noor, who was a member of the 2014 squad that played Pakistan’s last game in senior women’s football, however, has been named as Maria’s deputy for the upcoming championship.

It is pertinent to mention here that the sixth edition of the SAFF Women’s Championship will take place in Nepal from September 6 to 19.

Making their way back into the championship after a gap of eight years, Pakistan will start their campaign against their arch-rivals and five-time champions India on September 7 before taking on Bangladesh and Maldives on September 10 and 13 respectively.

PAKISTAN SQUAD: Hajra Khan, Maliha Nasir, Mishal Akram Bhatti, Rameen Fareed, Alina Isphani, Anmool Hira, Ghazala Aamir, Khadija Kazmi, Marvi Baig, Nizalia Siddique, Sara Khan, Shahida Amin, Shanza Nazir, Suha Hirani, Malika-e-Noor, Nisha Ashraf, Roshan Ali, Sahar Zaman, Mahpara Shahid, Zulfia Nazir, Atika Nasir, Maria Khan, and Nadia Khan.

READ: India remains host of U-17 WC as FIFA lifts ban after nine days

ZURICH: Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) lifted the ban on the All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday, imposed earlier this month over undue third-party influence.

The lifting of the moratorium also implies that the Under-17 Women’s World Cup, which was set to take place in India from October 11 to 30, will take place as intended.

“The Bureau of the Council decided on 25 August 2022 to lift the suspension of the AIFF with immediate effect,” FIFA announced in a statement.

“As a consequence, the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2022 scheduled to take place on 11-30 October 2022 will be held in India as planned,” the statement further read.

FIFA, on the other hand, stated that it and the AFC will keep an eye on the circumstances and will assist the AIFF in holding its elections on time.

It is worth noting that FIFA suspended AIFF for being managed by administrators after former chief Praful Patel lingered in office beyond his mandate without new elections, which courts declared unconstitutional.

READ: Celta Vigo claim first win of the season, Real Betis maintain perfect run

SPAIN: Celta Vigo have clinched their first triumph of the ongoing La Liga 2022-23 season as skipper Iago Aspas struck and powered the side to an away victory at Girona, while Real Betis thumped Osasuna 1-0 to maintain their unbeaten run.

The two sides went hard at each other in the first half and apparently got a chance to secure the breakthrough but failed to make it count.

Celta Vigo skipper Aspas then made no mistake and took just a few minutes and arrowed home to hand his side a much-needed lead that lasted till the final whistle.

The rest of the match followed a tense battle between the two teams and a series of substitutions but it all went in vain as the scoreboard remained intact at 1-0 despite the extra time.

In another match, however, Real Betis carried their domination over Osasuna and enhanced their unbeaten run over the latter to nine matches with a home 1-0 victory on Friday.

Betis are currently undefeated after three games in the ongoing La Liga season and lead the standings by nine points, followed by Villarreal and Real Madrid, who each have six points, and are in second and third place, respectively.

The visiting side posed the majority of scoring threats in the early stages of the game before Los Verdiblancos star Borja Iglesias struck in the 34th minute to put Betis in front.

Betis sought to build on their lead in the second half, but German Pezzella’s late red card thwarted their chances and had to settle for a 1-0 victory over Osasuna.

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SAN JOSE: Reigning champions Japan will continue the title defence of the FIFA U20 Women’s Cup as they booked the final spot consecutively for the second time after defeating Brazil 2-1 in the semifinal, whereas Spain thumped the Netherlands to become the other finalist for Sunday’s closing game.

Maika Hamano shone for Japan after her scintillating goal just six minutes before the full time put the defending champions on a 2-1 lead over Brazil.

Japan went for a dominating start as they tested Brazil’s defence for a few times before Yuzuki Yamamoto netted the ball from outside the area in the 31st minute to make it 1-0.

Brazil retaliated in the second half as Miriam Cavalcante scored the equalizer in the 56th minute before Hamano blasted the decider and seized Brazil’s hopes to to qualify for the final.

Meanwhile, in the other semifinal between Spain and the Netherlands, Inma Gabarro continued with her sublime form as she scored double to help Spain thump their European opponents 2-1.

Gabarro scored two back-to-back goals in three minutes to put Spain on a 2-0 lead in the first half. The Dutch side, however, responded in the second half with Van Gool finding the nets in the 54th minute to reduce the lead to 2-1.

Spain will now face the defending champions Japan in the final of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday, whereas, Netherlands and Brazil will compete for third place.

READ: Karim Benzema wins UEFA player of the year award  

ISTANBUL: Karim Benzema and Alexia Putellas were rewarded for outstanding seasons by winning the UEFA men’s and women’s player of the year prizes at a ceremony in Istanbul on Thursday.

France striker Benzema captained Real Madrid to victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final and scored 15 goals in the competition, while Putellas was the top scorer in the Women’s Champions League, helping Barcelona reach the final which they lost to Lyon.

Benzema took the men’s honours ahead of club team-mate Thibaut Courtois and Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, succeeding Chelsea midfielder Jorginho who won the award last year.

The 34-year-old scored hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the Champions League knockout rounds and netted three times across the two legs of the semi-final against Manchester City.

He struck 44 times in 46 games altogether as Real also won the Spanish title.

Putellas, 28, claimed the prize for a second straight year despite suffering a serious knee injury that ruled her out of Euro 2022.

She finished ahead of England forward and European champion Beth Mead, the joint leading scorer at the tournament, and young Germany midfielder Lena Oberdorf.

Carlo Ancelotti was named best men’s coach for his success with Real, with Dutchwoman Sarina Wiegman crowned best women’s coach after leading England to Euro glory on home soil last month.

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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Army will provide security assistance to Qatar to host the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022.

The federal cabinet on Monday approved the Pakistan Army-Qatar agreement to provide the Gulf country with the security arrangements for the extravaganza.

The gulf country will be hosting the mega football event for the first time, scheduled from November 20 to December 18.

The development came as Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif prepared to depart on Tuesday for his first trip to Qatar at the invitation of Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The premier’s trip to Qatar will be his first since taking office in April 2022. A high-level delegation, including important members of his cabinet, will accompany him amid his visit.

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GIRONA: The home side Girona tasted their first victory of the ongoing La Liga 2022-23 season as they stunned Getafe 3-1 on Monday.

Former Major League Soccer top-scorer Taty Castellanos, who is playing for a one-season loan from New York City FC, netted his first La Liga goal to put Girona up front with a 3-0 lead in the 64th minute.

The home side had a brilliant start to the match as Cristhian Stuani invaded Getafe’s defence and netted the first goal for his side in the ongoing season. Stuani found it hard to sneak through the defence, however, a sloppy effort from the goalkeeper handed him the desired outcome.

The second half of the match got off to a dramatic start as Getafe defender Domingos Duarte netted an own goal to enhance the hosts’ command.

Getafe striker Enes Unal, whose strike in the 56th minute was turned down by the referee after a video review, struck a consolation goal in the 73rd minute when his side was already trailed by three goals.

The two sides remained indulged in a tense battle in the closing minutes but the scoreboard remained intact despite the extra time.

Getafe lost to Atletico Madrid 3-0 at home to start the season, while Girona suffered a 1-0 loss to Valencia.

The victory over Getafe, however, resulted in Girona rising to the eighth position, while Getafe sank to the bottom with two straight defeats.

Meanwhile, in another match, Elche midfielder Alex Collado struck in the 30th minute to trump Almeria Umar Sadiq’s strike in the 23rd as the two sides finished at a 1-1 draw to share the points.

The action-filled tournament is being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and is simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

READ: Pakistan team reaches UAE to compete in Asia Cup 2022

ALAJUELA: Defending champions Japan defeated France 5-3 in a penalty shootout after a thrilling 3-3 draw to confirm its ticket for the second semi-final against Brazil on Friday.

The two teams engaged in a gripping contest in the fourth quarter-final of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday with the winner finally being decided on penalties.

Meanwhile, the Netherland knocked out the undefeated Nigerian side after a 2-0 win in the third quarter-final and qualified for the semifinal.

The Dutch side will face Spain on Friday to book its spot for the final on Sunday.

The action-filled tournament is being telecasted live on Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel – A Sports and will be simultaneously streamed on the digital platform of ARY Digital Network – ARY ZAP in crystal clear HD quality.

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