Category: Football

Harry Kane hit a hat-trick, Michael Olise a double, and newcomer Luis Diaz also scored as Bayern Munich made a “statement” against RB Leipzig 6-0 at home in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday.

Bayern’s big-money arrivals, all brought in from the Premier League across the past three seasons, were dominant as the Bavarians began their title defence in style.

Olise scored twice in the first half, either side of a Diaz strike. Not to be outdone, Kane scored three goals in the second half, with two assists coming from Diaz, to bring Bayern’s total to 6-0.

Kane told the Bundesliga website, “After we went into half-time 3-0 up, I said to myself ‘I have to get on that scoresheet’.”

The 32-year-old England captain now has eight Bundesliga hat-tricks since joining Bayern from Spurs in the summer of 2023.

Harry Kane was subbed off to rapturous applause with four minutes remaining as the defending German champions, winners of 12 of the past 13 Bundesliga titles, sounded a warning on the opening day of the competition.

Lauding his team’s “great start to the season,” Kane told Sky Germany: “We wanted to open the season with a statement and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” adding “we were on top in all areas and were clinical when we needed to be, so we can enjoy this.”

Bayern Munich captain Joshua Kimmich agreed with Kane’s assessment, saying “a 6-0 at home against Leipzig is clearly a statement, but what’s hard in football is to back it up in three days.”

Kimmich praised Kane as an “absolute team player,” telling Sky Germany the England captain “he loves to score but he sets goals up and gets back and helps in defence, that’s something special.

“He doesn’t just define himself with goals, and that helps us extremely.”

The defeat showed Leipzig have a long way to go to challenge for the top spots after their first summer transfer window under Jurgen Klopp, who took over as Red Bull global head of football in January.

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Leipzig captain David Raum called the match “a catastrophe”, saying his side lacked “mentality and willpower” in one-on-one situations.

Bayern were under pressure before the season opener after losing several forward players in the summer transfer window.

Pre-season, talisman Harry Kane told reporters it was “probably one of the smallest squads I’ve ever played in,” after losing forwards Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane, Thomas Mueller, and Mathys Tel.

Diaz became the third player in as many seasons to join on big money from England after Kane and Olise, leaving Liverpool for Bavaria.

Olise continued his stunning start to life in Germany from last season, smashing in the opener after 27 minutes.

Diaz then arrived at the party, scoring Bayern’s second five minutes later, hammering the ball in off the crossbar from a Serge Gnabry assist.

With Leipzig reeling, Olise added a second three minutes before halftime, collecting a delicate pass from Gnabry before coolly wrong-footing the goalkeeper.

Sniffing blood, Kane scored Bayern’s fourth with 64 minutes played, turning in a Diaz assist.

After a Leipzig strike by Antonio Nusa was ruled out, VAR showed visiting centre-back Castello Lukeba had taken a free kick at the other end of the pitch with the ball still rolling.

Kane added two more as he scored in the 74th and 78th minutes.

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The draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026 will be held at the Kennedy Center in Washington on December 5, US President Donald Trump announced on Friday.

The 48-team marquee event will take place across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

The potential venue for the FIFA World Cup 2026 draw is Las Vegas, a location where the US-hosted event concluded in 1994.

Meanwhile, this time the draw will be held at the Kennedy Center, a performing arts venue.

Following the announcement, Donald Trump lauded the football World Cup as the biggest event in sports.

“It’s the biggest, probably the biggest event in sports,” Trump said.

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“It’s a tremendous honor to bring the global event and this incredible group of people and these unbelievable athletes – the best athletes in the world – to the cultural center of our nation’s capital,” Trump said.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who brought with him the World Cup trophy, also took part in the draw announcement from the Oval Office at the White House.

“This is this will be absolutely fantastic, the biggest event ever. And everything will start here in Washington, DC, at the Kennedy Center – or the Trump Kennedy Center,” Infantino said in a light-hearted manner.

“The draw will be broadcast live all over the world and will be watched by one billion viewers,” Infantino said.

For the unversed, the FIFA 2027 World Cup has been expanded from 32 to 48 teams.

The highly anticipated draw will organize the 48 teams into 12 groups of four.

The top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-place teams, will advance to the knockout rounds.

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Liverpool defender Jeremie Frimpong faces several weeks out of action with a hamstring injury, Reds manager Arne Slot said Thursday.

Jeremie Frimpong suffered the setback during the Premier League champions’ 4-2 opening win over Bournemouth at Anfield last Friday.

The former Bayer Leverkusen full-back, a reported £29.5 million ($39.6 million) replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold, went off after an hour of his home league debut for Liverpool.

“The medical team were completely right about Jeremie to tell me to take him off because he is out until the end of the international break (September 10), and that happened during the game,” Slot told a pre-match press conference ahead of Liverpool’s game against Newcastle on Monday.

“I think I got criticised for taking him off, didn’t I?,” the Dutch boss added.

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“It had nothing to do with how he played, but we felt he had an issue with his hamstring, and by we, I mean the medical staff. It was a good call to take him off; otherwise, he would have been out for longer. We expect to have him back after the international break.”

Conor Bradley, Liverpool’s other option at right-back, only returned from injury to training on Thursday.

The build-up to Monday’s Premier League match at St. James’ Park has been dominated by Liverpool’s pursuit of unsettled Newcastle striker Alexander Isak, with the Magpies reported to be demanding a British record transfer fee of £150 million ($202 million) for the 25-year-old Sweden international.

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Oliver Glasner has insisted both Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi will start in Crystal Palace Conference League play-off first leg at home to Fredrikstad on Thursday.

The pair have been linked with moves to two of Palace’s Premier League rivals — Eze to Tottenham and Guehi to Liverpool — and their respective futures could still be up for debate when Palace welcome Norwegian side Fredrikstad to Selhurst Park.

Palace manager Glasner was adamant he had every right to expect complete commitment from players under contract.

“It’s always the right of a club and the duty of a player to give 100 percent as long as he is under contract,” Glasner told a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“Before Chelsea, I think many of you were surprised that Marc and Ebs started and played almost the whole game.

“Most of you will be surprised that they will start again tomorrow because of all the rumours. But again, they are committed.”

Glasner, who has guided Palace to FA Cup and Community Shield glory, added: “They are committed to the team, they have a contract here, they played a crucial part that we could be so successful, and they will play a crucial part as long as they are here.

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“Because they are good, they are committed to the team, and when one of the players leave, which I don’t know at the moment, then they want to leave as players who always gave 100 percent for Crystal Palace.

“This is what they did since they signed, and this is what we expect from them until the end of their contract, whenever this is.”

Palace captain Guehi is under contract until next year, while Eze’s deal expires in 2027.

“This noise, these rumours, it’s not just for three days, it’s been written for weeks,” said Glasner.

“They played the Community Shield and we won, and they played at Chelsea, and we drew, and they will play against Fredrikstad, and then let’s see.”

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World number one Jannik Sinner, who was forced to retire during the final of the Cincinnati Open, and playing partner Katerina Siniakova have withdrawn from the US Open mixed doubles draw, tournament organisers confirmed Tuesday.

“Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova have withdrawn from the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship,” read a statement on the US Open website.

“The withdrawal comes after Sinner was forced to retire due to illness during the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz on Monday.”

The 24-year-old was forced to concede defeat to great rival Alcaraz after going 5-0 down in the first set of the Cincinnati final due to an illness that struck on the eve of the match.

“I’m disappointed, I didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner said on court. “During the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case.”

Sinner did not speak to journalists after the loss, issuing a statement that said only he would definitely play singles at the US Open in New York, where the main draw starts on Sunday.

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“I love Grand Slams a lot, they are the main tournaments for my season and my career,” reigning US Open champion Sinner said.

“The US Open is going to be a tough tournament, but at the same time, I’m looking forward to it if I’m ready, physically and mentally.”

The statement did not address his participation in the mixed doubles, which were organised on Tuesday and Wednesday in a new shortened format that brings together the world’s best singles players, raising doubts about whether he would be able to compete.

Sinner and Siniakova will be replaced by the American duo of Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison, who will face Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic and Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the first round.

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Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said the team’s shortened pre-season will not be used as an excuse as they prepare to kick off their La Liga campaign at home to Osasuna on Tuesday.

Alonso will take charge at the Santiago Bernabeu for the first time after beginning his reign at the Club World Cup in the United States, where Madrid reached the semi-finals.

Madrid’s request to postpone their league opener to a later date was rejected by Spanish football officials, and the team have played just one friendly since their 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in New Jersey on July 9.

“Obviously it would have been nice to receive some support with our request, especially for the players’ health… after such a long season and to have a little more preparation time,” Xabi Alonso said on Monday.

“But anyway, in the end it wasn’t to be and that’s that. We’ve only had two weeks and there’s no point looking for excuses now.”

Alonso has several new signings, including former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, at his disposal as Madrid look to turn the page on a disappointing end to the Carlo Ancelotti era.

Madrid won the Champions League and La Liga in 2023-24 but finished runners-up domestically to arch-rivals Barcelona last season and suffered a quarter-final exit to Arsenal in Europe.

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Alonso, who led Bayer Leverkusen to a remarkable Bundesliga and German Cup double two seasons ago, was coy about his expectations in the Spanish capital.

“I tend to be more of a doer than a talker. So making promises before taking action in football doesn’t usually work,” said Alonso.

“We are working hard, and people are eager, you can feel that. We are also very eager, we want to start this new project with new players, a new coach, and bring this energy we have to the stadium, and then earn it, not just talk about it.

“Talking about it won’t make it happen, otherwise it would all be very easy. We have to earn it and we have to start tomorrow on that path to get where we want to be in May.”

Alonso also fully backed Madrid’s opposition to plans to stage a La Liga game between Villarreal and Barcelona in Miami in December.

Madrid said last week it would “give an undue sporting advantage” to the teams involved.

“I agree wholeheartedly with the club’s statement,” added Alonso.

“I believe that at the start of the competition, we all knew what the rules were, and if the rules are to be changed, it must be unanimously agreed upon by all participants.

“Therefore, I believe that this is not appropriate at this time and that all La Liga participants should have been consulted beforehand.”

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) leaders held a key meeting at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) headquarters here on Monday.

The first official meeting with the AFC delegation was led by President Syed Mohsen Gilani.

The PFF delegation also included Vice President Mr. Hafiz Zaka Ullah, Acting General Secretary Mr. Muhammad Shahid Niaz Khokhar, and Director of International Relations and Development Mr. Omair Ullah Khan.

On the other hand, General Secretary Datuk Seri Windsor John headed the AFC delegation, which included senior officials.

The senior officials were Deputy General Secretary Shin Man Gil, Director of Finance, HR & IT, B. Chandra Mohan, Director of Legal Affairs, and Andrew Mercer.

Additionally, the team comprised the Director of the Commercial Department, Andrew Rogers; the Head of Football Development, Jose Marcelino Z. Corpio; and the Senior Manager of the South Asia Unit, MA Division, Sonal Jigmi.

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The meeting’s agenda focused on improving Pakistan’s football infrastructure and establishing long-term collaboration with the AFC.

PFF shared the details of the meeting on its social handle, which highlighted the agenda of the meeting.

“The Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) held its first official meeting with the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), led by President Mr Syed Mohsen Gilani,” the caption read.

“The PFF delegation included Vice President Mr Hafiz Zaka Ullah, Acting General Secretary Mr Muhammad Shahid Niaz Khokhar, and Director of International Relations and Development Mr Omair Ullah Khan,” it added.

Syed Mohsin Gillani expressed his thoughts on the meeting, lauding the visit aimed at improving football in the country.

“The visit reflects the profound all-around support of the AFC under the vision of its President, His Highness Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, for the development of football in Pakistan.”

“We also greatly value the guidance of AFC GS Datuk Seri Windsor John, whose leadership continues to contribute to the smooth functioning of the PFF administration,” he said.

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Borussia Dortmund on Monday confirmed striker Sebastien Haller had joined Dutch side Utrecht on a permanent deal.

Haller reportedly joined on a free transfer, having been allowed to end his Dortmund contract a year early.

The 31-year-old Ivory Coast international spent the second half of last season on loan at Utrecht, the club he played for between 2015 and 2017.

“This summer there was quite a bit of interest from other clubs, but for me there was only one ideal scenario and that was FC Utrecht,” Haller said in a statement on the club’s website.

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The departure marks the end of a tumultuous time for Haller at Dortmund.

After arriving in a deal worth 31 million euros ($36 million) from Ajax in 2022, Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancer weeks later and missed six months while undergoing treatment.

He missed a penalty on the final day of the 2022-23 season in a 2-2 home draw against Mainz, which handed Bayern Munich the Bundesliga title.

The former West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt forward scored the winning goal for the Ivory Coast in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations final against Nigeria.

Notably, Sebastien Haller has scored 12 goals and assisted six in 41 games for Borussia Dortmund.

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Joao Felix said on Monday that Portugal team-mate and close friend Diogo Jota will “forever be a part of football history” following the Liverpool star’s death aged 28.

Jota was killed along with his brother Andre Silva when their Lamborghini went off the road in northern Spain on July 3.

Just 11 days prior to the accident, the Portuguese forward had married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children.

The Premier League remembered Jota over the weekend in a series of moving tributes.

Adding his voice to the outpouring of grief across the football world, Felix looked visibly moved as he spoke about his good friend and international colleague.

Felix, who was among the mourners at the brothers’ funeral, said: “Diogo to me was one of my best friends in the national team, he was always part of our mini group in the national team, those of us who were always together.

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“I knew his family, especially his parents, an incredible family.”

Speaking in Hong Kong, where Joao Felix is with his new team, Al Nassr, for this week’s Saudi Super Cup, the 25-year-old added: “I think he will forever be a part of football history, he will remain in the hearts of those who were already close to him.

“After that day, every time we go on the field, we will remember him and play in part for him.”

The attacker Felix joined fellow Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr late last month, moving from Chelsea in a reported deal worth up to 43.7 million pounds ($58 million).

Felix, who has also played for Benfica, Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, and AC Milan, will reportedly earn $10 million per year.

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Espanyol staged a late comeback to grab a shock 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday as Diego Simeone’s men made a disappointing start to their La Liga campaign.

Pere Milla scored a late winner as Atletico stumbled to defeat in Barcelona despite leading through Julian Alvarez’s brilliant goal.

Atletico have been busy in the transfer market, with notable arrivals including Alex Baena, David Hancko, Johnny Cardoso and Giacomo Raspadori, in a bid to challenge Barcelona and Real Madrid for the title.

Angel Correa, Rodrigo De Paul and Cesar Azpilicueta have all departed as part of the rebuild after Simeone’s team finished third, 12 points behind champions Barca last term.

Barcelona kicked off their title defence with a 3-0 win at Mallorca on Saturday, while Real Madrid host Osasuna on Tuesday.

Slovakia centre-back Hancko had the best chance of a cagey opening half-hour for Atletico but could only head straight at Espanyol goalkeeper Marko Dmitrovic.

The visitors forged ahead in spectacular fashion in the 37th minute, though, as Alvarez curled a free-kick into the top corner, well beyond the dive of Dmitrovic.

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Alvarez went close to doubling Atletico’s lead just before the hour mark when he crashed a shot against the post.

Espanyol hit back 17 minutes from time as Miguel Rubio netted after a set-piece.

Substitute Milla completed the turnaround, heading in Omar El Hilali’s cross to snatch all three points for the home side in the 84th minute.

Athletic Bilbao got off to a winning start as substitute Robert Navarro’s late goal sealed a dramatic 3-2 victory over Sevilla.

Nico Williams’ penalty and Maroan Sannadi’s strike put the Basque club two goals up at half-time at the San Mames.

But Dodi Lukebakio fired in off the post on the hour to cut the deficit before Lucien Agoume drew Sevilla level with 18 minutes to play.

Navarro had the final say in the 81st minute, though, giving Bilbao an opening win as they look to back up a fine campaign last term when they finished fourth to qualify for the Champions League.

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