Paraguay players celebrate Matias Galarza’s goal. Photo: REUTERS SANTA CLARA: Ten-man Paraguay scored the fastest goal of the World Cup so far to beat Turkey 1-0 in a dramatic Group D match on Friday, breathing life into their campaign and condemning their opponents to an early exit. Fired up from a humiliating 4-1 defeat by…
Morocco’s Ismael Saibari in action with Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson and Nathan Patterson. Photo: REUTERS BOSTON: Ismael Saibari scored the fastest goal of the World Cup so far after just 71 seconds as Morocco beat Scotland 1-0 on Friday to close in on a place in the knockout rounds. Saibari scored in Morocco’s opening 1-1 draw…
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo during training. Photo: REUTERS PALM BEACH GARDENS: The Portugal squad are shutting out criticism of the team and captain Cristiano Ronaldo following an underwhelming draw in their World Cup opener against Democratic Republic of Congo, defender Ruben Dias said on Friday. Congo, playing in their first World Cup for 52 years, frustrated…
LOS ANGELES: The United States powered into the last 32 of the World Cup on Friday with a 2-0 victory over Australia as Brazil prepared to kickstart their campaign against Haiti. A day after Mexico sealed their place in the knockout rounds, the USA emulated their fellow World Cup co-hosts with a clinical Group D…
New Zealand’s Henry Nicholls walks off after the end of play for day 3. Photo: REUTERS LONDON: New Zealand seized complete control of the second test against England as Henry Nicholls struck a masterful century in a 161-run partnership with Rachin Ravindra to stretch their lead to 352 on day three at the Oval on…
Merlin join thousands of admirers at the World Cup “Fan Fest” in Mexico City, his agenda is jam-packed Merlin, a two-year-old duck, seized the imagination of millions of Mexicans when he was filmed walking down the street with his owner while wearing Mexico’s green national jersey. Now a viral sensation, FIFA has dubbed him the…
Switzerland’s Johan Manzambi celebrates scoring his team’s third goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Photo: AFP LOS ANGELES: Super subs Johan Manzambi and Ruben Vargas fired Switzerland to a 4-1 win over 10-man Bosnia-Herzegovina in a late rush of goals in Los Angeles on Thursday. The result gave the Swiss a strong chance of reaching the knockout round…
Mokoena’s penalty in the second half kept the African side alive in the competition Teboho Mokoena’s penalty earned a 1-1 draw for South Africa. Photo: AFP LOS ANGELES: Teboho Mokoena’s penalty kept South Africa’s dream of reaching the World Cup knockout stages for the first time alive after a 1-1 draw with the Czech Republic in Atlanta…
Yan Diomande, 19, made his Ivory Coast debut in October and scored in his first two matches. Photo: AFP LONDON: Two years after leaving the United States following a series of unsuccessful MLS tryouts, Yan Diomande is shining at the World Cup for Ivory Coast — and still grieving a family tragedy. Diomande, 19, made his Ivory…
Sweden head coach Graham Potter oversees a World Cup training session. Photo: AFP LONDON: Graham Potter took charge of Sweden in October with both coach and team in need of a reset. Now they are one game from the World Cup knockouts. The Swedes hammered Tunisia 5-1 in their opening game in Mexico on Sunday…