Pakistan red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has defended wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan after his underwhelming performance in the opening Test against Bangladesh, insisting the senior player remains vital to Pakistan’s plans ahead of the second Test in Sylhet. Pakistan suffered a 104-run defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in…
Arsenal are in pole position in the Premier League title race. Photo: AFP/File LONDON: Arsenal can move within touching distance of the Premier League crown before title rivals Manchester City next play as a gripping race enters its final stretch. The Gunners will be fancied to beat relegated Burnley on Monday and move five points…
LONDON: China’s state broadcaster CCTV announced Friday it has secured the rights to air the FIFA World Cup this year and in 2030, ending an agonising wait for fans in the football-mad country. With kick-off less than a month away, hundreds of millions of Chinese fans were left wondering how they could watch matches before…
LONDON: Carlo Ancelotti will remain the coach of Brazil until 2030, the country’s football federation (CBF) said on Thursday in a vote of confidence as the storied football nation aims to turn around its World Cup woes. The contract renewal will put the 66-year-old Italian at the helm of the team “until the 2030 World…
The former footballer and his wife’s collective wealth reached an estimated £1.185 billion Former Manchester United and England star David Beckham. Photo: AFP LONDON: Former Manchester United and England star David Beckham has become Britain’s first billionaire sportsman, according to the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List. Beckham and his wife Victoria’s collective wealth reached an…
Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe was whistled by many of the club’s own fans at the Santiago Bernabeu against Real Oviedo. Photo: AFP LONDON: Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe was whistled by fans at the Santiago Bernabeu in his team’s 2-0 win over Real Oviedo on Thursday in La Liga. The Frenchman returned from a…
Brighton winger Mitoma was injured in a game against Wolves in the Premier League last weekend. Photo: REUTERS LONDON: An emotional Hajime Moriyasu said Japan had lost “a major presence” in Kaoru Mitoma after he was forced to leave the injured winger out of his World Cup squad on Friday. Mitoma missed the cut after…
SEOUL: A women’s football club will on Sunday be the first sports team from North Korea to visit neighbouring South Korea in eight years. The isolated and nuclear-armed country’s Naegohyang Women’s FC will play the South’s Suwon FC Women three days later in the Asian Champions League semi-finals. AFP looks at the trip, the politics…
Barcelona’s aim of getting to 100 points this season in La Liga was scuppered on Wednesday at Alaves. Photo: AFP LONDON: Newly-crowned Spanish champions Barcelona suffered a 1-0 defeat by Alaves on Wednesday, ending their bid to match the all-time La Liga record points total of 100. Hansi Flick’s side needed to win their remaining…
PSG’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates with teammate Ousmane Dembele after he scored the opening goal during the French League One soccer match between Lens and Paris Saint Germain, in Lens. Photo: AFP LENS, FRANCE: Paris Saint-Germain secured their fifth straight French Ligue 1 title on Wednesday as Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s strike set up a decisive 2-0 win…