Sports
Haaland fires Norway closer to World Cup as Italy stay in hunt | The Express Tribune
PARIS:
Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick to pass 50 international goals in record time as Norway cruised to a 5-0 thrashing of Israel on Saturday, edging closer to qualifying for a first World Cup finals since 1998.
Before the match in Oslo, hundreds of people attended a pro-Palestinian demonstration, chanting “Free Palestine” to protest against Israel’s “genocide” in Gaza, AFP journalists reported.
Norwegian police dispersed a gathering of pro-Palestinian activists with tear gas and made several arrests.
Inside the Ullevaal Stadium, several dozen Israeli fans waved their country’s flag and a banner reading “Let the Ball Talk!”.
Norway now lead Group I with 18 points, six more than second-placed Italy, who beat Estonia 3-1 in Tallinn to stay on track for qualification.
The comfortable win in Oslo leaves Norway firmly in control of the group as they seek a place at next year’s finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
After a meek performance, Israel take on Italy in Udine on Tuesday knowing they must win to keep alive their fading hopes of qualifying.
Haaland became the fastest player in men’s international football to reach 50 goals for his country and now boasts 51 goals for Norway in just 46 games.
His early penalty was saved by Israel goalkeeper Daniel Peretz but the referee ordered the spot-kick to be retaken for encroachment inside the area, only for Peretz to parry away Haaland’s second effort.
But Norway forged ahead in the 18th minute through an Anan Khalaili own goal, before Haaland raced clear to score. Norway got their third from an Idan Nachmias own goal.
Manchester City forward Haaland added his second with a powerful header before nodding in to complete his sixth hat-trick for his country with 18 minutes left.
Italy, attempting to reach their first World Cup finals since 2014, moved a step closer thanks to goals from Moise Kean, Mateo Retegui and Pio Esposito in Tallinn.
The Italians move three points ahead of Israel in second place in Group I, which offers a play-off spot.
Italy’s meeting with Israel is expected to be a tense affair, surrounded by pro-Palestinian protests and only 5,000 tickets have been sold.
Missed Ronaldo spot-kick
In Lisbon, Cristiano Ronaldo had a second-half penalty saved by the legs of Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhim Kelleher but Portugal stole the win in injury time when Ruben Neves scored with a header.
Neves wore the number 21 shirt in tribute to his late international teammate Diogo Jota, who was killed in a car crash this year. Jota wore 21 for Portugal.
The hard-fought 1-0 victory puts the Portuguese five points clear of Hungary at the top of Group F.
The Hungarians beat Armenia 2-0 and the Irish and Armenia face a do-or-die match in Dublin on Tuesday.
European champions Spain kept their perfect record in qualifying intact by defeating Georgia 2-0 thanks to goals from Yeremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal.
Turkey remain three points behind them in Group E thanks to a thumping 6-1 defeat of Bulgaria in Sofia.
Albania have never qualified for a World Cup but have a chance of being in the finals next year after a 1-0 win at Serbia thanks to a goal from Rey Manaj.
The Albanians are second in Group K behind England and four points clear of third-placed Serbia.
Kiffin wanted to stay at Mississippi through the College Football Playoff even after taking the job at LSU. That only made sense on television.
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Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott on Monday advised the Ben Stokes-led side to adopt a more strategic and thoughtful approach ahead of the second Ashes Test against Australia, scheduled for Thursday in Brisbane.
England suffered an agonising eight-wicket defeat in the series opener in Perth, which lasted less than two days, the first of which was dominated by the touring side as they had reduced the hosts to 123/9 after accumulating 172 all out.
The visitors now face another gruelling challenge in the blockbuster series as they take on the Baggy Greens in a pink-ball Test, in which the hosts boast a dominant record, having lost just one out of their previous 14 appearances, but Boycott, who has won Ashes both in England and Australia, believes that the Three Lions can win the upcoming game by adopting a calculated strategy.
He, however, warned England batters of self-destruction, advising them to “use their brains” and decide whether to attack or hold back after analysing the situation.
“But it doesn’t help our chances of success if Ben Stokes keeps encouraging our batsmen to attack, attack with one finger hovering over the self-destruct button,” Boycott wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
“Nobody is asking the players to stop being positive because they have given us some marvellous, thrilling and entertaining cricket. All we ask is for them to use their brains and realise there are times when they should throttle back and be aware of situations and bat accordingly,” he added.
Boycott, who represented England in 108 Tests and 36 ODIs, also slammed Stokes for his comments in which he referred to former cricketers as “has-beens” but expressed satisfaction over the all-rounder’s partial apology.
“To call past players ‘has-beens’ was disrespectful, especially as some of those ‘has-beens’ played in teams that won the Ashes in England and Australia,” Boycott wrote.
“I am glad Ben has half apologised, saying it was a slip of the tongue, because none of this team has won the Ashes in Australia. Get the job done, because then you don’t need to say anything and you can bask in all the glory coming your way.”
The Copa Libertadores trophy won by Flamengo on Saturday was damaged during the team’s title celebrations.
Flamengo beat Palmeiras 1-0 in the final in Lima, Peru, to become the first Brazilian club to lift the prestigious cup four times.
Flamengo players and staff had a victory parade on the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday afternoon, with an estimated 500,000 people joining in the celebrations.
Players and staff took turns to lift the cup during the parade and images showed that the top part of the trophy, which consists of a figurine of a footballer ready to kick a ball, was wrapped in what appeared to be masking tape.
– Flamengo lift Copa Libertadores, but Brazil’s players look exhausted
The figurine had earlier been broken.
Flamengo will be hoping to wrap up the Brazilian league title on Wednesday when they take on Ceara in front of their own fans in Rio’s Maracana stadium.
They are five points clear of Palmeiras at the top of the standings with two games remaining.
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