NORTHERN IRELAND vs. SWITZERLAND
Northern Ireland is within reach of its first World Cup in 32 years after hitting its target of second place in a group won by defending champion Germany. Switzerland, ranked No. 4 in August, finds itself in a tense playoff despite nine straight wins to start qualifying. On Monday, Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic was still looking back to the 2-0 loss at Portugal last month, saying he had imagined playing a “nice friendly” game this week. He acknowledged his team was too passive against Portugal, and challenged players he did not identify to take more responsibility now. The Swiss need to forget about that match before the first leg Thursday at Windsor Park, where only Germany has beaten Northern Ireland in a competitive match in the past four years. Switzerland has a nine-game winning streak at home in tournament qualifiers, and hosts the return on Sunday in Basel.
Fixtures
Today: Northern Ireland vs. Switzerland
Sunday: Switzerland vs. Northern Ireland
CROATIA vs. GREECE
Greece is bidding to reach a major tournament again after an embarrassing qualification campaign for the 2016 European Championship. Crucially, it will be without defender Kostas Manolas, who is banned from the first leg. He is out because FIFA suspended him for trying to manipulate his disciplinary record by deliberately earning a yellow card against Cyprus on Oct. 7. The decision compounded problems for coach Michael Skibbe, who is missing midfielder Petros Mantalos and striker Tasos Donis because of injury. Croatia is set to miss defensive midfielder Milan Badelj for both matches against Greece. The Croatians and the Greeks were in the playoffs for the 2014 tournament
in Brazil. Croatia eliminated Iceland 2-0
on aggregate, while Greece beat Romania 4-2
on aggregate.
Fixtures
Today: Croatia vs. Greece
Sunday: Greece vs. Croatia
SWEDEN vs. ITALY
Four-time champion Italy has participated in every World Cup since failing to qualify for the 1958 tournament, which coincidentally was held in Sweden. But Italy has showed poor form recently, ever since a 3-0 loss to Spain in September. After that match, Italy edged Israel 1-0, drew 1-1 with Macedonia and beat Albania 1-0. While Sweden didn’t qualify for the last two World Cups, it impressed in qualifying with a win over France and finished ahead of the Netherlands. “We are winners just by being here,” Sweden coach Janne Andersson said. Sweden went unbeaten at home in qualifying at Friends Arena and striker Marcus Berg scored eight times in nine matches.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: Sweden vs. Italy
Monday: Italy vs. Sweden
DENMARK vs. IRELAND
Being in the playoffs for a major tournament is nothing new for Ireland. This will be the team’s ninth time, and they have lost five of them — including against France ahead of the 2010 World Cup when Thierry Henry clearly handled the ball in the buildup to the crucial goal. Ireland has effectively already won one playoff — by beating Wales 1-0 in its final qualifier — and will most likely rely on the counterattacking tactics that worked so well in Cardiff. While there are no real stars in the Ireland team, Denmark has a standout in Christian Eriksen — one of European soccer’s best playmakers over the past few years at Tottenham. He scored eight times from midfield in qualifying. The Danes’ 4-0 win over Poland in group play highlights their potential and they are also higher in the FIFA rankings, at No. 19 compared with Ireland’s No. 26. The managers — Martin O’Neill and Age Hareide — are former teammates at English club Norwich.
Fixtures
Saturday: Denmark vs. Republic of Ireland
Tuesday: Republic of Ireland vs. Denmark
AUSTRALIA vs. HONDURAS
This is the scenario Australia aimed to avoid when it switched from Oceania to the Asian Football Confederation after the 2006 World Cup: A last-ditch intercontinental playoff in the Americas for a spot at soccer’s marquee event. Australian players traveled from three continents to assemble in Honduras this week to prepare for Friday’s first leg. It was a similar scenario when the Australians played Uruguay for a place at the 2006 tournament. Uruguay won 1-0 in Montevideo, and Australia leveled it up with a 1-0 win in Sydney before advancing 4-2 on penalties. It ended a long drought for the Socceroos, who had failed to advance from the last playoff stage in 1986 (against Scotland), in 1994 (against Argentina), in 1998 (against Iran), and in 2002 (against Uruguay). Tim Cahill, the only player still active from that playoff series in 2005 and now Australia’s all-time leading scorer, is in doubt because of an ankle injury.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: Honduras vs. Australia
Wednesday: Australia vs. Honduras
NEW ZEALAND vs. PERU
New Zealand will return to the scene of one of its greatest triumphs when it hosts Peru on Saturday.
In 2009, New Zealand beat Bahrain 1-0 in front of a crowd of 35,000 at the Wellington Regional Stadium to qualify for the World Cup for the second time. It had previously qualified in 1982, the same year in which Peru made its last World Cup appearance. The return leg will be in Peru on Wednesday. Rory Fallon, who scored New Zealand’s winning goal in that match eight years ago, has been recalled to the All Whites after a one-year absence. He is currently playing for Dorchester in the seventh tier of English soccer. That win over Bahrain briefly put soccer center-stage in a rugby-mad country and Saturday’s match will likely do so again. The match is a sellout. Peru, ranked No. 10, starts as the overwhelming favorite against 122nd-ranked New Zealand but has a significant setback, with striker Paolo Guerrero ruled out after failing a doping test. Guerrero scored six goals in qualifying.
Fixtures
Saturday: New Zealand vs. Peru
Thursday: Peru vs. New Zealand
AFRICA
Africa’s last three World Cup places will be decided on the final group games in qualifying, when Ivory Coast could miss out and Congo could qualify for the first time since 1974. Two of the five groups are settled, with Nigeria and Egypt already through. Tunisia and Congo will tussle for a place from Group A. Tunisia has a three-point advantage, so Congo needs to beat Guinea and hope Tunisia loses at home to Libya. If that happens, the World Cup place will go to the team with the best goal difference. Morocco and Ivory Coast face a straight shootout in Group C when Morocco travels to Abidjan. Ivory Coast must win to sneak through to the World Cup and deny former coach Herve Renard, now with Morocco. Senegal can seal its place on Friday in a contentious qualifier against South Africa, a game ordered by FIFA to be played again because of match-fixing by the referee. Senegal lost the initial game but if it wins on its second chance, it’ll be through to the World Cup. That will lead to serious discontent from the other teams. Burkina Faso, hoping to go to the World Cup for the first time, has already appealed against FIFA’s decision.
Fixtures
Tomorrow: South Africa vs. Senegal
Saturday: Congo vs. Guinea, Tunisia vs. Libya, Ivory Coast vs. Morocco
— AFP
The race to join Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup hots up this week
The race to join Saudi Arabia at the FIFA World Cup hots up this week
Partying, celebrations not an excuse, Flick warns as champions Barca eye strong finish
“It’s the last time we play at home and we want to win”
BARCELONA: Barcelona players celebrated the club’s 28th LaLiga title with thousands of fans in an open-bus victory parade on Friday, but coach Hansi Flick was quick to remind them that the season was not over.
Flick, who has led Barcelona to the league title, Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup in his debut season, said he needed his players to focus on finishing the campaign on a high.
“Yesterday was a day of celebration and rest. A lot of players went out partying, but whoever can party can work, it’s not an excuse. I want to finish the season as we started it,” Flick told reporters on Saturday, a day before hosting Villarreal.
“It’s the last time we play at home and we want to win. We want to end the season as champions. We haven’t lost in 2025 (in the league) and we want to keep it that way.”
Flick said he was overwhelmed by the passion of the supporters during the celebrations.
“It was incredible to see the faces, the passion of the people, how they celebrated. It was fantastic to see,” said the coach.
“To celebrate year after year would be amazing. Maybe we can do it again next year. We will work for it. It’s everyone’s title.”
Flick said his team would face a difficult task against fifth-placed Villarreal, with the visitors looking to ensure Champions League qualification with a top-five finish going into the last two matches of the campaign.
“We’re playing against great teams and Villarreal have done a fantastic job, they have won their last four games. You can see the hand of their coach and they have key players,” he added.
Asked if he could start with 11 home-grown players on Sunday, Flick said the idea had been discussed at the club.
“To be honest, we’ve talked about it internally, but we haven’t decided. It could be. We’ll wait until tomorrow to see how the team is,” he said.
Norris turns tables on Piastri in final Imola practice
- The Briton’s best time of one minute and 14.897 seconds completed a McLaren sweep
- Australian championship leader Piastri was 0.100 slower this time on a sunny afternoon at Imola
IMOLA, Italy: Lando Norris turned the tables on pace-setting teammate Oscar Piastri by leading a McLaren one-two in final practice for the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola on Saturday.
The Briton’s best time of one minute and 14.897 seconds completed a McLaren sweep of practice in Ferrari’s backyard, with the champions filling the top two positions in all three sessions.
Australian championship leader Piastri, who was fastest in both Friday sessions and is 16 points clear of Norris after six races, was 0.100 slower this time on a sunny afternoon at Imola.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, the four-times world champion who has won the last three races at Imola, was third fastest and only 0.181 off the pace on the medium tire with the battle looking closer.
Mercedes’ 18-year-old rookie Kimi Antonelli was fourth ahead of his home debut but the Bologna-born driver was half a second slower than Norris.
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc was fifth on the timesheets, with seven-times world champion teammate Lewis Hamilton only 10th on the quicker soft tire as he limbers up for what will be a first race in Italy in the team’s red overalls.
Carlos Sainz, Hamilton’s predecessor at Ferrari, was sixth for Williams ahead of Racing Bulls’ Isack Hadjar and Mercedes’ George Russell with Alex Albon ninth for Williams.
Argentine rookie Franco Colapinto, debuting for Alpine after replacing ousted Australian Jack Doohan, was 18th.
Qualifying for Sunday’s race follows later on Saturday.
Real Madrid signs Spain defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth
MADRID: Real Madrid has signed highly rated Spain defender Dean Huijsen from Bournemouth in its first reinforcement of the offseason.
The Spanish powerhouse said Saturday that the 20-year-old Huijsen had signed a five-year deal through June 2030. Madrid reportedly agreed to pay the player’s 50-million pound ($66.4 million) clause to sign him from Bournemouth.
Huijsen is a Dutch-born, ball-playing center back who joined the Premier League team from Juventus for a reported 12.5 million pounds (now $16.6 million) in the offseason last year. He was a regular for Bournemouth since breaking into the team in November.
He impressed so much that he earned a call-up by Spain for the Nations League playoffs in March, coming on a substitute in the first leg against the Netherlands and then starting the second leg.
Assured on the ball and a good reader of the game, Huijsen had been linked with some of the biggest teams in the Premier League in recent months, including Liverpool and Arsenal, so it was increasingly inevitable Bournemouth would be losing the tall defender over the summer — but making a big profit in the process.
Madrid needs to rebuild a defense after multiple injuries to its backline during a trophyless 2024-25 campaign.
Olaroiu targets AFC Champions League Two with Sharjah as Singapore’s Lion City Sailors stand in the way
- The Romanian coach has claimed domestic trophies everywhere he has managed but not yet tasted glory on the continent
AUSTRALIA: Cosmin Olaroiu has just about won it all during his time as a manager, with success following the Romanian in stints in China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and, of course, the UAE.
It is in the Emirates that he has spent the bulk of his coaching career, and had most of his success, working at Shabab Al-Ahli, Al-Ain and, most recently, at Sharjah; winning four league titles, two President’s Cups, three League Cups and five Super Cups along the way.
Add those to league titles in Saudi Arabia with Al-Hilal, and China with Jiangsu Suning, and a Qatar Stars Cup with Al-Sadd, and the 55-year-old Bucharest native is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of club football in Asia.
But one thing has eluded the burly Romanian across his almost two decades coaching in Asia — continental silverware. That could finally change against Singapore’s Lion City Sailors on Sunday night.
Olaroiu took Al-Ahli, as Shabab Al-Ahli were then known, to the final of the AFC Champions League in 2015, but came up just short against the now defunct Chinese heavyweights Guangzhou Evergrande, losing 1-0 across the two-legged affair.
Having exacted a modicum of revenge by dethroning Guangzhou when he was coach of Jiangsu Suning, winning the club their first ever league title in 2020, he never got the chance to compete for continental honours after the club went bust just weeks after their title success, as the bubble burst in the Chinese football boom.
But on Sunday night in Singapore, as he prepares to bring his time in club football to a close, having taken on the role of national team coach for the UAE, he has the chance to finally complete the set and add a continental title to his decorated CV.
While it may “only” be the AFC Champions League Two, the second-tier club competition in Asia behind the AFC Champions League Elite, it will still mean the same to a coach that has an insatiable thirst for success.
It has been a season of near misses for Sharjah, who were, until recently, in the running for an unprecedented quadruple. That was when they were still in the hunt for the UAE Pro League title, were in the semifinals of the League Cup, had made the final of the President’s Cup and, of course, the AFC Champions League Two.
But one by one, those titles fell through their grasp. They fell behind Shabab Al-Ahli in the league, with the Dubai-based club ultimately clinching the league title earlier the month.
Shabab Al-Ahli again proved their nemesis in the semifinal of the League Cup, winning 5-3 on aggregate across two legs, while last weekend they let slip a 1-0 lead in the President’s Cup Final to lose 2-1 to, you guessed it, Shabab Al-Ahli.
While the Dubai club has been a thorn in their side for much of the season, Olaroiu and Sharjah exacted some form of revenge in Asia, winning their ACL Two quarterfinal in March in a dramatic penalty shootout, before edging Al-Taawoun in equally dramatic fashion in the semifinal to set up a clash with Singapore’s Lion City Sailors.
With the Saudi side leading 1-0 from the first leg, Sharjah left it late to turn things around in the second leg at home, scoring twice in stoppage-time, in the 94th and 99th minutes, to steal a famous victory.
“This was a special night,” Olaroiu said afterwards with the adrenaline and emotion still coursing through his body.
“I thank the players, the fans, and all the members of the Sharjah club. We deserve to reach this stage.”
Having been confirmed as the next UAE boss, as the nation tries to qualify for its first FIFA World Cup since 1990 — qualification for which, ironically, was sealed in Singapore — a continental title would be a fitting way to bow out, but the announcement of his appointment last month may have proved something of a distraction.
In seven games, across the UAE Pro League and President’s Cup, since his announcement, Sharjah have won just once; a 4-0 win over Ajman. They come into Sunday’s game on the back of four straight defeats, their most recent loss coming at home to Al-Ain earlier this week.
It is far from ideal preparation, but if there is one man that can help turn their fortunes around, it is the veteran Romanian who has proved a master at motivating his players and leading them to success.
Signing off with a continental title would be just reward for someone who has given so much to club football across Asia.
Mahuchikh hopes to show Ukraine’s resilience in Tokyo
TOKYO: Olympic high jump champion Yaroslava Mahuchikh said Saturday she wants to “show people that Ukraine continues fighting” as she seeks to lay down a marker in Tokyo ahead of September’s world championships.
The 23-year-old is competing in Sunday’s Golden Grand Prix in the Japanese capital at the same stadium where she will attempt to defend her world title later this year.
Mahuchikh has emerged as one of Ukraine’s top athletes since Russia invaded the country in 2022.
She set a world record of 2.10m last year before winning gold at the Paris Games.
She said: “every competition is important for me because I represent my country.”
“I do my best to show people that Ukraine continues fighting for independence,” she said.
“I’m really proud to represent my country so I’m looking forward to coming back in September to protect my title of world champion.”
Mahuchikh has been outspoken in her support of Ukraine, dedicating her Olympic gold to the hundreds of athletes and coaches who have been killed since the invasion began.
Her country was again in her thoughts as she set her sights on defending her world title.
“Of course, I have a target to win the gold medal,” she said.
“I want to just give my people a happy time because, unfortunately, now is a difficult time — only sport and art can give these memories.”
Mahuchikh is competing in Tokyo for the first time since the pandemic-postponed Olympics in 2021, where she won bronze.
She has since gone from strength to strength, capturing the world title in Budapest in 2023 and Olympic gold a year later.
She said she wanted to savour the atmosphere in Tokyo after fans were locked out four years ago because of pandemic restrictions.
“I want to give the energy to the people, to my fans because I didn’t have time in Covid time to enjoy this atmosphere,” she said.
“Tomorrow it will be an incredible atmosphere for sure. It will be a great preparation before the world championships in September.”
American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who won Olympic silver in Paris, will race for the first time this season in the women’s 100m in Tokyo.
American Christian Coleman headlines the men’s 100m race.
