MILAN: Italy failed to reach the World Cup for the first time since 1958 on Monday as they were held to a 0-0 draw in the second leg of their play-off at the San Siro by Sweden, who qualified with a 1-0 aggregate victory.
The four-time champions dominated possession but struggled to create enough clear-cut chances, as Sweden secured a first appearance at the finals since 2006 courtesy of Jakob Johansson’s first-leg strike in Stockholm.
Despite the support of 74,000 fans in a white-hot atmosphere at the San Siro the 2006 World Cup winners could not find a way through.
It is the third time that the Italians will not compete at the World Cup, after not going to the first edition in 1930 and not qualifying for the 1958 finals in Sweden.
It marks the end of an era for iconic goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon who will not be able to compete in a record sixth World Cup.
At 39, the 175-times capped Buffon had announced that the finals in Russia would be his last as a player for the national side.
“I’m sorry, sorry, sorry,” a tearful Buffon told Rai television as he confirmed he was ending his international career.
“I’m not sorry for myself but all of Italian football, because we failed at something which also means something on a social level.
“It’s the only regret I have. Not stopping, because time passes and it’s normal. I regret just that my final match with the national side coincides with an elimination.
“I leave a squad of talent that will have their say, including (Gianluigi) Donnarumma and (Mattia) Perin. I embrace all those who have supported me.”
Without star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who retired from the national team after Euro 2016, Sweden sealed a return to the world stage after failing to reach the last two editions. The last time the Scandinavians participated was in 2006.
“I’m emotional and very happy,” said Sweden coach Janne Andersson. “This match showed our collective strength.
“With Ibrahimovic we played differently. He’s retired and he’s a great champion. So we adapted and we play in another way now.”
It was a mediocre performance by the hosts with Antonio Candreva firing over and Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen denying Alessandro Florenzi and Ciro Immobile.
Mikael Lustig almost scored an own goal when his deflection hit the bar.
Marco Verratti sat out a ban with Simone Zaza and Leonardo Spinazzola both injured, with Daniele De Rossi and Andrea Belotti not fully fit.
Coach Gian Piero Ventura gave Brazil-born Jorginho his first competitive appearance for Italy with Florenzi and Manolo Gabbiadini also handed starts. Napoli’s in-form winger Lorenzo Insigne however was once again left on the bench.
Sweden’s Lustig was back from suspension, with Johansson starting in place of the injured Albin Ekdal.
The hosts had penalty appeals in the opening few minutes as Marco Parolo appeared to be tripped from behind by Ludwig Augustinsson, but the referee waved play on and booked Giorgio Chiellini for dissent.
Sweden lost first-leg goalscorer Johansson after 15 minutes when his left knee buckled badly and he was stretchered off to make way for Gustav Svensson.
Jorginho’s through ball found Immobile to pull back from the byline for Candreva to blast over, but Leonardo Bonucci, wearing a protective mask after breaking his nose on Friday, got a knock to the knee and was limping badly.
Florenzi thought he had scored on 53 minutes with a flying volley from Matteo Darmian’s cross, but it went wide.
Bonucci got down to business taking off his protective mask on the hour mark, with Ventura bringing on Stephan El Shaarawy and Torino striker Belotti.
Federico Bernardeschi was the final Italy substitution and Olsen turned away a Parolo header.
As the clock ticked the crowd at the San Siro began to sing the national anthem.
An El Shaarawy shot was kept out by Olsen and Parolo’s header went wide, then Buffon came up for a corner in a final desperate gamble as Italy fell short of reaching the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.
Italy miss out on World Cup as Sweden qualify
Italy miss out on World Cup as Sweden qualify
Jake Paul beats 58-year-old Mike Tyson as hits failed to match the hype
- Downdetector reported that the outage primarily impacted users in major metropolitan areas, including New York, Seattle and Los Angeles
ARLINGTON, Texas: Jake Paul won a unanimous decision over Mike Tyson as the hits didn’t match the hype in a fight between a young YouTuber-turned-boxer and the 58-year-old former heavyweight champion Friday night.
All the hate from the pre-fight buildup was gone, with Paul even stopping to pay homage with a bow to Tyson before the final bell sounded at the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The fight wasn’t close on the judge’s cards, with one giving Paul an 80-72 edge and the other two calling it 79-73.
Tyson came after Paul immediately after the opening bell and landed a couple of quick punches but didn’t try much else the rest of the way.
Even fewer rounds and shorter rounds couldn’t do much to generate action for a 58-year-old in his first sanctioned pro fight in almost 20 years, facing a boxing neophyte with hopes of fighting for championships somewhere in the future.
Paul was more aggressive after the quickly burst from Tyson in the opening seconds, but the punching wasn’t very efficient. There were quite a few wild swings and misses.
Tyson mostly sat back and waited for Paul to come to him, with a few exceptions. It was quite the contract the co-main event, another slugfest in which Katie Taylor kept her undisputed super lightweight championship with a decision over Amanda Serrano.
It was the first sanctioned fight since 2005 for Tyson. Paul started fighting a little more than four years ago.
The fight was originally scheduled for July 20 but had to be postponed when Tyson was treated for a stomach ulcer after falling ill on a flight.
Kosovo players walk off in Romania game after ‘Serbia’ chants
Bucharest: A Nations League game between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest was suspended on Friday in injury time after fans in the crowd shouted “Serbia!.”
The Kosovo players left the pitch after the chants, leading to the game to be paused with the score 0-0.
Animosity between Kosovo and Serbia has persisted since the war between Serbian forces and ethnic Albanian insurgents in the late 1990s.
Kosovo and Serbia do not play each other in UEFA and FIFA tournaments.
Football’s world governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against Serbia during the 2022 World Cup after the team hung a flag in their changing room depicting Kosovo as part of Serbia.
Kosovo joined FIFA and European confederation UEFA in 2016.
When Romania played in Pristina, they beat Kosovo 3-0.
Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight
PORTO, Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal staged a second-half supershow to crush Poland 5-1 and reach the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday.
Portugal join France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the last-eight while Poland’s hopes of going through from Group A1 were ended.
Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.
Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.
The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.
Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalized for a handball in the area.
Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.
Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defense stranded.
As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.
Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.
Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.
Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.
Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura says he will play next season at age 58
- Miura will turn 58 in February
- He intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka
TOKYO: Japanese soccer player Kazuyoshi Miura is several generations older than his teammates. His contemporaries retired decades ago. Lionel Messi is 37, and Cristiano Ronaldo is 39 — mere youngsters compared to Miura.
Miura will turn 58 in February, and the Japanese news agency Kyodo reported this week that he intends to play next season for his fourth-tier Japanese club, Suzuka. It will be his 40th season playing in professional soccer.
Miura is widely listed as the oldest active professional soccer player.
Miura scored 55 goals in 89 appearances and was a star with Japan’s national team in the 1990s.
He has played professionally in Brazil, Italy, Croatia, Australia and Portugal. He made his debut in 1986 with Brazilian club Santos, a side made famous by Brazilian star Pelé.
Japan beat Indonesia 4-0 to extend group lead in Asian World Cup qualifying
- Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round.
- Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have 6 points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with 3
JAKARTA: Japan defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Friday to move seven points clear at the top of Group C in the third round of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Two goals in each half mean the Samurai Blue stays on course for an eighth successive World Cup appearance.
After a bright start from the home team, the 78,000 fans at a sold-out Gelora Bung Karno Stadium were silenced after 35 minutes as Daichi Kamada broke down the left and sent a cross which defender Justin Hubner put into his own net from close range.
Takumi Minamino then scored from inside the area off Kaoru Mitoma’s pass to extend the lead five minutes before the break.
Hidemasa Motira took advantage of an errant pass from Indonesia’s goalkeeper to make it 3-0 early in the second half and Yukinari Sugawara rounded out the scoring in the 69th minute.
Japan tops the group on 13 points with five games remaining in the round. Australia, Saudi Arabia and China all have six points, followed by Bahrain with five and Indonesia with three.
The top two from each of the three groups will be guaranteed a place at the World Cup, with the third- and fourth-place teams progressing to the next stage.
