DUBAI: Saudi Arabia face hosts Russia on the 14th of June 2018 in the opening match of the FIFA World Cup, but the next stage of preparations en route to Moscow starts this weekend against another host country in another opening fixture. The 23rd edition of the Gulf Cup kicks-off on Friday when the Green Falcons face a Kuwait side returning from more than two years of international hiatus following a ban from FIFA.
The side that takes on the Blues of Kuwait on Friday will be very different to that expected to face Russia in six months’ time. For starters, coach Krunoslav Jurcic will lead the team instead of first-team manager Juan Antonio Pizzi. The Croatian takes to Kuwait the youngest squad among the eight nations competing for the regional title.
Besides the host nation, Saudi Arabia’s Group A includes regional heavyweights the United Arab Emirates as well as Oman. Saudi and the UAE exchanged wins in the third round of the Asian qualifiers to the FIFA World Cup: The Green Falcons triumphed 3-0 in Jeddah, while the Whites responded with a 2-1 win in Al-Ain in the penultimate matchday of the campaign.
The UAE have since replaced coach Mahdi Ali with experienced Italian Alberto Zaccheroni who has called up a full-strength squad for the Gulf Cup, including the likes of 2015 Asian Player of the Year Ahmed Khalil and his successor for the award Omar Abdulrahman as well as 2015 Asian Cup top goal scorer Ali Mabkhout. With the abundance of talent in their ranks, the UAE are favorites to advance from the group and even win the tournament.
Kuwait will be motivated, returning to international football in their favorite competition, which they have won a record ten times. On home soil, the Blues will mount a serious challenge for the title and their fans will accept nothing short of a semifinal spot.
Then there is Oman, whose Dutch manager Pim Verbeek plays a conservative brand of football and could be successful in getting smash-and-grab wins against stronger opponents.
Given all of the above, coupled with the inexperience of his own squad, Jurcic would be wise to ease the pressure on his players and instead focus on the medium-term objective of helping Pizzi identify players who can make it to the team traveling to Russia. Granted, Saudi fans would not be satisfied with an early exit. After all, the Gulf Cup remains highly entrenched in the region’s fan culture and bragging rights are still as important as ever to supporters.
Kuwait’s ban has seen them slip down to 188th in FIFA rankings, a position that does not represent their true level. Saudi are currently ranked 63rd and a defeat or even a draw against a side 125 places below them can have a damaging impact on the team’s ranking. The same is true, to a lesser extent, of Oman who are ranked 101st going into the tournament.
A number of players in Jurcic’s squad already have a claim on a spot on the plane to Moscow next summer, and for them, it is crucial that they lead by example to impress coach Pizzi, who will certainly be watching. Defender Abdulrahman Al-Obaid, midfielders Ahmed Al-Fraidi, Salman Al-Moasher and Nouh Al-Moosa, in addition to strikers Mukhtar Fallatah and Hazza Al-Hazza, have all represented the national team over the past 12 months and are considered fringe players at this stage. Their performances in Kuwait can go a long way in determining their World Cup fate come May.
World Cup places at stake in Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Cup bid
World Cup places at stake in Saudi Arabia’s Gulf Cup bid
Cavaliers cruise past Bucks, Embiid shines in Sixers win
- The Cavaliers, winners of seven of their last eight, improved to 15-1 at home and got good news with the season debut of Max Strus
- The Oklahoma City Thunder, who fell to the Bucks in the Cup final on Tuesday, notched their second victory since then, beating the Heat 104-97
LOS ANGELES: The Cleveland Cavaliers delivered a reality check to newly crowned NBA Cup champions Milwaukee on Friday, dominating the Bucks 124-101 to push their league-best record to 24-4.
Donovan Mitchell scored 27 points and Darius Garland added 16 for the Cavs, who led by as many as 36 points as the Bucks struggled in the absence of injured guard Damian Lillard.
Giannis Antetokounmpo, who led the Bucks to victory in the NBA Cup final against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, scored 33 points with 14 rebounds and three steals.
Khris Middleton, back from illness, scored 14 points off the bench for Milwaukee, but starting guards Andre Jackson Jr and AJ Green were a combined 0-for-9 from the field, neither contributing a point.
The Cavaliers, winners of seven of their last eight, improved to 15-1 at home and got good news with the season debut of Max Strus — who had been sidelined with hip and ankle injuries.
Strus scored nine points in 19:07 minutes off the bench for Cleveland and drilled three of their 20 three-pointers.
“We did it on both ends of the floor,” Mitchell said. “We set the tone, offensively, defensively. Knowing they had a long trip back (we were) trying to get going early, push the pace, and we did it for 48 minutes.”
Bucks coach Doc Rivers, who had called it “weird” to pick up regular-season action after playing the semifinals and final of the in-season tournament in Las Vegas, said the game was not a good gauge of where the Bucks are.
“We were flat, tired, whatever you want to call it,” Rivers said. “There’s no read on tonight’s game... give them all the credit.”
In Philadelphia, the 76ers’ star center Joel Embiid wore a protective mask as he returned after missing one game because of a sinus fracture to score 34 points in a 108-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.
Embiid, who had been expected to sit out at least through Saturday after taking an inadvertent blow to the face last week, added five rebounds, nine assists, two steals and two blocked shots.
Tyrese Maxey scored 23 points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 22 for Philadelphia, who notched their fourth win in five games as they try to climb into the race for a play-in berth.
Embiid has been largely absent from the Sixers’ stuttering season. The 2023 NBA Most Valuable Player was appearing in just his seventh game of the campaign after his troublesome left knee delayed his season debut.
The Oklahoma City Thunder, who fell to the Bucks in the Cup final on Tuesday, notched their second victory since then, beating the Heat 104-97 in Oklahoma.
Jalen Williams scored 33 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 25 for the Thunder, who were coming off a victory over the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
Tyler Herro scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead the Heat, but Miami clearly missed the contribution of star forward Jimmy Butler, who departed in the first quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game because of illness.
Miami’s Bam Adebayo departed briefly in the third quarter after taking an accidental elbow over his left eye. He returned after receiving seven stitches and finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Netflix signs US broadcast deal with FIFA for the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031
- The deal announced Friday is the most significant FIFA has signed with a streaming service for a major tournament
- Netflix dipped into live sports last month with more than 60 million households watching a heavily hyped boxing match between retired heavyweight legend Mike Tyson and social media personality Jake Paul
GENEVA: Netflix has secured the US broadcasting rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031 as the streaming giant continues its push into live sports.
The deal announced Friday is the most significant FIFA has signed with a streaming service for a major tournament. The value was not given, though international competitions in women’s soccer have struggled to draw high-value offers.
“Bringing this iconic tournament to Netflix isn’t just about streaming matches,” its chief content officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement. “It’s also about celebrating the players, the culture and the passion driving the global rise of women’s sport.”
Netflix dipped into live sports last month with more than 60 million households watching a heavily hyped boxing match between retired heavyweight legend Mike Tyson and social media personality Jake Paul. Some viewers reported streaming problems, however.
Netflix also will broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day: the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans. That’s part of a three-year deal announced in May.
World Cups are typically broadcast on free-to-air public networks to reach the biggest audiences, and the last women’s edition in 2023 earned FIFA less than 10 percent of the men’s 2022 World Cup.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had publicly criticized public broadcasters, especially in Europe, for undervaluing offers to broadcast the 2023 tournament that was played in Australia and New Zealand. That tournament was broadcast by Fox in the US
“This agreement sends a strong message about the real value of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the global women’s game,” Infantino said.
The World Cup rights mark another major step in Netflix’s push into live programming. It’s recipe that Netflix has cooked up to help sell more advertising, a top priority for the company since it introduced a low-priced version of its streaming service that includes commercials two years ago. The ad-supported version is now the fastest growing part of Netflix’s service, although most of its 283 million worldwide subscribers still pay for higher-priced options without commercial.
But Netflix is still trying to sell more ads to boost its revenue, which is expected to be about $30 billion. Netflix executives have predicted it might take two or three years before its ad sales become a major part of its revenue.
Netflix expects to spend about $17 billion on programming this year — a budget that the Los Gatos, California, company once funneled almost entirely into scripted TV series and movies. But Netflix is now allocating a significant chunk of that money to sports and live events, a shift that has made it a formidable competitor to traditional media bidding for the same rights.
FIFA will likely use the Netflix deal to drive talks with European broadcasters that likely will be hardball negotiations.
Soccer finance expert Kieran Maguire, a co-host of The Price of Football podcast, suggested the deal was “a bit of a gamble” for FIFA and “saber-rattling” by Infantino.
“(Netflix) get experience of football broadcasting, FIFA can say, ‘we are now partnering with a blue chip organization, so watch out you nasty Europeans,’” Maguire, an academic at the University of Liverpool, said in a telephone interview.
FIFA and Infantino also want to raise the price of broadcast deals to help fund increased prize money and close the gender pay gap on the men’s World Cup.
At the men’s 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the 32 team federations shared $440 million in prize money. For the women’s 2023 tournament, FIFA had a $152 million total fund for prize money, contributions to teams’ preparation costs and payments to players’ clubs.
In FIFA’s financial accounts for 2023, the soccer body reported total broadcasting revenue of $244 million. In the year of the men’s 2022 World Cup it was almost $2.9 billion.
The next Women’s World Cup will be a 32-team, 64-game tournament in 2027, played in Brazil from June 24-July 25. The US originally bid jointly with Mexico.
The 2031 host has not been decided, though the US likely will bid for a tournament which FIFA is expected to try to expand to 48 teams. That would match the size of the 104-game format of the men’s World Cup that debuts in 2026 in the US, Canada and Mexico.
Spain won the 2023 Women’s World Cup after the US won the two previous titles — in France in 2019 and Canada in 2015.
More than 25 million viewers in the US watched the 2015 World Cup final, a 5-2 win over Japan, played in Vancouver, Canada, in a time zone similarly favorable to Brazil.
FIFA tried to sign Apple+ to an exclusive global deal to broadcast the inaugural 32-team Club World Cup which is being played in 11 US cities next June and July.
Broadcast networks showed little interest in the FIFA club event that will now be broadcast for free on streaming service DAZN, which is building closer business ties to Saudi Arabia.
Ahead of the next Women’s World Cup, Netflix will “produce exclusive documentary series in the lead-up to both tournaments, spotlighting the world’s top players, their journeys and the global growth of women’s football,” FIFA said.
Bayern Munich rout Leipzig on somber night in Germany
- Ayern are now seven points clear of second place Bayer Leverkusen, who have the chance to close the gap back to four points when they host Freiburg in Saturday’s late game
- The small ceremony that the Munich club traditionally offers its supporters before Christmas was cut short, reduced to a rendition of “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night“), due to the events in Magdeburg
BERLIN: Bayern Munich swept RB Leipzig aside 5-1 on Friday to extend their lead at the top of the Bundesliga on a somber night in Germany following a deadly car attack at a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg.
Bayern are now seven points clear of second place Bayer Leverkusen, who have the chance to close the gap back to four points when they host Freiburg in Saturday’s late game.
However, there was little mood for celebration after at least two people were killed and more than 60 injured when a vehicle barrelled through a crowd of revellers in Magdeburg at high speed, leaving a trail of bloody carnage.
“It’s almost impossible to talk about football, the people of Magdeburg are in our thoughts tonight,” said Bayern coach Vincent Kompany in a press conference reduced to a short statement.
“We won tonight, but I wish victories for peace next year.”
The small ceremony that the Munich club traditionally offers its supporters before Christmas was cut short, reduced to a rendition of “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night“), due to the events in Magdeburg.
A minute’s silence was also observed in the Allianz Arena.
On the pitch, Jamal Musiala scored after just 30 seconds for Bayern.
Musiala steered the ball in from close range from Michael Olize’s cross after a sublime flick by Harry Kane, returning from an injury lay-off, had opened the door for Olize.
But Bayern’s lead lasted barely a minute. Lois Openda’s stepover left Kim Min-jae in his wake and the Belgian sent a perfect low cross for Benjamin Sesko to score with a first-time finish.
Both teams took a breather after an intense opening, but it wasn’t long before Bayern were back in front.
Konrad Laimer exchanged passed with the dangerous Olize, and the Austrian volleyed expertly past Peter Gulacsi in the Leipzig goal.
Bayern added a third courtesy of a Joshua Kimmich piledriver in the 36th minute. The midfielder, captaining the side in the absence of the injured Manuel Neuer, found some space 25 yards out and let fly with an unstoppable drive.
Leipzig, who have won twice their last three visits to the Allianz Arena, steadied the ship a little after the break but Bayern were in no mood to compromise and continued to produce some of their best football of the season.
They extended their lead in the 75th minute through Leroy Sane, who just managed to stay on side as he collected Alphonso Davies’ through pass, rolling the ball into the bottom corner.
Bayern were hungry for more though. Kimmich, a thorn in Leipzig’s side all night, found space on the right and whipped a cross in for Davies, who connected to score a rare headed goal and bring up Bayern’s fifth of the night.
Kane joined Kompany in offering his sympathy to the victims of the Magdeburg attack.
“Sometimes, there is a bigger picture than football. All the team and FC Bayern presents its condoleances to anyone who is affected by this,” said the England star.
Guardiola confident of Haaland revival if Man City ‘play better’
- Guardiola said he had no interest in reverting to the ‘false nine’ system that he has used to good effect in the past.
LONDON: Pep Guardiola believes Erling Haaland will find his form so long as the rest of his Manchester City team-mates raise their game but has not ruled out January transfer window signings as he looks to revive the Premier League champions’ fortunes.
City are enduring a slump unlike any Guardiola has known in his celebrated managerial career, having lost eight and won just one of their last 11 games in all competitions.
The downturn has seen the usually prolific Haaland, a key figure while City were winning an unprecedented four successive Premier League titles, denied of service and chances while scoring just once in his last five appearances.
Guardiola, however, said he had no interest in reverting to the ‘false nine’ system that he has used to good effect in the past.
“I prefer to play with Erling,” said Guardiola ahead of Saturday’s Premier League trip to Aston Villa.
“I don’t think in the situation that I have that I don’t let Erling play — absolutely not. No, no, I didn’t think about that.
“Always I play false nines for the quality specifically of the players I have in that moment.
“In some games playing man to man, I love to play against false nines but I have an Erling, I have to adapt.”
The Catalan boss added: “I see him well, I see him fine. The reason why maybe he’s not so productive in this situation is for the way we are playing, that we don’t produce the amount of chances that we were able to do in the past.
“When he’s surrounded by two or three or four central defenders it’s not easy for him. We have to play better, to create the spaces for him.”
City have rarely ventured into the transfer market during the January window in Guardiola’s eight years in charge but he accepts that policy could change this time around.
“We’ll see,” he said. “I don’t know how many times in the last years we’ve gone into the winter (market) — maybe just Aymeric Laporte seven years ago.
“We’re not a big fan of that but the circumstances of this season have been special. We have to see if something is possible and if not we will wait until the summer time.”
Tiger in family golf event but has ‘long way’ before PGA return
MIAMI: Tiger Woods will play alongside his 15-year-old son Charlie in this week’s PNC Championship, but the 15-time major winner said Friday his PGA Tour return remains distant.
The 36-hole parent-child tournament at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club in Orlando will be the first quasi-competitive event for Woods since he underwent back surgery in September.
Back trouble and leg injuries from a 2021 car crash have limited Woods’ ability to play in the regular tournaments he once dominated.
“My leg is what it is. It’s still here,” said Woods, who turns 49 on December 30. “But this year I struggled a lot with my back and it’s a lot better, but I still have a long way to go.”
Woods was 60th at the Masters and missed the cut in the year’s other three majors, struggling to recover form between rounds. In his only other start this year, Woods withdrew after one round at the Genesis Invitational, the February event he hosts at Riviera.
“The recovery has gotten to be the hardest part,” Woods said. “But over the course of rounds, weeks, months, it gets harder.”
Even getting his surgically repaired body ready to compete is difficult.
“Preparing for competitive play is different. That takes months, weeks,” Woods said. “But it starts with each and every day. You just do the little things correctly and they add up.
“It’s frustrating. It’s hard. I have an amazing team, amazing support. But I have to do the little things on a daily basis and away from everybody. It’s hard.”
Woods has been impressed with top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, who won nine times this year including a second Masters and Paris Olympic gold. It’s a domination unseen since Woods in his heyday.
“How he has handled the pressure and the expectations for he and his family, I think he’s doing an unbelievable job,” Woods said. “He’s just coming into his own. This is the fun part of watching him develop. This is going to be the start of an unbelievable year.”
Woods said a commonality in their success styles is avoiding errors.
“It’s not making that many mistakes,” Woods said. “Over the course of big events, lots of play at an elite level, not making mistakes adds up.”
Woods, who shares the record of 82 PGA Tour wins with Sam Snead, has a new rival to challenge him in Charlie Woods, who recently defeated his dad over nine holes.
“He beat me for nine holes. He has yet to beat me for 18 holes,” Woods said. “That day is coming. I’m just prolonging it as long as I possibly can.
“We have so much fun out there. It’ll be a fun atmosphere tomorrow and we’re just going to have a blast.”
This week marks the fifth time the Woods duo has played in the event, with a runner-up finish in 2001 their best showing. They were fifth last year.
Woods hopes playing this week can be a step back to competing once more.
“I’m not competitive right now, but I just want to be able to have the experience again,” Woods said. “This has always been one of the bigger highlights of the year for us as a family.
“We want to win, but it’s about the bond. It’s about having the family. It’s about us having a father-son moment together.”
His next competition is planned for January’s launch of TGL, the six-team tech-golf league developed by Woods and Rory McIlroy. It features a specially built arena with video screens and rotating greens.
“It’s absolutely incredible. The rotating green blew me away,” Woods said. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun for not just us but also the fan experience.”
