DUBAI: As delirium sweeps the UAE ahead of the mouth-watering encounter between arch rivals India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup, it seems one man — at least outwardly — is not as excited as the rest of the country and cricketing fans the world over.
India captain Rohit Sharma played with a straight bat when asked about the biggest clash in world cricket, set to take place today at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. On his first Asia Cup media outing the 31-year-old seemed unconcerned by the impending showdown with their fiercest opponents, his focus instead on facing Hong Kong, who Sharma and Co. had a big scare against on Tuesday.
“Right now, we are not focusing on Pakistan as (first) we are playing Hong Kong,” Sharma said on Sunday. “Obviously we have to focus on that particular team but once we have finished that game we will focus on Pakistan and what their strengths and weaknesses are.”
These are clearly the words of a man so media trained that by now he could easily be on the other side of the desk, asking the same questions he and his colleagues sometimes enjoy batting back with crafted clichés that speak of focusing on “one game at a time” or the like.
Sharma was clearly right to not take his eyes off the ball with Hong Kong — they are not here to merely make up the numbers, as their brilliant, battling performance on Tuesday illustrated. But at the same time, Sharma will be all too aware that as India skipper the one match you do not want to lead your side to defeat in is the one against Pakistan, regardless of competition and location.
Clearly India are not leaving Pakistan preparations to the 14 hours or so (sleep included) between the close of the Hong Kong clash and the toss prior to resuming Indo-Pak cricketing rivalry. To suggest they are would be naive at best.
A year on from Pakistan’s show-stealing Champions Trophy final victory over the old enemy in June last year, and a whole five years since the two sides met outside of an ICC or ACC event due to strained political relations, the appetite for the first of potentially three matches at this year’s Asia Cup is huge and one borne out of starved hunger.
Pakistan’s Usman Shinwari, fresh off defeating Hong Kong on Sunday, was more candid than Sharma.
“Any player who performs well in an India-Pakistan match will find his career reaches a new high, and every player dreams of doing well in this contest,” the fast bowler said. “I took three wickets (against Hong Kong), I hope that can be five wickets against India.”
Shinwari’s sentiments were echoed by his captain, Sarfraz Ahmed, who is absolutely clear on the levels of expectation that this fixture demands from fans on both sides of the border.
“The passion is always there,” said Sarfraz. “When you play against India everyone wants us to win as it’s against India.
“The fans say that whatever happens you have to win but as a captain I have to win against every team. It would be the same for India whose fans want them to win. It has happened in the past that any player who performs in the Indo-Pak match becomes a national hero.”
UAE cricket fans cannot wait for the clash. It took just a few hours for the first batch of tickets to be snapped up, the second bought in equally ravenous fashion. It has left a huge number of tickets now being touted across online marketplaces, social media platforms and, ultimately, will likely see the inflated resales being pawned outside the stadium on matchday too.
An expected 25,000 fans will swell the Ring of Fire, set to deal not only with cricket’s most fierce rivalry but also with all the unpredictability that will be thrown their way.
The famed traffic jams around Hessa Street, leading up to the stadium, and local entrances of Dubai Sports City will heave and efforts have been made to ease the burden of vehicles that will cart both sets of fans in and out of the area. Gates will open from 12p.m. local time, a whole three and a half hours before the first ball has been bowled. In an emirate where the last-minute rush is a daily fact of life, this will be not be an easy thing to execute but that, alongside the immense presence of volunteers and security, should prove welcome additions to the day’s running order.
This, though, is India vs Pakistan. Anything could happen.
India and Pakistan ready to renew rivalry in Dubai showdown
India and Pakistan ready to renew rivalry in Dubai showdown
- India brace for Pakistan after surviving stern test against minnows Hong Kong
- Usman Shinwari: Any player who performs well in an India-Pakistan match will find his career reaches a new high
Portugal beat Denmark in thrilling Nations League quarter-final
- Portugal will face Finals hosts Germany in June in the last four after overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to brave Denmark
LISBON: Portugal beat Denmark 5-3 on aggregate to reach the Nations League semifinals on Sunday, winning a pulsating second leg 5-2 after extra time.
Portugal will face Finals hosts Germany in June in the last four after overturning a 1-0 first-leg deficit to brave Denmark.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but later scored a crucial goal, before Francisco Trincao’s late double set Roberto Martinez’s men on course for the semis.
Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel stared down Ronaldo’s stuttering run-up to save a fluffed spot-kick on six minutes, diving left and comfortably holding the ball.
But Portugal eventually pushed the tie to extra time at 3-2 on the night, despite Denmark twice edging ahead on aggregate.
Portugal first drew level on aggregate when Joachim Andersen’s panicked clearance looped horribly into his own goal in the 38th minute.
But, unmarked at a corner, Rasmus Kristensen’s cool header put Denmark back in front overall on 56 minutes.
Ronaldo redeemed himself for his penalty error, pouncing on a rebound to score with 18 minutes left, only for Christian Eriksen to then silence the home crowd by tapping into an open goal four minutes later.
Playing in his home Sporting Lisbon stadium, substitute winger Trincao then sent the game to extra time with a late, left-footed strike.
Shortly after the restart, he threaded his second goal through a sea of players to put Portugal in the driving seat.
Trincao was then involved in the build-up for Goncalo Ramos’s clincher in a full-blooded encounter.
Denmark arrived with a first-leg lead from Thursday and departed with their heads held high after their stoic resistance, along with Portugal’s unrelenting attack, ensured a battle that swung either way several times.
Winners of the inaugural tournament in 2019, Portugal are aiming to become the first team to lift the Nations League trophy for a second time.
France beat Croatia on penalties to reach Nations League semifinals
- Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez both failed to convert for the hosts, but Dayot Upamecano scored when he became the seventh France player to step up, sparking scenes of celebrations on the pitch
SAINT-DENIS, France: Goalkeeper Mike Maignan saved twice in the shoot-out as France beat Croatia 5-4 on penalties on Sunday after their UEFA Nations League quarter-final tie had ended 2-2 on aggregate, sealing a place in the last four in June.
Les Bleus won 2-0 on the night with goals in normal time by Michael Olize and Ousmane Dembele at the Stade de France to wipe out their deficit from Thursday’s first leg.
With no further scoring in extra time the tie went to penalties, where Maignan saved from both Martin Baturina and Josip Stanisic, while Franjo Ivanovic also missed for the visitors.
Jules Kounde and Theo Hernandez both failed to convert for the hosts, but Dayot Upamecano scored when he became the seventh France player to step up, sparking scenes of celebrations on the pitch and in the crowd of 77,502.
“We woke up thinking it could be a great night. We were convinced we were going to do something great,” captain Kylian Mbappe told broadcaster TF1.
“And we know when it comes to penalties that we have a goalkeeper who can make the difference.”
France, who won the Nations League in 2021, will now take on title-holders Spain in the semifinals in Stuttgart in Germany on June 5, with the winners advancing to the final in Munich three days later.
Germany will face Portugal in Munich in the other last-four tie.
“Getting to the final is an objective,” Mbappe added. “These are the kind of matches you want to play in and there is a title up for grabs.”
Croatia, who lost on penalties to Spain in the final of the last Nations League in 2023, will now instead start their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup in June.
They will go into qualifying Group L with the Czech Republic, Montenegro, the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar, who they will face first on June 6.
“It was a very difficult night for us. We were not able to repeat our performance from the first leg,” admitted Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic.
“It is good experience for us for the future. The aim now is to get to the World Cup and I think we can do it.”
France’s progress to the final stages of the Nations League means they will not begin their World Cup qualifying campaign until September, when they will be in Group D with Ukraine, Iceland and Azerbaijan.
Both sides were eyeing silverware in the Nations League and Croatia held the upper hand after triumphing 2-0 in the first leg in Split.
Nevertheless France, whose coach Didier Deschamps will step down in 2026 after 14 years in charge, were hoping for a comeback similar to their famous recovery against Ukraine in a World Cup qualifying play-off in 2013.
They won that after overturning a 2-0 first-leg loss with a 3-0 victory in the return at the Stade de France.
Here Deschamps made five changes from the first leg, with Bayern Munich duo Upamecano and Olize among those coming into the team.
They pinned Croatia back from the off in this latest repeat of the 2018 World Cup final won by the French, but it took them until the 52nd minute to get the breakthrough.
Olize was the scorer, finding the net with a marvellous free-kick from just outside the box following a foul on Mbappe, for his first goal in a France shirt.
Mbappe then saw his shot from Dembele’s low cross flash just wide on 75 minutes before the hosts levelled the tie on aggregate 10 minutes from time. Mbappe found Olize and his cutback was swept in first-time by Dembele.
France took the momentum with them into extra time where Mbappe twice forced saves from Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.
Mbappe has now failed to score in his last seven games for his country and has found the net just once in his last 10 appearances in a France shirt, from a penalty against Poland at Euro 2024.
The Real Madrid superstar did score in the shoot-out, however, converting France’s first penalty.
Aurelien Tchouameni, Randal Kolo Muani and Desire Doue also scored for the hosts before Upamecano’s winner.
Spain oust Netherlands on penalties to reach Nations League semis
- Spain’s dynamic wingers helped restore their lead with a razor-sharp counter-attack
VALENCIA, Spain: Nations League holders Spain reached the final four with a 5-4 win on penalties against the Netherlands, after a thrilling 3-3 quarter-final second leg draw on Sunday (5-5 on aggregate).
Donyell Malen missed and Barcelona’s Pedri slotted home to settle a gripping match in which the Netherlands came from behind three times to force the shoot-out.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring for Spain but Memphis Depay levelled from the penalty spot.
Oyarzabal grabbed Spain’s second before Ian Maatsen rifled home to force extra-time.
Barcelona starlet Yamal, who also missed a penalty in the shoot-out, scored a brilliant goal to put Spain ahead but Xavi Simons netted another spot-kick to force penalties.
After Spain’s struggles in Rotterdam on Thursday in the 2-2 first-leg draw, coach Luis de la Fuente made a handful of changes.
Oyarzabal and Dani Olmo came in for Alvaro Morata and Pedri, while Dean Huijsen made his first start, against the country of his birth, and excelled.
Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman brought in debutant Maatsen at left-back, giving him the unenviable challenge of shackling 17-year-old prodigy Yamal at Valencia’s sold-out Mestalla stadium.
Spain’s success in recent years has inspired their supporters and over 20,000 watched them train ahead of the second leg, which also served as a fundraiser for damage caused by the devastating storms which hit the Valencia region last October.
They won a penalty early on when Jan Paul van Hecke clumsily brought down Oyarzabal, who scored the winning goal for La Roja in the Euro 2024 final last summer.
The Real Sociedad forward took it himself, smashing into the bottom right corner, past Bart Verbruggen’s dive.
Oyarzabal beat the Brighton goalkeeper again a few minutes later with another lethal finish but had strayed offside after a superb dribble by Yamal in the build-up.
Verbruggen denied Nico Williams with a superb stop, after Huijsen stormed forward and slipped the winger in down the left, with Spain rampant but unable to add to their lead in the first half.
Bournemouth center-back Huijsen, 19, was jeered by the traveling Dutch fans, upset he did not choose to play for them, but Spain supporters backed him in response and he shone.
Netherlands steadied the ship and were able to keep more possession, but not test Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon until after the break.
Koeman’s side levelled after 54 minutes with a penalty of their own when Depay, on his 100th Oranje appearance, threw himself to the ground after tussling with Robin Le Normand.
Despite the hosts’ protests the contentious decision stood and Depay blasted home from the spot.
Spain’s dynamic wingers helped restore their lead with a razor-sharp counter-attack.
Yamal released Williams, who drove into the box and slipped the ball to Oyarzabal. Although Verbruggen saved his attempted dink, the Spaniard headed home the rebound.
Netherlands responded swiftly, capitalizing when Olmo gave the ball away inside his area.
Substitute Simons slipped a clever pass to Maatsen on the left and the Aston Villa defender brilliantly rifled into the top corner to force extra-time.
De la Fuente sent on Pedri and Arsenal’s Mikel Merino, who salvaged Spain a draw in the first leg, and his team took the lead after 103 minutes.
Huijsen lofted the ball into Yamal’s path and the winger controlled it on the run and beat Maatsen before pulling off an exquisite finish.
The Dutch battled back for a third time, with Simons winning and converting a penalty in the 109th minute. Spain goalkeeper Simon brought down the RB Leipzig attacker, who made no mistake from the spot.
Simon made amends with a smart save in the 120th minute to deny Donyell Malen, taking the tie to a shoot-out.
Both sides netted their first three penalties with great precision, before Netherlands’ Lang hit the crossbar and Verbruggen saved a tame Yamal effort.
In sudden death Simon dived to his left to save from Malen and Pedri coolly sent Spain through to the semis.
Germany survive Italy scare to make Nations League semifinals
- The result not only secured Germany a first-ever Nations League semifinal spot, but it means the remainder of the tournament will be held on German soil, in Stuttgart and Munich in June
DORTMUND, Germany: Germany survived a spirited second-half fightback from Italy, letting a three-goal lead slip to draw 3-3 in Dortmund on Sunday, before reaching the Nations League semifinals 5-4 on aggregate.
A first-half Joshua Kimmich masterclass, with a penalty and two assists for Jamal Musiala and Tim Kleindienst, had Germany 3-0 up and cruising at the break.
However, injury-hit Italy kicked into gear in the second half, Moise Kean scoring a double to rattle the hosts.
Italy looked on course to level the scores when they were awarded a penalty with 73 minutes gone, but it was overturned by VAR.
Giacomo Raspadori then converted a stoppage time penalty to give Italy a glimmer of hope.
The result not only secured Germany a first-ever Nations League semifinal spot, but it means the remainder of the tournament will be held on German soil, in Stuttgart and Munich in June.
Despite the second-half scare, the victory continues Germany’s resurgence under Julian Nagelsmann.
Germany’s only loss in their past 17 matches came in extra-time at Euro 2024 against eventual champions Spain in the quarter-finals.
Nagelsmann said Germany “learned lessons for our development” from the game, adding “we know how well we can play football — but we have to show it throughout the game.
“I’m going home with an understanding of what we’re capable of, but it’s also nice that we’ve got a bit more to do,” he said.
Italy coach Luciano Spalletti admitted his side lacked “maturity” and said “you always learn from games like this.”
“The second half was very good, but we were too afraid to play like that for the whole game.”
Italy traveled to Dortmund, the site of their 2006 World Cup semifinal win over the same opponents, with a mountain to climb.
After letting a one-goal lead slip to lose in Milan in the first leg, Italy saw defenders Riccardo Calafiori and Andrea Cambiaso added to an injury list which already included striker Mateo Retegui and left-back Federico Dimarco.
Spalletti spoke pre-match of needing to do “something impossible” and his side were up against it from the get-go as Germany burst out of the blocks.
With Musiala on top form and Nico Schlotterback sending in penetrating passes from the deep, Germany’s breakthrough came from the spot.
Alessandro Buongiorno brought down a surging Kleindienst in the box and Kimmich converted, just the fourth penalty for either club or country in the 30-year-old’s career.
After an acrobatic save to keep out a Kleindienst header by Gianluigi Donnarumma, the quick-thinking Kimmich played the ball fast from the ensuing corner.
The move caught the Italians napping, with Musiala tapping in from close range as the Italian goalkeeper was still remonstrating with the referee.
In the final minute of the half, Donnarumma palmed away a Kleindienst header, but this time could not keep it out, with the home crowd erupting as the referee pointed to his watch to show the ball had crossed the line.
Germany dropped in intensity in the second half and the Italians pounced, Kean latching onto a loose ball and blasting home after 49 minutes.
Spalletti brought on Raspadori and the Napoli man had an immediate impact, threading a pass for Kean to curl a ball past Oliver Baumann’s outstretched arm with 68 minutes played.
The stunned Germans were shocked further five minutes later when they conceded a penalty, but the spot kick was overturned by VAR.
The Italians did eventually get a spot kick in stoppage time, with Raspadori converting, but it was too late as Germany held on to progress on aggregate.
RFK Jr. and Djokovic share a passion for tennis along with their views about vaccines
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Novak Djokovic apparently share a passion for tennis along with their beliefs about vaccines.
Kennedy, the nation’s top health official, posted a photo on X on Sunday of himself and Djokovic standing on a tennis court holding tennis rackets.
“Novak Djokovic. First in tennis. First in integrity. First in courage. Guess who won this match?” Kennedy captioned the post.
Djokovic is in Florida playing in the Miami Open tennis tournament. It was unclear when the photo was taken.
Kennedy, the secretary of Health and Human Services, rejected an “anti-vaccine” label earlier this year during his senate confirmation hearings but has since repeated his skeptical views of vaccines in interviews and other public statements.
Djokovic is the career leader in men’s tennis with 24 Grand Slam championships but missed chances to win more because a refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. He missed the Australian Open in 2022 after a protracted legal saga ended with his deportation from that country and he was not allowed to travel to the US to play in the US Open later that year.
