LONDON: Saudi Arabia have been told not to get ahead of themselves as they prepare to face North Korea in their Group E opener today.
The Green Falcons head into the tournament as one of the favorites to lift the trophy come Feb. 1. On the back of a first win at the World Cup — a 2-1 victory over Egypt in Russia last June — Juan Antonio Pizzi’s players have enjoyed a successful past six months, losing just once to Brazil.
But perhaps only too aware that among those results have been four draws and that this tournament has already thrown up some surprising results — the most striking of which was Jordan’s 1-0 win over Australia on Sunday — the coach has warned his side they must take it game by game to avoid an early exit.
“I am personally considering each game as an important one. The match against North Korea will be important to us,” Pizzi said.
“Once we get through them then we will focus on our next games.”
The last time Saudi Arabia played in a tournament opener it ended in an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at the hands of hosts Russia at last year’s World Cup. From that moment on it was always unlikely the Green Falcons would fly in to the knockout stages, even if improved performances in their matches against Uruguay and Egypt have proved to be a valuable springboard to this month’s Asian Cup.
With lessons learned from the showpiece in Russia and with the players’ feet ordered to be planted firmly on the ground Pizzi, while preaching caution, cut a confident figure ahead of the North Korea clash.
“(The match against North
Korea) is going to be important and personally we prepared very well for the tournament,” Pizzi said. “With trust in the team, I would like to repeat that with ambition and confidence we will hope to achieve our goals.”
The commonly used but generally accurate mantra for every coach and team heading into a tournament is to avoid defeat in the first match. North Korea, while not a continental powerhouse like their southern neighbors, are savvy operators and will likely prove obdurate opponents in their clash at Dubai’s Rashid Stadium.
That quality is not lost on the Green Falcons coach who said the standard of Asian football has risen substantially in the past few years — an improvement witnessed at the World Cup when the continent had five representatives for the first time.
“Recently Asian football had improved a lot and it would be a good tournament to participate in,” Pizzi said.
The one downside the coach has had to deal with heading into the opener is an injury to Salman Al-Faraj. The midfielder was Saudi Arabia’s standout player at the World Cup but has failed to recover in time to make the starting line-up.
“We took maximum time to decide on Salman. We tried in all manners to have him with our squad. We also appreciate the effort by Salman to try to be with us,” Pizzi said.
“Unfortunately he did not pass the final training session.”
Juan Antonio Pizzi upbeat ahead of Saudi Arabia opener against North Korea
Juan Antonio Pizzi upbeat ahead of Saudi Arabia opener against North Korea
- Green Falcons coach confident side can make statement of intent at Asian Cup.
- Pizzi's players to face North Korea in Dubai on Tuesday.
Nigerian Dambe boxing goes global — amulets and charms included
- The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s Hausa speakers
ABUJA: The first strikes in Dambe are thrown before the boxers even leave their house.
Fighters don charms and amulets, dye their fist or even score their arm with a razor, inserting traditional medicine before it scars over — all guaranteed to protect them in the ring or deliver a knock-out punch.
Combined with prayers from “mallams,” or spiritual guides, they are unstoppable — not just in Nigeria, but increasingly around the world.
The Dambe World Series kicked off in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, on Saturday in the latest evolution of a sport that traces its roots back centuries among west Africa’s Hausa speakers.
“Instead of trying to Westernize it, or instead of trying to make it something else, for us the goal is to professionalize it,” said Maxwell Kalu, founder of the West African Fighting Championship, the group organizing the tournament.
At the same time, a key goal is also “opening the door in terms of inviting people to compete in Nigeria.”
Held on the ground of the national stadium and broadcast by DAZN, a British sports streaming service, the tournament is a far cry from the social tradition said to have been organized by 10th-century Hausa butchers.
“This one is big, I’m very happy,” said Abdullahi “Coronavirus” Ali, a 20-year-old who has been fighting since he was a child. “The audience is growing every day.”
As Coronavirus — nicknamed for his ferocious punches — spoke to AFP, two amateur fighters worked the ring behind him, in a pre-tournament exhibition match in Dei Dei, a working-class Abuja exurb.
Chickens pecked under the rickety wooden stands while cigarette smoke wafted above the crowd.
In Dambe, in lieu of a glove, the fighters each have one fist tightly bound in rope — their striking arm. The other hand reaches out, feeling the space between the opponents and looking for something to grab or parry before the fighting arm whips forward as if from a loaded spring.
Amid the blows, one fighter lost his balance and fell — a “kill.” The round was over.
Dambe might have once seemed destined to be confined to the margins in places like Dei Dei as Abuja’s elite paved over anything standing in the way of modern skyscrapers and highways.
But slowly, the government has taken more interest in preserving and promoting the sport, as have private groups like the WAFC.
With the advent of YouTube and Instagram, Dambe now attracts fans across the world, with one promoter telling BBC in 2017 that 60 percent of his viewers were outside Nigeria.
The sport has also grown at home.
In 2018, a Dambe match in the southern city of Lagos drew spectators curious about their northern countrymen’s pastime — and excited to see it in a proper stadium.
Earlier this month, athletes from across the continent descended on the megacity for the African Knockout Championship, a Western-style mixed martial arts tournament.
But Kalu envisions the opposite: foreigners making their way to witness a distinctively Nigerian way of fighting.
Professionalization also brings the opportunity to bring in safety protocols and stable salaries to the otherwise unregulated sport.
“If I get married, I won’t allow my children to do it,” said Usman Abubakar, 20, his fist dyed a dark henna color and arm replete with charmed scars, recalling an injury to the chest that saw him sit out for two years.
Saturday’s fighters were competing to represent Nigeria in what is envisioned as a multi-stage, international series.
Boxers took to a sand-filled ring under stadium lights, with matches interspersed with musical acts and commercial breaks.
“Coronavirus” and his opponent danced around each other, sweat glistening, looking for an opening. He landed a blow, sending a tensed crowd into cheers as spectators overcame their urge to wince in shared pain.
“It’s somehow scary, but I do enjoy it,” said Joy Beatrice, a 30-year-old forestry officer in the stands.
Last year, supported by the WAFC, British national Luke Leyland traveled from Liverpool to compete in a Dambe match — reportedly the first white fighter to ever do so.
He was “destroyed,” according to one local media report, though he wrote positively of the experience.
Nigerian fighters remain cool on the idea of sharing the spoils of victory.
Asked what would happen if non-Nigerians started competing, “Coronavirus,” Abubakar and a third fighter, Anas Hamisu, were all excited at the prospect of more people embracing their sport.
But they also all shared the same prediction: the Nigerians would win.
Joint wins Eastbourne title to end Eala’s history bid
- Joint survived a tense clash lasting two hours and 26 minutes, emerging with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) win to seal her second WTA Tour title.
- It was a painful defeat for Eala, who was so close to becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title
EASTBOURNE, UK: Australian teenager Maya Joint saved four match points to clinch the WTA title at Eastbourne with a dramatic victory over Alexandra Eala that ended the Filipino’s history bid on Saturday.
Joint survived a tense clash lasting two hours and 26 minutes, emerging with a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (12/10) win to seal her second WTA Tour title.
In the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981, world number 51 Joint staved off the four championship points in a gripping final-set tie-break.
She finally wrapped up the title by drilling a backhand winner before collapsing to the turf in delight.
“I’m very happy right now, feeling very relieved as well. It was a very difficult match, I’m proud of myself for coming back and staying in the match,” Joint said.
“I’m glad I was able to find a way back. Alex played really well today. She definitely tested me and after the first set she got very aggressive.
“What an amazing crowd, you guys came and supported me every day so thank you.”
Having also defeated former Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu at Eastbourne over the last week, Joint has underlined her status as one of the rising stars of the women’s tour.
After winning on clay in Rabat in May, the 19-year-old has proved she can thrive on grass as well ahead of the start of Wimbledon on Monday.
Joint was unable to make it two trophies in one day as she and partner Hsieh Su-wei were beaten 6-4, 7-5 by Marie Bouzkova and Anna Danilina in the doubles final.
It was a painful defeat for Eala, who was so close to becoming the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour title.
The 20-year-old wiped away tears of frustration during the on-court trophy presentation.
Eala had become the first Filipino to reach a WTA final after beating Varvara Gracheva in the last four at Eastbourne on Friday.
“I want to congratulate Maya for a great match and great tournament,” Eala said.
“This is my first WTA final, it’s a big deal for me and for my country too because it’s historic. I guess that’s also why I’m so emotional.
“Wimbledon is next week so hopefully I’ll forget about this match soon.”
Eala’s run to the final has made the world number 74 one to watch in the coming months.
After progressing through qualifying to make the main draw, Eala beat Lucia Bronzetti, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, Nottingham Open finalist Dayana Yastremska and France’s Gracheva.
She had burst onto the scene with three shock victories over Grand Slam winners Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek to reach the Miami Open semifinals in March.
Eala is due to face reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova in the Wimbledon first round on Center Court on Tuesday.
But Krejcikova is struggling with a thigh injury that forced her to pull out of the Eastbourne quarter-finals on Thursday, putting the Czech’s title defense in doubt.
Pegula eases past Swiatek to win Bad Homburg title
- US star denies the Pole her first career title on grass, days before the start of Wimbledon
BAD HOMBURG: Top seed Jessica Pegula contained Iga Swiatek’s heavy topspin game on grass to earn a 6-4 7-5 victory on Saturday and lift the Bad Homburg Open title.
The American held serve throughout and gave up just one breakpoint in the match, denying the Pole her first career title on grass, just two days before the start of Wimbledon.
Swiatek has not won a singles title since her 2024 French Open victory.
“I know you say you can’t play on grass but you are very, very good on grass,” Pegula said, addressing Swiatek after the match. “It was a special week.”
Pegula won a break at 3-3 in the first set to move 5-3 up.
The 31-year-old world No. 3, chasing her third title of 2025 and her first since April, landed the first set soon afterwards when the Pole sent a forehand long.
Swiatek put up a fight in the second set, edging close to a break but failing to carve out a break point.
It was Pegula who earned a breakpoint at 5-5 and she converted it with a sizzling crosscourt forehand.
Pegula held serve to seal her second career title on grass, following last year’s win in Berlin.
For Swiatek, who shed tears while waiting for the trophy ceremony, it was still a successful week after reaching her first career final on the surface.
“You have an amazing game and you showed it throughout the tournament,” Swiatek told Pegula. “Hopefully we will have many more finals together.”
“I feel it is going a good way and thank you for the opportunity to play here. This tournament shows there is hope for me on grass,” Swiatek said.
Separately, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is hoping an outburst after her French Open final defeat to Coco Gauff will prove a turning point in maintaining her emotional control in the biggest matches.
The three-time Grand Slam champion threw away a one-set lead to lose to the American in Paris earlier this month.
Afterwards, Sabalenka described her performance as the “the worst final I’ve ever played.”
The Belarusian later apologized to Gauff for her comments and the pair put their differences aside by performing a dance together on the Wimbledon lawns for social media.
“I was just completely, like, upset with myself, and emotions got over me. I just completely lost it,” said Sabalenka at a pre-Wimbledon press conference on Saturday.
“I believe I get overemotional at the last stages of the tournaments because I have this desire of winning.
“Sometimes it (gets the better of) me and I can lose control over my emotions. So, I would love to improve that at the last stages of the tournament.
“But honestly I’m kind of glad what happened to me at Paris because I was able to learn a lot. I was able to sit back and being open to myself, not just to ignore some things. I think I realized a lot of things about myself in those last stages of the tournaments.”
Sabalenka’s comments after the French Open were fiercely criticized in the US for taking the shine off Gauff’s second Grand Slam title.
“Of course, she got my respect. She knows it,” added Sabalenka.
“I’m happy that she was, like, ‘yeah, it’s all good, don’t worry’. As you saw the (dancing) video, I was talking, we are good, we are friends. I hope the US media can be easy on me right now.”
Sabalenka has never gone beyond the semifinals on the Wimbledon grass and begins her quest for glory against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine, a player she admitted to having limited knowledge of.
PSG Club World Cup reunion with Messi recalls unhappier times
- PSG achieved their crowning glory in their first season after definitively shifting their focus away from signing superstar players to instead allow a brilliant coach to work with a hungry, dynamic young team
ATLANTA: Paris Saint-Germain have come to the Club World Cup as newly crowned champions of Europe, but a meeting with the Inter Miami of Lionel Messi in the last 16 this Sunday brings back memories of unhappier times for the French club.
PSG’s stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich at the end of last month which allowed them to win the UEFA Champions League for the first time completed an incredible season for the Qatar-backed side under the coaching of Luis Enrique.
It is no coincidence that PSG achieved their crowning glory in their first season after definitively shifting their focus away from signing superstar players to instead allow a brilliant coach to work with a hungry, dynamic young team.
Kylian Mbappe’s move a year ago to Real Madrid followed the departures in 2023 of Neymar, the world’s most expensive signing when he joined in 2017, and Messi, in the same summer Luis Enrique was appointed.
When PSG pounced in August 2021 to sign Messi after a cash-strapped Barcelona were unable to keep him, the French side logically thought the Argentinian could be the man to deliver elusive Champions League glory.
Messi, who was 34 at the time, thought the same thing.
“My dream is to win another Champions League and I think I am in the ideal place to have that chance and to do it,” he said at his unveiling.
Alas, it did not work out that way, either in Messi’s first season in Paris, under compatriot Mauricio Pochettino in 2021/22, or in the next campaign under Christophe Galtier.
PSG had got to the Champions League final and then semifinals in the two seasons prior to Messi’s arrival, so he looked like the final piece in the jigsaw.
Instead they went backwards with him in the side, going out of Europe’s elite club competition in the last 16 two years running.
Having to fit in Messi — with his estimated annual salary of 30 million euros ($35.2 million) after tax — as well as Neymar and Mbappe may have increased the star appeal, but it weakened them as a team.
Towards the end the Barcelona legend was even being jeered by some sections of the PSG support who felt Messi’s commitment to the cause was not what it should have been.
Messi was a PSG player when he inspired Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in late 2022, but there were only flashes of his genius at club level in France.
His statistics stand up to any scrutiny, with 32 goals and 35 assists in 75 appearances, and he did win two Ligue 1 titles while helping increase PSG’s value as a brand.
But one memorable quote by a columnist in French sports daily L’Equipe rather summed things up.
“PSG have not been better than they were before because of him...and he seemed to have as much desire to play in Ligue 1 as he did to go to the dentist,” wrote Vincent Duluc.
Fast forward two years and Messi is enjoying the twilight of his career in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, the team he has helped to qualify for the knockout stage of this Club World Cup.
Fate has therefore thrown up a last-16 showdown with PSG on Sunday in Atlanta, at the same stadium where he scored a marvellous free-kick to secure a 2-1 win over Porto last week.
“All is not forgiven,” said the front page of L’Equipe in France on Friday as it described the feelings of “failure and bitterness” left behind from the Argentine’s spell there.
Miami coach Javier Mascherano, meanwhile, believes the unhappy memory of his time in Paris could spur Messi on.
“It’s clear that for us it’s better if he plays angry, because he’s one of those players who, when he has something on his mind, gives an extra effort,” Mascherano told ESPN.
With Luis Enrique and PSG boasting big ambitions of adding a world title to their European crown, there would be even more bitterness felt if Messi — days after his 38th birthday — managed to knock them out on Sunday.
Palmeiras edge Brazilian rivals Botafogo in extra time at Club World Cup
- Winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2020 and 2021, Palmeiras will now stay in Philadelphia
- All eyes were on Estevao, the 18-year-old winger who will join Chelsea once the tournament is over
PHILADELPHIA: Substitute Paulinho scored an extra-time winner to settle a Brazilian battle of attrition as Palmeiras edged Botafogo 1-0 on Saturday to win through to the Club World Cup quarter-finals.
The winger came on at the same time in the second half as Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira withdrew teenage sensation Estevao Willian, a move that appeared baffling at the time but ultimately proved inspired.
The tie had reached the 100th minute when Paulinho collected a pass by Richard Rios on the right flank and was afforded the time and space to come inside into the box before slotting a low shot into the far corner.
That sparked wild celebrations among the Palmeiras fans who made up the vast majority of the 33,657 crowd inside Lincoln Financial Field, and the side from Sao Paulo held on to win the last-16 showdown despite having captain Gustavo Gomez sent off late on.
Winners of the Copa Libertadores in 2020 and 2021, Palmeiras will now stay in Philadelphia for a last-eight tie next Friday against either Benfica or Chelsea, who meet later Saturday in Charlotte.
They had been the more dangerous side throughout in this meeting of the top two in last year’s Brazilian league, with almost all of the chances falling the way of the men in green.
Rio de Janeiro side Botafogo pipped Palmeiras to the domestic title and also won the Copa Libertadores for the first time in their history in 2024.
They then lost their coach and several key players, but still managed to beat European champions Paris Saint-Germain during the group stage of the Club World Cup as they qualified for the knockout phase ahead of Atletico Madrid.
Nevertheless Palmeiras were the more lively of the two teams in a game played in warm midday conditions in Philadelphia.
All eyes were on Estevao, the 18-year-old winger who will join Chelsea once the tournament is over and is seen as Brazil’s next big thing.
He found it hard to make an impact in what was for long spells a disappointing game pockmarked by moments of quality.
Colombian midfielder Rios came close to scoring in first-half stoppage time with a thunderous shot from the edge of the box that was deflected onto the roof of the net.
Estevao then came to life after the restart, forcing a good save from Botafogo goalkeeper John Victor and then putting the ball in the net only to be denied by an offside flag.
There was surprise around the stadium when the starlet was taken off just after the hour mark alongside striker Vitor Roque, with Luighi and Paulinho sent into the attack.
A Mauricio header from a Joaquin Piquerez cross was tipped over and Paulinho then blazed high from a good position as normal time ended goalless.
Into the extra half-hour they went, and a Rios piledriver was parried behind before the goal finally arrived thanks to the once-capped Brazil winger who played in the Atletico Mineiro side beaten by Botafogo in last year’s Libertadores final.
The substitute was then promptly substituted, his job done for the day.
Botafogo pushed for an equalizer that would have led to a penalty shoot-out, but could not find it even after Paraguayan center-back Gomez walked for a second booking in the 116th minute for grappling off the ball with Alexander Barboza.
