STOCKHOLM: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will return to Sweden’s squad after an almost five-year hiatus to play in World Cup qualifiers at the end of March, head coach Janne Andersson said on Tuesday.
The player, known for his not-so-humble ways, also announced his return himself by posting a picture of himself on Instagram in the Swedish team kit with the caption “The return of the God.”
The 39-year-old AC Milan striker retired from the Swedish squad after the 2016 European Championship after winning 116 caps and scoring 62 international goals.
Media had speculated about Ibrahimovic’s possible return to the national team, but the Swedish Football Association had refused to comment until Tuesday, when he was announced among the players selected for the qualifiers against Georgia on March 25 and Kosovo on March 28, as well as a friendly against Estonia on March 31.
Ibrahimovic has been nursing a muscle injury lately but hopes to return to the pitch on Thursday when Milan face his former club, Manchester United, in the Europa League round of 16.
The Swede has made headlines over the years with cheeky hints that he could be returning to the Swedish team.
But things took a more serious turn last autumn when he told media in the Scandinavian country that he missed playing for the team.
Ibrahimovic and coach Janne Andersson then met for talks.
Without “Ibra,” Sweden reached the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals and qualified directly for Euro 2020, which have been postponed to June-July 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ibrahimovic back in Sweden squad after 5-year gap
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Ibrahimovic back in Sweden squad after 5-year gap
- The 39-year-old AC Milan striker retired from the Swedish squad after the 2016 European Championship – winning 116 caps and scoring 62 international goals
- Ibrahimovic has been announced among the players selected for the qualifiers against Georgia on March 25 and Kosovo on March 28
Four UAE teams among strong line-up for 24H Dubai race
- More than 70 teams are set to compete in the Jan. 11-12 event, which coincides with Dubai Autodrome’s 20th anniversary
DUBAI: Dubai Autodrome will welcome 70 race teams — including four UAE-based outfits — for this weekend’s milestone 20th Michelin 24H Dubai race.
The event, which will see some of the world’s top endurance drivers in action, coincides with Dubai Autodrome’s own 20th anniversary celebrations.
The season-opening 24HR Series will see its largest GT3 grids, with more than 30 teams taking to the track for the flagship competition on Jan. 11-12.
Among the UAE teams competing are Rabdan Motorsport, led by Emirati driver Saif Al-Ameri, who will be joined by teammates Fahad Al-Zaabi, Salem Al-Ketbi and Christopher Zoechling. Other UAE-based teams include Dragon Racing, Fulgenzi Racing and Duel Racing.
They will be part of a competitive grid which has attracted prominent names from the world of endurance motorsport. These include two-time World Rally Championship winner Kalle Rovanpera, former World Touring Car series champion Robert Huff and reigning Asian Le Mans Series GT winner Alex Malykhin. Also set to be behind the wheel are Oman’s Ahmad Al-Harthy, British Touring Car champion Jake Hill and Saudi Arabia’s first professional female racing driver Reema Juffali.
Indian actor Ajith Kumar, who has starred in more than 60 movies in the Tamil film industry, makes his return to motor racing with his own newly formed team, Ajith Kumar Racing.
Mixing with this elite field will be Dubai Autodrome’s very own Jamie Day, who has climbed through the ranks from karting to race in the GT3 category. The venue’s driving instructors, Axcil Jefferies (2021 edition champion), Mathieu Detry (GT AM 2024 champion) and Ramez Azzam are also set to line up on the track.
Since opening in 2004, the Dubai Autodrome has staged every edition of the 24H Dubai, with the event a key championship in the venue’s busy motorsport calendar.
General Manager Faisal Al-Sahlawi said: “This 2025 Michelin 24H Dubai event represents a significant moment as it is also part of Dubai Autodrome’s 20th anniversary celebrations. Since the lights first went out way back in 2006, this motorsport event has gone from strength to strength, creating wonderful memories to cherish. The fact we are staging the 20th edition of this flagship event, which has brought together some of the top names in motorsport, reaffirms how highly-regarded it is, both in the UAE and abroad.
“This competition has served as an important platform for UAE drivers and teams to get competitive experience against an international field that will help them in their development. In the past, we have seen many teams and drivers fly the UAE flag high by gaining podium finishes and we hope to see some of the participants follow in their footsteps.”
Off the track, the weekend includes a wide array of family entertainment and activities, including a cultural zone where visitors can explore the cultures of Africa, Asia, America and Australia, a kids’ zone and a car display.
Sinner, Djokovic in opposite halves at the Australian Open, Sabalenka vs Stephens in 1st round
- The year’s first Grand Slam tournament begins on the hard courts of Melbourne Park on Sunday morning local time
MELBOURNE: Defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic have landed in opposite sides of the draw for the season’s first major, ruling out a replay of last year’s semifinal match.
Sinner upset Djokovic in the semifinals here last year before coming back to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 for his first Grand Slam singles title.
Top-ranked Sinner has a first-round match against Nicolas Jarry and also has Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton and Medvedev in his quarter of the draw. Fritz will open against fellow American Jenson Brooksby.
Djokovic and No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz could meet in the quarterfinals, with a possible semifinal against No. 2 Alexander Zverev.
At the draw Thursday to set the brackets for the singles fields, defending champions Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka walked into the official ceremony on the steps of Margaret Court Arena holding their trophies.
Sabalenka won her second consecutive title at Melbourne Park in 2024 by defeating Zheng Qinwen 6-3, 6-2. Sabalenka will be attempting to win a third consecutive women’s singles title at Melbourne Park, something last accomplished by Martina Hingis from 1997 to 1999.
Sabalenka drew a tough opening match against 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens and has 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva and Zheng in her section.
“I have a lot of great memories and to be back here ... as a two-time Australian Open champion, it’s definitely something special,” Sabalenka, who won the Brisbane International title last week, said at the draw ceremony. “I hope that I can keep doing what I’m doing here in Australia.”
Third-seeded Coco Gauff is a potential semifinal rival for Sabalenka. Gauff has a challenging first-round match against former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin and is in the same section of the draw as four-time major winner Naomi Osaka and seventh-seeded Jessica Pegula.
No. 2 Iga Swiatek and 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina are on the other half of the draw.
The Australian Open starts Sunday morning in Melbourne (Saturday night EST in the U.S.) and will run for 15 days.
Doping and the cases involving Sinner — which is still not fully resolved — and Swiatek was a topic that shadowed tennis in 2024 and is still a talking point in Melbourne.
There's plenty else for fans to talk about.
Djokovic will be playing in his first event alongside new coach Andy Murray, his former on-court rival and a three-time major champion. Nobody has won the men's title at Melbourne Park more often than Djokovic, although he said he still feels trauma from the one year he wasn’t allowed to play.
Nick Kyrgios, the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up who withdrew from an exhibition against Djokovic this week because of an abdominal strain, will face Jacob Fearnley in the first round if the mercurial Australian is fit enough to contest his first major since the 2022 U.S. Open. Kyrgios is in the same section as Zverev.
De Zerbi is improving fortunes at Marseille two months after he considered quitting the club
- That was back in November when, following home defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Auxerre, he said he was ready to leave
PARIS: Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi was so confounded by his team’s bad form that he considered quitting just months after arriving.
That was back in November when, following home defeats to Paris Saint-Germain and Auxerre, he said he was ready to leave. The 45-year-old Italian soon backtracked and affirmed his commitment to stay and turn things around.
Whatever he told the players at that time clearly worked, as did an arduous four-day camp. There were daily 5 a.m. wake-up calls for jogs on an empty stomach, followed by twice-daily training sessions.
Marseille is looking much sharper and fitter as a result.
The 1993 Champions League winner has won five of its six matches since the Auxerre loss and drawn the other against Lille — a decent result considering Lille is undefeated in all competitions since mid-September.
Marseille has rediscovered its touch, too, scoring 17 goals during that period, and has moved into second place in Ligue 1 behind leader Paris Saint-Germain, which is seven points ahead after 16 rounds.
Marseille travels to play Rennes on Saturday and PSG hosts lowly Saint-Etienne on Sunday.
De Zerbi has tightened things up tactically and is starting to work Marseille into a more streamlined side.
During his time with Brighton in the English Premier League, he earned a reputation as a shrewd tactician capable of beating bigger teams. He left Brighton after two seasons, having raised the team to its highest ever top-flight finish of sixth, and into the last 16 of the Europa League.
De Zerbi’s decision to join Marseille, which has passionate but impatient fans, surprised many observers. Even before his time at Brighton, De Zerbi had earned good reviews in Italy with Benevento and Sassuolo. He was widely praised for guiding Sassuolo to back-to-back eighth-place finishes in Serie A and touted as one of the best young coaches in Europe.
He had bigger clubs than Marseille calling for him last summer, but perhaps he saw the depth of Marseille’s potential — which is the only French club to win the Champions League and has a 67,000-capacity stadium.
De Zerbi has instilled a healthy competition for places within his squad and strengthened it further on Tuesday by signing central defender Luiz Felipe, who made over 100 appearances for Lazio in Serie A from 2017-22.
Felipe’s arrival comes after De Zerbi reproached his players for conceding too many goals — 19 in the league so far, compared with 14 for PSG and 16 for third-place Monaco and fourth-place Lille.
“We need so start thinking that 5-0 and 5-1 are not the same thing,” he said after Sunday’s 5-1 home rout of Le Havre at Stade Velodrome. “We need to make other teams understand that scoring a goal against us is difficult.”
Felipe said the possibility of playing under De Zerbi was “fundamental” in his decision to join.
“I have known De Zerbi since he was Sassuolo, it was always difficult to play against him,” Felipe said.
Key players have emerged into leadership roles, such as Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli and France midfielder Adrien Rabiot.
Playing in a role higher up the field allows Rabiot to make more dangerous use of his excellent passing range and eye for long-distance shooting.
Signing the 29-year-old Rabiot was seen as something of a coup of Marseille, considering that he is entering his prime years and his wealth of experience with Italian giant Juventus (212 matches overall) and France (50 caps).
“We need two, three, four or five Rabiots,” De Zerbi said recently.
Then he added, jokingly: “I asked him if he has any brothers, but unfortunately they don’t play football.”
UAE jiu-jitsu team to compete in 9 championships during 2025
- Emirati male and female fighters will take part in regional, continental and international competitions across various categories
ABU DHABI: The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation has announced that the country’s national team will take part in nine championships in 2025.
Sponsored by Mubadala Investment Co., Emirati male and female fighters will compete from February to November, spanning regional, continental and international events across various age groups, the UAEJJF stated recently.
The continental season kicks off with the Asian Youth Championships in Thailand from Feb. 13 to 15, featuring competitions in categories falling under the ages of 14, 16 and 18.
The team will then head to Jordan for the ninth Jiu-Jitsu Asian Championship from May 23 to 25, for adults and under-21 athletes, where they aim to uphold their continental supremacy.
The UAE will also compete in the JJAU Regional Championship for West Asia in Bahrain on July 24 and 25, which includes the 14, 16, 18, 21 and adult categories. Additionally, the team will take part in the third Asian Youth Games from Oct. 22 to 31, focusing on the under-18 category.
Internationally, the team will participate in the Grand Prix Paris Open for adults in France on April 26 and 27, followed by the Grand Prix Thailand Open in Bangkok from June 19 to 21. The Grand Prix events are crucial for the UAE’s global ranking and positioning for the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship draw.
On the global stage, the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, China, from Aug. 10 to 12, will be a highlight for the adult category. The team aim to replicate their impressive performance from the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, where they earned five medals, including two historic golds.
The season concludes with the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in Thailand from Nov. 1 to 15, which encompasses all age groups — 14, 16, 18, 21 and seniors — followed by the Islamic Solidarity Games in Saudi Arabia on Nov. 17 and 18.
Fahad Ali Al-Shamsi, secretary-general of the UAEJJF, said the athletes are expected to do well across all competitions.
“The year 2025, with its high-profile championships, will build on our national team’s legacy of achievements and inspire future generations of athletes.
“We are fortunate to have the limitless support of our wise leadership, which provides our athletes with all the resources needed for success and has helped them achieve top global rankings.”
Barcelona defeat Bilbao without Olmo to reach Spanish Super Cup final
- Gavi put Barcelona ahead from close range after 17 minutes and teenage winger Yamal netted the second early after the break
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: Young starlets Gavi and Lamine Yamal fired Barcelona, without Dani Olmo after his license to play was revoked, into the Spanish Super Cup final with a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
Spanish playmaker Olmo was cleared to play again on a temporary basis before the game but the decision came too late for him or Pau Victor, in the same position, to feature against Copa del Rey winners Athletic.
Gavi put Barcelona ahead from close range after 17 minutes and teenage winger Yamal netted the second early after the break.
Spanish and European champions Real Madrid face cup runners-up Mallorca on Thursday in the second semifinal in Saudi Arabia, where the competition has been held for the past few years.
“Athletic are a very physical team that make you run a lot, we suffered above all toward the end, but we were able to play well and we’re very happy,” Yamal told Movistar.
The winger said Olmo and Victor were pleased to be allowed to play once more.
“In the end you’re nervous when you can’t play and when you get news like that, you’re very happy,” added Yamal.
Barca coach Hansi Flick hailed the decision from Spain’s national sports council regarding Olmo and Victor.
“The whole club is very happy for this right decision,” said Flick, hoping to win his first silverware at the helm of Barca.
“We wanted to show we are a team and we win also for them.”
Barcelona, who qualified as La Liga runners-up, started brightly and Raphinha volleyed over from a fine Jules Kounde cross and forced Unai Simon into a good save with a free-kick.
It was no surprise when the Catalans broke the deadlock with Alejandro Balde cutting the ball back for Gavi, playing in Olmo’s attacking midfield role, to turn home for his first goal since suffering a severe knee injury last season.
The 20-year-old pointed at an imaginary watch in his celebration, a nod to Olmo who regularly produces the same gesture after scoring.
At the other end Inaki Williams dallied on the ball too long as Athletic’s best attacking move of the first half broke down.
Yamal, returning after an ankle problem, should have added Barcelona’s second after Raphinha’s shot was saved but the 17-year-old miscued an attempted lob.
Wojciech Szczesny, on his second start in goal for Barcelona, made a good save to keep Inaki Williams at bay before the break.
Barcelona doubled their lead early in the second half when Gavi slipped in Yamal who finished with aplomb.
Veteran Polish forward Robert Lewandowski spurned a fine chance to add the third, firing off-target when well placed.
Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde, who was sacked as Barcelona boss after a defeat at the same stadium in 2020, brought on Nico Williams to try and turn the game around.
The Spain international, heavily linked with Barcelona in the summer, was not fit enough to start, but made a positive impact from the bench.
The winger set up Oscar de Marcos to strike but the Athletic defender had strayed just offside and the goal was ruled out.
Inaki Williams also had a goal ruled out for offside after Frenkie De Jong’s poor back-pass took a slight deflection off Alvaro Djalo on its way to the Ghana international.
“It’s a shame given all the effort... but we have good things ahead of us and we have to continue,” said Inaki Williams.
Barcelona were able to book their place in Sunday’s final, in which Olmo will be allowed to feature.
“We don’t care (who we face in the final), it will be hard and we want to win it, which is the important thing, and go back home with the trophy,” said Yamal.
