HONG KONG: Skipper Son Heung-min scored a brace as South Korea made it two wins from two games in 2026 World Cup qualifying with a 3-0 victory away in China on Tuesday.
Son silenced a sell-out crowd of more than 40,000 in Shenzhen with two goals in the first half, the first a penalty and the second a clever header from a corner just before half-time.
South Korea wrapped the game up in the dying minutes through a bullet header by Jung Seung-hyun — from a Son set-piece — and top Group C with a perfect six points.
Jurgen Klinsmann’s side thumped Singapore 5-0 last week to begin their qualifying campaign in style and they were in much the same mood against an outclassed China.
With attacker Son looking in the groove, the Koreans dominated and were ahead after 11 minutes.
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Hwang Hee-chan was brought down in the box and Tottenham Hotspur’s Son duly stroked home the penalty.
It was all South Korea. Forward Cho Gue-sung headed just over the bar when unmarked from a corner and Son stung the palms of overworked goalkeeper Yan Junling.
Hwang In-beom’s direct free-kick fizzed just past Yan’s post midway through the half but China should have been level three minutes before the break with their first real chance.
South Korean full-back Lee Ki-je was dispossessed and Liu Binbin crossed for Tan Long, but the Chinese forward’s first-time snap shot went narrowly wide.
They were to regret it on the stroke of half-time.
Son, who had been denied moments earlier by the legs of Yan, leapt unmarked from a corner to direct his deft header back across the China goal and into the far corner.
South Korea, who reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, should have gone 3-0 ahead soon after the restart but China defender Zhu Chenjie cleared off the line, before Jung put the game to bed late on.
In other Asian World Cup qualifiers, North Korea thrashed Myanmar 6-1 away and Tajikistan won in Pakistan by the same scoreline.
Later Tuesday, Australia face Palestine in Kuwait, Japan play Syria in Jeddah and India host Qatar.
The top two from each of the nine groups in Asian qualifying for the World Cup in North America will progress through to the final qualifying stage.
Son scores twice as S. Korea outclass China in World Cup qualifier
https://arab.news/zhf3n
Son scores twice as S. Korea outclass China in World Cup qualifier
- Jurgen Klinsmann’s side thumped Singapore 5-0 last week to begin their qualifying campaign in style
- They were in much the same mood against an outclassed China
Vinicius, Mbappe penalties help Madrid beat Real Sociedad
- The Spanish champions moved within a point of leaders Barcelona who face last season’s surprise package Girona on Sunday
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain: Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe both struck from the penalty spot to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Saturday.
The Spanish champions moved within a point of leaders Barcelona who face last season’s surprise package Girona on Sunday.
Real Sociedad hit the woodwork on three occasions before Madrid’s second half spot-kicks earned them three points from an end-to-end clash at the Reale Arena.
“It was a tough game, probably we didn’t deserve to win because Real Sociedad played very well... but we bore it out, we suffered, we were committed in the tough moments of the game and I value that a lot,” said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.
“This sacrifice and commitment from a team with such quality, you cannot always find — and today we found it.
The Italian was without injured midfielders Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni, and benched Rodrygo Goes for Brahim Diaz.
After Mbappe netted twice to score his first La Liga goals in his previous outing, all eyes were on the French forward.
The former Paris Saint-Germain striker forced Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro into a smart save and had a surging run forward cut short by some last-ditch defending.
Real Sociedad hit the woodwork for the first of three occasions when new arrival Luka Sucic slammed an effort from distance against the bar.
Ancelotti brought on Rodrygo after Diaz suffered an injury and the champions came close through Antonio Rudiger’s header, clawed out by Remiro, and an Mbappe effort across the face of goal.
At the other end Real Sociedad forward Sheraldo Becker struck the bar when played in.
Sucic fired a low strike against the post early in the second half as the Basque side lacked luck in front of goal and Madrid inevitably capitalized.
Vinicius fired home from the spot in the 58th minute after Sergio Gomez handled Arda Guler’s drive and Mbappe soon followed suit.
The French superstar sent Remiro the wrong way from the spot after Jon Aramburu stood on Vinicius’ foot.
Madrid saw the remaining 15 minutes out without stress ahead of their return to Champions League action on Tuesday against Stuttgart.
Mbappe now has three goals in five La Liga matches for Madrid, although two have come from the penalty spot.
Los Blancos last tasted defeat in La Liga in September 2023, going 37 league matches unbeaten since.
“We had a great first half, we had a lot of chances, the game was alive,” said Real Sociedad’s Igor Zubeldia.
“In the second half we started well but the penalty was a tough blow... we were comfortable, it changed the whole game for us.”
Earlier Sevilla earned their first victory of the season with a tight 1-0 triumph over Getafe and Villarreal moved provisionally third with a 2-1 win at Mallorca.
Erling Haaland reaches 99 goals for City as Liverpool lose at Anfield to Forest
- Norwegian’s double maintained City’s 100 percent start to the league
MANCHESTER: Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for Manchester City after scoring twice in a 2-1 win against Brentford in the English Premier League on Saturday.
The Norwegian’s double maintained City’s 100 percent start to the league after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Liverpool lost for the first time under new manager Arne Slot, to Nottingham Forest by a shock 1-0 at Anfield.
Manchester United won at Southampton 3-0 to end their two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Slot stunned
Slot suffered his first setback in English football after Callum Hudson-Odoi fired Forest to a stunning win at Anfield.
Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool had been the only team other than City to have a 100 percent winning record after the first three rounds, including a memorable 3-0 win against Man United before the international break.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
A new era in Asian football begins Monday when the AFC Champions League Elite debuts
- Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are among the favorites to win next May’s final and reinforce the ambitions of the Saudi Pro League of becoming one of the best in the world
- The Elite version replaced the AFC Champions League as the continent’s top tournament
The first edition of the AFC Champions League Elite begins Monday with stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar and Riyad Mahrez looking to lead their Saudi clubs to success in Asia.
Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal and Al-Ahli are among the favorites to win next May’s final and reinforce the ambitions of the Saudi Pro League (SPL) of becoming one of the best in the world.
In the summer transfer windows of 2023 and 2024, SPL clubs spent over $1 billion on transfers to bring top-level players from the big European leagues.
Al-Hilal midfielder Ruben Neves joined Al-Hilal in 2023 from Wolverhampton Wanderers of the English Premier League for a fee of around $60 million and has no doubt that the SPL has enough quality.
“I have said this a few times — if you compare my data from English football to Saudi football, I run even more, but with the difference that I run in 40 degrees (Celsius, 104 Fahrenheit),” Neves said after helping Portugal to a 2-1 Nations League win over Scotland on Tuesday when Ronaldo scored the winning goal.
“I am in good shape physically. Both Cristiano and I proved today that Saudi football has quality.”
Al-Hilal is the most successful team in Asia with four continental titles and starts its campaign against Al-Rayyan of Qatar. Ronaldo won five UEFA Champions Leagues but has yet to win a major trophy with Al-Nassr and he will face Iraq’s Al-Shorta while Mahrez and Al-Ahli hosts Persepolis of Iran in Jeddah.
As well as the big stars, also reinforcing the chances of the giants from Jeddah and Riyadh, is that from the quarterfinal stage on, all games will take place in Saudi Arabia.
There are bigger changes, however. The Elite version replaced the AFC Champions League as the continent’s top tournament.
The number of teams participating has reduced from 40 to 24. Instead of 10 groups of four, there are two groups of 12, divided into east and west geographic zones, with teams playing eight games with the top eight progressing to the second round.
In the east zone, China, South Korea and Japan all have the maximum allocation of three teams though Australia has only the Central Coast Mariners.
Clubs from the A-League have struggled in the Champions League in recent years but if the Mariners can succeed, there may be more places for Australian teams in the future.
“We know if we perform and we carry out our game plan and play our way, we know we can compete,” Central Coast head coach Mark Jackson said. “We’ve shown that. Whether we can compete consistently on that front, again with the size of squads these teams have, how they can travel because I’m sure these teams travel in a different way to how we travel.”
The Elite tournament has become more lucrative with the winner receiving $10 million in prize money, an increase from $4 million last season.
Messi set to return after two-month lay off
MIAMI: Lionel Messi is set to return to action with his club Inter Miami on Saturday after spending over two months out with an ankle injury, Miami coach Gerardo Martino said on Friday.
“Yes, he is fine,” Martino said before training Friday. “He trained (Thursday), he is in the plans for the game. After training we will figure out the strategy for him, but he is available,” added the Argentine.
Inter Miami, who lead the Eastern Conference and are top of the overall standings, host the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.
Messi injured his right ankle during the final of the Copa America on July 14 when he helped Argentina to victory over Colombia.
Since then he has missed eight MLS games for his club and this month’s World Cup qualifiers for his country.
“To get back the best player in the world to our team, which was already on a good run, we are all very happy with this situation,” said Martino.
Inter have already booked their place in the MLS Cup playoffs although their seeding will depend on how they finish the regular season which concludes on October 19.
The playoffs begin the following week and conclude with MLS Cup on December 7,
Miami’s Finnish winger Robert Taylor concurred said Messi’s return to training had given the team a boost.
“We’re already confident, but he gives us even more confidence now that he’s back training and hopefully he’s ready to play soon,” Taylor told the Miami Herald.
“He brings a lot of leadership. The way he’s competitive in training is really, really amazing to watch. He wants to win every little thing we do in training, whether it’s football tennis, rondos, small-sided games, he just wants to win everything. So that boosts everyone to try to match that level,” he said.
Taylor doesn’t expect to see any lasting impact of the injury on the record eight-times Ballon d’Or winner.
“Of course, two months is a long time, for anyone, but he’s the best player there is. So, I don’t think we’ll see much of a different Messi than we’ve seen before,” he added.
Guardiola ‘happy’ Man City hearing finally set to start
- City face 80 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018, plus a further 35 of failing to cooperate with a Premier League investigation
- “Start soon, and hopefully finish soon,” Guardiola said of the hearing at his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Brentford’s trip to the Etihad
MANCHESTER: Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he is pleased that the club’s long-awaited hearing into 115 charges brought by the Premier League is set to start on Monday.
City face 80 breaches of financial rules between 2009 and 2018, plus a further 35 of failing to cooperate with a Premier League investigation.
The English champions stand accused of failing to provide accurate financial information between 2009 and 2018, including revenue from sponsors and salary details of managers and players.
City have vehemently denied any wrongdoing and Guardiola has backed his superiors when pressed about the charges in the past.
“Start soon, and hopefully finish soon,” Guardiola said of the hearing at his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of Brentford’s trip to the Etihad. “I am looking forward to the decision.
“I’m happy it’s starting on Monday. I know there will be more rumors, new specialists about the sentences.
“We’re going to see. I know what people are looking forward to, what they expect. I know what I read for many, many years. Everybody is innocent until guilt is proven. So we’ll see.”
If found guilty on some or all of the charges, City face a severe points deduction and possibly even expulsion from the Premier League.
The hearing is set to last at least two months, with a decision not expected until 2025.
The Premier League brought the charges in February 2023 but there has been a lengthy wait for the case to proceed before an independent commission.
In the meantime, City have lifted two more Premier League titles and the club’s first ever Champions League last year.
Since a 2008 takeover from Sheikh Mansour, a member of the United Arab Emirates royal family, City have been transformed into the dominant force in English football.
They have won eight of the last 13 Premier League titles, including a record four consecutive league crowns in the past four seasons.
