Saudi Arabia must overcome Japan and South Korea to claim AFC Asian Cup glory

Saudi Arabia may be leading the Arab challenge at the Asian Cup that kicks off in Qatar on Friday but there is also the small matter of the challenge from the east. (Via X @SaudiNT)
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Updated 11 January 2024
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Saudi Arabia must overcome Japan and South Korea to claim AFC Asian Cup glory

  • Green Falcons are the best-placed among 10 Arab nations to take title but must contend with superpowers from the east  

Saudi Arabia may be leading the Arab challenge at the Asian Cup that kicks off in Qatar on Friday but there is also the small matter of the challenge from the east.

Any team that has ambitions of lifting the trophy are going to have to get past Japan or South Korea, and maybe both. It is going to need Roberto Mancini and his players to be at their best.

It is not only about East versus West but a clash between teams that are full of big-name stars who play for elite clubs in the biggest European leagues, and one that is fully domestic-based.

At present, Japan are not only the best team in Asia but one of the best in the world, certainly higher than their present ranking of 17. At the World Cup, the Samurai Blue defeated 2010 and 2014 champions Spain and Germany and really should have got past Croatia in the second round before losing a penalty shootout. Japan are the only Asian nation that sees a World Cup second round as slightly disappointing.

The team has continued to improve. The last nine games were not only won by the four-time Asian champions but 39 goals were scored. The 4-1 away win over Germany last September is one of the best, if not the best, friendly result ever from an Asian team.

That win over the four-time world champions may have been eye-catching but there are other scorelines that should have the other 23 nations in Qatar worried. There have been three successive 5-0 wins. While the first was at home to a weak Myanmar team, the other two came against Syria in another World Cup qualifier in Jeddah and then a warm-up against Thailand.

Both those teams have genuine ambitions of getting to the knockout stage of the Asian Cup. Syria may not be quite the team that almost qualified for the 2018 World Cup but are solid opposition in continental terms, coached by former Inter and Valencia boss Hector Cuper, but they were swatted aside. Then came Thailand on Jan. 1, the best team in Southeast Asia. It was goalless at half-time but then Japan just stepped up a gear and that was that.

New Thailand coach Masatadi Ishii was impressed and said there was “a big difference between the two teams.”

“I had only watched Japan’s games on TV before, and you really notice their speed and accuracy when you face them at close quarters,” he added.

Japan, four-time champions, are favorites for the title, but South Korea, ranked 23, are not far behind. They have not been quite as impressive as their regional rivals since defeating Portugal to move into the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup where they lost to Brazil, but they have the biggest stars in Asian football.

Son Heung-min is currently the joint-second top scorer in the English Premier League this season with 12 goals. The Tottenham Hotspur captain is not the only South Korean starring in the world’s most high refill league — Hwang Hee-chan’s 10 goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers put him sixth in the scoring standings and on the shopping lists of many clubs.

Just behind the forwards is Lee Kang-in, a supremely talented creative midfielder settling in at Paris Saint-Germain and then just behind Lee is Kim Min-jae. The big center-back won the Serie A title with Napoli before joining Bayern Munich and becoming the first Asian defender to be nominated for the Ballon D’Or. Jurgen Klinsmann has plenty of talent to work with.

Mancini has too and has won the English Premier League and Serie A as a coach, as well as the European Championships in 2021. His experience in winning an international tournament means Saudi Arabia are not to be underestimated either.

The Green Falcons, ranked at 56, may not be full of European stars but the entire squad now plays every week with and against some of the best players in the world.

The foreign influx has no doubt helped raise the standards of many Saudi players. Saud Abdulhamid impressed hugely at the World Cup but the Al-Hilal right-back has only improved since playing alongside the likes of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Neymar, Ruben Neves, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Kalidou Koulibaly and Yassine Bounou. Then there are his Saudi Arabia teammates Salem Al-Dawsari, Mohamed Kanno and others.

For Saudi Arabia these days, facing big stars on the pitch is a weekly occurrence.

The three-time winners are the best bet of the Arab world as defending champions Qatar and the UAE do not seem to have what it takes. Iran are the other contenders from the region. Team Melli, ranked 21, has Mehdi Taremi, one of Asia’s top strikers as he has shown again and again for FC Porto in Portugal and the Champions League. Sardar Azmoun is with Roma and Saman Ghoddos at Brentford.

The big challenge is likely to come from elsewhere and Mancini is not alone in knowing that, at some point on the road to glory at the Asian Cup, the stars of East Asia are going to have to be dealt with.


Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

Updated 58 min 43 sec ago
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Pakistan’s Muhammad Asif wins IBSF World Snooker Championship in Qatar

  • Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title for 3rd time
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif promises to set up world-class facilities for sportsmen

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has congratulated Pakistani cueist Muhammad Asif for winning the International Billiards and Snooker Federation (IBSF) World Snooker Championship in Qatar for the third time, Pakistani state-run media reported on Thursday.
Asif defeated Iran’s Ali Ghareghozlou 5-3 to clinch the title in a thrilling final on Nov. 6. He outclassed Ali 5-3: 70-25, 7-87(84), 82(56)-8, 106(106)-08, 82-12, 43-91(58), 0-118 and 93(80)-4.
“Asif made the entire nation proud by winning the international championship for the third time,” PM Sharif was quoted as saying by the Radio Pakistan broadcaster. “The talented youth of Pakistan are highlighting the country’s name in the fields of sports.”
The IBSF, founded in 1971, is the governing body for billiards and snooker worldwide. It represents 85 member countries and is recognized by the World Confederation of Billiard Sports and the International Olympic Committee.
Asif, 42, first won the IBSF World Snooker Championship in 2012 and went on to win it again in 2019. His victory ties him with India’s Pankaj Advani who has also won the World Snooker Championship thrice.
The Pakistan prime minister said Asif’s family and coach also deserved recognition, adding that providing quality facilities to Pakistani players was top priority of his government.
“The government is making all possible efforts to provide international standard facilities to the players,” he added.
 


Raphinha’s evolution into a more versatile scorer is a big part of Flick’s great start at Barcelona

Updated 08 November 2024
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Raphinha’s evolution into a more versatile scorer is a big part of Flick’s great start at Barcelona

BARCELONA: Raphinha knew he would have a hard time getting off Barcelona’s bench with the soccer world enthralled by teen phenom Lamine Yamal and the club eyeing to sign another hot prospect in the attack.

Instead of pouting, he evolved.

While the entire Barcelona team improved under new coach Hansi Flick, no player has made such a leap forward this season as Raphinha.

His 12 goals and team-leading 10 assists across all competitions are a big part of why Barcelona is playing its best soccer since the exit of Lionel Messi more than three years ago.

But if one player looked to be on the out when the season started, it was the Brazil forward.

Raphinha seemed destined to become a second-choice right-side winger after 17-year-old Yamal helped Spain win the European Championship in dazzling style. To make matters worse, the club was heavily linked to a possible transfer bid to pry Spain left-side winger Nico Williams away from Athletic Bilbao.

That move never materialized for Williams, but Raphinha was still left with either playing in a new position or being a backup to Yamal.

And when Flick gave him the chance to have a new role, he made the most of it.


England gives call-up to more new faces in final squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over

Updated 08 November 2024
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England gives call-up to more new faces in final squad before Thomas Tuchel takes over

LONDON: Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall were called up to the England squad for the first time on Thursday as interim coach Lee Carsley made his final selection before Thomas Tuchel takes charge.

Tuchel does not start until January after being hired to lead the national team’s bid to win the 2026 World Cup.

Carsley will oversee England’s final Nations League games against Greece and Ireland and has continued to look toward a new generation of players, having already handed debuts to Angel Gomes, Morgan Gibbs-White and Noni Madueke since taking over on a temporary basis from Gareth Southgate in August.

Carsley said had not discussed his selection with Tuchel.

“He hasn’t had any influence on the squad selection. I’ve spoken to him by text, but it’s literally congratulations,” he said. “I think he’s highly respectful of the job that not only myself, but the staff are doing.

“We’ve been left to it, like we always have.”

England plays Greece in Athens on Nov. 14 and Ireland at Wembley on Nov. 17.

Carsley will resume his role as England Under-21 coach after those games.


Man City seek to end mini-slump as Liverpool soar

Updated 08 November 2024
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Man City seek to end mini-slump as Liverpool soar

  • Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis
  • Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United and winless Wolves play fellow strugglers Southampton

LONDON: Injury-hit Manchester City are desperate to snap their losing streak in their final Premier League game before the international break as Chelsea aim to deepen Arsenal’s misery.

Elsewhere in the English top flight, Ruud van Nistelrooy takes charge of his final game as interim manager of Manchester United and winless Wolves play fellow strugglers Southampton.

Here are some of the key talking points ahead of the action this weekend.

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have become so accustomed to success that three straight defeats feels like a major crisis.

Last week City, who face Brighton on Saturday, were ousted from the League Cup by Tottenham.

Their 32-match unbeaten run in the Premier League came to an end at Bournemouth before Sporting Lisbon beat them 4-1 in the Champions League — ending another long unbeaten stretch.

Guardiola’s men, gunning for a fifth consecutive Premier League title, are just two points behind league leaders Liverpool but will be wary of losing further ground.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva says the club’s multiple injury worries are not an excuse for their poor form but he admits the international break, which starts after the weekend, comes at a good time.

“At the moment with the injuries that we have and the psychological part as well, it will be good to have that rest, but before that we have a big game again,” he said.

One positive for City in their defeat to Sporting was the return of Kevin De Bruyne, who came on as a late substitute after seven weeks out of action.

If results go against them, Arsenal could find themselves eighth in the Premier League by the time they kick off against London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.

Mikel Arteta’s men have picked up just one point from their past three league games and lost their midweek Champions League clash against Inter Milan 1-0.

Arteta was upbeat despite the defeat at the San Siro, where captain Martin Odegaard made a welcome return to action after being absent since late August.

But defeat against in-form Chelsea plus a win for Liverpool would leave Arsenal, runners-up in each of the past two seasons, 10 points off top spot.

Thierry Henry said on CBS Sports that if Liverpool and City win at the weekend and Arsenal lose, his former side could be out of the title race.

“It would be extremely difficult because you (would) have too many teams to catch... I don’t see two teams collapsing,” he said.

Arne Slot has won 14 of his first 16 games in charge of Liverpool in all competitions.

The club had a relatively kind fixture list at the start of the season but they show no signs of letting up — taking seven points from games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Brighton in recent weeks and boasting a perfect record in the Champions League.

Liverpool have also beaten two Premier League teams, West Ham and Brighton, on their way to the League Cup quarter-finals.

Former Feyenoord boss Slot brushed off a question about whether he was finding his new job “easy” after Liverpool’s thumping 4-0 win against German champions Bayer Leverkusen this week.

“Every team that plays against us is in the top of their game,” he said. “And if you want to win that, you always have to be consistent in your intensity, and that’s not always easy but that is what’s needed.”

Liverpool have a tough run of fixtures coming up, starting with Aston Villa at home on Saturday, but so far they have proved they have what it takes.

Fixtures

Saturday (1500 GMT unless stated)

Brentford vs. Bournemouth, Crystal Palace v Fulham, West Ham vs. Everton, Wolves vs. Southampton, Brighton v Manchester City (1730), Liverpool vs. Aston Villa (2000)

Sunday (1400 unless stated)

Manchester Utd vs. Leicester, Nottingham Forest vs. Newcastle, Tottenham vs. Ipswich, Chelsea vss. Arsenal (1630)


Bucks snap losing streak with Jazz rout

Updated 08 November 2024
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Bucks snap losing streak with Jazz rout

  • Lillard rattled in four three-pointers and shot 12-of-22 from the field en route to his third straight 30-point game to help Milwaukee claim only their second win
  • Minnesota Timberwolves scored a 135-119 blowout of the Chicago Bulls on the road while the San Antonio Spurs proved too strong for Portland Trail Blazers, winning 118-105

LOS ANGELES: Damian Lillard scored 34 points as the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a run of six straight defeats to bag their first home win of the season with a 123-100 victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday.

Lillard rattled in four three-pointers and shot 12-of-22 from the field en route to his third straight 30-point game to help Milwaukee claim only their second win since a season-opening defeat of the Philadelphia 76ers last month.

Giannis Antetokounmpo added 31 points with 16 rebounds while Bobby Portis bagged 19 off the bench as Milwaukee clinched a badly needed victory after a miserable start to the campaign.

The 2021 NBA champions started the game with a 1-6 record that has left them one place off the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Utah looked ready to compound Milwaukee’s problems after taking a 61-57 half-time lead at the Fiserv Forum.

But the Bucks finally clicked into gear with a devastating third-quarter performance, outscoring Utah 31-16 to build what turned out to be an insurmountable lead as they finally gave their home fans something to cheer about.

“It feels great,” Lillard said. “Getting off to a rough start, it’s easy to get down on yourself and start to panic a little bit and worry.

“Tonight we just came out with the right mentality. They hit some threes, but we stuck with it, shared the ball and finally we caught our stride and take over the game.

“We just got to be able to use this as momentum going forward.”

In other games, the Minnesota Timberwolves scored a 135-119 blowout of the Chicago Bulls on the road while the San Antonio Spurs proved too strong for the Portland Trail Blazers, winning 118-105.

In Chicago, Anthony Edwards sparked the Timberwolves to a come-from-behind win, scoring 33 points including five three-pointers with eight rebounds and six assists.

Chicago had dominated for long periods, leading the game from early in the first quarter until midway through the fourth.

But Minnesota erupted to devastating effect in the final period, turning the game on its head after outscoring Chicago 45-24 to cruise home.

Six Timberwolves players finished in double figures, with Julius Randle delivering 22 points and Rudy Gobert adding 21 points.

French international Gobert saluted Edwards’ decisive contribution.

“Every year his playmaking has got better and better and now this is the year where I feel like he’s really able to see what’s happening on the floor,” Gobert said.

“It’s just on me to get him open or get open myself and finish the play.”

Nikola Vucevic led Chicago’s scorers with 25 points, with Coby White adding 24.

In San Antonio, eight Spurs players tallied double-digit points totals in a victory over Portland.

San Antonio took to the floor once again without the presence of legendary head coach Gregg Popovich, who was taken ill last weekend with an unspecified health issue.