PARIS: The United States, chasing a fifth straight men’s Olympic basketball crown, are gearing up for a fierce challenge from France in a hostile Bercy Arena after two scintillating semifinals set up a dream gold medal game at the Paris Olympics.
The US team led by Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James will take on NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama’s France in a rematch of the Tokyo Olympics final on Saturday.
The United States had romped through the group stage and 122-87 quarter-final blowout of Brazil before Nikola Jokic’s Serbia took them down to the wire, the Americans trailing by 17 before an epic fourth-quarter comeback landed a 95-91 semifinal win.
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, playing in his first Olympics, poured in 36 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:24 to play.
Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, James and Kevin Durant — who is seeking a fourth Olympic gold — all came through in the late scoring surge that carried the Americans to victory.
“The whole fourth quarter was unreal,” Curry said, but as of Friday it was in the rearview mirror, to be celebrated “when we have a medal around our neck — a gold one.”
US coach Steve Kerr has been impressed at the momentum France has built after an overtime escape against Japan in the group stage followed by a comprehensive group loss to World Cup champions Germany.
With a revamped starting line-up, the French ousted previously unbeaten Canada in the quarters before gaining revenge against Germany in the semis.
“It’s been very impressive to see their team evolve, change styles on the fly,” Kerr said. “They’re very physical. They’re playing extremely hard.
“That’s what jumps out on tape is just how hard they’re playing at both ends and so we have to be prepared for that physicality and that force and we have to not only match that but exceed that.”
Kerr said the introduction of Isaia Cordinier and Real Madrid’s Guerschon Yabusele into France’s starting line-up had given them “more physicality, more downhill attacking, more offensive firepower.”
“And they’re playing with a lot of emotion,” Kerr said.
Wembanyama said the cheers of ecstatic fans nearly brought him to tears after France held off Germany, who cut a 10-point deficit to two in the final minute before France pulled out the 73-69 victory.
The fledgling San Antonio Spurs star’s jersey was stained with blood from a cut on his neck after the game.
“In our national anthem, we talk about blood,” Wembanyama said. “We’re willing to spill blood on the court. So, it’s no big deal. If it allows us to win gold, I’m offering. Take all of it.”
Curry is expecting France to play “the game of their life.”
“It’s gonna be a battle,” he said. “That’s what it’s supposed to be if you’re trying to win a gold medal ... it’s just a matter of going out and being the killers that we are.”
Curry said the team of US stars, reckoned to be the most talent laden since Michael Jordan led the original Dream Team into the Barcelona Olympics, have plenty of experience playing in hostile arenas in the NBA.
And the US league’s playoff series format has given them plenty of experience in regrouping for another big game after an emotional win.
Kerr said his players will need to lock down defensively — something they left late against Serbia — if they want to emerge with the nation’s 17th men’s Olympic basketball crown.
“We’ve got to make (Saturday) our best defensive game,” Kerr said. “The game got away from us last night.
“A lot of guys turn into Superman in (international basketball) and we’ve got to be ready for that with a better defensive edge.”
USA face France in mouthwatering Olympic men’s basketball final
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USA face France in mouthwatering Olympic men’s basketball final
- Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry, playing in his first Olympics, poured in 36 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:24 to play
- Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, James and Kevin Durant all came through in the late scoring surge that carried the Americans to victory
Inter Milan reach Italian Cup quarterfinals after Asllani scores direct from corner kick
- Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani netted in the first half to help Inter set up a quarterfinal match against Lazio
- Teenage defender Mike Aidoo came on two minutes from time for Inter for his professional debut
MILAN: A much-changed Inter Milan side eased to a 2-0 victory over Udinese in the Italian Cup on Thursday.
Marko Arnautovic and Kristjan Asllani netted in the first half to help Inter set up a quarterfinal match against Lazio — the team they routed 6-0 in the league on Monday. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi made eight changes to that side.
The match was briefly halted shortly before halftime when a spectator collapsed in the stands. The fan was immediately treated as the stadium fell into silence and the players looked on, clearly concerned.
A defibrillator had to be used before the fan was carried out on a stretcher to the applause of the San Siro crowd. The fan was reportedly stable in the hospital.
When play resumed after a delay of more than five minutes, the Udinese players still seemed distracted as Asllani’s corner from the left evaded everyone and went in off the far post.
That put Inter 2-0 up as it had broken the deadlock in the 30th minute following an Udinese error. A hideous pass from visiting midfielder Jurgen Ekkelenkamp was straight at Mehdi Taremi and he fed in Arnautovic, who slotted into the bottom right corner.
Taremi hit the post in the second half, while Inter also had an early penalty revoked on review.
Teenage defender Mike Aidoo came on two minutes from time for Inter for his professional debut.
Guiu hat trick helps Chelsea rout Rovers 5-1 to extend Conference League dominance
- Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored six goals in six games in the third-tier competition
- Rolando Mandragora netted for Fiorentina three minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw at Vitoria
LONDON: Marc Guiu’s first-half hat trick helped Chelsea ease past Shamrock Rovers 5-1 on Thursday to complete the league phase of the UEFA Conference League with a 100 percent record.
The 18-year-old forward, who netted twice in a 3-1 win over Astana in the previous round, opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with a header from close range at Stamford Bridge.
Markus Poom equalized for the Irish visitors, but Guiu restored Chelsea’s lead with an angled shot from the left in the 34th.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall made it 3-1 six minutes later before Guiu completed his first hat trick for the Blues with a header in stoppage time.
“I’ve never seen anyone press like him,” Dewsbury-Hall told TNTSports about Guiu. “He doesn’t slow down, he’ll keep working hard. You forget how young he is. He’s only 18. I’m happy that he got his hat trick, he deserves it.”
Guiu, who joined Chelsea from Barcelona this summer, has scored six goals in six games in the third-tier competition.
Marc Cucurella finished off the rout in the second half.
It’s now eight straight wins in all competitions for Enzo Maresca’s team, which equals the club’s record set in December 2016.
Of the 36 clubs involved in the revamped competition, the top eight in the standings go directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the knockout playoffs in February. The bottom 12 teams are eliminated.
Unlike the new-look Champions League and Europa League, teams in the Conference League face six opponents, not eight, in the league phase that replaced the traditional group stage.
Chelsea was the only team that stayed perfect, the only team that qualified to the round of 16 with a game to spare, and it scored 26 in six games, by far the most goals.
Despite its first defeat in the competition, Rovers finished 10th and became the first Irish club to advance to the knockout stage of a European competition.
Top eight
Rolando Mandragora netted for Fiorentina three minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw at Vitoria, a result that gave the Portuguese team second place with 14 points. Fiorentina, runner-up in the previous two editions, was a point back in third.
Rapid Vienna beat Copenhagen 3-0 to advance from fourth place on 13 points. Djurgarden was fifth with 13 points after a 3-1 win over Legia Warsaw, which was seventh place.
Lugano finished sixth after being held 2-2 at home by Pafos from Cyprus.
Cercle Brugge’s 1-1 draw against Basaksehir was enough to finish eighth.
AI judge unveiled in experiment for Fury-Usyk fight
RIYADH: Organizers of the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk have released a video of how an Artificial Intelligence powered 4th judge will score the fight between the heavyweights this Saturday.
The much anticipated rematch between Britain’s Fury and Ukraine’s Usyk will take place in Riyadh, as part of the cultural and sporting spectacle known as Riyadh Season.
The video, posted early on Friday by the Saudi entertainment authority chief, Turki Alalshikh, features an AI judge explaining how it will score the bout.
“I am the first ever AI boxing judge,” the humanoid figure announces in the 38-second clip, “and I am here to bring fairness to the ring.”
The AI judge, powered by The Ring, a boxing magazine dedicated to the sport, is just an experiment and will not decide the fight, according to Alalshikh.
Boxing fights are usually scored by three judges, who use the 10-point system each round to choose a winner in case there is no knockout.
“I analyze every round, every move, and every decisive moment during the fight,” it said.
Like human judges, the bot will try to track landed punches, effective aggression and defense, collecting real-time metrics to calculate a score and decide who has won.
In the past, human judges have been accused of not scoring correctly, being biased, or more seriously, being corrupt, leading to controversy within the sport.
It is unclear what the long term impact of the experiment will be, but other sports such as football and cricket use similar technologies to support referees and umpires to make accurate decisions more quickly, which have led to fairer results.
Excitement continues to build for the Saturday night fight, which is expected to start some time after midnight in the Saudi capital. Fury, who exercised a clause in his contract for a rematch after his May defeat to the Ukrainian, who has an unblemished 21-0 record, is out for revenge, exciting boxing fans across the globe.
The fighters, who attended an event hosted by The Ring, faced-off for media photos on Thursday night ahead of the official Weigh-In on Friday.
Son scores direct from a corner as Tottenham beats Man United 4-3 in the English League Cup
Son's spectacular strike in the 88th-minute at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium came as Spurs tried to hold off a dramatic comeback from United, having led 3-0 in the second half.
United had pulled it back to 3-2 and was pushing for an equalizer when Son whipped in a curling right-footed shot past goalkeeper Altay Bayindir.
Jonny Evans scored again for United in stoppage time, but Spurs held on for the win that had looked all but certain shortly after halftime.
Having gone ahead through Dominic Solanke’s goal from close range in the 15th, Tottenham took control after the break.
Dejan Kulusevski doubled the lead a minute after the restart and Solanke fired in his second in the 54th.
United head coach Ruben Amorim made a triple substitution — bringing on Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo and Kobbie Mainoo.
It quickly had an impact with Zirkzee forcing Fraser Forster into a flying save and then capitalizing on a loose pass by the Tottenham goalkeeper to make it 3-1.
Forster was guilty of another mistake in the 70th when his attempted clearance was closed down by Diallo and ricocheted over the line.
United increased the pressure, but Son's unlikely goal gave Spurs a cushion again — and it proved to be the decisive strike after Evans' late header reduced the deficit again.
Saudi Arabia to compete in 2025 and 2027 CONCACAF Gold Cups
- The Green Falcons were invited to participate as a guest nation in the tournaments alongside 15 other teams
- The 2025 competition will be hosted by the US and Canada at 14 stadiums in 11 cities between June 14 and July 6
RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian national football team will compete at the CONCACAF Gold Cup in 2025 and 2027, organizers announced on Thursday. They were invited to take part as a guest nation.
Next year’s tournament, hosted by the US and Canada, will run from June 14 to July 6. The Green Falcons, led by coach Herve Renard, will join eight teams that have already qualified: Curacao, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, and the two host nations. The remaining seven participants will be decided by qualifiers scheduled for March.
The draw for the tournament will take place on April 10. Matches will be played at 14 stadiums in 11 cities, five of which will also host games during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Following the announcement, Yasser Al-Misehal, president of the Saudi Football Federation, thanked the Kingdom’s leaders for their unwavering support for the nation’s sports sector, and football in particular. He praised Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, the minister of sports and president of the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee, for the pivotal role he has played in bolstering the global presence of Saudi football.
The first Gold Cup took place in 1991. Between 1996 and 2005, CONCACAF invited a guest nation to compete, with Brazil, South Korea and South Africa among those participating. After 16 years with no guest teams, 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar were invited to take part in the 2021 and 2023 competitions.
