PARIS: The United States held off France 67-66 to win an unprecedented eighth successive women’s Olympic basketball gold on Sunday and extend their run of victories at the tournament to 61 games.
A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 21 points for the Americans who won the title for the 10th time overall, surviving a buzzer-beating shot from France’s Gabby Williams.
The hosts needed a three to force overtime in Paris but Williams’ foot was on the three-point line as she let go of the ball, so her shot counted for just two points in a dramatic finale.
“I wish I could put it into words. I don’t think I’ll remember that second half for the next couple of weeks. It’s all a blur right now,” said Wilson, who also registered 13 rebounds and four blocks.
“We were just resilient in what we needed to do.”
Kelsey Plum and Kahleah Copper both scored 12 points off the bench for the US.
Williams, who led France with 19, admitted she knew her last-gasp shot wasn’t going to be enough.
“I knew straight away it was two points but I was going quickly. It was hard to stop,” she said.
The referees briefly conferred before confirming the game was over.
“I was behind her, so I saw it was a two,” said Copper. “No stress for me — I don’t know about the people on the bench!“
An eighth straight triumph gave the US women the record for most consecutive gold medals in any team sport at the Olympics, breaking a tie with the US men, who won seven basketball titles in a row from 1936 to 1968.
“An absolutely incredible basketball game. Two teams that left it all out there,” said US coach Cheryl Reeve.
“I knew it would be hard, anything easy isn’t worth having. Coming home with gold, I can’t think of anything that would be greater in life than what we just did together.”
For the 42-year-old Diana Taurasi it was a record sixth Olympic gold, moving her one ahead of Sue Bird.
The US women got support from LeBron James, who sat courtside wearing his gold medal and was joined by team-mates Bam Adebayo and Derrick White, after they won the men’s gold by beating France 98-87 in Saturday’s final.
A low-scoring first quarter saw a cold-shooting France muster just nine points, but the US only fared marginally better and led by six after 10 minutes.
Nevada-born Williams, who qualifies to play for France through her mother, trimmed the gap to a point with a three early in the second period before a basket from Valeriane Ayayi tied the game at 20-20.
Marine Fauthoux drained a three from near midcourt with the shot clock expiring to send the Bercy Arena crowd wild, but Napheesa Collier’s putback ensured the teams headed into the break level at 25-25.
France strung together a 10-point run to start the third period before the US hit back to lead 45-43 going into the final quarter, with Plum connecting on a pair of threes.
Wilson belatedly found some rhythm offensively after a difficult first half, but France had an answer each time and went back in front, 51-49, on Marieme Badiane’s layup.
The US nudged back ahead, Wilson getting a kind bounce off the backboard and Plum sinking a pair of free throws to leave them leading by three with two minutes to play.
Williams’ jumper made it a one-point contest before Copper drove to the basket to keep the US on top.
France got the ball back trailing by three with around 45 seconds left, but Fauthoux’s desperate heave under heavy pressure came up well short.
Wilson then made a free throw to extend the lead to four and Plum looked to have clinched the win with a pair of foul shots, but Williams kept France alive with a clutch three.
Copper held her nerve to sink two more free throws for the US to restore their cushion to three.
They needed every point as Williams nearly pulled off a miraculous escape act as the buzzer sounded, only to be denied by a matter of centimeters.
“We shouldn’t let our heads drop because what we did tonight was huge. Everyone’s going to talk about this game for years,” said Williams.
“Of course there’s disappointment but I think in a few hours we’re going to celebrate this medal.”
USA fend off France for eighth successive women’s Olympic basketball gold
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USA fend off France for eighth successive women’s Olympic basketball gold
- A’ja Wilson scored a game-high 21 points for the Americans who won the title for the 10th time overall, surviving a buzzer-beating shot from France’s Gabby Williams
Slot says Alexander-Arnold ‘fully committed’ to Liverpool amid Real Madrid interest
- Madrid reportedly wants to sign him and the European champions were reportedly rebuffed when they made an initial enquiry about Alexander-Arnold in late December
Alexander-Arnold’s contract with Liverpool expires at the end of the season so he is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with another club if he wishes.
Madrid reportedly wants to sign him and the European champions were reportedly rebuffed when they made an initial enquiry about Alexander-Arnold in late December.
Slot was asked about the defender’s situation in a news conference ahead of Liverpool’s match against Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, and he said he had had a conversation with Alexander-Arnold but would not divulge any details.
Asked if Alexander-Arnold would be staying at Liverpool beyond January, Slot only said: “I can tell you he is playing on Sunday, and hopefully he brings the same performances he brought in the past half-year.
“Because everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here. I see him on the training ground every day ... he is fully committed to us.”
Slot is sure Madrid’s pursuit of Alexander-Arnold isn’t affecting the defender.
“If it would destabilize players at Liverpool that other people talk about them, then we would really have a problem,” Slot said, “because if you play for one of the biggest clubs in the world, everybody always, for 12 months long, will talk about you, sometimes in relation to other clubs.
“That happens so, so, so many times for our players, so if that destabilizes them then we really would have had a problem, not only now but the past six months.”
Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk also are out of contract at Liverpool at the end of the season.
Young Maphaka makes debut as South Africa win toss and bat 1st in 2nd Test against Pakistan
- The 18 years and 270 days old broke Paul Adams’ South Africa record of youngest Test player
- South Africa made three changes after sealing its place in June’s World Test Championship final
CAPE TOWN: Kwena Maphaka became the youngest South African to make a Test debut as the Proteas won the toss and elected to bat in the second and final Test against Pakistan on Friday.
The 18 years and 270 days old Maphaka broke Paul Adams’ South Africa record of youngest Test player, who played his first Test against England in 1995 at the age of 18 years and 340 days.
South Africa made three changes after sealing its place in June’s World Test Championship final with a dramatic two-wicket win in the first Test at Centurion inside four days.
Australia, India and Sri Lanka all still in the race for the Lord’s WTC final against South Africa in June. Australia could advance to face South Africa if it wins the fifth Test against India in Sydney.
“It’s hot and we expect the wicket to break up,” South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said at the coin toss. “We’ve had time to wrap around what we’ve achieved, the preparations for this Test have been the priority … a chance to finish off with a good note.”
Fast bowler Mohammad Abbas brought Pakistan close to its first Test win in South Africa in 18 years with 6-54 in the second innings at Centurion but tailenders Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen shared a half century ninth-wicket stand and quashed the visitors hopes.
The home team, which has six successive Test wins, opted to go with the express pace of Maphaka in place of Dane Paterson, who was dropped after picking up his second successive five-wicket haul at Centurion.
Corbin Bosch was left out after making a stunning Test debut in the first Test where he took a wicket with his first ball and then made a scintillating unbeaten half century in the first innings which gave South Africa a match-winning lead of 90 runs.
Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has recovered from a groin injury and replaced Bosch. Opening batter Tony de Zorzi had a thigh strain and was replaced by Wiaan Mulder as the all-rounder recovered from a finger injury and returned to the playing XI.
Pakistan, which has won just two of its last nine Test matches in this WTC cycle, once again went without a specialist spinner. It rested fast bowler Naseem Shah and brought in left-arm fast bowler Mir Hamza.
“A bit less grass than usual, but we would have had a bowl,” Pakistan captain Shan Masood said.
Liverpool’s Slot says Man Utd ‘much better’ than league table shows
- Arne Slot says crisis-hit Manchester United are “much, much better” than their shocking position in the Premier League suggests
LIVERPOOL: Arne Slot says crisis-hit Manchester United are “much, much better” than their shocking position in the Premier League suggests as he prepares his Liverpool team for a clash against their fierce rivals on Sunday.
Liverpool are six points clear at the top of the Premier League table — and are hot favorites to land a 20th English top-flight crown, which would pull them level with record-holders United.
United, by contrast, are 14th in the table after five defeats in their past six league games under new manager Ruben Amorim.
But Slot, also in his first campaign in England, is adamant he will not take his opponents lightly at Anfield, when asked if he might rest players at Friday’s pre-match press conference.
“No, of course I’m not going to plan to rest any player because it’s a big game and I think it’s for me I said it before the first fixture (a 3-0 win at Old Trafford) and I can say it one more time, that they have much better players in my opinion than maybe the league table shows at the moment.
“I think it’s going to take a while maybe for Ruben Amorim to bring this out of the players... but they will definitely go up and they are much, much, much better than the league table shows at the moment.”
The Dutchman said he had sympathy with his rival in the Old Trafford hot seat, who joined United from Portuguese champions Sporting Lisbon in November.
“I think every manager sympathizes with every other manager, because we all know how much pressure this job brings,” said Slot.
“That’s not different for him than for me, or for any other manager that works in the Premier League, or somewhere else around the world.”
Slot was asked whether he could categorically state that Liverpool would not let Trent Alexander-Arnold leave in the January transfer window, with the defender heavily linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah and captain Virgil van Dijk are all out of contract at the end of the season and can now talk to foreign clubs.
Slot said Alexander-Arnold was “fully committed” to Liverpool and would be playing on Sunday.
“Hopefully he brings the same performances as he brought in for the last half-year, because I think everybody saw how great a first half of the season he had, how much he is here, how much he wants to win here,” said Slot.”
Inter’s Denzel Dumfries delighted with Riyadh double but calls for ‘focus’
- Inter’s 2-0 win over Atalanta in the EA Sports FC Super Cup semifinal means on Monday they can now win their third Super Cup in a row in Riyadh
- Dumfries: ‘This is the first time I’ve scored two goals in my career; I’m very happy about it’
RIYADH: Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries revealed his delight at netting the first double of his career as Inter Milan beat Atalanta 2-0 in Riyadh to earn a place in the EA Sports FC Italian Super Cup final.
The right wing-back’s first goal at Al-Awwal Park came just after half-time when he chested the ball in the air with his back to goal before acrobatically swiveling and volleying into the goal. The second arrived on the hour mark from the edge of the box when he expertly sidefooted into the net off the underside of the bar from Federico Dimarco’s through pass.
Dumfries said: “Yes, this is the first time I’ve scored two goals in my career. I’m very happy about it, but it’s not my best night. We will now focus, and we will do our best during the next game in the final. We will see tomorrow who we face in the final. It’s not our game. We lost against Milan, we drew against Juventus, but they are both important teams.”
Inter can now win their third Super Cup in a row in Riyadh. Having beaten city rivals AC Milan 3-0 in 2022 and Napoli 1-0 last year in Riyadh, Inter face either Juventus or AC Milan in Monday’s final at Al-Awwal Park. The other finalists will be decided at the same venue on Friday. Another Italian Super Cup victory would equal a record four in succession for Inter, having beaten Juventus in Italy in 2021.
Simone Inzaghi, the Inter Milan manager, praised the performance of his team on a night when they could have scored more than two.
“We got a great approach in the game,” he said. “Excellent motivation, right mindset, and I praised the whole team. We have taken just one step, and we will wait (for) the next game on Monday. Winning the Super Cup is getting hard as we play two games within three to four days. I did many finals thanks to those guys. Tomorrow, whoever deserves it more will play against us.”
Gian Piero Gasperini, the Atalanta manager, said: “Inter is strong, the strongest at the moment. We were close, and at the league, we will be even closer. I’m satisfied because it has been a chance to try different players. We created many chances in the second half.”
UAE national team at crossroads after a mixed year
- An improving 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign was followed by a disappointing 2024 Arabian Gulf Cup exit for Paulo Bento’s team
DUBAI: A mixed 2024 for Paulo Bento’s UAE ended with ample Arabian Gulf Cup angst, but signs are still apparent for a glittering 2025.
Al-Wasl talisman Fabio De Lima’s 95th-minute penalty miss versus Oman sealed Group A-elimination in Kuwait and made it two successive regional editions without victory. Quite the comedown for an improving side that was tipped for glory at the 26th running of the cup.
Winter success, though, was never the true target. A rampant November in qualifying made hopes real of earning a World Cup return for the first time since 1990.
Arab News assesses the highs and lows of this intriguing calendar year, plus looks to the future.
Story of 2024
With feet firmly through the door after his July 2023 arrival, Bento could be under no illusions about what a first full year at the helm had to produce.
The ex-Portugal and South Korea supremo had several core tasks. He was asked to inspire an assault on last winter’s Asian Cup and guide the UAE through a generous second-round group in World Cup 2026 qualifying.
In addition, he had to lay the foundation for a sustained charge at automatic entry via the third round and succeed where recent predecessors had failed in the Arabian Gulf Cup.
Supplementary objectives involved further defining a style of play, continuing generational change and successful integration of a growing stream of naturalized options.
However, tournament failures would bookend the year for the team. Asian Cup debutants Tajikistan dumped the UAE out in a frustrating round-of-16 penalty shootout, while they followed rivals Qatar onto an early flight home at the Arabian Gulf Cup.
In contrast, serene second-round progress in World Cup 2026 qualifying came as Group G winners, with a plus-14 goal difference.
Their confidence then ballooned when the third round began with a redemptive 3-1 victory at double Asian Cup kings Qatar. This would deflate during a subsequent three-match winless run, including a demoralizing 1-1 home draw to Group A’s bottom-placed North Korea.
November’s qualifiers had to deliver, and they did. An emphatic 3-0 victory versus Kyrgyzstan was followed by a riotous and unforgettable 5-0 thumping of Qatar, containing a super hat-trick for De Lima.
A three-point gap to Group A runners-up Uzbekistan with four fixtures to fulfil is tantalizing.
It now appears the foundations have been set for a second-ever World Cup appearance. How Bento handles the secondary challenges that appeared in 2024 will define 2025.
New leaders emerge
Discussions regarding Bento’s tenure have often devolved into arguments about who has not been selected, rather than on those representing their nation.
Record goalscorer Ali Mabkhout has not been seen since playing zero minutes at the 2023 Asian Cup. Fellow veterans Majed Hassan and Bandar Al-Ahbabi are among those enjoying evergreen campaigns for their clubs yet are still overlooked by the Whites.
And Wasl golden boy Ali Saleh was the surprise name absent from the recent Arabian Gulf Cup, after late injury ruled him out of November’s qualifiers.
Tweaks will surely be made for March’s key matches at Iran and North Korea. A return to peak match fitness after serious injury by Al-Jazira’s metronome midfielder Abdullah Ramadan is essential.
But the noise that surrounds these calls should not distract from the leaders who emerged in 2024.
De Lima netted six times in the calendar year, while maturing Shabab Al-Ahli Dubai Club flyer Yahya Al-Ghassani joined him on the same tally, with several efforts of sublime quality. And Sharjah fullback Khalid Ibrahim has proved his dependability.
Most pertinently, however, was the increasing torrent of naturalized selections who defined 2024, led by the versatile Marcus Meloni, Al-Ain center-back Kouame Autonne and Fleetwood Town’s Mackenzie Hunt.
New faces, new questions
A UAE Football Association naturalization plan of over five years in the making is bearing fruit.
The aforementioned trio, plus the likes of lively Ajman midfielder Isam Faiz and emerging Montpellier forward Junior Ndiaye, are changing the face of Emirati football.
Al-Wahda center-back Lucas Pimenta travelled to Kuwait, as did teenage Al-Ain midfielder Solomon Sosu. Many more will come online throughout the latter stages of World Cup 2026 qualifying.
This potentially includes Caio Canedo who has a formidable 11-goal contribution in 10 ADNOC Pro League runouts for Sharjah in 2024/2025.
It is now up to Bento to make the most of this harvest. Getting the blend right is critical.
Does defense need a facelift?
Only Iraq and omnipotent Japan have conceded fewer goals than the UAE in third-round qualifying.
So far, so solid. Yet, a fragility on display at the Arabian Gulf Cup is of concern.
Jazira center-back Khalifa Al-Hammadi erred in last month’s 2-1 Kuwait defeat, and international partner Autonne was also dismissed in that match.
Pimenta is now on board, with his hugely impressive Tunisia-born club-mate Alaeddine Zouhir a future naturalized option.
Returns for Shabab Al-Ahli full-backs Ahmad Jamil and Bader Nasser would be welcomed. And goalkeeper Hamad Al-Meqebaali, 21, is an enviable prospect who looks poised for senior action.
Mission to find another Mabkhout
Last year began with a change of the guard up top.
The 85-goal Mabkhout was watching in Qatar as an emergent Sultan Adil got among the Asian Cup scorers. The powerful latter-mentioned striker has, however, been unable to feature for Shabab Al-Ahli or his country this season.
The UAE have netted 12 times in the third round, equaling Iran and South Korea’s tallies while outscoring Qatar, Iraq, Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Seasoned Wasl campaigners De Lima and Caio Canedo still pack a punch but more is expected, however, from Jazira forward Bruno Conceicao, with Ndiaye’s international career also still to ignite.
Bento must surely want Adil involved for March’s seismic away trips.
