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Argentina forward Lionel Messi was among the nominees for the men's Ballon d'Or award with Erling Haaland leading a seven-strong Manchester City contingent announced by organisers France Football magazine Wednesday.
MANILA: United States forward Mikal Bridges said his team were “just plain hungry” after they overpowered Italy on Tuesday to book their place in the Basketball World Cup semifinals. The US beat Italy 100-63 to rebound from their first defeat of the tournament, a loss to Lithuania in the second round two days earlier. The Americans fell behind early against Lithuania but they had no such problems with Italy, leading by 10 points by the end of the first quarter. Bridges, who led the US in scoring with 24 points, said the mantra heading into the quarter-final game was to “set the tone.” “That’s what the coach has been preaching to us,” he said. “The bench has been doing a pretty good job but I think the starters have been letting them down a little bit with a slow start. “The coach got us prepared and we were just plain hungry.” The US never gave Italy a chance to get started, learning their lesson after allowing Lithuania to nail their first nine three-point attempts. The Americans limited Italy to just 24 points in the first half — the second-lowest tally ever from a team appearing in a World Cup quarter-final. “We took a tough loss last game,” said US center Paolo Banchero. “It felt like we didn’t play up to our standards on the defense end, so we wanted to come out and make a statement on defense.” The US will face either Germany or tournament sensations Latvia in the semifinals on Friday. Head coach Steve Kerr said he was not worried about his players letting their energy levels drop after such a high-octane performance. He likened his team to “the horse turning back to the barn.” “The horse starts picking up the pace when it senses it’s near the barn, and that’s what is happening right now — our guys are sensing
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabian champion Al-Ittihad and their star striker Karim Benzema avoided Manchester City in the semifinals draw Tuesday for the first FIFA Club World Cup to be hosted by the kingdom. The Dec. 12-22 tournament for continental champions and the host nation’s league winner will be played in Al-Ittihad’s home city Jeddah – the latest statement of Saudi ambitions in global soccer including aiming to host the men’s World Cup in 2034. The event will be the last Club World Cup in the current annual format before a 32-team version played every four years starts in June 2025. The inaugural host is the United States. Al-Ittihad will open the seven-team tournament against Auckland City, the champion of Oceania. The winner will advance to face African champion Al-Ahly of Egypt in the second round for a place in the semifinals against the champion of South America. The Copa Libertadores is currently at the semifinals stage featuring Boca Juniors of Argentina and Brazilian clubs Palmeiras, Fluminense and Internacional. Man City, as the champion of Europe, also get direct entry to the semifinals and will play either Club León of Mexico or Urawa Red Diamonds of Japan. The final on Dec. 22 will be played at the 62,000-seat King Abdullah Sports City, home of Al-Ittihad.
Saudi Pro League superstars Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Neymar will be allowed to play Asian Champions League games in Iran after the Asian Football Confederation announced a “groundbreaking agreement” between the two countries' federations.
The facts say that Al-Hilal won 4-3 at Al-Ittihad on Friday but there was a great deal more to this seven-goal thriller. With two thirds of the Classico gone, Al-Ittihad were cruising, 3-1 to the good and heading for a fifth win out of five this season but then, incredibly, the defending champions who not conceded a single goal in the first 360 minutes of Roshn Saudi League football, conceded three in the space of ten second half minutes as Aleksandar Mitrovic grabbed a hat-trick, the headlines and three points for the Riyadh giants. It was a stunning comeback and result.
It's been a long summer transfer window for Manchester United.
Nearly a month after they clashed in the quarter-finals of the King Salman Cup, Saudi Arabia’s two most successful clubs – Al Ittihad and Al Hilal – find themselves face to face again, this time in matchweek 5 of the Saudi Pro League.
The Saudi Pro League will continue to invest significantly to realise its ambition of becoming one of the world’s top domestic competitions, but its focus is on financial viability for its clubs, insists the league’s chief operating officer.