LONDON: Al-Ain have been told they have to turn up with their A-game against River Plate tomorrow or they can forget about a dream final against Real Madrid in the FIFA Club World Cup.
That is the message from the side’s coach Zoran Mamic, who saw “The Boss” beat Esperance Sportive de Tunis 3-0 on Saturday to book their semifinal spot against the Argentine giants.
Goals from Mohamed Ahmed, Hussein El-Shahat and Bandar Mohammed gave the hosts an emphatic victory over the African champions at their Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium.
But Mamic is only too aware that beating the champions of Tunisia is one thing, taking on the Copa Libertadores winners is of another proportion entirely.
“River one of the biggest teams in the world, with a great history and we are playing against them in the semifinal of the FIFA Club World Cup, but we have to enjoy it, we have to be proud and we have to make it difficult for River,” the Croatian said.
“We watched the games against Boca and they are very very strong, we just have to be better to survive this game.”
In Al-Ain’s favor, bar playing at home, is the fact that Mamic has a good knowledge of River and Argentine football, and he, like many football fans around the world, was a keen spectator of the Copa Libertadores final when the Buenos Aires side beat their arch-rivals Boca Juniors.
“It’s a great story for me, before I became a coach I worked as a sporting director for Dynamo Zagreb and I would travel to watch players. My first time in Argentina, first match was Boca vs. River, that was maybe 10-12 years ago,” Mamic revealed.
However, anyone thinking Al-Ain will be overawed by their opponents and the occasion had better think again.
“(River’s Marcelo Gallardo) is a great coach, they have done very well and he obviously knows how to talk to his players, but they have to respect us, we have shown we can play good football. I’m sure it will be an interesting game and I hope the stadium will be full,” Mamic said. “I also hope some Argentinian fans come because they create a good atmosphere. River had a great season, they won the Copa, the coach from River Plate cannot be bad.”
Al-Ain very nearly did not make it to the quarterfinals against Esperance, let alone the last-four clash against River. 3-0 down in their opening match against Team Wellington, a side made up of amateur players, the hosts looked like they were heading for an embarrassing early exit. A remarkable comeback, however, that saw Marcus Berg equalize with just five minutes left, was completed with a 4-3 win on penalties.
“The Wellington game was a difficult one, I didn’t want there to be pressure in that match, I wanted them to enjoy it but there was pressure because everyone was saying Wellington wasn’t a strong team and we should win easily and I think we felt that pressure. Wellington started, scored perfect goals and we were shocked,” Mamic said. “Thankfully we found a way to turn things round.”
Swedish international Berg will be a key man for Al-Ain tomorrow despite suffering with a virus over the past few days. Mamic is hopeful he will be back to 100 percent and able to start against River.
“For these past four days he has been really struggling with fever and today is the first day he has been feeling better, hopefully in the next three days he will recover to start the River game,” Mamic said.
There is little doubt “The Boss” will need Berg to be fit and at his best if they are to pull off a shock and beat the South American champions. Also key could be the Al-Ain fans packed into the Hazza Bin Zayed Stadium. Mamic hopes they can act as a 12th player.
“I wanted to thank our fans for their great support and making a great ambience in the stadium, it’s a pleasure to play under these conditions, a pleasure for the players, a pleasure for the coaching staff and I’m sure it will be a good game,” Mamic said.
“Against River we most be focused, motivated which won’t be a problem, River are favorites but favorites don’t always win.”
Zoran Mamic warns Al-Ain they face tough task against River Plate in FIFA Club World Cup semifinal
Zoran Mamic warns Al-Ain they face tough task against River Plate in FIFA Club World Cup semifinal
- UAE side to face Argentine giants in last-four clash on home ground on Tuesday.
- Winner likely to play Real Madrid in the final.
Mitch Evans relishes ‘great’ first Formula E win of the season
- The Jaguar TCS Racing driver secured top spot at the Monaco E-Prix last weekend
DUBAI: Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans said it was a “great feeling” to have secured his first victory in this season’s Formula E world championship as he looks ahead to the double-header in Berlin next weekend.
Evans reigned supreme in Monaco, leading Jaguar to a dominant one-two with his team-mate, Nick Cassidy, finishing second. The result meant Evans broke his four-race streak of leading without a win.
“I’ve always been very comfortable around this track,” said Evans. “I think I’ve had around 10 podiums in different categories and never won. It was bound to happen at some point but (it) just happened a little later than what I would have liked. It was a great feeling to finally get the victory and it was a strategic and exciting race. It was an important win and (it) was good to see the checkered flag first.”
The result leaves Evans 25 points off the top but strengthens Jaguar’s grip on the constructors’ title, in which they now have a 44-point advantage.
Evans believes there is no reason why his team will not be even better throughout the rest of the season — starting in Berlin.
“The one-two here in Monaco has never been done before so really proud of the team,” he said. “We have come on the back of trickier races so to get this strong result is fantastic. It’s good for everyone’s confidence and gaining momentum and we want to keep that going.
“We’ll be going into Berlin next where last year we got a one-two, so obviously (it) would be amazing if we repeat that, but there is a new layout so there’s a few new things to learn. The race will be quite strategic from an energy point of view so we need to do some work with the team to make sure we’re well prepared. Our Gen3 car tends to suit that circuit a bit more and hopefully we can continue from Monaco.”
‘Let’s go’: Ronaldo celebrates leading Al-Nassr to King’s Cup final
- A 3-1 win over Al-Khaleej means Al-Nassr will face Riyadh rivals Al-Hilal on May 31
RIYADH: Cristiano Ronaldo, having led Al-Nassr to the King’s Cup final with a 3-1 win over Al-Khaleej on Wednesday night, expressed his delight in a message to his fans on social media.
Ronaldo scored the first and third goals of the night, with Senegal star Sadio Mane netting the second from the penalty spot during the semifinal at Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh.
Al-Nassr will now meet fierce rivals Al-Hilal in the final on May 31.
The Portuguese star celebrated the win with brief message on X: “The King’s Cup … let’s go.”
He accompanied the message with pictures of his celebrations after scoring the two goals.
The King’s Cup final confrontation is set to be the fifth time the teams have met this season.
At the start of the season, Al-Nassr won the first clash 2-1 in the final of the 2023 King Salman Club Cup (formerly Arab Club Champions Cup) with a brace from Ronaldo.
Al-Hilal emerged victorious in the next two clashes. They first scored a 3-0 victory in the Saudi Pro League at King Fahd International Stadium on Dec. 1; and then a 2-1 win on April 8 in the semifinal of the Diriyah Super Cup in Abu Dhabi, a competition they would go on to claim by beating Al-Ittihad.
Apart from the King’s Cup final, the teams will also meet in the second SPL fixture of the season, on May 17, at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons reign supreme at ESL One Birmingham
- BetBoom Team swept aside with a thrilling 3-0 win in the final at Resorts World Arena to take home $300,000
- Team Falcons continue their dominance of the 2024 Dota 2 calendar, following wins at DreamLeague Season 22 and BetBoom Dacha 2024
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s Team Falcons have claimed the ESL One Birmingham Powered by Intel crown after beating BetBoom Team in a thrilling grand final clash at Resorts World Arena.
Team Falcons had a near-flawless run to the title, finishing top of Group A without dropping a series. Despite a slight stumble against Tundra Esports in the upper bracket, they flew through the lower bracket, dispatching Team Liquid and OG, before getting their revenge on Tundra Esports in the lower bracket final. They took home $300,000, a total of 6,400 points and the coveted trophy.
“We’re super happy with this win, we’ve been working so hard this year and it’s really showing with our performances” said Wu “Sneyking” Jingjun from Team Falcons. “The fans were brilliant, and we’re looking forward to seeing what else we can achieve this year with this great team.”
With this win, Team Falcons have now secured their spot for the Riyadh Masters at the Esports World Cup in summer 2024.
Europe’s biggest Dota 2 esports event in six years, ESL One captivated audiences worldwide and saw a viewership of over 327,000. In addition, over 18,000 fans attended the contest in the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on the final three days of the tournament.
Making a return to Birmingham for the first time since 2018, the tournament commenced on April 22 with the group stage, where 12 of the world’s best teams were split into two groups of six.
DreamLeague Season 22 champions Team Falcons went unbeaten and topped Group A, with BetBoom Team finishing a close second. Team Liquid and G2.iG eked through in third and fourth place, respectively, with Team Liquid also unbeaten.
In the first matches of the upper bracket, UK representatives Tundra Esports took the win against Team Falcons to secure their spot in the final against BetBoom Team, who knocked OG to the lower bracket.
The first day saw Team Liquid take on HEROIC in a tense matchup which saw the latter become the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs. In the final matchup of the day, Team Liquid’s momentum from their earlier win was quashed by Team Falcons, who took the match 2-1.
The BetBoom Team were back against Tundra Esports for a spot in the final and crushed their opposition to emphatically secure their place. Tundra’s lower bracket final opponents were decided in the next match, where OG, despite battling bravely, fell 2-1 against a rampant Team Falcons.
In the lower bracket final, it was Team Falcons who brushed Tundra Esports aside with a 2-0 sweep, setting the stage for a blockbuster finale against BetBoom Team.
The last time these teams faced off was in the group stage where the match finished in a 1-1 draw, but at DreamLeague Season 22 earlier this year, Team Falcons took a clean 3-0 sweep over BetBoom Team, leaving them hungry for revenge.
After a rocky start, Team Falcons managed to rally quickly to dispel BetBoom Team’s chances of opening the scoring. Team Falcons continued this form into the second game, where, despite some early setbacks, they managed to overpower BetBoom Team to increase their lead to 2-0.
Almost directly replicating the DreamLeague Season 22 Final, Team Falcons resumed their dominance into the third game, sweeping BetBoom Team away to continue their almost flawless start to 2024.
Pakistan’s cricket body names 18-player squad for T20I series against England, Ireland
- A 15-player squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will be announced before the May 24 deadline
- Fast bowler Haris Rauf along with all-rounders Hasan Ali and Salman Ali Agha have been recalled
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced the 18-player squad for the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England & Wales beginning on May 10 and continuing till the end of the month.
According to a PCB statement, the squad will be reduced to 15 players for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 after the first T20I at Leeds on 22 May to meet the ICC’s 24 May deadline.
The men’s national selection committee has recalled fast bowler Haris Rauf, along with all-rounders Hasan Ali and Salman Ali Agha, in the 18-player squad.
The two cricketers who did not make the cut from the original 17-player squad that faced New Zealand are wrist spinner Usama Mir and fast bowler Zaman Khan.
“Crafting this squad was a challenging task due to the outstanding talent available,” the PCB selection committee was quoted in the statement. “After thorough deliberation and considering various cricketing aspects, we have finalized 18 players.”
“The squad encompasses a robust top-order featuring Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub and Usman Khan; an effective middle-order with Azam Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Muhammad Irfan Khan; versatile all-rounders in Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan and Salman Ali Agha; a pace battery led by Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi; and the spin prowess of Abrar Ahmed,” it continued.
“We understand Usama and Zaman will be disappointed and they should be as they must be looking ahead to the tours of Ireland and England,” the statement added. “They are quality cricketers and have long careers ahead of them. They need to continue to focus on their cricket so that they are available, if required.”
Haris Rauf and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan were sidelined for the New Zealand T20Is due to injuries, while middle-order batter Muhammad Irfan Khan and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were rested from the two T20Is in Lahore due to niggles.
The four cricketers underwent fitness assessments at the National Cricket Academy on Tuesday afternoon, showing significant improvement.
The team is scheduled to depart for Dublin on May 7 following a three-day training camp in Lahore.
No place like Dome: Boxing back at Tyson-Douglas Tokyo upset venue
- Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery
- Monday’s crowd at the Tokyo Dome will expect Inoue to maintain his perfect record against Nery, but he will be wary of suffering the same fate as Tyson
TOKYO: When 42-1 underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas shocked ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson 34 years ago at the Tokyo Dome, the result reverberated around the world.
Spectators at the 45,000-plus seater venue witnessed one of boxing’s biggest upsets as unbeaten heavyweight champion Tyson was knocked out in the 10th round by the unheralded Douglas in February 1990.
Boxing returns to the famous venue on Monday for the first time since that unforgettable encounter when Japan’s undisputed super-bantamweight world champion Naoya ‘Monster’ Inoue puts his belts on the line against Mexican Luis Nery.
The 31-year-old Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is a huge star in Japan and is just the second man to become undisputed world champion at two different weights since the four-belt era began in 2004. American Terence Crawford was the first.
But Inoue faces a stern test against the 29-year-old Nery, a former two-division world champion.
Inoue will be wary of suffering the same fate as Tyson, who arrived in Tokyo more than three decades ago with an aura of invincibility.
“Tyson’s status at that time was of being this godlike, completely unbeatable heavyweight,” James Sterngold, who reported on the fight for the New York Times, told AFP.
“He was really one of a kind — he was up on a pedestal that only a small number of athletes can occupy.”
Tyson was expected to win so easily that Sterngold, a news reporter based in Tokyo, was asked to cover the fight because the New York Times did not want to send a specialist boxing writer “halfway around the world for 90 seconds.”
Veteran Japanese boxing writer Shoji Tsue, who has covered the sport for 50 years, was also expecting a quick win for Tyson, even after seeing the American knocked down by sparring partner Greg Page in training.
“Everyone thought that because Tyson was Tyson, there was no way he would lose, no matter what happened,” said Tsue.
Tyson’s autobiography said he had been too busy partying to prepare properly for Douglas, who had an unspectacular win-loss-draw record of 29-4-1 (19 KOs).
Sterngold interviewed Tyson in his hotel room days before the fight and found him wrapped in a bedsheet watching martial arts movies.
“He seemed like he didn’t really care,” said Sterngold. “He clearly wasn’t in a revved-up frame of mind.”
The fight began at lunchtime and Tsue said the Tokyo Dome was “surprisingly quiet,” with fans anticipating another Tyson demolition job.
But Douglas began to control the fight, and although he was knocked down in the eighth, he got up and sent Tyson sprawling to the canvas two rounds later.
The world heavyweight champion failed to beat the count, with those watching trying to make sense of what they had just seen.
“I was sitting in the press seats closest to the ring, and Tyson went down right in front of me,” said Tsue.
“My heart was thumping. I wondered if it was possible that something like this could even happen?“
The drama was not over as promoter Don King rushed to reporters and tried to convince them that Tyson had not lost.
“He told us that we shouldn’t file stories because it was not a knockout, that the ref had miscounted and that King had already affirmed that it was going to be overturned,” said Sterngold.
“This story was very fishy, but it added to the drama.”
King failed to have the result thrown out and Tyson never regained his superhuman status.
Monday’s crowd at the Tokyo Dome will expect Inoue to maintain his perfect record against Nery, but he will be wary of suffering the same fate as Tyson.
Nery said the choice of venue could be an omen.
“If Mike Tyson can lose his unbeaten record there, then so can Naoya Inoue,” Nery said recently at his training camp.
Tsue predicted a Inoue victory but warned that the Mexican, who has a 35-1 record with 27 KOs, was capable of an upset.
Inoue was, he said, the right man to bring boxing back to the historic stadium.
“There hadn’t been any boxers who would have been a good fit for a match at the Tokyo Dome before,” said Tsue.
“And if Inoue wasn’t around, there wouldn’t be any world title fights at the Tokyo Dome for a while yet.”
