MOSCOW: Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Morocco and Egypt endured a torrid time at the World Cup, winning two matches between them, but they will be richer for the experience in Russia and should return to future tournaments in better shape as long as they invest in their infrastructure, according to two leading technical chiefs.
The Green Falcons returned to the World Cup for the first time since 2006, but opened their campaign with a humiliating 5-0 defeat against hosts Russia. Saudi Arabia were left with a mountain to climb thereafter, but managed to restore some pride, slipping to a narrow defeat to eventual quarterfinalists Uruguay and then recording a first World Cup win in 24 years, a 2-1 win against Egypt.
“The Saudi team had a difficult start playing the opening match against the host, but they improved in the second game and won the final match to regain some pride,” said Andy Roxburgh, the technical director for the Asian Football Confederation.
“The change of coach before the final tournament — it is difficult to prepare a team for the World Cup in a short space of time — and players in Spain who didn’t play regularly, wasn’t helpful.”
The third-place finish was still a marked improvement from Saudi Arabia’s 2006 World Cup run when they finished bottom of Group H with a solitary point from a 1-1 draw with Tunisia.
Juan Antonio Pizzi’s contract was extended after the win over Egypt and the Argentinian will lead his team out at the Asian Cup next year, where Saudi Arabia have been paired with North Korea, Lebanon and Qatar. Saudi Arabia last won the continental title in 1996 on home soil and they will be among the favorites for the tournament in the UAE. Roxburgh believes that Saudi Arabia’s future is bright.
“The Saudis have good technique and some fast players, and they have potential,” he said. “In the long term, they need to encourage some players to play abroad, develop their league, establish youth structures and academies, and raise the level of coach education.”
Saudi Arabia and Tunisia were the only two Arab teams to register wins while Morocco drew 2-2 with Spain in their final group match, but the region’s challenge was disappointing. Even before the final round of group matches all four teams had been eliminated. Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul acknowledged that Arab teams were playing catch-up with the rest of the world.
Brazil’s 1994 World Cup winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, who heads FIFA’s technical study group in Russia, shares Maaloul’s concerns. Parreira led Saudi Arabia at the 1998 World Cup, but was sacked after two defeats against hosts France and Denmark and replaced by assistant coach Mohamed Al-Khuraishi, who oversaw the team’s final group match, a 2-2 draw with South Africa.
“I felt that the expectation is always very high for the teams at the World Cup that are coming to the World Cup,” said Parreira at a news conference, evaluating the Arab teams’ performance in Russia. “We tell them that just qualifying for this competition is a big achievement. You must come here with the willingness to do the best. If you compare the infrastructure of the Middle East with the big countries and the big teams — no structure for youth development, no structure for coach education — then it is going to be very difficult.”
The Brazilian coached Kuwait from 1978 to 1982, leading the Al-Azraq to the World Cup in Spain, where they drew with the former Czechoslovakia and lost to European powerhouses England and France. He also managed the UAE at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Parreira has managed at six different World Cups, a record.
“When I worked with Kuwait, they were the number one team in Asia in every competition, even above Japan, Korea and Iran. We took them to England and Brazil. We prepared properly.
“The foundation is very important — to have a stronger league, to have the patience to develop players and to expose them to international football. We took Kuwait to England, Brazil, not just one time.
“They look for results very quickly. There is no continuity, one day the coach is Brazilian, the next day it’s a French coach, the other day a Spanish coach, another day a Croatian coach, another day a Dutch coach, another day a Portuguese coach, so they have to concentrate on one school of football. That’s what I did with Kuwait. Arab countries need a better structured league, develop the coaches and the youth players, otherwise when you reach this level, you will always be missing something. Of course, in the end, history and culture count a lot.”
Arab nations backed to learn from World Cup experience in Russia
Arab nations backed to learn from World Cup experience in Russia
- Two leading technical chiefs give their verdict on region's challenge at World Cup
- 'The Saudis have good technique and some fast players, and they have potential'
$2m Saudi Smash opens in Jeddah
- World’s best table tennis players set to battle it out over 11 days
- Singapore’s Quek Izaac, Sweden’s Filippa Bergand secure first round wins
JEDDAH: Top players from around the world are taking part in the Saudi Smash table tennis event that got underway on Wednesday at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
This is the first World Table Tennis Championship event to be held in the Kingdom and there are big prizes up for grabs over the next 11 days.
The singles events open with a qualifying stage, which run until Friday and will see 64 men and 64 women — several of them Saudis — competing for eight spots in the main draw. They will then join 56 of the world’s top male and female players in the main event, which starts on Saturday.
There is a total prize pot of $2 million on offer, with the winners of the men’s and women’s singles events also picking up $65,000 and 2,000 world ranking points.
Singapore’s Quek Izaac got off to a flying start in the men’s singles on Wednesday, beating the No. 6 qualifying seed Sathiyan Gnanasekaran from India 3-1 (11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 13-11).
Quek reached the last 16 in last year’s Smash in his home country.
In the women’s singles, Sweden’s Filippa Bergand fought back from two games down to defeat India’s Archana Girish Kamath 3-1 (3-11, 3-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-9).
Two-time defending champion Alcaraz crashes out in Madrid
- Rublev, the world number eight from Russia, came through 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, handing the third-ranked Alcaraz his first defeat on Spanish clay in 25 matches
- Rublev will face either Taylor Fritz of the United States or Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a place in the final
MADRID: Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was sent crashing out of the Madrid Open on Wednesday as Andrey Rublev triumphed in their quarter-final clash.
Rublev, the world number eight from Russia, came through 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, handing the third-ranked Alcaraz his first defeat on Spanish clay in 25 matches.
Rublev will face either Taylor Fritz of the United States or Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo for a place in the final.
Alcaraz, who was forced to sit out clay court events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona due to a right arm injury, had been in control in the first set.
However, 26-year-old Rublev battled back with Alcaraz looking increasingly weary as the tie progressed in chilly conditions in the Spanish capital and with the roof closed on the Manolo Santana Stadium.
Rublev carved out breaks in the first and fifth games of the decider and celebrated victory when the 20-year-old two-time major winner dumped a tired return into the net.
The Russian clubbed 30 winners as Alcaraz appeared physically spent following his three-set win over Jan-Lennard Struff on Tuesday in a last 16-tie which stretched to almost three hours.
Chelsea working to understand injury woes, says Pochettino
- Defenders Thiago Silva and Axel Disasi are the latest additions to the list since Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa
- “Too many circumstances have happened,” Pochettino said on the eve of Chelsea’s match against his former club, who are in fifth spot in the table
LONDON: Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea’s medical and coaching staff are trying to work out why the club have been so badly plagued by injuries, with as many as 14 players likely to be missing for Thursday’s visit of Tottenham.
Defenders Thiago Silva and Axel Disasi are the latest additions to the list since Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Aston Villa, in which the Chelsea boss was forced to name five academy graduates aged 20 and under on the bench.
The Blues’ campaign has been badly disrupted by the unavailability of players, including several acquired at huge expense as part of a £1 billion ($1.25 billion) transfer spree over the past two years.
Notable absentees include Wesley Fofana, who has not played all season after undergoing surgery on an ACL injury, and forward Christopher Nkunku, who has been limited to seven Premier League appearances.
Romeo Lavia has played only once for the club while Reece James and Ben Chilwell have also had lengthy spells out of the side, who are in mid-table.
Last week it was confirmed that Enzo Fernandez, signed for a then-British record £105 million in January 2023, will not play again this season following a hernia operation.
“Too many circumstances have happened,” Pochettino said on the eve of Chelsea’s match against his former club, who are in fifth spot in the table.
“It’s difficult to explain with one word or in one sentence. Of course we are working on trying to improve. We have an amazing staff — medical staff, coaching staff. They have experience in managing clubs and being in this business.
“When some circumstances arrive, sometimes it can happen. We need to now, until the end of the season, put all the information on the table and try to be better next season.
“We need to improve in communication, dynamics, strategy. Everything to do with our knowledge to improve and coordinate better.”
Pochettino paid tribute to veteran Brazilian defender Silva, 39, who is leaving the club at the end of the season after a four-year stay.
“He’s an amazing guy and amazing professional,” said Pochettino. “Playing until nearly 40 years old is an amazing career.
“Of course, the players, the fans and club are going to miss him. But he’s happy, he’s so proud of his career here at Chelsea. We wish him the best because he deserves the best.”
Tennis legend Boris Becker discharged from bankruptcy court in England
- Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs said it would be “perverse” not to end the case given the efforts Becker made
- Becker, 57, was deported to Germany two years ago after serving 8 months in a London prison
LONDON: German tennis legend Boris Becker was discharged from bankruptcy court in London after a judge found Wednesday he had done “all that he reasonably could do” to repay creditors tens of millions of pounds.
Becker fell far short of repaying his creditors in full, but Chief Insolvency and Companies Court Judge Nicholas Briggs said it would be “perverse” not to end the case given the efforts Becker made.
“On the spectrum of bankrupts who range from ‘difficult as possible and doing everything to frustrate the trustee’s inquiries’ to ‘co-operative, providing information and delivering up assets’, Mr. Becker clearly falls on the right side of the line,” Briggs wrote.
Becker, 57, was deported to Germany two years ago after serving 8 months in a London prison for illicitly transferring large amounts of money and hiding 2.5 million pounds ($3.1 million) in assets after he was declared bankrupt in 2017.
He had been convicted in a London court on four charges under the Insolvency Act, including removal of property, concealing debt and two counts of failing to disclose estate. He was acquitted of 25 other charges, including nine counts of failing to hand over Grand Slam trophies and his Olympic gold medal to bankruptcy trustees.
He was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison, but was released early under a fast-track deportation program for foreign nationals.
Becker rose to stardom in 1985 at the age of 17 when he became the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon singles title. He went on to become the world No. 1 player, winning two titles at Wimbledon, two at the Australian Open and one at the US Open.
He retired from professional tennis in 1999 and worked as a coach, television commentator, investor and celebrity poker player.
Becker blamed laziness and bad advice for his financial problems that led him to declare bankruptcy after owing creditors nearly 50 million pounds ($62.5 million) over an unpaid loan of more than 3 million pounds ($3.75 million) on his estate in Mallorca, Spain.
Attorney Katie Longstaff said at a High Court hearing last month that the joint trustees did not oppose his effort to end the case but did not support it because he still owed about 42 million pounds ($52.5 million).
Becker’s lawyer, Louis Doyle, said the two sides had reached a settlement that includes a “substantial sum” the tennis great must pay. The agreement “includes the outstanding trophies,” Doyled said, adding Becker “can’t do more than he has done to bring us to this point.”
Cricket World Cup ‘stepping stone’ to building US fanbase for Olympics
- New York, Dallas and Florida will be venues for T20 World Cup to be held in June
- International Cricket Council says tournament would help sport leave a mark in US
New Delhi: Next month’s T20 World Cup will help build cricket’s profile and popularity in the United States ahead of its appearance at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, the sport’s world body said.
The showpiece 20-over event will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States in June with New York, Florida and Dallas as venues.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it was confident the tournament would help the sport leave a mark in a land where baseball rules.
“The fact that a World Cup has come to the US — the largest sports market in the world — that in itself has generated a lot of interest,” Chris Tetley, the ICC’s head of events, told reporters in a media roundtable on Tuesday.
“This is a key stepping stone for the promotion of the game toward 2028 and beyond in terms of providing world-class cricket for the massive existing fanbase that the sport already has in the US,” he added.
“We are trying to give them something they haven’t had on their doorstep before and maybe pique the interest of the American sports community by telling them that cricket’s actually an older sport in the US than baseball.”
T20 cricket will feature as one of five new sports at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Cricket’s only previous appearance at an Olympics was in 1900 in Paris, where a team from Great Britain defeated France.
Nassau County’s Eisenhower Park, near New York, has seen a 34,000-seater temporary stadium, with a drop-in cricket pitch, constructed.
It will host the hotly-anticipated India-Pakistan clash on June 9 among its eight scheduled World Cup games.
“We are really happy with the pitch,” said stadium manager Damian Hough.
“Everything that we have done has exceeded expectations. I can’t predict scores, that’s for the batters.
“We hope that we have got a typical T20 pitch where there is good bounce, good pace and value for shots. Obviously you want batters to play shots all around the ground.”
Hough and his team introduced drop-in pitches more than a decade ago at Adelaide Oval, where he is head curator.
But creating the stadium in Nassau County has seen different challenges, including growing the pitch in the sub-tropics of Florida before transporting it 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) north through multiple climatic zones.
Tetley said the stadium would be dismantled after the T20 extravaganza, but the “world-class facilities” would leave a lasting legacy for cricket in the United States.
