DOHA: Olivier Giroud joined Thierry Henry as France’s all-time leading goalscorer with a brace as holders France recovered to beat Australia 4-1 and get their defense of the World Cup off to a winning start Tuesday.
Australia took a shock lead at Al Janoub Stadium with the game just nine minutes old when Craig Goodwin scored.
France, whose build-up to the tournament was marred by injuries, saw left-back Lucas Hernandez come off hurt in the move that led to that goal.
However, they recovered to equalize through Adrien Rabiot before Giroud put them ahead with an easy finish in the 32nd minute for his 50th international goal.
Kylian Mbappe got his name on the scoresheet in the second half and Giroud sealed the win to equal Henry’s record tally of 51 goals for France.
The win leaves them top of Group D after rivals Denmark and Tunisia drew 0-0 in Doha earlier.
At the age of 36, veteran AC Milan striker Giroud, who has 115 caps, is the oldest player to score for France at a World Cup.
Yet he almost certainly would not have been playing here had Karim Benzema been fit.
Instead, the withdrawal of the Ballon d’Or winner with a thigh injury on the eve of the tournament has played into the hands of Giroud, who was a key player for coach Didier Deschamps in France’s triumphant 2018 World Cup campaign but didn’t score in Russia.
It is not just Benzema who is missing for Les Bleus, with Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante — their starting midfield duo four years ago — also out of the tournament.
Center-back Raphael Varane was not risked having not played since suffering a leg injury playing for Manchester United a month ago.
That meant Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate — with nine caps between them — played together in central defense while Rabiot joined Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield.
Australia stunned the world champions by scoring an early opener.
Mathew Leckie controlled the ball on the right and escaped Lucas Hernandez before delivering a low ball across the face of goal for Goodwin to finish into the roof of the net.
Hernandez hurt his right knee trying to stop Leckie, although there did not appear to be any contact between the players.
The Bayern Munich defender was helped off, with his brother Theo coming on.
The younger Hernandez did not have the best introduction, giving the ball away and allowing Mitch Duke to hit a shot from range that flew just wide.
Yet he played a part in the 27th-minute equalizer — Antoine Griezmann’s right-wing corner was cleared but the ball came to Hernandez on the left and his cross was headed in by Rabiot.
Five minutes later Rabiot was involved again as France went ahead, hounding Nathaniel Atkinson out of possession on the French left and playing a one-two with Mbappe before teeing up Giroud.
A Jackson Irvine header that hit the post in first-half stoppage time was a reminder that Australia could still threaten, but France ran away with the game after the break.
Griezmann had a shot cleared off the line just before Mbappe made it 3-1 midway through the second half, as he headed in off a post from Ousmane Dembele’s cross.
Mbappe then turned provider as France got their fourth in the 71st minute, crossing for Giroud to head in a historic goal.
After all the injuries, and after seeing what happened to Argentina earlier, this was a good evening for France.
Giroud equals Henry mark as World Cup holders France sink Australia
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Giroud equals Henry mark as World Cup holders France sink Australia
- Australia took a shock lead at Al Janoub Stadium with the game just nine minutes old when Craig Goodwin scored
- At the age of 36, veteran AC Milan striker Giroud, who has 115 caps, is the oldest player to score for France at a World Cup
World Cup cricket ‘square’ arrives in New York after trip from Florida
- Ten cricket pitches prepared in Florida are being installed in a new stadium built for next month’s T20 World Cup
- New York winter conditions mean grass needed to be grown in warmer Florida before being transported and installed
MIAMI: Ten cricket pitches have completed their journey up the East Coast of the United States from Florida to New York state and are being installed in a new stadium built for next month’s T20 World Cup.
The “drop in pitches” have been prepared in Florida since December and were recently transported by 20 trailer trucks up the I-95 highway to the venue in Long Island.
The surfaces, which will soon be used for games including the highly-anticipated clash between cricket giants India and Pakistan, were developed by Australian Damian Hough, curator of the Adelaide Oval.
Winter conditions in New York meant that the grass needed to be grown in the warmer climate of Florida before being transported and installed.
Hough said the journey from the base in Boynton Beach, Florida, to Nassau County in New York state, took over 24 hours, with regular stops for checks and hydration of the grass.
“From a turf perspective, we made sure that there was no weather or elements getting on them with regards to wind or rain. They’ve come through, the ones we’ve received so far, we couldn’t be happier, they’ve come through in flying colors,” Hough said.
The condition of a cricket pitch, also known as a wicket or track, has a crucial bearing on the game, impacting the speed and bounce of the ball and the degrees of spin or movement off the seam of the ball that can be utilized by bowlers.
Chris Tetley, head of events for the International Cricket Council — organizers of the World Cup that will be co-hosted by the United States and several Caribbean nations — said the pitch production had been a huge logistical challenge for the companies involved.
“It’s been an impressive piece of logistics that has gone into moving 10 pitches, on 20 trucks, plus backup trucks, with the route planning, the timing through, I can’t remember how many different states,” Tetley said.
“The permissions to take out agricultural materials through different states, traffic considerations, timing over bridges and we wanted to make sure the trays are out of the ground for as short a time as possible — extremely, extremely impressive,” he added.
The temporary 34,000 capacity stadium at Eisenhower Park has already been built with stands and hospitality areas already in place and the outfield has been put in place.
Hough said the surface is likely to be a typical of the kind used for T20 matches, where fans expect to see big shots from the batsmen.
“Our ambition is to produce pitches along the lines where they’re good quality pitches, minimal spin, minimal seam and ball coming onto the bat and let the players play the shot,” he said.
The first World Cup game at the venue will feature Sri Lanka v South Africa on June 3 but organizers are planning some test events before then.
Pakistan to announce T20 squad for England, Ireland series today as World Cup looms
- Pakistan will face Ireland in three T20Is from May 10-14, England in four T20Is from May 22-30
- Pakistan will use both series to prepare for ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 slated for June 2024
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said it would announce the national T20 squad for Pakistan’s upcoming away series against Ireland and England today, Thursday, with exactly a month to go before the T20 World Cup kicks off in June.
Pakistan will play three T20Is against Ireland in Dublin from May 12-14 before they take on 2022 World Champions England from May 22-30 in a four-match series.
The series will be an important one for Pakistan and England as both prepare for the T20 World Cup scheduled to kick off from June 2 in the US and West Indies. Pakistan’s matches against England will be played at Leeds, Birmingham, Cardiff and The Oval.
“The Pakistan Cricket Board will hold a media conference at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Thursday to announce Pakistan men’s cricket team for the tours of Ireland and England,” the PCB said in a press release.
The announcement will be made by the Men’s National Selection Committee at 11:15 a.m., the board said.
Skipper Babar Azam’s side last week won their fifth T20 match against New Zealand in Lahore by nine runs to draw the series 2-2.
Pakistan will begin their campaign for the T20 World Cup against the United States on June 6 before facing India in New York for a high-voltage clash.
Schedule for Ireland, England series:
10 May – v Ireland, 1st T20I, Dublin
12 May – v Ireland, 2nd T20, Dublin
14 May – v Ireland, 3rd T20I, Dublin
22 May – v England, 1st T20I, Leeds
25 May – v England, 2nd T20I, Birmingham
28 May – v England 3rd T20I, Cardiff
30 May – v England, 4th T20I, The Oval
Fuellkrug outshines Mbappe to hand Dortmund Champions League advantage over PSG
- Dortmund, who had already lost and drawn against PSG this season in the group stage, can continue to dream of a return to Wembley 11 years after their last Champions League final
- Dortmund manager Edin Terzic said pre-match PSG were “built to win the Champions League” since the Qatari takeover a decade ago
DORTMUND, Germany: Niclas Fuellkrug gave Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semifinal first leg on Wednesday as the journeyman striker outshone superstar Kylian Mbappe on the night.
Seeking a return to the final for the first time since 2013, the 1997 winners were dogged and determined, outmuscling their heavily favored opponents in front of more than 80,000 fans.
Fuellkrug, playing in his first Champions League season at the age of 31, collected a lofted pass from center-back Nico Schlotterbeck in the 36th minute and blasted a low shot into the left corner of the net.
PSG, led by Kylian Mbappe, hit the post twice in quick succession early in the second-half but could not break through.
“I think we today showed a classic team performance. Each helped the other to win the game. We needed a bit of luck a couple of times, but we can be very satisfied with our performance,” said long-serving center-back Mats Hummels.
“It was a very satisfying, very grown-up performance from us.”
Dortmund, who had already lost and drawn against PSG this season in the group stage, can continue to dream of a return to Wembley 11 years after their last Champions League final.
Despite the setback, however, PSG will remain confident of overturning the deficit at home next week against a side they thoroughly outclassed at their home venue in September.
“The Parc (PSG’s stadium) and our supporters are giving us hope for the second leg, and we know we can do much better,” PSG captain Marquinhos told Canal.
Dortmund manager Edin Terzic said pre-match PSG were “built to win the Champions League” since the Qatari takeover a decade ago.
Nowhere was the contrast between the two clubs greater than PSG’s global superstar Mbappe, playing in his last season for his hometown club, and journeyman Dortmund striker Fuellkrug, who was playing second-division football this time two years ago.
Spurred on by a passionate home crowd who booed and whistled every Mbappe touch, Dortmund had the best of the opening stages, Jadon Sancho shining down the right flank.
Marcel Sabitzer had Dortmund’s best chance of an opener after 14 minutes, blasting straight at Gianluigi Donnarumma from a tight angle.
The opener came after 36 minutes thanks to some superb old-school forward play from Fuellkrug.
Center-back Schlotterbeck had the ball well in his own half and thought about a safe pass back to the ‘keeper but instead punted it forward, with only Fuellkrug aware of the idea.
The striker controlled the ball with one touch and drilled a low shot past a helpless Donnarumma.
Fresh from wrapping up the Ligue 1 title at the weekend, PSG had few chances despite their attacking riches in the opening half, registering zero shots on target.
The visitors however sprung to life after half-time, Mbappe rattling the inside of one post seconds before former Dortmund wing-back Achraf Hakimi rattled the inside of the other.
PSG should have equalized after 56 minutes, Marquinhos curled a beautiful pass through a crowded Dortmund box but Fabian Ruiz’s diving header went wide.
Another former Dortmund player Ousmane Dembele blasted over right in front of goal with 10 minutes remaining.
The impressive Sancho laid on an excellent pass for Julian Brandt with moments left but Dortmund’s hopes of a second were snuffed out by some desperate PSG defending.
The victory, along with Tuesday’s 2-2 draw between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid in the other semifinal, guarantees Germany rather than England or France an extra Champions League place for next season.
That has already secured Dortmund’s place in the competition next season.
$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.
