MILAN: Inter Milan’s chances of a treble remain alive, as do AC Milan’s hopes of sneaking into Europe after the city rivals drew 1-1 in the first leg of their Italian Cup semifinal on Wednesday.
Hakan Çalhanoğlu thumped in the equalizer against his former club in the 67th minute after Milan forward Tammy Abraham had netted the opener less than two minutes into the second half.
Bologna beat Empoli 3-0 on Tuesday in the other semifinal. The return legs are scheduled for April 23-24.
Inter is on the hunt to repeat a treble haul of trophies it achieved in 2010 under Jose Mourinho. It has a three-point advantage over second-placed Napoli in Serie A — where it is the defending champion — and visits Bayern Munich on Tuesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal.
Milan has struggled of late and just two wins in its past six league matches has seen it slip to ninth in Serie A. Winning the Italian Cup guarantees a Europa League spot.
However, the Rossoneri took the lead right at the start of the second half. Inter midfielder Davide Frattesi tried to challenge Youssouf Fofana on the edge of the area but the ball came through to Abraham, who lived up to his reputation as a big game goalscorer with an angled strike into the bottom left corner.
But Çalhanoğlu levelled 20 minutes later with a powerful 20-yard effort that squirmed under Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
Inter and Milan draw 1-1 in first leg of Italian Cup semifinals
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Inter and Milan draw 1-1 in first leg of Italian Cup semifinals
Trump lauds Infantino for ‘record breaking’ World Cup
- Trump said: “You’ve done a fantastic job, a great leader in sports and a great gentleman”
- Trump claimed sales were selling at a pace never seen before
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump turned the spotlight onto FIFA president Gianni Infantino ahead of Friday’s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, praising the football boss’ organization of the world’s biggest sporting event.
Infantino has been criticized in recent months by some observers who accuse him of drawing uncomfortably close to Trump, whose administration has taken a high-profile role in US preparations for what will be the biggest and most logistically-challenging World Cup ever.
The soccer boss attended Trump’s inauguration in January and has previously said the US leader deserved global recognition for his role in brokering a ceasefire in the Middle East.
FIFA plans to unveil its own peace prize during the draw ceremony with Trump the expected recipient. Spotting Infantino in the audience during a ceremony in Washington marking the signing of a peace treaty between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Trump congratulated him for what he described as record-breaking ticket demand for the first 48-team World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Gianni, thank you very much,” Trump said. “You’ve done a fantastic job, a great leader in sports and a great gentleman.”
Teams will learn their group-stage fate later on Friday at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, in a draw for a tournament that stretches across three countries and 16 cities, from Vancouver to Mexico City.
Trump claimed sales were selling at a pace never seen before. “I can report to you that we have sold more tickets than any country anywhere in the world at this stage of the game,” he said, adding that demand had already “broken all records”. Over one million tickets have been purchased so far by fans from 212 countries, FIFA said last month.
After the presidential shout-out, Infantino did not speak publicly.
The FIFA president is overseeing his third men’s World Cup, after Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
