West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Norwegian striker Jorgen Strand Larsen heads in their third goal during the English League Cup second round between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at the Molineux stadium in Wolverhampton, central England, on Tuesday. (AFP)
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Updated 27 August 2025
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West Ham, Leeds and Sunderland knocked out of League Cup

  • Wolves win cup battle of Premier League’s bottom two
  • Troubled Sheffield Wednesday beat Leeds on penalties
  • Sunderland lose to third tier Huddersfield Town

WOLVERHAMPTON, England: Substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in two minutes as Wolverhampton Wanderers beat fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United 3-2 to reach the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday.

Promoted Leeds United and Sunderland followed West Ham out of the competition, losing on penalties to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and third tier Huddersfield Town respectively.

Strand Larsen came on in the 73rd minute and made an immediate impact, the Norwegian striking in the 82nd and 84th to turn around the match at Molineux after Lucas Paqueta had headed West Ham in front in the 63rd.

Rodrigo Gomes had scored Wolves’ first goal of the season two minutes before halftime, after Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty rebounded off the post, but Tomas Soucek headed an equalizer in the 50th.

The battle between the top flight’s bottom two teams provided no respite for West Ham manager Graham Potter, whose side have been thrashed 5-1 by Chelsea and 3-0 by Sunderland in the league.

Leeds went out 3-0 on penalties after fulltime at Hillsborough ended 1-1, a shock result watched from afar by many Wednesday fans who boycotted the match in protest at the financially-troubled second-tier club’s Thai owner.

US international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was the home hero, the man of the match mobbed by his teammates after saving twice and keeping a clean sheet in the shootout on his debut after joining on loan.

“I have been in the door four or five days. I had to learn 10 new names in the first match I played and in this game I had to learn another 10 new names,” Horvath told Sky Sports television.

League One Huddersfield won their shootout 6-5 after regulation time at the Stadium of Light ended 1-1.

Brentford beat Bournemouth 2-0 on the South Coast in the night’s other all-Premier League match, with Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago scoring either side of the break and against the run of play.

Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara, who scored on his league debut on Saturday, came on as a substitute against his old club.

Burnley, one of seven Premier League sides fielding much changed lineups from last weekend’s games, beat second tier Derby County 2-1 with Oliver Sonne scoring a stoppage-time winner at Turf Moor.

Wrexham’s Hollywood owners had plenty to smile about after their side won 3-2 at Preston North End thanks to a stoppage-time Kieffer Moore goal after the hosts had twice taken the lead in the second tier clash.

League Two (fourth tier) Cambridge United beat Championship side Charlton Athletic 3-1.

The third round draw will take place after Wednesday’s matches.


Palestine, Syria celebrate reaching Arab Cup quarter-finals

Updated 08 December 2025
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Palestine, Syria celebrate reaching Arab Cup quarter-finals

  • Both nations knew a draw in their final Group A match would secure Palestine top spot with Syria progressing in second place

DOHA: Celebrations erupted on the pitch and in the stands in Doha on Sunday when both Palestine and Syria made it through to the Arab Cup quarter-finals following a 0-0 draw.
For both sides, reaching the knockout stage in the regional tournament hosted by Qatar was magnified by the all-too recent memory of conflict in their homelands.
Only weeks ago in Gaza, the war sparked by Hamas’ attack on Israel came to a halt under a fragile ceasefire plan brokered by the United States.
For the Syrian side, the game came on the eve of the anniversary of the ousting of Bashar Assad, who unleashed years of war with his crackdown on pro-democracy protests.
Both nations knew a draw in their final Group A match would secure Palestine top spot with Syria progressing in second place.
Even ahead of the final whistle, around 40,000 fans packing the Education City Stadium began dancing and chanting to celebrate the two sides’ entry into the last eight.
And at the end of the game, players on the pitch swapped jerseys and posed for photographs together, as the squads’ coaches embraced each other.
“We are very happy to top the group, which included two great teams like Qatar and Tunisia, and we congratulate all Palestinian fans,” said Palestine striker Oday Dabbagh.
“We played to win, especially after learning about Tunisia’s lead over Qatar, but we lacked the final touch in front of the goal... The most important thing is that we qualified.”
Palestine coach Ehab Abu Jazar paid tribute to his mother, who along with his brother and other loved ones had to flee her home and now lives in a tent in Gaza.
“She has a lot of experience with sports, and she told me to play carefully,” he told AFP.
Syrian striker Mahmoud Al-Mawas said the result “means a lot to Syrians because it coincides with the Liberation Day celebrations...
“Now, all our focus will be on the quarter-final.”
At a cafe in the Syrian capital, Damascus, 30-year-old Wafa Durri watched the game, with her country’s flag adorning her right cheek.
“I had never supported the national team, but after the liberation everything changed, and now I support it with all my heart,” she said.