SPORTS 19
Saturday, 2 July, 2016
Portugal beat Poland on Penalties to book semis berth
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RISTIANO Ronaldo-led Portugal prevailed over Robert Lewandowski’s Poland 5-3 in a penalty shootout to book their place in the semifinals of Euro 2016 after a 1-1 stalemate at the end of extra time in Marseille on Thursday. For Portugal, Ronaldo, Renato Sanches,
Argentine Demichelis to leave Manchester City
Joao Moutinho, Nani and Ricardo Quaresma converted from the spot. For Poland, Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik and Kamil Glik scored to make it 3-3 before Jakub Blaszczykowski had his shot saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patricio before Quaresma slammed in his kick to seal Portugal’s win. The match headed into extra time after a 11 deadlock between the two sides at the end of full time in Marseille on Thursday. Both teams
failed to create little by way of scoring chances during the 30 minutes of extra time. A goal from teenager Sanches for Portugal cancelled Lewandowski’s early strike for Poland before half-time. Sanches, 18, became the youngest player to start for Portugal in a major tournament after coach Fernando Santos made two changes for the Euro 2016 quarter-final against Poland on Thursday. Midfielder Sanches, replacing Andre Gomes, broke the previous record held by Cristiano Ronaldo who made his first championship start as a 19-year-old in Euro 2004. Benfica full back Eliseu also came in for the injured Raphael Guerreiro. Captain Ronaldo could also equal Michel Platini’s record of nine goals at European championships if he scores in Marseille. Poland coach Adam Nawalka named the same team that beat Switzerland on penalties in the last 16. Lukasz Fabianski continues in goal as Wojciech Szczesny is still struggling with a thigh injury. Poland Fabianski, Piszczek, Glik, Pazdán, Jedrzejczyk, Blaszczykowski, Maczýnski, Krychowiak, Grosicki, Milik, Lewandowski Portugal Rui Patricio, Cedric, Fonte, Pepe, Eliseu, W Carvalho, Adrien, Joao Mario, Sanches, Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo
Arthur can become a hero with success in England: Julien LAHOre
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Agencies
Defender Martin Demichelis has left Manchester City at the end of his contract, the Premier League club said in a statement on Friday. The 35year-old made 17 starts for City last season as he struggled to make an impact, with former manager Manuel Pellegrini preferring Eliaquim Mangala and Nicolas Otamendi to cover for the injured Vincent Kompany. A 2014 World Cup finalist with Argentina, Demichelis was fined £22,000 and warned by the Football Association in May for breaking betting rules. The centre back, who joined from Atletico Madrid in 2013, made 105 appearances for City and was part of the Premier League-winning squad in 2013-14.
Former coach Julien Fountain feels Pakistan’s new head coach Mickey Arthur can become a hero if the England tour is a success. “Mickey brings a wealth of experience,” a cricket website quoted him as saying. “Clearly Mickey can become a hero if the England tour is a success. If the tour goes badly he becomes the proverbial whipping boy,” he added. He said Mickey cannot change the world in a couple of months. “I hope Mickey gets a fair chance to plan and implement his policies over a suitable timescale with the cooperation of the board, the players, and the media,” he said.
“England can be a brutal place to tour if you come from a hot climate. Even at the peak of British summer, temperatures can plummet making spending long periods out on the field pretty
taxing,” he said and added that hard ball plus cold hands would lead to catches being dropped. “Pace bowlers on both sides will create problems, so only the toughest batters will succeed.”
ueFa euro 2016 Quarter Finals TODAY GERMANY VS ITALY 12:00 BORDEAUX
Uncapped Ecclestone in England Women’s squad for Pakistan T20s Sophie Ecclestone, the uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, has been named in England Women’s 15member squad for the three-match T20 series at home against Pakistan. Her Lancashire team-mate, Kate Cross, however, was left out. Kent left-arm seamer Natasha Farrant, who was not picked for World T20 as well as the ODI series against Pakistan, replaced the injured Anya Shrubsole. Ecclestone and Farrant are the two changes to the squad that swept Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series. Ecclestone, only 17, is the second left-arm spinner in the squad behind Alexandra Hartley, who made her international debut against Pakistan in the third ODI in Taunton. She is yet to play a T20 international. “The T20 series brings a new set of challenges and further opportunities for the players, and I’m really pleased to call-up Sophie Ecclestone for the first time, and to welcome Tash Farrant back into the dressing room,” Mark Robinson, the head coach, said. “Sophie brings youth, vitality and another left-arm spin option alongside Alex Hartley into the squad. We have two world-class offspinners in Danielle Hazell and Laura Marsh, but we also need to be aware of the talent that we have underneath, and making sure that we are developing the likes of Alex and Sophie, by having them in the group and giving them international match-day experience.” Robinson said that it was a “real shame” that seamer Beth Langston missed on of selection again, because of injury. “She worked tremendously hard during the winter and had a great tour to Sri Lanka with the England Women’s Academy, but unfortunately hasn’t been able to get involved so far this summer because of her ankle,” he said. Robinson also said that Cross was still in the side’s plans, despite being overlooked for the Pakistan T20 series. “Kate Cross has been left out of this squad to face Pakistan, but we do see her as a Twenty20 bowler moving forwards,” he said. “There is no reason why she can’t be an outstanding bowler across all formats of the game, and we feel that there’s a window now where we can do some focused technical work with her away from match situations to help get her ready to perform at her best in the Kia Super League next month.” Agencies
SoUTH AfriCA AND WEST iNDiES CoNfirMED for ENGlAND’S loNGEST SEASoN SpOrtS DeSk England’s home season in 2017 has been confirmed as the longest in their international history, after the ECB announced a glut of fixtures spanning 148 days and featuring both the earliest start date, May 5, and the latest finish, September 29. South Africa and West Indies are lined up for full tours in an unprecedented summer that will also feature the ECB’s hosting of the Champions Trophy in early to mid-June, and the women’s World Cup between June 26 and July 23.. The previous earliest start to an English summer was May 6, when England and West Indies embarked on that summer’s first Test at Lord’s. The latest finish also involved West Indies, when they beat England in the final of the Champions Trophy on September 25, 2004. England men’s summer will be launched by a two-match ODI series
against Ireland, at Bristol and Lord’s on May 5 and 7, before the arrival of South Africa’s ODI squad for three matches at Headingley, Ageas Bowl and Lord’s on May 24, 27 and 29, which will serve as warm-up fixtures for the Champions Trophy, which opens with England’s match against Bangladesh at the Kia Oval on June 1. After the tournament, which concludes with a final at The Oval on June 18, England and South Africa play three T20Is - including their first international fixture at Taunton since 1983 - before attention switches to seven Test matches in the space of 67 days. South Africa are lined up for four matches, starting at Lord’s on July 6 then proceeding to Trent Bridge, The Oval and Old Trafford, before West Indies commence a three-Test series on August 17. That opening fixture, at Edgbaston, has been mooted as England’s first home
day/night fixture, although the ECB as yet has not clarified its status. Further matches are scheduled for Headingley and Lord’s, before a one-off T20I followed by five ODIs, with the home summer set to finish at the Ageas Bowl on September 29. “With three different international teams coming here next summer and this country playing host to two major ICC
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global events - the ICC Champions Trophy and the ICC Women’s World Cup there will be a feast of international cricket to excite us in England and Wales,” said Tom Harrison, the ECB’s chief executive. “Both the international and the domestic schedule will have a different shape to previous years. And the early season block for the Royal London One-
Day Cup - with a new mid-season date for its Lord’s final - will support both England’s ICC Champions Trophy preparations and our longer term planning for the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2019. It will also allow players to focus skills on the white ball game and help more people to understand the structure of the season. “It promises to be a memorable summer of cricket for all our international grounds and a particularly special one for Somerset CCC which will host its first England men’s fixture for more than thirty years; a great opportunity for the county to further capitalise on its strong support for England women’s cricket in recent years.” Edgbaston will once again host NatWest T20 Blast Finals day while the Royal London One-Day Cup Final has been brought forward from its traditional mid-September date to a new mid-summer slot in early July.