GUYANA CHRONICLE Thursday, April 11, 2019
World Cup increase to 48 teams at 2022 finals is 50/50 - FIFA RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (Reuters) - The chances of FIFA increasing the number of teams at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar from 32 to 48 is 50-50, the president of soccer’s governing body Gianni Infantino said yesterday. Infantino, who is in Brazil for a meeting of the South American Football Confederation, told delegates he was working to ensure the increase for the Qatar tournament, which would mean a guaranteed two extra places for South American sides. “We are working to see if we can get 48 teams in the 2022 World Cup because more participation means more development and more passion for everyone,” he said.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino
“We’ll see by June whether it is possible or not. (It’s) 5050. What is 100 percent is that the 2022 World Cup is going to be spectacular and a total success.” A final decision on the number of teams for the next finals will be taken at the FIFA Congress in Paris on June 5. FIFA chose to host the 2022 World Cup for 32 teams in Qatar, although Infantino has sounded out neighbours over their willingness to host some matches in an expanded tournament. FIFA has already agreed to increase the number of teams to 48 for the 2026 tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico but is keen to expand quicker than planned.
Ronaldo scores as Juventus held to 1-1 draw at Ajax AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (Reuters) - Cristiano Ronaldo produced yet another quality goal to add to his collection and help Juventus to a 1-1 draw at Ajax Amsterdam in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie yesterday. Juventus took the lead on the stroke of halftime as Portuguese forward Ronaldo began an attacking move inside his own half before sprinting down field and diving to head in a clever chip from Joao Cancelo. Ajax equalised 30 seconds into the second half after Cancelo lost control of the ball to allow David Neres to run down the left wing, cut inside and curl the ball past Juve goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The result leaves the Serie A side in a strong position to advance to the semi-finals in next week’s return leg in Turin. However, they will be mindful of Ajax’s 4-1 away win over Real Madrid in the last round that eliminated the holders 5-3 on aggregate. Hakim Ziyech had several
efforts at goal in a lively start for the youthful Dutch team, who have come through the pregroup phase qualifying round to reach the last eight. Donny van de Beek scraped the outside of the upright with a 25th minute effort from close range after opening up space for himself in the penalty area in Ajax’s best chance of the first half. But Juventus, with the 34-year-old Ronaldo central to their attacks, worked their way into the contest and came close themselves when the forward set up Federico Bernardeschi to turn and shoot in the 37th minute. But he was just off target. Ronaldo, who scored a hattrick in the previous round against Atletico Madrid, then scored a 125th Champions League goal with the last move of the first half before Ajax opened the second period with the same intensity. After equalising, Ajax then dominated possession but were guilty of over-elaborate passing and were also fortunate not to
have given away a penalty when defender Nicol a s Ta g l iafico was tugging on the jersey of Ju-
ventus captain Mario Mandzukic. Spanish r e f e r e e C a rlos del Cerro Grande paused briefly in the 53rd minute to presumably hear from the Vi d e o A s s i s t a n t Referee (VAR) but resumed play before TV replays showed that Juventus had been denied a decent claim.
WITH the aim to have youths engaged in some meaningful activity during the Easter vacation, the Georgetown Cricket Association (GCA) has launched its Easter Youth Cricket Festival with emphasis on seam bowling. The Cricket Festival will comprise the Toucan Distributors Under-15 100 overs, and the GCA/New York Tri State Youth Cricket Development Inc. Under-19 50-overs cricket competitions. At a simple ceremony held yesterday in the Demerara Cricket Club (DCC) pavilion, where GCA president Roger Harper pointed out that the tournaments will not only allow the youths to showcase their talent, but also at the same time give them the opportunity to develop their skills. “I think sports provides an opportunity to teach teamwork, teach discipline and hopefully they will understand through sports as well that the only place that success comes before work is in the dictionary,” Harper, the former West Indies off-spinner stated. Harper is of the view that sports plays a critical role, and tournaments of this nature augur well for the future of Guyana’s cricket. The former West Indies player during his brief remarks
Shaw own goal gives Barca 1-0 advantage over United By Simon Evans
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Barcelona will take a 1-0 lead over Manchester United into next week’s second leg of their Champions League quarter-final after a 12th-minute Luke Shaw own goal gave them victory at Old Trafford yesterday. Sergio Busquets found Lionel Messi with a clever ball into the area and the Argentine carved out space on the left to deliver a lofted cross to Luis Suarez at the back post. The Uruguayan’s header deflected off the shoulder of a scrambling Shaw and beat David De Gea to give the visitors the lead and although the linesman initially flagged for offside, the goal was given after a VAR video review. United’s best chance of the first half fell to Diogo Dalot but the Portuguese made a mess of a fine Marcus Rashford cross, heading harmlessly across the goal from close-range. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team had struggled to get a foothold in the game during the opening 45 minutes but they were much improved after the break, applying plenty of pressure without creating any clear chances. Barcelona could have added a second had Suarez not fired into the side-netting from a promising position after a clever through ball from Nelson Semedo. Barcelona have not lost at home in the Champions League since 2013.
Kohli named Wisden’s ‘Leading Cricketer’ for third straight year
Cristiano Ronaldo
GCA launches Easter Youth Cricket Festival By Rajiv Bisnauth
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also thanked Toucan Distributors for backing them for the second year in succession. GCA Chairman of Selectors, Mark Harper, is of the opinion that the tournaments will feature a lot of our budding cricketers, since young cricketers in the City look forward to that time of the year. The Under-15 tournament is expected to attract over130 youngsters from nine teams, inclusive of Queen’s Collage. Teams batting first will be allocated a maximum of 55 overs while the second team will have a 45-over stipulation. However, should the first team be bowled out before the allotted 55th over, the difference would be added to the second team’s overs. The competition is set to bowl off on April 24. Lenny Shuffler, Toucan’s representative, said that they are happy to be a part of the development of the game at the grassroots level. Meanwhile, GCA/New York Tri State Youth Cricket Development Inc. Under-19 competition is set to commence on April 16, with 12 teams participating. It was revealed during yesterday’s launching that at least 40% of the overs or 20 overs in a full 50-over game in both competitions must be bowled by fast bowlers. Failing to adhere to the playing conditions, teams will be penalised 10 runs to every over missed by a fast bowler.
India captain Virat Kohli
(REUTERS) - India captain Virat Kohli was named ‘Leading Cricketer in the World’ for the third time in a row in this year’s edition of the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, the publication said yesterday. Kohli, 30, was also named as one of Wisden’s five cricketers-of-the-year along with England’s Jos Buttler and Sam Curran, County Championship-winning captain Rory Burns and Tammy Beaumont from the England women’s team. Kohli, who scored only 134 runs during India’s previous tour of England in 2014, amassed 593 runs in his side’s five-Test series last year at an average of over 59 to book his place on the list. “Despite finishing on the losing side, India captain Virat Kohli shone with the bat, laying to rest his struggles in England in 2014,” Wisden editor Lawrence Booth said. “His Test batting, especially in England, was magnificent, while his 50-over form moved to a new level, if that was possible.” Kohli, who also won the ICC’s cricketer, Test and One-day international player-of-the-year awards in January, scored 2 735 runs across all three international formats in 2018 at an average of 68.37, which included 11 centuries. India’s Smriti Mandhana, who scored 1 291 runs in limited overs, was named Leading Cricketer in the women’s game while Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was named Leading Twenty20 Cricketer for the second consecutive year.