wednESday, june 19, 2013
guyanatimesGY.com
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Venus Williams to miss Classy Spain Wimbledon due to injury retain U-21 title
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hiago Alcantara scored a first-half hat-trick as Spain outclassed Italy to retain the European Under-21 Championship on Tuesday. The Spanish captain was left unmarked to head in early on before Ciro Immobile scored a wonderful equaliser from Giulio Donati’s pass. Thiago restored the lead with a crisp shot and added a third from the spot. In a flat second half, Isco’s penalty sealed the win before Fabio Borini added a late consolation for Italy. Spain’s under-21 team has now matched its senior and Under-19s sides in winning consecutive European Championships and the performance of this group in Israel suggests the future is well mapped out. This was the country’s fourth triumph at this level and Malaga midfielder Isco, who is reported to be considering a move to Real Madrid or Manchester City and has been a shining light in this tournament, was once again involved in some of Spain’s best passages of play. The 21-year-old was eclipsed by his skipper on this occasion, but he played his part in the sixth-minute opener when he fed Alvaro
Thiago Alcantara
Morata, whose cross was met by Barcelona midfielder Thiago with a thumping header. The lead lasted just four minutes as Immobile scored his first goal of the tournament in superb fashion, collecting Donati’s floated through ball before lobbing David De Gea. It was the first goal Spain have conceded in Israel and marked a thrilling opening to the game in Jerusalem. But ‘La Roja’ reached the final unbeaten with the type of quick passing and fluid movement expected of the senior side, and it was not long before Italy were under pressure again as Morata and Alberto Moreno tested goalkeeper Francesco Bardi. Alessandro Florenzi drew a save from De Gea
at the other end but Thiago grabbed his and Spain’s second when he was picked out by Koke’s well-flighted pass. Italian-born Thiago, whose Brazilian father Mazinho won the 1994 World Cup, then put the game beyond Italy’s reach when he drilled in from the spot after Cristian Tello was brought down by Donati. Italy ─ who have won this tournament a record five times ─ struggled to respond, such was their opponents’ dominance of possession. And although Borini added a second Italian goal 10 minutes from time, by then Isco had scored another Spain penalty, his third goal of the tournament making the Liverpool striker’s late response academic. (BBC Sport)
ive-time singles champion Venus Williams has been forced to pull out of Wimbledon, which begins on Monday, because of a back injury. Williams, 33, struggled with the problem during the clay-court season and has not played since pulling out of the doubles at the French Open. “I will not be able to participate in Wimbledon,” she wrote on Facebook. “I am extremely disappointed as I have always loved The Championships. I need to take time to let my back heal.” Former world number one Williams has not missed the tournament since making her debut in 1997, with her singles victories coming in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007 and 2008. The American has become increasingly injury prone in recent years, as well as suffering with the auto-immune disease Sjogren’s syndrome. She had been enjoying a decent season until the back problem occurred, reaching two semi-finals on the WTA Tour and climbing back up to 34 in the rankings. “I look forward to returning to the courts as soon as possible, with my goal being to return to Mylan World
Venus Williams
Team Tennis on July 8 in Washington DC,” she added. “Many thanks to my fans for the love and support and I will be seeing you very soon back on the courts.” Williams complained of back problems after her first round defeat at the French Open by Poland’s Urszula Radwanska last month, then cited the injury when she and her sister Serena went on to pull out of the doubles competition. The pair are the defending doubles champions at the All England Club, having claimed their fifth title with a 7-5 6-4 victory
over the Czech Republic’s Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka. Williams was less successful in the singles event last year, losing 6-1 6-3 to Russian Elena Vesnina. World number one Serena Williams, 31, is seeking her sixth Wimbledon singles title and 17th Grand Slam in all. The French Open champion is currently on a 31-match winning run, the longest single-season streak on the women’s tour since Venus put together a 35-match run in 2000. (BBC
Sport)
Australia, Iran and South Korea qualify for 2014 World Cup
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ustralia, Iran and South Korea have all qualified for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. The Socceroos sealed a place in their third consecutive World Cup with a 1-0 win over Iraq in Sydney to finish second behind Asian Football Confederation Group B win-
ners Japan. Reza Ghoochannejad’s winner allowed Iran to beat South Korea 1-0 and top Group A with both countries qualifying. The result meant South Korea stayed ahead of Uzbekistan on goal difference. Uzbekistan’s 5-1 victo-
ry over Qatar moved them to within one goal of South Korea, but the result was not enough to overtake them. Earlier, substitute Josh Kennedy’s header with six minutes remaining was enough to book Australia’s fourth appearance at the World Cup.
Kennedy, who had replaced Everton’s Tim Cahill on 77 minutes, rose unchallenged to head Mark Bresciano’s cross beyond goalkeeper Noor Sabri. Japan had already won Asian Group B to qualify when they drew 1-1 with Australia on June 4.
With Oman not kicking off against Jordan until after the end of the match in Sydney, the Socceroos knew that a point would ensure qualification for the tournament in Brazil, which starts on June 12, 2014. Cahill had failed to hit the target from three chanc-
es and looked unhappy when replaced with Kennedy by Socceroos coach Holger Osiek. But the striker, who plays for Nagoya Grampus in Japan’s J League, settled the nerves of the crowd of 80,000 to send his country through to their fourth World Cup finals.
(BBC Sport)
Home run firing Brazil belief T
here are some very good reasons why Brazil and their fans have every right to be confident going into their second FIFA Confederations Cup match against Mexico in Fortaleza today ─ 30 of them in fact. That is the number of games A Seleção have gone unbeaten on home soil, a run that stretches all the way back to August 21, 2002, when Paraguay won 1-0, also in Fortaleza, in what was Luiz Felipe Scolari’s last game in his first spell in charge of the national side. The sequence is made up of nine draws and 21 victories, the latest of them last Saturday’s emphatic 3-0 defeat of Japan. In that time the Brazilians – making light of the burden of expectation that is always placed on them when they play at home – have scored 72 goals, an average of 2.4 per game, and conceded 18, a mere 0.6 per match. “It shows how strong we are here, even with the pressure that’s on us,
which is only to be expected,” striker Fred told FIFA.com. “Quite apart from those stats, what’s surprised us more than anything is the support we’ve had from the fans. Obviously that all depends on how we perform on the pitch, but we hope to carry on winning so that we can keep the run going and, most importantly of all, keep the fans on our side.” A Seleção have faced some stiff tests during that impressive unbeaten run, taking on their biggest South American rivals Argentina and Uruguay four and two times respectively, while also lining up against the Netherlands, Portugal and, in recent weeks, England and France. All of which begs a simple question: why have there been so many doubts about the team of late? Surprisingly for someone who has just started making his way at senior level, 21-year-old midfielder Oscar has a convincing
Brazil will be looking to extend their winning streak
answer. “Brazil haven’t been winning titles lately and that’s put a little bit of pressure on us,” he told FIFA.com. “But we’ve always been very strong at home, as the statistics show.” That strength was clear
for all to see at the Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha in Brasilia on Saturday. Urged on by a capacity crowd, Brazil lifted the tension just three minutes in, thanks to Neymar’s spectacular strike. Goals do not always
come so early, however, and regardless of Brazil’s superb home record, the patience of players and fans alike could well be tested should future opponents prove harder to break down. “There were certain
stages of the game when we held off a little, and maybe the fans didn’t understand that, though they were really important for us in that opening match,” said midfielder Paulinho. “Their support is so important for us. You could see that in Brasilia. We have to do our job and we’re winning the fans over little by little. We need to work as hard as we can to get the Brazilian people right behind us.” Scolari’s men have succeeded in doing that so far and will hope to strengthen their bond with the supporters further in Fortaleza and then in their final group game against Italy in Salvador. As a smiling David Luiz told FIFA.com, however, the players are looking much further ahead: “We want it to continue, don’t we? We want to keep the run going and make sure it isn’t broken. After all, we’ve got the Confederations Cup this year and the World Cup next.” (FIFA)