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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Al-Shabab beat Tishreen FC of Syria 3-1 on Thursday in the second leg of round two of the King Salman Cup for Clubs 2023, organized by the Arab Football Association.
The goals for Al-Shabab were scored by Ahmed Jaber, who grabbed a brace, and Carlos Junior, while Tishreen’ consolation was scored by Ahmed Hatem.
Al-Shabab’s victory came after a 1-1 draw on Sunday, meaning they qualified for the main tournament with a 4-2 aggregate win.
The groups’ stage of the competition will be hosted in the cities of Abha, Taif, and Al-Baha in the summer.
Saudi club Al-Shabab join a group with Egypt’s Zamalek and Riyadh side Al-Nassr, along with the qualifier from the clash between Monastir of Tunisia and Bahrain’s Muharraq.
PARIS: French police raided the home of Paris Saint-Germain boss Nasser Al-Khelaifi on Wednesday in an investigation into a man’s claims of detention and torture in Qatar, a source close to the case told AFP.
Franco-Algerian Tayeb Benabderrahmane, 42, filed a complaint in January saying he was arrested in January 2020 in Qatar, where he had recently moved to work as a lobbyist.
Benabderrahmane said he was held for six months and questioned by local police, particularly about documents they believed he held that could prove compromising for Al-Khelaifi, a Qatari national.
Initially released to house arrest, he claims he was finally allowed to leave Qatar in November 2020 after signing a non-disclosure agreement covering the documents.
A note from France’s DGSI domestic intelligence service suggests that the documents could include intimate videos of Al-Khelaifi with a woman.
Conversations between Al-Khelaifi, a former FIFA secretary-general and Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, saved in an old smartphone of his, might also touch on how the Gulf monarchy secured the 2022 World Cup and the allocation of TV rights to the competition, the DGSI note says.
Benabderrahmane is himself the subject of a separate investigation over allegations of blackmailing Al-Khelaifi.
The PSG boss’s spokesman told AFP that on Wednesday “the investigating magistrate asked for further information and access, which were completely provided to him in full transparency and cooperation with the authorities”.
Al-Khelaifi’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Organised crime investigators last week raided the town hall of Paris’s seventh district, run by former government minister Rachida Dati, as well as several lawyers’ offices in relation to the probe.
Benabderrahmane claims Dati made a show of helping to secure his release while trying to cover up the detention on behalf of the Qataris.
People close to Dati meanwhile have described the lobbyist as a “master blackmailer”.
Al-Khelaifi’s lawyers said in April that they would file a defamation suit of their own against Benabderrahmane.
MIAMI: The US will compete at the Basketball World Cup in August with a team coached by Steve Kerr but without any of the NBA’s top stars.
The 12-man roster was announced on Thursday for the tournament which runs from Aug. 25 to Sept. 10 in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.
Team USA feature just four players who have been selected as All Stars.
Indiana Pacers point guard Tyrese Haliburton, Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards, New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram and Memphis Grizzlies power forward Jaren Jackson Jr, voted Best Defensive Player last season, are the All Stars.
Also on the roster is the Orlando Magic’s Paolo Banchero, the 2023 NBA Rookie of the Year.
“My staff and I are thrilled to have the opportunity to coach such talented, team-oriented players,” said Kerr, who has won four NBA titles as a coach.
“I’m confident this group will represent our country well, with effort, talent and a commitment to winning together. We look forward to competing for a gold medal in the World Cup later this summer,” he added.
Before traveling to the tournament, Team USA will be based in Las Vegas from Aug. 3 and they will face friendly games against Puerto Rico.
They will also face Slovenia and Spain in Malaga on August 12 and 13, then move to Abu Dhabi to take on Greece on Aug. 18 and Germany two days later.
At the World Cup, the US have been drawn in Group C along with Greece, New Zealand and Jordan.
The US have won the World Cup five times, but finished only seventh in 2019 after winning the previous two editions.
FARO, Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo got a new club coach on Thursday when Al-Nassr announced they hired his fellow Portuguese Luis Castro.
The Saudi club confirmed the appointment from a preseason training camp in Portugal. The length of the coach’s contract was not disclosed.
Castro is the latest coaching hire this week in the Saudi Pro League, following Jorge Jesus at Al-Hilal and Steven Gerrard at Al-Ettifaq.
The 61-year-old Portuguese is best known for his two seasons in Ukraine with Shakhtar Donetsk including home and away wins over Real Madrid in the group stage of the 2020-21 Champions League. He spent last season in Brazil with Botafogo.
Castro will lead Al-Nassr into a qualifying playoff for the Asian Champions League next month after the team finished runner-up last season in the Saudi Pro League. The champions Al-Ittihad were coached by another Portuguese, Nuno Espirito Santo.
Al-Nassr were coached last season by Frenchman Rudi Garcia then Dinko Jelicic of Croatia as an interim hire.
Al-Nassr are among four top Saudi clubs effectively nationalized last month by being taken into majority ownership by the sovereign wealth Public Investment Fund.
CAUTERETS, FRANCE: Tadej Pogacar unleashed a devastating turn of speed to win stage six of the Tour de France on Thursday, but defending champion Jonas Vingegaard took the overall race lead 25 seconds ahead of the Slovenian.
On the Tour’s first summit finish, Team UAE leader Pogacar went for broke with 2km to go and finished 24sec ahead of Vingegaard. Overnight leader Jai Hindley now sits in third place.
On the 144.9km run from Tarbes to Cauterets in the lush Pyrenees the Dutch Jumbo-Visma team looked to have the X-factor in Wout Van Aert acting as Vingegaard’s sherpa with Pogacar isolated from his teammates.
But with 4km to go Van Aert peeled off and almost keeled over after his efforts on a 10 percent gradient section.
Vingegaard and Pogacar powered ahead alone after dropping everyone from the day’s breakaway on the high Tourmalet pass.
When Pogacar made his move with the roadside crowds leaving the narrowest of passages Vingegaard desperately clung on as the Slovenian pulled away for a moral victory.
“I’m really happy to have just one stage win, you can’t get cocky,” said the 24-year-old Pogacar.
“When Jumbo started pulling I was ready to pack my bags and go home,” he said.
“Wout (van Aert) goes faster than the race chief’s car. But I played it smart and told myself I mustn’t give up, at that point I just held on.”
Pogacar started the Tour strongly but Vingegaard struck back on stage five before this new enthralling instalment of their internecine duel offered up some more gripping fare.
Defending champion Vingegaard and two-time winner Pogacar were billed as the stars of the Tour and so it is proving to be.
“This is an exciting Tour de France,” said Vingegaard. “The first six days have been hard, the start in the Basque Country has made it amazing.
“First of all I’m happy to be back in the yellow jersey,” said the Dane.
“Tadej was just stronger today and he deserved to win.”
Overnight leader Hindley’s 15 minutes of fame were sealed on the 17km slog up the highest peak of the Tour so far, the Col du Tourmalet.
The Australian paid for his efforts in the breakaway on stage five and dropped off the pace as Vingegaard put the hammer down.
One interested onlooker was Emmanuel Macron, the French president joining Tour director Christian Prudhomme in the car following the race leaders.
American rider Neilson Powless of the Education First team retook the polka dot climb jersey thanks to being in the mix as far as the Tourmalet.
The climbs of Col d’Aspin and Col du Tourmalet marked out stage six as the toughest test so far.
Stage seven on Friday takes the Tour away from the Pyrenees and through the world renowned vineyards of the Bordeaux region.
“It’s flat, superflat and easy for the teams of the sprinters to control,” race designer Thierry Gouvenou told AFP Thursday.
There is a 2km long pancake flat home-straight guaranteeing a mass bunch sprint finish at Bordeaux where British sprinter Mark Cavendish could write a chapter of his own by claiming a record-breaking 35th stage win.
LONDON: Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka displayed vintage form at Wimbledon to book a third-round clash with holder Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev won a rain-delayed opener as the grasscourt Grand Slam cleared its backlog on Thursday.
As drier weather finally arrived after a soggy start to the championships, the men’s draw suffered its biggest casualty as British wildcard Liam Broady ousted Norway’s fourth seed Casper Ruud for the biggest win of his career.
On a day when 17 delayed first-round singles matches were finally completed, women’s defending champion Elena Rybakina reached round three as she battled past France’s Alize Cornet.
She will next face Britain’s Katie Boulter who ensured the home nation retains an interest in the women’s draw with a three-set victory over Viktoriya Tomova.
Fifth seed Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia also reached round three as she edged past 2021 US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez while fourth seed Jessica Pegula of the US was far too good for Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
The 38-year-old Wawrinka, winner of three Grand Slam titles and twice a Wimbledon quarterfinalist, knocked out 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-2.
His reward was a first meeting on grass with Djokovic who has beaten him in 20 of their 26 clashes but who Wawrinka defeated to win the 2015 French Open and 2016 US Open.
“There’s zero opportunity to win Wimbledon for me, I think. I’m happy to have won today again. It was a great match. It’s an honor to play Novak here,” Wawrinka said.
“I was missing that in my career to play him in the Grand Slam in Wimbledon. Hopefully, I can make a competitive match, but if you will look at recent results I don’t stand a chance.”
Rain over the first three days meant organizers were left playing catch-up and former world No. 2 Alexander Zverev took to the court for his first-round clash only on Thursday.
His 6-4 7-6(4) 7-6(5) win over Dutch qualifier Gijs Brouwer — helped by 20 aces — meant the All England Club was finally done with all its first round ties shortly after 1400GMT
BROADY SHINES
Journeyman Broady, ranked 142nd in the world, lit up the afternoon with a 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-3 6-0 defeat of Ruud in front of a delirious Center Court crowd.
The Norwegian had reached three of the last five Grand Slam finals including at Roland Garros last month but could not keep the home favorite at bay.
After four closely-fought, if erraticm sets Ruud, who said he had spent the three weeks since reaching the French Open final relaxing well away from tennis, looked like he had mentally packed his bags again as Broady ripped through the decider to seal a memorable win.
“It’s a pretty terrifying, exhilarating experience, coming out on Center Court at Wimbledon. It’s been my dream since I was five years old,” Broady said in an on-court interview.
Third seed Rybakina needed only 26 minutes to win the first set 6-2 against Cornet, crunching winners all over Center Court.
But then endured an 82-minute second set as her power game began to crumble before sealing it on a tiebreak.
Former runner-up Matteo Berrettini was also among those who moved into the second round as the Italian recovered from a slow start to his match that began on Tuesday to defeat compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(7) 6-3.
It was a memorable day for Andrey Rublev who overcame fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev 6-7(4) 6-3 6-4 7-5 to bag his 50th Grand Slam match victory and move into the third round.
Former semifinalist Elina Svitolina continued her fine run after her maternity break as the wildcard from Ukraine shook off a mid-match wobble to down 28th seed Elize Mertens 6-1 1-6 6-1.
She set up a clash with American Sofia Kenin after the former major champion eased past China’s Wang Xinyu 6-4 6-3.
Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva — who burst onto the scene in Madrid this year — advanced to the third round on her Wimbledon main draw debut after 10th seed Barbora Krejcikova quit their clash due to injury while trailing 6-3 4-0.
Estonian Anett Kontaveit, who reached a career-high No. 2 last year, lost to Marie Bouzkova 6-1 6-2 in her final match before she retires from the sport.