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Jordan, Iran and Oman have topped their groups at the U-23 West Asian Football Federation Championship after wins on Wednesday night in Baghdad.
In Group A, Jordan beat the UAE 2-1 to lead the standings with four points from two matches, having drawn their opening match 2-2 against hosts Iraq on Monday.
Iraq and the UAE, who play each other on Friday, sit in second and third.
Group B’s second match saw Iran claim a 3-1 win over Syria, who on Monday had lost 1-0 to Palestine.
Iran, with three points, lead the standings on goal difference from the Palestinian team, while Syria remain bottom with no points.
Meanwhile, in Group C, Oman maintain their 100 percent record into the tournament with a 3-0 win over Yemen following their opening day 1-0 victory over Lebanon.
Oman, with six points, have now secured a spot in Sunday’s semifinals, while Lebanon and Yemen meet on Friday, hoping a win for either could leave them as the best of the second-placed teams in the group stage.
David de Gea announced Saturday he is leaving Manchester United after 12 years, saying “it’s the right time to undertake a new challenge.”
The Spanish goalkeeper, who won the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets last season, was criticized for a number of high-profile errors in the final weeks of the campaign.
His contract with United expired at the end of June, with no new deal agreed despite talks that took place throughout the season.
United have been linked with a move for Inter Milan keeper Andre Onana.
In a message on social media, De Gea, 32, thanked United fans for their support, but said: “Now, it’s the right time to undertake a new challenge, to push myself again in new surroundings.
The Spanish goalkeeper, who won the Premier League Golden Glove award for most clean sheets last season, was criticized for a number of high-profile errors in the final weeks of the campaign.
“Manchester will always be in my heart, Manchester has shaped me and will never leave me.”
When De Gea’s contract expired last Friday, United said they remained in talks with the Spanish international goalkeeper.
That followed reports De Gea had signed a contract extension only for the club to withdraw that offer and come back with reduced terms.
De Gea wrote: “I would like to express my unwavering gratitude and appreciation for the love from the last 12 years. We’ve achieved a lot since my dear Sir Alex Ferguson brought me to this club.
“I took incredible pride every time I pulled on this shirt, to lead the team, to represent this institution, the biggest club in the world was an honor only bestowed upon a few lucky footballers.”
United boss Erik ten Hag thanked De Gea for his service to the club in a statement.
“It takes great quality and character to reach the level of even playing one game for Manchester United,” he said.
“To do it 545 times over 12 years is a special achievement, particularly in the goalkeeping position where every game puts you in the spotlight.
“To have won player of the year awards from both the fans and his team-mates, each on four occasions, shows the level of his performance and he will always be remembered as one of the very best goalkeepers in the history of the club.”
WIMBLEDON, London: Ons Jabeur thanked the rain after battling back from a set down to beat Canada’s Bianca Andreescu and reach the Wimbledon fourth round on Saturday.
A single break in the first set cost last year’s finalist at the All England Club but she engineered a break of her own in the second set to level the match.
Andreescu, the 2019 US Open champion, struck first in the decider, opening up a 3-1 lead, but the Tunisian sixth seed broke back immediately.
The match was halted at 3-2 in the decider as rain returned to Wimbledon, resuming after a prolonged inspection under the roof.
The turning point came in the ninth game when Jabeur, 28, broke her 50th-ranked opponent to love and she sealed the 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win with an ace.
Jabeur will play two-time champion Petra Kvitova in the last 16.
“I’ve got to thank the rain a little bit for letting me speak to my coach and have a bit of perspective about the match,” she said. “I felt like I didn’t play my best tennis.”
Jabeur last year became the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam women’s singles final, also making the final of the US Open.
She said it felt emotional to return to Center Court after her painful defeat to Elena Rybakina in 2022.
“I love the energy, love how beautiful it is and hopefully I can come back and play more matches here,” she said.
SILVERSTONE, UK: Max Verstappen showed his relief at surviving tricky and changeable conditions on Saturday when he outpaced friend and rival Lando Norris to take pole position for the British Grand Prix.
The defending double world champion and runaway series leader outpaced McLaren’s Norris with a late final lap to secure pole in one minute and 26.720, beating Norris by two-tenths.
“It’s been a crazy qualifying,” said the 25-year-old Dutchman, who is seeking his first British Grand Prix win at the eighth attempt.
“Really quite hectic and also quite slippery in some places, but we did our laps and in Q3 I was surprised to see those two (McLaren) there.
“I mean, it’s great for McLaren to be here and from our side I am very happy to be on pole.”
McLaren claimed their first front row start at their home British Grand Prix since 2008 through Norris with his team-mate Australian rookie Oscar Piastri taking third behind him ahead of both Ferraris.
Verstappen added that the changing conditions had been a challenge “especially in Q1 and Q2 and there were a few little damp spots so we had to be a bit careful in Q3.
“Of course, you push close to the limit, but obviously we have a quick car so we didn’t need to go to 100 percent.”
“It wasn’t a very big gap today, but for us it has been a great day and I am looking forward to the race already.”
Verstappen’s pole was his fifth in succession, his seventh of the season and the 27th of his career as he leads Red Bull’s bid for a record-equalling 11th consecutive race victory, drawing level with McLaren’s 1988 achievement.
Piastri was third fastest ahead of the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz and the Mercedes of George Russell and seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton.
As Verstappen celebrated, his Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez and nearest championship rival, who trails him by 81 points in the drivers’ title race, suffered a fifth early exit this season, this time from Q1.
Norris who briefly held provisional pole position claimed his third front row start.
“I was close,” he said. “I was P1 in Q1, pretty sure I was P1 in Q2 and just a couple of tenths off being P1 in Q3. Pretty insane! My last lap was a good lap.
“I could hear Zak (team boss, Zak Brown) on the radio on the last lap. For us to be second and third is great for the team, but it’s always Max — and he always ruins everything for everyone!“
Piastri was also delighted.
“What a qualifying session!” he said. “We were almost out in Q1! But the car was a rocket ship in Q2 and Q3 and it felt like I put a pretty good lap together.
“It’s a massive result for the team as well. To have both of us up here is a mega result and we have got to try and stay there for tomorrow.”
Williams’ Alex Albon was eighth ahead of two-time champion Fernando Alonso and Pierre Gasly of Alpine.
Qualifying began after heavy rain and the first session was red-flagged with three minutes remaining when Kevin Magnussen parked his Haas on track, close to the pits entry.
This led to a delay before, with Perez and Albon at the head of a queue, a re-start was scheduled — during which Verstappen pulled out, but hit the pit wall and damaged his car’s front wing.
After repairs, he was back out and en route to the 27th pole of his career.
RIYADH: Dazzling fireworks cascaded on Boulevard Riyadh City on Friday, signifying the official kickoff of Gamers8: The Land of Heroes, the second outing of the world’s largest esports and gaming festival.
Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation, or SEF, the coming eight weeks will see 15 tournaments from a list of top-12 video games at its purpose-built venue, in addition to global concert lineups every Friday and various entertainment zones and activations.
Omar Batterjee, director of corporate communications and public relations at SEF, told Arab News: “We keep saying we’re going to make this year’s event three times bigger and we mean it in every way. Looking back at how last year catapulted us to getting here, I think Saudi Arabia as a whole had a community of over 21 million gamers. However, I think the industry, the investors, did not realize the magnitude, did not realize how much buying power there is or the market appetite.”
The season has already sold out tickets for the first couple of days, including its education program seats, and expects to welcome upwards of 2.5 million visitors for more than 1,000 events and activations throughout the festival.
With a $45 million total prize pool, tripled from their inaugural event, the festival will host tournaments for Fortnite, Tekken 7 Nations Cup, PUBG Mobile World Invitational, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, Dota 2, StarCraft II, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO), Rocket League, PUBG Global Series 2, three FIFAe tournaments, and Street Fighter 6.
The theme, Land of Heroes, highlights its representation of Saudi Arabia as the ultimate destination for gamers across the globe, and also celebrates the event’s inclusivity.
The big date outlines the summer in Riyadh, allowing the venue to become a place of community engagement and immersion into the gaming industry, aligned with its six main pillars: compete, amuse, rhythm, challenge, meet, and learn.
Including access to elite competitions, Gamers8 offers a range of live concerts from star local, regional and international names, and community gaming opportunities, education platforms and programs, and family activities.
Last year’s Gamers8 saw 1.4 million visitors, 132 million people watching the elite competitions, 392 professional players representing 61 nationalities, 113 international professional teams, and eight nights of music throughout the summer that brought in a total of 74,670 ticket-holders attending performances from 19 global artists, 10 Arab artists, and 17 local Saudi artists.
Batterjee said: “What we hope to do is take this passion that a lot of people have and create career opportunities… The Saudi Sports Federation can’t do everything and the National Gaming and Esports strategy is where this all ties in. There are over 20 government entities, over 80 initiatives, 86 to be exact, all working together on different elements.
“We’re all going together to take this sector and hopefully reach a contribution to GDP of 50 billion riyals by 2030,” he said.
The event is a vital step to SEF and Saudi Arabia’s grand vision to become a global hub for gaming and esports investment. It also aligns with the National Gaming and Esports Strategy that boasts six main pillars: esports, gaming consumption, game development, education and talent attraction, funds and infrastructure, as well as technical and physical infrastructure.
Turki Alfawzan, CEO of SEF, told Arab News: “We’re very proud that we have a national strategy on a sector level to push the gaming sector to become one of the main (ones) within Saudi.
“Looking at the demographics of Saudi, with the youth of 70 percent, this is a reflection of the gaming industry. We have more than 20 million gamers in Saudi, so that’s why it’s really important for us to make and to create an opportunity for all these youth with a very exciting sector.”
Gamers8: The Land of Heroes will conclude alongside the Next World Forum, an esports and gaming worldwide forum, from Aug. 30-31.
RIYADH: Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien are through to the group stages of the King Salman Club Cup with a 2-0 win against Sudan’s Al-Hilal S.C. in the second leg.
Mohamed Abdel-Rahman’s first-leg penalty raised Al-Hilal’s optimism, but second-half goals by Aziz Al-Sayihi and Barakat Al-Hamidi in the second leg in Sfax ended all hope for the Omdurman team’s participation in the Arab world’s premier club contest, which Saudi Arabia is hosting this year.
Sayihi’s confident back-post header on the 65th minute drew the home side level on aggregate before Hamidi scored a close-range goal with three minutes to go in the tie.
In Group A, Sfaxien will join Saudi league champions Al-Ittihad, who have spent the summer beefing up their squad with top European signings, including World Cup winners Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kante. The two teams will meet at King Fahd stadium in Taif on July 30.
Tunisian side ES Tunis and Iraq’s Al-Shorta are also in Group A.
The competition, also known as the Arab Club Champions Cup, will take place between July 27 and Aug. 12.