Sports
Germany Win In Nations League As 10-Man Netherlands Rescue Point
Deniz Undav scored twice as Germany defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-1 to edge closer to the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday as 10-man Netherlands rescued a 1-1 draw in Hungary. Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz laid on a backheel for Undav’s opener after 30 minutes in Zenica. The Stuttgart forward then made it two when he turned in Maximilian Mittlestaedt’s cross. Bosnia hit back with 20 minutes remaining when 38-year-old former Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko headed in from a corner for his 67th international goal.
“After they scored, things heated up a bit, but we controlled things confidently,” Undav, making just his second international start, told German broadcaster RTL.
The win moves Germany onto seven points from three games, two ahead of the Netherlands with the heavyweights facing each other on Monday in Munich.
“We scored too few goals for the number of chances we had,” said Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann.
At the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary and Dutch players, as well as spectators, observed a minute’s silence in memory of former Netherlands great Johan Neeskens who passed away this week at the age of 73.
Hungary took the lead in the 32nd minute when Roland Sallai scored with a close-range finish after being teed up by Zsolt Nagy.
It was the perfect start to the game for Hungarian coach Marco Rossi who was taking charge of the national team for the 69th time.
Hungary were looking at defeating the Dutch in the teams’ first meeting since they were mauled 8-1 in 2013.
That prospect brightened when Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk was red-carded in the 79th minute.
However, four minutes later, the Dutch made a mockery of their one-man disadvantage when Denzel Dumfries headed in a free-kick from Cody Gakpo.
“Even with ten men, we tried to put pressure forward,” said Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman. “I did think we were going to score.”
Wales squandered a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Iceland in Reykjavik.
Tottenham’s Brennan Johnson, scoring for the seventh consecutive game for club and country, and Harry Wilson gave Craig Bellamy‘s team a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break but Iceland hit back in the second half.
Substitute Logi Tomasson cut the deficit in the 69th minute before Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward allowed a 72nd minute drive from the same player to bounce off his elbow and into the net.
“In the long run, I’m really happy. And this is not me trying to sugar-coat drawing after being 2-0 up, it really isn’t,” said Bellamy.
“What I’m telling you now I told the players. This was really good.”
In the same group, Turkey defeated Montenegro 1-0.
Elsewhere on Friday, Sweden let slip a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 in Slovakia, a result which left both teams on seven points from three games but with the Swedes ahead on goal difference in their group.
Yasin Ayari and Ken Sema had Sweden 2-0 up after 32 minutes in Bratislava but Slovakia battled back for a point thanks to a brace from David Strelec.
Tomas Chory scored twice to give the Czech Republic a 2-0 home win over Albania.
The Czechs are level on six points with pool leaders Georgia who lost 1-0 to Ukraine thanks to Mykhailo Mudryk‘s 35th-minute cool finish.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Who Is Allah Ghazanfar: 18-Year-Old Ex-Kolkata Knight Riders Spinner Creating History For Afghanistan
Afghanistan cricket team spinner Allah Ghazanfar© X (Twitter)
Afghanistan cricket team spinner Allah Ghazanfar scripted history with a brilliant six-wicket haul to guide his side to a convincing 92-run victory over Bangladesh in the first ODI encounter in Sharjah on Wednesday. The 18-year-old finished with figures of 6 for 26 in 6.3 overs as Bangladesh went from 132/3 to 143 all out while chasing a target of 236 runs. These were the best bowling figures in an Afghanistan-Bangladesh ODI match, bettering Shakib Al Hasan‘s 5-29 at Southampton in 2019.
Ghazanfar started his cricketing journey as a fast bowler before former Afghanistan skipper Dawlat Ahmadzai turned him into a mystery spinner. He grabbed headlines with his brilliant showing during the 2024 U-19 World Cup where he finished with eight wickets in four matches.
That was enough to earn him a senior team call-up as he made his ODI debut against Ireland. He continued to impress and even won the Player of the Match award in the Emerging Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka A as Afghanistan went on to clinch the title.
The young spinner was also part of the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) side that went on to win the IPL 2024 title. He was added to the squad as a replacement for Mujeeb Ur Rahman but did not play any matches for the franchise in the campaign.
“He is a special talent and has a good future for Afghanistan. He bowled well in the first spell, but he bowled that no-ball and I asked him why did he bowl a no-ball (laughs). I am very happy with the options we have on the bench,” said Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on the young spinner.
Najmul Hossain rued Bangladesh’s batting slump and placed part of the blame on himself.
“I think my wicket turned the match,” said Najmul. “I was the set batsman so when I got out we needed to bat longer but credit to Afghanistan spinners for the way they bowled.”
(With AFP inputs)
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Australian Breakdancer “Raygun”, Who Got Trolled In Paris Olympics, Takes Huge Step
Australian breakdancer Rachael “Raygun” Gunn has announced her retirement from competition, citing a “really upsetting” backlash following her performance at the Paris Olympics. Raygun, 37, became something of a global laughing stock after her unorthodox routine, including kangaroo hops and imitating a sprinkler, failed to impress the judges at the Games. Her moves were copied on late-night talk shows and her unfashionable green tracksuit was mercilessly parodied online. Conspiracy theories abounded to explain how the university lecturer had even made it on to the Australia Olympic team. Gunn said the intense scrutiny had been “really upsetting”, and she had decided to pull the plug on her breakdancing career.
“I’m not going to compete any more,” she told Australian radio station 2DayFM on Wednesday.
“I was going to keep competing for sure, but that seems like a really difficult thing for me to do now.
“The level of scrutiny that’s going to be there. People will be filming it, it will be going online, it’s just not going to be the same experience.”
Gunn had previously spoken out against the “pretty devastating” hatred unleashed towards her after the Olympics.
“I went out there and I had fun. I did take it very seriously. I worked my butt off preparing for the Olympics and I gave my all,” she said in a video message after the Games.
While many lampooned her performance on social media, Gunn won support from others, including her fellow Australian Olympians and even the country’s prime minister.
Raygun said she would continue to dance, just not in competition.
“I mean I still dance, and I still break. But, you know, that’s like in my living room with my partner,” she said.
“Dancing is so much fun, and it makes you feel good. I don’t think people should feel crap about the way that they dance.
“If you get out there, and you have fun on the dance floor then just own it.”
Raygun did have the last laugh in September when she was briefly elevated to the top of the World Dance Sport Federation (WDSF) rankings.
The WDSF named her the number one women’s breakdancer based on winning the Oceania Championship, one of only a few events held that counted towards the rankings in the run-up to the Olympics.
The sport of breaking made its Olympics debut in Paris, but will not feature at the next Games at Los Angeles in 2028.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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Jamal Musiala Gets Bayern Munich Back On Champions League Track Against Benfica
A second-half Jamal Musiala goal got Bayern Munich back on track in the Champions League with a 1-0 home win over Benfica on Wednesday. Struggling in Europe after back-to-back losses left them outside the knockout places, Musiala broke through the stubborn Benfica defence, heading in a Harry Kane assist. Bayern were dominant in possession but carved out few clear-cut chances, lacking fluency in front of a silent home crowd who refused to sing out of respect for a hospitalised fan.
Despite the win, Bayern still have work to do in Europe, with this season’s Champions League final on home soil.
The German giants sit 17th, one behind Dinamo Zagreb who they beat 9-2 in their opener. Bayern face French champions Paris Saint-Germain next in the competition.
“We had good moments. The opponent defended well. It was very important to get three points today,” Musiala said after the match.
“We don’t have to win every game by four or five goals. Sometimes 1-0 is enough. We had to be patient. Now we carry on and look to the next game.”
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said: “Sometimes it’s good to win like this — even though we of course prefer to win by three or four.
“I knew we needed to stay patient and calm. We did that well. It was a good game and a good win.”
Unbeaten at the top of Bundesliga table under Kompany, Bayern have struggled in the Champions League this season despite the barnstorming opener against Zagreb.
A 1-0 loss at Aston Villa and a 4-1 thrashing by a supercharged Barcelona under former Bayern boss Hansi Flick had the six-time European champions flagging in the Champions League’s new single-league format.
With the match delayed by 15 minutes due to public transport issues and with their home fans silent due to a medical emergency in the stands, Bayern struggled.
Bayern captain Manuel Neuer told reporters the side “didn’t celebrate in the cabin like we normally would” due to the incident.
Musiala and Michael Olise dribbled in from either flank but were unable to break through a Benfica side looking to sit deep and take advantage of Bayern’s risky high line on the counter.
The best chance of the opening half fell to Serge Gnabry, who forced a strong save out of Anatoliy Trubin on the half-volley after 38 minutes.
As the game wore on Bayern grew nervous, even if Benfica had few genuine chances as they looked for a first win in their 11th match against the hosts.
Leroy Sane added speed after his substitution and the former Manchester City winger would prove crucial, finding Kane who in turn set up Musiala to break the deadlock with just over 20 minutes remaining.
Bayern’s final match before the international break comes on Saturday in Hamburg against St Pauli.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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