Tunisia beat Iraq 3-0 at FIFA U-20 World Cup

Tunisia beat Iraq 3-0 at FIFA U-20 World Cup
Tunisia defeated Iraq 3-0 in the all-Arab clash at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup to keep their second round hopes very much alive. (www.tunisie-foot.com)
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Updated 26 May 2023

Tunisia beat Iraq 3-0 at FIFA U-20 World Cup

Tunisia beat Iraq 3-0 at FIFA U-20 World Cup
  • The result keeps alive North African hopes of progress from group stage, while the Asian qualifier face elimination

Tunisia defeated Iraq 3-0 in the all-Arab clash at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup on Thursday to keep their second round hopes very much alive and leave the losers stunned and looking at early elimination.

Despite the scoreline, Iraq dominated much of the game against the clinical North Africans but two goals in two minutes early in the second half turned the game at La Plata in Argentina on its head.

With one round of matches in Group E remaining, England, who defeated Uruguay 3-2 earlier, have six points from their two games so far and are through to the second round. Uruguay and Tunisia, who meet on Sunday, have three points each.

With the top two from each of the six groups going through along with the four best third-placed teams, there is every chance that the young Carthage Eagles can make it, especially if they are as ruthless as they were here.

With zero points and a minus-seven goal difference after losing 4-0 to Uruguay in the opening game, Iraq, who finished fourth in their last appearance in this tournament back in 2013, are all but out.

After the two teams had lost their opening games, it was not a surprise that the opening stages were cautious and cagey. There were three yellow cards by the midway point of the first half, more than the number of genuine attempts on goal.

Iraq started to get into gear on the half hour as Youssef Amyn made space for himself on the right side of the area before forcing a good save, the first of 10, from Dries Arfaoui. Just two minutes later, Tunisia had the ball in the net as Samy Chouchane swung over a deep free kick that was stabbed home by Mohamed Derbali but he was not the only player who was clearly offside.

The tempo was picking up as Abdulqader Ayoub forced a flying save from Arfaoui with a well-struck shot from outside the area, and after 38 minutes the goalkeeper was diving to his right to push away another dangerous Iraqi effort from Hayder Abdulkarim. Tunisia were relieved to go in at the break on level terms as the Asian team really should have broken the deadlock.

The second half started in the same vein and Iraq came even closer. Amyn’s fierce shot from the right side of the area was pushed onto the post by Arfaoui. It was a fine save but Iraq were starting to turn the screw.

Yet Tunisia opened the scoring 10 minutes after the break as a delightful close range back-flick from Youssef Snana turned home a low-cross from Raed Bouchniba. It was completely against the run of play and by far their best attack.

Two minutes later they scored again as the Iraqi defense fell asleep. Derbali’s cross from the right found Chaim El-Djebeli around the penalty spot, who stretched out a leg to guide the ball into the bottom corner. The men in white, who had been dominant, were stunned.

A sliver of hope was thrown to Iraq with 17 minutes remaining as Tunisian substitute Rayan Nasraoui was sent off for kicking out at Kadhim Raad after the two tangled. It meant more pressure from Iraq and within seconds, Ghaith Ouahabi cleared an Ali Jassim shot off the line.

With six minutes remaining, Tunisia ended the game as a contest after being given a penalty following a Sajjad Mahdi foul. Mahmoud Ghorbel made no mistake from the spot.

It capped a miserable night for Iraq who know that their tournament is all but over as they prepare to face England in the final game. Tunisia will be certain of a place in the second round if they defeat Uruguay and a draw may well be enough to go through as one of the best third-placed teams.


60 Saudi, European football scouts watch Kingdom’s schools league titles

A total of 32 school teams are competing in the Kingdom’s Elite Championship for the Schools Football League for Boys. Supplied
A total of 32 school teams are competing in the Kingdom’s Elite Championship for the Schools Football League for Boys. Supplied
Updated 59 min 8 sec ago

60 Saudi, European football scouts watch Kingdom’s schools league titles

A total of 32 school teams are competing in the Kingdom’s Elite Championship for the Schools Football League for Boys. Supplied
  • Championships highlight young players' skills as 32 teams compete at King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah

RIYADH: Talent scouts from Saudi and European football federations and clubs are among those watching the Kingdom’s Elite Championship for the Schools Football League for Boys as its fourth edition is held in the King Abdullah Sports City stadiums in Jeddah.

A total of 32 school teams are competing in the championships as part the national sports project implemented by the Ministry of Sports in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, to develop school sports and strengthen competition among students.

Talent scouts include a technical team from the Saudi Football Federation headed by Assistant Technical Director for Talent Scouting Affairs Saleh Al-Daoud, Badon Nicholas, Gilles Raphael and Stephen Silent, and a group of scouts affiliated with Saudi clubs.

French club Olympique Lyon; the Portuguese club Benfica; Spanish clubs Osasuna, Zamora, Leganes, Cadiz; the PSA Academy; the Macedonian club Raboten; and the Mexican club Atletico de San Luis have also sent scouts to the championships.

Al-Daoud said that the schools league project is beneficial to Saudi football and its future.

“This huge national cooperative project between the ministries of sports and education is the real beginning for the football player, and it is the real start for every player,” he said.

“The Saudi Football Federation is keen to follow the players through scouts, whether Saudis or foreigners, in the upcoming training gatherings, and this is a great opportunity for the player to prove himself and present all his capabilities."

Al-Daoud thanked Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki Al-Faisal, minister of sports, for his interest and support for the schools league project and added: “The importance of its continuation for the next 10 years to be the main base for supporting clubs and national teams with talents.”

The schools league project management held a workshop in partnership between the ministries of sports and education for coaches of the school teams participating in the championship.

A training course was also held in cooperation with the Saudi Football Association for coaches of school league teams.


Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad to sign Benzema on two-year deal

French forward Karim Benzema. AFP
French forward Karim Benzema. AFP
Updated 25 min 12 sec ago

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad to sign Benzema on two-year deal

French forward Karim Benzema. AFP

Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ittihad have reached an agreement with French striker Karim Benzema to sign him on a two-year deal, Saudi state-run Al-Ekhbariya television station reported on Sunday.
Benzema is set to join Al-Ittihad as a free agent after Real Madrid said earlier in the day that the 35-year-old would leave the LaLiga club after 14 trophy-laden years.
Al-Ekhbariya said Al-Ittihad’s chairman and vice chairman were in Madrid to hammer out a “record deal” with Benzema.


Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final

Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final
Updated 04 June 2023

Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final

Gundogan shapes ‘destiny’ with Manchester City but could still depart after Champions League final
  • The German’s match-winning performance in the FA Cup final could prove his penultimate for Pep Guardiola’s team
  • Teammate John Stones calls his captain an ‘incredible player’ after 2 goals secured a league and cup double for City

It seems somewhat bewildering that the influential Ilkay Gundogan stands on the brink of captaining Manchester City to the greatest season in their 129-year history — and yet could leave for nothing at the end of this month.

As manager Pep Guardiola and teammates urge him to resist the intoxicating beauty of Barcelona and sign a new contract extension, the midfielder may well leave it to fate to sway the outcome of his uncertain future.

Earlier this season, Gundogan told Arab News how he felt “it’s destiny” that he has been a game-changer for the club and helped them rewrite English football’s record books.

“Sooner or later you will be regarded for the good you are doing, not just in football,” said the German, 32.

The precedent was set last season by his two dramatic late goals to inspire City’s 3-2 final-day comeback win over Aston Villa, having been 2-0 down with 14 minutes left, and clinch the Premier League title.

This season too he has shown the ability to affect games with decisive strikes or cunning, controlled performances — he provides calm amid chaos.

On Saturday, Gundogan’s two goals clinched a 2-1 win over Manchester United and an FA Cup and Premier League Double — a second for City in four years.

The first effort was an exquisite right-foot volley into the top corner after 12 seconds — the fastest in the 151-year history of the FA Cup — and then followed by an ugly left-footed finish that bounced past David De Gea.

It was a combination of grace and grit, masterful and yet messy.

These qualities are usually reserved for the sport’s best players, the ones able to define games, and those revered by their fan base and appreciated by their peers.

Gundogan does not have a catchy chant like Bernardo Silva, nor serenaded in the manner of Kevin De Bruyne, but he has been every bit as vital to City’s progress and success since he joined in 2016, while still recovering from a serious knee injury at former club Borussia Dortmund.

He does not covet attention but deserves appreciation for his contribution.

“Exceptional” is how Guardiola described Gundogan, while England defender John Stones added: “What a player. On the big occasion we’ve all seen it, he turns up and scores incredible goals.

“How he dictates everything, he’s an incredible player and incredible person.”

“He’s been incredible for the seven years he’s been here,” said De Bruyne. “In the big moments he steps up. He isn’t afraid and he scores great goals. Definitely, he should sign now.”

No one would begrudge Gundogan financial security for his family with at least a two-year deal, with his next contract also likely to be his final one at an elite European club.

And no one would begrudge him the perfect ending next Saturday either, should City claim victory in Istanbul over Inter Milan in the Champions League final to match the 1999 Treble feat of neighbors United.

“We have a chance to do something special and win the Treble and we do not want to let this opportunity pass us by,” said Gundogan. “I can promise our fans we will do everything we can to win in Istanbul.

“It’s my seventh year now. I’ve never stayed that long at a football club. So that alone shows how much I appreciate the club, how much also I feel appreciated from the fans, my teammates, it’s an absolute joy to be part of this team, to work with Pep and his staff.

“Now we want to crown it with that final. The last game of the season, a very, very special one — maybe the most special so far for us all in our careers — and obviously we want to win it.

“We know it’s going to be a very uncomfortable game, a very uncomfortable opponent. I think it’s going to be tough, but this group of players has shown already we don’t avoid the tough challenges.”

On Saturday, once Bruno Fernandes had rolled home a penalty to cancel out Gundogan’s opener, City rose to the challenge in a tense first Manchester derby cup final.

They withstood late pressure and calmed nerves with the steely defense and resilience that will be required too against Inter, as Stones added: “Our mindset and approach, our courage, was incredible. We’ve crossed this hurdle now and we can dream — hopefully we can do it.”

This Wembley showpiece was a big hurdle for City, tactically and mentally, against a United side also keen to remain the only English side to win a Treble.

But Erik Ten Hag’s side were not aggressive enough, nor able to produce the attacking quality to breach a backline that has conceded just the Fernandes spot-kick in this season’s competition.

The Dutchman said United were “broken” in defeat and he now has a difficult task to fix them.

If there is to be a takeover from Qatar’s Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani or INEOS CEO Sir Jim Ratcliffe, it needs to be quickly finalized by the Glazer family to aid Ten Hag’s summer plans.

It would be wrong to say United are spineless, but they need improvements in the spine of their side, from goalkeeper to striker.

Despite De Gea’s 17 clean sheets that won him the Golden Gloves award for the most in the Premier League, the Spaniard has made notable errors that have put his future under intense scrutiny — and his positioning was suspect for both goals.

Ten Hag said: “In this moment, I don’t want to talk about such issues of criticism because we played all a great season, including David De Gea.

“As a team, we didn’t do the jobs we had to do and if you want to win trophies, details in big games make the difference and it’s hard to accept, but we have to.

“Of course it’s a motivation, you have to feel it in your stomach, it hurts. It has to be fuel.”

Ten Hag will have to stoke United’s fire with new signings and, while Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount is in talks, the caliber of West Ham captain Declan Rice, Tottenham’s Harry Kane or Napoli’s Victor Osimhen should be high on the wish list.

“I have only one plan, that is to improve this club and to improve this team,” added the United boss, whose side finished third in the league and won the League Cup.

“I will fight for it. We have to work — the manager, the staff, the players, to get the progress in.”


Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated

Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated
Updated 04 June 2023

Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated

Mbappe wins record 5th French golden boot, Rennes earn Europa League spot, Auxerre relegated
  • Mbappe celebrated by holding up a shirt with seriously injured backup goalkeeper Sergio Rico’s name on it
  • French champions PSG and second-placed Lens qualified for the group stage of the Champions League next season

PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe won a record fifth straight French golden boot on Saturday while Rennes clinched a Europa League spot and Auxerre were relegated.

Mbappe’s goal in a 3-2 loss to Clermont finished his league tally on 29 and made him the top scorer for the fifth time, tied with French great Jean-Pierre Papin and retired Argentine strikers Carlos Bianchi and Delio Onnis.

French champions PSG and second-placed Lens qualified for the group stage of the Champions League next season and third-placed Marseille earned a spot in the third qualifying round of the lucrative European competition.

Rennes edged Brest 2-1 with first-half goals from Benjamin Bourigeaud to leapfrog Lille into fourth place.

Lille booked a playoff spot for the Europa Conference League after drawing with Troyes 1-1. Bafode Diakite opened the scoring for Lille in the second half and Troyes winger Rony Lopes equalized.

Monaco were third in the previous two seasons but missed out on European football after losing to Toulouse 2-1 to finish sixth. Toulouse substitute Rhys Healey scored the winner in stoppage time. After 34 rounds, Monaco had a five-point lead over Lille and were eight points clear of Rennes. But Monaco collapsed during the run-in with just one point from the last four games.

PSG finished only one point clear of Lens after the home loss to Clermont, which also marked Lionel Messi’s farewell match for the club. Messi was booed before kickoff.

PSG led 2-0 after a header from the departing Sergio Ramos and a penalty from Mbappe. Mbappe celebrated by holding up a shirt with Sergio Rico’s name on it. Rico, the PSG backup goalkeeper, was seriously injured after getting hit by a loose horse in Spain last Sunday.

Clermont leveled before halftime with goals from Johan Gatien and Mehdi Zeffane. Grejohn Kyei scored the winner by converting a cross in the 63rd.

Cameroon forward Ignatius Ganago helped former powerhouse Nantes stay up by netting the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Angers.

Nantes snapped a 14-game winless streak in the league to leapfrog Auxerre into 16th place.

Auxerre lost to Lens 3-1 and will be demoted to the second division alongside Angers, Ajaccio and Troyes. Four teams are relegated because the league will shrink from 20 clubs to 18 next season. Lens midfielder Alexis Claude-Maurice scored twice before Belgium international Lois Openda sealed the win.

Elsewhere, Clement Vidal scored in Ajaccio’s 1-0 win over Marseille.

Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette failed to find the net in a 3-1 loss at Nice, finishing with 27 goals as the second best scorer.

Montpellier beat Reims 3-1. Reims striker Folarin Balogun scored a consolation to raise his tally to 21 in his breakthrough season. Born in New York, Balogun played for England at youth level but opted to play for the United States at senior level in May.

Also Lorient beat Strasbourg 2-1.


Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title

Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title
Updated 03 June 2023

Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title

Nkunku helps Leipzig defend German Cup title
  • A year after scoring a second-half goal which sent the 2022 final to penalties, Nkunku broke the deadlock after 71 minutes
  • "When you win something like this, then you just have to celebrate -- and that's what we'll do," Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer told Germany's ZDF network

BERLIN: A Christopher Nkunku-inspired RB Leipzig won their second straight German Cup title on Saturday, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Berlin.
A year after scoring a second-half goal which sent the 2022 final to penalties, Nkunku broke the deadlock after 71 minutes, his low shot taking a deflection and into the goal against the run of play.
A shellshocked Frankfurt, who had the better of the second half looked to equalize but Leipzig scored again, Dominik Szoboszlai sweeping in an Nkunku pass on the counter.
After featuring in four of the past five German Cup finals, Leipzig’s second title in two years firmly establishes themselves alongside Borussia Dortmund as challengers to Bayern Munich’s throne.
“When you win something like this, then you just have to celebrate — and that’s what we’ll do,” Leipzig midfielder Konrad Laimer told Germany’s ZDF network.
Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode said Nkunku’s goal was the turning point, telling ZDF “we just didn’t have the power in behind” after the strike.
The victory spoiled Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner’s farewell, with the Austrian leaving the club at the end of the season, one year after taking them to the Europa League title.
Despite the victory, the immediate future is uncertain for Leipzig, who could lose several stars including Nkunku, Szoboszlai and Laimer in the summer.
Sporting director Max Eberl confirmed a possible exit for Nkunku, telling German TV “it could be” the France striker’s last match for Leipzig.
Pre-game, the match had been billed as a clash of conflicting ideologies in German football.
In one corner, nouveau riche Leipzig, playing in just their 14th season, against the tradition of Frankfurt, one of only four clubs remaining from the first Bundesliga season in 1963-64 guaranteed to play in next year’s top division.
The Frankfurt stadium announcer played into the conflict just before kickoff, saying “tradition can’t be bought,” a direct jab at the Red Bull-owned Leipzig.
Unbeaten in their last 11 cup games, Leipzig burst out of the blocks, Werner latching onto a Dominik Szoboszlai pass just four minutes in before blasting straight at the ‘keeper.
Leipzig dominated possession but Frankfurt caused problems on the counter, France striker Kolo Muani probing a defense missing the commanding presence of the suspended Josko Gvardiol.
The best chance of the first half fell to Nkunku in the shadows of halftime, the France striker cannoning the ball into the side netting past the outstretched fingers of Frankfurt goalie Kevin Trapp.
Fresh from extending his deal in Frankfurt by one year until 2026 on Friday, 2014 World Cup winner Goetze grabbed control of the game early in the second stanza.
The veteran of four German Cup final wins, two with Dortmund and two with Bayern, put Kolo Muani through on goal with a perfect threaded path before forcing a desperate close range save from Janis Blaswich.
With a Frankfurt opener looking likely, Leipzig scored against the run of play, Nkunku’s shot from the edge of the box taking a sharp deflection of defender Evan Ndicka and into the net.
Frankfurt made multiple changes pushing for an equalizer but Leipzig scored again, Szoboszlai hammering in after a sweeping counterattack with five minutes remaining to seal the win.