5 things we learned from Al-Hilal’s draw with Red Bull Salzburg at FIFA Club World Cup

 5 things we learned from Al-Hilal’s draw with Red Bull Salzburg at FIFA Club World Cup
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Updated 23 June 2025
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5 things we learned from Al-Hilal’s draw with Red Bull Salzburg at FIFA Club World Cup

 5 things we learned from Al-Hilal’s draw with Red Bull Salzburg at FIFA Club World Cup
  • Frustration for Inzaghi, goalscoring issues and another goalkeeping masterclass from Yassine Bounou

DC: Al-Hilal dominated Red Bull Salzburg on Sunday night in the second group match of the FIFA Club World Cup. The match was played at Audi Field, a mere three kilometres south of the White House in Washington, D.C.

Yet while they ultimately failed to capitalise on possession, they could even have lost were it not for another superb performance from stand-out Yassine Bounou in goal.

The 0-0 draw means no team from Group H has yet confirmed their place in the Round of 16, but with Hilal facing bottom-placed CF Pachuca on Thursday and Salzburg facing Real Madrid, the Riyadh club will be quietly confident of progressing, as long as they can find the net.

Another draw and frustration for Inzaghi, but all is not lost

New coach Simone Inzaghi knew his Al-Hilal team could not afford to lose if they were to stand any chance of progressing to the knock-out stages of this revamped 32-team tournament. The Italian went as far as to publicly say that anything less than victory would void all that was achieved against Real Madrid on Wednesday. A stalemate then against Salzburg — with strong emphasis on the word “stale” — did little to clarify who might progress to the Round of 16. Inzaghi, however, must surely be privately if not publicly the happier of the two coaches. 

It was the fifth scoreless draw of the tournament so far, but it means Inzaghi’s side are alive going into the final Group H match with Mexico’s CF Pachuca. Now in third place with two points, the 2021 AFC Asian Champions League winners will progress should they win in Nashville by two clear goals. Madrid and Salzburg, tied on four points, will face off in Philadelphia with the Spanish giants’ plus-two goal difference giving them an edge should they draw.

Issues in attack continue

Inzaghi will be keen to sharpen his attack before Thursday. Hilal failed to fire against an Austrian side that conceded 27 goals in just eight games during this season’s revamped UEFA Champions League group stage. Yes, Aleksandar Mitrovic is missing, but Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo has scored 25 in 40 for the Riyadh club since joining last September. Getting the former Santos and Benfica forward firing will be key. Leonardo had Hilal’s best chance against Salzburg, but his shot was blocked by Jacob Rasmussen. 

This is the second successive match where Hilal have dominated possession, but struggled in front of goal. Brazilian Malcom and captain Salem Al-Dawsari combined to score 39 goals and claim 35 assists in all competitions last season, but it is now close to 200 minutes in the United States without the team bulging the net from open play. Against Salzburg in the heat, that drought rarely looked like ending. For all the possession and 18 shots at goal, they managed only four on target, only one from inside the penalty area, and none truly troubled Christian Zawieschitzky.

“It is natural for us to be unhappy about not scoring goals,” Inzaghi said. “This is a crucial match, and we put in a lot of effort, and we are working on improving and developing our performance as a team. We have only worked together for a week. I had a week in Saudi Arabia, and we have been in America for 10 days now. I am happy and convinced with all the decisions I have made.”

‘Bono’ stars again

While Inzaghi will be quietly content that his new charges can still progress, he must be thankful once again to goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, because despite Hilal’s dominance, only the Moroccan stopper prevented a tournament-ending defeat. Man of the match against Madrid, he replicated the feat in Washington with impressive saves from captain Mads Bidstrup and Karim Onisiwo, before saving his best for early in the second half. 

When Ghanaian striker Edmund Baidoo’s shot fell at the feet of substitute John Mellberg, the son of former Juventus midfielder Olof must have thought he would open the scoring with practically his first touch. His first-time drive from just a few yards out though was somehow repelled at point-blank range by Bounou before the loose follow-up was cleared off the line by Kalidou Koulibaly. It seemed like desperate defending, but it retained a clean sheet and ultimately secured a point.

Neves pulls strings and plays defence

Ruben Neves, who scored from the spot against Madrid, again showed his importance to the Riyadh club. The Portuguese midfielder expertly connected defence with attack, spraying passes wide to the likes of Al-Dawsari, Renan Lodi, Malcom, and Joao Cancelo. With nobody able to capitalise on the Portuguese playmaker’s distribution — including a first-half corner from which Sergej Milinkovic-Savic should have tested Zawieschitzky — Neves’s most important play arguably came early in the second half.

Samson Baidoo broke through and was ready to open the scoring before Neves showed he is more than just a clever passer, demonstrating surprising pace and a perfectly timed challenge to block the shot. When Hassan Al-Tambakti was forced off through injury, it was Neves who was dropped into the centre of defence alongside Koulibaly.

Inzaghi said post-match that while he believes Al-Tambakti just needs rest, he is happy with his defensive options in Ali Lajami and Khalifa Al-Dawsari for the next match should he not recover in time.

Heat a real hindrance

With the match described by some pundits as the most boring of the tournament so far, the temperatures certainly did not help. Kicking off at 6pm with the temperature at 32°C — and feeling much hotter — the intensity levels dropped the longer the game went on. In the hydration breaks players covered their heads and necks with cold towels, while others sought short refuge in the shade. 

The Salzburg side that looked so energetic and dangerous against Pachuca failed to turn up. With 25 minutes remaining, the Austrians’ coach, Thomas Letsch, removed Karim Onisiwo and Oscar Gloukh — his two goalscorers in the 2-1 win over Pachuca. If the move was supposed to reinvigorate the Salzburg attack, it fell flat. Hilal meanwhile looked leggy, which could be why the only efforts of note came from distance — Milinkovic-Savic and Joao Cancelo forcing comfortable saves from Zawieschitzky.

“One point is still OK,” Milinkovic-Savic told DAZN at full-time. “We did a lot of things nice. It was just missing the goal. We created, kept the ball, and defended well, so I’m happy. Let’s go to the last game — we need to win.”

Hilal’s final match is in Nashville with an 8pm local time kick-off, which will hopefully bring a little respite from the soaring temperatures. 


Mitch Evans wins in Berlin, Rowland’s Formula E title bid on hold

Mitch Evans wins in Berlin, Rowland’s Formula E title bid on hold
Updated 24 sec ago
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Mitch Evans wins in Berlin, Rowland’s Formula E title bid on hold

Mitch Evans wins in Berlin, Rowland’s Formula E title bid on hold
  • Rowland would have been champion with three races to spare had he finished 69 points clear of closest rival Pascal Wehrlein but instead he retired

BERLIN: Jaguar's Mitch Evans won the first of two Formula E races in Berlin on Saturday as Nissan's Oliver Rowland failed to finish on a grey and soggy afternoon that left the Briton's title bid on hold for another day at least.

Rowland would have been champion with three races to spare had he finished 69 points clear of closest rival Pascal Wehrlein but instead he retired with a damaged car and his lead reduced to 50.

It was the leader's first retirement of the season.

Porsche's Wehrlein, the defending champion from Germany, finished second with a bonus point for fastest lap at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport circuit and Mahindra's Swiss driver Edoardo Mortara was third for his second successive podium.

Rowland can still clinch the title on Sunday if he finishes 59 points clear of Wehrlein, otherwise the chase continues to the final two races in London at the end of the month.

There are still 87 points to be won.

Rowland slipped from third to fifth at the start, with the safety car deployed after Jake Dennis's Andretti was stranded on the grid, but the key moment came six laps from the end when he made contact with Stoffel Van Doorne's Maserati and spun around.

The impact damaged the car's right front suspension and Rowland had to stop.

The win, from pole position and through two safety car periods, was New Zealander Evans's second of the season and the record-equalling 14th of his career as well as Jaguar's 50th podium in Formula E.

McLaren's Taylor Barnard finished fourth and moved up to third in the championship, 68 points behind Rowland.

In the teams' championship, Porsche -- who had Antonio Felix da Costa demoted from third to 10th thanks to a five-second penalty for an overly-aggressive move -- have 221 points to Nissan's 191 and DS Penske on 153.


Bosnian center Kenan Kamenjaš joins Dubai Basketball

Bosnian center Kenan Kamenjaš joins Dubai Basketball
Updated 12 July 2025
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Bosnian center Kenan Kamenjaš joins Dubai Basketball

Bosnian center Kenan Kamenjaš joins Dubai Basketball
  • The 25-year-old signs two-year deal ahead of 2025-26 EuroLeague

DUBAI: Dubai Basketball have secured Bosnian centre Kenan Kamenjaš on a two-year deal, adding one of the ABA League’s most promising talents to their roster ahead of the club’s debut EuroLeague campaign.

Standing at 2.07m, the 25-year-old will step onto Europe’s biggest basketball stage for the first time as he joins Dubai Basketball in their historic effort to compete among the world’s elite.

The Bosnian center arrives from Budućnost VOLI, where he made a strong impact on the paint. He began the 2023-24 season with SC Derby before joining Budućnost, averaging 13.2 points and 8.3 rebounds across both stints.

In the 2024-25 campaign, Kamenjaš continued to impress, posting 11.8 points and 7.4 rebounds per game, with a Performance Index Rating of 17.8. He also stood out in the EuroCup, where he contributed 10.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Kamenjaš was also a pivotal part of the team that delivered one of Dubai Basketball’s only away-game losses in the ABA League regular season.

Having contributed to 39 games for the Montenegrin team last season, Kamenjaš is looking to bring a new wave of offensive basketball to Dubai.

Prior to his time in Podgorica, Kamenjaš rose through the ranks at Spars Sarajevo, debuting professionally in 2017 and steadily establishing himself as one of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s brightest talents. A consistent figure in his national team, Kamenjaš has featured in FIBA Basketball World Cup and EuroBasket qualifiers, adding valuable international experience to his growing resumé.

Dubai Basketball enter the EuroLeague this season with the ambition of challenging the best teams in Europe, after finishing third in their inaugural ABA League campaign.


Pakistan won’t send hockey teams to India — official sources

Pakistan won’t send hockey teams to India — official sources
Updated 12 July 2025
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Pakistan won’t send hockey teams to India — official sources

Pakistan won’t send hockey teams to India — official sources
  • The two nuclear-armed states had a four-day military standoff in May that left 70 people dead
  • Pakistan’s refusal to participate in the Asia Cup can cost the team a place in next year’s World Cup

KARACHI: Pakistan will not travel to India for upcoming hockey tournaments over “security” concerns, government sources told AFP on Saturday, potentially jeopardizing their place in next year’s World Cup.

The nuclear-armed neighbors traded the worst violence in decades during a four-day conflict in May that killed 70 people.

Pakistan was due to participate in the Men’s Asia Cup for field hockey to be hosted by India in August and September, for which the federation had sought the government’s clearance.

“After the recent war the security and safety of our hockey players will be at risk,” said a sports ministry source, who asked not to be identified.

Pakistan will also not participate in the Junior World Cup in India in November, the source said.

Once a force in international hockey, with three Olympic gold medals and four world titles, Pakistan has slumped to 15th in the rankings.

Not featuring in the Asia Cup will likely cost Pakistan a place in next year’s senior World Cup to be held in the Netherlands and Belgium.

A second government source also confirmed the decision to AFP.

Pakistan’s foreign office has not responded to AFP’s request for comment.

India stalled all bilateral sporting ties with Pakistan in the wake of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which it blamed on militants based across the border.

Cricket has been the most affected sport, with the two countries only meeting each other in multinational events abroad.

India refused to visit Pakistan this year when it hosted the Champions Trophy, forcing the final to be staged on neutral ground in Dubai.

In a tit-for-tat move, Pakistan will also not send its women’s cricket team to India for the 50-over World Cup later this year and the T20 World Cup in 2026.

They agreed instead to play their matches in Sri Lanka.

Pakistan’s hockey team last toured India for the 2023 Asian Champions Trophy, finishing fifth among six teams.


Swiatek and Anisimova battle to be new queen of Wimbledon

Swiatek and Anisimova battle to be new queen of Wimbledon
Updated 12 July 2025
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Swiatek and Anisimova battle to be new queen of Wimbledon

Swiatek and Anisimova battle to be new queen of Wimbledon
  • Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek had previously never gone beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club
  • No player has retained the crown since the now-retired Serena Williams won her seventh and final Wimbledon title in 2016

LONDON: Iga Swiatek and Amanda Anisimova clash in the Wimbledon final on Saturday with a new women’s champion guaranteed for the eighth consecutive year.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek had previously never gone beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club while US 13th seed Anisimova is preparing for her first major final.

No player has retained the crown since the now-retired Serena Williams won her seventh and final Wimbledon title in 2016.

Aryna Sabalenka started as the hot favorite after reaching the past three Grand Slam finals but faltered in a gripping semifinal against Anisimova.

Poland’s Swiatek is seeded eighth at Wimbledon following a disappointing first half of the season, though she is back up to fourth in the rankings after reaching the final of the grass-court Bad Homburg tournament.

That run, together with her surge through the draw at All England Club, suggests the 24-year-old is cured of her grass-court allergy.

Initially she went under the radar at Wimbledon, with the focus on Sabalenka and French Open champion Coco Gauff, but she kept winning while the top seeds tumbled, dropping just one set on route to the final.

Swiatek brushed aside former Olympic champion Belinda Bencic 6-2, 6-0 in Thursday’s semifinal.

Four of her five Grand Slam titles have come on the clay of Roland Garros and she won the 2022 US Open on hard courts.

But she is finally showing an affinity with the lawns of Wimbledon, a development that has shocked even her.

“Honestly, I never even dreamed that it’s going to be possible for me to play in the final,” Swiatek said.

“So I’m just super-excited and proud of myself and, I don’t know, tennis keeps surprising me.

“I’ve been enjoying just this new feeling of being a bit more comfortable on grass.”

Swiatek has won all five of her Grand Slam finals, but standing in the way of a sixth major title and a cheque for $4 million (£3 million) is Anisimova.

The 23-year-old American shattered Sabalenka’s title bid with a shock 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win on Thursday.

Anisimova has overcome many obstacles to make her maiden Grand Slam final.

She reached the French Open semifinals in 2019 at the age of just 17.

But in 2023 she took an eight-month break from the court for mental health reasons, tumbling out the top 400.

This time last year, she was on the comeback trail but was ranked too low to get into the Wimbledon main draw and fell in qualifying.

“If you told me I would be in the final of Wimbledon, I would not believe you. It’s indescribable to be honest,” she said.

Anisimova, whose parents emigrated from Russia in the 1990s, added: “I think it goes to show that it is possible.

“I think that’s a really special message that I think I’ve been able to show because when I took my break, a lot of people told me that you would never make it to the top again if you take so much time away from the game.”

Anisimova won the Qatar Open in February and showed she was comfortable on grass by reaching the Queen’s Club final in June.

She is guaranteed to reach the top 10 for the first time when the rankings are updated on Monday.

The two players have never met professionally, though they did face each other as juniors, with Swiatek coming out on top.

“I did lose that match against her, unfortunately,” said Anisimova. “I remember a lot of coaches were saying that she’s going to be a big deal one day. Obviously they were right.

“I’m sure it will be an amazing match. Getting to compete against an unbelievable player again is going to be super special.”


Five players, three teams tied for lead at LIV Golf Andalucía

Five players, three teams tied for lead at LIV Golf Andalucía
Updated 12 July 2025
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Five players, three teams tied for lead at LIV Golf Andalucía

Five players, three teams tied for lead at LIV Golf Andalucía
  • Severe winds led to suspension of play at Real Club Valderrama

SAN ROQUE: With his Australian heritage and Open Championship pedigree, Ripper GC Captain Cameron Smith knows a thing or two about playing golf in blustery conditions.

Rarely has he experienced an afternoon like Friday’s first round of LIV Golf Andalucía at Real Club Valderrama.

Severe winds reduced scoring opportunities and eventually forced a suspension of play due to unplayable conditions — the first time in league history that a round could not be completed in a single day.

“You can play this golf course with no wind and it’s brutal,” Smith said. “When you get 30 mile-an-hour gusts, it’s definitely not an easy place to get around.”

Play was set to resume on Saturday, with players having between three and five holes remaining in their opening rounds.

Smith was one of just five players under par when the horn blew to suspend play. He shares the overnight lead at 1 under with Smash GC’s Talor Gooch, the individual winner at Valderrama in 2023; Majesticks GC Co-Captain Lee Westwood; Stinger GC’s Branden Grace and Torque GC Captain Joaquin Niemann, the current Individual points leader seeking his fifth win of the season.

Crushers GC Captain Bryson DeChambeau and Legion XIII Captain Jon Rahm are one stroke back — the only other players who did not leave the course Friday over par.

The Crushers, seeking their fourth consecutive team title, are tied for first with Legion XIII and Brooks Koepka’s Smash GC on the team leaderboard at 5 over.

Friday’s round started under breezy but manageable conditions, but the wind speed increased throughout the afternoon as the direction changed.

At 5:07 p.m. local time, just over four hours after the shotgun start, the horn blew. Tournament officials were hopeful for a resumption, but the forecast was not favorable and included the potential of dangerous conditions.

“Terribly unfortunate situation to be in for anybody out here,” said Brad Ullman, vice president, rules, at LIV Golf. “These Poniente winds of southern Spain are no joke.”

From a competition standpoint, the biggest issues came on the greens. A combination of dry putting surfaces and high-impact wind gusts prevented putts from stopping and golf balls from remaining still at address. At the most exposed parts of the course, particularly the greens on the 11th and 14th holes, putting was near-impossible.

“Ultimately the balls were moving a little bit too much for our liking,” Ullman said. “It was the right thing to bring them off the golf course.”

No surprise that Niemann, who has won every event this season on even-numbered weeks, is among the leaders on the 10th event of the 2025 schedule. He birdied his third hole of the day, the par-5 fourth, and made par on his other 14 holes — the only player without a bogey on Friday.

Westwood, who last week won a final qualifying tournament to earn exemption into next week’s Open, was the early leader after birdies in four of his first seven holes. A double bogey derailed his momentum, but he finished the day with four consecutive pars.

Gooch has good vibes at Valderrama, having won LIV Golf Andalucía in 2023 en route to the Individual Championship. He endured a rollercoaster seven-hole stretch that included three birdies and three bogeys, then ended his round by knocking his approach shot to 2 feet at the par-4 10th to end with a birdie.

Grace, battling the potential of relegation for the second consecutive season, is on pace for his best first-round position this season. He was a bogey-free 1 under through his first 10 holes and then responded to his two bogeys with two birdies.

Smith was bogey-free through his first 13 holes and leading by three shots at 4 under. It was one of his best stretches of golf this year, but it ended with a double bogey and bogey before play ended.

“It’s easy to feel frustrated, particularly when I doubled 15 and then bogeyed 16 as well,” Smith said. “I was trotting along pretty good before that.

“But it’s golf. Golf isn’t fair, at the end of the day. Were the conditions fair? Probably not for a little bit, but it is what it is. We’ll get on with it. I’m sure we’ll make a good tournament out of it.”

 
TEAM SCORES
LIV Golf’s new scoring format this season involves all four scores now counting in every round in the team competition. (Click here for more on the new format). Here are the partial scores with play suspended late in Friday’s Rd. 1 of LIV Golf Andalucía:

T1. SMASH GC +5 (Gooch -1, Kokrak +1, McDowell +2, Koepka +3)

T1. CRUSHERS GC +5 (DeChambeau E, Casey +1, Howell III +2, Lahiri +2)

T1. LEGION XIII +5 (Rahm E, Hatton +1, Surratt +1, McKibbin +3)

4. 4ACES GC +8 (Reed +1, Johnson +2, Pieters +2, Varner III +3)

T5. HYFLYERS GC +9 (Mickelson +1, Tringale +2, Ogletree +3, Steele +3)

T5. MAJESTICKS GC +9 (Westwood -1, Poulter +1, Horsfield +4, Stenson +5)

 7. CLEEKS GC +10 (Bland +1, Meronk +1, Kaymer +4, Kjettrup +4)

T8. RIPPER GC +11 (Smith -1, Jones +2, Leishman +4, Herbert +6)

T8. RANGEGOATS GC +11 (Watson +1, Campbell +2, Uihlein +3, Masaveu +5)

T8. FIREBALLS GC +11 (Ancer +2, Garcia +2, Ballester +3, Puig +4)

11. TORQUE GC +14 (Niemann +1, Muñoz +3, Pereira +4, Ortiz +8)

12. STINGER GC +15 (Grace -1, Oosthuizen +5, Schwartzel +5, Burmester +6)

13. IRON HEADS GC +16 (Kozuma +2, Na +2, Jang +5, Lee +7)

Wild Cards: C. Lee +2, Kim +6