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Spain stays No.1 in world
European champions Spain held their No. 1 status on Wednesday in the latest FIFA world rankings. European nations dominate the rankings, with world champions Italy up one place to second as Euro 2008 runners-up Germany dropped to third. The Netherlands and Croatia remained at four and five in front of the top South Americans: Brazil and Argentina at six and seven. Turkey climbed three places to make the top 10, replacing fellow Euro 2008 semi-finalists Russia — down two to No. 12. Cameroon are the leading African nation, climbing one place to No. 14 in a swap with England. Mexico made the biggest move among the leading nations, rising eight places to No. 24 to take over from the US, which is up three at No. 28. Japan continued to lead the Asian Confederation at No. 35, while New Caledonia — up 21 places to No. 95 — replaced No. 111 New Zealand as the best of the Oceania nations. Other major movers include Gabon, up 12 to No. 62; Algeria rising 14 to No. 76; and Trinidad & Tobago up 12 to No. 80.
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Mafia linked to violence
The hooliganism that marred Napoli’s Serie A opener at AS Roma last weekend may have been orchestrated by the Naples Mafia, the Camorra, Italy’s police chief Antonio Manganelli said on Wednesday. “We have reason to believe that there was the influence of organized crime behind the incidents provoked by the Neapolitan fans,” Manganelli was quoted as saying by the ANSA news agency. “It’s no coincidence that this investigation has been entrusted to the DDA [District Anti-Mafia Department].” The ticketless fans fought with police and railway workers before effectively occupying a train in Naples. After they refused to get off, police advised regular passengers to disembark and take other trains. There were also scuffles outside Rome’s Olympic stadium between police and Napoli fans and more incidents on the supporters’ return journey after the match.
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Robinho arrives in chopper
Robinho turned up for training with Brazil in a helicopter on Wednesday following his transfer deadline-beating move to Manchester City. Brazil, away to Chile in a World Cup qualifier on Sunday, began training on Tuesday but Robinho was given permission to join up a day late after sealing a move to the English Premier League club just before the close of the transfer window. “I didn’t want to arrive by helicopter because people will say that I’m getting carried away with success, but there was no other way,” he told reporters at Brazil’s mountain retreat in Teresopolis, some 100km from Rio de Janeiro. “Otherwise, I would have been late for training.”
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Rain ruins Cardiff ODI
England were denied the chance to climb to second in the one-day international rankings when the fifth and final match of the series against South Africa was abandoned after only three overs on Wednesday. Kevin Pietersen’s men were already four up in the series and a 5-0 whitewash would have lifted them from third to second in the world behind Australia. After England won the toss and elected to bowl, South Africa reached 6 for 1 with Herschelle Gibbs falling for 3 to a diving catch by wicketkeeper Matt Prior off Stuart Broad. Intermittent downpours then ruled out any further play.
North Korea’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup-winning team on Saturday received a heroes’ welcome back in the capital, Pyongyang, with hundreds of people on the streets to celebrate their success. They had defeated Spain on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the U17 World Cup final in the Dominican Republic on Nov. 3. It was the second global title in two months for secretive North Korea — largely closed off to the outside world; they also lifted the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in September. Officials and players’ families gathered at Pyongyang International Airport to wave flowers and North Korea flags as the
Taiwan’s top table tennis player Lin Yun-ju made his debut in the US professional table tennis scene by taking on a new role as a team’s co-owner. On Wednesday, Major League Table Tennis (MLTT), founded in September last year, announced on its official Web site that Lin had become part of the ownership group of the Princeton Revolution, one of the league’s eight teams. MLTT chief executive officer Flint Lane described Lin’s investment as “another great milestone for table tennis in America,” saying that the league’s “commitment to growth and innovation is drawing attention from the best in the sport, and we’re
Coco Gauff of the US on Friday defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 to set up a showdown with Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen in the final of the WTA Finals, while in the doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching was eliminated. Gauff generated six break points to Belarusian Sabalenka’s four and built on early momentum in the opening set’s tiebreak that she carried through to the second set. She is the youngest player at 20 to make the final at the WTA Finals since Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in 2010. Zheng earlier defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 to book
For King Faisal, a 20-year-old winger from Ghana, the invitation to move to Brazil to play soccer “was a dream.” “I believed when I came here, it would help me change the life of my family and many other people,” he said in Sao Paulo. For the past year and a half, he has been playing on the under-20s squad for Sao Paulo FC, one of South America’s most prominent clubs. He and a small number of other Africans are tearing across pitches in a country known as the biggest producer and exporter of soccer stars in the world, from Pele to Neymar. For
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