■ ENGLAND
Wolves go six points clear
Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Mick McCarthy insisted his players would not get carried away despite extending their lead at the top of the English Championship to six points. Wolves’ 2-0 win over Burnley at Molineux on Saturday combined with Birmingham City’s solitary point away at Nottingham Forest put McCarthy’s men in pole position for a return to the Premier League after a five-year absence. But former Republic of Ireland coach McCarthy is determined not to let his team rest on their laurels. “We didn’t get carried away when we lost three and we are not getting carried away now we have won a few,” McCarthy said. “You just keep trying to win games. We work for each other.”
■BRAZIL
Sao Paulo leave it late
Sao Paulo twice lost the lead before scoring a late winner to beat Portuguesa 3-2 and stay top of the Brazilian championship on Saturday. Attempting to win the title for the third year in a row, Sao Paulo lead with 65 points from 34 games. Borges gave Sao Paulo an eighth minute lead when he snapped up a rebound after Gottardi failed to hold Jorge Wagner’s free-kick. Jonas equalized with a classy finish from the edge of the penalty area in the 42nd minute, only for Borges to put Sao Paulo back in front in first-half stoppage time following a one-two with Dagoberto. Jonas replied again in the 73rd minute, heading in Heverton’s cross at the far post, but the visitors snatched victory in the 89th minute when Ze Luis headed in a corner at the near post.
■NETHERLANDS
NEC defeat PSV, go fifth
Peter Wisgerhof’s first-half goal was enough to give NEC Nijmegen a 1-0 win over PSV Eindoven in the Dutch League on Saturday. Wisgerhof collected Bas Sibum’s pass to score the winner in the 12th minute, moving NEC up to fifth place with 18 points. PSV stayed fourth with 18 points, four behind leaders NAC Breda, who beat De Graafschap 2-0 on Friday to return to the top of the league standings. In Saturday’s other games, Said Boutahar scored in the 28th minute and 74th minute in Willem II’s 2-1 win over struggling Roda JC, while Heracles Almelo drew 0-0 against Vitesse Arnhem.
■GREECE
PAOK beat Panionios, go top
Vladan Ivic and Zlatan Muslimovic scored on Saturday to help PAOK beat Panionios 2-0 in the Greek league. PAOK lead the standings with 19 points alongside Olympiakos. Ivic gave PAOK the lead from the penalty spot in the 36th minute and Muslimovic doubled the lead in the 90th minute with his fifth goal of the season. Xanthi drew 1-1 at home with AEK Athens to drop from second to third place with 18 points and OFI won 2-1 at Panserraikos. Dorival scored with a 35m shot in the 35th minute to give Xanthi the lead, but Ismael Blanco equalized for AEK with a shot off a cross from Martin Scocco in the 62nd minute.
■TUNISIA
Etoile Sahel force a draw
Etoile Sahel are favorites to lift the African Confederation Cup after forcing a 0-0 draw at title holders CS Sfaxien on Saturday in the first-leg of an all-Tunisian final. The visitors had the best chance to break the deadlock during the first half, when Nigeria-born striker Emeka Opara broke clear only to be denied by goalkeeper Jassem Khaloufi. Sfaxien managed to create several clear cut scoring chances during the second half, but an Etoile team playing only their second match under caretaker French coach Herve Gauthier survived.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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