■SPAIN
Athletic Bilbao advance
Athletic Bilbao beat Osasuna 2-0 and 3-1 on aggregate to advance to the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday. Athletic, 23-time winners of the Spanish cup competition, will next play Sporting Gijon. In other first legs next Wednesday, Spanish league leaders Barcelona play at crosstown rival Espanyol, defending champions Valencia welcome 2007 winners Sevilla, and Mallorca host Real Betis. The return legs will be played on Jan. 28. Real Betis beat Real Union and Espanyol defeated Polideportivo El Ejido on Wednesday to ensure that only topflight clubs reached the last eight. Union and El Ejido both play in the third division.
■WORLD CUP
FIFA opens bidding
FIFA on Thursday formally opened the bidding process to stage the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. FIFA has set a Feb. 2 deadline for potential hosts to register their interest at the start of a two-year process combining the bidding for both tournaments. The two hosts will be chosen by FIFA’s 24-man executive committee in December next year. Candidates must provide around 12 stadiums holding at least 40,000 fans for group matches, with one stadium of at least 80,000 capacity to stage the opening match and final.
■ENGLAND
Newcastle give up on Neill
Newcastle boss Joe Kinnear was thwarted in his bid to sign Australian international Lucas Neill on Thursday after West Ham insisted they were determined to keep the full-back at Upton Park. The Hammers said they were furious with reports of struggling Newcastle’s interest. “West Ham would like to make it clear that Lucas Neill is a contracted West Ham United player and that we have received no approach from any club for his services, including Newcastle United,” said a statement on the club Web site. “We are astonished by reports that a Premier League manager has claimed contact with one of our players.” Newcastle said they had ended their interest in pursuing the 30-year-old Australian. “With regards to Lucas Neill, West Ham United have made it clear he is a player they value as a highly important member of their squad and who they have no desire to sell,” a spokesman said. “Newcastle United respect West Ham’s position and will therefore not be pursing this matter.”
■VIETNAM
Thais become Vietnamese
Authorities in Vietnam have granted citizenship to two Thai players, opening up the roster for additional foreign players for the club owned by Vietnam’s richest man, a club official said yesterday. The Ministry of Justice has given the green light for defender Nirut Surasiang, 29, and midfielder Sakda Jermdee, 26, to obtain Vietnamese nationality, said Huynh Mau, managing director of Hoang Anh Gia Lai club. Both former Thai national team players joined the topflight V-League club in 2003. The move will open up more playing opportunities for other foreign players, only three of whom are allowed on the field at a time. The club, which finished seventh in the 14-club V-League last season, is owned by Doan Nguyen Duc, reputed to be Vietnam’s wealthiest man, with a fortune of US$350 million. The club now has four other foreign players, including Thai national team player Datsakorn Thonglao and three Brazilians. Vietnam has allowed foreign players to play for local teams since 2000. Currently, there are more than 100 foreign players, most from Africa and Eastern Europe, playing in the V-League and first division.
Tallon Griekspoor on Friday stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year. Zverev, the world No. 2 who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017. It was a cherished win for Griekspoor, who had lost five straight matches — including four last year — to the German. That included a five-setter
Five-time champion Novak Djokovic on Saturday tumbled out of the Indian Wells ATP Masters, falling in his first match to lucky loser Botic van de Zandschulp as two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz advanced. “No excuses for a poor performance,” 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic said after 37 unforced errors in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 defeat. “It doesn’t feel great when you play this way on the court,” he said. “But congratulations to my opponent — just a bad day in the office, I guess, for me.” Djokovic is just the latest in Van de Zandschulp’s string of superstar victims. He
Manchester United on Thursday settled for a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie. United led on Joshua Zirkzee’s goal in the 58th minute, but the hosts equalized 12 minutes later after Bruno Fernandes’ hand ball and Mikel Oyarzabal sent Andre Onana the wrong way from the penalty spot. The Europa League could be a way for United to finish the season with a trophy after crashing out of the FA Cup on Sunday. A spot in the quarter-finals is to be on the line at Old Trafford in the second leg on Thursday next
Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday held their nerve to beat Liverpool 4-1 on penalties and reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals after their tie finished one-apiece on aggregate, while Bayern Munich saw off Bayer 04 Leverkusen to complete a 5-0 win over both legs. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha fired Barcelona into the next round as the Catalans bested SL Benfica 3-1, and Inter booked a last-eight meeting with Bayern by seeing off Feyenoord 2-1. At Anfield, Ousmane Dembele netted the only goal of the night as PSG bounced back from Liverpool’s late winner last week to force the tie to extra-time and penalties. Maligned
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