■ENGLAND
Wenger backs Almunia
Arsene Wenger believes Manuel Almunia could be England’s goalkeeper at next year’s World Cup finals in South Africa. The keeper, born in Spain but who will soon be eligible for England under residency rules, was outstanding in the Gunners’ 1-0 Champions League semi-final defeat to Manchester United midweek and Wenger believes his faith in the often-criticized 31-year-old has been vindicated by a display that has ensured Arsenal still have a chance of some silverware this season. “I believe he is not only good enough, but he is the best,” Wenger said of the possibility of Almunia declaring his availability for England. “It is down to what you expect morally and mentally from a national team. I believe at some stage you have to observe just the rules and decide what you want. On the English side, for the national team, it is not so much a problem because if the guy decides to become English, he has had to observe and respect the rules like anybody else. It is more a moral problem maybe for Manuel Almunia, because does he consider he has a chance to play in the Spanish national team or not?”
■GERMANY
Hannover move up to 11th
Hannover 96 won 2-0 at VfL Bochum for their first Bundesliga win on the road this season and all but made sure of avoiding relegation on Friday. Arnold Bruggink and Hanno Balitsch scored in the first half. The win put Hannover in 11th place with 35 points, 10 points away from the relegation zone with four games remaining. Bochum stayed 14th with 28 points, three points above the relegation places. Jacek Krzynowek won the ball and charged down the flank to set up Bruggink with a perfect header in the 12th minute. Bruggink set up the second goal with a corner. With Bochum goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes mistiming his jump, Hanno Balitsch headed in from close range in the 32nd minute.
■MEXICO
Reynoso sorry for gestures
Chivas Guadalajara defender Hector Reynoso apologized on Friday for coughing and making other gestures in an opponent’s face, pretending he wanted to spread swine flu. The Mexican defender coughed several times in the face of Everton’s Sebastian Penco in a Copa Libertadores match on Wednesday. Chivas drew with the Chile club 1-1 to reach the knockout stages of Latin America’s most important club tournament. “I’ve cooled off now, but at the time I reacted and perhaps it wasn’t an appropriate thing that I was doing,” Reynoso said. “I offer my apology to the club and player.”
■ENGLAND
Grieving Defoe to return
England striker Jermain Defoe spoke on Friday about the pain he felt following the death of his half-brother Jade last week, then said he was ready to start playing for Tottenham Hotspur again. Jade died last Friday aged 26 after suffering serious head injuries when he was attacked in east London on April 20. Defoe, also 26, was left out of the Spurs squad for their Premier League match at Manchester United the next day, but was likely to be in the squad for yesterday’s game against West Bromwich Albion at White Hart Lane. He told Tottenham’s Web site: “My mum turned up at the training ground and, because I’m so close to my mum and my family, I knew instantly something was wrong. She didn’t have to say a word, I knew ... I went straight to the hospital. It wasn’t a nice experience, but it was one I’ll never forget. When things like that happen it puts everything else into perspective.”
The qualifying round of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is to be held at the Taipei Dome between Feb. 21 and 25, Major League Baseball (MLB) announced today. Taiwan’s group also includes Spain, Nicaragua and South Africa, with two of the four teams advancing onto the 2026 WBC. Taiwan, currently ranked second in the world in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings, are favorites to come out of the group, the MLB said in an article announcing the matchups. Last year, Taiwan finished in a five-way tie in their group with two wins and two losses, but finished last on tiebreakers after giving
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
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
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
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