■MEXICO
Players looking for Cup win
Mexico’s players are united in their belief that the team must win next month’s Gold Cup in the US to win back the respect of fans after coach Javier Aguirre named his 23-man squad for the tournament on Sunday. Aguirre’s squad for friendlies in the US against Venezuela on June 24 and Guatemala four days later, as well as the July 3 to July 26 Gold Cup has a strong local feel, with only England-based Carlos Vela and Giovani dos Santos not playing for Mexican clubs. “It’s our obligation, without doubt, to think of winning it [the Gold Cup] to recover the respect and confidence of the people, so they believe again in the national team,” defender Ismael Rodriguez told a news conference.
■SOUTH AFRICA
Brazilians robbed at Cup
Brazil became the second nation at the Confederations Cup to say it has been robbed. Brazil coach Dunga said on Sunday members of the team’s delegation were robbed at the hotel they are staying in. Dunga did not elaborate, but team spokesman Rodrigo Paiva said “a jacket and some money” disappeared from some of the rooms at the Centurion Lake hotel, just outside Pretoria. They think it happened when the team went to a safari on Friday and Paiva said Brazil contacted authorities about the incident. Paiva said two rooms were apparently robbed, including that of fullback Kleber and a team physiotherapist. They don’t think anything was taken from other players and team members. The alleged robbery comes just days after five Egyptian players said their Johannesburg hotel rooms were burgled while they were beating Italy on Thursday at Ellis Park.
■SPAIN
Laporta wants Eto’o to stay
Barcelona president Joan Laporta said on Sunday he hoped Samuel Eto’o would see out the rest of his career at the club despite interest in the Cameroon striker from major European clubs. Eto’o “is the best striker in the world, highly valued in the market. It would be nice if he could finish his career at Barca,” Laporta said. “Eto’o’s contract ends next season and that requires us to sit and talk. The club wants him to continue for many more years, always in line with our wage structure,” he was quoted as saying on the club’s Web site. Eto’o was Barcelona’s top scorer in the league last season with 30 goals and helped them win a unique treble of league, Spanish cup and European Champions League trophies.
■ITALY
Milan open to offers for Pirlo
AC Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi has said the Serie A club is open to offers for Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo. “If there’s an offer, it should be considered,” Berlusconi was quoted as saying by yesterday’s La Gazzetta dello Sport when asked about Pirlo, amid speculation he could join former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea. “We’ll see. I was the first to say that he must stay, but then they showed me the sums [for his salary],” Berlusconi said.
■AUSTRALIA
Anderson to join Gold Coast
Former Brazilian youth international Anderson Alves da Silva has joined A-League side Gold Coast United on a short-term contract to cover for injured compatriot Jefferson, the club said yesterday. Jefferson tore his knee cartilage in training last week and that is likely to keep the midfielder out for three to four months. Anderson, a Brazilian under-17 and under-20 international, who spent four years with Flamengo, is set to join his new teammates in Singapore next week.
BUMRAH WATCH: Captain Jasprit Bumrah left the SCG for scans for back spasms and although he returned to the ground, there was no word on if he would play Rishabh Pant’s blistering counterattack yesterday capped a chaotic second day of the fifth and final Test between Australia and India, with 15 wickets falling and the star bowler of the series leaving the Sydney Cricket Ground with an ambulance escort. Yet the Border-Gavaskar trophy still remains very much in the balance as India reached 141-6, holding a 145-run lead over Australia with three days remaining. “Low-scoring games like this, it just heightens the pressure within it, so long way still to go,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald said. “There’s gonna be plenty of cricket, so we’ll see what happens.” Australia were bowled out for
Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan yesterday dumped defending champions Germany out of the United Cup with world No. 2 Alexander Zverev sidelined by an arm injury barely a week away from the Australian Open. The upset in Perth sent the Kazakhs into the semi-finals of the 18-nation tournament. In Sydney, women’s world No. 2 Iga Swiatek led Poland into the last eight by winning a rematch of her 2023 French Open final against Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic. Britain also progressed to the quarter-finals with Katie Boulter’s dominant 6-2, 6-1 victory over Australia’s Olivia Gadecki enough to guarantee they won their group. The US and
Five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek yesterday beat Elena Rybakina in straight sets to take Poland into the final of the mixed-teams United Cup with victory over Kazakhstan. Last year’s runners-up face the US today for the title in Sydney after they beat the Czech Republic in the other semi-final. “This win makes me really proud,” Swiatek said after seeing off Rybakina 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to give Poland an unassailable 2-0 lead in the tie. It was a statement of intent from the world number two with the first major of the year to start on Jan. 12. “It is perfect preparation for the
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Jiang Xinyu of China yesterday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, while Naomi Osaka retired from the women’s singles final with an abdominal injury. Second seeds Wu and Jiang defeated Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US 6-3, 6-4 on ASB Tennis Centre’s Stadium Court in 1 hour, 5 minutes. The WTA 250 victory was 25-year-old Wu’s second WTA Tour title, after winning the 2023 Hua Hin Championships in Thailand with Taiwanese partner Chan Hao-ching. Later that year, Wu and Taiwan’s Hsu Yu-hsiou won the mixed doubles gold at the World
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