England survived a thrilling Sweden fightback to reach the final of the European under-21 championship, beating the hosts 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw on Friday.
Germany also advanced to tomorrow’s final in Malmo after fullback Andreas Beck’s long-range strike earned a 1-0 win over Italy.
Beck blasted a shot past Italy goalkeeper Andrea Consigli from 30m three minutes into the second half.
England led Sweden 3-0 at halftime thanks to defenders Martin Cranie and Nedum Onuoha, and a Mattias Bjarsmyr own goal, before a Marcus Berg double either side of Ola Toivonen’s free-kick forced extra-time.
Sweden hit the bar in extra-time after England striker Fraizer Campbell was sent off, but went out on penalties when Guillermo Molins hit the post in the shootout.
Germany’s Ashkan Dejagah is out of the final after being booked on Friday, while England will be without suspended goalkeeper Joe Hart and strikers Campbell and Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Champagne corks often pop and loud, boisterous cheers are usually heard around Constitution Dock when the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honors winner finishes in the Tasmanian state capital. There were no such celebrations this year when the defending champions on board LawConnect won the race in the early hours of yesterday morning, as it came about 24 hours after two sailors died on separate boats in sail boom accidents two hours apart on a storm-ravaged first night of the race. LawConnect, a 100-foot super maxi skippered by Australian tech millionaire Christian Beck, sailed up the River Derwent at just after 2:30am.
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
HAT-TRICK PREP: World No. 1 Sabalenka clinched her first win of the season, as she aims to become the first woman in 20 years to win three Australian Opens in succession Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini and Taylor Fritz yesterday all clocked impressive wins as tennis powerhouses Italy and the US surged into the quarter-finals of the mixed-team United Cup. World No. 3 Gauff swept past Croatia’s Donna Vekic 6-4, 6-2 to avenge a loss at the Paris Olympics, while Fritz took care of Borna Coric 6-3, 6-2 in searing Perth heat. That was enough to put the Americans — last year’s winners — into a last-eight clash with China today, while Elena Rybakina’s Kazakhstan today are to meet defending champions Germany, led by Alexander Zverev, in the other Perth quarter-final. In Sydney, the in-form
Chess great Magnus Carlsen on Friday quit the World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships in New York after governing body FIDE barred the Norwegian from participating in a round at the tournament for wearing jeans. FIDE said in a statement that its dress code regulations were designed to “ensure professionalism and fairness for all participants.” It issued Carlsen a US$200 fine and gave him an opportunity to change into the correct attire, which the world No. 1 rejected, it said. Carlsen said he had a lunch meeting before the round and had to change quickly. “I put on a shirt, jacket and honestly like
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