■ENGLAND
Wolves snap up duo
Premier League newboys Wolverhampton Wanderers signed Ecuador midfielder Segundo Castillo on a season’s loan from Red Star Belgrade on Monday. Castillo spent last season on loan at Everton, making eight league appearances, but the Toffees opted not to sign him on a permanent basis. Wolves have an option to sign Castillo permanently when the loan expires and Jez Moxey, the club’s chief operating officer, said: “He is a player who arrives with extensive experience at international level as well as one of the leading Premier League clubs in Everton.” Wolves have also clinched the signing of Austria striker Stefan Maierhofer from Rapid Vienna on a three-year deal. Maierhofer, who scored 23 goals in 37 games for Rapid last season, has joined for an undisclosed fee and the deal includes an option for the club to extend the contract with the tall frontman for a further season.
■ENGLAND
Gold shrugs off suggestions
Birmingham co-owner David Gold has shrugged off suggestions by the head of Croatia’s soccer federation that the Premier League club deliberately injured players to help England qualify for the World Cup. Midfielder Luka Modric broke his leg playing for Tottenham against Birmingham on Saturday and will miss next week’s World Cup qualifying match against England. With Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva having spent a year on the sidelines after breaking his leg against the same opponents in February last year, Croatian soccer federation president Vlatko Markovic has suggested there may a conspiracy against his country. “It’s so ridiculous, it beggars belief,” Gold told the BBC yesterday. “To suggest for one moment that this is a conspiracy, particularly by Birmingham City Football Club, to go about injuring Croatian players is absolutely ridiculous. I can’t see an ounce of reality about it at all. I find it nonsensical.”
■DENMARK
Player loses leg
The family of FC Nordsjaelland defender Jonathan Richter says the player has had the lower part of his left leg amputated, six weeks after he was struck by lightning during a reserve game. Richter’s condition is improving and he will “very soon” be moved from the intensive care unit at a Copenhagen hospital, his family said in a statement posted yesterday on the Superliga club’s Web page. It said he “was making great progress.” Richter, 24, was struck during a brief thunder storm on July 20 while playing against second-tier team Hvidovre. He was placed in an induced coma for 10 days.
■ITALY
Spalletti quits after bad start
AS Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has quit the club after their poor start to the season, he told reporters yesterday. “I have given my resignation and the club have accepted it,” he said. Media said Roma, who lost their opening two league games, were in talks with Claudio Ranieri about taking the job. Reports said the former Juventus coach, born in Rome, had been seen meeting president Rosella Sensi. Former Udinese coach Spalletti was appointed in 2005 and helped a stylish Roma finish second in Serie A in 2007 and last year. They also won the Italian Cup in both those years but started last season badly and ended up sixth in the league. A 3-2 defeat at Genoa in this term’s league opener and Sunday’s 3-1 loss at home to Juventus sealed his decision to leave.
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
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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