■NETHERLANDS
Twente leapfrog PSV
FC Twente went top of the Dutch league on Sunday after Kenneth Perez scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over RKC Waalwijk. Perez headed home Bryan Ruiz’s curling cross in the 69th minute as Twente took full advantage of PSV Eindhoven’s 2-1 defeat at NAC Breda on Saturday. Twente lead the standings with 67 points, two more than PSV. Ajax, who face PSV in the next round of matches, are third with 61 points after beating Sparta Rotterdam 3-0 earlier on Sunday. “The next goal is to win the next game,” Twente coach Steven McClaren said. “We still have eight games to go. Who knows what will happen? There will be so many twists and turns.” Ajax’s goals came from Siem de Jong, Gregory van der Wiel and Dennis Rommedahl. Sekou Cisse scored twice and created another as Feyenoord topped Roda JC 4-2. Cisse opened scoring in the 14th minute from a rebound, before adding another goal in the 60th minute. He then set up Luigi Bruins for the third in the 71st minute. Substitute Roy Makaay added a fourth in the 82nd minute. Jeanvion Yulu Matondo and Boldizsar Bodor scored for Roda, who had Ruud Vormer sent off for a 20th-minute foul on Leroy Fer. Feyenoord goalkeeper Darley was also ejected in the 84th minute. Also on Sunday, it was FC Groningen 1, VVV-Venlo 0 and FC Utrecht 1, NEC Nijemegen 0.
■PORTUGAL
Benfica go three points clear
Benfica went three points clear at the top of the Portuguese league on Sunday after beating Pacos Ferreira 3-1. Ruben Amorim, Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo all scored for the hosts, while William Conceicao cut the deficit for Pacos Ferreira. The result leaves Benfica top on 55 points. Second-place Braga are on 52 points after being held 0-0 at Setubal on Saturday. Also on Sunday, fourth-place Sporting beat Belenenses 4-0 and Maritimo drew 0-0 with Academica. Third-placed Porto drew 2-2 with Olhanense on Saturday.
■CHINA
Corruption probe expands
The wide-ranging crackdown on corruption in soccer has expanded to referees and the women’s game as investigators cast a wider net to clean up the scandal-plagued sport, state press reported yesterday. Following the arrests of several top officials of the China Football Association on match-fixing and bribe-taking charges, numerous referees have gone missing and are believed to be in police custody, the Beijing Times said. “As far as the problems with referees, this is under investigation and it shows that the football industry is orderly and carrying out efforts to strike at match-fixing and gambling,” the paper quoted new CFA head Wei Di as saying. “We are not afraid of these things coming to light — the important thing now is to find out about these problems.” The paper said Shen Huangying, a woman who worked on top women’s matches at China’s National Games last year, was among the missing.
■BRAZIL
Piece of wood kills player
A futsal player has died following a match in Brazil after a piece of the court’s wooden floor came off and struck him in the abdomen. Globo’s G1 Web site says 23-year-old Robson Rocha Costa died of hemorrhagic shock on Sunday, a day after the accident in a friendly match in southern Brazil. Witnesses say Costa was hurt after a sliding tackle near the goal-line. A small piece of the court apparently came off as he was sliding, initially hitting his thigh and then making it to his intestines. Costa was immediately taken to hospital and underwent surgery, but succumbed to his injuries.
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
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
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
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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