The Philippines yesterday opened an international soccer tournament at the Taipei Municipal Stadium with a 3-1 win against Laos, while Taiwan held a practice session in the morning after their scheduled opponents East Timor had their travel plans disrupted by a volcanic eruption in Indonesia.
Phil Younghusband, Angel Guirado and Kintaro Miyagi scored to put the Philippines three goals ahead, before Sengvilay Chanthasili got a late consolation for Laos.
Taiwanese soccer officials had to reschedule the program for the competition after receiving the news that East Timor would not arrive in time for Thursday’s pre-tournament news conference.
“The travel arrangements for East Timor have been delayed due to closure of airports after the eruption of Mount Agung in Bali. The team will arrive a few days late, as they transferred flights at an airport in Indonesia,” the Chinese Taipei Football Association (CTFA) said in a statement.
The new schedule for the CTFA International Cup sees Laos take on East Timor at 4pm tomorrow at the Taipei Municipal Stadium, before Taiwan host the Philippines at 7pm.
Taiwan’s match against East Timor is now to take place at 7pm on Monday.
The tournament is to finish on Tuesday when the Philippines take on East Timor at 4pm, before the hosts face Laos at 7pm.
The latest addition to the Taiwan squad is Swedish-Taiwanese teenager Karl Josefsson, who has attracted much fan attention alongside English-Taiwanese player Will Donkin, who plays for English Premier League side Crystal Palace, as both youngsters are expected to see plenty of action in the coming days.
At the pre-tournament news conference, Taiwan manager Gary White said the tournament would give him an opportunity to assess the new players to see whether they could perform in international matches against good opponents.
White admitted that there are still some shortcomings with his squad, saying he would focus on improving the defense as well as the attack.
While all the matches have been scheduled for the Taipei Municipal Stadium, some commentators have suggested that some matches are moved to the artificial pitch at Fu Jen Catholic University, as wet weather could cause problems with the grass pitch at the stadium and it might not cope with hosting matches on three consecutive days.
‘AWFUL PERFORMANCE’: Golden State were always chasing the game after failing to threaten from long range, making just eight of 33 three-point attempts Aaron Gordon on Monday scored 38 points as the Denver Nuggets shrugged off the absence of Nikola Jokic to halt the Golden State Warriors’ seven-game winning streak with a 114-105 victory over their Western Conference rivals. A dazzling display from Gordon inspired what was ultimately a comfortable win for Denver, who were missing regular starters Jokic and Jamal Murray from their lineup. The absentees were barely felt by Denver, who startled the Warriors early at San Francisco’s Chase Center and led for most of the game. The Warriors threatened to stage a late rally after slashing the Nuggets’ fourth-quarter lead from 15 points
The US’ bid for a fourth consecutive CONCACAF Nations League title came to a stunning end as they fell 1-0 to Panama after a stoppage-time goal from Cecilio Waterman on Thursday in Inglewood, California. Despite dominating possession, the US struggled to break down a resilient Panama side for long periods. Panama spent the bulk of the match defending, but pounced on a giveaway by the US before substitute forward Waterman sent a shot from the right side of the area to the bottom left corner late in stoppage time. Up next for Panama in tomorrow’s final is to be Mexico, who beat
DOMINATION: McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris took the first two spots as Mercedes’ George Russell and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen followed them Australian Oscar Piastri yesterday roared back from season-opening disappointment in his home race by winning the Formula One Chinese Grand Prix from pole position in a McLaren one-two with championship-leading teammate Lando Norris. George Russell finished third for Mercedes, ahead of Red Bull’s reigning champion Max Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Saturday’s sprint winner Lewis Hamilton fifth and sixth respectively. Piastri’s win denied Norris a third victory in a row, including last year’s Abu Dhabi season-ender, but left champions McLaren unbeaten in two races so far this year. “Mega job guys. The car was very, very lovely,” Piastri said
TO FINAL FOUR: France had 22 chances and scored two goals, while Croatia could not manage a single shot on target in 120 minutes. Les Bleus won 5-4 on penalties France on Sunday overturned a two-goal deficit to qualify for the UEFA Nations League Final Four by eliminating Croatia 5-4 on penalties after a 2-0 victory in their quarter-final second leg at the Stade de France. Dayot Upamecano scored the winning spot kick in a nail-biting shootout in which France keeper Mike Maignan made two saves, sending Les Bleus into the semi-finals against Spain. Michael Olise opened the scoring and Ousmane Dembele doubled their lead 10 minutes from time to send the tie into extra time after their 2-0 loss in Split, Croatia, on Thursday. France had a total of
RSS