Archives for 2018

India suffered a penalty shootout heartbreak in the Hockey Champions Trophy final for the second consecutive time as they lost 1-3 (1-1) to defending champions Australia here on Sunday.

Blake Govers put Australia ahead in the 24th minute. India equalised through Vivek Sagar Prasad’s strike in the 43rd minute to end 1-1 at the regulation 60 minutes of play.

In the penalty shootout, Australia prevailed thanks to the brilliance of goalkeeper Tyler Lovell, who blocked attempts from Harmanpreet Singh, Sardar Singh and Lalit Upadhyay.

Aran Zalewski, Daniel Beale and Jeremy Edwards scored for Australia, who got their record 15th title, while Manpreet Singh tucked one past Lovell for India, who had lost to Australia in the 2016 final via the penalty shootout in London.

During the 60 minutes of play, both Australia and India had plenty chances to score in a fast-paced match.

Although the defending Champions made a good start, India quickly took control with better ball possession (over 60 percent) coupled with eight circle entries, two shots on goal and two penalty corners in the first quarter.

While India could not capitalise on the penalty corner opportunities, they missed a golden chance to score a field goal towards the end of the first quarter when Surender Kumar made a beautiful pass to Dilpreet Singh who then crossed it over to S.V. Sunil. But the latter pulled the ball onto his own feet, thus could not score.

Australia, on the other hand, were extremely quick on their counters and waited for their chances.

An infringement in the circle saw India concede the first penalty corner of the match and the chance was brilliantly capitalised by Govers as he powered it through. Though Sreejesh got his left glove on the ball, it bounced off into the net giving Australia a critical 1-0 lead in the 24th minute.

Though India had dominated major part of the first and second quarters, they had nothing to show on the scoreboard.

Looking for the equaliser, in the 38th minute, India appealed for a dangerous ball inside the striking circle but their fifth penalty corner was not only denied, they also ended up losing the video referral at a very crucial juncture of the match.

But their moment of reckoning came in the 42nd minute, Vivek hammered a cross by Chinglensana Singh. The equaliser had finally come after 17 circle entries. This was India’s seventh attempt on the goal.

Soon after, Mandeep Singh had a fabulous shot on goal with seconds remaining for the third hooter, but Lovell was exceptional in his save to keep India from taking a lead.

With the scores reading 1-1, India pushed up front with forwards Lalit Upadhyay and Mandeep Singh, yet three more shots on goals went amiss.

While the team’s defence stood out, another great chance was missed with Sunil making a strong foray into the circle but Manpreet Singh on the far post could not make this one count.

Seconds ticking away, neither teams could manage a lead thus resulting in yet another shootout where Australia walked away winners.

Belgium, boasting one of the most talented squads in the FIFA World Cup, will be overwhelming favourites to go past Japan, the lone Asian side in the pre-quarterfinals, when the two sides clash here on Monday.

Belgium topped the Group D with a 100 percent winning record following wins over Panama (3-0), 5-2 victory over Tunisia (5-2) and England (1-0).

Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez left most of his first-choice footballers on the bench for the England match so they could rest and avoid suspensions for the Round-of-16 match.

Even with a weakened side, the Belgians still recorded a fine win that buoyed morale even further and has put some pressure on the squad’s habitual starters as they aim to reach their third World Cup quarter-final (after Mexico 1986 and Brazil 2014) and equal their World Cup record of four consecutive wins, set four years ago.

Their unbeaten 22-match run — the longest in Belgium’s history — reflects the quality of a hugely talented side.

The Belgians boast a number of stars in their line-up including the likes of Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku (four goals in two matches), Chelsea playmaker Eden Hazard and Manchester City attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

Other key players such as central defenders Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen are expected to return to the lineup after missing the England game.

In the midfield, Mousa Dembele, Yannick Carrasco, and Axel Witsel are expected to start.

On paper, the world No.3 should have way too much firepower for Japan, who are ranked 58 places below the European outfit.

Japan have impressed so far in Russia with a 2-1 win over Colombia and a 2-2 draw in an entertaining match against Senegal before a 0-1 defeat to Poland. They advanced from the group phase on fair play points and are intent on winning a last-16 tie for the first time ever.

They have the experience to do just that — Eiji Kawashima, Makoto Hasebe, Yuto Nagatomo and Shinji Okazaki are each set to play their 11th match in the World Cup, a national record.

Along with Keizuke Honda, they will be looking to make up for the defeat to Paraguay at South Africa 2010, the last time that the Japanese featured in the knockout rounds.

Japan used a 4-4-2 formation in their last group match against Poland and lost. Coach Akira Nishino is likely to revert to the 4-2-3-1 system he deployed in the win over Colombia and the draw with Senegal.

Attacking midfielders Genki Haraguchi, Shinji Kagawa and Takashi Inui will have important roles to play just behind striker Yuya Osako. The Japanese will look to attack down the flanks and their chances of success will hinge on how well they can supply midfielder Gaku Shibasaki.

World Cup favourites Brazil continue their campaign for the 2018 World Cup here on Monday against a Mexican side which stated their campaign brilliantly before coming dangerously close to elimination.

Brazil produced their best display of the tournament in beating Serbia 2-0 to secure their place in the last 16, finding more connection between midfield and attack than in previous games, reports Xinhua news agency.

Much of that was due to the contribution of Phillipe Coutinho, who has been Brazil’s standout player despite Neymar’s attempts to grab the headlines.

Although he has scored just one goal, Neymar has had 18 shots so far in the World Cup and suffered 17 fouls, but has also been criticized for selfishness on the ball and play-acting when he receives challenges from rival players.

Neymar and Coutinho are certain to start and will be accompanied by Gabriel Jesus and Willian, with the latter the subject of transfer speculation linking him with a move from Chelsea to either Manchester United or FC Barcelona.

Left back Marcelo is doubtful for the game after suffering an injury apparently caused by his hotel mattress. If he is unable to play, he would be replaced by Atletico Madrid’s Felipe Luis.

Brazil struggled for fluidity in their opening two matches in Russia and will look to the win over Serbia as a turning point to their campaign and a confidence boost.

However, they will have to be wary of their disciplinary record with key trio Neymar, Coutinho and Casemiro a booking away from suspension.

Mexico travel to Samara after excellent performances against Germany and South Korea and a disastrous 90 minutes against Sweden, which nearly cost them a place in the last 16.

It will be interesting to see how coach Juan Carlos Osorio reacts after the 3-0 defeat to the Swedes and if he believes tiredness as a factor we can expect to see changes in his starting 11, with perhaps Jonathan Dos Santos coming into midfield and Hugo Ayala, who played against Germany, coming in to shore up the defence.

Brazil and Mexico are two of the countries who have the biggest number of fans with them in Brazil, and the stands in the 44,900 Samara Arena should be packed with color in what promises to a true ‘football fiesta’.

Hosts Russia stunned pre-tournament favourites Spain 4-3 (1-1) via penalty shootouts here on Sunday to enter the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich’s own goal in the 12th minute opened Spain’s account before Artem Dzyuba struck in the 41st minute to equalise.

In the penalty shootout, Koke and Iago Aspas missed their attempts for Spain while the Russians converted their first four spot kicks.

This is the best performance by Russia since the breakup of the Soviet Union. The best performance by the Soviet Union was a fourth place finish in 1966 when they lost 1-2 to the then West Germany in the semi-finals.

Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev emerged as the hero for Russia as he saved two penalties. His job was made easier by poor placement by Koke and Aspas.

Akinfeev become Russia’s second most capped player on Sunday, displacing former defender Viktor Onopko to third place. This is the 110th international game for Akinfeev, who made his debut in 2004. Onopko was capped 109 times for Russia from 1992 to 2004.

CSKA Moscow defender Sergei Ignashevich is Russia’s most capped player. The clash against Spain is the 38-year-old’s 126th game for his country since 2002, reported Sputnik news agency.

In Sunday’s match, Spain’s defender Sergio Ramos opened the scoring in the 11th minute. However, later it was announced that it was an own goal by Ignashevich, making the Russian defender the oldest player to score an own goal at the World Cup, FIFA said on their official website later.

The record had been held by Honduras goalkeeper Noel Valladares who scored into his own net in the 2014 World Cup match against France at the age of 37 years and 43 days.

Dzyuba scored in the 41st minute after Russia was awarded a penalty due to Spanish defender Pique’s handball.

Since the match ended 1-1 after 90 minutes of regulation time, the issue rolled into overtime.

However, even after overtime, neither team managed to take the lead and the game went to a penalty shoot-out.

Russia were perfect from the spot. Koke’s miss gave Russia the upper hand and Akinfeev sent the Luzhniki Stadium into bedlam as he saved Iago Aspas’ penalty with his feet.