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Asia’s top-ranked team Japan arrived for the Asian Cup, which will begin in Qatar from January 12. The Blue Samurai are among the favourites for the continental showpiece, with the team aiming to capture a record-extending fifth title for Japan after wins in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2011. Head coach Hajime Moriyasu led Japan to the final in the United Arab Emirates in 2019 only to see his side lose to Qatar in the decider in Abu Dhabi. Japan’s Europe-based players also joined up with the rest of the squad in Doha on Friday. Moriyasu’s side is packed with quality with the coach including Kaoru Mitoma in his squad despite injury concerns surrounding the Brighton winger. The 26-man squad also features Arsenal’s Takehiro Tomiyasu, Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo and Real Sociedad playmaker Takefusa Kubo. Japan have won their last eight games including away victories over Germany and Turkey, making them the standout team to watch at the Asian Cup. In fact, it is hard not seeing Japan as the Group D winners, which also has Indonesia, Iraq, and Vietnam. On Friday, Hong Kong and Vietnam also arrived in Qatar on Friday for the tournament. Hong Kong – who earned their first victory over China in 29 years last week – are the lowest ranked of the 24 teams at the Asian Cup. Jorn Andersen’s side start their campaign against UAE on January 14. They play Iran on January 20, and complete their Group C fixtures against Palestine three days later. Vietnam, meanwhile, wasted little time as they trained after checking into their hotel on Friday. The southeast Asian side is counting on coach Philippe Troussier’s experience in their bid to enjoy a successful tournament. Their best in the continental showpiece has been quarter-final appearances in 2007 and 2019 but Vietnam will feel they have the quality and experience to challenge Asia’s best. They reached the quarter-finals in UAE in the previous edition in 2019. Despite a tough draw which has Vietnam pitted against Japan, who Troussier coached to the 2000 Asian Cup title, Indonesia and Iraq, Vietnam will be a side to watch in Qatar. Meanwhile, Tajikistan continued their preparations towards their Asian Cup debut with a 2-1 win over Hong Kong on Thursday. In the match played at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, Rustom Soirov and Shahrom Samiev scored on either side of Everton Camargo’s equaliser for Hong Kong, to stretch Tajikistan’s unbeaten run to six matches. Under Croatian head coach Petar Segrt, Tajikistan qualified to the Asian Cup by topping their qualifying group. Segrt will keep working with his players in the United Arab Emirates before leaving for Qatar on Monday for their Group A opener against China on January 13. Qatar and Lebanon are the other teams in the group.

Inter Milan sitting atop the Serie A table is due in large part to coach Simone Inzaghi who has “a big heart” and has superb man management skills said playmaker Hakan Calhanoglu.The Turkish star will be at the heart of matters when Inter entertain struggling Verona today with the Milan club seeking to maintain their two point lead over Juventus. Inzaghi will hope his older brother Filippo can help Inter and cause a mighty shock as his Salernitana side, who are bottom of the table, host Juventus tomorrow.In hardly the best of omens, Salernitana were thrashed 6-1 by Juventus on Thursday in the Italian Cup. Whatever Juventus do, though, is of little interest to Calhanoglu. “I don’t look at them, I only look at Inter and I don’t even listen,” said the 29-year-old, who joined Inter in 2021 on a free transfer from their bitter city rivals AC Milan.Calhanoglu’s confidence in Inzaghi – who joined at the same time as he did – is exemplified by him turning down a lucrative move to a Saudi club and signing a contract extension instead. Inzaghi’s personal qualities have sparked a positive response from the players. Two successive Italian Cup trophies and a surprise run to last season’s Champions League final – losing 1-0 to Manchester City – are testament to the 47-year-old’s skills at motivating the personnel. “The way he speaks with the players and how he behaves with us, he always wants to win and gets angry when we slow down,” said Calhanoglu of Inzaghi’s greatest characteristic.“Once the training session finishes, he has a big heart. He is very calm and we can talk about anything with him. He is also growing. You can’t do everything in one year. We arrived at the club at the same moment and we are all growing on the pitch,” added Calhanoglu, who has scored eight goals in 22 appearances in all competitions this season.Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri refuses to talk about the title, focussing instead on a more humble target. “We have to get to the top four, the next Champions League will be completely different,” he said following the victory over Salernitana. “We have to respect the opponents, otherwise it will be a mess.”Filippo Inzaghi – who enjoyed a far more successful playing career than his younger brother but whose managerial career has been moderate by comparison – is hopeful he can pick his players up for Sunday’s clash. Inzaghi will bring back his two 36-year-old veterans, former Argentina centre-back Federico Fazio and ex-Italy midfielder Antonio Candreva.“On Sunday, two captains like Fazio and Candreva will return, they will give us strength,” said Inzaghi. “We couldn’t ask them to play on Thursday and Sunday, they are too important for us. “It’s clear that if Juve gets the match right there’s little that can be done but we will have the crowd behind us to push us to try to achieve a feat.”Meanwhile, Inter signed Canadian international midfielder Tajon Buchanan from Belgian side Club Brugge. Buchanan, who has committed himself until 2028, cost Inter a reported 10mn euros.Buchanan, 24, began his career with New England Revolution in the MLS before joining Club Brugge in January 2022. He made 67 appearances in all competitions for the Belgian club.Fixtures (kick-offs GMT)Today: Inter Milan v Verona (1130), Frosinone v Monza (1400), Lecce v Cagliari (1700), Sassuolo v Fiorentina (1945)Tomorrow: Empoli v AC Milan (1130), Udinese v Lazio, Torino v Napoli (1400), Salernitana v Juventus (1700), AS Roma v Atalanta (1945)

Mikel Arteta admits successive defeats have slowed Arsenal’s momentum but the Gunners boss is keeping a sense of perspective as he prepares for tomorrow’s FA Cup clash against Liverpool.Arteta’s side have slipped from the top of the Premier League table to fourth after taking just one point from their past three games. Even the 1-1 draw at title rivals Liverpool two weeks ago was tinged with frustration as Arsenal squandered an early lead.Arteta said recent defeats by West Ham and Fulham had been damaging but he was determined not to over-react ahead of the Liverpool showdown. “Until Christmas Day we were top of the league,” he told reporters. “Six days later, we are fourth, so you can be very tempted to look at things with a microscope or with a telescope and look a little bit further and with a little bit more perspective. My job big time is to look through the telescope and have perspective and analyse things in the proper way.”Arteta said neither league leaders Liverpool nor Arsenal were expecting such a high-profile match in the third round of the FA Cup, the stage at which Premier League clubs enter the competition. “It is the draw,” he said. “We played two weeks ago and it was an incredible match and I’m sure it will be a really good match again. We don’t have a choice. If you ask both teams, probably in the draw we were expecting something different, but we have this incredible clash in this round and we have to go for it.”No club has won the FA Cup more often than Arsenal’s 14 triumphs and Arteta said he had a “real feeling” for the competition, which brought him his first silverware as Gunners boss in 2020. “It’s a great competition especially for the club,” he said. “We have won it more times than anyone so we expect a great game and a good run.”Klopp not wishing Salah luck at Africa Cup of NationsLiverpool boss Jurgen Klopp joked on Friday that he is not wishing Mohamed Salah too much luck at the Africa Cup of Nations as he prepares for a crucial spell of games without his top scorer. Salah is away with Egypt for the tournament in Ivory Coast while Japan captain Wataru Endo will be involved at the Asian Cup in Qatar, with both players expected to go deep in the respective competitions.That could mean they will not be back until the second week in February but Klopp said he sent them on their way this week without wishing them too much success. “I said if I wish you good luck it would be a lie,” Klopp said ahead of Liverpool’s FA Cup third-round tie at Arsenal. “From a personal point of view, I would be happy if they go out in the group stage but that’s probably not possible. They can go on and win it. So it was ‘Good luck and come back healthy’. We have to deal with it and we will deal with it. I am pretty positive that we will find a way.”Klopp does not really have a suitable replacement for Salah, who plays on the right side of his attack and has scored 18 goals in all competitions this season. Midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was touted as a potential option but he has been ruled out for at least two matches with a hamstring injury sustained in the New Year’s Day win over Newcastle. But Klopp, whose side are top of the Premier League, is confident Liverpool can fill the hole left by Salah.“I think we played against West Ham (in last month’s League Cup quarter-final) without Mo on that side and Harvey Elliott played there,” he said. “We have different offensive options who can all play that wing in a different way. Nobody else can play like Mo, it is not possible – we just have to use the boys with their skills.“Do we want to play without Mo? No. In the past we didn’t have to do it often but we always found a way.”

Umm Salal and Al Arabi will be eyeing their maiden Ooredoo Cup title, when the two sides meet in the final at the Grand Hamad Stadium today at 7pm.The contest is expected to be feisty with both the teams playing their third finals, having ended up as the runners-up twice each. While Umm Salal had made it to the finals of Ooredoo Cup earlier in 2011 season and last year, Al Arabi were in the final in 2013 and 2020. Umm Salal made it the title clash with a 2-0 win over Al Ahli in the semi-final. The Orange Fortress had lost by a solitary goal to Al Duhail the previous season and having reached the final for a second successive time, they would surely want to taste success.In contrast, Al Arabi qualified for the final prevailing over Qatar SC in the semis on penalties after the game was locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time.Coach Younes Ali, who guided Al Arabi to the Amir Cup triumph last season, said his team are ready for the final. “Since you have reached the final, you have to win it,” Ali said. “Umm Salal are a distinguished team and they have been playing good matches since the beginning of the season, especially in the Ooredoo Cup. They are one of the teams we thought would make it to the final. I think it is 50-50 in the final,” he added.Arabi will be without the injured trio of Yousef Msakni, Marco Verratti and Abdou Diallo.They will also miss the services of Jassim Jaber and Ahmed Fathi, who are in Qatar’s squad for the upcoming AFC Asian Cup.Ali will rely on Syrian striker Omar al-Somah, Brazilian Rafinha, Helal Mohamed, Nasser Kalla and Youssef Muftah among others. Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron expected a ‘challenging’ contest.“We face Al Arabi in the final who won the Amir Cup last season and are one of the top teams that performs very well. It will make the final contest challenging, but I have great confidence in our team’s ability to win the title,” Umm Salal coach Patrice Carteron said. “We need to stay focused in the final, but play freely from the very start as we did in the semi-final. But the final will not be easy at all,” he added.Umm Salal attack will be by Algerian striker Andy Delort, who has scored seven goals in the tournament so far, as well as Marouane Loudani, Victor Lakhel, Nasser al-Nasr and Adel Alawi among others.

Alexander Zverev scored a confidence-boosting win over Stefanos Tsitsipas ahead of the Australian Open on Friday to help power Germany past Greece and into the United Cup semi-finals.The world number seven was clinical in a 6-4, 6-4 victory over a player ranked a place above him to help put his country into a last-four clash with Australia.Top seeds Poland, led by Iga Swiatek, meet France in the other semi-final. Both are played in Sydney today ahead of the Sunday decider of the mixed teams tournament.World number eight Maria Sakkari continued her sparkling early season form by blasting past Anqelique Kerber 6-0, 6-3 to give Greece a 1-0 lead before Zverev hit back. It sent the tie to a deciding mixed doubles in front of a capacity crowd at Ken Rosewall Arena with Zverev teaming with Laura Siegemund to topple Sakkari and Tsitsipas’s younger brother Petros 6-3, 6-3.Zverev has won five of his six matches this week, only narrowly losing with Kerber in the German’s 2-1 defeat in group play to France.He was in full control against Tsitsipas when he led 5-3 and was 0-40 on the Greek’s serve in the first set of their singles clash.But Tsitsipas rallied to hold serve before Zverev closed out the set.It went with serve in the second set until Tsitsipas made a string of unforced errors in the ninth game and a forehand sprayed long gave Zverev the break, and he duly sealed the win.“I had to come out aggressive because I knew Stef is one of the best aggressive players, if not the best aggressive player, in the game,” said Zverev.“If he is on the front foot it’s extremely difficult to play against him.”Sakarri was on a mission against Kerber and stormed through the first set in 30 minutes.She didn’t let up in the second, racing 3-0 clear before Kerber finally got on the board by holding for 3-1.It fired her up and she worked her first break point in the next game. Sakkari saved it, but she earned another and converted with a return down the line.But that fleeting glimmer of hope was quickly extinguished with Sakkari breaking straight back and serving out the match in 73 minutes.“I was pretty clinical in the first set and through 3-0 in the second. I was very solid from the baseline doing what I had to do,” Sakkari said.“I knew Angie was going to find a way to come back and that she wasn’t going to give up.”It was her third straight win of the year, without dropping a set.In contrast, Kerber is still seeking her first win of 2024 on her return from maternity leave.

Spanish great Rafael Nadal’s comeback to tennis came to an end when he lost a 3hr 25min marathon quarter-final to Australian Jordan Thompson at the Brisbane International on Friday.Thompson saved three match points in the second set before overcoming an increasingly fatigued Nadal 5-7, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 in a gruelling encounter that finished just before midnight on Pat Rafter Arena. Thompson booked a semi-final against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov with the win, while at the same time throwing a spanner in the works of Nadal’s Australian Open preparations. Nadal said he had plenty of chances to win, but just couldn’t take them.“I think he played a good match. For me, it was not the best match, I had a lot of opportunities to win it,” he said. “I need to accept that. After a year (of not playing), that’s normal.”Playing his first tournament after almost 12 months away from the sport through injury, Nadal appeared headed for a straight sets win. But an inspired Thompson refused to go away and took advantage of some unforced errors from the Spaniard to clinch the second set.Nadal, who was broken early in the third set, took a medical time out at 1-4 down after appearing to need treatment to his upper left thigh. He was able to continue but was unable to break back and Thompson held on to the delight of the capacity crowd. Nadal said he wouldn’t know how bad the injury was until the next day.“A lot of things can happen in a body like my body after a year without playing tennis,” he said. “So hopefully it is just a muscle that is supercharged.”Thompson said he was so wrapped up in the match he couldn’t remember a key moment.“I completely forgot I saved match points,” Thompson said.“To beat Rafa in Brisbane in a quarter-final, and I think it is now my first semi-final on a hard court, I couldn’t be happier.”Thompson will now play second seed Dimitrov after the Bulgarian’s 6-1, 6-4 victory over Australian Rinky Hijikata.The second semi-final sees top seeded Dane Holger Rune up against Russian Roman Safiullin.Rune looked in great touch as he downed Australian qualifier James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6 (8/6), while unseeded Safiullin beat Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 7-6 (7/4), 6-2.Nadal had gone into his quarter-final against Thompson in superb touch following relatively easy wins in his opening two rounds.But Thompson, the world number 55, ensured that the Spaniard wouldn’t have it all his own way, returning well throughout to constantly pressure Nadal’s serve.Despite losing his serve for the first time this tournament at 3-3 in the opener, Nadal was able to break Thompson twice to clinch a tight first set in 70 minutes.Thompson threw everything at Nadal in the second set, playing some superb tennis, but the Spaniard was able to somehow absorb the pressure. It looked like vintage Nadal as he turned the screws in the tiebreak, opening a 3-0 lead.But Thompson came back to level at 3-3, then saved two match points at 6-4 down, clinching the set in 83 minutes.Nadal began to look tired at the start of third set, in contrast to the Australian, and it came as no surprise when he was broken early in the third, with Thompson comfortably holding on.Sabalenka fires warningIn the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka fired a warning ahead of her Australian Open defence by powering into the semi-finals with a straight-sets demolition of Daria Kasatkina.Sabalenka’s 6-1, 6-4 victory was her 14th consecutive win on Australian soil after also claiming the Adelaide crown in the lead-up to last year’s opening Grand Slam of the year. The Belarusian raced through the first set against the Russian in 32 minutes, but had to fight harder in the second, breaking Kasatkina once and holding on to win the match in 1hr 26min.Sabalenka will now play fellow Belarusian Victoria Azarenka with a 2023 Australian Open final replay against second seed Elena Rybakina a possibility for Sunday’s decider.Former Grand Slam champions Azarenka and Rybakina reached the semis in contrasting fashion.Two-time Australian Open winner Azarenka took 2hr 30min before finally outlasting third-seeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the first match on Pat Rafter Arena.Rybakina was then handed a spot in the last four when her Russian opponent Anastasia Potapova withdrew with a stomach problem after losing the first set 6-1.Rybakina will face Linda Noskova next after the Czech player saw off 16-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-3.

Coco Gauff continued the ruthless defence of her Auckland Classic title on Friday with a 6-1, 6-1 trouncing of Varvara Gracheva to set up a semi-final against fellow American Emma Navarro.Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina later dispatched Marie Bouzkova 6-0, 6-3 to ensure the tournament’s two top seeds advanced on a day in which rain played havoc with the four quarter-finals.With clouds gathering, Gauff was in the mood for a swift victory over her French opponent and achieved it in 52 minutes in another ominous display ahead of the Australian Open.The world number three and US Open champion clinched the title in Auckland last year without dropping a set and is on track to repeat that feat.The 19-year-old was particularly happy with conceding just 11 points against eighth seed Gracheva against her serve, without giving up a single break point.“I thought I served really well, probably the best so far at this tournament, which is something I was really working on in the off-season,” the top seed Gauff said.Fourth-seeded Navarro defeated the seventh seed Petra Martic 6-4, 6-3.Navarro recovered from a slow start to break the Croat’s serve six times and said she would need to bring the same level of aggression against Gauff.The pair practised together this week, having not played each other since their early teens.“She’s an insane athlete. She covers the court super-well and is really solid in her whole game. There’s no holes in her game,” Navarro said of Gauff.Second seed Svitolina’s match finished at close to 11pm local time and the 17-time WTA singles title winner was pleased to make short work of fifth-seeded Czech Bouzkova in cold conditions.“It was a great performance from me and I’m surprised how many people are still here,” she said.“I wanted to make it short and sharp so I’m happy with my level that I could actually win and not expend too much energy.”The three-time Grand Slam semi-finalist will next face China’s Wang Xiyu, who fought back to beat Diane Parry 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-4 in a clash of two unseeded players.

World number five Andrey Rublev survived a huge scare on Friday to reach the semi-finals of the Hong Kong Open, as third seed Frances Tiafoe was stunned by a Chinese teenager.Rublev came through 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 against 19-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils in a rollercoaster 1hr 52min of highly entertaining tennis at Victoria Park.The Russian top seed will face another teenager in the last four after “Jerry” Shang Juncheng breezed past world number 16 Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4 to notch the biggest win of his fledgling career and reach his first ATP Tour semi-final.Rublev raced away with the first set before rising star Fils turned the match on its head with some exceptional attacking play in the second.Rublev found his range again at the start of the decider to take a 3-0 lead as the youngster from Paris got into a running row with the umpire after some failed challenges to tight calls.The normally fiery Rublev was, by contrast, calmness personified at the other end and sealed the match with a second break of serve to keep his warm-up for the Australian Open, beginning on January 14, on track.“I was just trying to be positive to keep saying to myself, I’m doing really well,” Rublev said of the second set onslaught from Fils.“And if he keeps playing the same way, only congrats to him.“There is not much you can do when he’s serving like that and shooting full power from both sides.”Tiafoe was always under the pump against tireless Shang who broke in the fifth game and was always in control.Shang had reached the quarter-final by prevailing in two three-set marathons to oust higher-rated opponents, the seventh seed and 33rd-ranked Laslo Djere and world number 50 Botic van de Zandschulp.The world number 183, who on Thursday was awarded a wildcard into the Australian Open main draw, showed no signs of being overawed, serving out to take the opener without facing a single break point.Shang was oozing the fearlessness of youth as he edged 3-2 ahead in the second when Tiafoe dropped his serve again.The left-hander grew in stature the deeper the match went and eased to a famous victory, the best of his fledgling career, on his first match point after 89 minutes.“Really tough match against Frances,” said Shang.“I played him twice before and went down both times.“Today was really a mindset change for me. Sometimes you gotta respect the player a little bit less. He’s an amazing player and amazing person.”Saturday’s other semi-final will be an all-unseeded affair that pits Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori against Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. Ruusuvuori, the world number 69, looked comfortable throughout as he saw off Russia’s 67th-ranked Pavel Kotov 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) in 1hr 48min.Ofner, the world number 43 from Austria, beat Spanish veteran and eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 win in 84 minutes.

Sahith Theegala made his 10th birdie of the day at the par-5 18th hole to inch ahead of a star-studded pack at the last moment, taking sole possession of the first-round lead at The Sentry on Thursday in Maui, Hawaii.Theegala shot a 9-under-par 64 to move in front of Collin Morikawa, Colombia’s Camilo Villegas, Australia’s Jason Day, South Korea’s Sungjae Im and Norway’s Viktor Hovland at the PGA Tour’s 2024 season opener at the Plantation Course at Kapalua.Theegala, a 26-year-old who earned his first tour victory last September at the Fortinet Championship, rang up six straight birdies at Nos. 10-15 on Thursday.Theegala said the third birdie of that run was probably his favourite. “Just because I hit a great drive, almost got - just hit it in the greenside bunker there. Didn’t hit a great bunker shot and I had a really gnarly 8- or 9-footer that I didn’t know which way it was going to break, grain was going all over the place. I just aimed it dead centre and tried to hit it hard and hearted that putt, and that settled me down a little bit more, because I knew 13, 14, 15 were very gettable too, so to make that putt was nice,” Theegala said. After that run came his only bogey of the round after he found sand off the tee at No 16. But he smashed two long shots at the 684-yard final hole to set him up for a short pitch shot, which he nestled inside 6 feet for the go-ahead birdie putt. Morikawa and Villegas were the early-afternoon leaders in the clubhouse. Morikawa eagled the par-5 ninth amid a bogey-free performance, and the 41-year-old Villegas had seven birdies and a bogey on his back nine.Hovland, the defending FedEx Cup champion, heated up late by going 5 under for his final seven holes. Hovland called his round “pretty scrappy from a swing standpoint, but I’m very happy with the score. Managed to make some putts and kept it really relatively stress-free.”Even more stars are lurking two shots back at 7-under 66: world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo. The PGA Tour has moved back to a season contained within the same calendar year, leaving its former “wraparound” schedule that started its season in the fall and proceeded through the next summer.

Josh Hazlewood claimed three wickets in an electrifying over to bowl Australia into a potential winning position over Pakistan in an absorbing third Test in Sydney on Friday.Paceman Hazlewood ripped through to reduce the tourists from 67 for four to go to the close on the third day at 68 for seven, a lead of 82, on a deteriorating Sydney Cricket Ground pitch.Pakistan’s last genuine hopes of building a challenging target for Australia to chase in the fourth innings hinge on Mohamed Rizwan, who is six not out, and bowling hero Aamer Jamal, who is yet to score. Hazlewood swung the contest, taking 4-9 off five overs, after Australia snared two wickets for just one run in the first eight balls of the second innings to rock the Pakistan top order.“On this wicket we were attacking the stumps as much as Pakistan were doing,” Hazlewood said.“A lead of 82 but, as you can see, the wicket, it’s quite tough. Anything around 130 would be ideal to chase. Rizwan is a dangerous player, hopefully we will see the back of him early tomorrow.”The visitors looked to have the edge after dismissing Australia for 299, to take a first-innings lead of 14, on the back of an inspired 6-69 from Jamal.In a superb four-wicket spell after tea, Jamal first had Mitchell Marsh caught at mid-off by Shan Masood for 54.‘Over the moon’Two balls later he had Pat Cummins lbw for a duck and followed up with the dismissals of Nathan Lyon (5) and Hazlewood (0).“I am over the moon. Feeling proud to be representing my country at such a level and performing for them,” Jamal said. “This is a wonderful achievement for me.“I just back myself every time. Even if I concede runs, I back myself.”The stung Australians roared back removing Abdullah Shafique for his second duck of the Test and skipper Shan Masood first ball.Young debutant Saim Ayub, out without scoring in the first innings, showed poise and technique in putting on 56 runs with Babar Azam, before he was lbw to Lyon for 33.It was Lyon’s 507th Test wicket. Azam fell 14 balls later, getting a nick off Travis Head to wicketkeeper Alex Carey for 23.Then Hazlewood struck with his electrifying fifth over, the penultimate one of the day.Earlier, Marsh continued his rich vein of form in Australia’s first innings after scores of 90, 63 not out and 96 in the first two Tests.Marsh and Alex Carey (38) put on 84 to restore the innings after the loss of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Head earlier in the day. Head was lbw to Jamal for 10, losing a review in the process after scores of 40, 14, 17 and 0 in the first two Tests of the series.Pakistan grabbed the prized wickets of Smith and Labuschagne, who both average over 70 in Tests at the SCG, within the space of six balls.Smith, on 38, was caught by a carefully laid Pakistani trap of a trio of fielders around short extra cover, off medium-pacer Hasan’s bowling.He was soon followed by Labuschagne, bowled for 60 off 147 balls by off-spinner Salman.It was a deserved reward for the toiling Pakistanis, who have battled away with disciplined bowling and determined fielding despite already losing the three-match series.ScoreboardPakistan 1st innings 313Australia 1st innings(116-2 overnight)D. Warner c Azam b Salman 34U. Khawaja c Rizwan b Jamal 47M. Labuschagne b Salman 60S. Smith c Azam b Hasan 38T. Head lbw b Jamal 10M. Marsh c Masood b Jamal 54A. Carey b Sajid 38M. Starc not out 1P. Cummins lbw b Jamal 0N. Lyon c Shakeel b Jamal 5J. Hazlewood c Salman b Jamal 0Extras (b1, lb7, w2, nb2) 12Total (all out, 109.4 overs) 299Fall of wickets: 1-70 (Warner), 2-108 (Khawaja), 3-187 (Smith), 4-187 (Labuschagne), 5-205 (Head), 6-289 (Carey), 7-293 (Marsh), 8-293 (Cummins), 9-299 (Lyon), 10-299 (Hazlewood)Bowling: Khan 26-5-73-1, Hamza 21-9-53-1 (1w), Hasan 21-6-53-0, Jamal 21.4-2-69-6 (2nb 1w), Salman 20-3-43-2Pakistan 2nd inningsA. Shafique b Starc 0S. Ayub lbw b Lyon 33S. Masood c Carey b Hazlewood 0B. Azam c Carey b Head 23S. Shakeel c Smith b Hazlewood 2M. Rizwan not out 6S. Khan b Hazlewood 0A. Salman c Warner b Hazlewood 0A. Jamal not out 0Extras (b2, lb2) 4Total (7 wickets; 26 overs) 68Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Shafique), 2-1 (Masood), 3-58 (Ayub), 4-60 (Azam), 5-67 (Shakeel), 6-67 (Khan), 7-67 (Salman)Bowling: Starc 4-1-15-1, Hazlewood 5-2-9-4, Cummins 4-0-17-0, Lyon 9-2-16-1, Head 4-1-7-1.

The opening game of cricket’s Twenty20 World Cup final will be held in Dallas with the final at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, organisers announced on Friday. The expanded 20-team tournament is being jointly held by the United States and the West Indies and will get under way on June 1 at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas. Texas, when the USA take on Canada, both teams making their first appearances at a T20 World Cup. A total of 16 games will be held in the United States - the first time that a major international cricket tournament is held in the country. A new venue 30 miles east of downtown Manhattan will host the big clash between India and Pakistan on Sunday, June 9 - one of eight games to be held at the 34,000 stadium being built in Nassau County. Lauderhill in South Florida, the most established cricket venue in the USA, will host games featuring India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. While cricket is a niche sport in the United States it does enjoy significant support from the South Asian and Caribbean communities in the country. “The USA is already one of cricket’s biggest audiences for ICC events and bringing the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to New York City, Dallas and Florida is a massive opportunity to exponentially grow the sport,” said Peter Hutton, chair of T20 World Cup Incorporated, the entity established in the USA to deliver the event. “We’ve got three fantastic venues to host...a unique cricket spectacle featuring the best players in the world,” he added. International Cricket Council (ICC) chief executive Geoff Allardice said the games in the USA represented a “new frontier” in the expansion of the sport. “It allows us to make a statement in the world’s biggest sports market,” he said. “It will also be great to have an ICC event back in the West Indies, which has such a rich history of the game. It has hosted World Cups with great success in the past and this tournament will certainly provide a boost to the game there, especially with the final being played in Barbados,” he added. The West Indies hosted the 2010 T20 World Cup, three years after they held the 50-over version. Defending champions England will begin their title defence on June 4 in Barbados against Scotland and 2022 finalists, Pakistan, will get underway when they play the USA in Dallas. England will go up against traditional rivals Australia in Barbados on June 8. The 20 teams have been divided into four groups of five, with the top two teams progressing to the ‘Super Eights’. The Super Eight games will all be held in the Caribbean - in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The two top teams from each group in the Super Eight will progress to the semi-finals, which will be held in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago on Jun 26/27. The final will be held in Barbados on June 29. Draw for group stage: Group A: India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, USA Group B: England, Australia, Namibia, Scotland, Oman Group C: New Zealand, West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda, Papua New Guinea Group D: South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Netherlands, Nepal.

The Japanese national football team delegation arrived Friday in Doha to participate in the Asian Cup Qatar 2023, held from January 12 to February 10, 2024.The four-time champions will commence its training sessions today and is scheduled to play a friendly match against Jordan on January 9.Japan is placed in Group D alongside Indonesia, Iraq, and Vietnam. The team has secured victories in its last nine matches, including a notable 4-1 win against Germany in a friendly match on September 9 last year, and a 4-2 victory against Turkiye in the Kirin Cup. Additionally, they achieved a decisive 5-0 win against Thailand last week.The Japanese national team aspires to clinch the title for the fifth time, setting a record, considering they are currently one title ahead of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

The Hong Kong national team delegation arrived today in Doha to participate in AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023, which will be held from Jan.12 to Feb.10, with the participation of 24 teams, distributed into six groups.The draw put Hong Kong in Group C along with Iran, United Arab Emirates and Palestine.The team will begin its journey by facing the UAE national team on January 14 at Khalifa International Stadium, and will meet in the same stadium with the Iranian national team in the second round on the 19 of the same month, before concluding its journey by meeting the Palestinian national team at Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium on January 23.Hong Kong's team held a ten-day training camp in the Emirates before arriving in Doha. Before that, the preparation began with an internal camp for two weeks under the leadership of Norwegian coach Jrn Andersen, who expressed in his statements after arriving in Doha his happiness to be part of the AFC Asian Cup Qatar 2023.The coach explained that they are looking forward to performing well in the tournament despite the difficulty of competing in their group, stressing that they benefited from the preparation period and the final camp.The Hong Kong national team returns to participate in the Asian Cup after an absence of 55 years, as its last appearance in the continental championship dates back to the 1968 edition.

Umm Salal will face Al Arabi on Saturday in the 2023-2024 season Ooredoo Cup final at the Grand Hamad Stadium.The contest is expected to be feisty with both the teams seeking their maiden tournament trophy in their third finals, having ended up as the runners-up twice each, the QSL website reported.While Umm Salal had made it to the finals of Ooredoo Cup earlier in 2010-2011 season and last year 2022-2023 season, Al Arabi were in the final of 2012-2013 and 2019-2020 seasons.So the teams will now be eager to be third time lucky. The final on Saturday therefore shall provide for a lot of excitement and competition.Umm Salal made the grade with a 2-0 win over Al Ahli in the semifinal and will aim to continue their good run by eventually winning the tournament title. The Orange Fortress had lost by a solitary goal to Al Duhail the previous season and having reached the final for a second successive time, they would surely want to taste success.In contrast, Al Arabi qualified for the final prevailing over Qatar SC in the semis on penalties (4-3) after the game was locked 2-2 at the end of regulation time. The Dream Team too are eager to succeed in the final and lift the trophy.Umm Salal's French coach Patrice Carteron will seek to find the perfect combination of his team against the challenging Al Arabi. Umm Salal have excelled under coach's guidance having earlier topped their group before getting the better of Al Shamal in the last eight and Al Ahli in the semifinal.Their excellence on the field has been led by Algerian striker Andy Delort, who has scored seven goals in the tournament so far, as well as Marouane Loudani, Victor Lakhel, Nasser Al Nasr and Adel Alawi among others.Al Arabi coach Younes Ali is also a master tactician and will surely motivate his wards to come up with a strong performance in a match which matters the most and achieve the team's dream of their first title of the season.The coach has many prominent players capable of delivering the results and of these at the forefront are Syrian striker Omar Al Somah, Brazilian Rafinha, Helal Mohamed, Nasser Kalla and Youssef Muftah among others.The Ooredoo Cup final is surely expected to provide for a lot of fireworks given the form and fitness of both Umm Salal and Al Arabi.

The Dakar Rally roars into life today in Saudi Arabia with Qatari legend Nasser al-Attiyah seeking a sixth title and third in a row in the mythic motorsport marathon.A 425-strong colourful caravanserai made up of cars, bikes, quads and trucks sets out from Al-Ula on a treacherous 4,900-mile odyssey around the Gulf kingdom with a January 19 finish in Yanbu on the Red Sea.This year’s route includes a first ever 48-hour stage in the Empty Quarter, a vast sea of sand with dunes as far as the eye can see. The 53-year-old al-Attiyah is adept at multi-tasking - juggling the sand dunes of Saudi with his other passion, skeet shooting.He took bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, and in September added two medals at the Asian Games to add to the shooting golds he collected in 2002 and 2010. He now puts his preparations for his seventh Olympics in Paris in July to one side to try to become only the third driver to win three successive Dakars. “The last Dakar was difficult for everyone. It’s incredible that I was able to hold on to my title,” he told the event’s official website.Al-Attiyah first mastered the Dakar in 2011 in a Volkswagen, winning the 2015 edition in a Mini before success for Toyota in 2019, 2022 and last year. He has since left the Japanese constructor to drive his Nasser Racing Team-sponsored and British-based Prodrive Hunter. “I’m so happy to have won five times. I’m now delighted to be part of a new team and to take on a new challenge for the next Dakar. It gives me new motivation in my quest for victory on the Dakar. I’ve won the Dakar five times with three different teams. We will make rally history if we win the 2024 Dakar with the Prodrive Hunter.”One of his arch rivals, nine-time world rally champion Sebastian Loeb, is also behind the wheel of a ProDrive for his BRX Team. Loeb has finished second to his new teammate in the past two runnings with no fewer than seven stage wins last term. Al-Attiyah said he had “a lot of respect” for Loeb.After knocking at the Dakar door in 2022 and 2023 Loeb approaches his eighth edition full of optimism. “What I remember from the last Dakar is that this second place is motivating for the future because we were competitive,” said the 49-year-old Frenchman. “We now have to put everything together to win. Of course, it’s not easy to beat Nasser al-Attiyah and (co-driver) Mathieu Baumel. They hardly make any mistakes. To do that, they’d have to have a few little problems.”Stephane Peterhansel, who holds the all-time record of 14 Dakar wins, and former rally champion and three-time winner Carlos Sainz, father of Ferrari’s Formula One driver who bears the same name, are driving Audi’s hybrid-electric car.In the bike section defending champion Kevin Benavides, who beat Toby Price by a thrilling 43 seconds last year, is back to defend his title after recovering from a broken femur and wrist. The Argentinian KTM rider, a winner with Honda in 2021, said: “I have nothing to prove. But the motivation is the same. “I continue to ride because I love it. I think I have a chance to achieve more. I’m ultra-competitive. I’m going to give my best. I’m going with the hope of winning a third star.”The 46th running of the event may be called the Dakar, but the last time the Senegalese capital actually hosted the finish was way back in 2007 - the security situation in Mauritania forced the 2008 cancellation. It moved then to South America until finding a new home in Saudi Arabia since 2020.The Saudis are spending billions to turn the conservative Arab monarchy often criticised for its human rights record into a major sporting force as it tries to diversify its economy away from oil.Aside from the Dakar the Saudis have invested spectacularly in luring some of the world’s top footballers into the Saudi Pro-League. The kingdom also stages a Formula One Grand Prix in Jeddah, high profile boxing fights, the world’s richest horse race, and last season rocked the world of golf with the launch of the LIV Tour. The kingdom is also the sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup.

Qatar will take on Jordan today in what will be their final friendly before they open their AFC Asian Cup title defence on January 12 at the Lusail Stadium. The game is Qatar’s second friendly to be played behind closed doors in Doha after they defeated Cambodia 3-0 with striker Almoez Ali smashing a hat-trick on Sunday.Coach Marquez Lopez on Wednesday announced a 26-player squad for the Asian Cup with Al Duhail’s Khaled Mohamed and Ismail Mohamed replacing Osama al-Tairi and Mohamed Muntari, who were injured during the training camp underway at Aspire Academy. After meeting Lebanon in their opening game at the Asian Cup, Qatar will meet Tajikistan at the Al Bayt Stadium on January 17, before their final group stage match takes place on January 22 against China at the Khalifa International Stadium.Coached by Hussein Amouta – a former Al Sadd tactician – Jordan are in Group E of the Asian Cup with their opening match scheduled against Malaysia on January 15 at Al Janoub Stadium. They will also face pre-event favourites South Korea and Bahrain in the group stage.Before starting their Asian Cup campaign, Jordan will also play a friendly against Japan on January 9. Jordan will enter today’s match with a seven-match winless streak as Amouta is yet to secure a win since taking over last summer.

Samuel Silvera is keen on stamping his mark after making it to the Australian AFC Asian Cup Qatar squad. The Middlesbrough forward only collected his first international cap with the Socceroos last September but has done enough to earn head coach Graham Arnold’s faith as Australia look to reclaim the trophy they won in 2015.“Honestly, it’s a massive privilege,” he said in an interview on the Socceroos website. “Thank you to Arnie (Graham Arnold) for putting the trust in me, to have the confidence in me, hopefully I can repay him when I get on the pitch. We’re going to work hard, and the focus is obviously to go out and do our best, for myself as well as for the team.”“I think the first couple days have been just getting amongst the boys and having a good laugh and getting the camaraderie going. But I think we have an amazing squad here, and I think with the talent that we have in this squad, we can do really well in this tournament.”With four goals and three assists thus far for his English club this season, Silvera is certainly in fine form and will get to showcase his value when Australia take on Bahrain in a friendly match in Abu Dhabi tomorrow. In the AFC Asian Cup, Australia are in Group B where they will face India in their opening game on January 13 with matches against Syria and Uzbekistan to come.Saudi beat Lebanon in friendlyMeanwhile, Saudi Arabia beat Lebanon 1-0 the friendly match at the Al Wakrah Stadium on Thursday. The only goal of the match was scored by Firas al-Braikan in the 48th minute.Saudi, which won the Asian Cup in 1984, 1988 and 1996, will face Oman, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan at the Asian Cup, while Lebanon are grouped with hosts Qatar, China and Tajikistan.Among the teams that have checked in, Uzbekistan and Jordan completed their first training session in Doha on Wednesday.

Girona coach Michel Sanchez insisted his team cannot keep up with La Liga leaders Real Madrid despite their stunning 4-3 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday to pull level in first place.The Catalan minnows, promoted to the top flight in 2022, are tied with leaders Real Madrid at the half-way stage of the season, 10 points clear of third place Atletico Madrid and champions Barcelona. However the coach has insisted his team are not in the same bracket as Spain’s big three and maintained that line after the remarkable triumph at their Montilivi stadium. “We cannot keep up with Madrid’s rhythm, we don’t want to put that label on ourselves (of challengers),” Michel told reporters. “To talk about bigger things, like the Champions League, we have to get to the last 10 matches...then I’ll be ready to talk about our next objective.”Michel said his team’s only goal at this point of the season was qualifying for European competition. “(Winning the league) is not the objective, the objective is first to think game-by-game, and try to reach Europe, which would already be a success for us,” he added.Girona, who have scored 46 goals, more than any other side in the top flight, are 13 points clear of fifth place Athletic Bilbao, giving them a strong chance of finishing in the top four. Michel’s side thrashed Barcelona 4-2 in December, with the Spanish champions aiming to cut down the 10 point gap when they visit Las Palmas.After Real Madrid edged Real Mallorca 1-0 thanks to Antonio Rudiger’s goal, Ivan Martin’s stoppage time strike ensured Girona matched Carlo Ancelotti’s side on 48 points from 19 matches.Alvaro Morata hit a hat-trick for Atletico at Girona’s tiny Montilivi stadium, but it was not enough as Martin found the top corner at the death to keep Girona firmly in the hunt for the title. Valery Fernandez, Savinho and Daley Blind netted for the hosts in a wild first half, with Morata twice scoring for Atletico.Mallorca battled well against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu before Rudiger grabbed the hosts their victory. The defender headed home from a corner with 12 minutes remaining to settle a tight clash in which Mallorca twice hit the woodwork. Vinicius Junior made his return from injury as Los Blancos struggled to find a way through against their stubborn visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu.Eventually Rudiger converted from Luka Modric’s corner to seal victory. “I scored last season (against Mallorca) and this year again, I’m very happy because it was an important goal and an important three points for us,” said Rudiger.Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was happy his team took advantage of a set piece to secure victory, just as they did against Alaves in their last game of 2023. “We lacked some freshness and accuracy in the final third, but we won because of a well-taken set piece,” Ancelotti told reporters. “There are games like today’s in which dead balls can give you an advantage - we played against a team that defended well.”Madrid have now gone 18 matches without defeat across all competitions. With David Alaba and Eder Militao injured and Nacho Fernandez suspended, the Italian was forced to innovate, but he was able to bring winger Vinicius back into the side for the first time since November 11 after a hamstring injury.Vinicius dragged wide of goal and then was thwarted by Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic on a relatively quiet return. Ancelotti withdrew Vinicius in the 60th minute for Brahim Diaz, who hit the post with a close-range diving header before Rudiger eventually pounced.

Jockey Mickael Barzalona guided Wathnan Racing’s Razy to HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Trophy victory at the Rayan Racecourse on Thursday.Alban de Mieulle-trained five-year-old gelding won the 1,600m race for Local Purebred Arabians for four-year-old+, to give the trio their third victory of the day. It was also an impressive 1-2-3 for the winning owner and trainer with Nesrine finishing second and Bakir finishing third. Only a head and a further head separated the first three.Earlier, The HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cup, a Gr 2 race for Purebred Arabians over 1,600m, saw a thrilling blanket finish with the Sheikh Ahmad bin Mohamed F N al-Thani-owned and Mohamed Salama Ashour-trained Eifrit getting the better of his tough rivals AJS Jamran and Al Wakrah by a nose and neck respectively to land the spoils.His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Khalifa al-Thani, in the presence of Issa bin Mohamed al-Mohannadi, QREC Chairman, crowned the winners of the race.Trainer M H K al-Attiyah and jockey Szczepan Mazur made it a quick-fire double as they took the HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Silver Cup thanks to AJS Lattam, who is also owned and bred by Al Jeryan Stud.The four-year-old colt bounced back to excellent form, winning the 1600m race for Purebred Arabians by almost two lengths, taking his career record to five wins in seven starts.For the second straight year, AJS Berline won the Gr3 PA Majd Al Arab Sprinter Championship, keeping the title for her owner and breeder Al Jeryan Stud and trainer M H K al-Attiyah.Again, under the same jockey Szczepan Mazur, the seven-year-old mare sped two and a half lengths clear of the field to win the 1100m race impressively.The Umm Qarn Trophy, an open race for Thoroughbreds, saw the same trainer/jockey pair of Alban de Mieulle and Mickael Barzalona team up with Bolthole and complete a quick-fire double, also in the colours of Wathnan Racing, as the five-year-old horse took the 2,000m contest by a length, getting one better in his second start in Qatar.The French King Cup, a 1,600m Local Thoroughbreds race, saw the impressive Equinoxe, owned by Wathnan Racing, repeating the same scenario of last year scoring a head victory. In doing so, the seven-year-old horse retained the same title for the third year in a row for trainer Alban de Mieulle with Mickael Barzalona onboard this time around. Harb came second.Sheikha Alanood bint Abdullah al-Thani, Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, of Education Above All, presented the trophies to the winners.RESULTS 20th Al Rayyan Meeting: HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani Cups & Trophy DayWINNERS: Horse, Trainer, Jockey)1 - HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani TrophyRazy, Alban de Mieulle, Mickael Barzalona2 - HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin KhalifaAl Thani CupEifrit, Mohamed Salama Ashour, Jefferson Smith3 - HH Sheikh Abdullah Bin KhalifaAl Thani Silver CupAJS Lattam, M H K al-Attiyah, Szczepan Mazur4 - Majd Al Arab Sprinter Championship, Purebred ArabiansAJS Berline, M H K al-Attiyah, Szczepan Mazur5 - Umm Qarn Trophy, Thoroughbred Open RaceBolthole, Alban de Mieulle, Mickael Barzalona6 - French King Cup, Local Thoroughbred Open RaceEquinoxe, Alban de Mieulle, Mickael Barzalona7 - Yasmeen Cup, Thoroughbred HandicapMaraseem, Georges Mikhalides, Jefferson Smith8 - Charm Spirit Cup, Thoroughbred HandicapSherood, Ahmed al-Jehani, Tomas Lukasek9 - Very Nice Name Cup, Thoroughbred Novice PlatePavise, Nasser Ghazali, Soufiane Saadi

Lee Kang-in and Kylian Mbappe scored first-half goals as Paris Saint-Germain won the first silverware of the French season on Wednesday, beating Toulouse 2-0 to claim the Champions Trophy.Lee, playing his final game before heading off to the Asian Cup in Qatar with South Korea, put PSG ahead in the third minute, leaving Toulouse with an uphill battle at the Parc des Princes.Mbappe then added a superb second goal just before half-time, as Paris claimed the Champions Trophy for the 10th time in the last 11 seasons.“We were exceptional in the first half. It was our best 45 minutes of my time here,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique after claiming his first silverware as a coach since leaving Barcelona in 2017.France’s version of a Super Cup is habitually the curtain-raiser to the season and has usually been staged abroad over the last 15 years, including in Tel Aviv at the beginning of the last campaign.This season’s edition was initially due to be played in Thailand in August before being postponed and held in PSG’s own stadium rather than on neutral ground.Home advantage gave Luis Enrique’s team, the reigning Ligue 1 champions, the edge as they opened the scoring from one of their first attacks, Lee firing in from Ousmane Dembele’s cushioned first-time ball into the middle. It was a third goal of the season for Lee.