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AMMAN — The U-16 girls football team plays India on Thursday in their fourth and final match in Group B Asian qualifiers currently under way in Bangladesh for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation U-16 Women’s Championship. Jordan failed to repeat its qualification to championship and is now out of the competition following an unexpected 1-0 defeat to Bangladesh in the opening match. The squad had jumped back into the competition after a solid 8-1 win over the UAE, however, their 6-1 loss to Iran ended their hopes of capturing the sole qualifying slot from the group.

AMMAN — Jordan’s Orthodoxi came in fourth at the 16th Arab Clubs Basketball Championship for Women which took place in Alexandria, Egypt. Orthodoxi lost the match deciding third place to Algeria’s Petrolier 70-61. Lebanon’s Riyadi beat Egypt’s Sporting 84-75 to retain the title. In the first round, Orthodoxi lost to Lebanon’s Riyadi 81-49 and Egypt’s Sporting 89-77 before jumping back to beat Egypt’s Sammouha 74-64. In the quarters, they beat Lebanon’s Homenetmen 76-65 to advance to the semis where they lost to Riyadi 78-45.

LONDON — Queens Park Rangers (QPR) striker Adel Taarabt has hit back at manager Harry Redknapp who called him overweight and unfit at the weekend. “It’s not true to say I’m not fit. He tried to give an excuse,” Taarabt told the Daily Mail in an interview published on Tuesday. “I was desperate to play before the game. I was fuming when I didn’t play. He should have said ‘when he is fit he will play’. He is an experienced manager and he should have controlled that situation.” Redknapp had criticised Taarabt after his side crashed to a 3-2 defeat at home to Liverpool on Sunday, even though the Morocco striker did not play, which kept them rooted at the bottom of the Premier League on four points from eight games.

LONDON/BRUSSELS — Liverpool will expect their noisy fans to recreate the special Anfield atmosphere that has helped them become kings of Europe five times when they take on Champions League winners Real Madrid on Wednesday night.

Brendan Rodgers’s team, third in Group B with three points from two matches, have not yet shown the swagger that swept them to second place in the Premier League last season and they laboured to a 3-2 win at bottom club Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.

Liverpool, though, have won all three previous games against Real in Europe’s elite competition and manager Rodgers is confident his players will give the 10-time champions a run for their money in front of a typically raucous home crowd.

“Real are playing as well as they have played for the last five to 10 years,” he told the club website.

“What’s great for us is that we’re playing at home. We have a great crowd and this is a team that can rise to the level.

“Real Madrid, as the champions, are an exceptionally good side but we’ll be ready.”

Liverpool’s shortcomings were all too evident against QPR and with striker Daniel Sturridge missing with a calf injury and Mario Balotelli short of confidence, breaking down Carlo Ancelotti’s side could be a problem.

Real have no such issues up front and with Cristiano Ronaldo bagging 15 goals in eight La Liga matches, Rodgers is well aware of the challenges Liverpool face. 

Amazing player 

“He is an amazing player and his evolution over the past few years into becoming a goal-scorer has been incredible,” said the former Swansea City boss.

“Real have everything, a lot of experience, top players, speed and technique.”

Ancelotti’s men have hit form in La Liga with five straight victories but they look likely to be without forward Gareth Bale who has a buttock muscle strain.

Defender Alvaro Arbeloa, who spent two and a half seasons with Liverpool, is looking forward to returning to his former club.

“It will be a great experience for me but I have also told my teammates to enjoy the match at Anfield as much as possible,” the Spaniard told reporters.

“We will face a team that will go out and fight to the death and give everything because they need to win.”

Real top Group B having already beaten Swiss club Basel and Ludogorets of Bulgaria.

“We are doing very well and are on track,” Arbeloa said. “We know we have two games against Liverpool now which will be decisive in where we finish in the group.”

Not firing on all cylinders

If Anderlecht are to have any realistic chance of prolonging their involvement beyond the group stage, a home win over Arsenal on Wednesday is paramount.

The Belgium side are joint bottom of Group D with one point from their opening two games, two points behind Arsenal and five behind leaders Borussia Dortmund.

Arsenal are not firing on all cylinders, however, and Saturday’s 2-2 home draw with Hull City left Arsene Wenger’s side 11 points off the pace in the Premier League.

The London club are still formidable opponents, but if ever there was a good time to face the Gunners it might be when they are stretched with record signing Mesut Ozil, Olivier Giroud and Mathieu Debuchy injured and first-choice keeper Wojciech Szczesny suspended after his red card against Galatasaray.

Theo Walcott is on the verge of a return after a long-standing knee injury while Aaron Ramsey (hamstring) and Jack Wilshere (knee) are slight doubts but should be available.

Reserve keeper David Ospina is also injured so third-choice Emiliano Martinez is expected to start for Arsenal.

Despite the injuries, midfielder Mathieu Flamini says there are no excuses for a moderate start to the season.

“We’re having injuries but we don’t want to hide behind any excuses,” said Flamini.

“We’re facing the truth — we didn’t win on Saturday and we’ll try to find a solution for the next games.”

Massive achievement

While failure to reach the knockout rounds for the 12th consecutive season would represent failure for Arsenal, getting there would be a massive achievement for Anderlecht.

Since 2000/01 when they reached the now defunct second group stage, they have finished bottom of their group seven times, including last season when they managed a solitary point.

They also have failed to win any of their last 10 Champions League matches and were held 1-1 at Mechelen on Sunday, their fifth draw in 11 Belgium league matches this season.

Arsenal have also drawn five of their opening eight in the Premier League and Wenger was in a tetchy mood after two more points were dropped against Hull at the weekend.

Anderlecht manager Besnik Hasi believes both sides find themselves in a similar position.

“We find it difficult to win, and that worries me,” Hasi told Sporza website. “Wednesday against Arsenal expectations are high. They are doing the same as us but hopefully we can boost our level a bit.”

Steven Defour will be Anderlecht’s main attacking threat while the Belgian league leaders will hope that international defender Anthony Vanden Borre may be able to play some part after playing an hour for Belgium’s under-21s last week, having been sidelined with a calf injury.

AMMAN — The U-16 girls football team takes on leaders Iran on Tuesday in their third match in Group B Asian qualifiers currently under way in Bangladesh for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation U-16 Women’s Championship.

Jordan jumped back into the competition after a solid 8-1 win over the UAE that secured the squad’s first three points and moved to third in the group.

The Kingdom’s team suffered an unexpected 1-0 defeat to hosts Bangladesh in the opening match putting the team under extra pressure in their bid for grabbing the sole qualifying slot from the group.

“We needed this win. It gave the players the confidence and boosted our qualifying chances ahead of the Iran match. We will play for a win, and are ready,” Jordan’s coach Manar Freij said ahead of the Iran match.

Jordan will play India in its last match. 

So far, Iran beat the UAE 9-0, and India 2-1 to keep the lead as Bangladesh beat the UAE 6-0 to take second place. India beat Bangladesh 2-1.

Twenty-one teams are competing in the qualifiers for the AFC Championship in two zones. West Zone (Groups A and B) teams from West and South/Central Asia, and East Zone (C and D), teams from East Asia and ASEAN. 

Six teams have already booked their spots: Japan, North Korea and China. Thailand, who was the top four in the last championship, has qualified automatically. In addition, four group winners will qualify to the championship. South Korea from Group C and Taiwan from Group D have also now qualified.

The champions and runners-up at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship set for Wuhan, China, in November 2015 will represent Asia at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2016 in Jordan. 

Jordan first played at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship for the first time in 2013.

MANCHESTER, England — This was supposed to be the season Manchester City finally made a sustained push in the Champions League.

It’s not working out that way for the English champions.

City are the most high-profile team in early trouble in Europe’s elite club competition after picking up just one point from their first two group games.

It means City manager Manuel Pellegrini is already treating Tuesday’s trip to CSKA Moscow, the first of a double-header against the Russian side, like “a final”.

There are no such problems for Champions League heavyweights Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, who all have a maximum six points heading into the third round of group matches.

The standout fixture in Matchday 3 is Liverpool vs. Madrid on Wednesday — a match between clubs who have won Europe’s biggest prize a combined 15 times.

Here are some things to know about the upcoming Champions League games:

City’s struggles

Since an influx of Abu Dhabi cash in 2008, Man City have won every trophy going in English football, including the Premier League title twice. Success in Europe is proving much harder to come by.

In three seasons in the Champions League, City have twice failed to get out of their group and were eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage the other time.

So far this campaign, City have lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich and were disappointing in a 1-1 home draw with Roma that left the English champions facing an uphill struggle in Group E.

“We have two games against CSKA Moscow [and] we need win to win both of them,” Pellegrini said. “The best way is to treat every game as a final, try to win it and then win the next final.”

The match will be played in front of no fans as punishment for CSKA for racist incidents by their supporters. City midfielder Yaya Toure was a target of racist abuse by CSKA fans last season.

Evergreen Totti

Roma host Bayern in the other match in City’s group, with striker and captain Francesco Totti enjoying a new lease of life as he helps the team challenge on two fronts this season.

Totti became the oldest scorer in the Champions League’s 22-year history in the last round of fixtures, when he netted the equaliser against City three days after his 38th birthday.

The forward is also closing in on Silvio Piola’s all-time Serie A top scoring record of 274 goals. He scored penalties in each of his last two games to take his tally to 237.

Roma were without several of their star players in a 3-0 victory over Chievo Verona on Saturday, with Juan Iturbe and Gervinho expected to return against 2013 champion Bayern. 

Scoring records

Lionel Messi has the chance to become the all-time leading scorer in both the Champions League and the Spanish League this week.

Cristiano Ronaldo might, though, beat him to the milestone in Europe.

Records are falling fast for the world’s top two players, and both will again take aim at Raul Gonzalez’s all-time mark of 71 goals in the Champions League.

Ronaldo has scored 69 goals in the competition — not counting one the Real Madrid forward scored in a qualifying round. Messi has 68 goals, and will get the first shot at Raul’s record on Tuesday when Barcelona host Ajax in Group F.

Ronaldo will have to wait one more day for Madrid’s visit to Liverpool in Group B, in which he has scored in both his games so far.

Ronaldo is having a superb start to the season. The Ballon d’Or holder established the best scoring start to a Spanish League season on Saturday when he scored his 14th and 15th goals through the first eight rounds.

Messi can overshadow that feat next weekend when Barcelona visit Madrid in La Liga. The Argentina forward needs one goal to match Telmo Zarra’s all-time leading tally of 251 goals that has stood since 1955.

PSG injuries

Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-2 win over Barcelona on Matchday 2 gave the French champions some breathing space atop Group F.

They might need it, given their injury problems.

Ahead of the trip to play Apoel Nicosia in Cyprus on Tuesday, PSG coach Laurent Blanc could be without his entire back four of Thiago Silva (hamstring), David Luiz (thigh), Marquinhos (thigh) and Lucas Digne (knee), while key midfielder Blaise Matuidi has a hip injury. Winger Ezequiel Lavezzi (hamstring) is also out.

Blanc’s biggest dilemma, however, is over Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

The Sweden star has missed seven straight games — five in the league for PSG and two with Sweden — as he tries to shake off a nagging heel injury.

With Edinson Cavani suspended for PSG’s crucial league game against title rival Bordeaux next weekend, Blanc may be better off resting Ibrahimovic against Apoel — even if he is fit to play — rather than rushing him back.

Dortmund in crisis 

The Champions League can’t come quickly enough for Borussia Dortmund, which play Galatasaray on Wednesday in Turkey.

After four defeats in five Bundesliga games without a win, 2013 finalist Dortmund is looking to European competition for relief.

“You can call it a crisis. What else?” said Dortmund sport director Michael Zorc after Saturday’s 2-1 loss at Cologne, the third in a row.

Dortmund have two wins from two Group D games in the Champions League, however, with no goals conceded against Arsenal or Anderlecht.

SYDNEY — Western Sydney Wanderers gave up a two goal lead to go down 3-2 to Sydney FC in a pulsating A-League derby on Saturday night in another hiccup in their preparations for next week’s Asian Champions League final. Spain striker David Villa, meanwhile, continued to make his mark in his 10-match loan period in Australia, scoring an equaliser to earn a point for Melbourne City for the second week in a row in their match against Newcastle Jets on Sunday. Champions Brisbane Roar were denied their first points of the season when Andy Keogh completed a hat-trick with a stoppage time header to give Perth Glory a 3-2 win, while 2013 title winners Central Coast Mariners were also upset 2-1 at home by Wellington Phoenix. More than 106,000 fans turned out to watch the five matches, a record for a regular season weekend in the burgeoning league.

BARCELONA, Spain — Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 14th and 15th goals to set a record scoring start in a Spanish league season as Real Madrid eased to a 5-0 win at Levante on Saturday, while Lionel Messi scored to move one goal from the competition’s all-time scorer.

Messi guided league leader Barcelona to a 3-0 win at home over promoted Eibar, setting up Xavi Hernandez to break through in the second half and scoring after Neymar had doubled the lead.

Messi is now poised to equal Telmo Zarra’s milestone of 251 goals that has stood since 1955 next week at rival Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo also extended his record of not conceding a goal to eight matches as the Catalan club maintained its four-point advantage over Madrid at the top of the standings.

“We will go out to win at the Bernabeu as we have always done, especially in recent years,” said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique.

Valencia and Sevilla can both pass Madrid, which moved into a provisional second place, with wins on Sunday.

While Messi closed on Zarra, Ronaldo made sure to make his own mark by breaking a record that had stood since the 1943-44 season when Oviedo’s Esteban Echevarria scored 14 goals through the first eight rounds.

The Ballon d’Or holder opened from the penalty spot in the 13th minute before adding another goal in the 61st, increasing his league-leading tally to 15 goals in eight rounds despite missing one game due to injury.

“It is impossible to do more than what [Ronaldo] does,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti. “There are no goals without sacrifice, a fighting spirit and concentration.”

Javier Hernandez, James Rodriguez and Francisco “Isco” Alarcon also scored to rout the overmatched hosts at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium.

Ancelotti said that Gareth Bale didn’t play because of pain in his gluteus. The manager rested him as a precaution with Madrid visiting Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday before the first “clasico” match of the season three days later.

Elsewhere, Manuel “Nolito” Agudo continued his strong campaign by scoring in the 73rd minute to give Celta Vigo a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao, keeping the Basque club with one win in 10 matches in all competitions not counting its elimination of Napoli from the Champions League play-offs.

Malaga settled for a 2-1 win at Cordoba that could have been bigger on first-half goals by Samuel Garcia and Nordin Amrabat before Nibal Ghilas pulled on back in injury time. Malaga stayed in the upper half of the table while Cordoba remained the only winless side in the 20-team top division.

Ronaldo has scored 19 goals in all competitions and found the net in 10 of his 12 appearances overall for Madrid. He also grabbed a stoppage-time winner for Portugal in a 1-0 victory over Denmark in a European Championship qualifier on Tuesday.

Hernandez had a part in Ronaldo’s first goal when he took a pass in the area and was fouled from behind by Juanfran Garcia. Ronaldo stepped up and drove in the spot kick.

Hernandez played well in place of the ill Karim Benzema and scored in the 38th minute when he headed Rodriguez’s cross in off the grass.

Ronaldo made it 3-0 with an electrifying slalom to dribble past two defenders and cap a counterattack started by Isco.

Rodriguez scored five minutes later after deftly controlling Toni Kroos’ lobbed pass with his chest, and Isco finished off the demoralised Levante in the 82nd minute.

Madrid’s Luca Modric was substituted in the 79th minute for a possible leg injury, giving Alvaro Medran his debut.

Eibar was not intimidated by its first match at Camp Nou, choosing its moments well to go forward and almost surprised Barcelona twice in an evenly-matched first half.

Forward Ander Capa misfired on an open goal from an angle in the 41st minute after he received a long pass and rounded Bravo, and three minutes later Bravo had to rush out to block Saul Berjon’s attempt.

Eibar hung on for an hour until Messi turned playmaker by picking out Xavi’s run and threading a ball through for the captain to score in the 60th minute.

Neymar calmed the uneasy Camp Nou crowd by volleying in Dani Alves’ cross in the 72nd minute for his eighth league goal of the season, and the Brazil striker worked a one-two to help Messi fire the ball in off the upright two minutes later.

AMMAN — The U-16 girls football team plays the UAE on Sunday in their second match in Group B Asian qualifiers currently under way in Bangladesh for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-16 Women’s Championship.

Jordanian team lost to hosts Bangladesh 1-0 in the opening match making their task of grabbing the sole qualifying slot from the group a bit more challenging. 

Coach Manar Freij said the defeat was tough on the team but they still had a chance to make up for the opening loss. 

“This is not the end. We are going to put this defeat behind us and concentrate on the three matches ahead. We will give it our best,” he said.

Following the UAE match, Jordan will play Iran and India. India plays Bangladesh on Sunday. So far, Iran beat the UAE 9-0.

Twenty-one teams are competing in the qualifiers for the AFC Championship in two zones. West Zone (Groups A and B) teams from West and South/Central Asia, and East Zone (C and D), teams from East Asia and ASEAN. 

Six teams have already booked their spots: Japan, North Korea, China, Thailand — who were the top four in the last championship have qualified automatically. In addition, four group winners will qualify to the championship. South Korea from Group C, and Taiwan from Group D have also now qualified.

Jordan first played at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship in 2013.

The champions and runners-up at the AFC U-16 Women’s Championship set for Wuhan, China, in November 2015 will represent Asia at the FIFA 2016 U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan. 

FRANKFURT, Germany — The vanishing spray used by referees in free kick situations is making its debut in the Bundesliga this weekend despite a recent study that called it potentially unsafe.

Borussia Dortmund is hoping its problems will vanish too after the international break so it can start catching up with Bayern Munich, which host bottom-place Werder Bremen.

Dortmund visits Cologne, while Schalke hosts Hertha Berlin under a new coach and second-place Hoffenheim visits Hamburg.

Here are some things to know about the weekend matches in the Bundesliga:

Vanishing spray here to stay

A recent study commissioned by one of Germany's newspapers recently showed — rather vaguely — that vanishing spray could potentially be a health hazard and that it was not properly labelled. However, a technical inspection agency, which incidentally sponsors Germany's referees, found nothing wrong with the spray and certified the product made in Argentina that was used at the World Cup in Brazil.

The German Football Federation (DFB) is introducing the spray at the urging of the clubs, although the referees themselves were sceptical about its benefits. It is used to keep the wall at the proper distance from the ball at free kicks.

"The spray is nothing revolutionary, it is not going to change football," said Lutz Michael Froehlich, chief of the refereeing section of the DFB. "If a can malfunctions, the match will not be interrupted. But it could lead to calming the situation in the penalty area during free-kick situations."

Dortmund's fresh start 

Seven matches into the season, Borussia Dortmund finds itself only in 13th place and, more importantly, already 10 points behind leader Bayern Munich.

Dortmund has lost three of its last four, with one draw. Now, after the break, Dortmund is hoping to resurrect its campaign.

"We've sworn to each other that this will be a restart now," defender Kevin Grosskreutz said. "We want to show our real football again. We haven't played well until now."

The reason for Dortmund's optimism is the return of three stars from injuries. Forward Marco Reus, midfielder Henrikh Mkhitayran and midfielder Ilkay Gundogan are available again. Gundogan, one of Bundesliga's best midfielders, has not played in 14 months because of back problems.

Shalke's new coach

Schalke is also hoping for a fresh start under new coach Roberto Di Matteo. Di Matteo, who won the Champions League title in 2012 when Chelsea beats Bayern on penalties in the final in Munich, was hired during the international break after the firing of Jens Keller.

Schalke is off to a shaky start and is only 11th in the 18-team league. It beat great rival Dortmund but then lost to Hoffenheim. The inconsistency cost Keller his job.

Captain Benedikt Hoewedes has praised Di Matteo.

"He gives clear instructions, has clear ideas and a clear system he wants to use," he said.

Still winless 

Werder Bremen and Freiburg are still without victories. It would be a major surprise if Bremen notched its first in Munich, but Freiburg has a better chance at home against Wolfsburg.

Bremen, which played in the Champions League five straight seasons starting in 2004, has fallen on hard times. But a recent fresh injection of cash by its chief sponsor could help the team overcome its slump.

Former star and Germany international Marco Bode will take over before the end of the year as president of the supervisory board from Willi Lemke. Bode's promotion is expected to draw more local sponsors to the club. 

Thiago's injury

Bayern Munich's director of sport Matthias Sammer says the club is "shocked and sad" over the new injury sustained by midfielder Thiago Alacantara.

Just days after returning from a long-term injury break, Thiago requires another operation after reinjuring the ligaments in his right knee.

"Thiago was so close to his comeback after a long time," Sammer said. "But he should know that the entire club is there for him. We'll do everything that he recovers and wins many titles with us."

Thiago partially tore the ligaments in practice on Tuesday. The Spaniard returned to team practice last week, and faces another lengthy recovery. He probably won't play until March.

He was injured in March and returned to training in May, only to suffer a setback and required surgery on his right knee that ruled him out of the World Cup.