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Wembanyama, Spurs stun Phoenix in last-gasp thriller

By - Nov 01,2023 - Last updated at Nov 01,2023

Jeremy Sochan #10 of the San Antonio Spurs is fouled by Grayson Allen #8 of the Phoenix Suns during the first quarter of an NBA game at Footprint Centre on Tuesday in Phoenix, Arizona (AFP photo)

LOS ANGELES — Victor Wembanyama scored 18 points as the San Antonio Spurs staged a dramatic comeback to snatch a last-gasp 115-114 victory over Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday.

San Antonio, coming off a brutal 40-point mauling by the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday, looked to be heading for another heavy defeat after Phoenix cruised into a 20-point lead early in the third quarter.

But a thrilling duel in Phoenix was turned on its head by San Antonio in the fourth quarter, who outscored the Suns 33-19 in the final frame to secure victory.

French prodigy Wembanyama, the No.1 NBA Draft pick, played a crucial role in the comeback, with a jump shot from 15 feet making it a three-point game with 49 seconds left on the clock.

The 2.24m tall teenager then tipped in a dunk to make it a one-point game with seven seconds remaining.

The decisive play however came from forward Keldon Johnson, who wrestled the ball away from a stunned Durant before driving to the basket for a layup that handed San Antonio their first lead of the game with just two seconds remaining.

There was still time for Durant to launch an attempted buzzer-beater, but his shot missed to leave San Antonio celebrating their first road win of the season.

“It wasn’t our prettiest game but we’re learning every day and we’re on the right path,” the 19-year-old Wembanyama told broadcaster TNT after the win.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich saluted his team’s ability to keep grinding away in search of a victory.

“We made a gazillion mistakes — but it’s a game of mistakes. And so does every team,” Popovich said.

“But we just kept playing and that’s the best thing about the group. I was really proud of them.”

 

‘Eager to sacrifice’ 

 

Wembanyama was one of five San Antonio players who finished in double figures.

Johnson led the Spurs scoring with 27 points while Wembanyama also had eight rebounds and four blocks.

The youngster from Paris revealed he had been determined not to be overawed by lining up against one of his NBA idols in Durant, who finished with 26 points to lead the Phoenix scoring.

“I mean KD, he’s just like in the highlights,” Wembanyama said of Durant.

“Sometimes I want to think like ‘This is a guy I’ve watched for 10 years, like my idol’. But I’ve got to lock in because I know he’s going to try and step on me the whole game. So I don’t care he’s my idol.”

Durant lamented conceding the late turnover from Johnson that ultimately cost Phoenix the win.

“It just happened so fast,” Durant said. “I should have held on to it.”

Wembanyama, who arrived in the NBA declaring he hoped to help San Antonio become championship contenders once again, added that the team’s transformation would require patience.

“How patient I am? As patient as we need to be. I’m new here,” he said. “I don’t know yet what it takes to win a championship but I’m eager to find out and make the sacrifices.

“The good thing is I have total trust in my organisation and my coach so you know, it’s going to take time.”

San Antonio’s win in Phoenix was one of three games in the NBA on Tuesday.

In Los Angeles, the Clippers hosted the Orlando Magic with new recruit James Harden in the building following his blockbuster trade from the Philadelphia 76ers.

Television footage showed Harden meeting his new team-mates in the locker room ahead of the clash, which the Clippers went on to win 118-102.

In the day’s other game, the New York Knicks outgunned the Cleveland Cavaliers on the road with Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson scoring 19 points apiece in a 109-91 victory.

Pakistan downs Bangladesh to stay alive at World Cup

By - Oct 31,2023 - Last updated at Nov 01,2023

Pakistan’s Iftikhar Ahmed (right) plays a shot as Bangladesh’s wicketkeeper Mushfiqur Rahim watches during the 2023 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup one-day international (ODI) match between Pakistan and Bangladesh at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday (AFP photo)

KOLKATA — Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed three wickets while openers Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique cracked half-centuries as Pakistan stormed to a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh on Tuesday to stay afloat in the race for a World Cup semi-final place.

Shaheen’s 3-23 helped Pakistan dismiss Bangladesh for just 204 in 45.1 overs before Zaman’s 74-ball 81 and Shafique’s 69-ball 68 guided Pakistan over the line for the loss of three wickets with 105 balls to spare.

The victory revived Pakistan’s outside hopes of reaching the semifinals with six points from seven matches.

They still need to win against New Zealand (November 4 in Bengaluru) and England (Kolkata on November 11) and also hope other results go their way if they are to stay in the tournament.

In contrast, Bangladesh became the first side to crash out of the 10-team event with just one win from seven games.

“We are trying to win our next two matches and let’s see where we stand. We will take a lot of confidence into those matches,” said Pakistan skipper Babar Azam who singled out Zaman for special praise.

“We know when Fahkar plays the way he can for 20-30 overs it is a different ball game. So we let him play his natural game and it is good to see.”

Needing to improve their net run-rate, Zaman and Shafique cruised to 128 by the 22nd over.

Shafique hit nine boundaries and two sixes as he made his third half century in addition to a hundred in the tournament.

He fell leg-before to spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz while Azam holed out to the same bowler for nine.

Zaman, who recovered from a knee injury to replace Imam-ul-Haq in one of three changes for Pakistan, smashed seven sixes and three boundaries, his 16th ODI fifty, but first after 11 innings.

He holed out to Miraz in the 28th over but Mohammad Rizwan (26) and Iftikhar Ahmed (17) remained undefeated to complete the modest chase.

Miraz finished with 3-60, the only bright spot in Bangladesh’s bowling.

“Two more matches hopefully we can bounce back. The fans supported us and are behind us whether we are doing well or not,” said Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.

“We have to give something back to them so they can smile.”

 

Shaheen’s 100th wicket 

 

Earlier, Shaheen and fellow fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim (3-31) and Haris Rauf (2-36) ripped through Bangladesh.

The pace trio were too hot to handle as Bangladesh struggled on a dry and slow Eden Gardens pitch.

Bangladesh, which won the toss and batted, only passed the 200-mark thanks to a solid 70-ball 56 from Mahmudullah, 45 by Liton Das and Shakib’s 64-ball 43.

Shaheen struck with the fifth ball of his first over, trapping opener Tanzid Hasan right in front of the stumps and then saw Usama Mir clutch on to a flick off Najmul Hossain Shanto (four) in his next.

The first dismissal gave Shaheen his 100th wicket in his 51st One-Day International, making him the 21st Pakistani bowler with a century of wickets.

Pace partner Haris made it 23-3 with the wicket of veteran Mushfiqur Rahim, caught behind for five in the sixth over.

It took a 79-run stand between Mahmudullah and Liton to carry Bangladesh to 102 when Iftikhar broke the stand with a soft dismissal of Liton, caught off a loose shot. Liton hit six boundaries in his 64-ball knock.

Shaheen came back for his second spell to finish off Mahmudullah, bowling him with a superb outswinger that hit the top of the off stump. Mahmudullah’s knock had a six and six boundaries.

Shaheen joined Australian spinner Adam Zampa as the top wicket-taker at this World Cup with 16.

Shakib, who had a poor tournament with just 61 runs in five innings ahead of Tuesday’s game, mistimed a hook off Rauf and was caught by Agha Salman after hitting four boundaries.

Miraz hit a six and a boundary to score a 30-ball 25 but Wasim removed him and then Taskin Ahmed (six) and Mustafizur Rahman (three) in successive overs as Bangladesh lost their last six wickets for 74 runs.

 

Hussein maintain Pro League lead heading in to week 7

By - Oct 31,2023 - Last updated at Nov 01,2023

AMMAN — The top teams in the Professional Football League have maintained their spotsahead of week 7 of matches kicking off on Wednesday.

Following over a month’s break  during which club players were busy on national duty, last week’s matches saw the leading teams score wins as standings changed midway through the 12-team group.

In the upcoming week, leaders Hussein who beat Aqaba 4-0 will play 11th placed Ahli; Wihdat, who beat Shabab Urdun 2-0, play Salt who are now 7th after holding Ma’an 2-2. Third placed Faisali ,who upset Ahli 1-0 ,play Jalil who beat Mugheer Sarhan 2-1 to move up to 5th; Ramtha, who beat Sahab 5-1 to hold on to 4th ,next play Maan, while Shabab Urdun play Aqaba, and Sahab play Mugheer Sarhan

Hussein are so far the only unbeaten team but are closely trailed by Wihdat with a postponed match for both.

So far in the season, Wihdat beat Faisali to winthe Jordan Super Cupfor their 15thtimetrying to beatFaisali ‘s record 17-time wins. Reigning Pro League champs Faisali won their 9th Jordan Football Association Shield, while the Jordan Cup is still underway.

Last season, three teams split four titles: in addition to being crowned Pro League champs, Faisali also won the 35th Jordan Football Association (JFA) Shield title when they beat Ramtha who in turn upset Faisali to win the 39th Jordan Super Cup.  Wihdat defeated Aqaba for their 11th  Jordan Cup final. 

The 2022 league, saw a close-fought contest at both ends of the standings.Faisali won the league title one point ahead of Wihdat and Hussein who tied in overall points and finished second and third respectively.

They were followed by Shabab Urdun, Aqaba, Ramtha, Ma’an, Salt , Sahab, Mugheer Sarhan, Sarih and Jazira.

A three-time league champ veteran Jazira, were relegated alongside Sarih, while Ahli and Jalil were promoted from the First Division. Jazira’s relegation was the fourth time– 1977, 1992, 2003, 2022 after the club was a frontrunner in the past five years and played in the AFC West Asia Zone final in 2018 and 2019.

In 2021, Ramtha won the League crown for the third time in their history after 39 years. 

Since the league kicked off in 1944 with only Faisali, Ahli, Urdun and Homenetmen competing, Faisali are now 35-time record league champs while Wihdat were champs 17 times since they joined in 1980.

Although Faisali are the all-time record holders, Wihdat's record is quite impressive. After four years in the Pro League, they won their first title in 1980 and have gone on to win the majority of titles since then.

Ahli won eight times, Ramtha and Jazira three times, ShababUrdun twice, Amman and Urdun clubs once.

 

Man City cruise against Man Utd exposes gulf in class

By - Oct 31,2023 - Last updated at Oct 31,2023

Manchester City’s Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland and Manchester United’s English defender #05 Harry Maguire (right) fight for the ball on the United goal-line during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England, on Sunday (AFP photo)

MANCHESTER, United Kingdom — Manchester City once feared a trip to Old Trafford but painted the town blue once more with a 3-0 victory over a demoralised United on Sunday to reassert their dominance.

A double from Erling Haaland before Phil Foden tapped home a third took Pep Guardiola’s men nine points clear of United just 10 games into the Premier League season.

Not since United last won the league in Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge, in 2012/13, have the Red Devils finished above their local rivals.

That run looks destined to go on for another season, with the clubs worlds apart on and off the pitch.

The travelling City support taunted the home fans with chants expressing the hope that United’s unpopular owners, the Glazer family, would remain for “10 more years”.

Initial optimism among the United fanbase that the Americans would sell the club they have controlled since 2005 looks likely to have been misplaced, with British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe set to settle for a minority stake after a year of negotiations.

United’s demise under the Glazers has coincided with the rise of City as the dominant force in English football, thanks to backing from Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour.

But money is not the only reason for the disparity in the performances of both clubs.

United have outspent City in the transfer market in recent years but have wasted millions in the process.

Despite his side’s struggles to score goals this season, United boss Erik ten Hag left expensive attacking talent in Antony and Mason Mount on the bench on Sunday.

 

City’s slick operation 

 

By contrast, City have a slick operation behind the scenes to match their football.

Guardiola cut short his successful managerial spells at Barcelona and Bayern Munich but is now into his eighth season at the Etihad.

“I know what we have done. I didn’t expect it,” he said when asked if he had envisaged the change in fortunes for the clubs after his seventh win at Old Trafford as City boss.

“I said many times we are in the same direction — the chairman, sporting director, manager and the players, we go there. When we lose or things aren’t going well we don’t find blame for someone. We work out what we have to do better and find solutions.”

Finding solutions for a season that threatens to spiral out of control is now Ten Hag’s job.

The Dutchman enjoyed plenty of plaudits for his first season in charge as he returned United to the Champions League and ended a six-year trophy drought by lifting the League Cup.

However, after another period of heavy investment in the summer transfer window, United have gone backwards at an alarming rate.

A return of five defeats from their opening 10 league games means the club have made their worst start since 1986/87, while they are also in severe danger of failing to make the Champions League knockouts.

Ten Hag’s decision to replace striker Rasmus Hojlund was met with a chorus of boos for the second time this season by the Old Trafford crowd and thousands marched out after Foden’s goal 10 minutes from time.

“It’s different levels,” said former United midfielder Roy Keane. “The United players are just short in every aspect, technically and tactically. It’s a long way back for this team.”

Frustration towards the Glazers has largely shielded Ten Hag from criticism so far.

But questions are beginning to be asked of the former Ajax boss, with United languishing eighth in the table, eight points adrift of the top four.

Catching City already looks an impossible task as Guardiola’s side target another historic landmark.

Fresh from matching United’s crowning glory under Ferguson by winning the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup in the same season, City are now aiming to become the first side to win the English top flight for a fourth consecutive year.

 

Faisali, Wihdat regroup to resume Asian competitions

By - Oct 29,2023 - Last updated at Oct 29,2023

AMMAN — Wihdat and Faisali have less than two weeks to amend the breaches in lineup and strategy before they resume Asian Football Confederation AFC Cup and AFC Champions League matches respectively.

Wihdat have taken the lead in the second tier Asian competition, the  AFC Cup,  after the initial three rounds.They will resume the second leg of Group B on November 7 when they play Iraq’s Kahraba’a.

The Jordanian veteran club beat Kahraba’a 3-1 after they lost to Kuwait SC 2-1 and beat Aleppo’s Ittihad 2-0 in the first leg.

Observers have noted despite Wihdat’s lead, the team has had inconsistent performances.  They will need to top the group to secure their spot and advance as only the best runner-up among 3 West Asia groups will advance as well.

On the other hand,  Faisali will resume their AFC Champions League round robin group stages on November 6 when they play Qatar’s Sadd in Group B.

The team is in disarray after changing coaches all season long and losing three matches in the Champions League due to a host of reasons, including inconsistent coaching staff, injuries, and unwarranted mistakes in defence and offence.

Their worst result was going  down 6-0 to Sadd,  after they lost to UAE’s Sharjah and to  Uzbekistan’s Nasaf Qarshi 1-0.

Jordan wins 7 medals at Asian Para Games

By - Oct 29,2023 - Last updated at Oct 29,2023

AMMAN — Jordan finished with a total  of 7 medals at the 4thAsian ParaGames which concluded in Hangzhou, China late Saturday.

Jordan took 15thspot on the medals table with (4 gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze medal) with powerlifting securing 5 of the 7 medals. The Kingdom won gold in powerlifting 49kg and 88kg, athletics 1500m T13 category and shot put F34 category; silver in powerlifting 79kg and 86 kg, and one bronze in powerlifting 107kg.

It was Jordan’s best finish to date in the past Asian Para Games. 

The Para Games is a multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities and is also known as Para Asiad. The multi-sport event regulated by the Asian Paralympic Committee is held every four years after every Asian Games.

Over 3,000 para-athletes from across Asia contended in 501 competitive events in 22 sports, before the closing ceremony handed over the flag to the next c0-hosts, Aichi-Nagoya, Japan 2026.

Earlier this summer, Hangzhou also hosted the 19th Asian Games where Jordan won 9 medals as the Kingdom  finished with 5 silver and 4 bronze medals in three competitions: Karate, taekwondo and basketball.

Jordan won its first gold at the 2006 Doha Games by taekwondo fighter Mohammed Al Bakhit. In 1998, Alaa Kotkot became the first Jordanian woman to win a medal- a silver  in taekwondo.Total overall medals at the past Games for Jordan were: Seoul 1986 (4), Hiroshima 1994 (3), Bangkok 1998 (5), Busan 2002 (2), Doha 2006 (8), Guangzhou 2010 (6), Incheon  2014 (4),  Indonesia 2018 (12) and Hangzhou 2022 (9).

Tyson Fury wins split decision against MMA fighter Ngannou

By - Oct 29,2023 - Last updated at Oct 29,2023

Britain’s Tyson Fury fights against Cameroonian-French Francis Ngannou during their heavyweight boxing match in Riyadh early on Sunday (AFP photo)

RIYADH — World heavyweight champion Tyson Fury beat mixed martial arts fighter Francis Ngannou in a split decision after their boxing bout went the distance in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Ngannou knocked Fury down in round three but the 35-year-old British fighter, though shaken, was able to continue.

The undefeated Fury, who earlier this week laughed off his opponent as a “big fat sausage”, afterwards acknowledged that the 37-year-old Cameroonian had effectively kept him off-balance.

“He’s a very awkward man, and he’s a good puncher and I respect him a lot,” Fury said of Ngannou, adding that it was “probably my toughest fight in 10 years”.

Fury was the overwhelming favourite against boxing novice Ngannou.

“This was my first boxing match, great experience — I’m not giving any excuse,” Ngannou said in a ringside interview.

“I know I come up short, I’m going to come back and work harder... now I know I can do this.”

Fury came out swinging in the first round with a hard right hand but sustained a cut to the forehead in the second round and looked especially sluggish after hitting the mat in the third.

The final rounds dragged as both men tired, neither able to land a decisive blow.

“I don’t know how close it was, but I got the win and that’s how it was,” Fury said.

“Fair play to Francis, he cut my head here. It was a good fight.”

Fury’s WBC heavyweight belt was not on the line in the “Battle of the Baddest” in the capital Riyadh, but Saudi officials nevertheless hoped it would further boost the Gulf kingdom’s reputation as a top-flight boxing destination.

With all parties desperate to lend the contest some sporting legitimacy, the WBC had fashioned a “Riyadh Champion” belt to allow the winner to strut around the ring at the end with something other than a fat pay cheque.

Fury has been linked with a £50 million ($60.6 million) payout from Sunday’s exhibition bout, while he has said in the British press that Ngannou will earn £10 million.

The war came up just once on Sunday, when heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov said after his undercard win: “Victory to our brothers in Palestine!”

 

Ski legend Moser-Proell hails ‘incredible’ Shiffrin

Oct 28,2023 - Last updated at Oct 28,2023

Austria’s Annemarie Moser-Proell is pictured during an AFP interview in Kleinarl, Austria, on September 21 (AFP photo)

KLEINARL, Austria — With all eyes on Mikaela Shiffrin as the new World Cup ski season kicks off in Soelden this weekend, one of those cheering the 28-year-old American on is Austrian legend Annemarie Moser-Proell.

“It’s incredible what she’s doing, and she’ll continue to win,” Moser-Proell told AFP in an interview in her native Alpine village of Kleinarl.

Already with a record 88 World Cup victories under her belt, Shiffrin is now just one short of equalling Moser-Proell’s record of six big crystal globes.

But Shiffrin’s success and the strong possibility she will take her record outright over the next couple of years does not bother Moser-Proell who set the standards in the 1970s.

Apart from those six overall titles, five of them in succession, the Austrian won 62 World Cup races, third behind Shiffrin and Lindsey Vonn, five world championships and an Olympic gold medal.

Her place in skiing history is secure, whatever Shiffrin does over the next few years.

“I’m at a certain age where it [the number of globes] no longer plays any role for me,” said Moser-Proell, who was crowned as the 20th century’s best female skier.

“Shiffrin is just as exceptional a talent as [Austrian retired ski champions] Marcel Hirscher or Hermann Maier,” added the 70-year-old, who won her first four titles as Annemarie Proell before getting married.

She said it was hard to compare the statistics of wins now and then as the race calendar was fuller now.

Besides that, skiing “has changed completely” as the material has developed — and slopes are better prepared.

“We often started races on slopes, where no one would go down today,” she said.

 

‘I had everything’ 

 

Growing up with seven siblings on a farm at 1,230 metres altitude, young Annemarie skied downhill every day to reach school and was among those who pushed for her village to have a ski club.

“When we were kids, we always asked if we could watch TV when a race was being broadcast. So from childhood on, we had this enthusiasm,” she recalled.

Moser-Proell credits her success on her early instructors — two brothers, passionate about the sport in ski-mad Austria — combined with “a certain portion of talent and also the will to succeed”.

Her career took off when the national team trainer saw her training on the Kitzsteinhorn glacier and immediately offered her a place on his team.

At 14, she raced her first World Cup race. She took her first podium when she was 15 — she is still the youngest to do this in downhill — and her first victory ensued a year later when she was only 16.

“Once you won a race, that really got you going” to win more, Moser-Proell recalls today, in front of a glass cupboard full of trophies.

Her most cherished moment is her first big globe win in 1971 — when she raced against a “might” of more experienced French skiers.

Four more big globes followed, and then in 1975, Moser-Proell shokced the ski world by announcing her retirement, causing her to miss the 1976 Olympics.

She wanted to stay with her father who had cancer and get away from outside pressures.

“Of course, I was under pressure. Above all, there was no help back then” such as a spokesperson or manager, she said.

After her father died in June 1976, she returned to the piste, winning her final overall title in 1979 and bagging Olympic gold in 1980, her most important moment.

“I had everything. Just Olympic gold was missing,” she recalls.

 

‘Enjoy life’

 

Once retired for good after the Lake Placid Olympics, she dedicated herself to a completely new career — as a chef in the cafe that she and her husband had built and opened in 1976 in her village — and having a daughter.

“They [people] didn’t believe it. When they asked ‘where is Annemarie?’ and the server told them: ‘she is in the cellar, in the bakery’. No, nobody believed it,” she laughs.

She said she would like to be remembered “as a friend rather than being put on a pedestal... I want to be a local, like everyone else”.

Today, she still enjoys skiing, as much as e-biking, playing tennis and hunting — a sport passed on through the generations in her family.

“My main project. Stay healthy, do a lot of sports as long as possible. Yes, and enjoy life,” she smiles.

Moser-Proell still watches World Cup races Classics like Schladming or Kitzbuehel she would not miss as it is “skiing in the purest form”.

As for the others, if the weather is good, she would rather go skiing herself.

 

Celtic hold 10-man Atletico to get off  mark

By - Oct 27,2023 - Last updated at Oct 27,2023

Atletico Madrid’s Spanish striker #19 Alvaro Morata heads the ball and scores his team second goal during the UEFA Champions League group E football match between Celtic and Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park stadium in Glasgow, Scotland, on Wednesday (AFP photo)

GLASGOW — Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said his side showed they can compete in the Champions League after a 2-2 draw against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, despite failing to end a decade-long wait for a home win in the competition.

The Scottish champions twice led through Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma, but were pegged back by Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata.

Atletico then had Rodrigo De Paul sent off in the closing stages.

Celtic, though, could not make the man advantage count in the final eight minutes plus stoppage time to leave their chances of progressing in Group E looking slim.

A draw takes Atletico to within a point of group leaders Feyenoord, who beat Lazio 3-1 on Wednesday.

Celtic’s first point in the group leaves Rodgers’ men three points adrift of the third-placed Italians.

“We showed we can compete with a top level team,” said Rodgers. “I don’t think you can say they’ll fly back to Spain not knowing they’ve had a tough game.

“The performance gives you the confidence at this level, and that was a really good performance, but we just couldn’t get the win.”

There could also be further ramifications from the match for Celtic after fans defied a club plea by waving Palestine flags in a show of support to people in Gaza during the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.

A leading Celtic fans’ group announced they would distribute flags outside the stadium.

In a statement before the match, Celtic asked that “banners, flags and symbols relating to the conflict and those countries involved in it are not displayed at Celtic Park at this time”.

Celtic have twice been fined by UEFA in the past for the flying of Palestinian flags.

Once the action got under way, the home side were inspired by the hostile atmosphere.

Matt O’Riley’s through ball sliced open the Atletico defence for Kyogo to dink home his seventh goal of the season.

But Celtic have found the step up to Champions League level tougher defensively and a naive challenge from Greg Taylor on Nahuel Molina handed the visitors a glorious chance to equalise.

Joe Hart tipped Griezmann’s spot-kick onto the woodwork, but the ball bounced back kindly for the French international to roll into an empty net.

Celtic hit back within three minutes when Palma blasted into the far corner from Daizen Maeda’s cross.

Atletico thought they had levelled again before half-time only for Axel Witsel’s header to be ruled out for offside.

Diego Simeone’s men did not have to wait long after the break to equalise when Morata stooped to divert a brilliant header high past Hart from Marcos Llorente’s cross on 53 minutes.

Atletico then looked set to go on and win the game as Celtic paid for their first-half efforts by tiring in the second period.

But De Paul dived in on Paulo Bernardo to earn a second yellow card and at least give the hosts some breathing space in the closing stages, even if they failed to find a winner.

Jordan assesses readiness ahead of 2026 World Cup qualifiers

By - Oct 27,2023 - Last updated at Oct 27,2023

AMMAN  — With about three weeks to go before the kick off of 23rd World Cup 2026 qualifiers, which also serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup, observers and officials are not at ease with the national team’s readiness.

Jordan has failed to score a win losing four matches under new coach Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta. They went down 6-0 to Norway and 2-1 to Azerbaijan, before  hosting a four-nation tourney where they lost 3-1 to Iran and tied Iraq 2-2 before losing on penalties.

Amouta acknowledged gaps in Jordan’s defence, and that’s what he will be working on with aims of advancing Jordan to the 2026 World Cup. 

The coach who started his tenure in June, recalled 7 new players and four from the U-23 national team noting “the eventual aim would be to have a younger competitive group who can serve the national team for upcoming years”. 

The squad is set to regroup on November 5, after week 7 of the Pro League concludes, to prepare for their first Group G qualifier against Tajikistan  on November 16 before they play Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan. Jordan also hopes for an advanced spot in the upcoming Asian Cup 2023 slated for Qatar in January 12, 2024, where Jordan will play in Group E alongside Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.

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