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AUNZ2023: Sweden Tumbles Italy 5-0 in Group G Match –

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The Blue and Yellow girls of Sweden on Saturday caused La Azzurre girls of Italy to tumble in a 5-0 drilling in Group G at the Wellington Regional Stadium a score board that is the highest defeat Italy has ever suffered from Sweden.

Arsenal FC Forward Amanda Illestedt scored a brace in the same manner of the first as she got a header from J. Andersson off a corner kick for the curtain raiser in the 39th minute and came back with an Andersson connect again to score in the 50th minute the very way she did the first goal. Amanda had scored against South Africa in the 90th minute now making three goals haul to her credit.

 

Wonder girl, Andersson’s corner found Fridelina Rolfo of Barceloana where Azeezat Oshoala plies her trade, as she scored the second goal in the 44th minute. Rolfo had scored the curtain raiser of Sweden against South Africa in the 2-1 victory.

 

Hardly had the noise gone done for the Rolfo goal had Arsenal player, Stina Blackstenius scored the3rd goal from a goal mouth melee.

 

Jakobsson set up fellow substitute Rebecka Blomqvist of Wolfsburg in Germany who in the 90+5th minute laced a stormy shot into the bottom – left corner of the net for Sweden’s 5th goal.

 

Sweden had beaten South Africa 2-1 in the first match and Italy piped Argentina 1-0. Argentina drew 2-2 with South Africa in the second round and now Sweden scolded Italy 5-0.

 

Sweden tops group G with 6 point from two wins scoring 7 goals conceding 1; Italy is second with 3 points from a win scoring 1 goal and conceding 5; Argentina is 3rd with one point from a draw scoring 2 goals and conceding 3 goals while South Africa is at the bottom with one point from a draw but scored 3 goals and conceded 3.

 

The last matches of Group G are on 2nd August when South Africa will seek victory over Italy or go home at Wellington Regional Stadium and Argentina will try to avoid disgrace against Sweden at Waikato Stadium both at 1900 hours.

Sweden and Italy both European nations played 14 matches between themselves with Italy winning 6, Sweden 5 and 3 drawn games. Here are the last ten meetings. On 29th May 1983 Swe 2 Ita 1: 15th October 1983 Ita 0 Swe 3; 3rd June 1987 Swe 1 Ita 0; 14th November 1987 Ita 2 Swe 1: 19th June 2000 Ita 2 Swe 1; 19th June 2004 ???; 18th November 2009 Ita 1 Swe 0; 17th June 2016 Ita 1 Swe 0; 10th November 2017 Swe 1 Ita 0 and 13th November 2017.

 

Sweden has appeared in all the nine tournaments. Sweden were Runners-up at USA 2003 as they lost to Germany 1-2 in the final on the 12th October 2003 before 26,137 fans after losing 1-2 to Canada in the semifinal.

 

Sweden won the Bronze thrice at China in 1991 when she drubbed Germany 4-0 after losing to Norway 1-4 in the semifinal; at Germany on 16th July 2011 when she defeated France 2-1 after losing to Japan 1-3 in the semifinal and on 6th July when Sweden caged the Lioness of England 2-1 at France 2019 after losing to Netherlands 0-1 in the semifinal. Sweden were quarterfinalists twice at Helsingborg Sweden 13th June 1995 when she lost 3-4 on penalties after 1-1 at full time and at USA 99 when Sweden lost Norway 1-3 at San Jose on 30th June.

 

Italy called La Azzurre (The Blues) is ranked 16th in the world and coached by Milena Bertolini is making her 4th appearance at the female world cup but have her best record of reaching the quarterfinal twice. In the maiden competition of 1991 at China where only 12 teams were on parade, she placed 6th losing to Norway 2-3 AET before 13,000 fans and at France 2019 she placed 7th among 24 teams and was beaten 0-2 by Netherlands on 29th June before a crowd of 22,600 fans after beating China 2-0 in the Round of 16. Between 2003 and 2015 editions, Italy did not qualify.

 

Italy’s Goalkeeper and Captain, 39 year old Vanina Correa has been in the squad for all four of the tournaments.

 

Two Group F matches are still being expected today. First, France versus Brazil at Suncorp Stadium at 1100 hours and Panama will slug it out at 1330 hours with Jamaica at NIB Stadium.

 

On Sunday 30th July there will be four matches. Korea will meet Morocco at Hindmarsh Stadium at 0530 hours in Group H; two matches will be played simultaneously at 0800 hours to conclude group A as Norway meets Philippines at Eden Park and Switzerland versus hosts New Zealand at Forsyth Stadium while the second round of group H match will also be concluded at 1030 hours when Germany will slug it out with Columbia at Allianz Stadium.

By Eniola Olatunji

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Leicester City Put Up For Sale

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General view of a Leicester City sign from the front of King Power StadiumLeicester City are looking to sell the club for more than £200m, with its Thai owners King Power ready to leave after 16 years.

 

The Foxes have had an eight-page sales booklet produced by a leading US investment bank to help offload the one-time Premier League title winners.

Citigroup lists the Foxes, its women’s team, and other major assets – including the 32,000-seat King Power Stadium and its Seagrave training facility which was opened in 2020 and is valued at £121m – as well as OH Leuven, Leicester’s Belgian sister club, as up for sale in a brochure titled ‘Project Lineup’.

The document, seen by BBC Sport, values the club’s physical assets at more than £200m, though no specific sum has been attributed to the sale of its struggling teams.

The brochure speaks of “a rare opportunity to acquire a club with an excellent track record of winning promotions to higher divisions”.

Leicester’s successes, including the 5,000-1 Premier League title win of 2016 and the FA Cup triumph five years later, are well promoted in the brochure, while their place in League One, after back-to-back relegations from the top flight and the Championship, fail to get a mention.

The club’s turnover, which Citigroup forecast to be more than £97m for the 2026 financial year are also part of the pitch, but the years of financial losses and the club’s debts – which, as outlined in its 2025 accounts, include £103.6m in bank loans – are omitted.

In the years that the club yo-yoed between the Premier League and Championship, with two relegations from the top flight in three years between 2023 and 2025, the club lost more than £180m.

King Power, run by the Srivaddhanaprabha family, bought Leicester for £35m from Milan Mandaric in 2010.

Khun Aiyawatt ‘Top’ Srivaddhanaprabha is currently chairman after his father Khun Vichai died in a helicopter crash outside the stadium in 2019.

Efforts to put the third-tier club up for sale were first reported in the Financial Times, external in July, but the product brochure now being circulated to prospective buyers is public confirmation that new investors are being sought.

The sale process comes just eight months on from Khun Top saying he is shouldering the blame for the club’s drastic recent demise.

There have been growing calls from disgruntled fans for the club to be sold, with the most vocal showing coming outside King Power Stadium after relegation from the Championship was confirmed last season.

Leicester’s struggles in recent years have come at a time when the King Power duty-free business in Thailand, which has been intrinsically linked to the club since the Srivaddhanaprabha family bought the Foxes, has also endured financial difficulties.

Despite the club’s issues, Leicester City is being positioned for sale as one of only five clubs to have won all three major English trophies – the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup – since 2000.

The document also outlines the potential of the club’s academy, stating the Foxes have a “strong talent pipeline backed by leading scouting infrastructure, active transfer management and highly developed academy system consistently producing top players”.

Leicester sold academy graduate Jeremy Monga to Manchester City for £10m last month.

Leicester, relegated to League One for just the second time in their history last season, will start their latest campaign in the third tier under head coach Russell Martin at Notts County on Saturday.

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Amorim Wants Tomori, Nkunku 6 Other AC Milan Stars Out Of Club

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AC Milan coach Ruben Amorim has decided Fikayo Tomori and Christopher Nkunku do not figure in his plans this season.

 

David Odogu, Pervis Estupinan, Santiago Gimenez and Philip Terracciano are also expected to leave after Amorim held a crunch meeting with club bosses on Thursday.

The Portuguese, who was dismissed by United in January following a dismal 14 months in charge, accepted the task of transforming Milan’s fortunes – with the Italian giants finishing fifth last season.

He is set for a reunion with his old side this weekend in Poland, where he will search for his first win in charge of his new club having failed to register a victory in pre-season.

A 2-2 draw with Scottish champions Celtic was followed by a 1-1 tie with fierce rivals Inter Milan, before Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea put three goals past the Portuguese’s side in a woeful result in Jakarta.

But Amorim is ready to embrace the challenge, and suggested that his task at the San Siro is even greater than his job at Old Trafford.

‘I’m really very happy to be here, it’s an honour to be the coach of Milan,’ he said.

‘Why did I choose Milan? If you read an old interview of mine you will understand it, for me a special club.

‘It’s a very big challenge that I accepted even if after the last one [at Manchester United] I told myself to accept a smaller one.

‘Perhaps it is a greater challenge than the last. I’m proud to be here, we all are, me and my staff.

‘I’m at Milan to win, if you’re Milan coach you have to have this mentality,’ he added.

‘I’m not naive, I know there’s a lot of work to do, but if you’re the Milan coach you have to play to win.’

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Transfer: Man Utd Name 6 Clubs Rashford Can’t Join

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Manchester United co-owner, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, has blocked Marcus Rashford from joining any direct Premier League rival.

 

According to the UK Mirror, the Red Devils are determined to avoid a scenario where Rashford shines at a domestic competitor.

The 28-year-old is back at Carrington for pre-season training following a loan spell at Barcelona, but his long-term future at Old Trafford remains uncertain.

Ratcliffe wants to remove Rashford from United’s wage bill, but he won’t sanction a move to the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City or Liverpool

The restrictions extend to loan inquiries, as Chelsea, Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur have been rebuffed.

There is fear among United senior officials that Rashford could prove instrumental in helping a rival secure a Champions League spot, a scenario that would be viewed as ’embarrassing’ by the club’s top brass.

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