Sports
Women’s World Cup: Switzerland Lands Philippines 2-0 Blow to Top group A.
Switzerland and Philippines flags
Switzerland on Friday morning Nigerian time spanked Philippines 2-0 in the second match of Group A played at the Forsyth Barr Stadium in Auckland.
Switzerland protested a foul during a goal mouth melee which VAR approved and PSG striker, Ramona Bachmann tucked it in 45th minute without the goalkeeper moving at all.
F. C. Zurich player, Seraina Piubel scored the second goal in the 64th minute in a dramatic way. Philippines goalkeeper had pushed four consecutive shots, first from McDaniel, second from Crnogorcevic and two others including Sow before Piubel connected well while the defenders stood fixed to the ground all the while.
Debutante Philippines tried to learn the tricks of moving to world cup titles but the performance was low with 3 shots at goal and none on target against 17 shots from Switzerland with 8 on target. Swiss dominated ball possession 74-26% and passes that were a whopping 743-269.
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The Swiss were caught with 10 fouls compared to 6 of Philippines; 2 yellow cards of Swiss to one of their opponents and the three corners of the match went to Swiss none to the Philippines.
Philippine are debutantes at this tournament appearing for the first time but they met Switzerland in a friendly encounter and were whitewashed 5-1 on 17th July 2023 just before this tournament.
Spain’s record can terrorize the Philippine ladies as the team walloped Moldova 15-0 at Lausanne on 6th September 2022. Germany had tamed Switzerland 11-0 at Weingauten on 25th September 1994.
Switzerland is making a second appearance at the party. Their first time out, The Swizz lost in the Round of 16 to hosts Canada at Vancouver.
So Switzerland leads group A with 3 points and 2 goals; Hosts New Zealand who stunned Norway by a lone goal yesterday (Thursday) are second with 3 points and one goal while Norway having no pint is 3rd and Philippines is at the bottom with no point.
The next matches in Group A are New Zealand versus Philippines on the 25th while same day Switzerland plays Norway. The last group matches will be played simultaneously on 30th July with Norway meeting Philippines and Switzerland will lock horns with New Zealand.
Spain will square up against Costa Rica at 0830 hours which is some few moments away.
Four matches will be played on Saturday 22nd July. USA will meet Vietnam at 0200 hours in group E encounter at Eden Park; African representative Zambia will square up with Asian giants, Japan at 0800 hours in Group C match at Waikato New Zealand; England will trade tackles with Haiti at 1030 hours in a Group D match at Suncorp Stadium Australia and at 1300 hours, Denmark and China will take to the turf in a group D match at NIB Stadium, Perth Australia.
By Eniola Olatunji
Real Madrid boss José Mourinho has weighed in on Cristiano Ronaldo’s dramatic retirement from international football.
The 41-year-old Al Nassr striker shocked the footballing world on Thursday by announcing his permanent withdrawal from the Portugal national team, drawing the curtain on a legendary 23-year international career.
Addressing the media fallout during his Friday press conference ahead of Real Madrid’s upcoming LALIGA fixture against Valencia, Mourinho offered a supportive perspective on the situation.
Mourinho, who previously managed Ronaldo at the Santiago Bernabéu, insisted that the veteran’s controversial exit should not overshadow his monumental contributions to the country.
“His decision must be respected, and I do respect it,” Mourinho daid
However, the Portuguese tactician also expressed visible regret over the sour circumstances surrounding the departure of his nation’s greatest-ever player.
“The only thing I wish for is that the moment of his retirement as a player will be different from his farewell yesterday,” the Real Madrid boss added.
While Ronaldo’s international days are officially over, Mourinho was incredibly quick to remind reporters that the forward remains a devastating force in domestic football.
“He hasn’t ended his career; those who know him are aware that he still has goals,” Mourinho stated emphatically.
Kelechi Iheanacho was on target as Bursaspor played out a 1-1 draw against Antalyaspor in their TFF 1. Lig encounter on Friday night.
The Nigeria international had previously scored in 12 consecutive league matches for Bursaspor before his remarkable scoring run came to an end against Bandırmaspor last weekend
Iheanacho restored his scoring touch by opening the scoring against Antalyaspor in the 26th minute.
However, an own goal from Tural Bayramov brought the visitors level before the half-time break.
The striker has now recorded an impressive 17 goals and four assists in 14 league appearances for Bursaspor this season.
Despite dropping points, Bursaspor remain top of the league standings with 37 points
England manager Thomas Tuchel has left Cole Palmer and Phil Foden out of his latest squad for the final Nations League matches against Croatia and Spain.
However, Jobe Bellingham and Fulham midfielder Josh King have received their first senior call-ups.
Tuchel said Palmer had missed too many opportunities to represent England, despite scoring five goals and providing three assists for Chelsea this season.
Jobe Bellingham joins his elder brother, Jude, in the squad after impressing at Borussia Dortmund.
King also earns his first call-up following a strong start to the season, with two goals and one assist in the Premier League.
Defender Ben White returns to the squad for the first time since March, while Declan Rice is also back after missing the previous camp through injury.
Djed Spence has also returned after recovering from injury.
England will host Croatia at Wembley on November 12 before travelling to Madrid to face Spain three days later.
Tuchel’s side are second in Group A4, three points behind leaders Spain. The top two teams will qualify for the Nations League quarter-finals.
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