Sport
Morocco make history with shock win over Portugal to reach semifinals
Morocco have become the first African side to reach a World Cup semifinal after dumping Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo out in the quarterfinals.
Youssef En-Nesyri got the only goal in a dramatic 1-0 win at Al Thumama and denied Portugal what would have been a place in the last four for the first time for 16 years.
Morocco, who had substitute Walid Cheddira sent off late on, set up a semifinal against either France or England at Al-Bayt Stadium on Wednesday, where they will again be supported by a fierce crowd who roared them past Portugal.
Their shock victory at Al Thumama -- just days after surprising Spain in the second round -- was played out amid an atmosphere of ear-splitting whistles every time Portugal had the ball. And they had a lot -- touching 80% possession at different points in the game -- but Morocco defended well and, particularly in the first half, made the most of their chances to break quickly.
En-Nesyri's header just before half-time was helped by a mistake from Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who came for a cross he got nowhere near, but Morocco were so assured on the ball when they had it, they fully deserved their lead when it came.
Morocco ended the game without three of their usual back four on the pitch, but head to the semifinals having conceded just one goal in their five games, and even that was an own goal against Canada.
Meanwhile, Portugal have been both good and bad at this tournament and this was a bad day, although Morocco deserves great credit for making it so hard to create anything of note.
Cristiano Ronaldo, again named on the bench, came on early in the second half to equal FIFA's official record for the most-capped international men's player with 196, but even he couldn't find one last great World Cup moment. If this is the last we see of one of history's great players on this stage then it was a very meek way to bow out, ESPN reported.
Up next
Morocco: Incredibly, a World Cup semifinal against England or France is next on the agenda at the Al Bayt Stadium on Dec. 14.
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo and his side are out and on the plane home.
Sport
Afghanistan beat UAE by 8 wickets in U19 tri-nation series
Afghanistan Under-19 cricket team defeated the United Arab Emirates (UAE) U19 by eight wickets in the sixth match of the tri-nation series in Dubai on Sunday.
Asked to field first by UAE U19 who won the toss, Afghans bowled out the hosts for 88 runs in the 36.3 overs.
Afghanistan U19 chased down the target in the 21.2 overs.
Naseer Khan Maroofkhil claimed three wickets. Abdul Aziz Khatir Stanikzai and Rohaullah Arab picked up three wickets each.
Afghanistan U19 will play final against Pakistan U19 on Tuesday.
Sport
Faf du Plessis smashes 75 off 32 balls in Abu Dhabi T10 League
South African player Faf du Plessis showcased his batting brilliance by blasting a blistering 75 for Morrisville Samp Army against New York Strikers in the fifth game of the 2024 Abu Dhabi T10 League on Friday.
The 40-year-old reached his fifty in just 22 balls. He remained unbeaten on 75 off 32 balls, hitting five boundaries and six sixes.
Samp Army posted 135-1 in 10 overs, 41 of it coming from Adndries Gous’s bat, and they won the match by 36 runs.
It was one of the four matches played on Friday.
In the other matches, Northern Warriors defeated Delhi Bulls by 7 wickets, with Jonson Charles hitting a fifty.
Team Abu Dhabi thrashed UP Nawabs by 8 wickets after bowling them out for just 51. Mark Adair claimed four wickets. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar and Zeeshan Naseer picked up two wickets each.
In the last match of the day, Deccan Gladiators beat Ajman Bolts by 20 runs. Gladiators set a target of 138 runs, with Jos Buttler making 60 runs off 22 balls.
In reply, Ajman Bolts fell short on 117 despite captain Mohammad Nabi blasting 43 off 13 balls.
Sport
Ariana News to broadcast IPL auction live and exclusively in Afghanistan
The highly anticipated TATA Indian Premier League (IPL) Player Auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday November 24 and Monday November 25 - an event that will be broadcast to Afghanistan’s cricket fans live and exclusively by Ariana Television and Radio Network (ATN).
The two-day event will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana News.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction will be held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, this year. It will be the second time that the IPL mega auction is held outside India after last year's event in Dubai.
This year's mega auction will have 1,574 players registered, of which 574 names will go under the hammer.
Of those 574, a total of 366 players will be Indian and 208 will be foreign cricketers.
A number of big names will be in fray, with as many as 81 players choosing to register themselves under the highest base price bracket of Rs 2 crore ($237,000).
Afghan players
Eighteen Afghan players have been shortlisted for the IPL mega auction.
Two hundred and four (204) slots will be up for grabs with 70 available slots for overseas players.
Full list of Afghan players shortlisted for the auction:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Noor Ahmad
Waqar Salamkheil
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
Azmatullah Omarzai
Naveen-ul-haq
Zahir Khan Pakten
Sediqullah Atal
Mohammad Nabi
Gulbadin Naib
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Najibullah Zadran
Ibrahim Zadran
Qais Ahmad
Karim Janat
Faridoon Dawoodzai
Nangyal Kharote
For cricket fans across the country, the IPL mega auction broadcast will be on Sunday and Monday from 1.30pm Kabul time on Ariana News. For more information and updated stories be sure to watch this space and follow us on social media.
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