Sport

Sunday’s matches: Morocco stun Belgium 2-0, Croatia win 4-1, Germany draw 1-1 with Spain

Published

2 years ago

November 28, 2022

Sunday saw a clash of two World Cup titans when Spain took on Germany, in a match that could have sent the Germans home from the tournament early had they suffered another defeat.

Two other European teams were also in action: Belgium against Morocco, while Croatia played Canada.

Morocco 2 - 0 Belgium
In the Moroccan clash against Belgium, the two teams were still jostling for a goal when Abdelhamid Sabiri’s strike hit the net with under 20 minutes to go. This put Morocco ahead but with time virtually up, Zakaria Aboukhlal stunned the crowd making it 2-0 for Morocco - causing a major upset against the world's 2nd ranked team.

Earlier, Moroccan joy at the Al Thumama Stadium was put on hold when Hakim Ziyech's first-half goal was ruled out for offside.

Morocco had held Croatia to a goalless draw in their Group F opener.

The result poses serious questions about Belgium, seen as strong contenders in the tournament. But they only secured an underwhelming 1-0 win against Canada in their first group game.

Croatia 4 - 1 Canada

Alphonso Davies headed Canada into the lead after just two minutes following a sweeping move.

But relief for Croatia was on hand when Andrej Kramaric equalized from a tight angle just after the half hour.

Then, strong work from Marko Livaja just before half-time, saw him fire for the Croatians with a low shot from the edge of the area.

Kramaric struck again on 70 minutes to make it 3-1 for Croatia, before Lovro Majer scored an injury-time breakaway goal taking it to 4-1.

Canada is now eliminated. But at least their goal against Croatia is their first ever in a World Cup finals. They had failed to score in their previous four games, including in the opening 1-0 defeat against Belgium.

Croatia lost the 2018 final to France and the world’s 12th-ranked team opened the World Cup with a 0-0 draw against Morocco.

Germany 1—1 Spain

Substitute Alvaro Morata opened the scoring for Spain in the second half but Niclas Füllkrug equalized with seven minutes left to keep Germany in the tournament. But they go into the final game against Costa Rica in last place.

When the World Cup draw came out in April, one of the highlights of the group stage was Sunday’s match between the 2010 and 2014 champions at Al Bayt Stadium.

However, Germany’s surprising loss to Japan in its opener in Qatar meant the Germans would have been out if they had lost again.

After winning their fourth World Cup title in 2014 in Brazil, Germany didn’t make it out of the group stage in 2018 after losses to South Korea and Mexico.

Germany's previous match against Spain was an embarrassing 6-0 defeat in the Nations League two years ago.

Spain went into the game looking to reinforce their status as one of the top title contenders following an impressive 7-0 rout of Costa Rica in their opener and 18-year-old Gavi became the youngest World Cup scorer since Pelé in 1958.

Costa Rica 1—0 Japan

A late, left-foot strike from Costa Rica's Keysher Fuller from the edge of the penalty area following a defensive error was enough to secure victory for the Central American side.

The win puts Costa Rica back into play in Group E and will be a massive morale boost following their 7-0 thrashing against Spain, the 2010 world champions, in their opening match.

Japanese head coach Hajime Moriyasu warned his side to forget their historic 2-1 comeback win over Germany in their opening match. Japan struck twice in eight minutes late in the second half.

This is Japan’s seventh straight appearance at a World Cup finals.

Costa Rica meanwhile, which only has a population of just over five million, are appearing in their sixth World Cup. They reached the quarterfinals in 2014 in Brazil.

Where to watch

Afghan fans need not miss out on any of the excitement of this year’s tournament which is being broadcast exclusively by Ariana Television in Afghanistan.

For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE

Related Topics:#FIFAWorldCup #Morroco Belgium featured Football Germany Spain

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Faf du Plessis smashes 75 off 32 balls in Abu Dhabi T10 League

Published

1 day ago

November 23, 2024

Ariana News

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

Published

3 days ago

November 21, 2024

Ariana News

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.

Sport

Pakistan trumps Afghanistan by only 13 runs in U19 Tri-Series One Day match

Chasing 245 to win, Afghanistan lost their opening batter Mahboob Khan in the first over but recovered as Uzairullah Niazai and Faisal Shinozada secured a 104-run partnership for the second wicket

Published

4 days ago

November 20, 2024

Ariana News

Afghanistan’s U-19 cricket team went down to Pakistan by only 13 runs on Wednesday in their third tri-nation series One Day match at the ICC Academy in Dubai.

This was Pakistan’s first win over Afghanistan in the ongoing tournament after the Afghans defeated their opponents by 100 runs at the same venue on Friday.

Chasing 245 to win, Afghanistan lost their opening batter Mahboob Khan in the first over but recovered as Uzairullah Niazai and Faisal Shinozada secured a 104-run partnership for the second wicket.

After Faisal’s departure, Uzairullah soon followed with Afghanistan at 142 for three in 26.5 overs.

Afghanistan were bundled out for 231 in 46.4 overs.

Earlier, after opting to bat first, Pakistan’s opening pair Shahzaib Khan and Usman Khan provided a solid 129-run stand to Pakistan.

Left-handed Usman, who scored a century against Afghanistan in the previous match, scored an 88-ball 77, which included eight fours.

Shahzaib meanwhile top-scored for the side with 78 off 101 balls, hitting seven boundaries.

For Afghanistan, Abdul Aziz Khan and Khatir Khan Stanikzai bagged three wickets apiece, while Naseer Khan Maroofkhil snapped two wickets.

Pakistan will take on the hosts UAE U19 in their last group match on Friday, 22 November.

In a post on X, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said late Wednesday: “Not the result we would have wanted but Afghanistan Future Stars will look to bounce back in the next match.”

Afghanistan will take on UAE U19 on Sunday, November 24.