AFP

SAINT PETERSBURG: Five-time World Player of the Year Lionel

Messi suffered more World Cup heartbreak with Argentina as

he was no match for France’s firepower in a thrilling 4-3 World

Cup last-16 defeat yesterday.

Messi only scored once in Russia and is still yet to net in the

knockout stages of a World Cup.

Widely considered one of the greatest players ever, the

Barcelona star is still looked upon unfavourably by many in his

homeland compared to Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to

World Cup glory in 1986.

Messi turned 31 last week and his best chance of ending

Argentina’s 25-year wait to win a major tournament may now

be gone.

Here is a look at Messi’s biggest disappointments with

Argentina.

��World Cup 2018 Messi’s World Cup got off to the worst

possible start when he missed a penalty in Argentina’s opening

game, which ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw with tournament

debutants Iceland.

He was then largely bypassed in a 3-0 thrashing by Croatia

that put Argentina on the brink of an embarrassing group stage

exit.

Messi did ride to their rescue with a superb opening goal

to help squeeze past Nigeria 2-1 to set up a meeting with

France.

But despite setting up two of his side’s three goals,

Messi could only watch from afar as 19-year-old Kylian

Mbappe exposed Argentina’s fragile defence by scoring

twice and winning a penalty in a seven-goal thriller in

Kazan to announce himself as a potential successor to Messi’s

throne as the world’s best.

��Copa America Centenario 2016 Not prone to showing his

emotions, Messi sobbed uncontrollably after blasting his penalty

over the bar as Argentina lost a second Copa America final in as

many years in a shootout to Chile.

In the aftermath, with emotions running high, Messi announced

his retirement from international football on the back of three

final defeats in three consecutive years.

“I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion,” Messi

said at the time.

Less than two months later he reversed that decision. “We

need to fix many things in Argentinian football, but I prefer to

do this from inside and not criticise from outside,” he said.

Messi almost single-handedly carried Argentina through a

troubled qualifying campaign, but that ultimately only delayed

another bitter disappointment.

��World Cup 2014 The first of those three final defeats came

on the biggest stage of all and by the finest of margins in Brazil

four years ago.

Messi scored four goals and converted his spot-kick in a

semi-final shootout against the Netherlands to lead Argentina

to a first World Cup final in 24 years.

However, at the end of a rare injury-plagued season at Bar-

celona, he was limited to short bursts of energy to try and change

games and ultimately ran out of steam in a 1-0 extra-time defeat

by Germany.

Messi had one great chance that he would normally bury

on his left foot that slipped just wide, but even winning the

Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament did little to

dim the pain of getting so close to the holy grail of following in

Maradona’s footsteps.

��World Cup 2010 Fresh from being crowned as the world’s

best player for the first time, Messi arrived in South Africa as the

star attraction of a top-heavy Argentina under Maradona’s

management.

Early on, the Albiceleste’s sheer firepower proved too much

as they eased past Nigeria, South Korea and Greece in the group

stage before beating Mexico 3-1 in the last 16.

Messi failed to get on the scoresheet, but was still pulling

the strings for Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero.

Yet, Maradona’s lack of tactical nous was finally exposed

as a young Germany side that would reach its peak four years

later ran riot 4-0 in the quarter-finals in Cape Town.

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SPORTSunday 1 July 2018

PAGE | 18 PAGE | 19

Colombia fear no one now,

says Sanchez

England are in wrong half of the draw: Eriksson

E | 18 PAG

a fear now,

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Mbappe’s double ends Messi’s World Cup dream

SEVEN-GOAL THRILLER IN KAZAN

AFP

KAZAN: France roared back against Argentina to reach the World Cup quarter-finals yesterday as wonderkid Kylian Mbappe sent Lionel Messi home from Russia empty-handed following a seven-goal thriller.

The 1998 champions won 4-3 and looked a totally different side from the one that struggled to find their cutting edge in the group stage, pouring forward with pace and purpose to stretch the ageing Argentine defence in Kazan.

Antoine Griezmann gave France the lead from the penalty spot but the South Americans lev-elled with a sweet hit from Angel Di Maria and edged ahead shortly after half-time through Gabriel Mercado.

But defender Benjamin Pavard equalised with a thunderous strike to pull France level and once more change the complexion of the game.

That set the scene for 19-year-old Mbappe, who netted two goals in four second-half minutes to become the first teenager to score at least twice in a World Cup match since Pele in 1958.

Sergio Aguero gave Argentina late hope but they ran out of time and head home after a roll-ercoaster ride in Russia that ultimately ends in bitter disappointment for the two-time former champions.

Man-of-the-match Mbappe brushed off com-parisons with Brazil great Pele.

“I’m very happy, and it’s flattering to be com-pared to a great player like Pele,” he said.

Beaten finalists four years ago, Argentina only reached the last 16 by the skin of their teeth after a shambolic group phase and despite a brave effort against France, their ageing squad and lack of balance ultimately caught up with them.

Messi has spent the tournament trying to hold his squad together, even apparently bypassing coach Jorge Sampaoli to give coaching instruc-tions in the 2-1 win against Nigeria that saved the South Americans from a humiliating group-stage exit.

He has scored only once and Argentina’s cam-paign so far was defined as much by Diego Mara-dona’s erratic and emotional outbursts.

The Barcelona star, at the age of 31, may have played his last World Cup game in a career curi-ously unfulfilled at international level despite his astonishing achievements with Barcelona and his multiple individual awards.

Messi’s disappointments with Argentina

YESTERDAY'S RESULTS

ROUND OF 16

FRANCE 4-3 ARGENTINA

URUGUAY 2-1 PORTUGAL

ROUND OF 16

SPAIN VS RUSSIA5.00PM.

CROATIA VS DENMARK9.00PM.

TODAY'S FIXTURES

Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi (left) congratulates France’s forward Kylian Mbappe at the end of their match yesterday.

France’s forward Kylian Mbappe (left) scores his team’s third goal against Argentina during their FIFA 2018 World Cup round of 16 match at the Kazan Arena in Kazan yesterday.

FRANCE ARGENTINA

4 333333DI MARÍA 41'

MERCADO 48'

KUN AGUERO 90'+3'

GRIEZMANN 13' PEN

PAVARD 57'

MBAPPE 64'

MBAPPE 68'

18 SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018SPORT

Colombia outscore Brazil, Argentina over two CupsREUTERS

MOSCOW: England’s Round of 16 opponents Colombia may not be a major South American football force like Brazil or Argentina but Los Cafeteros have outscored both of them over the last two World Cups while having played fewer matches.

Many England fans were celebrating despite their team’s 1-0 loss to Belgium in their last group match that saw them finish second and set up a knockout game against the Colombians, as the path beyond the last 16 looks somewhat easier.

England could face Sweden or Switzerland in a potential quarter-final, while Belgium are surrounded by former champions Brazil, France and Argentina in the other half of the draw.

But a look at Colombia’s matches at this World Cup and the 2014 edition in Brazil reveals they have been more effective in total than their bigger South American oppo-nents while also playing fewer games.

Led by world-class players such as James Rod-riguez and Juan Cuadrado, but missing key striker

Radamel Falcao in 2014, Colombia scored a total of 12 goals in five matches at the World Cup in Brazil, having reached the last eight.

Semi-finalists and hosts Brazil managed a goal less but played two more games than the Colombians at that tournament. Argentina, who lost the 2014 final to Germany, had an even lower tally of eight goals in seven matches in Brazil.

It is a similar story at the finals in Russia where Colombia, including Falcao this time, may have had some patchy performances but have still scored more goals than Argentina and notched as many as the highly-rated Brazilians, led by Neymar.

Lionel Messi’s Argentina only narrowly scraped into the knockout stage with a last-gasp goal against Nigeria, their third in three group games.

Brazil netted five times in Group E, including two stoppage-time goals to beat lower-ranked Costa Rica.

Were it not for Neymar, who has been involved in 19 goals in his last 18 appearances for Brazil (10 goals, 9 assists), their total count would cer-tainly have been even lower.

Colombia fear no one now: SanchezAFP

KAZAN: Colombia defender Carlos Sanchez has insisted the South American side are not favourites against England, “the country that invented football”, when they meet in the World Cup last-16 on Tuesday.

England coach Gareth Southgate rested eight first-choice players in the last group match against Belgium, which they lost 1-0, setting up a meeting with the South Amer-icans rather than the lower-ranked Japan. The result also meant England avoided the tougher top half of the draw, which features heavyweights including Brazil and France.

The winner of the match between England and Colombia in Moscow will play whoever comes out on top in the clash between Switzerland and Sweden -- but first England have to overcome the quarter-finalists from the last World Cup.

“We’re not the favourites, we’re playing against the country that invented football,” said 32-year-old Espanyol mid-fielder Sanchez.

“But we have our own weapons and once the game starts the only thing that matters is on the pitch. Matches like this are won by small details. Colombia fear no one now,” he added.

The Colombia camp are crossing their fingers over the fitness of James Rodriguez, the top-scorer at the World Cup four years ago, who limped off in their last group match against Senegal with what appeared to be a recurrence of a groin injury.

Sanchez gave no update on his readiness for the match.

“James is a great player but I am sure that if he doesn’t play there will be other players who can make a difference,” he said.

“Each one of us here is pre-pared and ready to play and whoever plays will do their best.”

England striker Harry Kane was rested in the Belgium defeat but is still top of the goalscoring charts in Russia, with five goals in two matches.

However, Sanchez said it would be foolish for Colombia to focus too much on the Tot-tenham man.

“Harry Kane is an emblematic player who has demonstrated his quality at this World Cup but we are not only facing him, we’re playing against the whole England team, who have a lot of key players,” said Sanchez, who knows English football well, having spent two seasons with Aston Villa from 2014 to 2016.

Meanwhile, England trained yesterday with two players from their 23-man squad missing from the session as Ruben

Loftus-Cheek did ‘individual recovery’ while Fabian Delph flew home for the birth of his child.

Loftus-Cheek worked in the gym at the team hotel but is not carrying an injury while Delph returned home to England directly from their 1-0 loss to Belgium in Kaliningrad with his wife due to give birth on Saturday.

Midfielder Delph, who played the full 90 minutes against Belgium, is expected to travel back quickly to England’s base.

Dele Alli, who missed Eng-land’s 6-1 win over Panama due to a thigh injury and also sat out the Belgium game, took full part in the training and could be set to return to the side against Colombia.

We have our own weapons and once the game starts the only thing that matters is on the pitch. Matches like this are won by small details: Carlos Sanchez

Colombia’s players taking part in a training session in Kazan on Friday.

St Petersburg pizza art gives fans a shot at biting SuarezREUTERS

ST PETERSBURG: A restaurant in St Petersburg has struck a chord with the hordes of soccer fans in town for the World Cup by serving up pizzas featuring the faces of some of the tournament’s biggest stars.

Ahead of Saturday’s last 16 match between Uruguay and Por-tugal in Sochi, football fans who visited the HopHead Tap Room bar in St Petersburg were given a chance to turn the tables on Luis Suarez and take a bite out of the Uruguay striker.

Uruguay’s record scorer arrived in Russia looking to dispel the memory of his infamous bite on Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is the other player featured in chef Valery Maksimchik’s unique pizza art, and the edible portraits are a big hit with soccer fans and

the restaurant’s regulars alike.“It really does have a bite,”

said one satisfied customer, while chewing his way through a slice of Suarez.

Each soccer pizza portrait takes nearly two hours of careful stencilling and cutting. T

he dough is cooked before the stencilling process and then the cheese is melted into position.

“We started doing this in con-nection with the World Cup, we support football and sport through this method,” said Mak-simchik, who has also made pizza portraits of Russia coach Stan-islav Cherchesov and striker Artem Dzyuba.

“My main work is as a piz-zaiolo, but this is a hobby, so it brings me pleasure, like any hobby would,” he said.

The chef has promised to make pizza portraits of each Russia player if the hosts go all the way and win the World Cup.

Cook Valery Maksimchik prepares a pizza decorated with a portrait of Uruguay’s Luis Suarez at the HopHead cafe in St. Petersburg, Russia on Friday.

Cook Valery Maksimchik prepares a pizza decorated with a portrait of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday.

Belgium star Lukaku fit to face Japan in last-16 clashREUTERS

MOSCOW: Striker Romelu Lukaku is fully fit after injuring an ankle in last weekend’s win over Tunisia and will be available for Belgium’s second-round match against Japan, coach Roberto Martinez said.

“Lukaku is fully fit,” he told reporters a day after resting the Manchester United target man and eight other first-choice players but still claiming a 1-0 win over England.

That victory has arguably handed Belgium the harder half of the draw than England but Martinez refused to be drawn on the potential difficulties of facing former champions Brazil in the quarter-final.

He said beating an under-strength England with his reserve team had filled the squad with confidence.

It also gave Martinez a chance to try out two key defenders who had been out injured for several weeks.

Martinez said Thomas Vermaelen was still suf-fering poor vision due to a black eye sustained in a clash on Thursday but would be back to full fitness before Monday’s game.

The coach said Vincent Kompany, who played the last 20 minutes, was also now fit, though it was not yet clear if he was sufficiently match-sharp to start against Japan.

Meanwhile, Brazilian right back Danilo has

recovered from a thigh injury and will be available to face Mexico in their World Cup last-16 clash, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar yesterday.

“Danilo is fit to play. He trained today and is available for (coach) Tite,” Lasmar said.

Marcelo, who suffered a back spasm just moments into Brazil’s final group game against Serbia, is also recovering well but is not quite 100 percent fit.

Brazil’s other injury doubt, winger Douglas Costa, is recovering well but will not be fit for Monday’s match in Samara.

Brazil qualified top of Group E and face Mexico who were second in Group F.

Belgium’s forward Romelu Lukaku (centre) taking part in a training session at the Guchkovo Stadium in Dedovsk, outside Moscow, yesterday.

19SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018 SPORT

England are in wrong half of draw: ErikssonREUTERS

LONDON: Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson believes England may have seri-ously miscalculated if they think they have gained a smoother World Cup passage by finishing runners-up in their group.

Some believe losing to Belgium in their last Group G game could help England but Eriksson said Gareth Southgate’s side had more chance of beating Brazil on the other side of the draw than Sweden, whom they could face in the quarter-finals if they beat Colombia in the round of 16.

“I’m a little surprised because everybody seems to be happy in England, thinking they are now on the right side of the World Cup draw because they’ve avoided the half with Brazil,” said the Swede, who believes his countrymen will see off Swit-zerland to set up the showdown with England.

“In the last 30 years, how many times have England beaten Sweden? Not often - twice.

“It would be easier for England to beat Brazil than to beat Sweden in my opinion, Sweden today are a very hard team to break down,” Eriksson added.

“Their strikers are defenders when it’s time to defend and they can defend in their own box as well,” said Eriksson, who was speaking to bookmaker Paddy Power (news.paddypower.com).

“During my time with England we met them four times. We lost once, and the others were a draw and, going back before that, Sweden have beaten England in big games.”

But the 70-year-old

Eriksson, who took England to World Cup quarter-finals in 2002 and 2006, believes his former side will outscore Colombia in Moscow on Tuesday, particularly if they play Marcus Rashford instead of Raheem Sterling alongside five-goal Harry Kane up front.

“I would expect England to beat Colombia. They can do it in 90 minutes, no need for pen-alties, but the key is to defend well,” he said.

“Don’t give Colombia chances because they have players like Juan Cuadrado that can beat players one-on-one.

Don’t give them that chance,” said Eriksson, who also managed Mexico and Ivory Coast in a globe-trotting career.

“If England defend well, they will win - because, with the players England have up front, they will score.” Rashford played in the 1-0 loss to Belgium but was a substitute in England’s first two games when Sterling started.

“Rashford showed yesterday that he can come in and make a difference to the team with his speed and technique, and he is a goalscorer as well,” Eriksson said.

England’s players during a training session in Saint Petersburg, yesterday.

It would be easier for England to beat Brazil than to beat Sweden in my opinion, Sweden today are a very hard team to break down: Former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson

England’s Dele Alli poses for photographs after the press conference, yesterday.

Alli eager to take a penalty in last-16 Colombia clashAFP

SAINT PETERSBURG: Dele Alli will put his hand up for a penalty if England are taken to a shootout by Colombia in their World Cup last-16 match on Tuesday.

England have lost six times out of seven on spot-kicks at major tournaments, with their coach Gareth Southgate guilty of missing against Germany at Euro 96.

Southgate has had his players practising penalties since March, while also deploying video analysts and psychometric tests in an attempt to buck the trend.

Alli says he wants to step up.

“We’re confident and looking to change things,” he said at England’s training base in Repino yesterday.

“Everyone wants to step up and help the team if we can. If I’m on the pitch, I want to take one. I’ll ask to try and take one.”

Alli is expected to return to the starting line-up against Colombia, having sustained a thigh strain in the opening game against Tunisia and sat out against both Panama and Belgium.

He will be up against a familiar foe in Moscow, given his Tottenham

teammate Davinson Sanchez plays for Colombia in central defence. Sanchez’s primary focus will be stopping Harry Kane.

“Obviously I hope Harry comes out on top,” Alli said.

“Davinson’s a great player, a great guy as well. It’s hard not to support him but, as players, there are no friendships on the pitch.

“He’s a great player, but no player is perfect. We know how he plays, we know his strengths, and we’ll look to try and exploit h i s v e r y f e w weaknesses.”

England have been pitched against Colombia after a much-changed team lost to Belgium on Friday, meaning they surrendered top spot in Group G.

Southgate has been crit-icised for conceding momentum ahead of the knockout stages, but Alli disagrees.

“Firstly we have to make it clear the whole squad is the ‘A team’. We’re in this together,” Alli said.

“The boys played well. The manager made a decision and we all back him. We didn’t lose any momentum. We’re all fighting and raring to go, and can’t wait for the next game.”

Veteran referee says corners would make good tiebreakerREUTERS

MOSCOW: Former World Cup final referee Arnaldo Cezar Coelho disapproves of fair play as a tiebreaker at the tour-nament and thinks a corner count would be a better way of separating teams who finish level on points and goals.

Senegal became the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated on yellow cards after finishing level with Japan on points, goal difference and goals scored in Group H on Thursday.

The Africans picked up six yellow cards in their three games to Japan’s four.

FIFA said it had no plans to

change the rules. Brazilian Coelho, who also criticised the use of video assistant referees (VAR) in incidents such as handball, said tiebreakers should be decided by objective criteria.

“The problem is that a yellow card is subjective... and some referees tend to be stricter and give more yellow cards than others,” he said in an interview. “So, if a team plays in a match with a stricter referee, they will be at a disadvantage.

“For me there is another way... counting corners. It’s a technical criteria and to win corners you have to attack, you have to play football.” Japan’s

final match, a 1-0 defeat by Poland, ended in farce as they effectively stopping playing, thereby avoiding picking up bookings or red cards that would have jeopardised their second-place finish.

“They wouldn’t have done that if corners had been used,” said Coelho, who commentates for Brazilian television.

He said there was nothing match officials could do in such circumstances and added that he was speaking from expe-rience, having been a linesman during the so-called “non-aggression” match between West Germany and Austria in 1982.

“I felt powerless,” he said, recalling Germany’s 1-0 win that sent the both teams through at the expense of Algeria after a soulless kick about.

Coelho, the first non-European to referee a World Cup final when he officiated at the Italy-West Germany match in 1982, said that VAR was a good idea in principle but its use should be restricted to objective decisions such as offside.

“In these cases, VAR is important to resolve problems, to help save the referee... it’s a parachute,” he said.

“On the other hand, to resolve any incident which is a matter of interpretation, it’s very

risky because the referee on the field sees the normal movement of the game and can interpret things at five metres distance by the movement of the players.

“The video referee, mean-while, makes calls based on slow motion which distorts the incident because it does not always the reflect the intensity of the movement.” Coelho said that similar handball incidents were still producing different decisions, even with the help of VAR.

“People interpret decisions differently, that is why there are controversies in football.”

“There isn’t a common cri-teria among the VARs. We saw similar incidents such as hand-balls where one gave a penalty, the other didn’t... So we have the same problem which existed before,” he said.

The problem is that a yellow card is subjective... and some referees tend to be stricter and give more yellow cards than others: Former World Cup final referee Arnaldo Cezar Coelho

Egypt’s Salah greets fans who turned up at his doorstepAP

CAIRO: Mohamed Salah, Egypt’s beloved striker, greeted an adoring crowd who turned up at his doorstep after his Cairo address was leaked on Facebook.

The Muslim world’s most popular soccer player showed no sign of anger as he received fans on Thursday night, posing for photos and signing auto-graphs, according to media reports. Photos circulated online showed dozens of fans appearing outside Salah’s home after his arrival with Egypt’s national team from Russia following a

disappointing World Cup showing.

The state-run Al Ahram newspaper reported the number of fans kept increasing, reaching the hundreds, and police had to intervene to disperse the crowds.

Egypt lost all three of its matches in the World Cup against Uruguay, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Salah missed the opening match with Uruguay because of a shoulder injury during the Champions League Final.

He scored two goals, one each in matches against Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Recent reports that Salah is

Mohamed Salah of Egypt gestures during a World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Volgograd, on June 25, 2018.

considering retiring from inter-national play emerged, sparking controversy. Salah was said to have been angry about being used as a political symbol while the World Cup squad was based in Chechnya.

Rather than accuse him of a lack of patriotism, many Egyp-tians instead supported him,

sending out thousands of tweets and posts on social media.

On Friday, fans gathered again at the Cairo airport to greet the 26-year-old Salah before he set off for Lebanon with his wife.

He is expected to join his Liverpool team in the coming weeks.

20 SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018SPORT 21SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018 SPORT

Spain’s title hunt on track: AzpilicuetaAFP

KRASNODAR: Cesar Azpilicueta is convinced Spain have what it takes to contend for the World Cup title despite a shaky start and the dismissal of coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the tour-nament.

The 2010 world champions quali-fied for the last 16 as winners of Group B ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portu-gal, and face hosts Russia in Moscow today.

Spain are unbeaten in 23 matches, a run dating back to Euro 2016, but the Spanish federation’s decision to sack Lopetegui after he accepted the Real Madrid job threatened to derail their campaign.

“It’s clear that it’s an unusual circum-stance that doesn’t happen often, but that’s what happened and you have to take things as they are,” Chelsea defender Azpilicueta said.

“You can’t shy away, you have to accept the reality. We must do our work in the best way we can and go as far as possible.” Fernando Hierro, the former Real captain who played 89 times for Spain, was appointed to replace Lopetegui despite limited previous coaching experience.

The 50-year-old Hierro spent a sin-gle season in charge of second division Spanish outfit Oviedo, but Azpilicueta is confident he can handle the international role.

“Fernando has shown great enthu-siasm, he’s very involved. He had to face up to this situation and he is giving eve-rything he has to help us, to improve the team,” he said. “I have no doubt we’re going to achieve our goal.” “The dynamic is very good, very similar to that of the last two years,” he added. “The group is

united, with a desire to grow, and thirsty for victory. Each coach has their own way of working but there haven’t been any big changes.” Spain find themselves in a half of the draw that includes just one other former champion, England, although a porous defence has been a cause for concern.

Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a thrill-ing 3-3 draw with Portugal in their opening game, while Spain’s backline was breached twice more by Morocco.

“It’s true that we’ve scored goals but we’ve also conceded a lot of them too,” said Azpilicueta. “We’re professionals, we have clear minds and we know we can offer more.

“We’re an offensive team, with lots of attacking players, and we’ve always had this problem. When you get lots of players up front, sometimes a counter-attack can take you by surprise and lead to a chance for the opposition.

“We must work on this point and regain our solidity.” Russia will have the backing of the vast majority of the 80,000 fans at the iconic Luzhniki Sta-dium in Moscow, and Azpilicueta is aware of the problems the home side can pose.

Spain drew 3-3 with Russia in a friendly in Saint Petersburg last Novem-ber, a game in which Krasnodar forward Fedor Smolov netted twice.

“They’re playing at home and it’s clear we don’t have any room for error,” said Azpilicueta.

Azpilicueta dismissed suggestions Andres Iniesta is struggling with the physical demands in Russia, in what is the 34-year-old’s final World Cup.

Iniesta, whose goal won the title for Spain in 2010, started each of Spain’s group games but lasted the duration just once.

AFP

SAINT PETERSBURG: Croatia head into their World Cup last-16 match against Denmark spearheaded

by evergreen midfielder Luka Modric, a player his teammate Ivan Rakitic has compared to Spain’s Andres Iniesta.Four years with Iniesta at Barcelona and 11 along-

side Modric for Croatia leaves Rakitic in a privileged position to judge two of the finest playmakers of the modern era.

“It seems like both of them are from differ-ent planets and they came to play football with us mortals,” Rakitic said.

“Both of them are among the best players ever in their

positions. You try to enjoy it as much as

you can, to learn from them.”

Iniesta is regularly classed among the greats of the game and as a defin-

ing influence on Spain’s success, but Modric’s talents remain relatively unsung.

Perhaps, in part, it is because Iniesta’s brilliance has been backed up by achievements on the world stage -- he scored the winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final -- while Modric has not hit the same heights with Croatia.

Modric owns four Champions League titles from his six years at Real Madrid, and has also won a La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

But since making his Croatian debut in March 2006, in a friendly against Argentina, he has twice tasted disap-pointment in the group stage of the World Cup, either side of a failure even to qualify in 2010.

Modric has never even made it into the top three of football’s most prestigious individual award but, after scor-ing twice in Croatia’s opening three games in Russia, there is a chance for him finally to put his stamp on a major tournament.

Iniesta and Spain could lie in wait in the quarter-finals but first, Croatia must overcome Denmark in the last 16 on Sunday in Nizhny Novgorod.

Denmark trudged their way through an underwhelm-ing Group C but they have their own midfield dynamo in Christian Eriksen who, like Modric once did, has flourished in the Premier League at Tottenham.

Modric admittedly enjoys a stronger supporting cast, with Rakitic a particularly formidable midfield partner.

But the stakes are also higher for the 32-year-old, who is probably playing his last World Cup and possibly has one final chance to make a mark on the international stage.

In-form Croatia are favourites but Danes promise a surprise REUTERS

NIZHNY NOVGOROD: Croatia go into today’s last 16 match against Denmark with a 100 percent record at this World Cup but the Danes are vowing to shake off their dull image and cause a surprise.

At stake in the match at the Nizhny Novgorod Sta-dium, the same venue where the Croats thumped Argentina 3-0 in the group stage, is a quarter-final against former world champions Spain or tournament hosts Russia.

Captained by experienced playmaker Luka Modric, Croatia also beat Nigeria and Iceland to top Group D and are now dreaming of going one better than their per-formance at the 1998 tournament where they reached the semi-finals.

“I was nine-years-old. I remember my mum scream-ing in the house when we scored,” said defender Dejan Lovren, recalling Croatia’s 2-1 win over the Netherlands in 1998 that secured third place.

“We can beat that, definitely, but we need luck. We have a good opponent in the next round, it will be difficult.”

In addition to scoring a superb long-range strike against Argentina, Modric has been outstanding in Rus-sia, as has fellow midfielder Ivan Rakitic. But the ‘old guard’ has been complemented by a younger generation - such as Ante Rebic, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Bro-zovic - who all play in Europe’s top leagues.

The Danes, meanwhile, are happy to continue flying under the radar despite being on a 17-match unbeaten run.

Having scored just two goals in navigating their way out of Group C as runners-up, the Danes expect to open up today.

They too are seeking to match their 1998 achieve-ment when they reached the quarter-finals before being beaten by Brazil in what was their best World Cup showing.

Denmark coach Age Hareide has promised a more entertaining, attacking style against Croatia after their own fans jeered them in a bore draw against France. For that creative energy, he will rely heavily on key player Christian Eriksen.

“We know that we don’t seem like the most fearsome bunch to go up against,” said midfielder Thomas Delaney.

“We’re not going to lose 5-0 by trying to play tiki-taka football. But people shouldn’t get used to seeing us play like we did against France. It’s seldom that we play like this, and the game against Croatia will be a very dif-ferent spectacle.”

CROATIA VS DENMARK* Croatia topped Group D with

three wins out of three,

including a 3-0

humbling of Lionel

Messi’s Argentina.

* Denmark came

second in Group C with one win and two

draws, though they were criticised for dull

defensive play in their final 0-0 encounter with

France.

* Croatia are seeking to emulate their best result

in 1998, when they reached the semi-finals and

finished third after a 2-1 win over the Netherlands in

the playoff.

* Denmark’s best result at a World Cup was also in

1998, when they reached the quarter-finals, beaten

by eventual runners-up Brazil.

* Croatia have qualified for five out of six World Cup

tournaments as an independent nation since they

broke away from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.

* Denmark are on a 17-match unbeaten run.

* The winners face Spain or Russia in a quarter-final.

Previous meetings: The pair have met five times,

with two wins each and one draw. Their last

meeting was a friendly in 2004 when Denmark

won 2-1.

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Spain’s Sergio Ramos

(centre) and team-mates

arriving at a training

session at the Luzhniki

Stadium in Moscow, Russia

yesterday, on the eve of

their FIFA World Cup last

16 round match against

the hosts.

Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov (centre) speaks with players before a training session in Novogorsk, outside Moscow, yesterday.

Russia can hurt 2010 winners: CheryshevAFP

MOSCOW: Russia’s World Cup topscorer Denis Cheryshev says the hosts can hurt 2010 winners Spain in the World Cup last 16 today despite the huge disparity in talent between the two teams.

Russia entered the tournament as the lowest-ranked side, at 70th in the world, but comprehensive wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt have boosted expectations.

Now they must find a way past title contenders Spain to prolong their run after reaching the knockout phase for the first time in the post-Soviet era.

Villarreal winger Cheryshev, who has scored three goals so far, is looking to exploit a surprisingly suspect Spain defence.

Fernando Hierro’s side have con-ceded five goals in three matches, with questions in particular over the form of Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea.

“That’s my intention as a forward,” said Cheryshev.

“Spain have some great players and might even be the best team in the world, in any case they’re close to being the best. But any team can hurt another and we’ll certainly do our best.”

Cheryshev is no stranger to Span-ish football, having spent most of his life in the country and come up through the Real Madrid youth system.

“I’m sure we’re going to have a hard time and I repeat we know they’re excellent and can play very well,” he said. “But we also have our assets and we’ll have to take advantage of them.

“However, I think that we can win against anybody, we can always win and that’s what we need to believe, just think about victory.”

Russia will have the support of most of the 80,000 fans at Moscow’s Luzh-niki Stadium, and Cheryshev is hoping the team can deliver a performance they will remember.

“I think for us tomorrow has to be a party, especially for the fans. They need to enjoy the match and we need to give 200 percent.

“We are playing at home but I think the team is relaxed and very much ready to do a good job.”

Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov said it was a “life and death match”.

“It’s not a pressure,” he said. “I believe there is a responsibility, Spain feels this and so does Russia. If you lose this you’re out.

“This is something like an exam in Russian -- what you write your teacher or professor will read and check and you can’t change anything.”

Russia drew 3-3 with Spain in a friendly in Saint Petersburg in Novem-ber, but former national team goalkeeper Cherchesov said much had changed since then.

“It was like a test game, tomorrow is an official game. They are two differ-ent things,” said the 54-year-old.

Russia seek World Cup miracle against former champs Spain

REUTERS

MOSCOW: A World Cup last-16 match between Spain and Russia would have seemed like a woeful mismatch a month ago but today’s game in Moscow is now much more difficult to call thanks to the 2010 winners’ underwhelming campaign and the hosts’ blistering start.

Spain’s preparations for the World Cup were thrown into turmoil after coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked and replaced by Fernando Hierro just days before the start of the tournament.

Hierro’s side topped Group B but picked up only five points.

Russia, the lowest ranked team in the tournament, dispelled the doom and gloom by blitzing Saudi Arabia 5-0 and beating Egypt 3-1 to reach the knockout phase for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

While Stanislav Cherchesov’s side were brought back to earth by a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay, they could cause Spain problems at a partisan Luhzniki stadium if they can rediscover the energy that propelled them to those first two group wins.

Spanish defender Dani Carvajal says his side, who drew 3-3 with Por-tugal and 2-2 with Morocco, must tighten up at the back against the Russians.

“On Sunday we have a very dif-ficult game against the host nation, who scored eight goals in two games and who will have the whole coun-try behind them,” Carvajal said.

“Russia is a strong and quick team and we have to be very wary of giv-ing the ball away. We have to be very

focused and set ourselves up to exploit their weaknesses and capi-talise on their errors.”

However, Carvajal said teams will be forced to attack more in the knockout stages, where he expects Spain to come out from the shadows and up their game.

“From now on the games are life or death, you can’t play for a draw, you either win or you go home,” he said.

“I think these games are going to be different and we will recover our best form.”

Spain and Russia played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in a friendly last November, while their last

competitive meeting came at the Euro 2008 semi-finals, where the Span-iards ran out 3-0 winners.

Russia’s veteran defender Sergei Ignashevich is one of three surviving members of that team in the current squad, and he said his side had stud-ied how Iran and Morocco managed to trouble Spain defensively.

“Their defenders try to get high up the pitch and that leads to a lot of free space and allows you to cre-ate danger on the counterattack,” he said.

“That was one of Spain’s biggest weaknesses in the group stage, Morocco and Iran used that strategy and we will try to do it too.”

* Spain took five points in Group B but finished top on goals scored,

drawing 3-3 with Portugal, 2-2 with Morocco and beating Iran 1-0.

* Russia were runners-up in Group A, beginning with a bang by beating

Saudi Arabia 5-0 and Egypt 3-1 but losing 3-0 to group winners Uruguay.

* Russia’s top scorer in the tournament is Denis Cheryshev on three

strikes, the same number of goals as Spain’s leading marksman Diego

Costa

* Russia covered more distance than any other team in the first two

rounds of games, running a combined 118km against Saudi Arabia and

115km against Egypt.

* Russia are playing in the round of 16 at a World Cup for the first time

since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union’s best finish was

reaching the 1966 semi-finals.

* Spain won a first World Cup in 2010, before then they had never got

beyond the quarter-finals.

* Spain are unbeaten in 23 games, their last defeat coming when they

lost 2-0 to Italy in the round of 16 in Euro 2016.

* Previous meetings: Russia have failed to beat Spain in any of their six

games, with the Spaniards winning four times and two matches ending in

a draw. Their last meeting was an entertaining 3-3 draw in a friendly last

November, while the last competitive match was in the semi-finals of Euro

2008, which Spain won 3-0.

SPAIN VS RUSSIA

Spanish defender

Cesar Azpilicueta

Croatia’s midfielder Luka

Modric takes part in a

training session at the

Roschino Arena

yesterday.

AFP

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sterday.

Modric’s final chance for World Cup glory

22 SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018SPORT

Bottas claims pole with record lapAFP

SPIELBERG, AUSTRIA: Valtteri Bottas roared to his first pole position of the season yesterday ahead of Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton in a tense qual-ifying for Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix.

The softly-spoken Finn clocked a record fastest lap in one minute and 3.130 seconds to outstrip Hamilton by 0.019 seconds as Mercedes reeled off a third front row lockout of the season.

It was a repeat, for Bottas, of his success last year when he claimed pole at the picturesque Red Bull Ring track and went on

to win and the fifth pole of his career.

Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari claimed

third with a late fast lap in the final minute to push team-mate Kimi Raikkonen down to fourth.

Max Verstappen was fifth for Red Bull ahead of Romain Grosjean of Haas, Daniel Ric-ciardo in the second Red Bull and Kevin Magnussen in the second Ferrari-powered Haas.

Carlos Sainz, who claimed he was blocked by Vettel during Q2, was ninth ahead of his Renault team-mate Nico Hulkenberg.

“I just need a good clean start,” said Bottas.

“Nothing amazing, no need to be a hero in Turn One and then I can go for it. I can guarantee I am more hungry to win than anyone now, so I am ready for it.

“The car felt so good. I knew there was a tenth to improve in for the last run and I managed to find it and apparently I needed it!” He did -- as Hamilton pushed him to the limit.

“Not too bad,” said Hamilton. “I am happy.

Valtteri did a stunning lap with the first run and I made a bit of a mistake - I’m happy with the second run and it is a good result for the team.” Vettel said:

“It wasn’t easy to put it

together and I had a mistake on the first lap. I knew I had to put in a banker lap to make it safe and qualify in a proper position - and I think we have a good chance in the race.”

On a near-perfect summer’s afternoon in the Styrian Alps, the air temperature was 24 degrees and the track 34 Celsius as qual-ifying began with forecasts warning of a 40 per cent chance

of rain. After being out-paced by Vettel by 0.029 seconds in the morning’s final free session, Hamilton was keen to regain the initiative on a circuit where Mer-cedes have dominated, winning

every one of the four races since it returned to the calendar. In Q1, he led the way ahead of team-mate Bottas, who won last year’s race, Raikkonen and Grosjean with Vettel content to be fifth behind Verstappen.

Out went Stoffel Vandoorne, Sergio Perez, Sergey Sirotkin, Brendon Hartley and Marcus Ericsson. Bottas and Hamilton immediately did record-breaking laps in Q2 to lead Vettel by almost two-tenths on their first runs.

They all chose ultra-softs for their second runs, Vettel improving to go top, but Mer-cedes not troubling the scorer in second and third as Esteban Ocon, Pierre Gasly, Charles Leclerc, who will be taking a grid penalty for a new gearbox in his Sauber, Fernando Alonso and Stroll missed the top-ten shootout.

As Ricciardo led the way in Q3, Vettel was reported to the stewards for an incident in Q2 in which it was claimed, by Sainz, that the German had baulked him dangerously.

On track, Bottas made the most of scruffy first laps by Ham-ilton and Vettel to go fastest early before the final drama.

From Left: : Mercedes’ British driver Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes’ Finnish driver Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari’s German driver Sebastian Vettel pose after the qualifying session ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix in Spielberg, central Austria, yesterday. Bottas will start on pole for today’s race.

Nothing amazing, no need to be a hero in Turn One and then I can go for it. I can guarantee I am more hungry to win than anyone now, so I am ready for it: Bottas

Tiger equals best comeback scoreAFP

POTOMAC, UNITED STATES: Tiger Woods roared into contention for his first victory since 2013, matching the best round of his injury comeback with a five-under par 65 on Friday at the US PGA Quicken Loans National.

A spectacular chip-in and four putts beyond 15 feet were among his seven birdies, the 14-time major winner sharing 11th on five-under 135 after 36 holes at TPC Potomac, only four strokes behind US co-leaders Brian Gay, Beau Hossler and Ryan Armour.

“I’m not that far from putting it together where I can win,” Woods said.

“The scores aren’t going to be that low. The course is getting a little bit more difficult.”

Former world number one Woods, who hadn’t played in the event he hosts since 2015 due to back pain, is making the 11th start of his return from spinal fusion surgery.

While his 79 career US PGA victories are three shy of Sam Snead’s all-time record, Woods has not won a title since the 2013

WGC Bridgestone Invitational and last captured a major at the 2008 US Open.

“I’m not that far back,” Woods said. “And it’s going to be a tough weekend. It’s going to be hot. It’s going to be long grinds.”

Woods had produced his best round of 2018 at May’s Players Championship with a seven-under 65 third round. The last time he went lower was an

opening-round six-under 64 at Greensboro in 2015.

“You’ve got to be patient on this course,” Woods said. “There are not a lot of low scores out there.”

Woods, ranked 82nd, showed confidence and comfort with a new mallet putter being used in competition for only the second day in place of the Scotty Cameron putter he used in winning 13 major titles.

“It’s a tweener between my training putter at home and what I normally go with, so just go ahead and trust,” Woods said.

“It’s a good feeling for me. It felt good today. I started on my line with the right pace and a lot of them fell.”

Hossler birdied four of the last five holes to shoot 66 and stand on 131 with Gay, a back-nine starter who birdied five of his first seven holes in shooting 64, and Armour, who shot a bogey-free 65.

Italy’s Francesco Molinari and American Billy Horschel were on 132 with Zac Blair on 133 and a pack on 134 including Taiwan’s C.T. Pan, Australian Marc Leishman and American Kevin Streelman, who shot a course-record 62.

In all, Woods hit 10 of 14 fairways, reached 13 of 18 greens in regulation and made only 26 putts.

“I was happy with it,” Woods said. “I thought something in the mid-60s would have been a good score and I was able to shoot that.”

Woods began on the back nine and sank a 24-foot birdie putt on the 10th hole.

The 42-year-old American took a bogey at 11 after sending his approach into deep grass but bounced back by sinking a 19-foot birdie putt at the par-3 12th.

Woods followed with a 16-foot birdie putt at the par-4 15th, but missed a six-footer to bogey the par-3 17th.

in Woods responded with a birdie, chipping in from 32 yards at the par-4 18th, sparking a roar from spectators as he made the turn.

“It was a bonus,” Woods said. “It was pretty sweet because I was trying to hit a high cut spinner in there and it worked out perfectly.” Woods tapped in for birdie at the par-5 second, then sank a 25-foot birdie putt at the par-3 third. He missed a 15-foot birdie putt at the fourth but landed his approach at the fifth 2 1/2 feet from the cup and tapped in for birdie.

Woods blasted out from bunkers at the eighth and ninth, saving pars with tense five-foot putts.

“I didn’t want to lose it on the last couple holes,” Woods said. “And I could have easily lost it, but I made two nice saves.”

Marquez grabs pole in final seconds of qualifyingAFP

ASSEN, NETHERLANDS: Spaniard Marc Marquez (pictured) grabbed pole position after a frenzied finish to qualifying for the Dutch Grand Prix yesterday.

With track-side temper-atures passing 45 degrees celsius (113 Fahrenheit) the riders burned up the circuit.

With the clock ticking Andrea Iannone, on a Suzuki, held provisional pole but after all the riders out on the course had finished, the Italian was relegated to 10th.

Championship leader Marquez was quickest in 1 minute 32.791 seconds.

The Honda star finished 0.041 seconds faster than team-mate Cal Crutchlow. Italian Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) completed the front row another 0.018 seconds back.

The first four riders were separated by less than one tenth of a second and the top 11 by just half a second.

“It was difficult,” Marquez said, adding that “I felt I had a good rhythm even if this is not my strongest circuit.”

“But I’m starting from pole position tomorrow.”

“Nice to have a front row,” said Crutchlow, who is sixth in the championship standings.

He said adding that he felt he had lacked speed in the final section of the course but added that, “the whole Honda family is doing a good job.”

Rossi, who has won 10 races, including eight grand prix at Assen completes the front row.

“I am very happy,” the Italian said.

“Especially after I went off the track in the second practice session, but I managed to find the right set-up to be able record a great time and start from the front row.”

World T20 No.1 spot on line in ZimbabweAFP

HARARE: Australia, Pakistan and Zimbabwe meet in a T20 tri-series starting in Harare tomorrow with the world number one ranking on the line in the sport’s shortest format.

Pakistan travel to Zimbabwe as the world’s top rated team but if the Australians are able to put their torrid tour of England behind them they could claim that status for themselves.

Australia are in dire need of a confidence booster after enduring a 6-0 drubbing across limited overs formats on their tour of England, and ahead of their arrival in Zimbabwe coach Justin Langer insisted “there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”

Australia slipped down to third in the ICC’s T20 rankings after their defeat to England but could come out of the Zimbabwe tri-series with the top ranking if they are able to reverse their losing streak.

The challenge is a stiff one, however, as Australia are cur-rently missing six key limited overs players, with Steve Smith

and David Warner currently serving bans while Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitch Marsh all recovering from injuries.They will be up against a Pakistan side brimming with confidence after having lost only one of their eight T20 inter-nationals this year.

Looking to extend their success, Pakistan named a full strength squad for their trip to Zimbabwe. They decided not to rest fast bowler Mohammad Amir for this tour, while the con-tributions of 19-year-old leg-spinner Shadab Khan will also be crucial in conditions expected to favour spin.

The experienced Mohammad Hafeez will likely return to their top order after his bowling action was cleared as legal last month.

“Hafeez warranted a place after clearing his action,” said P a k i s t a n s e l e c t o r Inzamam-ul-Haq.

Uncapped opener Sahibzada Farhan was also included “after showing good form in domestic matches,” said Inzamam. Pakistan will also bank on the experience of captain Sarfraz

Ahmed, who has toured Zim-babwe twice before.

Hosts Zimbabwe have had their own side shorn of valuable experience due to a pay dispute between Zimbabwe Cricket and several senior players.

There will be a new look to their team when they take on Pakistan in Sunday’s opener, with young batsman Tarisai Musakanda tipped to be named as new captain. The Zimba-bweans will also be distracted by the potential outcomes of the ongoing ICC conference, where their cricket board’s massive debts are being discussed.

The signs are that this could be a difficult first outing for new coach Lalchand Rajput.

“To be very honest, I just look at the players who are available and the best 15 or 17 which we have picked,” he said.

“So my job is to get the 17 who are available and prepare them for the tri-series. I am not interested in who is available or not available. My job is for the people who are available and I want to prepare them well for the tri-series.”

Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir (left) returns a ball during the team’s practice session in Lahore on Monday

Tiger Woods walks to the 16th tee during the second round of the Quicken Loans National at TPC Potomac in Potomac, Maryland on Friday.

ARMSTRONG VAS

THE PENINSULA

DOHA: Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba yesterday became the second man to ever crack 47 seconds in the 400m hurdles while competing at the Diamond League meet in Paris.

The 22-year-old clocked 46.98 seconds to continue his dream run in the Diamond League to collect his fourth win the seventh race of the Diamond League season.

Having collected impressive victories in Doha, Rome and Oslo, Samba shattered several marks in Paris - Asian, world, Diamond League and meet record.

Samba’s new world lead overtook Rai Benjamin’s 47.02 from the NCAA Outdoor Cham-pionships and the mark sits just behind world record-holder Kevin Young’s 46.78 from the 1992 Olympic Games.

The Qatari hurdler has been on an absolute tearaway this season, going undefeated in a string of 47-second perform-ances to improve his personal best five times in six outings. In many of those races, it was to the

chagrin of Swedish rival Karsten Warholm, who once again mounted a furious attempt to dethrone Samba yesterday but faded off the final turn and clob-bered the penultimate hurdle to

finish third in 48.06. Kyron McMasters put together a bril-liant race to finish runner-up in 47.54.

“I told it even before - I want to become the fastest man in the

world and I work hard to achieve it. It definitely did not feel like under 47 race today,” Samba told reporters after the race.

“I made a small mistake at the start, lost my balance on the

first hurdle so I did not expect to run so fast. But it feels great to be the second fastest man in the history. The world record is getting close but I just want to improve step by step and to run fast. I improved my technique since last year and who knows, maybe I can be one second faster next year. I am speechless now,” he added.

Meanwhile, Kevin Mayer won the triathlon treating himself to two personal bests along the way. In a repeat of last year, the reigning world decathlon champion took victory with 2,860 points ahead of the Ukrainian Oleksiy Kasyanov (2,643pts) and Grenadian Victor Lindon (2,464 pts).

Posting a con-vincing performance in the long jump (7.62m), Mayer excelled in the shot put (16.51m) and the 110m hurdles (13”71), securing personal bests in both, and really making the most of his

participation in the Parisian meeting in front of an audience which was right behind him.

Shericka Jackson was just one hundredth of a second shy of the best performance in the world this year while winning the women’s 200m clocking 22.05. The 23-year-old sprinter posted a personal best and fin-ished way ahead of the American Jenna Prandini (2nd, 22”30).

The reigning world number two in the speciality, Marie-Josée Ta Lou from the Ivory Coast, rounded off the podium (3rd, 22”50), whilst French runner Brigitte Ntiamoah finished 8th in the race (23”48).

23SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018 SPORT

I did not expect to run so fast. But it feels great to be the second fastest man in the history. The world record is getting close but I just want to improve step by step and to run fast: Samba

Wozniacki gets pre-Wimbledon boost with Eastbourne titleAFP

E A S T B O U R N E , U N I T E D KINGDOM: Denmark’s world number two Caroline Wozniacki gave herself the perfect confidence-booster ahead of Wimbledon with a hard fought 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) victory over Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka to take her second WTA Eastbourne title yesterday.

The 27-year-old top seed was winning her first title since claiming her maiden Grand Slam trophy earlier this year in the Australian Open.

She benefited from her greater experience than her 20-year-old opponent, who served for both sets only for Wozniacki to break back both times.

Sabalenka’s consolation will be to rise to 32 in the rankings -- having been 135 this time last year -- and beating three seeded players on the way to the final.

Wozniacki -- who last won the Eastbourne tournament in 2009 the same year Sabalenka’s coach Dmitry Tursonov won the men’s title -- said she was delighted to have won what was her 29th WTA title.

“This means a lot, I forgot how heavy (the trophy) it is!” said Wozniacki.

“It is great I can still play at this level almost 10 years later.” Woz-niacki, whose father and coach Piotr came on to the court twice to give her advice, says the victory sets her up nicely for Wimbledon, the only Grand Slam event in which she has never reached the quarter-finals.

“I was thinking she (Sabalenka) has played so many sets this week and doubles yesterday how can she still be so full of energy,” said Wozniacki.

“Then I recalled she is much younger than me.

“Wimbledon is such a special tournament and I love grass.

“To be playing well going into Wimbledon is great.

“I definitely had some great matches this week which sets me up nicely.”

For Sabalenka, who sprang to prominence last year as the driving force behind Belarus’ run to the Fed Cup final where they lost to the United States, said playing Woz-niacki, only the fifth top 10 player she has faced, had been an inval-uable experience.

“I will remember that this is my first premier level WTA final and the 17 sets from this week,” she said laughing.

“She (Wozniacki) is a great

player. You have to be focussed on every point, she puts the balls in the right place.”

Sabalenka’s power threatened to overwhelm Wozniacki in both sets only for the younger player to suffer an attack of nerves when presented with opportunities to close them out.

In the first, serving for the set at 5-4, she dropped her serve with a double fault giving Wozniacki the game.

Wozniacki -- whose brother Patrick was commentating on the match for Danish TV -- won the next two games to take the first set.

A similar pattern developed in the second set with Sabalenka breaking Wozniacki early on, the Dane breaking back only for the Belarus to move a break up again to lead 6-5.

However, again she faltered when in sight of taking a set, Woz-niacki breaking her and forcing the tie-break.

The Belarus also had a mini break on Wozniacki in the tie-break but the redoubtable Dane again fought back to take the set and the match.

The men’s title -- a lower key event than the women’s -- saw Ger-many’s Mischa Zverev beat Slo-vakian Lukas Lacko 6-3, 6-4.

Wimbledon rivals back Serena’s seedingAFP

LONDON: Many of Serena Williams’ Wimbledon rivals have rallied round the seven-time champion to say the All England Club was right to seed the American, despite her lowly ranking.

Williams’ place in the Wimbledon seedings has been a hot topic in the tennis world after her tentative return to action following the birth of daughter Alexis Olympia in September.

The 36-year-old played her first Grand Slam for over a year at the French Open last month, reaching the fourth round before a shoulder injury forced her to quit ahead of her clash with Maria Sharapova.

Williams is ranked 183 after her pregnancy absence and French Open chiefs decided against seeding her.

However, Wimbledon officials felt the former world number one’s record on grass was so superior to her rivals that they seeded her 25th to ensure a balanced draw.

Slovakian world number 32 Dominika Cibulkova was bumped from the seeding group as a result.

“I don’t think it’s the right thing to do. It’s just not fair,” Cibulkova said before the decision was announced.

“I have tried and I should be seeded. If they put her in front of me then I will lose my spot that I am supposed to have.” But as a 23-time major winner, many female players at Wimbledon believe Serena, who plays Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus in the first round, deserved to be seeded regardless of her current reduced status. While Wil-liams was practising at Wim-bledon on Saturday -- also pushing back her scheduled media commitments by 24 hours -- the American’s peers came out in support.

“For me, wasn’t really surprised that she seeded. I’m okay with that. I don’t really have any problems with that,” said two-time Wimbledon champion, Petra Kvitova.

“Obviously she has so many titles from Wimbledon. She loves to play on the grass.”

Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki holds the winner’s trophy after her Women’s singles finals match against Belarus’s Aryna Sabalenka at the ATP Nature Valley International tournament in Eastbourne, southern England, yesterday.

Murray battles for fitnessAFP

LONDON: Andy Murray expects to compete at Wimbledon next week, but the two-time champion admits his return from hip surgery is still a work in progress.

Murray has played just three matches since making his comeback last week after 11 months on the sidelines.

The 31-year-old, whose ranking has dropped to 156, had an operation on his right hip in January and only returned to action on June 18 when he was beaten by Nick Kyrgios at Queen’s Club.

Murray saw off Stan Wawrinka at Eastbourne on Monday, but lost to Kyle Edmund on Wednesday.

Despite his lack of match practice, the former world number one has opted to give it a go at Wimbledon, where he struggled badly with the hip problem during his quarter-final defeat against Sam Querrey 12 months ago.

Murray, due to face France’s Benoit Paire in the first round, was out on the

All England Club practice courts yes-terday and insisted he was generally pleased with his return to action.

“Yeah, unless in the next couple of days I wake up and don’t feel good. I mean, through all of this, I have to view it very much day by day, just as a process,” Murray said if he had finally decided to play at Wimbledon.

“I’m practising at a high level, a high intensity every day with some of the best players in the world.

“That’s really positive for me as part of getting better, to compete again.” But, while Murray seems certain to face Paire, the Scot conceded he is still well short of the form that made him a three-time major winner.

“You know, in other sports when you come back, you don’t tend to come back and be competing against the best in the world immediately,” he said.

“There’s certain things that are still tricky and things I’m still trying to work through.

“These things are significantly better than what they were a few months ago. That’s for sure. But again,

it just takes time.” - Low expectations - In previous years, Murray has arrived at Wimbledon tipped to compete for the title, but this year is much different and he doesn’t expected to make a deep run in the tournament so soon after returning.

“Obviously Wimbledon for me is special for a lot of reasons. It feels a little bit odd coming into the tour-nament this year,” he said.

“Normally at this stage I feel really nervous, lots of pressure, and I expect a lot of myself around this time of year. “I’ve always loved that, whereas this year it feels very different.” Given how little time he has spent on court, Murray refused to put a target on what he would see as a good performance this year.

“I don’t know. Because how am I supposed to tell you how I’m going to feel if I play for four hours in the first match? I can’t answer that question honestly,” he said.

“I wouldn’t expect to play worse tennis than I have. I would expect my level of tennis to improve.

Britain’s Andy Murray during practice ahead of the Wimbledon at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London yesterday.

Qatar’s Samba goes sub-47 in Paris

Qatar’s Abderrahman Samba on his way to winning the men’s 400 hurdles in the Diamond League meet at Charlety Stadium, Paris, France, yesterday.

SPORT24SUNDAY 1 JULY 2018

Mbappe ‘happy’ but says Pele ‘on another level’AFP

KAZAN ARENA: Teenage star Kylian Mbappe played down comparisons with Brazil legend Pele after stealing the show in a 4-3 victory for France that sent Argentina crashing out of the World Cup.

Billed as Lionel Messi’s chance to reignite stuttering Argentina’s hopes, the thrilling last-16 clash in Kazan instead saw 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain star Mbappe showcase his sublime skills as he became the first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score at

least two goals in a World Cup match.

“I’m very happy, and it’s flattering to be compared to a great player like Pele,” said Mbappe after his two second-half goals set up a quarter-final clash with either Uruguay or Portugal. “But he’s in another category. Still, it’s great to join the list of players that have achieved such feats.”

Mbappe was born in the Paris suburbs in 1998, the year Les Bleus secured their first World Cup title under captain Didier Deschamps.

After his man-of-the-match

performance overshadowed a mediocre display by Messi and Argentina, Mbappe laughed off suggestions that 1998 will be more remembered as the year of his birth,.

“For me there’s no debate... it was the first time we were world champions.”

Mbappe could now go on to become one of the stars of the World Cup, and he added: “All the big players are at the World Cup.

“It’s an opporutunity to show what we can do. There’s no bigger stage in football,” he said.

France’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates scoring their third goal against Argentina during their World Cup - Round of 16 match in Kazan yesterday.

Cavani the hero

as Uruguay send

Portugal packing

URUGUAY PORTUGAL

2 1CAVANI - 7'

CAVANI - 62'PEPE - 55'

Uruguay’s forward Edinson Cavani celebrates after scoring a second goal during the Russia 2018 World Cup round of 16 football match against Portugal at the Fisht Stadium in Sochi, yesterday.

AFP

SOCHI: Edinson Cavani scored twice as Uruguay shattered Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup dream with a 2-1 victory over Portugal here yesterday.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Cavani curled home a superb 62nd-minute winner to settle a thrilling second round duel in Sochi which sends Uruguay into a quarter-final against France next Friday.

Cavani had already put Uruguay in front early on, only for Pepe to head Portugal level in the 55th minute in a thrilling contest that was not the battle of attrition many predicted.

Pepe’s goal was the first time the South Americans’ defence had been breached in this tournament, but they stood firm after that and are beginning to look like genuine contenders moving into the latter stages in Russia.

The only downside for Oscar Tabarez’s side was the sight of Cavani limping off late on, raising a question mark

over his fitness for next week’s last eight showdown with the French in Nizhny Novgorod.

Meanwhile, European champions Portugal go home, as Ronaldo and Lionel Messi bow out of the competition on the same day.

In contrast, Uruguay march on with arguably the best defence in international football and one of the best

strike pairings anywhere.Suarez and Cavani com-

bined brilliantly for the seventh-minute opener on Rus-sia’s Black Sea coast.

Cavani picked out Suarez on the left with a cross-field ball, before continuing his run into the penalty area and meeting the Barcelona striker’s return delivery at the back post, the ball smacking off his face

and flying in. Suarez almost doubled the lead from a free-kick midway through the first half that forced a good save from Rui Patricio.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo did not touch the ball once in the oppo-sition area in the first period. But with Uruguay sitting back, Portugal did equalise 10 minutes into the second half.

A corner was played short

to Raphael Guerreiro, and his cross from the left was headed home from close range by Pepe, rising high above Diego Godin in the area.

After nearly five and a half hours of football, it was the first goal Uruguay had let in at this World Cup -- indeed it was the first they had conceded in 2018.

But their response to that was magnificent as they went quickly retook the lead, Rodrigo Bentancur teeing up Cavani for a magnificent first-time curling strike into the far corner on his right foot.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos threw up his hands in disgust, realising that coming from behind a second time against this Uruguay defence was going to be a tall order.

Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera did almost gift them another equaliser, dropping a high ball at the feet of Bernardo Silva, but the Manchester City man could only volley over.

Cavani then had to be helped off by Ronaldo before watching the rest of the game from the dugout with ice on a calf injury.

His side held out, and if he recovers, Cavani can now look forward to coming up against his Paris Saint-Germain strike partner Kylian Mbappe, so impressive for France against Argentina.

But Mbappe is unlikely to find the Uruguayan defence so accommodating.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (left) shakes hands with Uruguay’s Luis Suarez after the match, yesterday.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Cavani curled home a superb 62nd-minute winner to settle a thrilling second round duel in Sochi which sends Uruguay into a quarter-final against France next Friday.