Sports
Egypt Crashes Out Of 2012 Nations Cup
Reigning African champions Egypt cannot qualify for the finals of the Africa Cup of Nations next year.
The Pharaohs are bottom of their group with only two points from five games and were beaten 2-1 by Sierra Leone at the weekend.
But Senegal have secured their place in the finals with a fine 2-0 win over DR Congo in Dakar.
Elsewhere, Libya claimed an impressive 1-0 win over Mozambique, Malawi and Tunisia drew 0-0 and Cameroon and Ivory Coast both scored 5 goals unanswered.
Egypt were already struggling to make it to the finals but their defeat by Sierra Leone means they cannot make it out of Group G.
A team of Under-23 players, bolstered by veteran captain Ahmed Hassan, went behind to the home team in Freetown through Sherrif Suma’s early goal.
The Pharaohs pulled one back thanks to Mohsen Maruwan and going into stoppage time it was tied at 1-1 but then Sierra Leone were awarded a penalty and Mohamed Bangura stepped up to earn a victory for the Leone Stars which gives them a continued chance of making it to the finals.
Senegal are through to the finals in Equatorial Guinea and Gabon next year after a strong performance in Dakar to beat DR Congo 2-0 on Saturday.
Two goals for Moussa Sow secured them an unassailable lead at the top of Group E on 13 points, five clear of Cameroon in second place.
Cameroon took their time to get going against Mauritius in Yaounde, the game was a remarkable 0-0 at halftime.
But the Indomitable Lions banged in five goals in the second half, including a brace from Eric Choupa-Moting, to take them to 8 points in the table.
That means they still have a chance of going through as one of the best runners-up, but it is a slim one.
Libya continued their qualifying campaign despite all the troubles facing their country.
Their game against Mozambique was moved to Cairo and played behind closed doors, and the Libyans have kept their campaign on track with a 1-0 win.
Rabiyah Lafi got the only goal of the game and the result means that they will qualify if they beat Zambia in their final pool match next month.
The Libyan team were wearing a new national team strip, sang a new national anthem and played under the flag of the rebel National Transitional Council.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Tanzania and Algeria drew 1-1 in Dar-es-Salaam in Group D – a result which leaves both sides still well behind the joint group leaders Morocco and Central African Republic, who play on Sunday.
Kenya left it late to go beat Guinea Bissau in Group J- it was 1-1 going into stoppage time at the end of their match when Denis Oliech stepped up with a drmaatic winner.
The Harambee Stars are now second in their group with seven points, behind Uganda who can qualify with only a draw against Angola. in their game on Sunday.
Malawi have the edge in the race towards the automatic qualification spot for second place in Group K.
The Flames were held to a 0-0 draw by Tunisia on Saturday, a result which leaves them tied on 11 points each behind the already qualified Botswana.
But with head-to-head results counting in the event of a tie, Malawi’s two away goals in their 2-2 draw in Tunis would put them ahead.
In Group A meanwhile Mali took a giant step towards qualification with a 3-0 win over Cape Verde in Bamako.
Cheick Diabate got two quick goals towards the end of the first half to put them in front and the win was sealed by Mahamand Traore with a stylish finish early in the second.
The Malians must wait until the outcome of Sunday’s match between Zimbabwe and Liberia in Harare to fully assess their chances of making it to the finals.
Ivory Coast have already made sure of their place at the finals but they reaffirmed their quality with a 5-0 demolition of Rwanda in Kigali in Group H.
Arsena’s Gervinho created most of the success for the Elephants and he helped himself to a goal right at the end to go with two from Wilfred Bony and one each from Didier Ya Konan and Salomon Kalou.
Kolo Toure, returning from a six-month ban for failing a drugs test, was part of the squad but did not play.
Namibia got a late win against The Gambia in Windhoek. Tangeni Shipahu got the only goal of the game, which puts the Brave Warriors level with The Gambia on 3 points each in this three-team pool – well behind the leaders Burkina Faso.
But this group is confused by Namibia’s ongoing claim that the Burkinabe fielded an ineligible player against them.
Their appeal to Caf has yet to be decided upon, but if the governing body of African football dismiss their claims then the Burkinabe have already done enough to go through to the finals from this group.
Sports
Tottenham Fight Back To Hold Brighton
Tottenham fought back from two-goals down to secure a deserved point against Brighton.
The Seagulls were second best for much of the match but found themselves 2-0 up after 31 minutes thanks to Yankuba Minteh’s early strike and Yasin Ayari’s powerful drive.
However, Richarlison halved the deficit just before half-time when he stopped a shot by Mohammed Kudus before slotting in.
Spurs dominated the second half but their finishing let them down as Richarlison and substitute Xavi Simons were both unable to make the most of promising opportunities.
But the equaliser came eight minutes from time when Jan Paul van Hecke turned Kudus’ cross into his own net.
Spurs then pushed for a winner as they looked to continue their impressive start to the season, but Brighton held on for the point.
Bundesliga: Kane Continues Goal Harvest (5)
Harry Kane scored his second hat-trick of the season as Bayern Munich overcame a shaky start to win at Hoffenheim and continue their 100% start.
The England captain, 32, broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a clinical first-time finish from a cleverly worked low corner, and doubled Bayern’s lead from the spot after Albian Hajdari was harshly penalised for a handball.
That broke Hoffenheim’s resistance and Kane completed his ninth Bundesliga hat-trick with another penalty, given for a foul on substitute Michael Olise after a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
This time Kane sent home keeper Oliver Baumann the wrong way for his 13th Bayern goal in seven matches across all competitions this season, adding to his Champions League double against Chelsea last Wednesday.
“Hat-trick Harry is what they called me in school,” Kane told Tidesports source after the match. “That one kind of stuck when I was younger.”
“Any ball in the box, whether penalty or not, I back myself to hit the target.”
Hoffenheim had the better of the first 45 minutes, Fisnik Asllani only able to hit the post after goalkeeper Manuel Neuer passed straight to the Kosovan.
They eventually got some reward for their efforts, former West Ham full-back Vladimir Coufal’s deflected free-kick beating Neuer to earn the Czech his first goal for the club.
Ex-Liverpool winger Luis Diaz hit the top of the bar late on as he failed to continue his record of scoring in every Bundesliga game this season, but Serge Gnabry added a fourth for Bayern with the last kick, converting a rebound from a tight angle after Baumann saved from Joshua Kimmich.
Nicolas Jackson made his first start since joining Bayern on an initial loan deal from Chelsea, but the Senegal striker had a very quiet game before being replaced in the 62nd minute.
In Italy, Lorenzo Pellegrini fired Roma into the Serie A top four as Lazio had two players sent off in a fiery derby.
The midfielder found the bottom corner in the 38th minute as Roma extended their unbeaten run to four games against their city rivals.
Lazio have lost three of their opening games of the season and had Reda Belahyane and former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi dismissed in late drama.
Roma started well and Rome-born Pellegrini claimed the vital goal – his fourth in a Rome derby after being available for transfer in the summer – following good work down the right by Matias Soule.
But the hosts will rue missed opportunities as Boulaye Dia, Mattia Zaccagni and Alessio Romagnoli all had openings.
With four minutes left substitute Belahyane was shown a red card for a late studs-up challenge on Manu Kone.
Danilo Cataldi struck the outside of the post for Lazio in a last-gasp effort to snatch a point, while team-mate Guendouzi was sent off for dissent after the final whistle.
Sports
Zidane’s Son Switches Allegiance To Algeria
Luca Zidane, the son of France’s World Cup-winning playmaker Zinedine, has switched his international allegiance from France to Algeria.
Born just outside Marseille, the 27-year-old goalkeeper had appeared for France at various youth levels.
The move, which was approved by Fifa, may enable Zidane to follow in his father’s footsteps by appearing at a World Cup, with Algeria expected to secure a place at the 2026 finals in North America in their qualifier against Somalia next month.
Zidane, who is the second of four brothers, all of whom came through the Real Madrid academy, currently plays for Spanish second tier side Granada.
He played two matches for Madrid and has La Liga experience at Rayo Vallecano, but dropped a level in 2022 to play for Eibar before heading to Andalusia in 2024.
Zidane qualifies for the North African country through his father, whose parents hailed from the Kabylie region of Algeria.
Zinedine Zidane, who is regarded as one of the games greatest players scored twice for France in their 1998 World Cup final victory over Brazil, but was famously sent-off in the 2006 final, which was won by Italy after a penalty shootout.
Sports
Man Utd Beat Chelsea To Ease Pressure
Manchester United capitalised on Robert Sanchez’s fifth-minute red card to secure a crucial victory over Chelsea in torrential rain at Old Trafford.
The first match in Premier League history to see two or more goals, red cards and substitutions in the first half was settled by goals from United skipper Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who was the other player sent off before the break.
It was Sanchez’s dismissal that set the course of the game though.
The Spain international raced from his goal to meet Bryan Mbeumo as the striker ran beyond the Chelsea defence.
Sanchez then upended the forward outside his area rather than allow him past to tap the ball into an empty net.
Enzo Maresca’s response to the red card was to take off both Pedro Neto and Estevao Willian and, as Cole Palmer had to be replaced after suffering a recurrence of a groin injury, Chelsea had lost three attacking players in the space of 20 minutes.
Trevor Chalobah pulled one back for Chelsea with a header 10 minutes from time but United kept their nerves at bay to make it to the final whistle with their lead intact.
The victory was United’s second of the season and came in front of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who gave head coach Ruben Amorim assurances over his future 48 hours earlier.
It also means Chelsea have still not won at Old Trafford since 2013, when Sir Alex Ferguson was United manager.
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