Football Passion in Stands, on Pitch During Workers' Cup
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CRICKET | Page 5 AATHLETICSTHLETICS | Page 6 Pakistan Bolt targets To Advertise here take on New ‘triple-triple’ Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 Zealand in glory at Rio World T20 Olympics Tuesday, March 22, 2016 TENNIS Jumada II 13, 1437 AH Inspired Azarenka GULF TIMES earns rare win over Serena Williams SPORT Page 9 FOOTBALL Qatar squad for HK, China matches announced By Sports Reporter With a berth at the 2019 Doha AFC Asian Cup already Qatar coach Daniel Carreno addresses his team during a training session secured, 2022 World Cup in Doha yesterday. hosts Qatar are moving oach Daniel Car- full steam ahead of reach- reno has named ing football’s greatest his squad for showpiece tournament to Qatar’s next be held in Russia in 2018. Ctwo 2018 FIFA World Squad: Claude Amin, Cup/2019 Asian Cup Saad Abdullah al-Sheeb, qualifying matches. Umar Bari, Khalifa Abu Carreno has included Ro- Bakr, Mohamed Kasola, drigo Tabata and Sebas- Bualem Khoukhi, Ahmed tian Soria in his squad for Yasser, Abdulrehman Isa, games against Hong Kong Pedro Miguel, Mohamed and China . Musa, Musab Khidr, Qatar are top of Group Abdulkareem Hassan, C Asian Zone qualifying Khalid Muftah, Kareem campaign. Carreno’s boys Buodiaf, Luiz Martin, are unbeaten in six games. Abdulrehman Mohamed, Second-placed Hong Abdulaziz Hatem, Hassan Kong will play Qa- Khalid, Ali Asad, Rodrigo tar on March 24 at Jas- Tabata, Akram Afif, Majid sim Bin Hamad Stadium. Mohammed, Sebastian Qatar will then fl y to the Soria, Mohamed Muntari, Chinese city of Xian for Meshael Abdullah, Ismael a last outing in group C Mohamed and Ahmed against China on March Alaa. 29. Coach: Daniel Carreno SPOTLIGHT US senators meet SC chief al-Thawadi ‘The first World Cup in the Arab world will be held in a country which like the US loves sport, and a region which is crazy about football’ By Sports Reporter Doha delegation of US senators has met with Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy (SC) Secre- tary General Hassan al-Thawadi in Doha, and seen progress taking place towards the 2022 FIFA AWorld Cup Qatar on site at Khalifa International Stadium. The US delegation which made an offi cial visit to the State of Qatar included Democratic senators Ben Cardin, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Com- mittee, Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley, and Republican Senator US ambassador to Qatar Dana Shell Smith (C) with mem- Cory Gardner, and were accompanied by the US ambassa- bers of the US delegation. At bottom, Supreme Commit- dor to Qatar, Dana Shell Smith. They received an overview tee Secretary-General Hassan al-Thawadi with members of progress taking place towards the 2022 FIFA World Cup of his team. Qatar from the SC Secretary General, and then had the op- portunity to see the developments fi rst hand as they toured is crazy about football. We take this tournament as an op- Khalifa International Stadium – which is set to be the fi rst portunity to accelerate human and economic progress, and World Cup stadium to be completed in Qatar by the end of we are already seeing this taking place on workers’ welfare. this year. The legacy we leave behind will be our measure of success “We were pleased to have met with this high-ranking for this tournament,” al-Thawadi added. delegation of US Senators and given them fi rst-hand infor- A range of topics were discussed during the meeting, mation about our progress in a number of areas, including including co-operation between the two countries, US stadium construction, our workers’ welfare standards and companies working on SC projects, the safety record on SC their implementation, and human and economic legacy construction sites which includes zero work-related fatali- initiatives,” said SC Secretary General al-Thawadi. ties, and the development and implementation of the SC’s “The fi rst World Cup in the Arab world will be held in a Workers’ Welfare Standards as it continues to make work- country which like the US loves sport, and a region which ers’ welfare a top priority across all construction sites. Gulf Times 2 Tuesday, March 22, 2016 FOOTBALL SPOTLIGHT FOCUS Man United derby win gives Van Gaal Fantasy becoming top-four belief AFP is good, otherwise I don’t let London him stay and I let him stay there. “Last week there were questions why I let him stay in the media anchester United and now I get the question that reality in Premier manager Louis van he has to play in the national Gaal believes that team.” his team have a “big Mchance” of fi nishing in the Pre- Pellegrini annoyed mier League’s top four follow- Van Gaal said he did not know ing their 1-0 win at Manchester whether captain Wayne Rooney City. United’s season looked will be fi t to return from his knee to be on the rocks after they injury after the international League shakeup were knocked out of the Europa break. But the United manager’s League by Liverpool last Thurs- selection problems pale in com- day, but teenage striker Marcus parison to those troubling his ‘This year isn’t a one-off , it will be more prevalent in years to come’ Rashford’s clinically taken 16th- City counterpart Manuel Pel- minute strike got them back on legrini, who lost winger Raheem track at the Etihad Stadium in Sterling to a groin problem and Reuters Sunday’s derby. goalkeeper Joe Hart to a calf in- London Leicester players celebrate aft er defeating Crystal As well as ending a run of jury. Pellegrini estimated that Palace on Saturday. (Reuters) four games without victory in both would be out for “three or all competitions, the result took four weeks”, which would rule ith two months of United to within a point of City, them out of England’s forth- a gripping Premier who currently occupy the fourth coming friendlies against Ger- League season left and fi nal Champions League many and the Netherlands and Leicester City are berth, and Van Gaal is confi dent potentially next month’s two- Wclosing on the title and it is not that his team can outstrip their legged Champions League quar- fanciful to suggest that Totten- local rivals over the eight-game ter-fi nal against Paris Saint- ham Hotspur, West Ham United run-in. “I have said that we must Germain as well. and Southampton could com- win this game and we have done City’s fourth defeat in six plete the top four. it, so I am very happy,” said the league games, and ninth in total, The idea of Chelsea, Arse- Dutchman, whose day had begun left them 15 points behind lead- nal, Manchester United, Man- with fresh press reports linking ers Leicester City and they now chester City and Liverpool, or Jose Mourinho to his position. have both United and West Ham even just two of them, fi nishing “Because otherwise the gap United on their tail. fi fth or lower, would have been was too big if they won or a Pellegrini dismissed the sug- laughed off as absurd before a draw (and the gap) is still four gestion that with Pep Guardi- ball was kicked in August. points, eight matches to go, ola’s arrival as his replacement But fantasy has become the then it should be very diffi cult. now public knowledge, he has new reality in the world’s rich- “Now it is in our own hands. We lost the ability to motivate his est soccer league. have to win our games. We have players. “I don’t think I lose any Leicester, 5000-1 shots to more home matches than away control,” he said. “The attitude win the title at the start of the matches. We don’t lose so much of the team today (Sunday) re- season, need six wins from their at Old Traff ord, so we have a big fl ects that they are all involved last seven matches to guarantee chance.” with what we want to do. becoming champions of Eng- City were missing defen- “Of course it’s not the best land for the fi rst time. sive duo Vincent Kompany and way to fi nish the season, but I Tottenham, without a ti- Nicolas Otamendi and Rash- am happy with the attitude.” tle since 1961, are their near- ford gave stand-in centre-back He showed a fl ash of annoyance est challengers and West Ham Martin Demichelis a torrid time, when he was asked why City’s United, in fi fth place level on streaking past him to score the current points tally -- 51 -- is points with sixth-placed Man- game’s only goal. With fi ve goals so much lower than at the same chester United, are sniffi ng a in eight games, Rashford has stage of previous campaigns. fi rst-ever qualifi cation for the taken to life at Old Traff ord with “Every season is diff erent,” the Champions League. an ease that belies his 18 years of Chilean told his inquisitor, who Southampton, who came age, but Van Gaal batted away he accused of a “lack of respect”. from two goals down to beat talk that he has played himself “I think we are talking in this Liverpool on Sunday, are just into England contention. press conference about the game four points behind fourth- “I don’t want to interfere and we played against Manchester placed Manchester City who are we don’t have to exaggerate nei- United. I can’t explain.