WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021 12

Southgate buys time with provisional Euro 2020 squad Bahrain Olympic team lose in friendly Under-23 nationals fall to Emirati counterparts in tune-up match as they prepare for West Asian championship and U23 Asian Cup qualifiers

Mohammed Abbas between Saud Hussain the posts; Hussain Abdulka- • reem, Sayed Mohamed Ameen, Alasam and substitute Saud Hussain Alasam and You- Faisal Abdulla score nis Mousa in defence; skipper Gareth Southgate is seen with players after a match during 2018 FIFA World Cup for Bahrainis Saleh Mohammed, Hamza Ab- AFP | London dulla, Mohamed Abdulaqyom, Olympic team to Ebrahim Alkhatal and Fahad ncapped defenders Ben BETTER • Busharar in a five-man midfield; UGodfrey and Ben White play Emiratis again and Yousif Alemad as the lone were among the provisional in another tune-up striker. 33-man squad for Euro 2020 KNOW on Saturday The Emiratis took an early named by England manager lead in yesterday’s match before Gareth Southgate yesterday. Alasam equalised for Bahrain. TDT | Manama Southgate has a week before The visitors then went up 3-1, he has to trim his squad to 26 United and Liverpool but substitute Faisal Abdulla for the finals which start on captains Harry ahrain’s under-23 Olym- was able to get a goal back for June 11. Maguire and Jordan pic football team lost the home side before the final The England boss will hope Henderson as well Bto their counterparts whistle. to avoid any injuries, with 12 of as Leeds midfielder from the UAE 2-3 last night in a Bahrain will also be facing the provisional squad involved Kalvin Phillips are friendly match played at Khal- two more opponents in a pair of in European finals this week. all included in South- ifa Sports City stadium in Isa Bahrain’s Saud Hussain Alasam looks to head the ball in a challenge with the friendlies in the coming weeks. Manchester United take Town. UAE’s Ahmed Fawzi They are set to play Oman on on Villarreal for the Europa gate’s squad despite The game was part of both June 5 and 8, and then go against League on Wednesday before injury doubts teams’ preparations for the Bahrain to face Morocco in Arab Futsal Cup semis Jordan on June 11 and 14. Manchester City and Chel- West Asian championship as The U23 Asian Cup is to be sea face off in an all-English well as the qualifying process ahrain’s national futsal loss record behind group win- held in Uzbekistan from Sep- Champions League final on nal squad despite a return to for the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2022. Bteam will face Morocco in ners and hosts Egypt. tember 6 to 25 next year. Saturday. form in the final weeks of the The qualifiers are set to be held the semi-finals of the fifth Arab The semi-finals are sched- South Korea are the compe- United and Liverpool cap- season. from October 23 to 31 in a cen- Cup 2021, being held in Egypt. uled to be played tomorrow, tition’s defending champions. tains Harry Maguire and England face Austria on tralised format. The match-up was deter- with the Bahrainis’ clash The previous edition was held Jordan Henderson as well as June 2 and Romania four Bahrain and UAE are set to mined last night after the Mo- scheduled for a 7pm start, Bah- last year in Thailand. Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phil- days later in pre-tournament play in another friendly, which roccans secured first place in rain time. The Egyptians’ oppo- The Bahrainis also partici- lips are all included in South- friendlies at Middlesbrough’s is scheduled for Saturday. The Group B of the preliminary nents are still to be confirmed. pated then, but bowed out of gate’s squad despite injury Riverside Stadium. Emiratis are currently in the round with an 8-0 drubbing of The final is set to be played contention in the group stage, doubts. The Three Lions begin their Kingdom for a training camp. Saudi Arabia. on Saturday. where they were drawn with Liverpool’s Trent Alex- Euro 2020 campaign against Bahrain’s Olympic football Bahrain made it through to Bahrain are making their Australia, Iraq and hosts Thai- ander-Arnold is among four Croatia on June 13 before fac- team head coach Rodolfo Cor- the final four after finishing as debut in the tournament this land. They ended the compe- right-backs amid speculation ing Scotland and the Czech reia fielded a starting 11 in the runners-up in Group A, which year and are hoping to secure tition with two draws and one he is set to miss out on the fi- Republic in Group D. match that included Ammar they completed with a 2-1 win- a medal on their very first try. loss.

Flick to take over as Germany coach after Euro 2020 Ronaldo says achieved his goal at Juventus AFP | Berlin AFP | Milan utgoing Bayern Munich Ocoach Hansi Flick will suc- ristiano Ronaldo said he ceed his former boss Joachim Chas realized one of the Loew in the Germany dugout goals he set for himself when after Euro 2020, the German he joined Juventus in 2018 and Football Association (DFB) an- valued everything the club had nounced yesterday. achieved this season despite “It’s all gone surprisingly their run of nine straight Serie quickly, but I am very happy A title coming to an end. to be Germany coach from the Ronaldo, 36, has one year autumn,” said Flick, 56, after remaining on his contract at signing a three-year contract to Juventus but there has been a succeed Loew. flurry of media speculation that “I am hugely excited, because the Portuguese forward could I see the class of players, and be leaving in the summer. especially young players, which Germany’s coach Joachim Loew (R) and assistant coach Hansi Flick attend a Juventus were deposed as we have in Germany.” training session (file photo) champions by Inter Milan and Flick, who was assistant club in a mid-season crisis, he only climbed into the top four Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus celebrates with the Italian cup coach to Loew when Germany led Bayern to only their second on the final day of the campaign won the 2014 World Cup, has ever treble in 2020. on Sunday to secure Champions clubs and a very own football long been the favourite to take The following year, he took League qualification. culture.” over from Loew, who will leave the club to a ninth successive “This year we couldn’t win The 36-year-old former Man- the job after 15 years in charge KNOW WHAT Bundesliga title. Serie A, congratulations to The Italian Super Cup, chester United and Real Madrid later this year, a year before his Yet after a feud with sporting Inter for the well deserved ti- Italian Cup and Serie A player said he was delighted contract ends. director Hasan Salihamidzic tle. However, I have to value top scorer trophy fill me to have won major individual “He was top of my wish list over recruitment, Flick asked everything that we achieved and team honours with clubs in from the very start,” said na- Flick, who was assis- for his contract to be terminat- this season at Juventus, both with happiness, mainly three different countries. tional team director Oliver tant coach to Loew ed prematurely at the end of in collective and individual due to the difficulty “This is what I work for, this Bierhoff. when Germany won the season. terms,” Ronaldo wrote in an they carry with them, is what moves me and this is Flick, who also worked the 2014 World Cup, He will be succeeded on Instagram post. in a country where what I’ll always keep chasing as DFB sporting director be- has long been the the Bayern bench by 33-year- “The Italian Super Cup, Ital- nothing is easy to win for until the last day,” added old coaching prodigy Julian ian Cup and Serie A top scorer Ronaldo, who did not play in tween 2014 and 2017, has made CRISTIANO RONALDO a name for himself as one of favourite to take over Nagelsmann, who joins the Ba- trophy fill me with happiness, their 4-1 win over Bologna on Europe’s top coaches in two from Loew, who will varians from Bundesliga rivals mainly due to the difficulty they in Italy: to win the champion- the final day. glittering years at perennial leave the job after 15 RB Leipzig next season. carry with them, in a country ship, the Cup and the Super “Thanks to everyone who Bundesliga champions Bayern years in charge later Flick was the obvious choice where nothing is easy to win. Cup, and also to be Best Player took part in this journey. We Munich. this year, a year before as the new Germany boss as “With these achievements, and Top Scorer in this great stand together.” After taking over from pre- his contract ends Jurgen Klopp has made it clear I reached a goal I had set my- football country filled with The club declined to com- decessor Niko Kovac with the he is happy at Liverpool. self since the first day I arrived tremendous players, giant ment on the post.

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