Coach Wilmots Aware of Hungary's Threat to Belgium's
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RUGBY | Page 8 CCRICKET|RICKET Page 10 Farrell kicks Windies topple To Advertise here England to South Africa Call: 444 11 300, 444 66 621 series win to seal spot in over Australia Tri-Nations fi nal Sunday, June 26, 2016 FOOTBALL Ramadan 21, 1437 AH Messi ready for GULF TIMES crowning glory in Copa America fi nal SPORT Page 5 EURO 2016 Xhaka’s Swiss miss sends Poland into Euro quarters Xherdan Shaqiri’s spectacular second-half bicycle kick levelled for Switzerland and with the scores 1-1 after extra time, the clash at Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoff rey Guichard went into penalties Switzerland’s midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri (L) scores with a bicycle kick against Poland in Saint-Etienne yesterday. 13 goals, remains without a regular goal scruff of the neck as they hunted a sec- in France. ond-half equaliser. The Bayern Munich striker con- They camped in the Poland half for stantly dropped back into midfi eld to long spells with goalkeeper Lukasz Fa- run Poland’s attack. bianski under constant siege. The Poles dominated the fi rst half, In a bid to boost their attacking op- while the Swiss ruled the second. tions, Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic Poland’s Kamil Glik (R) scores from the spot during Poland squandered a gold-plated switched to two strikers for the last 30 the Euro 2016 round of sixteen at the Geoff roy chance in the opening minute as a lazy minutes. He put Breel Embolo on for Guichard stadium in Saint-Etienne yesterday. pass from Swiss full-back Johan Djour- attacking midfi elder Blerim Dzemaili ou fell into Lewandowski’s path. and the move paid off . The star striker enticed Swiss goal- A free-kick by Swiss dead-ball ex- AFP Xherdan Shaqiri’s spectacular sec- And the result meant Poland pre- Croatia in the quarter-fi nals in Mar- keeper Yann Sommer off his line, but pert Ricardo Rodriguez was heading for Saint-Étienne, France ond-half bicycle kick levelled for Swit- served their record of never having lost seille on Thursday. Arkadiusz Milik fi red over with the goal the top right-hand corner until Fabian- zerland and with the scores 1-1 after in 18 games when Blaszczykowski has Shaqiri said Xhaka will bounce back at his mercy. ski’s glove intervened with 15 minutes extra time, the clash at Saint-Etienne’s scored. after his crushing disappointment. At the other end, Blerim Dzemaili, left. oland claimed the fi rst Euro Stade Geoff rey Guichard went into “Let’s hope it continues until the fi - “I think Granit is very professional then Admir Mehmedi had chances for Swiss striker Haris Seferovic had his 2016 quarter-fi nal place yes- penalties. nal,” the scorer said. and he can cope with it,” said man-of- the Swiss before Fabian Schaer headed head in his hands when his shot hit the terday by beating Switzerland Xhaka, who will join the Gunners af- “It was the most diffi cult match so the-match Shaqiri. straight at Lukasz Fabianski. crossbar. 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out af- ter the European Championship fi nals, far. The Swiss made life hard for us,” “He’s disappointed, but that’s foot- After creating their fair share of But Shaqiri’s brilliant left-footed Pter Arsenal-bound Granit Xhaka blast- sent Switzerland’s second penalty wide said Blaszczykowski, who spent last ball and mistakes can happen.” chances, Poland fi nally went ahead eff ort, just inside the post in the 82nd ed his spot-kick wide. while Poland nailed all fi ve kicks. season on loan at Fiorentina. It was a historic occasion for both when Kamil Grosicki broke down the minute, gave Fabianski no chance, as Jakob Blaszczykowski proved again Blaszczykowski, nicknamed ‘Kuba’, “We dragged it out of their hands.I’m sides as neither had previously reached left from a Swiss corner. the Swiss drew level. he has the midas touch for Poland as drilled home Poland’s fi nal shot to send delighted, it was a historic moment for the knockout stages of a Euro fi nals. His pass found Blaszczykowski un- When extra-time started, Swiss sub- the Borussia Dortmund winger gave his nation into delirium. Poland have us, because we are in the top eight in Despite his success in converting in marked at the far post and the winger stitute Eren Derdiyok, who was playing his side a fi rst-half lead in the last-16 not reached the quarter-fi nal of a major Europe.” the penalty shootout, Robert Lewand- drove his shot home on 39 minutes. in attack alongside Shaqiri twice tested clash. tournament since the 1982 World Cup. The Poles will now play Portugal or owski, the top scorer in qualifying with The Swiss grabbed the game by the Fabianski as the Nati chased a winner. BOTTOMLINE Own goal woe for N Ireland as Wales make last 16 AFP Wales’s half of the draw, they will advance with belief tion turned to the festivities in the stands. Paris intact that they can create a sensation. Northern Irish fans goaded their Welsh counter- And in an ironic touch, it was Wales, whose inhab- parts with chants of “You’re just a small part of Eng- itants voted to leave the European Union in Thurs- land.” orthern Ireland’s Gareth McAuley scored a day’s British referendum, who remained in Europe, The supporters in green then belted out their ode heart-breaking own goal to hand British ri- and Northern Ireland, whose people voted to stay, to striker Will Grigg, prompting Welsh supporters to vals Wales a 1-0 victory yesterday that sent who departed. Coleman named the same team that caustically retort: “You’ve only got one song!” them into the Euro 2016 quarter-fi nals. had trounced Russia 3-0 last Monday, but Northern Wales began to show a sharper cutting edge in the NIn a cagey contest, Michael O’Neill’s Northern Ire- Ireland provided vastly more disciplined opposition, second period, Vokes heading wide from Ramsey’s land largely succeeded in muzzling Gareth Bale, but sitting in a low bloc and looking to attack on the break. deep cross and Bale drawing a parry from McGovern the Real Madrid star produced a wicked 75th-minute It obliged Bale, the tournament’s joint-top scorer, with one of his trademark, dipping free-kicks. cross that the hapless McAuley turned into his own to move out to the right in search of the ball and aside Vokes made way for Hal Robson-Kanu shortly af- net. from a mishit shot that fl ew well wide, he scarcely of- ter his chance and Coleman made an attacking change The West Bromwich Albion centre-back’s unwit- fered a threat in the fi rst half. shortly after when he introduced Jonathan Williams ting intervention allowed Wales to reach the last Instead it was Northern Ireland who procured the in midfi eld for the more conservative Joe Ledley. eight, just as they did on their last major tournament few sights of goal, Stuart Dallas testing Wayne Hen- O’Neill also made a bold substitution, sending on appearance at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. nessey at his near post. Conor Washington, who had lost his place up front to Chris Coleman’s side, who qualifi ed above old foes Wales had the ball in the net in the 19th minute, Kyle Laff erty, but it was Wales who made the break- England as Group B winners, will play either Belgium but Aaron Ramsey was clearly off side as he moved in through. or Hungary in Lille on Friday next week for a place in to toe Sam Vokes’s header past Northern Ireland’s re- After a spell of Welsh possession, Ramsey slipped the semi-fi nals. doubtable goalkeeper Michael McGovern. a pass to Bale, who whipped a devilish cross into the Wales’ forward Gareth Bale holds his daughter Alba Viola as he acknowledges the With no former major tournament winners in With the on-pitch action failing to satisfy, atten- six-yard box from the left. crowds following the team’s 1-0 win over Northern Ireland yesterday. Gulf Times 2 Sunday, June 26, 2016 EURO 2016 GERMANY VS SLOVAKIA 7PM Azzurri stunned as Lippi walks away Below-par Germany from federation post meet feisty Slovakia ‘We know what’s coming. From now on, opponents are going to have to do something or they know they’ll be going home. It’s one of the reasons I’m looking forward to the knockout stages’ AFP Montpellier, France taly’s plans for a smooth build-up to their crunch Euro 2016 clash with ISpain on Monday suff ered a blow after World Cup-winning coach Marcelo Lippi walked away from a key post with the Ital- ian football federation (FIGC). Lippi, who led the Azzurri to their fourth World Cup triumph in 2006, was set to become Italy’s new technical director, a post that would have seen him oversee an all-new federation programme. He was set to work alongside former Torino coach Giampiero Ventura, who will replace Italy’s Chelsea-bound current coach, Antonio Conte, as national boss later this summer. But the fallout from a conflict of interest has ended Lippi’s hopes of joining the FIGC and helping to revive the national team Germany coach Joachim Loew talks to his players during a training session on the eve of their Euro 2016 knockout round clash against Slovakia, to be played at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille today.