Sports

MILWAUKEE — Giannis Antetokounmpo tied a career high with 34 points and the Milwaukee Bucks stunned the Cleveland Cavaliers 118-101 on Tuesday night.

Antetokounmpo added 12 rebounds and five assists while Milwaukee ended Cleveland’s four-game winning streak. Jabari Parker had 18 points and Michael Beasley had 17 off the bench for the Bucks.

LeBron James had 22 points for the Cavaliers, who fell to 13-3. Kyrie Irving added 20 points.

Milwaukee led by 22 points in the fourth quarter and cruised past the defending champions, who benched their starters midway through the final period.

The Bucks outscored Cleveland by 14 points in the third quarter.

Cleveland rode hot early shooting to a 14-point first quarter lead, but Milwaukee closed on a 10-0 run and trailed by only two at the end of the period.

The hot hands of Antetokounmpo and Beasley sparked Milwaukee in the second quarter as the Bucks built an advantage of eight points before leading 58-54 at the half.

Nets 127, Clippers 122, 2OT

Sean Kilpatrick scored 31 of his career-high 38 points after the third quarter and Brooklyn stopped a seven-game losing streak with a double-overtime victory over Los Angeles.

The Clippers started the game without Blake Griffin, ended it without the ejected coach Doc Rivers and dropped their third straight game by blowing an 18-point lead.

Chris Paul had 26 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for the Clippers, but the best guard on the floor in crunch time was Kilpatrick, who also had a career-best 14 rebounds.

Brook Lopez added 27 points for the Nets.

DeAndre Jordan had 21 points and 23 rebounds for the Clippers, who rested Griffin, their leading scorer.

Magic 95, Spurs 83

Serge Ibaka had 18 points and Orlando took advantage of a sloppy night by San Antonio to snap the Spurs’ nine-game winning streak.

San Antonio committed a season-high 19 turnovers in its worst scoring performance of the season. The Spurs have four home losses in the first two months of this season after falling just once at AT&T Centre in 2015-16.

Evan Fournier scored 13 points and Nikola Vucevic had 12 to help the Magic snap a four-game skid.

Orlando entered having lost eight of 11, but they were looser and more fluid than San Antonio from the start.

The Spurs’ turnovers resulted in 19 points for the Magic.

Kawhi Leonard had 21 points for San Antonio and LaMarcus Aldridge added 16.

Pelicans 105, Lakers 88

Anthony Davis had 41 points and 16 rebounds, helping New Orleans dominate short-handed Los Angeles.

Jrue Holiday scored 22 points in his first start this season and Omer Asik had 10 points and 11 assists while New Orleans snapped a two-game skid.

The Lakers expected to be healthier with forward Julius Randle returning to the line-up following a three-game absence because of a hip injury, but about two minutes into the game, starting shooting guard Nick Young was carried off with a strained right Achilles tendon.

Lou Williams scored 16 points for the Lakers and Randle finished with 12, but Los Angeles was in a 20-point hole by the second quarter.

Jazz 120, Rockets 101

Gordon Hayward scored a season-high 31 points, helping Utah beat Houston for its season-best fourth straight win.

Utah started strong en route to a season high for scoring. Rodney Hood had 10 points during a 20-5 first-quarter run after trailing 16-9, and Houston never led again. Hood finished with 19 points.

Rudy Gobert recorded his 11th double-double of the season with 16 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Hayward had seven assists and five rebounds.

James Harden scored 26 points but was an inefficient 8 for 23 from the field. He also had seven assists and five rebounds, while Eric Gordon scored 24 points off the bench.

Pistons 112, Hornets 89

Tobias Harris scored 24 points, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marcus Morris each had 18 points and Detroit beat Charlotte for its third straight win.

Ish Smith added 13 points while Detroit shot 49 per cent from the field.

Kemba Walker had 23 points for the Hornets, who were playing their fourth game in five nights.

The Pistons had not played since Saturday and looked much fresher throughout the game in snapping Charlotte’s two-game winning streak.

Detroit took a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter after Caldwell-Pope knocked down a pair of 3-pointers late in the third. Things got sloppy from there with the Hornets turning the ball over frequently on bad passes, and the game quickly turning into a blowout.

OAKLAND, California — Golden State extended its winning streak to a dozen games by holding off Atlanta in a close finish and winning 105-100 on Monday, led by 25 points and 14 rebounds from Kevin Durant.

Draymond Green blocked two shots in the final 43.4 seconds to preserve victory for the Warriors, who moved two games clear atop the Pacific Division from the Los Angeles Clippers. Those division rivals have the two best records across the NBA.

Atlanta’s loss saw the Hawks slip to second in the Southeast Division behind Charlotte, which started strongly to take victory at Memphis, while Oklahoma City remained half-a-game clear in the Northwest Division as Russell Westbrook recorded another triple double and the Thunder beat New York.

Golden State’s Stephen Curry scored 25 points with four 3-pointers, and Klay Thompson added 20 points as Golden State’s Big Three — including Durant — each reached 20 points for the second consecutive game.

The Warriors won their seventh straight home game and fifth in a row there against Atlanta while welcoming back Green from a one-game absence while injured.

Dennis Schroder scored 24 points for the Hawks.

Charlotte’s Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lamb scored 21 points apiece as the Hornets won 104-85 at Memphis.

Walker and Lamb were a combined 14 of 25 from the field, including 7 for 13 on 3-point attempts. The rest of the Hornets were 2 of 13 from outside the arc.

Marc Gasol led the Grizzlies with 19 points and eight rebounds. Mike Conley had 15 points before leaving in the third quarter with a lower back injury.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook got his third straight triple-double and nearly did it by half-time, finishing with 27 points, 18 rebounds and 14 assists for his NBA-leading eighth of the season as the Thunder beat New York 112-103.

Westbrook had 14 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists at the break and is now averaging a triple-double for the season, raising his averages to 30.9 points, 11.3 assists and 10.3 rebounds through more than a month of the season.

Enes Kanter added a season-high 27 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Thunder.

Derrick Rose scored a season-best 30 points, but the Knicks had their six-game home winning streak snapped.

Boston’s Isaiah Thomas had 25 points to lead the Celtics past Miami 112-104.

Avery Bradley added 18 points for the Celtics, who beat Miami for the fourth consecutive time. The 112 points were the most scored against the Heat this season.

Goran Dragic had 27 points and 17 assists for the Heat, setting season bests in both categories, and Hassan Whiteside added 25 points and 17 rebounds.

The Heat tied a season low for a quarter with 12 points in the second, going into half-time down 48-31. They established a season best with 42 points in the third, yet Boston maintained a double-digit lead.

Utah’s George Hill had 24 points as the Jazz beat Minnesota 112-103 to remain right on the tail of Oklahoma City in their tight division contest.

Toronto’s Kyle Lowry scored 24 points and set a team record by hitting all six of his 3-pointers as the Raptors cruised past Philadelphia 122-95 to make it 13 straight wins against the 76ers.

Washington’s Bradley Beal made a career-high seven 3-pointers and finished with 31 points as the Wizards recovered after giving up a late lead and beat Sacramento 101-95 in overtime.

Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho is fond of setting landmarks as a manager but becoming the first individual to be sent off twice in this season’s Premier League is not one he will covet.

No player in England’s top flight has yet been shown two red cards this term but now an angry man in a big coat has beaten them all to it following Mourinho’s dismissal during United’s 1-1 draw at home to West Ham United on Sunday.

If all that is not of great concern to Mourinho, then the plight of his expensively assembled team, now 11 points off the pace and losing touch with the top four, definitely will be as United ponder their worst league start since 1990-91.

When you have won 22 trophies, eight league titles and the world coach of the year accolade, it is a bit of a comedown to now be dealing in the most red-carded manager category.

Mourinho’s latest sending off was for a show of petulance when he booted away a water bottle down the touchline in frustration after referee Jon Moss had booked United’s Paul Pogba for diving in the first half.

Referees in England are clamping down on dissent and this flagrant one prompted Moss to send Mourinho to the stands, just as he did last year when the Portuguese, then at Chelsea, had a half-time rant against the official also in a West Ham match.

It was striking how Mourinho’s second sending off in a month — he incurred the wrath of referee Mark Clattenburg in a draw with Burnley at Old Trafford in late October — coincided with another disappointing United showing against lowly opponents.

Whether his ill-discipline at Old Trafford could be linked to United’s impotence in those two matches is open to question, but there is no doubt that Mourinho’s behaviour is becoming an increasingly expensive failing.

Last month, he was fined £50,000 ($62,400.00) by the FA after comments about referee Anthony Taylor before United’s match with archrivals Liverpool.

His rant against Burnley came after United had been denied a penalty and he was given a one-match touchline ban and an £8,000 fine. Now, the FA may consider another touchline ban.

Not scoring

All of which could mean more post-match media work for Mourinho’s assistant Rui Faria, who took a leaf out of his boss’ book when talking of United being unlucky after their fourth consecutive draw at home.

Yet, in truth, there has been little that is unlucky about United’s failure to turn dominance into points as their blunt edge in front of goal has seen Stoke City, Burnley, Arsenal and now West Ham outplayed but game enough to hang on for a point.

“The reality is that we are playing well,” Faria said. “We create the opportunities but we are not scoring the goals and we are suffering.

“We can say we are unlucky and in the last matches we should get different results. We all believe the results will appear.”

Not that Faria ever assumes the other managerial duties.

“I don’t take over,” he said. “The boss is Jose all the time and he passes on what is the best for the team and we just try to make it happen without having him there.”

That is something United are just having to get used to.

BARCELONA — Barcelona’s poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week’s “Clasico” against their archrivals.

Former Real Madrid academy player Willian Jose headed Real Sociedad ahead in the 53rd minute after a torrid first-half performance by Barca but Lionel Messi levelled in the 59th following a magnificent display of skill by Neymar.

Barca enjoyed some luck when Sociedad’s Juanmi headed home after Carlos Vela had curled a shot off the underside of the bar and saw the goal wrongly ruled offside, while Mexican forward Vela hit the woodwork again late on.

Barca have not won away to Real Sociedad since 2007 although this was the first time in five league games at Anoeta that they had avoided defeat.

Luis Enrique’s side are second in the standings on 27 points, six behind Real Madrid and level on points with Sevilla in third. Atletico Madrid are fourth on 24 after winning 3-0 at Osasuna, while Real Sociedad are fifth on 23.

Villarreal slipped to sixth after a surprise 2-0 defeat at home to Alaves.

Emboldened by a run of four straight wins in the league and their imperious recent record over Barca at home, Real Sociedad dominated the first half, testing Marc-Andre ter Stegen twice in the first 10 minutes, while Vela, Mikel Oyarzabal and Xabi Prieto each fired narrowly wide of goal.

Barca were limited to one chance before the break, a wayward distance effort by Luis Suarez, although Neymar forced a save from Geronimo Rulli from a stinging free kick just after the restart.

La Real found the opener minutes later thanks to the persistence of Vela. He chased down Javier Mascherano in the area and was thwarted by Ter Stegen but the loose ball was nodded back towards goal by Jose and in past a helpless Gerard Pique.

Barca hit back with their first incisive attack of the game, Neymar twisting his way past defenders down the left and squaring to Messi, who flicked the ball up before burying it past Rulli on the half volley.

The game suddenly opened up and either side could have won it. Vela’s deadly curler came close to crossing the line and replays showed Juanmi was clearly onside when he turned in the loose ball.

Barca broke quickly and Denis Suarez rounded Rulli but saw his shot cleared off the line by Asier Illarramendi.

Mascherano glanced the resulting corner just wide and beyond an outstretched Suarez, while Vela sent a potent volley spinning off the far post.

“I feel very positive because we’ve got a point from a game that was practically impossible to get anything from,” said Enrique.

“Real Sociedad won almost every ball and every battle so the fact we got a point is almost a miracle.”

Earlier on Sunday, Atletico put last week’s painful 3-0 defeat by Real Madrid behind them by beating Osasuna by the same scoreline.

Defender Diego Godin gave Atletico the lead in the 36th minute with a towering header and Kevin Gameiro added the second immediately after, while substitute Yannick Carrasco rounded off the victory in the 90th.

Villarreal felt the strain of returning to action less than 72 hours after their Europa League game away to Zurich and were beaten by two early goals from Alaves’ Ibai Gomez and Victor Camarasa to surrender their unbeaten home record.

Celta Vigo beat winless Granada 3-1 in Sunday’s other game.

OAKLAND, California — Stephen Curry had 34 points, eight rebounds and six assists as Golden State overcame Draymond Green’s absence to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 115-102 on Saturday night for their 11th straight victory.

Curry shot 13 for 19 with four 3-pointers, while Kevin Durant added 28 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and a career-high six blocked shots. Klay Thompson scored 23 points with four 3s.

Green sat out a day after bruising his left ankle at Los Angeles in a collision with teammate Ian Clark, who also missed the game after being hit in the throat on the play.

“Without Ian and Draymond our bench was thinned out,” coach Steve Kerr said.

For the Timberwolves, Zach LaVine scored 31 points with five 3s, while Karl-Anthony Towns had 12 of his 18 points in the first quarter on 6-for-10 shooting.

In Oklahoma City, Russell Westbrook recorded his second straight triple-double and NBA-best seventh of the season with 17 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds as the Thunder beat the Detroit Pistons 106-88.

Westbrook, who tied LeBron James for sixth on the NBA’s career list with 44 triple-doubles, shot just 8 for 22 from the field after scoring at least 30 points in eight straight games. It was just the second time this year Westbrook failed to score 20.

“I’m happy we won, that’s the most important part for me,” Westbrook said. “But I definitely don’t take anything for granted. Every night I step on the floor, I try to compete at a high level and I’m thankful that I can play the game I love every night.”

Anthony Morrow scored 21 points off the bench to lead the Thunder (10-8), who were playing their fourth game in six nights in four different cities. Victor Oladipo added 18 while Steven Adams had 16 points and nine rebounds.

Tobias Harris scored 21 points for the Pistons, who have lost five of their last seven.

In Washington, LaMarcus Aldridge scored 24 points while Tony Parker added 20 as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Wizards 112- for their ninth straight victory.

The Spurs (14-3) swept a three-game road swing and are a perfect 10-0 away from home.

“I do want to go home. I don’t want to play at home,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich joked after the game. “You’ve got no choice, no choice.”

Kawhi Leonard scored 19 for San Antonio, which shot 53.3 per cent (40 of 75) from the field. The Spurs led by 10 at half-time and as many as 19 in the second half.

Kemba Walker scored 28 points and Jeremy Lamb added 18 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets snapped a four-game losing streak with a 107-102 win over the New York Knicks.

Frank Kaminsky added 14 points, including two clutch 3-pointers late in the fourth quarter while Kristaps Porzingis led the Knicks with 25 points.

In Miami, Marc Gasol scored a season-high 28 points as the Memphis Grizzlies beat Miami 110-107.

AMMAN — Lama Qubbaj is the toast of Jordan after winning the JJIF World Ju Jitsu title for the second year in a row, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

The 28-year-old clinched the title after beating Loska Magdalena from the host nation Poland in the final of the +70kg Category.

Lama has been in incredible form all year and reached the final after beating another Polish fighter, Justyma Sitko, in the semifinal.

The win will make her an overwhelming favourite to retain the Jordan Olympic Committee’s Black Iris Sports Awards’ female accolade which will be decided in the New Year.

Meanwhile, her sister Rana, 34, won bronze in the -70kg Category after losing her semifinal to Sweden’s Diana Hallden. The former world champion won her first fight against Poland’s Emilia Mackwiak, and also beat Russia’s Lana Kutcar in the quarter-final.

The category’s other bronze medal also went to Jordan, with Yara Kakish losing to Poland Irena Preiss in the last four. She reached the semifinal with wins over France’s Chloe Lalande and Greece’s Zafiria Panagiotarakou.

Overall, the JJIF World Ju Jitsu Championships in Wroclaw have proved to be another fruitful one for Jordan who started well on Friday with Haidar Rasheed winning bronze in the 85kg Category. Haidar won five fights to secure his gold medal before missing out on the final to Russia’s Abdubari Guesenov by submission.

BOSTON — San Antonio made it eight straight wins with a 109-103 victory at Boston on Saturday, led by 25 points and 10 rebounds from Kawhi Leonard.

The Spurs stayed three games clear atop the Southwest Division and a game behind the overall Western Conference leader Golden State, which moved clear with a comfortable win at an injury-depleted Los Angeles Lakers.

The Warriors leapfrogged the Los Angeles Clippers, who lost at Detroit, while Utah cruised past Atlanta, holding the Hawks to just 68 points.

San Antonio’s Patty Mills scored 19, including a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left after the Celtics made it a one-possession game.

The Spurs improved to 9-0 on the road this season and beat Boston for the 10th straight time.

Isaiah Thomas scored 24 points for the Celtics, who had won their previous three.

Golden State’s Kevin Durant had 29 points as the Warriors won 109-85 at the Lakers, beating them for the second time in three days.

Stephen Curry scored 24 points in the Warriors’ 10th consecutive victory.

Jordan Clarkson scored 20 points for the Lakers, who played without injured starters Julius Randle, Nick Young and D’Angelo Russell.

Detroit continued its sharp home form by beating the Clippers 108-97.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had 16 points and a career-high 10 assists for the Pistons, who are 7-2 at home as opposed to 1-7 on the road.

Marcus Morris scored 17 points as the Pistons had six players finish in double figures for points.

J.J. Redick and Blake Griffith each had 24 points for the Clippers, who had won all their previous seven home games.

Utah’s Gordon Hayward scored 24 points in a 95-68 win for the Jazz against Atlanta.

Hayward was unstoppable early and started the game making his first six shots. Utah used a 23-2 run early in the fourth quarter to put the game away as George Hill (23 points) hit a pair 3-pointers and Rudy Gobert converted a three-point play.

Dennis Schroder scored a team-high 16 for the Hawks, who shot just 31.3 per cent from the field.

Houston set an NBA record with 50 3-point attempts in a 117-104 win at Sacramento.

The Rockets sank eight 3s in the first quarter and went 21 of 50 from beyond the arc, coming close to the NBA game record of 23.

James Harden had 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in his fourth triple-double of the season, while Trevor Ariza added 18 points for the Rockets, who have won eight of their past nine against the Kings.

DeMarcus Cousins had 32 points for Sacramento despite being hindered by foul trouble much of the second half.

New York’s Carmelo Anthony scored a season-high 35 points, including the tiebreaking jumper with 3.1 seconds left in overtime, giving the Knicks a 113-11 victory over Charlotte.

Derrick Rose added 16 points and blocked a 3-point attempt that would have won it just before the buzzer, helping New York extend its home winning streak to six games.

Marco Belinelli scored 19 points for the Hornets, who have lost four straight.

Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan scored 26 points as the Raptors beat Milwaukee 105-99.

DeRozan again tormented the Bucks, Kyle Lowry had 19 points and Toronto hit 14 3-pointers to continue its dominance against Milwaukee. The Raptors have won 11 of the last 12 meetings.

With the game on the line, Lowry hit a 3-pointer and DeRozan knocked down a contested jumper with 16 seconds left to seal the victory.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 29 points and added 11 assists for the Bucks.

Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook had 36 points, 18 assists and 12 rebounds for his sixth triple-double as the Thunder won 132-129 in overtime at Denver.

Westbrook scored 24 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Thunder rally from 13 down. His 18 assists were a season high.

Victor Oladipo had 26 points for the Thunder.

Wilson Chandler finished with a season-high 30 points and 11 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Portland’s Damian Lillard scored 27 points as the Trail Blazers won 119-104 to end New Orleans’ four-game winning streak.

Miami’s Tyler Johnson matched his season high with 22 points as the Heat beat Memphis 90-81.

Cleveland led by as much as 45 points in a 128-90 rout of hapless Dallas, led by Kevin Love’s 27 points.

Chicago’s Jimmy Butler and Dwyane Wade had 26 points apiece to lead the Bulls over Philadelphia 105-89.

Indiana’s Glenn Robinson III scored 20 points as the Pacers beat Brooklyn 118-97.

Washington’s John Wall had 26 points and 10 assists in a 94-91 victory over Orlando.

Minnesota rallied from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to win 98-85 win at Phoenix.

MANCHESTER, England — Failing to top a Champions League group often comes back to bite teams when the competition really gets going in the round of 16.

Maybe not this season.

Bayern Munich and Manchester City are two high-profile teams who are guaranteed to advance as runners up following the latest round of group games in Europe’s top competition on Wednesday.

Bayern surprisingly lost 3-2 at tournament newcomer FC Rostov and will finish in Group D behind Atletico Madrid, which beat PSV Eindhoven 2-0 and is the only team to have won all five of their group games.

City drew 1-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach and cannot now topple Barcelona, which secured first place in Group C by beating Celtic 2-0 thanks to Lionel Messi’s double.

Arsenal are likely to finish in second place in Group A after drawing with Paris Saint-Germain 2-2.

Real Madrid, the reigning champion, is another top team sitting as runner-up in a group heading into the final round of games, while Juventus and Sevilla are battling for first and second place in Group H.

It remains to be seen whether teams benefit this season from topping the group, which earns a last-16 match against a runner-up.

Here’s how Wednesday’s action unfolded:

Group A

PSG lead Arsenal thanks to a superior head-to-head record after salvaging a draw at Emirates Stadium courtesy of Alex Iwobi’s own goal in the 77th minute.

Edinson Cavani converted a cross from Blaise Matuidi to put the French team ahead, but Arsenal fought back via Olivier Giroud’s penalty and an own goal by Marco Verratti.

Both teams have 11 points but PSG is top, after scoring more away goals in their two meetings. PSG and Arsenal drew 1-1 in Paris in September.

Ludogorets Razgrad and FC Basel drew 0-0, leaving them on two points each and sending their fight for third place to the final round of group matches.

Group B

Qualification could have been determined in this group on Wednesday, but a couple of draws mean three teams are fighting for two spots on Matchday 6.

Napoli could have advanced in record time a month ago, but is still not guaranteed a top-two finish after drawing 0-0 at home to Dynamo Kiev.

Besiktas rallied from an early three-goal deficit to draw with Benfica 3-3, with Vincent Aboubakar scoring an 89th-minute equaliser.

Napoli has eight points along with Benfica, with Besiktas a point adrift. Dynamo was eliminated. In the last round, Benfica host Napoli and Besiktas visits Kiev.

Group C

Messi steered Barcelona to a 13th straight appearance in the knockout stage by moving to nine goals for the competition this season, which is more than 20 of the 32 competing teams have managed.

Messi drove in a 24th-minute opener against Celtic before converting a penalty in the 55th, for his 92nd goal in the Champions League. Five of his nine goals in the group stage have come against Celtic, following his hat trick in a 7-0 win over the Scottish champion at Camp Nou in September.

Barcelona are four points clear of City, which earned the point they needed to qualify against Moenchengladbach when David Silva scored in first-half injury time. That cancelled out Raffael’s goal.

Both teams finished with 10 men, with ‘Gladbach’s Lars Stindl sent off and Fernandinho picking up two yellow cards for City.

Group D

Few would have imagined that FC Rostov’s first-ever victory in the Champions League would come at the expense of Bayern, a five-time winner and one of the favourites this season.

Bayern had already qualified but are guaranteed to finish second in the group.

Rostov replied to Douglas Costa’s opener with goals by Sardar Azmoun and Dmitry Poloz, who scored from the penalty spot. Juan Bernat equalised for Bayern before Christian Noboa curled in a 67th-minute free kick for the winning goal.

Rostov lost 5-0 in the first match between the teams, two months ago.

That meant Atletico needed only a point at home to PSV Eindhoven but the Spanish team got all three, and maintained their 100 per cent record in group play. Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann were the scorers in the second half.

AMMAN — The national football team dropped five spots and dipped to 109th in the latest FIFA Rankings issued on Thursday.

It’s the lowest ranking in 2016 and the worst since 2009 as Jordan also dropped out of the Asian top 10 trailing Iran (30), South Korea (37), Japan (45), Australia (48), Saudi Arabia (56), Uzbekistan (62), UAE (64), China (83), Qatar (88) and Syria (94). Argentina is still No. 1 ahead of Brazil, Germany Chile, Belgium, Columbia, France, Portugal, Uruguay and Spain. Jordan’s best ranking was 37th in 2004 while the lowest ranking was 152nd in 1996.

At its latest board meeting, the Jordan Football Association (JFA) terminated the contract of coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh soon after the squad’s latest unimpressive results in three friendlies played in November in which they lost to Uzbekistan 1-0, held Iraq and Lebanon to a goalless draw as part of their training agenda for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers.

Earlier this year, Jordan lost to the Moroccan second tier team 2-1, drew 1-1 with Oman, 0-0 with Bahrain, 1-1 with Lebanon and lost to 3-2 to Qatar. The squad’s last tournament was the King’s Cup, an international football tournament organised in Thailand where Jordan beat the UAE 2-1 but lost 2-0 to the hosts in the final.

Observers have been scrutinising the plan and path to the Asian qualifiers as the past year saw four coaches take over in less than a year but Jordan was eliminated from 2018 World Cup qualifiers. The JFA entrusted Abu Zam’eh in the interim period and the coach recalled players from the Olympic squad and shifted focus towards a younger line-up that will compete in the Asian qualifiers kicking off in March 2017.

During 2016, Jordan played 13 matches, including 11 friendlies coming out a winner in three matches, drawing in five and losing five. Jordan scored 18 goals and allowed 16 in. Only two were official matches in which Jordan beat Bangladesh 8-0 but lost to Australia 5-1 in the double qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup and 2019 AFC Asian Cup.

AMMAN  — Jazira head into Week 4 of the Jordan Professional Football League on Friday with the aim of further consolidating their lead after they scored three convincing wins over former champions Faisali, Wihdat and Shabab Urdun.

With leading teams stumbling, the top three positions have been taken over by Jazira, Hussein and newcomers Manshieh, while titleholders Wihdat slipped to 6th, Faisali to 9th and Ramtha to 11th. The traditional leading teams are in disarray and many expect changes in coaching positions with disappointing results so far.

That seemed to have started with Faisali who removed Iraqi coach Tha’er Jassam, just as the club faced another headache with financial settlements and deferred dues. Jassam’s removal comes shortly after Jamal Abu Abed left the post at the start of the season. Many had hoped Abu Abed, who was a successful coach of the Olympic team, would help bring back the league title to his former club after four seasons.

Meanwhile, the Jordan Football Association imposed heavy fines after Ramtha fans caused damage at Amman International Stadium, which was recently fully renovated to host the U-17 Women’s World Cup. Ramtha was fined over JD4,000 while striker Hamza Dardour was suspended for six matches and fined JD1,500 for assaulting a Shabab Urdun player. Wihdat was also fined JD600 for unsportsmanlike conduct of fans following their match against Jazira.

In the upcoming week, Jazira who last beat Wihdat 2-1 and took the lead from Hussein will next play Sarih who are 7th after they held Sahab 2-2.

Hussein, now second on goal difference after they held Baqa’a 1-1, next play Sahab who are 8th after their latest draw.

Manshieh, now third on points after they held Faisali 0-0, next play Shabab Urdun, who are fourth after they beat Ramtha 3-0.

Ahli who kept a relatively steady form beat That Ras 2-0 and moved to fifth and next play Faisali. While Wihdat who are now 6th will play Ramtha.

The season opened with Ahli making history when they beat reigning league champs Wihdat 2-1 to win the 34th Super Cup – the first major competition on the 2016/17 football calendar. Shabab Urdun scored a major 5-1 win over Faisali to win the Jordan Football Association Shield — back on the calendar after four years. It was Shabab Urdun’s second Shield title after they first won in 2007.

Last season, Wihdat retained the title in the final week with Faisali, Ahli, Jazira and Shabab Urdun in top five spots. Sahab and Manshieh were promoted from the First Division. It was Wihdat’s third consecutive and 15th league title since they moved up to the Professional League in 1975. Faisali beat Wihdat to clinch the Super Cup while it was Ahli, who after years in the backstage, beat Shabab Urdun to win their first Jordan Cup final.