Sports

PARIS — Ahead of the start of Euro 2020 on Friday, AFP Sport selects six of the continent’s brightest young stars to watch at the month-long tournament:

Phil Foden

The player of the tournament when England won the Under-17 World Cup in India in 2017, Foden is now set to be unleashed on a full international competition for the first time at the age of 21. He is coming off a superb season at Manchester City in which he starred in Pep Guardiola’s Premier League title-winning side, regularly cutting in from the left flank and contributing 16 goals in all competitions.

Foden, who likes to spend his free time fishing with his father, made his full England debut last September and scored his first goals against Iceland in the Nations League in November.

Pedri

Following in the footsteps of the likes of Juan Carlos Valeron, David Silva and Pedro Rodriguez before him, Pedri is the latest star to emerge from the Canary Islands and break into the Spain set-up.

The slight 18-year-old midfielder with the silky touch, who comes from Tenerife, joined Barcelona last year from Las Palmas. Growing up he modelled himself on Andres Iniesta and he wasted little time establishing himself at the Camp Nou, playing in all but one game in La Liga for Barca in the season just finished. He made his Spain debut in a World Cup qualifier against Greece in March.

Jamal Musiala

The 18-year-old Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder was born in Stuttgart but could have been lining up for England at the Euro. His father is British-Nigerian and he moved to England with his family aged seven. He has represented both Germany and England at youth level too. “I have a heart for Germany and a heart for England,” he told The Athletic earlier this year.

However, he left the Chelsea academy set-up to join Bayern in 2019 and committed his international future to Germany in February, just before signing a new five-year deal at his club. Shortly after that he was given his full Germany debut in a World Cup qualifier against Iceland.

Matthijs de Ligt

Centre-back De Ligt is still just 21 but his importance to The Netherlands cannot be understated, especially with Virgil van Dijk ruled out of the Euro. That explains the concern for his fitness when he appeared to suffer a groin injury in training at the weekend.

Dutch coach Frank de Boer needs De Ligt, who captained Ajax in the Champions League aged just 19, starring in the side that got to the semi-finals of that competition in 2019 before being sold to Juventus in a world-record deal for a defender, the fee an initial 75 million euros ($84.2m). 

A symbol of the new Dutch generation after the Oranje missed both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, De Ligt made his full international debut as a 17-year-old. 

Jeremy Doku

The Belgian squad is full of established stars these days, but amid concern for the fitness of Kevin De Bruyne and the form of Eden Hazard, Doku could have a notable role to play for Roberto Martinez’s side. 

The winger who only recently turned 19 broke through at Anderlecht and made his full Belgium debut last September, just before Rennes paid a club record 26 million euros ($31.6m) to sign him. Doku needed time to adapt to his new surroundings but finished the season strongly in France and can be a threat on either flank.

Joao Felix

Felix, 21, became one of the five most expensive players in history when still a teenager after Atletico Madrid agreed to pay 126 million euros ($142m) to sign him from Benfica in 2019.

Capable of playing on either flank or through the middle in attack, Felix broke through at Benfica and is fresh from helping Atletico win La Liga. He is also a symbol of the new Portuguese generation that will support Cristiano Ronaldo at this Euro as Fernando Santos’ team defend the title they won in France in 2016.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national football team plays Kuwait on Friday in a vital match as both teams seek to qualify from Group B in its 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers currently under way in Kuwait until June 15.

Jordan beat Nepal 3-0 as they resumed qualifiers that were halted last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While the win over 171st ranked Nepal was expected, the bigger challenge is beating hosts, 148th ranked Kuwait, on June 11 before facing 41st ranked Australia on June 15 with the hope of advancing to the next round as one of the best second place finishers. 

Australia beat Taiwan 5-1 to maintain group lead as Jordan moved to second ahead of Kuwait leaving Nepal fourth and Taiwan fifth. Last year, the qualifiers were halted after teams played five matches. Jordan beat Taiwan 5-0 and 2-1, lost 1-0 to Australia, held Kuwait 0-0 and beat Nepal 3-0. 

After Qatar qualified from Group E and as hosts of the upcoming World Cup, rules now stipulate the top team from each of the eight competing groups and five best second place finishers will move to the 2023 Asian Cup finals and Round 3 of World Cup qualifiers. The four teams in the third round will join tournament hosts Qatar at the World Cup, with a further spot possibly secured by an Asian team via the intercontinental play-off.

In latest FIFA Rankings, Jordan stayed 95th overall and 15th in Asia lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams.

Travel and quarantine restrictions delayed the start of the qualifiers leading to the joint Asian Football Confederation (AFC)- FIFA agreement to adopt a centralised approach to the remaining qualifiers. The top team from each of the eight competing groups and four best second place finishers will move to the 2023 Asian Cup finals and Round 3 of World Cup qualifiers. The four teams in the third round will join tournament hosts Qatar at the World Cup, with a further spot possibly secured by an Asian team via the intercontinental play-off.

Looking back at the Jordan’s peak performance, the team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie. The Kingdom had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since first taking part in qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times since 1986 qualifiers. 

On the regional level, Jordan reached the Round of 16 in the last edition of the Asian Cup. Since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972, Jordan played at the Asian Cup four times. The highlight was at the 13th Asian Cup in 2004, when Jordan lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015 and 2019.

DOHA — Syria joined Japan in the third round of World Cup qualifying from Asia after a first-half double by Mardak Mardikian helped them beat Guam 3-0 and confirm their top position in Group A on Monday.

Syria’s seventh win in as many matches ensured they would be among the 12 teams competing in the next phase of qualifying for four confirmed spots from Asia in next year’s tournament in Qatar. A fifth team from the continent could make the cut via an intercontinental play-off.

Mardikian took advantage of a poor headed clearance by Alexander Lee to slam the ball past Guam goalkeeper Dallas Jaye in the sixth minute to put the Syrians ahead at the Sharjah Stadium.

The 29-year-old striker doubled his side’s lead just three minutes later with a spectacular flying volley from a Khaled Kerdagli cross that found the top corner of Jaye’s net.

Mahmoud Al Mawas, who scored a hat-trick against the Maldives on Friday, then made it 3-0 late in the match as it was mission accomplished for Nabil Maloul’s men.

Also in Group A, China beat the Philippines 2-0 for their fourth win in six matches but with 13 points they trail Syria by eight and can only hope to make the grade as one of the four best second-placed teams.

In Group C, Iraq thrashed Cambodia 4-1 to go top with 14 points from six matches, while Iran hammered Bahrain 3-0 to climb to second, two behind the leaders.

Mohannad Ali, Bashar Rasan and Ali Adnan struck in the first half for Iraq and Safaa Hadi finished off proceedings with a goal in second-half stoppage time.

Iran was served well by Sardar Azmoun’s second-half brace with Mehdi Taremi completing the rout with a late strike.

The UAE kept their chances alive in Group G with a convincing 3-1 victory over Thailand in Dubai.

The Emiratis, however, trail leaders Vietnam which saw off Indonesia 4-0 to take its tally to 14.

Meanwhile, Australia continued its dominance with a 5-1 rout of Taiwan, while Uzbekistan stayed in contention after trouncing Singapore 5-0.

Harry Souttar, Jamie MacLaren, Trent Sainsbury all struck in the first session before Mitchell Duke added a brace after resumption in Kuwait City.

Australia has 18 points in Group B with an all-win record in six matches, while Jordan, which beat Nepal 3-0, are second on 13.

Minamino levels Honda

Earlier in the day, Japan conceded its first goal of World Cup qualifying but still recovered to beat Tajikistan 4-1.

Japan, who were already assured of first place in Group F, took the lead against second-place Tajikistan through a sixth-minute goal from Kyogo Furuhashi.

But Ehsoni Panjshanbe headed in an equaliser three minutes later, the Japanese defence breached for the first time in seven qualifiers.

Takumi Minamino put Japan back in front, extending his scoring streak to a seventh straight World Cup qualifier.

First international goals for Kento Hashimoto and Hayao Kawabe then made the game safe for Japan, which has scored 41 goals in Group F with only one conceded.

With his seven-game scoring run, Liverpool forward Minamino — who spent last season on loan at Southampton — tied a national record set by Japan hero Keisuke Honda.

He finished off a pass from former schoolmate Furuhashi, who was making his first start for Japan.

“I’m happy to draw level with such a great player,” said Minamino.

Tajikistan retained second place after Kyrgyzstan lost 1-0 to Mongolia earlier in the day.

Elsewhere, India beat Bangladesh 2-0 and World Cup host Qatar edged out Oman 1-0.

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s hopes of conquering Europe and winning their first international title rest at the feet of free-kick maestro Hakan Calhanoglu whose repertoire features the kind of silky skills the football-mad nation craves.

Calhanoglu is just one of the stars of a squad that many view as Turkey’s new golden generation.

The Turks’ best international performances include a semifinal appearance at Euro 2008 and a third-place finish in the 2002 World Cup.

But a trophy has remained tantalisingly out of reach.

Calhanoglu plays for AC Milan and will be keen to shine his brightest when the Turks travel to Rome to play Italy for their Group A opening match in the pandemic-delayed Euro 2020 on June 11.

The 27-year-old’s Milan contract is expiring and he will have a chance to show off against some of his old Italian teammates and opponents.

Scouts from Manchester United will be among the many suiters watching with interest to see just how good Calhanoglu has become.

Calhanoglu burst onto the global stage when he scored with a mesmerising free-kick from more than 40 metres out against Dortmund while playing in the Bundesliga for Hamburg in 2014.

The Dortmund players had not even bothered to set up a wall because an attempt on goal seemed so audacious.

Further gems for Bayer Leverkusen as well as AC Milan and Turkey have established Calhanoglu as one of the most feared free-kick takers in the world.

But it would be a mistake to reduce the German-born Calhanoglu to a compilation of pretty goals on YouTube.

He has always had lightning-quick feet. Now he has developed into a technician who reads the game as if he were hovering above the pitch.

He delivers precision passes and fans adore him because he usually spares no effort while pressing in defence.

Calhanoglu also brings needed experience to a rejuvenated squad and is one of Turkey’s most capped players.

But it has not all been smooth sailing for Calhanoglu and the men in red.

He has occasionally been benched by coach Senol Gunes after being accused of giving more to his clubs than country.

Calhanoglu admitted last year that he felt “resentful” towards Gunes for not giving him as much responsibility as he enjoyed in Milan.

“I like to take responsibility,” he told reporters in March. “What matters to me above all else is the collective game.”

Calhanoglu succeeds the more tempestuous Arda Turan in wearing the Number 10 shirt for the “Milli Takim”.

“It is a number I really like,” Calhanoglu said.

Calhanoglu is a practising Muslim who made a pilgrimage to Mecca with French teammate Tiemoue Bakayoko in 2019.

He has also made no secret of his desire to play for Istanbul’s Galatasaray “one day”.

But there is little doubt that he is still dreaming of meeting his stated 2014 ambition of “reaching the level of Messi or Ronaldo” in Europe’s biggest leagues.

Turkey’s Euro campaign will offer a chance to show he is ready for superstardom after a good season at Milan despite coming down with COVID-19 in January.

Milan coach Stefano Pioli loves him and said that he would like to keep him after Calhanoglu’s contract runs out in June.

But Pioli said Calhanoglu “has not yet reached his full potential” while scoring nine goals and delivering 12 assists in 43 matches for the Rossoneri.

“He should try to score more goals,” Pioli said. “He has the necessary talent. He just needs to set more ambitious goals.”

BAKU — Red Bull’s Sergio Perez won a chaotic Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday as both Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton failed to finish.

Sebastian Vettel for Aston Martin and Pierre Gasly for Alpha Tauri completed the unexpected podium after the streets of Baku lived up to their reputation for delivering an afternoon of drama and tension.

Verstappen crashed with five laps to go and the sixth race of the season at his mercy. Hamilton then locked up at the restart when on target for second.

As the dust began to settle on the banks of the Caspian Sea, Verstappen retained his slender four point lead in the drivers standings.

His teammate Perez gained his first win since joining Red Bull and the second of his career.

“I’m so happy for today. Normally Baku is pretty crazy but I have to say sorry to Max. 

“He deserved the win today and it would have been good for the team to get a 1-2, but the win is a fantastic result.”

Perez inherited the lead when Verstappen’s left rear tyre shredded triggering a high-speed crash in the straight as he was set to collect his second consecutive win and third of the season.

“Tyre!” shouted a distraught Verstappen on the team radio.

After a red-flag stoppage lasting more than half an hour to clear debris from Verstappen’s stricken car, the Grand Prix resumed from the grid with a two lap sprint to the chequered flag.

‘Magic switch’

Hamilton looked to have the measure of Perez but the Mercedes seven-time world champion spun off at turn one, leaving the band to play the Mexican rather than British national anthem.

Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc came in fifth ahead of Fernando Alonso for Alpine and Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda celebrating his highest finish for Alpha Tauri in seventh. Hamilton was 15th and out of the points for the first time since Austria in 2018.

“Naturally it’s quite a humbling experience,” said Hamilton.

“We’ve worked so hard to come back into the top 10 and I put everything on the line but just lost out in the end.

“I clipped a switch that places the brakes off so I just went straight on at turn one on the restart.

“I’m very sorry to the guys and girls in the team. I had no idea that I’ve even touched the ‘magic’ switch.”

There was a sombre start to proceedings with a minute’s silence for Max Mosley, the former FIA boss who died last month, and Mansour Ojjeh, McLaren’s influential majority stakeholder, who died earlier Sunday.

Leclerc made a slick start, but Hamilton was lurking and the world champion surged past the pole-sitting Ferrari going into turn one at the start of lap three.

Verstappen executed an identical manoeuvre to move past Leclerc and into second on lap seven.

Hamilton came in for a pit stop on lap 12, rejoining having swopped soft tyres for hard in fourth — another car costing him vital seconds on his exit from the pits.

Verstappen and Perez followed suit, leaving Vettel in charge.

The German four-time former champion came in eventually to leave the two Red Bulls being hunted down by Hamilton approaching the midway point of the 51-lap contest.

The only driver not to have pitted was Lance Stroll, but the Canadian was back in the pits in the medical car on lap 31 after a high-speed smash on the straight when his left rear tyre shredded.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. Get me out of this place on the track. Puncture, I think,” he said, the crash forcing a long safety car interval.

He escaped unhurt.

Racing resumed four laps later with Verstappen and Perez leading.

Vettel, enjoying his best race for new team Aston Martin, jumped Leclerc and then picked off Gasly to leave Hamilton in his cross-hairs.

With five laps to go Verstappen’s race was cruelly over, but Perez managed to save the day for Red Bull.

AMMAN — Jordan have picked up an impressive four medals, including a gold, at the Karate 1 World Youth League held in Limassol, Cyprus, this weekend, according to the Jordan Olympic Committee News Service.

Over 700 young athletes from 37 countries took part, and Yousef Nofal led the way for Jordan by winning gold in the Cadet +70kg weight category, beating Azerbaijan’s Mehral Mamadov in the final.

Saeed Al Najjar settled for silver in the Junior -61kg category, losing to Mihajlom Markovic of Serbia in the final, and teammate, Ahmad Abu Hazeem, took another silver in the Cadet -63kg category after missing out in the gold medal match to Russia’s Rustam Akhmedov.

Waseem Salameh completed a brilliant tournament for Jordan with bronze in the Cadet -57kg through the “Repechage” route.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national football team plays Nepal on Monday as they resume their qualifiers for 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 Asian Cup in Kuwait from June 7-15.

Jordan is aiming to restart the remaining Group B qualifiers, which were halted last year amid the amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a win over 171st ranked Nepal before facing hosts 148th ranked Kuwait on June 11 and 41st ranked Australia on June 15 with the hope of advancing to the next round as one of the best second place finishers.

Australia lead Group B while Jordan is third, level on points with Kuwait, Nepal is fourth and Taiwan fifth. The qualifiers were halted after teams played five matches. Jordan beat Taiwan 5-0 and 2-1, lost 1-0 to Australia, held Kuwait 0-0 and beat Nepal 3-0.

Before leaving to Kuwait, the national team held a training camp in Dubai during which the team appeared below form, holding 92nd ranked Vietnam 1-1 after losing to 73rd ranked UAE 5-1. The Kingdom’s head coach Belgian Vital Borkelmans was quoted in the media as saying that the team needed to ‘’overcome the big loss, disappointing defeat to the UAE’’, acknowledging he held full responsibility for the team’s form and results, while underlining the focus should be on qualifying. 

In latest FIFA Rankings, Jordan stayed 95th overall and 15th in Asia lagging behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams.

Travel and quarantine restrictions delayed the start of the qualifiers leading to the joint Asian Football Confederation (AFC)- FIFA agreement to adopt a centralised approach to the remaining qualifiers. The top team from each of the eight competing groups and four best second place finishers will move to the 2023 Asian Cup finals and Round 3 of World Cup qualifiers. The four teams in the third round will join tournament hosts Qatar at the World Cup, with a further spot possibly secured by an Asian team via the intercontinental play-off.

Looking back at the Jordan’s peak performance, the team was on the verge of qualifying to the 2014 World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie. The Kingdom had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since first taking part in qualifiers. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times since 1986 qualifiers. 

On the regional level, Jordan reached the Round of 16 in the last edition of the Asian Cup. Since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972, Jordan played at the Asian Cup four times. The highlight was at the 13th Asian Cup in 2004, when Jordan lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th. They also reached the Asian Cup in 2011 and 2015 and 2019.

BAKU — Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc claimed pole for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix after a crash-laden, red-flagged qualifying session in Baku on Saturday.

Mercedes’ world champion Lewis Hamilton will start alongside Leclerc, who is looking for quick redemption after taking pole in Monaco only to retire before the race had even begun when his car broke down on the warm-up lap.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leads Hamilton by four points in the drivers’ championship after winning in Monaco last time out, and is on the second row of Sunday’s race with the Alpha Tauri of Pierre Gasly for company.

Q3 was halted with a minute remaining when Gasly’s teammate, Japanese rookie Yuki Tsunoda, crashed at turn three, with Carlos Sainz in the following Ferrari taking quick avoiding action, locking his wheels and smashing into a safety barrier 

A fortnight ago Leclerc was on course to confirm Ferrari’s return to form after their woeful 2020 when he qualified fastest in Monaco but crashed at the end of Q3 in his home race.

He then suffered the heartache of having to retire before taking his rightful place at the head of the grid.

“I didn’t expect us to be this competitive so I’m happy with how it went,” Leclerc said.

“The car felt OK but I feel Mercedes and Red Bull have a bit more from us so it will be difficult tomorrow.”

‘Stupid qualifying’

After a misfiring weekend and seventh-place finish at Monaco Hamilton was relieved at what he hailed as “a monumental” qualifying result.

“The lap was OK and we definitely weren’t expecting that. We’ve been struggling like you wouldn’t believe”, said the Briton targeting his record-extending 99th career win on Sunday.

“Our race pace is a lot better than our one-lap pace — we don’t understand why — and hopefully we can take the fight to these guys tomorrow, he noted.”

Verstappen, whose car required flash repairs after a crash in third practice, cut a frustrated figure, the Dutch driver saying: “It was just a stupid qualifying to be honest. It is what it is though, we’re still P3.

“Our car is still strong so let’s see what we can do for the race.”

“Let’s hope for a clean start, three different cars at the front which is always good to have.”

For Gasly there was the satisfaction of matching his best ever grid position.

“It’s been a fantastic day I must say, We couldn’t have hoped for anything better. We were fighting with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.”

Sainz, who finished second to Verstappen in Monaco, starts from the third row in Baku alongside Lando Norris in the McLaren, although the British driver could be hit with a grid penalty for failing to obey protocol in the second of four red flag appearances.

“I didn’t know I was under investigation so I have to speak to the team. I was in the middle, didn’t know at what point I could go left or right, I slowed down right away, I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

Q1 was suspended for 10 minutes when Lance Stroll crashed his Aston Martin, with the red flags out again when Antonio Giovinazzi’s Alfa Romeo struck a barrier.

Q2 was halted with a minute and a half left to run after Daniel Ricciardo gave his McLaren an unscheduled crumpled makeover.

And the red flags came out for a fourth and final time towards the end of Q3 but by then Leclerc had sealed his pole to put Ferrari in sight of their first win since Singapore 2019.

BAKU — Baku's street circuit is the medieval backdrop for Formula One's latest round of jousting between resurgent Red Bull and a Mercedes team anxious to move on from their Monaco misery.

The Azerbaijan Grand Prix returns to the calendar for the first time since 2019 with Red Bull drinking in the view from atop the world championship standings.

Max Verstappen's first Monaco triumph coupled with an insipid weekend for seventh-placed Lewis Hamilton saw the Dutchman deftly turn a 14-point deficit into a four point advantage in the race for the 2021 drivers' crown.

In the constructors' standings Red Bull transformed a 29-point deficit into a one point lead as they regained the summit for the first time since 2013.

Unsurprisingly team principal Christian Horner was pleased as punch.

"For us to come out leading both championships is beyond expectations," said the chief architect of Red Bull's revival.

"When [Mercedes] have an off day it's important for us to bank a lot of points."

While Monaco's narrow twisting street circuit makes overtaking notoriously difficult, Baku is an altogether different proposition.

Boasting the longest straight — 2.23 kilometres with speeds up to 370kmh — of any circuit, Sunday's race will be fast and furious.

And one where Mercedes can expect to rub some shine back on their Silver Arrows.

"It's been a strong track for Mercedes in the past. We're not under any illusions, we are sure they are going to bounce back fast," forecast Horner.

'Nothing comes easy'

Mercedes have taken pole and won three of the four grand prix staged in the former Soviet state's ancient capital on the Caspian Sea.

But a different driver has taken the chequered flag each time, with Nico Rosberg in 2016, Daniel Ricciardo in 2017, Hamilton in 2018 and Valtteri Bottas, consigned to a DNF by a stubbornly immovable wheel nut in Monaco, the winner in 2019.

Verstappen is hoping to continue that sequence but has yet to do better than fourth.

He concedes the venue for the sixth leg of the season is "probably not a favourite of mine if I'm honest".

"I've never been on the podium there so it's time to change that," said Verstappen, who has two wins this term to Hamilton's three.

He added: "Taking the lead in the championship feels good but we need to be there at the end of the final race, that's all that matters."

After their total dominance stretching back to 2014 and all 14 titles Toto Wolff, Mercedes' team principal, is relishing the fight with Red Bull.

"We love the battle. It's just what the doctor ordered after the past seven years," he said.

"Weekends like Monaco are the ones that keep you coming back for more," he added.

"Nothing comes easy in this sport, and that's why we love it."

One man nodding in agreement at that last comment is Charles Leclerc, who planted his Ferrari at the front of the Monaco grid, only for his race to end with a cracked left-rear driveshaft hub, the unfortunate legacy of his crash in qualifying, on the warm-up lap.

But with his qualifying form and teammate Carlos Sainz finishing second Leclerc left his home race far from downcast.

"We are coming back from quite far if we see last year, so we've done a good job to be improving race by race. We are on the good road."

F1's most celebrated team are lying fourth in the constructors' standings, two points adrift of another outfit enjoying a welcome change in fortune — McLaren.

Lando Norris's second podium of the season a fortnight ago lifted the Briton into third in the standings ahead of Bottas.

Meanwhile, on the Hamilton record front, the seven-time world champion is going for his 101st pole position and 99th win this weekend.