Sports

AMMAN   — The national U-23 Olympic team needs to beat the UAE on Thursday to secure  a spot in quarter-finals of the 4th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-23 Championship currently under way in Thailand. 

Jordan is now second in Group D after it beat North Korea 2-1 but drew 0-0 by Vietnam in the second match of the qualifying tournament for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

With the top two teams from each group moving on to the quarters, Jordan needs to win regardless of the result of the Vietnam-North Korea match to advance, while the UAE who lead the table needs a draw. Vietnam need to win by a difference of two goals to secure the second qualifying spot from the group.

"The result against Vietnam was disappointing. We had many chances to secure the win but we could not convert them into goals. We now have to focus on the match ahead," Jordan's coach Ahmad Abdul Qader underlined. 

Compounding the coach's troubles who is fighting for a qualifying spot to the 2020 Olympics, are two injuries to Mohammad Bani Atia and Mohammad Zoubi in addition to the team's leading star Mousa Ta'mari was being released by his Cypriot club to join the team.

In 2018, the U-23 team was knocked out of Round 1 of the 3rd AFC U-23 Championship. In 2016, they reached the quarter-finals and in 2014 they finished third. 

Officials hope the team will advance after other national teams were eliminated last year. The U-16  squad was eliminated in qualifiers and failed to advance to the U-16 AFC Championship which serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup.  In the earlier edition,  Jordan bowed out of  the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Championship. 

The U-16 women's squad was eliminated in qualifiers and failed to advance to the AFC U-16 Women's Championship. Similarly, the U-19 women's and men's teams were also eliminated from qualifiers for the AFC Championship. 

The U-19 men's team had impressive results in five past editions. The best performance came when it finished fourth in 2006 and advanced to the FIFA Youth World Cup in Canada in 2007. Jordan exited the first round in 2008 and 2010 and 2018 and reached the quarters in 2012.  This was the third time Jordan failed to qualify after the 2014 and 2016.

MADRID — Spanish champions Barcelona have sacked their coach Ernesto Valverde and appointed Quique Setien as his replacement, the club announced on Monday. 

The decision to remove Valverde was confirmed following a board meeting that lasted more than four hours at Camp Nou on Monday afternoon.

Barca are top of La Liga but have won only one of their last five matches. Valverde is the first coach the club has sacked mid-season since Louis van Gaal in 2003.

“FC Barcelona and Ernesto Valverde have reached an agreement to terminate the contract that united both parties,” read a club statement released on Monday night.

Setien will be presented in a press conference at Camp Nou on Tuesday.

“Barcelona and Quique Setien have reached an agreement for the latter to become first team coach until 30 June 2022,” the club said. 

“Setien is one of the most experienced coaches in Spanish football,” it added. “Throughout his career he has been a proponent of possession based, attacking football that has been attractive to the fans.”

His first game in charge will be at home to Granada on Sunday. Barcelona play Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League next month and Real Madrid in the league at the start of March. 

Setien has made no secret of his admiration for the stylistic traditions of Barcelona, with the 61-year-old also renowned for favouring an exciting, offensive mode of football. 

A former player of Atletico Madrid and Racing Santander, he was circled as a potential Barca coach during a particularly successful period in charge of Real Betis. 

Setien led Betis to a sixth-place finish in 2018 and qualification for the Europa League but, despite overseeing a thrilling 4-3 victory at Camp Nou early the following season, results tailed off. 

Betis finished 10th and the club and coach parted ways in the summer. Previously, he also helped Las Palmas avoid relegation from La Liga in 2016. 

A footballing purist, Setien and Barcelona would seem a good fit, particularly if the players feel released from some of Valverde’s more pragmatic tendencies. 

But critics of Setien would argue style often takes precedence over substance and it remains to be seen how he handles the pressure of matching aesthetics with results at one of the world’s most demanding clubs. 

He will also have to do without Luis Suarez, who will be missing for the next four months after having surgery on his right knee. 

Doubts had surrounded Valverde for several months and were underpinned by two disastrous exits from the Champions League. 

Barcelona’s shocking collapse against Roma in 2018 was followed by a similar capitulation against Liverpool last year. 

Familiar fragility had been evident this season and a 3-2 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup on Thursday, in which Barcelona conceded two late goals, prompted the board to act. 

Valverde arrived two hours early for his last training session with the squad at Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper on Monday morning before meeting with club President Josep Maria Bartomeu. 

Bartomeu then drove to Camp Nou, where he held a board meeting with several club officials including Chief Executive Oscar Grau, technical secretary Javier Bordas, Vice President Jordi Cardoner and sporting director Eric Abidal. 

In Valverde’s two seasons, his team won two La Liga titles, as well as the Copa del Rey in 2018, and another league success remained much in sight 

MILAN — Cristiano Ronaldo stretched his goal-scoring streak to six consecutive league games as Juventus took top spot in Serie A on Sunday with a 2-1 win at Roma, whose defeat was made worse by the cruciate ligament injury of rising star Nicolo Zaniolo.

Juventus move two points ahead of Inter Milan, who were held 1-1 by Atalanta at the San Siro on Saturday, after going two goals up in just 10 minutes in Rome.

“We were very good for 60 minutes. Then, if you play against Roma, it is almost inevitable to suffer in the end,” said Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri.

Turkish defender Merih Demiral found a way through after three minutes when he connected with a Paulo Dybala free-kick.

Minutes later Argentine Dybala was hauled down in the box, and Ronaldo stepped up to convert from the spot to make it nine goals in six league games.

“It’s tough playing against a team like Juventus and we gave away two early goals,” said Roma coach Paulo Fonseca. 

“We put in a good performance after that, against a great side. But once you go two goals down, it’s difficult.”

Both sides had casualties in the first half with Demiral limping off with a knee injury not long after scoring his first Juventus goal.

And Zaniolo was stretchered off in tears eight minutes before the break after falling victim to what Roma later confirmed was a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee while trying to dribble past Matthijs De Ligt and Adrien Rabiot.

Zaniolo, who is considered one of Italy’s most exciting young talents and was a rare bright point for Roma in a torrid first half, underwent surgery on Monday.

“I swear to you... I’ll be stronger than before,” the 20-year-old later wrote on Instagram.

Roma had their chances with Edin Dzeko hitting the post and Wojciech Szczesny denying Cengiz Under from point-blank range.

Diego Perotti pulled a goal back for the hosts from the penalty spot on 68 minutes after an Alex Sandro handball.

However, the capital side drop to fifth, outside the Champions League places, level on 35 points with fourth-placed Atalanta and seven behind local rivals Lazio after their 1-0 win over Napoli on Saturday.

Earlier, Alejandro Berenguer struck the only goal as Torino beat Bologna to climb to seventh.

Spaniard Berenguer finished off a cross from captain Andrea Belotti on 11 minutes as Torino move two points off sixth-placed Cagliari, who are in the last Europa League place.

Hellas Verona are two points behind Torino in eighth after snatching a 2-1 win over Genoa in a game which was delayed for 15 minutes in order to redo the uneven lines of the two penalty areas.

Genoa’s local rivals Sampdoria moved five points clear of the drop zone with veteran striker Fabio Quagliarella scoring a brace in their thumping 5-1 win over Brescia.

“We are starting to break away from the quicksand of the relegation zone, but it’s still there and we have to keep going,” said coach Claudio Ranieri, who next play title-chasing Lazio.

Jhon Chancellor nodded in after 12 minutes for Brescia.

But Karol Linetty volleyed in the equaliser on 34 minutes and provided the cross for Jakub Jankto to put the hosts ahead just before the break.

Last season’s top scorer Quagliarella gave Sampdoria a third from the spot for his first home goal this season, and added a second in injury time.

In Florence, Patrick Cutrone got his first start for Fiorentina since his move from Wolverhampton Wanderers this week, playing the final 15 minutes in the tight win over rock-bottom SPAL.

German Pezzella struck eight minutes from time to give new coach Giuseppe Iachini his first win for 14th-placed Fiorentina who are now seven points above the drop zone.

Udinese beat Sassuolo 3-0 for their third consecutive victory to move level on points with last season’s runners-up Napoli who are in 11th position.

MILAN — Veteran Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored on his first AC Milan start since his return to the club in a 2-0 win over Cagliari on Saturday, but city rivals Inter’s position on top of Serie A is at risk after a 1-1 draw against Atalanta.

Lautaro Martinez put Inter ahead after four minutes in the San Siro only for Robin Gosens to pull Atalanta level on 76 minutes.

Inter are just one-point clear of champions Juventus who play Roma in the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday.

Lazio consolidated third position, four points behind Inter, with the league’s top scorer Ciro Immobile grabbing the only goal against Napoli to stretch his side’s winning streak to ten games.

Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata got his first start after a long injury layoff but Inter were struggling without suspended Nicolo Barella and injured duo Matias Vecino and Alexis Sanchez.

“We gave everything in a difficult situation,” said Inter coach Antonio Conte. “We were down to the bare bones, without four big players.

“Looking at our position in the table, seeing us up there, we might turn a blind eye to some issues.

“But I hope we don’t have any more missing players or the situation becomes problematic.”

Good work by in-form Inter strike duo Martinez and Romelu Lukaku paved the way for the first goal minutes into the game.

But Gosens volleyed in with quarter of an hour to go and Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic saved a Luis Muriel penalty two minutes from time to hold onto a point.

Atalanta are fifth, equal on points with Roma, who occupy the final Champions League berth.

In Sardinia, Ibrahimovic was named in the starting 11 for Milan against Cagliari, having come on as a substitute in their goalless draw against Sampdoria last weekend.

The 38-year-old played the entire match scoring after 64 minutes for his first Milan goal since leaving the club for Paris Saint-Germain eight years ago.

“I’ll celebrate like a God at San Siro, not here,” said Ibrahimovic, who last scored in the Milan jersey in May 2012. “I celebrate God every time I score, that way I feel alive!”

‘The real Ibra’

Portuguese forward Rafael Leao, 20, had struck the opener just after the break as Milan got their first win since a 3-2 victory over Bologna on December 8.

Since then Stefano Pioli’s side have settled for two goalless draws and suffered a humiliating 5-0 defeat by Atalanta.

Milan move up to eighth in the table, 10 points off the Champions League berths.

“I feel good, the coach just wanted to think about my age and see if I needed a rest, but there’s no problem,” continued Ibrahimovic, who did not want to be substituted.

“My brain is always the same and the body has to follow.”

It was his 57th goal for the club and 123rd in Serie A, having also played for Inter Milan and Juventus.

He was denied a second with eight minutes to go by the linesman’s flag.

“Ibra is an important point of reference, but it will still take time to perfect,” said Pioli.

“He’s not yet the real Ibra, which we will see in a few games.”

Ibrahimovic has a six-month contract with an option for another season. He helped the club win their 18th and most recent Serie A title in 2011.

Cagliari fell to their fourth consecutive defeat, but remain sixth.

Perfect 10

Lazio extended their winning streak to a club record of ten games as they inflicted a second consecutive defeat on Serie A runners-up Napoli thanks to a blunder from goalkeeper David Ospina with eight minutes to go.

Colombian international Ospina was caught in possession inside his own box allowing Immobile to tap in his 20th goal in 19 games to the delight of the home crowd as the club marked their 120th anniversary.

Lazio are chasing their first Scudetto since 2000.

“What is missing for the Scudetto? To be honest, we’re not missing much,” said coach Simone Inzaghi.

“We keep conceding crazy goals,” said Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso whose side drop to tenth place.

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Lionel Messi has predictably been the star attraction, but there will be no Clasico in Saudi Arabia this weekend, as Atletico Madrid’s defeat of Barcelona set up a clash with rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday. 

Messi was cheered by fans at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium from the moment he jogged out to warm up, yet, Atletico were the ones celebrating at the end of Thursday’s semifinal in the competition that has been expanded and controversially shipped to a different continent. 

Atletico scored two late goals to beat Barca 3-2, with a derby final now to come against Real Madrid.

When the Spanish Football Federation signed a three-year contract worth 120 million euros ($133.4 million) to move the tournament to Saudi Arabia, a title showdown between Real and Barcelona would very likely have been top of the organisers’ wishlist. 

The draw kept the clubs apart in the semis and a new four-team format ensured Real and Atletico were able to participate at all, given they would not have qualified for the traditional two-legged showdown between league champions and winners of the Copa del Rey. 

Including the two other highest-placed finishers in La Liga all-but ensures entry for Barcelona and Real Madrid every year but, as this competition has shown, there is no guarantee of progress.

“The Super Cup will be decided by its guests,” read Catalan sports daily Mundo Deportivo on Friday. “Second in the league against semifinalist in the cup.”

An all-Madrid final in Jeddah offers both Atletico and Real the chance to claim a first trophy of the campaign and perhaps a valuable psychological boost too. 

Certainly, Barcelona and Valencia will resume in La Liga with their rhythm jolted and confidence knocked. 

After seven games unbeaten, Valencia were outplayed in their 3-1 semi-final defeat by Real while Barca’s late collapse against Atletico brings doubts around coach Ernesto Valverde rushing back to the surface. 

Already on Friday, reports in the Spanish press were linking the club’s former midfielder Xavi Hernandez — who has been coaching in Qatar — with taking his job in the summer. 

“There is always instability when you lose,” admitted Valverde. 

Just as defeat to a rival creates instability, victory could prove affirming for Real, who look to convert form into a lead in La Liga’s title race, and Atletico, who are trying to close a five-point gap. 

Atletico have been gaining momentum in the league and their victory over Barcelona will be a major boost ahead of what promises to be a tough second half of the season. 

They sit third in the league table with trips to Camp Nou and the Santiago Bernabeu to come while in the Champions League they face Europe’s most feared team, Liverpool, next month.

Yet, even if they were on the back foot for long spells of their 3-2 win on Thursday, Atletico defied their creative problems with three goals and at least two good chances for more. 

“It is important for the club, we beat the best attacking team in the world,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. 

“I’m happy with the whole performance,” said Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. “But it is a semi-final, we haven’t won anything yet.” 

Real Madrid’s progress means they will earn around 10 million euros from the tournament, with Atletico making around 6 million.