Sports

AMMAN — Jordan’s U-20 and U-17 football team’s got relatively easy draws for their respective AFC Asian Cup qualifiers on Thursday while the senior team awaits the draw for World Cup Round 3  qualifying matches which will be held June 27. 

The U-20  squad will play in Group J alongside Qatar, Singapore and Hong Kong in qualifiers set for  September with the Asian Cup being a  qualifying tourney to the U20 World Cup. Jordan  finished 4th in Asia in 2006 and moving to the U20 World Cup in 2007.

On the other hand, the U-17 team was drawn in Group A alongside Iran, Syria, Hong Kong, and North Korea with qualifiers  set for October while the U23 squad earlier exited the 6th U-23 Asian Cup and lost the chance to play for an Olympic qualifying spot. 

The  senior team returned home ahead of the weekend after finishing atop Group G Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, after they ended Saudi Arabia’s winning streak and beat them 2-1 to take the group lead and confidently advance to Round 3 of the qualifiers. Now Jordan awaits the draw and the rest of the qualifying matches resuming in September as 18 teams will be playing in three groups with the top two from each advancing to the World Cup while the rest will play another round in two groups with the group leaders advancing.

“We had set our aims on leading the group. And that’s what we did, “ Jordan’s Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta said. “The Saudi team set the pace in the first half, but the squad dealt with the game strategy as needed. Jordan is no more an ordinary Asian team,” added Amouta who took Jordan to an unforgettable 2023 Asian Cup final where Jordan beat  former Asian champs Iraq and South Korea before eventually losing to Qatar in the final. Jordan’s previous best past performance was reaching the Asian Cup quarterfinals in 2004 and 2011. 

Jordan has now booked their spot for the next edition of the 2027 Asian Cup and observers believe Jordan can make it the World Cup for the first time with FIFA expanding the format to include 16 more teams in the upcoming 2026 edition.   The coach has clearly shifted the squad’s mental edge and competitive style and strategy on the pitch.

MUNICH, Germany — John McGinn has already gone viral in Germany thanks to his attempt at Bavarian folk dancing and the Scotland midfielder is hoping to spoil the hosts’ party in Euro 2024’s opening game on Friday.

The 29-year-old’s larger than life personality is matched by his importance on the field to Steve Clarke’s men as one of the driving forces which has brought his nation back into the international limelight.

This is just Scotland’s second major tournament since 1998, with McGinn also crucial in the run to reaching Euro 2020.

However, after bowing out on home soil without a win three years ago, Scotland are determined to do more than make up the numbers this time around.

Clashes against Switzerland and Hungary after taking on the Germans would appear to offer an easier path to the four points Clarke is targeting to qualify for the knockout stages of a major tournament for the first time.

But the estimated 150,000 travelling Scots making their way to Munich for the opening game are dreaming of shocking the three-time European champions in their own back yard.

If Scotland is to achieve arguably their greatest ever result in the Allianz Arena, McGinn is likely to be heavily involved.

All of his 18 international goals have come since Clarke took charge in 2019, making him by a distance the top scorer in the squad.

His goalscoring form at international level also helped turnaround his club career at Aston Villa.

McGinn admitted he thought his time at the Premier League club may have come to an end as he found himself out of the team towards to the end of Steven Gerrard’s tenure.

But he has been central to Unai Emery’s transformation of Villa over the past two seasons and will play Champions League football for the first time next season.

“He asked ‘what is your preferred position’, and I said ‘just not on the bench like the last few games’,” McGinn recalled of one of his first conversations with Emery.

“He brought up the Scotland goals and said ‘why are you scoring like this for Scotland and not for Aston Villa?’ Maybe thank you to Steve Clarke for putting me higher up the pitch.”

Clarke’s decision to push McGinn closer to goal was borne as much out of necessity as tactical ingenuity.

The lack of a goalscoring number nine has dogged Scotland for generations and Clarke has instead had to lean on a goal threat from midfield.

Manchester United’s Scott McTominay also ended the season in a more advanced role for his club after scoring seven goals in Euro 2024 qualifying, including both in a 2-0 win over Spain.

McGinn chipped in with three goals in qualifying and has grown into a leadership role off the pitch as well as the dressing room entertainer.

“He’s the life and soul of the boys,” said Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes, who has remained with the squad despite being ruled out of the tournament due to injury.

“He’s always got puns coming out left, right and centre. I think he must sit in his room and think about things he’s going to say the next day because I don’t know where he pulls them from.”

Behind McGinn’s jovial nature, though, is a steely determination to succeed that has characterised Scotland’s rise under Clarke.

Overlooked by Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers, he made his name at St. Mirren and Hibernian before joining Villa while they were still in England’s second tier.

Having fought his way to the top with both club and country, the biggest game of his career now awaits on Friday and Germany are in McGinn’s sights.

MUNICH, Germany — Euro 2024 tournament director Philipp Lahm hopes the event will “bring people together” at a time of division and disunity across Europe.

In an interview with AFP subsidiary SID, the 2014 World Cup-winning captain said the true test of the tournament’s success was “when I sense greater solidarity in our society, in Germany and in Europe”.

Full-back Lahm played at the 2006 World Cup, the last time Germany hosted a major football tournament.

That World Cup, known domestically as the “Summer Fairytale”, was credited with bringing the country together as well as helping change Germany’s reputation abroad and the country’s perception of itself.

Lahm said the social impact was a major motivating factor in deciding to take on the job.

“When I think back to the 2006 World Cup at home and what this tournament did to our country, it was clear to me that it is a great task, a privilege.

“I wanted to organise a tournament that is reflective of the times. That means social sustainability, bringing people together to celebrate ourselves and our shared values.

“Around a tournament, a city can do a lot to show what it stands for. The Euro can be used to illustrate our democratic, European values.”

Euro 2024 kicks off when Germany faces Scotland in Munich on Friday, less than a week after far-right parties made significant gains in elections across the continent.

The governing Social Democrats won just 14 per cent of the vote, the worst result in their history.

“I hope at the very least the Euro will lead to a more united Germany again,” said Lahm.

On the pitch, the mood in Germany is improving after almost a decade of poor results.

Germany, which has won the Euros three times in addition to four World Cup victories, made the semifinals in 2016 but have since gone through a poor run at major tournaments.

They were eliminated at the group stage at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, their earliest exit in 80 years, before suffering the same fate at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, either side of elimination from Euro 2020 in the last 16 by England.

Julian Nagelsmann was named coach late in 2023 after Hansi Flick became the first manager to be sacked in Germany history.

‘Enthusiastic and euphoric’

After a difficult initiation, Germany has improved in 2024, winning three and drawing one of four friendlies.

“It obviously helps when the German team play exciting football... after disappointing results recently, the team was under pressure,” said Lahm.

“Now that they have played well, you can feel that the public are enthusiastic and euphoric.”

In the opening game of the 2006 World Cup, Lahm scored the first goal of the tournament with a curling effort into the top corner that set Germany on the way to a thrilling 4-2 win against Costa Rica in Munich.

Looking forward to Friday’s curtain-raiser in the same stadium, the 40-year-old said: “A good start is very important. For the atmosphere, but of course also for the team.

“If you get three points in the first game, that gives you security and it would spark even more euphoria.

“I get goosebumps when I think about the opening game.

“I am firmly convinced we will see a successful Euro,” added Lahm.

ROME — Sara Fantini notched another gold for Italy to ruin Anita Wlodarczyk’s bid for a fifth European hammer throw title in Rome on Monday, while world record holder Kevin Mayer was half way to locking up a Paris Olympic berth on the opening day of the decathlon.

Wlodarczyk is a giant in field events: The 38-year-old Pole is a three-time Olympic champion, a four-time world gold medallist and since first striking European gold in Helsinki in 2012, had won three more continental crowns.

Her one blip was missing the 2022 Euros in Munich after being injured when she apprehended a thief trying to steal her car.

Wlodarczyk only won silver at the Stadio Olimpico after a humdinger of a competition.

Backed by raucous home support, Fantini eventually came away victorious, her best of 74.18m ensuring an upgrade from her silver in Munich as she won Italy’s eighth gold in Rome.

Wlodarczyk’s 72.92m just edged France’s Rose Loga (72.68) on the podium.

“Sometimes, before the attempt, my coach shouts at me: ‘Come on granny!’” joked Wlodarczyk.

“And a granny can maybe win an Olympic medal, too. We still have two months to prepare for Paris and I still have some reserve in my technique so it is nice to see that this was still not my maximum.”

Fantini said she “still can’t believe I duelled and beat Anita Wlodarczyk”.

“She roused me with her fourth attempt: she is a reference for me, and receiving her compliments was really emotional.”

France’s Mayer may be a two-time world champion and have two Olympic silver medals, but it looks like his wait to win a European outdoor championship might continue after the first day of the decathlon.

The Frenchman sat eighth after the opening five disciplines on 4,230 points, Norway’s Sander Skotheim led the field on 4,566.

A tough second day on Tuesday, comprising the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m, awaits the decathletes, with Mayer seeking to do the necessary to ensure qualification for next month’s Paris Olympics.

Double Swiss gold 

Switzerland enjoyed double gold on a balmy night. Angelica Moser won her first senior outdoor medal in the women’s pole vault. The unheralded Timothe Mumenthaler took the men’s 200m.

In the pole vault, world bronze medallist and reigning European champion Wilma Murto of Finland bailed out at 4.43m. Just seven vaulters cleared 4.58m.

That was reduced to three as the bar was raised by 10cm: Moser, Britain’s world indoor champion and European leader Molly Caudery and Ekaterini Stefanidi of Greece, seeking a historic third continental title.

The Swiss gambled by skipping the next mark at 4.73m, but was left punching the air when she cleared 4.78 at the first attempt. That proved too high for Stefanidi and Caudery, the Greek taking silver on countback.

The cowbells were soon ringing again after Mumenthaler, in the outside lane, timed 20.28sec to win the 200m ahead of home favourite Filippo Tortu, in 20.41. Another Swiss, William Reais, took bronze.

Belgium’s Alexander Doom, who claimed the world indoor 400m title in Glasgow in March, set a championship record of 44.15sec to win the one-lap race.

Doom fought back to hold off Britain’s Charles Dobson in the final metres, the Briton taking silver in a personal best of 44.38sec, with Liemarvin Bonevacia of The Netherlands claiming bronze (44.88).

Poland’s multimedal winning relay specialist Natalia Kaczmarek transmuted her individual silver from Munich two years ago to gold in a thrilling shoot-out with Ireland’s Rhasidat Adeleke.

Adeleke and Sharlene Mawdsley had been the female components of their country’s gold-medal winning 4x400m mixed relay team on Friday — Ireland’s first Euro gold since Sonia O’Sullivan’s 5,000-10,000m double in Budapest in 1998.

As Mawdsley faded, Adeleke and Kaczmarek found themselves in a straight tussle for gold, the Pole eventually running out the winner in a world leading 48.98sec. Adeleke timed 49.07 for silver, with Dutch athlete Lieke Klaver taking bronze (50.08).

Alexis Miellet led a French 1-2 in the men’s 3000m steeplechase, winning in a personal best of 8:14.01, 0.35sec ahead of teammate Djilali Bedrani. Germany’s Karl Bebendorf will return home with bronze.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national team plays Saudi Arabia in an away game in Riyadh on Tuesday in the final Group G qualifier for the 2026 World Cup aiming to come home with a win that will consolidate their performance, lineup and confidence ahead of the next stage in the journey.

Jordan hope to reverse its 2-0 Leg 1 defeat to Saudi Arabia  although it has already booked a spot in stage 3 of World Cup qualifying as well as the next edition of the 2027 Asian Cup after they beat Tajikistan 3-0 at Amman International Stadium on Thursday with HRH Crown Prince Hussein, Jordan Football Association Chairman Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein and many members of the Royal Family cheering on the team.

Striker Yazan Nu’eimat was the man of the match scoring a goal and assisting in two as the squad secured moving to the next stage with observers now believing Jordan can make it the World Cup for the first time with FIFA expanding the format to include 16 more teams in the upcoming 2026 edition.  

In qualifiers so far, 71st ranked Jordan beat 195th ranked Pakistan 7-0 and 3-0, held 99th ranked Tajikistan 1-1 while 53rd ranked Saudi Arabia beat Tajikistan 1-0 and tied 1-1.

Eight Arab teams who have qualified to the next stage are Iraq, Palestine, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Jordan.

Jordan’s Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta has shifted the squad’s mental edge and the team’s competitive style and strategy on the pitch with players becoming household names following their memorable performance at the 2023 Asian Cup where they reached the final match before  settling for runner-up.

PARIS — Carlos Alcaraz fought back to defeat Alexander Zverev in a five-set French Open final on Sunday and become the youngest man to win Grand Slam titles on all three surfaces.

The 21-year-old battled cramps to recover from 2-1 down in sets and win a gripping contest 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2 after four hours and 19 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“I was running when I finished school to put the TV on just to watch this tournament and now I’m lifting the trophy in front of all of you, so thank you very much for everything,” an emotional Alcaraz said to his family watching on.

Alcaraz adds the Roland Garros crown to the Wimbledon title he won against Novak Djokovic last year and the 2022 US Open.

He will head to the Australian Open next year with the chance to become the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

Fourth seed Zverev, who settled a court case in Germany two days ago over domestic abuse allegations, is still waiting for a maiden major title.

He had also lost his only previous Slam final in five sets, when he blew a two-set lead against Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open.

Zverev had high hopes of finally getting over the line — he has also lost six Slam semifinals — but Alcaraz was too strong in the key moments as he levelled their head-to-head record at 5-5.

“It’s been amazing. The atmosphere, the support has been amazing,” said the 27-year-old.

Alcaraz said before the final he wanted to join the list of men’s players from his country, including his idol Rafael Nadal, to win the Roland Garros title, and he celebrated becoming the eighth Spanish champion by falling to the clay with his head in his hands in disbelief.

“Congratulations Carlos for this immense victory! Wonderful! Very happy for your successes! Vamos,” tweeted Nadal.

Zverev endured a miserable start, double-faulting on the first two points of the match en route to being broken in the opening game.

But Alcaraz was not immune to the nerves of a maiden French Open final, framing a regulation forehand into the stands and then also double-faulting as he gifted the break straight back.

The Spaniard did not take too long to find his groove, though, breaking to love in the fifth game on his way to pocketing the opener.

The youngster had to save three break points to hold in a 10-minute first game of the second set, but slipped 3-2 behind when he failed to stave off two more break points as another forehand sailed into the crowd.

Suddenly Zverev had a spring in his step and Alcaraz was reduced to scrambling at the back of the court, falling a double-break down with a double-fault.

Zverev wrapped up an ultimately one-sided second set with a hold to love.

The German made it three successive love holds with two more early in the third set, before Alcaraz celebrated coming out of a tricky service game unscathed with a fist pump as he edged 3-2 ahead, despite having been largely on the back foot.

Serving into an increasingly strong breeze, Zverev was caught out by an Alcaraz return that crept over the net and the Spaniard went on to grab a break to love.

But he could not serve out the set as a rasping Zverev passing shot secured a break back.

That failure to take control of the match seemed to temporarily break Alcaraz’s spirit, as he ended up losing five games on the spin to concede the set.

Alcaraz would not go down without a fight, though, breaking for a 2-0 advantage in the fourth with a magnificent curling winner on the run.

Just seconds before, Zverev had been angrily disputing a line call which was clearly correct, drawing jeers from the crowd.

The German was rattled and his serve started to desert him, with Alcaraz racing through the fourth set to force a decider despite having to take a medical time-out to have treatment for apparent cramp at 4-1.

Zverev had won 10 of his previous 11 five-setters at Roland Garros but handed Alcaraz a break on a platter in the third game of the fifth.

Alcaraz stuttered himself, falling 0-40 down in the next game.

He appeared to have double-faulted on the second break point, but the chair umpire overruled the line judge’s call of out, despite Zverev’s angry protests, before Hawkeye replays showed it was out.

Alcaraz went on to hold and it proved to be a pivotal moment in the match.

Zverev fell a double-break down in game seven as Alcaraz delighted the fans with an outrageous flicked winner before crushing a forehand onto the line.

He wrapped up a historic victory with a booming forehand that Zverev could not get back.

PARIS — Poland’s Iga Swiatek extended her French Open reign on Saturday as she thrashed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-1 in the final to win her third successive Roland Garros title.

World No.1 Swiatek dominated Italian 12th seed Paolini, a first-time Grand Slam finalist, needing just 68 minutes to capture a fourth crown in five years in Paris.

Swiatek has now won all five Grand Slam finals she has contested. Her other victory came at the 2022 US Open.

She is the fourth woman in the Open era to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen four times — after Justine Henin, Chris Evert and Steffi Graf.

Swiatek becomes only the third to win the tournament three years running. Henin, in 2005-07, was the last to do so. Monica Seles also achieved the feat as a teenager at the start of the 1990s.

At 23, her four Roland Garros titles is the same number Rafael Nadal, the record 14-time champion, had at the same age.

For the 28-year-old Paolini it was a sorry conclusion to an otherwise brilliant fortnight in the French capital.

The World No. 15 had won a total of four matches in 16 Grand Slam appearances before advancing to the fourth round of the Australian Open in January.

While she fell short of emulating compatriot Francesca Schiavone, who won the 2010 French Open, Paolini could yet finish on a winning note with her and doubles partner Sara Errani through to Sunday’s final.

Paolini’s transformation this season into a player capable of challenging for the biggest prizes stemmed in part from quashing the mindset she needed “a miracle” to beat the best in the sport.

Yet, the odds were heavily stacked against her going into the final, with Swiatek unbeaten at Roland Garros since a 2021 quarter-final loss to Maria Sakkari.

Riding a 20-match winning streak in Paris, and a winner of 18 straight matches this year after titles in Madrid and Rome, Swiatek quickly set about her business.

She powered an ace to hold in the opening game and had Paolini backpedalling down break point, but the Italian ground out a gutsy hold and then broke Swiatek when the Pole flayed a forehand long.

That triggered a searing riposte from Swiatek, who broke to love to get back on serve and then surged 4-2 in front after Paolini coughed up a costly double-fault.

Swiatek had her opponent constantly scurrying around the court and the errors began to stack up for Paolini, who conceded the first set with a weak groundstroke into the net.

With Swiatek firmly in the ascendancy, Paolini looked lost for answers as the top seed oozed confidence and repeatedly took control of the rallies.

Had it not been for an astonishing recovery against Naomi Osaka in the second round when she saved a match point, Swiatek would have suffered her earliest Grand Slam exit at the French Open.

Instead that fright served to ignite her title aspirations, reigning Wimbledon and US Open champions — Marketa Vondrousova and Coco Gauff — powerless to stop the Swiatek offensive.

Swiatek had difficulty putting away Karolina Muchova last year when heavily fancied, but there was no such trouble 12 months on as the Pole dismantled Paolini to underline her burgeoning status as the “Queen of clay”.

The three games won by Paolini was the fewest in the final here since Henin obliterated Ana Ivanovic 6-1, 6-2 in 2007, which also coincided with the Belgian’s fourth Roland Garros title in five years.

AMMAN — All eyes are on Jordan’s national team when they host Tajikistan Thursday evening in a vital match determining qualifiers from Group G for the next stage in the 2026 World Cup journey.

HRH Crown Prince Hussein and HRH Prince Hashem Bin Abdullah, dropped in to the team’s practice ground earlier in the week, underscoring official and fan support to the squad, who have captured hearts and minds following their memorable performance at the 2023 Asian Cup where they reached the final match and settled for runner-up.

Jordan beat 195th ranked Pakistan 7-0 and 3-0 to climb to second in the group ahead of the return leg matches against Tajikistan and Saudi Arabia later on June 11. In earlier qualifiers, Jordan held Tajikistan 1-1 and lost 2-0 to Saudi Arabia who beat Tajikistan 1-0 and tied 1-1 the return.

Following the Asian Cup, expectations have shifted after wins against former Asian champs Iraq and South Korea before eventually losing 3-1 to hosts and reigning champs Qatar, shot the team up 17 spots in FIFA rankings.

Now at 71st, Jordan has regrouped the squad, with most stars playing abroad ready to face 99th ranked Tajikistan, while 53rd ranked Saudi play Pakistan in an away game. The squad has to contend with injuries and possible lineup changes with star striker Mousa Ta’mari recovering from an injury sustained in the French League matches, in addition to goalie Nour Bani Atiya.

Jordan’s Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta who has been become a household name has finally confirmed he would be staying with team after much speculation that he would leave after the next two matches, citing “personal reasons”.