Sports

SAINT-DENIS, France — Portugal’s players frantically tended to Cristiano Ronaldo’s left knee but their tearful captain couldn’t withstand the pain any longer.

The Portuguese had to win their first major trophy the hard way, stunning host France in the European Championship final after playing without Ronaldo from the 25th minute through extra time on Sunday.

Two hours after being carried off injured with the 1-0 victory secured by his battling teammates, the three-time world player of the year returned a champion for the first time with his country.

“I had bad luck because I had a small injury in the beginning of the game, but my colleagues did their part — they run, they fight,” said Ronaldo, who has already won every major club honour. “Nobody believed in Portugal but we won.”

An unlikely scorer secured the pre-tournament outsiders a title at last.

It could be an uncomfortable few months ahead for Eder, the unheralded striker who will return shortly to French club Lille after breaking French hearts with his 109th minute goal.

“The ugly duckling became beautiful,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said.

A second-half substitute, Eder scored only his fourth goal in 29 appearances for Portugal with a low shot from 25 metres past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

“Cristiano told me I would be scoring the winning goal,” Eder said. “He gave me strength and positive energy.”

In doing so, Portugal denied the French a third final victory on home soil to add to Euro ‘84 and the 1998 World Cup.

“Football can be very cruel,” said Lloris, France’s captain. “The overriding emotion is a lot of sadness.”

Twelve years after losing to Greece on home soil in their last appearance in the final, it was Portugal’s turn to spoil the host nation’s party. And they achieved it after winning only one of their seven games at Euro 2016 inside 90 minutes, and after losing the inspirational Ronaldo midway through the first half.

“It was tough because we lost our main man and we had all our hopes pinned on him because he’s a player who can score a goal at any minute,” Portugal defender Pepe said. “When he said he couldn’t go on, I tried to tell my teammates that we have to win it for him. That we were going to fight for him.”

It was a mostly dull and stodgy final but the record books will only show that Portugal went from third-place in its group to champion, and with little help from Ronaldo in its last match.

The championship’s first 24-team tournament became a reality over the last month, but the quality of football deteriorated. Such a sterile showpiece — the first European Championship final to be scoreless after 90 minutes — seemed a fitting climax.

“We weren’t clinical enough,” said France coach Didier Deschamps who lifted the World Cup in the stadium as a player in 1998. “We weren’t cool-headed enough.”

Even France forward Antoine Griezmann, the tournament’s leading scorer, couldn’t rise to the big occasion. There was no seventh goal of Euro 2016 from the Atletico Madrid forward, who also lost out in the Champions League final six weeks ago to Ronaldo’s Real Madrid.

Griezmann was the first player to find the target, but his header was tipped over by Rui Patricio, who was formidable in the Portugal goal. When an inviting cross from Kingsley Coman was delivered in the 66th, Griezmann missed with a free header.

Only once was Patricio beaten, when Andre-Pierre Gignac’s shot hit the inside of the post but it came back out.

Luck was on Portugal’s side, and Eder was able to strike the decisive blow.

It didn’t seem to be going Portugal’s way in the ninth minute when Dimitri Payet’s right knee clattered into Ronaldo’s standing left leg.

Ronaldo went down in agony — writhing, grimacing and screaming. He was able to return, but this was one injury he could not run off.

Ronaldo fell to the turf again in the 17th. One of the moths infesting the national stadium fluttered over Ronaldo’s tearful right eye. Teammates tried to help in vain to help, with Nani tending to the knee.

Ronaldo watched the game forlornly on the touchline as strapping was attached before dragging himself back onto the field.

But Ronaldo’s mobility was restricted. Battling through the pain, regularly reaching down to check on the injury, Ronaldo realised there would be no miracle recovery.

The clock hit 23 minutes and Ronaldo ripped off his captain’s armband and tossed it on the turf. Slumping to the ground again, Ronaldo was consoled by Nani, who embraced his former Manchester United teammate as the armband was transferred.

The stretcher came on and in the 25th minute Ronaldo became a spectator. But thanks to Patricio’s array of saves and dogged defending, Ronaldo left a champion.

Unlike his great rival Lionel Messi, the Argentina and Barcelona forward, the 31-year-old Ronaldo has now filled the medal void on the major international stage. It’s a rapid turnaround for a national team that exited the 2014 World Cup in the group stage.

“It’s something unbelievable in my career,” Ronaldo said. “Something I deserve.”

Portuguese media hails team

Portugal’s triumphant football team arrive home later on Monday on a plane named after the country’s late football legend Eusebio and will continue their celebrations after the dramatic win over hosts France in the Euro 2016 final.

Local media have kicked off the heroes’ welcome, with Publico newspaper declaring “10th of July, Portugal’s Day” with a photograph of Eder celebrating the match-winning goal in the 109th minute that gave the country a first European title.

Sports paper O Jogo gave its headline “Eternal” with a picture of the whole team.

“Sunday began with a jackpot of medals at the European Athletics Championship and it ended with an explosion of heroics and happiness,” the daily wrote.

The Record had a picture of the players with the headline “Epic”, while another sports paper, A Bola, splashed an image of captain Cristiano Ronaldo lifting the Cup.

Ronaldo, who had his struggles in the tournament and left the final in the first half with a knee injury, did his part in helping the Portuguese in their famous run.

His two equalisers in a 3-3 draw with Hungary allowed them to advance from the group stage and also made him the first player to score in four editions of the tournament.

A tearful Ronaldo held the trophy in the Correio da Manha newspaper, which trumpeted: “The Euro is ours, we are the champions.”

Online, Jornal de Noticias showed coach Fernando Santos lifting the Cup with the headline “It’s ours!”.

“Ronaldo lifted a Cup made up of effort and tears,” the paper declared.

LONDON — Triple Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton has urged fans to be more sporting after boos were heard for the second race in a row at Silverstone on Sunday.

In Austria a week before it was Hamilton, now winner of four of the last five races, who was subjected to jeers and whistles after a last lap collision with Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg.

On Sunday, boos aimed at championship leader Rosberg mingled with the cheers after the German came second to Hamilton in front of a 139,000 strong British crowd.

“Look at these guys, you don’t see this anywhere around the world. And you don’t hear a lot of booing, which means we’ve got good British spirit here,” Hamilton had told the sea of fans from the podium.

When the microphone was passed to Rosberg, and it was evident that Hamilton had spoken too soon, Australia’s former F1 driver turned interviewer Mark Webber interjected: “Come on guys, he fought valiantly. He did what he could.”

Hamilton said later he had wanted to calm the fans down and would not have behaved that way himself.

“I feel like we are better than that. I didn’t really hear a lot of boos. But what you just have to understand is they are mad, passionate fans and something wasn’t right in the last one,” said the Briton.

“Maybe when I get to Germany, maybe we will have the same thing. I hope not, because I think in sport in general it’s just not the done thing,” he said.

“If I went to a football game and the other team won, I would never boo the other team because they did a better job and that’s real sportsmanship.”

Rosberg, who attended the post-race fan party, shrugged off what had happened.

“Lewis had it in Austria, that the whole crowd was booing him. The majority of the British were really, really supportive of me this weekend,” he said.

“I don’t want to catch on to those 15, 20 people or more that dislike me. Much more I should mention how much I appreciate the majority of the people who were supporting me. That’s pretty awesome to see coming to here.

“It just shows the racing spirit they have here. Not only do they love their British drivers but they appreciate passionate drivers who are out there doing their best... that’s quite unique.”

Meanwhile, Force India principal Vijay Mallya hailed a big step forward for his Silverstone-based Formula One team on Sunday even if their main focus of development has shifted to next year’s car.

Mexican Sergio Perez and German Nico Hulkenberg finished sixth and seventh in the British Grand Prix for the team’s best result at the circuit just over the road from their factory.

The points left the dream of finishing fourth overall in the championship, which would be a record high for the team, looking far more possible. Force India were fifth last year, a position they currently occupy.

The beer baron said Mercedes-powered Force India would have no further upgrades this season after the one that they brought to Silverstone.

“There’s some work in progress which we couldn’t bring to Silverstone but which we will introduce over the next couple of races, but that’s it,” he said. “We’ve now shifted our focus of development entirely onto the 2017 car.

Formula One is due to go through a major technical overhaul next season, with wider wheels and chassis, and a more aggressive look with revised aerodynamics aimed at making the cars faster and harder to drive.

SILVERSTONE, England — Lewis Hamilton won his home British Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Sunday with Mercedes teammate and title rival Nico Rosberg finishing second but under a stewards’ investigation.

The triple Formula One world champion’s fourth home win, from pole position in tricky conditions, was the 47th victory of his career and cut Rosberg’s overall lead to four points after 10 of 21 races.

Rosberg was slowed by a gearbox problem five laps from the end and crossed the line 6.9 seconds behind, with a question mark over his result after Mercedes seemingly broke the rules on radio advice by telling him to avoid seventh gear.

Red Bull’s Dutch teenager Max Verstappen was third, 1.3 seconds behind Rosberg, in a race that began behind the safety car after heavy rain before starting properly at the end of the fifth lap.

“I don’t know if you can be as happy as me but I’m really happy,” Hamilton told the 130,000-strong crowd that stood and cheered him all the way round the final lap with the sun shining brightly at last.

The Briton got even closer to the fans, who flooded onto the track, after parking up at the finish, and then enjoyed some celebratory crowd-surfing after the podium presentation.

“I’m glad that the good English weather came out. It was so tricky in those conditions. When we started the race, I was the first one who had to attack it,” said the champion.

“It’s never plain, smooth sailing — that’s why the British GP is the best.”

Radio rules

Hamilton is now the closest he has been to Rosberg this season and that gap could narrow even further if stewards rule Mercedes erred in telling the German what to do.

Red Bull principal Christian Horner said the radio rules were “pretty clear” and questioned where Rosberg, who was booed by some in the crowd as he stepped onto the podium, would have finished had Mercedes not given him their advice.

But Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff said the governing FIA would have to decide.

“We know what is allowed on the rules. The gearbox was about to fail. We think we should be OK, but we’ll wait,” the Austrian told the BBC.

Rosberg, who had a stirring battle with Verstappen that involved each overtaking the other, said he was confident the team had acted within the rules.

Australian Daniel Ricciardo was fourth for Red Bull, 17.9 seconds behind his teammate, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen fifth.

Mexican Sergio Perez was sixth for Force India, with team principal Vijay Mallya able to attend a race for the first time this season, having previously had his passport withdrawn, with German team mate Nico Hulkenberg seventh.

Spaniard Carlos Sainz was eighth for Toro Rosso, with Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel ninth after being handed a five second penalty for forcing the Williams of Brazilian Felipe Massa off the track.

Sainz’s Russian teammate Daniil Kvyat took the final point.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national football team is set to play at least seven friendly matches amid preparations for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers starting in March 2017.

After putting behind elimination from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers, national team coach Abdullah Abu Zam’eh, who assisted Harry Redknapp in the interim period, has recalled mainly younger players including Olympic team players and excluded stars like goalie Amer Shafie, Anas Bani Yasin, Hasan Abdul Fattah and Odey Saifi. 

Last month, Jordan went up to 80th in the latest FIFA Rankings and is now 8th in Asia. The team last played at the King’s Cup, an international football tournament organised in Thailand by the Football Association of Thailand, where it lost to the host in the final.

Abu Zam’eh underlined the first friendly will be on August 18 against Qatar before playing Lebanon on August 31 and Bahrain on September 4. In October, Jordan is set to play Oman on the 7th and either Iran or Syria later on. In November, Jordan will play Iraq on November 6th Uzbekistan on the 10th and Lebanon on the 15th.

“We aim to have the biggest number of friendlies possible which will help team cohesion and preparedness ahead of the final phase of the qualifiers, “ Abu Zam’eh was quoted as saying on the Jordan Football Association website

The Kingdom was eliminated from the 2018 World Cup qualifiers doubling as part of the qualification for 2019 Asian Cup after a dismal 5-1 defeat to Australia. The qualifying journey ended in Round 1 after an inconsistent year that saw the national team lose 1-0 to Kyrgyzstan 3-0 to Tajikistan and scoring an 8-0 win over Bangladesh in Leg 2. In Leg 1, Jordan was held to a disappointing 0-0 draw with Kyrgyzstan, beat Tajikistan 3-1, Australia 2-0 and Bangladesh 4-0. 

The group winners and four best runners-up (total 12 teams) advance to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup finals and the final round of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The next best 24 teams from the preliminary stage of the joint qualifiers will compete in a separate competition for the remaining slots (12 slots or 11 slots + one slot for the host) in the 24-team 2019 Asian Cup. 

It has been an inconsistent year for Jordan’s squad which has seen three coaches leading the vital qualifying process. The line-up was led by Briton Ray Wilkins under whom the team failed to advance past the first round of the 16th Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup in 2015 before Ahmad Abdul Qader took over in the transitional phase under whom the team played the first qualifier. Belgian Paul Put took over in July 2015 but his tenure was also suspended when he was caught in the midst of a court case over match fixing in the Belgian league. Harry Redknapp led the team in the last two qualifiers with a focus on reaching the Asian Championship and keeping World Cup qualifying chances alive.

The Kingdom had the most memorable World Cup qualifying journey in 2013 when it lost a possible chance to play at the World Cup for the first time and advanced to play then World’s 6th ranked Uruguay in an intercontinental qualifying tie for a place in the 2014 World Cup. Jordan lost the home game 5-0 and held the former World Cup champs 0-0 in the away match. Jordan had never reached that far in World Cup qualifying since taking part in the qualifiers in 1985. Round 3 had been the furthest Jordan reached in the past seven times in the qualifiers.

In the Asian Cup, Jordan reached the Championship three times since first taking part in qualifiers in 1972: the pinnacle was at the 13th Asian Cup, when it lost to Japan in the quarter-finals and jumped to the best ever FIFA Ranking of 37th in August 2004. In 2011, Jordan again reached the quarter-finals.

PARIS — The fate of Sunday’s intriguing European Championship final between France and Portugal weighs largely on two men wearing the number seven shirt, one already at the top of the game and the other one getting there fast.

Cristiano Ronaldo, accustomed to fighting with Lionel Messi for the right to be called the best player in the world, takes on a different challenger in France’s Antoine Griezmann, this time for European supremacy.

The pair know each other well, having faced each other six weeks ago in the Champions League final in which Griezmann missed a penalty for Atletico Madrid in regular time before Ronaldo sealed city rivals Real’s victory by converting the decisive spot kick in the shootout.

Since the start of Euro 2016, Griezmann has bounced back from that disappointment, scoring six goals, a feat no player had achieved at one tournament since France great Michel Platini hit a record nine at the 1984 finals.

Ronaldo, by contrast, had to soak up a lot of criticism after lacklustre showings by his high standards before playing a decisive role by scoring a goal and setting up another in a 2-0 semifinal win over Wales.

Griezmann was even more impressive in France’s semifinal win over world champions Germany, scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory to give the host nation its first win over the Germans in a competitive match in 58 years.

The two now hold the keys to Sunday’s final, in which France will chase a third European title after 1984 and 2000 and a third triumph on home soil after Euro 1984 and the 1998 World Cup.

Portugal has featured in the final of a major event only once before, when they lost 1-0 to Greece in the title match of the 2004 European Championship on home soil, with a 19-year-old Ronaldo in its team.

“Twelve years on and I’m in another final,” said the Real Madrid forward. “This makes me proud, I always dreamed about winning something for Portugal and I hope it will be this time.”

Portugal, who have won only one match over 90 minutes in this tournament, have yet to sparkle, although there was some improvement in their semifinal, notably from Ronaldo, who scored a majestic headed goal.

“I’m certain that the whole group will think of it as the game of their lives because Portugal has never won a title,” midfielder Joao Mario told reporters.

Their down-to-earth coach, Fernando Santos, said the tournament was not a style contest and only victory mattered.

“I judge my team by whether we play well or badly, not by whether we are pretty or ugly,” he said at one point during Euro 2016.

France will start as slight favourites, having won their last 10 meetings with Portugal dating back to 1975, and having scored seven goals in its last two games in the competition.

“It was our duty to win matches to give the French joy and reach the end,” said Griezmann. “I hope we will make it a beautiful end.”

SILVERSTONE, England — Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position for the British Grand Prix in a dramatic late qualifying lap on Saturday.

Hamilton outpaced Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg by three-tenths of a second in the closing seconds of the session.

It came after his earlier fastest lap in Q3 was deleted by race stewards because he ran wide and off the circuit, leaving him 10th with only three minutes remaining.

“I ran wide and I touched the curb,” he explained. “That pulled me further off and the car bottomed and just bounced outside. It meant big pressure. I was back sitting in the garage and I knew I couldn’t let the guys and the fans down, and I’m so grateful I got that final lap in.

“I really want to say how amazing it is to drive here and how grateful I am to all the fans here this weekend. From Thursday to today, I think it’s the biggest crowd I’ve seen — and the energy they send is amazing.”

It was Hamilton’s fourth pole at the British GP, his sixth this season, and the 55th of his Formula One career.

Dutch teenager Max Verstappen was third fastest, followed by Red Bull teammate Daniel Ricciardo, Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari, and Valtteri Bottas of Williams.

F1 titleholder Hamilton and series leader Rosberg start together on the front row, and confirmed that they understood their responsibility to avoid another collision as they race under revised teams rules of engagement, following a last-lap crash in the Austrian GP last Sunday.

“I didn’t think there was anything that needed to be cleared up,” Hamilton added. “I will try not to be in that position again. I can’t speak for Nico.”

Rosberg, who leads Hamilton by 11 points in the title race, was terse in his replies to questions.

Was it all clear now between him and Hamilton? “Very clear,” he said without a smile.

While Vettel was sixth in qualifying, he will start 11th after taking a five-place penalty for a gearbox change for a second straight race.

“Today was good,” Verstappen said. “We are strong compared to the cars behind us, but it seems like the Mercedes has a turbo button.”

Nico Hulkenberg was eighth for Force India, then the two Spaniards, Carlos Sainz of Toro Rosso and two-time champion Fernando Alonso in the resurgent McLaren Honda.

Like Hamilton, Alonso had his best lap deleted for going off the track, an action that dropped him from eighth to 10th.

LONDON — If Nick Kyrgios had shown half as much spark on court as he did in his post-match news conference, the Australian might have scraped more than the 10 games he managed in Monday’s schizophrenic Wimbledon fourth round defeat to Andy Murray.

Despite crackling with natural ability, even Kyrgios at his best would have struggled against world number two and former champion Murray, who on Monday was firing on all cylinders.

That would have been understandable. The seemingly half-hearted manner of the 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 defeat was unfathomable and, to some, barely forgivable.

“I hope he sees the writing on the wall before this gets chronic and irreparable,” former Wimbledon great  player John McEnroe, no stranger to controversy in his own playing days, said after the defeat.

“He’s got as lot of thinking to do, a lot of work to do.

“He’s got to ask himself how badly he wants to become the best player in the world.”

The 21-year-old youngster himself gave a typically unvarnished verdict: “Pretty pathetic.”

It was an apt summary of a match which he started by pummelling almost unreturnable serves but ended muttering sarcastic self-criticism and refusing to take a seat a change-over, preferring instead to skulk in the shadows at the back of the Centre Court baseline.

It was a mental collapse that Kyrgios did not try to dodge.

“I thought I was playing some really good tennis. I believed that I could win the match,” he said of the early stages.

“As soon as I lost the first set, I just lost belief.”

Tough questions

Early indications weren’t overly promising that Kyrgios would take McEnroe’s advice.

Asked by a journalist did he feel he was applying everything he had “in his gut and heart” to becoming the best pro he could be, his answer was short if not sweet — “No”.

Was that something he wanted to address and change? “I don’t know.”

One thing he was clear about, though, were his feelings about tennis.

“I’ve previously said, I don’t love the sport,” Kyrgios told reporters. “But, you know, I don’t really know what else to do without it.

“I obviously like playing the game. It’s a massive part of my life. But, yeah, I don’t know whether — I don’t really know...”

When asked if he felt he was at a crossroads in his career, and could either learn from this defeat or walk away from a sport, the world number 18 was affronted: “That’s a diabolical question”.

A more valid one might be why the supremely talented Kyrgios hasn’t turned to a wise head to help him navigate this part of his career, just as Milos Raonic has with McEnroe, Marin Cilic with Goran Ivanisevic and Murray with Ivan Lendl.

“I don’t know, just, like, one week I’m pretty motivated to train and play. I’m really looking forward to getting out there. One week I’ll just not do anything,” Kyrgios said.

“I don’t really know a coach out there that would be pretty down for that one,” he explained, adding that he simply enjoyed the freedom of not having an adviser.

“Just doing whatever you want, I guess. I like it.”

Certainly a former champion might have tweaked the Australian’s preparations for this match.

“To be honest, I woke up this morning and played computer games,” Kyrgios said. “Is that the greatest preparation? I don’t know. But it was fun.”

MARSEILLE, France — The European Championship semifinals promise mouth-watering matchups as the last four teams battle for a berth in the July 10 final and a chance to succeed two-time winner Spain.

In Lyon on Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal takes on a Welsh team featuring his Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bale.

A day later in Marseille, world champion Germany, fresh from a nerve-rattling penalty shootout win against Italy, looks to add the European title against host France which is coming off a morale-boosting 5-2 win against Iceland.

Here are a few snapshots of the final four:

Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal is a regular feature in the latter stages of the European Championship, having reached the semifinals at four of the last five tournaments.

But the team has never triumphed overall, its best coming back in 2004 when as host it lost the final to Greece.

Ronaldo, who played in that match, will become the first player to appear in three European Championship semifinals.

His form at Euro 2016 has been inconsistent to say the least and he will likely have to improve if Portugal is going to win its first major competition.

Ronaldo has only truly shone in only one match, with a memorable pair of goals in the 3-3 draw with Hungary.

In his team’s penalty shootout win over Poland in the quarterfinal, Ronaldo was so out of touch that he swung and missed at two clear chances in front of goal. But he has the flair and talent to produce a touch of match-winning magic at any time and the semifinal might be the stage he has been waiting for.

Portugal defensive midfielder William Carvalho is suspended after picking up two yellow cards.

Wales

Alongside Iceland, Wales has been the surprise package of Euro 2016, reaching its first major semifinal.

Unlike Iceland, Chris Coleman’s team does boast an undisputed superstar in the form of the world’s most expensive player, Bale.

Though Bale’s three goals helped his team through the group stage, the team has shown itself to be anything but a one-man show. That depth could give Wales an edge against a rock-solid Portugal defence featuring another Madrid star, Pepe.

The Welsh will be missing a key midfielder in Aaron Ramsey after the Arsenal star drew his second yellow card of the tournament in the 3-1 quarterfinal defeat of Belgium.

Germany

Germany is looking to add a fourth European title, and its first in 20 years, to its world crown.

But first it will have to get past a France side that’s found its scoring touch in Marseille on Thursday. It will also have to overcome injuries and a suspension to reach the tournament decider next Sunday at the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis.

Joachim Loew’s team has been rock-solid in defence, conceding just one goal so far — Leonardo Bonucci’s 78th-minute equaliser from the penalty spot for Italy in the quarterfinal.

But Germany will be weakened against France; Mats Hummels is out through suspension and Mario Gomez has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament. Midfielders Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger are also injury worries.

One new concern may centre on Germany’s penalty-taking, one of its historic strengths. Though it beat Italy on penalties in the quarterfinal, German players failed to convert three from the spot, more than they had ever done before in the history of penalty shootouts.

France

In Antoine Griezmann, France has Euro 2016’s top scorer. Dimitri Payet is not far behind.

Griezmann lifted his tournament tally to four as France ruthlessly dismantled Iceland at the Stade de France on Sunday night; Payet netted his third goal of the tournament with another clinical finish as France gave Iceland a nightmare ending to its fairytale Euro 2016.

Suddenly, the host’s confidence has shot up before it faces a German team whose ranks have been depleted in attack and defence.

France still appears vulnerable in defence, conceding twice against Iceland, although they came at a time when the result wasn’t in any doubt and French players may understandably have been focusing on the upcoming semifinal in Marseille.

France has no suspensions or injury worries and, seeking its third European title, will also get a boost from the fanatical fans at the Stade Velodrome.

AMMAN — The 2016/17 football season agenda has been set after much deliberation as officials grappled with scheduling for the start of competitions with national team and upcoming Women’s U-17 World Cup agendas posing a real challenge.

The season is set to kick off on July 29 with the Cup Winner’s Cup between Wihdat and Ahli which will be followed by the Jordan Football Association Shield which is back on the calendar this season starting August 1. The Jordan Cup preliminary round has been delayed until after the U-17 World Cup and will kick off October 31 while the most prestigious event — the Professional League — will start on October 22.

The major obstacle was arranging stadia for four local competitions as well as not disrupting line-up readiness by delaying competitions with teams heading into a long break for the Women’s U-17 World Cup running from September 30 to October 21. Players will also be called for national team duty. With Jordan eliminated from the 2018 World Cup, the national team has a set of friendlies and camps as they prepare for the 2019 Asian Cup qualifiers starting in March 2017.

With competitions less than a month away, Wihdat and Faisali, the country’s all-time top two football clubs, as well as Ahli and Jazira are busy boosting their line-ups with the hope of competing locally and regionally.

Reigning league champs Wihdat have contracted former national team coach Iraqi Adnan Hamad to lead the team which last year won the 64th Jordan Professional League title for the third consecutive year. Hamad has underlined his intention to compete on the Asian teams and aim for the Asian Champions League.

Wihdat concluded their string of new contracts after signing Amer Theeb and veteran striker Hasan Abdul Fatah who was playing in Qatar. The team has boosted the line-up Abdullah Theeb, who led Jordan’s U-19 to the World Cup in 2007.

On the other hand, rivals Faisali regrouped under veteran coach Jamal Abu Abed, who will aim to bring back the league title, as well as put the team on competitive track in Asian and regional events.

Abu Abed who led national U-23 in the past two years, has a vision focused on the future squad, and aims to boost the line-up with younger players. Faisali have contracted a number of top players like Shabab Urdun’s Odey Zahran, national team goalie That Ras’ Mutaz Yasin, Ramtha’s Yousef Rawashdeh, Baqa’a’s Anas Amayreh. 

Last season, Faisali beat league and Super Cup holders Wihdat 1-0 to clinch the 33rd Super Cup while it was Ahli who were the overall better team of the season. After years in the backstage, Ahli won the third of the season titles when they beat Shabab Urdun to win their first Jordan Cup final.

AMMAN — Riyadi-Aramex junior team has arrived in Italy for the “Brindisi Porta del Salento” 4th International U-13 Basketball Tournament.

The tournament opens Sunday and the Jordanian team will play the first round alongside 16 other teams from Europe and Africa in their first tournament abroad for this age group.

“This is part of our club’s strategy to participate in regional events and raise the competitive bar for our teams,” Riyadi Secretary General Fadi Sabbah underlined in press release as the team left home for Italy.

Riyadi Club’s basketball teams have a packed summer agenda with the U-16 boys heading to a tournament in Dubai in August and the youngest players — the U-11 mini-basketball team — having just returned from the 24th Mini-Basket in Piazza Tournament in Matera, Italy where they played for the 16th time. Riyadi were the first Arab team to compete in Matera — the biggest annual European event for players under 11. With basketball enthusiasts gathering from around the globe, this year, Riyadi was one of record 62 clubs from over 14 countries playing in the tournament. 

Since 1998, Riyadi, now also sponsored by Zain, was the first Jordanian club to reinstate a mini-basketball programme after a 26-year hiatus. Besides playing in the official U-14 league, one of Riyadi’s many basketball programmes is the Super League, which has 300 players from ages 6-12 competing in the club’s year-round mini-basket programme.

This season, Riyadi won the Jordan Basketball League crown to win the title that had eluded them for 20 years. Riyadi beat titleholders Orthodoxi 4-0 in the best-of-seven play-offs. The last time they had won the league was nearly 20 years ago in 1997 by then Jazira-Aramex team (whose players later on formed Riyadi’s line-up).