Sports

AMMAN — Jordan hosts Saudi Arabia on Tuesday in its second qualifier for the 23rd World Cup 2026 which also serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup,

Jordan was held 1-1 with Tajikistan last week in the first match of Group G qualifiers, while Saudi beat Pakistan 4-0 to lead the group as 36 Asian teams are playing in 9 groups with the top two teams from each group advancing to Round 3.

As Jordan preps up for the 7:00pm match at Amman International Stadium, the national team is facing an uphill battle of getting off to a good start in the qualifiers with the hope of advancing Jordan to the 2026 World Cup with Asia allotted 8 slots in the next edition in additional to a zonal qualifier after expanding the number to include 48 nations.

However, under new Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta, Jordan is yet to score a win in five matches played so far. Jordan so far lost 6-0 to Norway and 2-1 to Azerbaijan, 3-1 to Iran and tied Iraq 2-2 before losing on penalties in a friendly tourney leading Amouta to drop 9 players from the last  lineup and recall six new players.

In official match records with Group G teams, Jordan, now ranked 86th, had upset now 108th ranked Tajikistan twice in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. While Jordan has beaten now 53rd ranked Saudi three times.

Goalie Yazeed Abu Laila underlined the lineup was getting more coherent and adapting to new coach’s strategy and style who has announced his eventual aim would be “to have a younger competitive group who can serve the national team for upcoming years”. 

Jordan also hopes for an advanced spot in the upcoming Asian Cup 2023 slated for Qatar in January 12, 2024, where they will play in Group E alongside Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.

BERLIN — Luciano Spalletti and his Italian team pledged to continue a high-risk approach in Monday’s high-stakes clash with Ukraine in Leverkusen, despite the danger of missing yet another major tournament if they lose.

Italy beat North Macedonia 5-2 on Friday to overtake Ukraine to move to second in the group. Italy needs only a draw to secure automatic qualification for Euro 2024.

“We are more positive under Spalletti,” said Federico Chiesa who scored twice. “We take a few more risks in defence.”

“We want to play against Ukraine with this mentality.”

The Euro 2020 champions have failed to qualify for the past two World Cups and a loss to Ukraine would see the war-torn Eastern European nation qualify for the Euros, leaving Italy facing a play-off tournament in 2024 to have a shot at defending their title.

While keeping a clean sheet would book the Azzurri a ticket to Germany for next year’s tournament, Spalletti’s attack-minded side have pledged not to sit back and defend like Italian teams of the past.

‘Beauty of attacking football’ 

Despite a flattering scoreline against North Macedonia, the two-time European Champions left the door open for its bogey team.

Leading 3-0 at half-time, Italy conceded two second-half goals to Jani Atanasov, allowing North Macedonia back into the match.

The attack-minded approach is typical of Spalletti, who masterminded a fearsome offensive machine at Napoli last season as they won the Scudetto for the first time since the days of Diego Maradona.

Winger Chiesa was dangerous throughout and scored a first-half brace. He was not concerned about his side’s defensive performance.

“The important thing is that we won” said Chiesa.

“We are more positive under Spalletti, and that means we take a few more risks in defence. We showed that we wanted to dominate the play and we deserved to win.”

Chiesa praised Spalletti’s attacking approach saying conceding goals was “part of the beauty of attacking football”.

Chiesa promised more of the same on Monday.

“We want to play against Ukraine with this mentality and win in Leverkusen.

“We must not miss this goal.”

‘A great Italy’ 

Italy’s second-half wobble was also of little concern to Spalletti after Friday’s match.

“It was a great Italy, both in terms of character and the quality of the game.

“I expected us to suffer, to freeze up and try to hang on. Instead we got back to charging up the pitch, putting moves together and scoring goals. Along with the two that we did score, there were several other big opportunities.”

Spalletti called the match against Ukraine a “final”.

“Whoever has the better of the match will go to the Euros,” he said.

Ukraine’s journey through the qualifiers has been nothing short of remarkable, considering the team has had to take home games on the road due to the ongoing conflict.

Despite playing almost 2,000 kilometres from Kyiv, Ukraine are likely to enjoy a home atmosphere in Leverkusen.

The German Federal Office for Migration estimates that more than one million refugees have fled Ukraine for Germany since February 2022.

Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk have played their home Champions League fixtures in Hamburg this season, attracting large crowds to the city’s Volkspark Stadium.

Ukraine has lost just one of seven fixtures dating back to March, although that defeat did come at the hands of Italy who beat Serhiy Rebrov’s men 2-1 in Milan.

LOS ANGELES — Star rookie Victor Wembanyama put on a show, but his San Antonio Spurs slumped to a seventh straight defeat on Friday, with the Sacramento Kings knocking them out of the NBA’s new in-season tournament with a 129-120 triumph.

De’Aaron Fox matched his career high with 43 points, adding eight rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who weathered a series of San Antonio scoring spurts to seal the win.

After scoring just eight points in a 36-point loss to Oklahoma City on Tuesday, Wembanyama scored 27 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

Wembanyama impressed with an array of shots that included an alley-oop dunk on which his head threatened to hit the backboard.

Zach Collins scored 28 for the Spurs, who roared to an 18-point lead in the first quarter but couldn’t keep pace in a fourth quarter that saw Fox deliver 14 points as Wembanyama was held to six.

A game of multiple momentum shifts saw the Spurs close within 112-111 midway through the fourth, but the Kings responded with a 7-0 scoring run and held on.

Now 3-9, the Spurs fell to 0-3 in group play in the league’s new Cup-style tournament — out of the running for a quarter-final berth.

In other tournament games on Friday — which also count in the regular-season standings — Zion Williamson scored 26 points and the New Orleans Pelicans withstood a Nikola Jokic triple-double in a 115-110 victory over the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

Brandon Ingram added 21 points for New Orleans. He and Williamson each made a pair of buckets in an 8-0 scoring run that saw the Pelicans pull away after Denver closed within one point with 4:01 to play.

Jokic scored 26 points, pulled down 16 rebounds and matched his career high with 18 assists.

The Nuggets, still without injured Jamal Murray, never led. But they battled back from a 20-point third-quarter deficit to give themselves a chance in the final period.

Down by three with less than a minute remaining, the Nuggets came up empty on three straight three-point attempts on the same possession and the Pelicans escaped with the win.

In Toronto, Boston guard Derrick White drained a go-ahead three-pointer with 27.5 seconds left as the Celtics held off the hard-charging Raptors 108-105.

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points, Jayson Tatum added 17 and Kristaps Porzingis chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics, who are 2-0 in tournament play and improved to 10-2 in the regular season standings — still leading the Eastern Conference by one game from the Philadelphia 76ers, who beat the Atlanta Hawks 126-116.

Pascal Siakam and Dennis Schroder scored 23 points apiece for the Raptors. Scottie Barnes had a chance to tie it with 11.4 seconds left but couldn’t get his three-pointer to drop.

In Atlanta, 76ers star Joel Embiid — questionable to start because of a sore hip — scored 32 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Tobias Harris added a season-high 29 points and 10 rebounds and Tyrese Maxey finished with 19 points for Philadelphia, who ended a two-game losing streak.

Bridges returns 

In Charlotte, Milwaukee’s Damian Lillard scored 27 points to lead seven Bucks players in double figures in a 130-99 victory over the Hornets.

Malik Beasley added 20 points and Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a one-game injury absence to score 16 points with eight rebounds and nine assists in Milwaukee’s third-straight victory.

The Bucks connected on 22 of 45 three-pointers to withstand a 37-point night from Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball.

Miles Bridges came off the bench for Charlotte and scored 17 points in his first NBA game since April 2022.

Bridges missed all of last season and was suspended 10 games to start this season after pleading no contest in a felony domestic violence incident last year.

The Bucks out-scored the Hornets 38-18 in the fourth quarter, and Lillard said it was important to keep the pressure on. Both teams are 2-0 in tournament play, and scoring margins could come into play in deciding who advances to the knockout stages of the new tournament.

“We had to keep our foot on the gas tonight,” he said. “I think that’s good for our mentality.”

TURIN, Italy — Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the last four of the ATP Finals on Wednesday after beating Alexander Zverev 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Carlos Alcaraz cruised past troubled Andrey Rublev to get his campaign up and running.

World No.3 Medvedev had to win in straight sets to claim a spot in the semifinals with a match to spare and he saw off the big-hitting German Zverev in Turin in a stodgy encounter.

Medvedev has a long-running rivalry with Zverev, the pair not getting on off-court, and he has now prevailed in five of their six matches this season.

One of those wins came on his way to his surprise triumph at the clay-court Italian Open back in the Spring, one of five titles won by Medvedev this season.

The 2020 champion looks in fine form despite Wednesday’s match being his 82nd this year and will cause serious trouble to whoever he faces in the next round.

Zverev, a two-time winner at the season-ending tournament, would have qualified from the Red Group with a win of either sort thanks to Alcaraz beating Rublev 7-5, 6-2 earlier in the day.

The 26-year-old hit more aces and winners than Medvedev but still ended up on the wrong side of the result after throwing away his service game to save the match.

Zverev can still make it through though and in his final match will face a dejected Rublev, who is yet to win a set at the Pala Alpitour.

Alcaraz back on form 

World No.2 Alcaraz has had problems with his form and fitness over the past few months and was staring at possible early elimination after losing his first match with Zverev.

But he looked in much better condition on Wednesday and comfortably claimed his first ever win in the season-ending tournament, snapping a three-match losing streak to boot.

“I’m really happy to show this level and realise that my level is still there, giving myself a chance in this tournament,” Alcaraz told reporters.

“After this win, everything has changed in my mind.”

The 20-year-old easily dealt with Russian Rublev who once again failed to make his mark in a big match with one of tennis’ leading lights, who again lost control of his emotions after giving away a service game at the start of the second set.

Being one set and a break down was too much for the 26-year-old who repeatedly smashed his racket into his left knee, drawing blood, and soon after gave into his anger and promptly collapsed.

Afterwards Rublev brushed off the assault on his own limb as “nothing” but admitted that he is struggling to deal with what has been a hard end to the season.

On Thursday Jannik Sinner will try to become the first Italian to reach the semi-finals when he takes on Holger Rune in the tight Green Group.

Straight victories over now-retired Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic might not be enough to secure a spot in the next round.

And Sinner faces Rune who only had to play three games against injured Tsitsipas.

Sinner, meanwhile, prevailed on Tuesday in a three-hour thriller with Djokovic, who plays Tsitsipas’ replacement Hubert Hurkacz with his last four spot also still in the balance.

AMMAN — Jordan’s national football team is set to meet Tajikistan on Thursday as it starts qualifiers for the 23rd World Cup 2026 which also serve as qualifiers for the 2027 Asian Cup,

The squad plays its first Group G qualifier in the Tajik capital Dushanbe at at 4:00 pm Jordan local time before facing Saudi Arabia on November 21 in Amman, and Pakistan later on. 36 Asian teams will be playing in 9 groups with the top two teams from each group advancing to Round 3.

Although there is a lot of apprehension by observers and commentators over the national team’s readiness, it was reported the squad was upbeat and hoping to come home with a win. Jordan , now ranked 86th, beat 108th ranked Tajikistan twice in the qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup.

Under Jordan’s new Moroccan coach Hussein Amouta, the team has failed to score any wins, and lost four matches doing down 6-0 to Norway and 2-1 to Azerbaijan, before  hosting a four-nation tourney where they lost 3-1 to Iran and tied Iraq 2-2 before losing on penalties.

In last minute preparations, Amouta who acknowledged gaps in Jordan’s defence, dropped 9 players from the last  lineup and recalled six new players with the aims of advancing Jordan to the 2026 World Cup. 

“We know the weight of responsibility on our shoulders and will work tirelessly to achieve our aim of reaching the World Cup,” Jordan’s Yazan Nuei’mat who plays in Qatari League told the press.  

Teammate goalie Yazeed Abu Laila added the lineup was now more coherent and adapted to new coach’s strategy and style and aimed to come back home with a win. Coach Amouta noted, “The eventual aim would be to have a younger competitive group who can serve the national team for upcoming years.” 

Jordan also hopes for an advanced spot in the upcoming Asian Cup 2023 slated for Qatar in January 12, 2024, where they will play in Group E alongside Bahrain, Malaysia and South Korea.

TURIN — Carlos Alcaraz kept alive his hopes of reaching the last four of the ATP Finals with Wednesday’s 7-5, 6-2 win over an emotionally fraught Andrey Rublev.

World No.2 Alcaraz has struggled with form and fitness over the past few months and was staring at possible early elimination after losing his first Red Group match with Alexander Zverev.

But the 20-year-old comfortably dealt with Russian Rublev who once again failed to make his mark in a big match with one of tennis’ leading lights, a problem which has dogged his career.

Fifth seed Rublev, the reigning Monte Carlo Masters champion, was on the verge of tears after losing his opener with Daniil Medvedev and lost control again after giving away a service game at the start of the second set.

Being one set and a break down was too much for the 26-year-old who started smashing his racket into his own knee, drawing blood as he sat down.

Troubled Rublev was still bleeding down his leg after the change of court and, just as against Medvedev, gave into his anger and promptly collapsed.

After throwing away his serve to love in game seven to give Alcaraz the chance to serve for the match Rublev sat with his towel over his head, clearly trying to hold back the tears before Alcaraz sealed a straight-sets victory.

Alcaraz will now face Medvedev in his final match with his Russian opponent having a chance to reach the semifinals ahead of his clash with Zverev.

World No.3 Medvedev can book an early place in the next round if he wins in straight sets, while Alcaraz’s victory means seventh seed Zverev will be through with a win of any sort.

LOS ANGELES — The resurgent Houston Rockets powered to a sixth straight NBA victory on Sunday, withstanding a 36-point triple-double from Denver’s Nikola Jokic in a 107-104 win over the Nuggets.

Fred VanVleet scored 26 points and Turkish center Alperen Sengun added 23 for the Rockets, who improved to 6-3 in the young campaign after amassing just 22 victories last season.

Jokic’s fourth triple-double of the season included 21 rebounds and 11 assists and Denver led 76-74 going into the final period, which featured three lead changes.

Jokic drained a three-pointer with 19.5 seconds left to cut the Rockets’ lead to 103-102, but VanVleet made a pair of free throws and Jae’Sean Tate came up with a steal as Denver attempted to inbound the ball and Houston held on.

Elsewhere Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey exploded for a career-high 50 points in a 137-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Dallas star Kyrie Irving made seven of 10 three-pointers on the way to 35 points in the Mavericks’ dominant 136-124 victory over New Orleans while Miami’s Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo combined for 50 points as the Heat rallied to beat the San Antonio Spurs 118-113.

In Philadelphia, Maxey keyed a victory for a Sixers team rattled by the road accident that left forward Kelly Oubre nursing a broken rib and other injuries after he was hit by a vehicle while walking near his home on Saturday.

Oubre was treated in hospital and released, but was on the minds of his teammates.

“This had nothing to do with me, this is all Kelly Oubre, man,” Maxey — whose previous career high was 44 points — said after hitting 20 of 32 shots from the field, including seven of 11 from three-point range.

The 23-year-old added seven rebounds and five assists and reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid added a double-double of 37 points and 13 rebounds as the Sixers notched their eighth straight win.

Irving got hot early in New Orleans, scoring 22 points in the first half to help the Mavs to a 67-54 lead.

Luka Doncic connected on 11 of 18 shots from the field, including four of nine from three-point range, on the way to 30 points. Fifteen of those came in the Mavs’ 42-point third quarter and Dallas led by as many as 29 points in the fourth.

In San Antonio, Robinson scored 26 points and Adebayo added 24 with 11 rebounds and the Heat shook off a slow start to subdue sensational San Antonio rookie Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

Miami, still missing injured Tyler Herro and without Kyle Lowry, trailed by as many as 19 in the second quarter, but they turned the tide to notch a fifth straight victory.

Jimmy Butler, back after missing Saturday’s game for personal reasons, scored 19 points and former Spur Josh Richardson converted two crucial shots in the last two minutes before capping the scoring with a pair of free-throws.

Grizzlies beat Clippers 

Keldon Johnson scored 20 points for San Antonio. Wembanyama added 18 with 11 rebounds but also had seven of the Spurs’ 17 turnovers.

In Los Angeles, Desmond Bane scored 27 points to help the Memphis Grizzlies claw out their second win of the season, a 105-101 victory over the Clippers.

The Grizzlies have struggled with star Ja Morant’s 25-game suspension due to stretch into December. But they were able to hold off a Clippers team still trying to figure out the best use of new acquisition James Harden.

The Clippers have now lost five straight, including four since the former league MVP arrived in a trade from Philadelphia.

“I saw some intriguing things but we’ve just got to be better,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said, adding that the team’s offense lacked energy.

“We can’t just walk around offensively,” he said.

There were home defeats for both the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors.

Oklahoma City’s Jalen Williams scored 25 points and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 21 for the Thunder in a 111-99 victory over Kevin Durant and the Suns.

In San Francisco, Anthony Edwards scored 33 points to lead the Minnesota Timberwolves to a 116-110 victory over the Warriors, who had 38 points from Stephen Curry but lost for the second straight night on their home floor.

TURIN, Italy — Novak Djokovic will finish the year as World No.1 for a record-extending eighth time after beating Holger Rune 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (1/7), 6-3 in his opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion needed just one win or a defeat for young rival Carlos Alcaraz in order to secure top spot in the ATP rankings for 2023, and prevailed in a three-hour Green Group clash with spirited debutant Rune.

Djokovic, on a run of 19 straight wins, has had an age-defying year, winning three Slams to become the all-time record winner of major titles.

The 36-year-old came into the Finals in Turin off the back of his seventh triumph at the Paris Masters, his 40th victory at a Masters 100 event.

Those are two more records to add to a long and growing list for Djokovic, who is hunting a seventh Finals title which would take him one ahead of retired great Roger Federer.

“It means a lot. You could see that there were a lot of emotions on the court,” said Djokovic.

“I could feel it, I was very eager to win the match and get that monkey off my back... Obviously a big objective, a big goal has been achieved, everything else now is a bonus.”

Djokovic looked on course for victory when he took a brutal opening set in decisive fashion, prevailing in the tie-break with a stunning cross-court return winner.

And the match looked to have turned decisively in the third game of the second set, when after Rune won the first two Djokovic broke back in a brilliant 11-point game eventually won at the third attempt.

Rune kept plugging away, however, and after the pair slugged each other with bigger and bigger hits Djokovic slipped in the tie-break, missing a simple volley to draw level on the second point and then collapsing to concede the set.

But after briefly losing it for allowing Rune to break back in game three of the third set, kicking his rackets in a rage, Djokovic composed himself and saw out a historic win.

“I found a way to win today against an opponent who played brilliantly... he had a lot of courage today,” added Djokovic in Italian.

“If I want to keep up with these youngsters I’m going to have to work even harder!”

Sinner off the mark 

Home hope Jannik Sinner got off to a near-perfect start by beating StefanosTsitsipas in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, delighting the crowd in Italy’s northwest.

Sinner has had the best season of his career to date, winning four tournaments and is set to become the first Italian ever to finish a season in the ATP top five.

The 22-year-old comfortably dealt with 2019 champion Tsitsipas in front of an enthusiastic crowd, not dropping a service game nor facing a break point in the whole match.

“The atmosphere was really, really nice. It’s huge pleasure for me to play here in Turin, in Italy,” Sinner told reporters.

“Obviously a little bit more pressure, but I managed it really well today, so I’m happy.”

Afterwards, Greek Tsitsipas denied he had any physical problems even though he looked way below his best, telling reporters “I’m healthy. I’m ready to compete.”

The 25-year-old had to play down reports of an elbow injury which curtailed practice ahead of his tournament opener.

“I’m absolutely fine and I’m ready to play this tournament. Turin is one of the most important events of the year for me,” he said.

On Monday Alcaraz makes his ATP Finals debut in the Red Group against Alexander Zverev, the second seed Djokovic’s closest challenger.

However the Wimbledon champion is in uncertain form after being dumped out of the Paris Masters by Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin following return from an injury lay-off.

The Spaniard hadn’t played since the Shanghai Masters in early October due to lower back and left foot problems.

SAN FRANCISCO — The Cleveland Cavaliers held off Golden State 118-110 on Saturday in a fiery NBA clash that saw Warriors forward Draymond Green ejected in the third quarter after a skirmish with Donovan Mitchell.

Six Cavs players scored in double figures as Cleveland beat the Warriors for the second time in a week.

They had seized control with a 38-point second quarter, and were up by 10 after Caris LeVert’s layup over Klay Thompson midway through the third.

Green knocked Mitchell out of bounds on that play and soon after Mitchell ran straight into Green, prompting Green to drop the ball and step toward him.

The two were held back from each other, but Green was handed his second technical foul of the game after video showed him elbowing Mitchell “a couple of plays before”, Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.

Kerr said he didn’t know such a retroactive technical could b called.

“It was bizarre,” he said.

Green’s departure briefly galvanised the Warriors, who took a one-point lead on Chris Paul’s basket with 10 seconds left in the third. However, Cleveland pulled away again in the fourth.

Mitchell finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, five assists and two steals.

All five Cleveland starters scored in double figures, and LeVert topped them with 22 points off the bench as the Cavs followed up their home win over the Warriors last Sunday.

“We competed our tails off and we played the game selflessly,” Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said

Stephen Curry Led the Warriors with 30 points, 17 of them in the first half.

In the third quarter Curry became the 36th NBA player to reach 22,000 career points. But Kerr said that overall Golden State’s defence was “sluggish”.

Thompson scored 14 points and Andrew Wiggins added 13, but Cleveland dominated in the paint and scored 32 points off the Warriors 20 turnovers.

In Boston, Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Jayson Tatum added 27 as the Celtics romped to a 117-94 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

Kristaps Porzingis added 21 points and seven rebounds for the Celtics, who made it look easy again, one night after a 14-point win over Brooklyn.

Brown scored 14 points in the third quarter, when Boston pushed their advantage to as many as 24 points. They were up by 17 going into the final period.

“We got whatever we wanted, inside and out,” Porzingis said.

Pascal Siakam scored 17 points to lead the Raptors, but Toronto connected on just 38.5 per cent of their shots from the field, including 10 of 37 from three-point range.

Magic surprise Bucks 

The Orlando Magic, led by Paolo Banchero’s double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds, handed Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks a second straight defeat, 112-97.

The Magic pulled down 15 offensive rebounds as the Bucks struggled to contain an Orlando team that came in averaging 109.9 points per game but scored 65 in the first half.

“We just have to do a better job defensively, collectively — helping each other, plugging those holes and limiting them to one shot,” Bucks coach Adrian Griffin said. “We just have to be a little stronger on both ends of the basket.”

Franz Wagner added 24 points for Orlando, Jalen Suggs scored 20 and Mo Wagner chipped in 19 off the bench.

Two days after Antetokounmpo scored 54 points in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Bucks squandered another strong performance from their two-time NBA Most Valuable Player, who led all scorers with 35 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

It wasn’t enough to stop the Magic ending their 14-game losing streak against Milwaukee, who trailed by 16 at halftime and couldn’t cut the deficit to less than 11 in the second half.