Sports

AMMAN — The women’s national football team plays Palestine at 4pm on Friday in Group A Asian qualifiers currently under way in Amman — the first phase of  the qualifying journey to the 2016 Summer Olympics football tournament. 

Jordan opened the qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Hong Kong on Wednesday as Uzbekistan beat Palestine 6-0 in the other match. Jordan will host the U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016 and is now gearing up to implement executive plans to prepare four stadiums as well as 16 practice fields. Jordan beat bids from Uruguay, South Africa, Ireland and Bahrain.

Abir Battikhi (lright) at the finish line of the 2008 Jordan Rally (Photo courtesy of Jordan Motorsport)

AMMAN — The first round of the Speed Test Championship kicks off on Friday with the participation of more than 30 drivers at the Royal Automobile Club of Jordan racetrack.

The event will witness several veteran drivers headed by Abir Battikhi, who returned from Canada and will take part with a message of encouragement and support for all women drivers in the Kingdom.

“I am all excited to return to the competition scene in Jordan after spending some time in Canada. My participation will serve two things: to return to the sport I love and send a message to all the girls in the Kingdom who want to take part in real competition,” she told The Jordan Times.

“I have been competing in Canada and won the first place in Quebec championship in 2013/14 which gave me a big boost to come and share what I have learned there and I am willing to share it also with newcomers especially women drivers,” she added.

Battikhi, who used to be a frequent driver in Speed Test and rallying events stressed that women in Jordan need more encouragement and support.

“We need to look at the female participation and the reasons behind their absence from real competition. I am sure that their absence is due to lack of family and financial support because this sport costs a lot of money without which they cannot have a good car for the challenges,” she said.

Meanwhile, Jordan Motorsport has been working hard on the development of major events starting with the SOFEX Racetrack which has proved to be an excellent venue for Speed Test and Drifting championships.

“We have started working on rehabilitation of the SOFEX Racetrack according to international standards of the FIA and this is made possible after receiving a grant from the FIA for auto sports in Jordan,” Othman Naseef, Jordan Motorsport CEO, told The Jordan Times.

 “We have been discussing all issues with experts in the field of developing racetracks in the world and so far we are tackling all possible suggestions and ideas that will include safety issues and fans seating areas in addition to other issues,” he added.

MADRID — Cristiano Ronaldo rescued Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday with two goals in a pulsating 4-3 defeat to Schalke that saw the holders squeeze through to the quarter-finals with a 5-4 victory on aggregate.

Madrid’s first scare of the night came when Schalke’s Christian Fuchs opened the scoring in the 20th minute, only for Ronaldo to head an equaliser for the hosts five minutes later from Toni Kroos’ corner.

Madrid then made three defensive errors in a row that culminated in Klaas-Jan Huntelaar hitting the post in the 40th minute and scoring seconds later after connecting with Madrid ‘keeper Iker Casillas’ clearance of a Max Meyer shot.

Ronaldo headed home again five minutes later to set an all-time record of 78 goals in UEFA club competitions, one more than former Real Madrid forward Raul Gonzalez, and settle nerves at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. It was also his 75th goal in the Champions League, where he joins Lionel Messi as the top scorer between the group stage and the final.

France striker Karim Benzema then dribbled past two defenders before calmly steering home Madrid’s third goal in the 53rd minute.

However, Schalke’s Leroy Sane curled a superb shot over Casillas in the 57th minute to level on the night before former Madrid player Huntelaar made it four for Schalke in the 84th minute. One more goal for the German side in the final minutes would have sent it through on the away goals rule with a sensational result.

“We had problems in all aspects of our game,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have to say it clearly, we are playing very badly. It’s almost incomprehensible considering how we were playing before Christmas.”

Ancelotti said the return from injury of Sergio Ramos will help the team because the defender provides a “sense of responsibility and character”.

Schalke coach Roberto Di Matteo was meanwhile stoical in defeat.

“We tried everything to stay in the competition, nevertheless, it was not enough,” he said. “We are happy we won, but we scored four goals and were eliminated.

“Madrid didn’t get their pace because we didn’t let them, but in the end they proved their quality, with very few chances they scored three goals.”

The night’s other last 16, second leg game saw FC Porto hammer Basel 4-0 to complete a 5-1 victory on aggregate.

Ancelotti began with Ronaldo, Benzema and Gareth Bale in attack and German internationals Sami Khedira and Kroos in midfield alongside Francisco “Isco” Alarcon.

Midfielder Luka Modric was on the bench after having been sidelined for four months with a torn thigh muscle, but the playmaker was loudly applauded by fans when his name was called out before kickoff.

Schalke missed a clear chance to score when 19-year-old Meyer raced up the left and crossed to Eric Choupo-Moting, who shot wide from close range in the 10th minute.

Meyer once again sprinted clear of Madrid’s defence in the 18th minute but missed the target with his shot.

Fuchs scored when he connected left-footed with a cross supplied by Tranquillo Barnetta, with Casillas getting a touch on the ball but being unable to stop it ricocheting into the net.

With Schalke determined to take the game to the defending champions in the early stages, Ronaldo’s initial equaliser from a Kroos’ corner was Madrid’s first shot on goal.

Sane came on for Choupo-Moting in the 29th minute after the Cameroon international picked up an ankle injury in a clash with Khedira.

Ronaldo was shown a yellow card in the 31st minute for a reckless challenge on Marco Hoger before adding his second goal of night after again being left unmarked in the area.

After Benzema restored Madrid’s lead, Modric came on in the 58th minute to cheers from the crowd.

Though Sane’s barreling drive from outside the area was too good for Casillas, the Madrid keeper did manage to block Barnetta’s shot in the 62nd minute, while Timon Wellenreuther saved Alvaro Arbeloa’s effott from a Bale cross three minutes later at the other end.

Huntelaar ensured a tense finale, but Madrid managed to hold on for a place in the last eight.

Di Matteo said his team has often been criticised for being too defencive but the performance against Madrid proved that a well-organised defence can be offensive as well.

“Although it’s not usual to have chances to score four goals,” he added.

Earlier, hundreds of blue-clad Schalke fans had been escorted by riot police to the Bernabeu, closing off part of the city’s main La Castellana boulevard, hampering rush-hour traffic.

One bloodstained fan was arrested on Monday night in the downtown Puerta del Sol square after pouring beer over a police officer.

AMMAN  — The Kingdom’s U-23 football team plays Iraq on Thursday in its third and final friendly of its training camp in Ajman, the UAE, ahead of the Olympic qualifiers. Jordan scored a 3-1 win over North Korea in its second friendly after tying it 2-2 in the first match.

The team will return to Amman on the weekend before going to Bahrain for its final friendly on March 19. Jordan’s Group B qualifiers start on March 25 when it play hosts Pakistan before facing Turkmenistan on March 27, Kyrgyzstan on March 29 and Kuwait on March 31.

The team is aiming to qualify for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship which will take place in Qatar in January 2016.

LONDON/BERLIN — Chelsea are brimming with confidence and, fortified by a seven-day break, go into Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 return match as favourites to knock Paris St Germain out for the second season in a row.

Defender Gary Cahill says “there’s a great buzz” around Stamford Bridge after the Londoners followed their 2-0 League Cup final victory over Tottenham Hotspur on March 1 by winning 1-0 at West Ham United in the Premier League three days later.

Treble-chasing Chelsea, who are five points clear at the top of the Premier League, have not played since their Upton Park triumph and, according to Cahill, the Wembley win over Spurs has lifted the squad’s self-belief to new heights.

“The cup final was huge in terms of the atmosphere around the club and the dressing room,” he told the club website.

“We were desperate as a squad to win that game. It’s the first time this group, a newish group formed at the start of last season and before this season, has reached the end of a competition together.

“We came through it really well and hopefully we can take the positive experiences from that and try and build momentum for many more cup finals,” added Cahill.

“We are very proud of winning our first trophy as a group together and getting that win at West Ham. But they are gone, all that is on our minds now is the PSG game.”

Zlatan Ibrahimovic was missing through injury when PSG were beaten on away goals by Chelsea in last season’s quarter-finals but the French club’s talismanic striker is fit this time round.

Last month’s first leg in Paris ended in a 1-1 draw and visiting coach Laurent Blanc wants his attack to be more ruthless than they were during Saturday’s 4-1 victory over struggling RC Lens in Ligue 1.

“When you play a game like the one against Lens you must be efficient,” said Blanc who criticised Argentine forward Ezequiel Lavezzi for wasting an opportunity in front of an open goal.

“If he misses the same chance at Stamford Bridge I won’t be the only one who is not happy.”

PSG will be without injured forward Lucas but fellow Brazilian David Luiz returns to Chelsea for the first time since moving to Paris in the close season.

Bayern-Shaktar

Bayern Munich go into their Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday knowing the game will make or break their season.

Bayern are runaway Bundesliga leaders and also reached the German Cup quarter-finals last week, but anything short of lifting Europe’s biggest club crown will be considered a failure for Germany’s wealthiest team.

“This match is a final for us,” coach Pep Guardiola told reporters after Bayern’s 3-1 win at Hanover 96 in the league on Saturday. “Only one thing matters and that is to win.

“We know what we have to do. They [Shakhtar] have extremely quick forwards and we cannot allow them to make their runs,” said the Spaniard.

Bayern, five-time European champions, need to win to advance over 90 minutes, with a score draw sending the Ukrainians through after their goalless first leg last month.

The Bavarians are still odds-on favourites to progress, having won all their previous home games in the group stage this season without conceding a goal.

Bayern’s domestic form has been equally impressive, having scored an eye-popping 21 goals in their last four league games.

“Against many opponents it is us who are the favourites and that is justified,” said captain Philipp Lahm, who will miss the game after breaking his ankle late last year.

“So it is also up to us and our own performances to make sure we can count ourselves among the top teams or not,” he told Kicker magazine. “Bayern have to advance because we want to belong to Europe’s elite.”

Guardiola will be without the experienced Xabi Alonso, who is suspended after his red card in the first leg, but he could have defender Medhi Benatia, back from injury, in the squad.

Strong discipline

The odds are stacked against Shakhtar, whose season only started at the end of last month, said coach Mircea Lucescu.

“We will be playing against a very strong club. In my opinion Bayern are the world’s strongest football team at the moment,” the Romanian said.

“We have to respond to their extraordinary tactical discipline with equally strong tactical discipline.”

He said the Ukrainians were at a disadvantage with their league only just under way.

“They have an advantage on us on that matter. Their team is also superior to ours, but football does not follow logical rules. In football, anything can happen,” he said.

Defensive midfielder Taras Stepanenko is back following suspension for Shakhtar who are unbeaten in seven straight games in all competitions.

AMMAN — The women’s national football team plays Hong Kong on Wednesday in its first Group A Asian qualifier which kicks off in Amman on Wednesday as teams start the journey to qualify to the 2016 Summer Olympics football tournament.

Newly appointed coach Khader Eid, who replaced Japanese Masahiko Okiyama, said the team had prepared as best possible and would “fight hard for the sole qualifying berth from Group A”. 

When Eid announced the final line-up he commented that “Jordan’s hope is to qualify and boost the competitive edge of Jordanian women’s football”. 

The team hosted Abu Dhabi Club last week winning 2-1 and drawing 2-2.

Jordan was drawn alongside Uzbekistan, Hong Kong and Palestine. Other teams competing are Myanmar, India, Bahrain and Sri Lanka in Group B, and Taiwan, Iran and Laos in Group C.

The three group leaders will advance to join Vietnam and Thailand in Round 2, from which the top team will move to Round 3 to play the top five seeded teams — Japan, Australia, South Korea, North Korea and China — which eventually qualifies the top two to represent Asia at the Olympic Games. 

Jordan is taking part in qualifiers for the second time after the 2012 London Olympics qualifiers when they advanced to Round 2 after beating Palestine and drawing with Bahrain and Iran, but were eliminated after losing to Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Thailand. 

The team did not have much time and had an uphill task with the women’s league postponed and most national teams having ended the past year on a down note after elimination from Asian qualifiers. 

Jordan is the top ranked Arab team in the FIFA World Rankings and went up one spot to 56th in the latest edition. The squad is now Asia’s 11th ranked team, following Japan, North Korea, Australia, China, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, Myanmar and India.

 Jordan won the West Asian title twice in 2005 and 2007, conceded it to the UAE in 2010 and 2012, and regained it in 2014 as Iran, Lebanon as well as two-time champs and titleholders UAE missed the event.

Last year, Jordan was eliminated from Group A
qualifiers for the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) U-19 Women’s Championship. Group leaders Uzbekistan beat Jordan and moved to the 2015 AFC U-19 Championship, from which the top three teams qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

The U-19 squad was hoping to qualify for the second time after Jordan was the first Arab team to play in the 3rd AFC U-19 Women’s Championship finals in 2007. 

Last year, the youth team also failed to qualify to the 2015 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship after qualifying in 2013. In addition, the senior women’s team exited Round 1 of the Asian Games and similarly exited the first round of their first AFC 2014 Women’s Asian Cup where they were the only Arab team to have ever qualified. In 2013, the U-14 girls team retained the 2nd U-14 West Asian Championship title.

Jordan will host the U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2016 and is now gearing up to implement executive plans to prepare four stadiums as well as 16 practice fields. Jordan beat bids from Uruguay, South Africa, Ireland and Bahrain.

BARCELONA/MILAN — Misfiring Real Madrid hope to have Luka Modric back for their Champions League last 16 clash with Schalke and provide the creativity that they have been missing.

Murmurs of crisis at the Bernabeu have been growing with Real having surrendered their lead at the top of La Liga following a 1-0 defeat away to Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and the focus of the concern has been on their poor form in attack.

With a 2-0 lead from the first leg in Germany, at least the pressure should be off the champions in the second leg against Schalke on Tuesday and it should be the ideal chance for Carlo Ancelotti’s side to get back on track.

The team has not been able to rediscover their sharpness ever since they crashed to a 4-0 defeat in the derby against Atletico Madrid at the beginning of February.

Since then, they have won just three from six in all competitions and the focus is now on whether the return of Modric can spark the forwards back into life.

“There was too much confusion to what we were doing,” Ancelotti told a news conference following the Bilbao loss.

“We were too slow and did not move the ball around well so that there was no space for the forwards.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale, the attacking trident who plundered opposition defences in Real’s Spanish record 22-match winning streak at the end of 2014, have now mustered just 15 goals from 14 games.

Confidence among the trio appears low with Bale, who has received whistles from the Real fans for being selfish, now having gone eight games without a goal.

Modric was a key player in the opening months of the season with his clever passing from midfield before he suffered a hamstring injury last November.

With James Rodriguez also in the treatment room, Real have looked predictable in the middle of the pitch and been unable to find an effective link with the forwards.

Modric was keen to face Bilbao but Ancelotti felt it wiser to give him a few extra days to get stronger following his hamstring injury and return against Roberto Di Matteo’s Schalke, who lie fourth in the Bundesliga after their 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Porto-Basel

FC Porto, a two-time European champion, have a better continental pedigree than Basel, though the Portuguese club have reached the quarter-finals just once since clinching thier last title in 2004.

Basel’s only quarter-final appearance, meanwhile, was 41 years ago.

Porto are unbeaten in thier last eight European home games. They were also undefeated in the group phase — a feat matched only by Real Madrid and Chelsea.

Jackson Martinez will be Porto’s target man. He has 17 goals after 24 rounds in the Portuguese league and is on course to be the domestic tournament’s top scorer for the third straight season.

The Colombian striker also scored five times in the six group games.

Basel comes into the match on the back of three successive wins and has a six-point lead at the top of the Swiss league.

AMMAN — Wihdat play Oman’s Nahda in an away match while Jazira host Iraq’s Shurta in Amman in Stage II of the 2015 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup on Tuesday.

Wihdat top the group after beating Lebanon’s Salam Zgharta 5-1 in their opening Group A match. Nahda are second in the group after they beat Syria’s Wihda 2-1.

Jordan Professional League champ Wihdat have previously beaten three-time Oman champ in the 2010 AFC Cup 2-0 and 3-1 and hope to come away with a win that would secure their lead in the group before facing Wihda on March 17.

Wihdat hope to advance in the AFC Cup this season after they exited the AFC Champions League, losing 1-0 to Asian Champions League and AFC Cup titleholders Kuwait’s Qadissieh. Locally, they still have a slim lead in the League after they beat Hussein 3-0 in their last match after a slump that saw them lose 1-0 to Ahli and draw 0-0 with bottom-placed Ittihad Ramtha.

“Our last win over Hussein was important for team morale. We are taking things one match at a time and hope to come away with three points from Oman,” Abu Zameh was quoted as saying in the local media.

Wihdat have never won the AFC Cup in the past seven times they competed while it is the first time for Jazira who took part after two-time AFC Cup champ and League runner-up Faisali declined to take part this year.

In Group B, Jazira host Iraq’s Shurta hoping to make up for their opening 1-1 draw with Palestine’s Wadi Nes. Shurta and Bahrain’s Hidd lead the group after their 2-2 draw.

Jazira coach Issa Turk said home matches are important and a chance to secure qualification to the second round, adding: “Winning the match is vital depite the injuries before heading to Bahrain in Stage III.”

Turk acknowledged that the team allowed the Palestinian team’s equaliser on tactical errors and that there were “gaps and mistakes which the team was trying to rectify before playing AFC and local League matches”.

Turk’s line-up is plagued by injuries but two U-23 players joined the team from their camp in the UAE, in an important boost as the team’s chances have been complicated after they played their first Asian competition without their coaching staff present after Israeli border authorities barred four delegation members from entering the Palestinian territories. 

The AFC Cup will have 32 clubs from across the continent competing in eight groups with the top two from each group going on to the Round of 16.

Last season, first-time AFC Cup competitors and Jordan Cup champ That Ras exited the Round of 16 while former AFC Cup champ Shabab Urdun exited in Round 1. They were also eliminated by Hidd in their preliminary round of the AFC Champions League.

The second-tier Asian club competition was won by Syria’s Jeish in its inaugural edition in 2004. Jordan’s Faisali won in 2005 and 2006, and Shabab Urdun won in 2007.

NAPIER, New Zealand — Daniel Vettori passed 300 wickets in one-day internationals as New Zealand cruised to a six-wicket win over Afghanistan in their Cricket World Cup match on Sunday, extending the co-hosts’ perfect record in the tournament to five wins from five games.

Afghanistan was bowled out for 186 — the fourth time in five matches that New Zealand has kept an opponent under 200 runs — and the hosts passed that total with 13.5 overs to spare.

The 36-year-old left-arm spinner Vettori needed two wickets to reach 300 and started ideally by bowling Usman Ghani with his first delivery.

Vettori (4-18) reached the milestone when he bowled Nawroz Mangal for 27. He then dismissed Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi (6) and wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai (0) with consecutive deliveries as Afghanistan slumped to 59-6.

“In any form of the game you can play well and not take wickets and vice-versa,” Vettori said. “[I was] just trying to fulfil that role of being as economical as possible and the wickets came today. That doesn’t always happen and it’s great when it does.”

Trent Boult supported Vettori, taking 3-34 and joining teammate Tim Southee as the leading wicket-taker at this World Cup with 13 dismissals. Vettori is third with 12 as New Zealand bowlers occupy the first three placings on the wicket-taking list.

Afghanistan was playing its third match in a week in which it has travelled almost 10,000 kilometres  — from Dunedin to Perth and then to Napier — and was coming off a 275-run loss to Australia.

The frayed confidence from that game was evident as it lost opener Javed Ahmadi, lbw to Boult, to only the ninth ball of its innings and Ghani five balls later which it was 6-2. Boult then dismissed Asghar Stanikzai (9) and Vettori’s quick three wickets put Afghanistan at strong risk of a sub-100 score.

“In the whole tournament our top five batsmen didn’t click,” Nabi said. “Its hard luck for our team that they didn’t click but also Vettori bowled brilliantly for the first few overs to take four wickets.”

But Samiullah Shenwari, Afghanistan’s most consistent batsman, combined in an 86-run partnership with the eighth man in, Najibullah Zadran, to halt the decline.

Shenwari played the disciplined sheet-anchor role as Najibullah went for his shots, lacing seven fours and two sixes. He was finally out for 56 off as many balls.

Corey Anderson hit Shenwari in the back of the helmet with a bouncer. He was momentarily stunned and later called for medical assistance but continued undeterred. His was the ninth wicket to fall, having made 54 off 110 balls.

New Zealand’s batting line-up made what is becoming a trademark barnstorming start. Brendon McCullum made 42 from just 19 balls in a 53-run opening partnership with Martin Guptill, who top-scored with 57.

McCullum hit six fours and a six off Mohammad Nabi, but was bowled next ball.

Guptill and Kane Williamson (33) put on 58 for the second wicket before Williamson was caught by Shenwari from the bowling of Shapoor Zadran.

Guptill went on to his first half century at the tournament from 69 balls before being run out by Shenwari’s throw. Grant Elliott (19) was also run out before Ross Taylor (24) and Corey Anderson (7) steered New Zealand to the winning total of 188-4.

New Zealand will play its last pool game against Bangladesh in Hamilton on Friday, while Afghanistan will take on England in Sydney on the same day.

AMMAN  — The Kingdom’s U-23 football team plays North Korea on Monday in its second friendly as part of its training camp in Ajman, the UAE, ahead of the Olympic qualifiers starting March 25.

Over the weekend, the team held the Koreans 2-2 in the first match as Jordan scored early in the 4th minute and then in the 16th minute to lead 2-0. However, a red card shown to Jordan’s Quweider, which reduced the team to 10 players, allowed the Koreans to make up by scoring two goals in the 51st and 56th minutes to level the match. 

Jordan is slated to play Lebanon on March 12 and en route to the qualifiers in Pakistan the team was expected to take on  Bahrain in a friendly.  The Jordan Football Association (JFA) announced the cancellation of the friendly international against Bahrain that was scheduled to be played in Amman on March 25. The Bahraini side requested the cancellation and now the JFA will coordinate with the national team’s technical and managerial staff to schedule an alternative match, according to the JFA website.

While the friendlies are vital for Jordan, head coach Jamal Abu Abed is in a tough position trying to finalise his line-up ahead of the qualifiers with at least nine players missing the line-up as Wihdat readies to play their AFC Cup match against Oman’s Nahda and four other players are on Jazira’s line-up readying to play Ira’s Shurta on Tuesday. 

The qualifiers will see Jordan playing in Group B alongside hosts Pakistan on March 25 before facing Turkmenistan on March 27, Kyrgyzstan on March 29 and Kuwait on March 31. The team is aiming to qualify for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship which will take place in Qatar in January 2016. 

A total of 43 teams are in the qualification tournament playing in 10 groups of five or four teams.  The top team from each of the groups in addition to the top second-placed team from groups that have five teams will move to the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship from which the top three advance to the 2016 Summer Olympics Football tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

The team’s agenda has been hampered by other competitions including the Jordan Professional League.  Last month, when the League was on break as the national team played at the Asian Cup, the U-23 team played four friendlies losing  to Manshieh 2-1, beating Wihdat 5-2, holding Faisali 0-0 and beating Jazira 2-1.