Sports

ROME — Roberto Mancini will be named Saudi Arabia coach on Monday after quitting the Italy job earlier this month, according to Italian media reports on Sunday.

Newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport reported that Mancini has signed a four-year contract with the Gulf state with an annual salary of 25 million euros ($27 million) and will be presented to media on Monday.

Saudi Arabia, which beat eventual champions Argentina at last year's World Cup in Qatar, have been without a national team coach since Herve Renard left to take charge of France's women's team.

The oil-rich nation has made waves this summer by buying a host of players from European clubs for teams in its Saudi Pro League.

Brazil star Neymar was the latest in a growing list of big names to be attracted by the huge sums offered by the Saudis after Cristiano Ronaldo kicked off the trend by moving to Al Nassr in January.

Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al Hilal this month, with a source close to the negotiations telling AFP that he will earn 100 million euros a season.

Mancini's resignation from the Italy job came as a major shock, as earlier this month the 58-year-old had been handed responsibility for the country's Under-21 and Under-20 teams.

He was heavily criticised for his decision especially following early reports that he was set to accept a mega-money move to Saudi, which he denied was the reason behind his resignation.

Mancini, who was replaced by former Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti, had a mixed time in his five years as Italy coach, victory at Euro 2020 seeming to revitalise a troubled football nation.

But the Azzurri failed to qualify for last year's World Cup following a disastrous play-off defeat to North Macedonia, the second straight time they missed the world's biggest football tournament.

Mancini won the 1991 Serie A title and four Italian Cups with long-time club Sampdoria, where he starred in attack alongside recently-deceased Gianluca Vialli.

Once becoming a coach he won three more “Scudetti” at Inter Milan — one assigned to the club in the aftermath of the “Calciopoli” match-fixing scandal, and then won the Premier League with Manchester City in 2012.

PARIS — Kylian Mbappe dominated his first home start of the season, scoring twice as Ligue 1 champions Paris-Saint Germain defeated last season's runners up Lens, 3-1, on Saturday.

In a meeting of two teams winless in their first two league matches, PSG emphatically put their season back on track.

The victory lifted them to fourth, two points behind leaders Monaco, who drew on Friday, and Marseille who won earlier Saturday.

"I'd always like things to go the way they did tonight, but in football there are always surprises," said PSG coach Luis Enrique.

"There was a Champions League rhythm," the Spaniard said. "My players were very brave and against a team that defends well. We created a lot of chances."

Mbappe, making his first home start since being reinstated to the team following a contract dispute, posed a threat from the start.

In the first half, he had one shot saved by goalkeeper Brice Samba and another cleared off the line by Kevin Danso before Marco Asensio scored his first goal for the club in the 44th minute.

PSG's Portuguese midfielder Vitinha surged up the field before moving the ball on to Warren Zaire-Emery who passed to Asensio just outside the box. The Spaniard curled a left foot shot in off the base of the post.

Mbappe added a ferocious second after 51 minutes, meeting a return pass from Lucas Hernandez with a first-time side-foot shot from the edge of the box that rocketed past Samba.

Mbappe forced another good save from Samba as PSG dominated possession.

On a rare Lens counter-attack, Elye Wahi, the club's record signing, who came on after 57 minutes, outpaced the home defence and forced a sprawling save from Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Ousmane Dembele, making his first PSG start since moving from Barcelona, lashed an opportunity for a first goal for the club wide.

Mbappe added a second in the 90th minute with a shot from near the penalty spot that took two deflections on its way into the net.

As PSG's defence relaxed, Wahi forced another flying save from Donnarumma before Morgan Guilavogui scored with the last kick of the match, his shot deflecting in off Milan Skriniar.

"In the second half, we opened up and if you open up against this team, things happen too quickly. We didn't give up but there was too much difference between the two teams," said Lens coach Franck Haise.

Earlier, Marseille jumped to second place after ending visiting Brest's winning start to season with a lacklustre 2-0 victory.

Knocked out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round by Panathinaikos at the start of the month, Marseille's rebuilt squad had a week to prepare.

The hosts started brightly when Chancel Mbemba opened the scoring with a header from Jordan Veretout's impeccable free kick after three minutes.

Brest, who had opened the season with two wins, dominated the rest of the half and squandered a string of chances.

"In the first half we weren't organised properly, we lost too many balls and Brest were better," said Marseille coach Marcelino, who took over in the summer.

The introduction of Vitinha from the bench lifted Marseille who stretched their lead after 65 minutes.

Ismaila Sarr met a cross from Renan Lodi to score for the first time since arriving from Watford in the summer.

Vitinha created two golden chances for Veretout and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who was wasteful throughout.

"It got better in the second half and after the second goal, we were the Marseille we want to be," said Marcelino. "If we'd been bad throughout, I'd be worried."

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic makes a long-awaited return to the US Open next week looking to reclaim the title and World No. 1 ranking from defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

The 36-year-old Serbian superstar was barred from entry to the United States for much of the past two years after his refusal to comply with a Covid-19 vaccination mandate.

The 23-time Grand Slam singles title winner could only watch from afar last year as Spanish star Alcaraz was crowned as the new King of New York with his maiden triumph at a tennis major.

Since that breakthrough victory, Alcaraz and Djokovic have developed the sport's most compelling new rivalry, pushing each other to the limit in an epic five-set Wimbledon final last month that ended with Alcaraz triumphing 1-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4.

The two men produced another pulsating thriller in the final of the Cincinnati Open last weekend, with Djokovic saving a match point before digging out a 5-7, 7-6 (9/7), 7-6 (7/4) victory in just under four hours.

For Djokovic, Alcaraz's performances are confirmation of his belief that the 20-year-old Spaniard is the real deal, the player best positioned to succeed him as the dominant force in men's tennis.

The Serb said Alcaraz's knack of rising to the occasion in the most demanding of circumstances reminds him of his gruelling battles with Rafael Nadal, who will miss the US Open with a hip injury.

"Each point, the feeling that I have on the court reminds me a little bit when I was facing Nadal when we were at our prime of our careers," Djokovic said.

"Each point is a hustle. Each point is a battle. You feel like you're not going to get maybe in total five free points in the entire match. You've got to basically earn every single point, every single shot, regardless of the conditions."

Embracing challenge 

Djokovic said Alcaraz's development this season, particularly his poise under pressure, is even more impressive given his youth.

"It doesn't surprise me any more," Djokovic said. "It was surprising maybe at the end of last year or beginning of this year, what he was doing, the way he won big matches, big tournaments. So impressive — coming out in important moments, going for it, brave.

"You just have to put your hats down to a guy like that, that plays so maturely, handles the pressure so well for a 20-year-old.

"We cannot forget how young he is. That's something that is so impressive about him."

If the tournament follows the seedings, Djokovic and Alcaraz will meet for only the fifth time in what would be a blockbuster final in the last Grand Slam of 2023.

They have split the four previous meetings, winning two apiece.

Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in an attritional three-set semifinal on clay in Madrid last year, while Djokovic prevailed in a four-setter at Roland Garros this year.

"All of the matches we played against each other went the distance," Djokovic said.

"It just keeps getting better for the fans. For us, I don't know if we are enjoying it so much.

"It's definitely a challenge that we both need to embrace and accept because that's what's required from both of us in order to win big titles."

Alcaraz meanwhile is flattered by Djokovic's comparison of him to Nadal, the 22-time Grand Slam singles champion.

"It's great that he knows that every time he's going to play against me, it reminds him playing against Rafa or against the best ones because that means we are in a good path," Alcaraz said.

Djokovic is almost certain to reclaim his world number one ranking in New York, needing only a victory over first round opponent Alexandre Muller to be assured of regaining top spot regardless of how Alcaraz performs.

Alcaraz's route to a potential final showdown with Djokovic is arguably trickier, with 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev and Italy's Jannik Sinner — who took Alcaraz to five sets in last year's quarter-finals — both in his side of the draw.

LONDON — Tottenham's bright start under Ange Postecoglou continued as James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski struck in a 2-0 win at Bournemouth to go top of the Premier League on Saturday.

Postecoglou's men have so far shrugged off the departure of the club's all-time record goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich with new signing Maddison at the heart of most of their good work.

The England international's first Tottenham goal on 17 minutes was just reward for the visitor's dominance of the first half.

But Bournemouth looked the more likely to score in the second period before Kulusevski steered Destiny Udogie's cross into the far corner just after the hour mark.

Maddison had been a doubt after leaving the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after last weekend's 2-0 win over Manchester United in a protective boot.

But the £40 million ($50 million) signing from Leicester was passed fit and is already appearing a bargain as he thrives in Postecoglou's system.

However, he was fortunate for his goal as scuffed finish from Pape Sarr's defence-splitting pass did enough to wrong-foot Neto in the Bournemouth goal.

As Maddison shines, Richarlison is struggling to fill the boots of Kane. The Brazilian striker had another frustrating afternoon before being replaced after an hour.

Richarlison should have doubled Tottenham's advantage before the break when he tried to cut inside when clean through, allowing Lloyd Kelly to get just enough of a touch with a last-ditch tackle to divert the ball to safety.

Spurs could have paid for their failure to put the game to bed as Bournemouth started brightly after the break.

Antoine Semenyo came closest to an equaliser with a curling effort from outside the box that hit the side-netting.

Instead it was Tottenham who got the all-important second goal thanks to another fresh face making a strong start to the new season.

Udogie was signed last summer when Italian coach Antonio Conte and sporting director Fabio Paratici were at the club but was then loaned back to Udinese for the 2022/23 season.

The left-back could turn out to be one of the few positive legacies of the Conte and Paratici era for Spurs.

Udogie surged forward, exchanging a one-two with Son Heung-min, before pulling the ball back for Kulusevski to finish.

Victory takes Spurs a point clear of Arsenal, Brighton and Manchester City at the top of the table, having played one game more.

Arsenal can move back above their north London rivals when they host Fulham later looking to maintain their 100 percent start to the new season.

Manchester United are also in action at Old Trafford as they seek a response to a sluggish start to the season.

AMMAN — Jordan joins an elite group of the best nations in basketball at the globe’s premier event — the 19th FIBA World Cup — which gets underway Friday co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

Having qualified for the third time, Jordan will be playing the FIBA World Cup finals for the second consecutive edition and are set to meet Greece on August 26, New Zealand on August 28 and 2010 and 2014 champs, the United States on August 30.

The basketball squad has been the only Jordanian team to reach a World Cup in a team sport alongside the junior men’s team in 1995. They have so far qualified to the world’s premier basketball competition three times — 2010, 2019 and 2023. In 2010, Jordan finished 23rd among 24 countries after losing all five matches. In 2019, Jordan managed a win over Senegal to finish 28th among 32 nations.

The FIBA World Cup serves as a qualifier for the 2024 Summer Olympics, where the top two teams from each of the Americas and Europe, and the top team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania, will qualify alongside the tournament’s host France.

Jordan joins Asian qualifiers Iran, New Zealand, Australia, Lebanon and China in the 32-country field where Japan and the Philippines qualified as hosts while third host Indonesia failed to qualify after they did not make it to the FIBA Asia Cup quarters.

The tournament starts with the Group Phase’s First Round August 25-30. The top two teams of each group will qualify for the Second Round, while the bottom two teams will play in the Classification Round for 17-32 places. The Second Round will see the top two seeds from the First Round groups converge and face one another. It will feature four groups of four teams, with the top two teams sealing their place in the quarterfinals. The bottom two teams will compete in the Classification Round 9-17.

The quarterfinals will be on September 5, and the semifinals will be on September 8, with the two winners playing for the final on September 10. Classification Round 5-8 games will also be held in between the stretch.

Group A: Angola, Dominica Rep. Philippines and Italy.

Group B: South Sudan, Serbia, China and Puerto Rico.

Group C: USA, Jordan, Greece and New Zealand.

Group D: Egypt, Mexico, Montenegro and Lithuania.

Group E: Germany, Finland, Australia and Japan.

Group F: Slovenia, Cape Verde, Georgia and Venezuela.

Group G: Iran, Spain, Ivory Coast and Brazil.

Group H: Canada, Latvia, Lebanon and France.

Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and South Sudan are the Arab teams at the event. Other Arab countries which have previously played the FIBA World Cup are the United Arab Republic, Algeria, Qatar and Tunisia. 

Since 1950, only the US and Brazil have played at all past editions. The former Yugoslavia and the US are record five time champions of the “Naismith Trophy” awarded to the FIBA World Cup champ and named in honour of basketball’s inventor. The Soviet Union won three times, Brazil and Spain twice each and Argentina once.

In their last training camp in China, Jordan lost to South Sudan 91-82 and beat Venezuela 89-87 in overtime in a tightly contested match before heading to Manila for their group matches. They also played in Georgia where they lost to the hosts 86-69 and to Iran 81-73. Earlier, Jordan hosted and won the 11th King Abdullah Cup (The King’s Cup) after they beat Portugal, Angola and Mexico.

The team’s World Cup qualifying journey included reaching the FIBA Asia Cup semis for the second time, eventually settling for fourth place. 

This week, Jordan was drawn to play in Group C alongside Thailand, Bahrain and the Philippines at the upcoming 19th Asian Games set for September 23-October 8 in Hangzhou, China.

SYDNEY — Sunday’s World Cup final between England and Spain is the final act of a month of drama which highlighted how far women’s football has come — and the challenges that lie ahead.

There had been fears that the biggest-ever Women’s World Cup — 32 teams, up from 24 four years ago — would dilute the spectacle in Australia and New Zealand.

Lopsided scorelines were a feature of the previous eight World Cups and critics said debutants such as Haiti, the Philippines and Morocco would be on a hiding to nothing.

But the opposite proved to be true and the tournament will be best remembered for the large number of shocks and the end of the United States’ long reign as world champions.

Among the surprises, Germany was beaten 2-1 by Colombia on the way to a group-stage exit. Italy, Brazil and Olympic champions Canada also went out at the first hurdle.

The Philippines, New Zealand, Zambia, Portugal, Jamaica, South Africa and Morocco all won a World Cup game for the first time.

The United States was chasing an unprecedented third title in a row but it very quickly became apparent that they were not the force of old and that the rest had caught up.

Their exit in the last 16 on penalties to Sweden was their worst World Cup ever and coach Vlatko Andonovski quit this week. 

There was no fairytale ending for Megan Rapinoe, who retires from football at the end of the season.

“It has been an amazing World Cup with 32 teams and lots of teams who have improved,” Sweden coach Peter Gerhardsson said following his team’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the semifinals.

“Everywhere around the world there will be a lot more interest in women’s football.

Gerhardsson said that Sweden’s last-gasp 2-1 victory over South Africa in the group stage had been a taste of things to come.

“Physically, many [teams] have caught up. With better training, they can last 90 minutes and then there is the technical ability and the speed,” he said.

Co-hosts New Zealand and Australia will regard the World Cup as a success on and off the pitch.

Even before the last-16 stage concluded, nearly 1.4 million people had been through the turnstiles, making it the best-attended Women’s World Cup.

New Zealand won its first World Cup match ever — at the 16th attempt — with a 1-0 victory over former champions Norway in front of more than 42,000 at Eden Park in Auckland.

That was a record crowd for a football match, men’s or women’s, in the country.

Not all of the matches in New Zealand were nearly so well attended.

Just under 7,000 watched Japan beat Costa Rica 2-0 in Dunedin on a chilly Wednesday early evening and it remains to be seen if interest holds in rugby-mad New Zealand.

In Australia, matches regularly drew bumper crowds and the country fell in love with the Matildas, the team’s exploits making front- and back-page news.

The best World Cup run in their history met an end in the semifinals with a 3-1 defeat to England in front of over 75,000 in Sydney.

The match smashed all television records in Australia — 11.5 million people tuned in at some point out of a population of 25 million.

“Legacy is often a word that is bandied around, it can be a platitude when major events are involved,” Football Australia Chief Executive James Johnson said.

“But we think we have demonstrated concretely that there is a real legacy around this tournament, of course in Australia and New Zealand, but also around the world.”

While standards have improved on the pitch and interest is at an all-time high, there remains a huge financial disparity between men’s and women’s football.

Prize money for this Women’s World Cup was a record $110 million, but still far short of the $440 million on offer to teams at last year’s men’s finals in Qatar.

In the build-up to the tournament, FIFA President Gianni Infantino threatened a television blackout in five major European nations which was only resolved at the 11th hour.

Infantino accused broadcasters of only offering between $1 million and $10 million to show the World Cup, compared to the $100-200 million they pay for the men’s version.

Several nations were in open dispute before and during the World Cup with their federations over pay and conditions, including England, who put aside a row over bonuses to reach the final.

FIFA says it is committed to equality but Infantino came under fire on Friday when he said that women should “pick the right fights” to “convince us men what we have to do”.

Norway’s striker Ada Hegerberg responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, by writing: “Working on a little presentation to convince men. Who’s in?”