World Cup qualifier: Germany implodes to draw, Spain's winning run ends

October 17, 2012
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London, October 17: Spain's run of 24 consecutive qualifying wins was halted by France on Tuesday, while Germany spectacularly collapsed to let Sweden fight back from four goals down to draw 4-4 in the campaign to reach the 2014 World Cup.


It was also a frustrating night for Cristiano Ronaldo as his 100th Portugal appearance ended in a 1-1 draw with Northern Ireland.


England didn't even get a chance to play as a waterlogged pitch in Warsaw led to the match against Poland being postponed to Wednesday afternoon.


World and European champion Spain led through Sergio Ramos' header, but Cesc Fabregas had a penalty saved and Olivier Giroud clinched a 1-1 draw for France in the final attack.


Germany had been rampant against Sweden, storming 4-0 in front by the 55th minute, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic began Sweden's comeback seven minutes later and Rasmus Elm netted an unexpected equalizer in stoppage time.


Italy, though, beat Denmark 3-1 despite playing most of the second half with 10 men, while the Netherlands maintained its perfect qualifying start with a 4-1 victory over Romania.


In Madrid, Spain had looked like closing out a 25th consecutive win in qualifying stretching back to 2007.


But in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Juanfran Torres gave away possession in midfield. Franck Ribery then crossed to Giroud, who headed beyond goalkeeper Iker Casillas to cancel out Ramos' 25th-minute goal.


Spain is now only ahead of France on goal difference in Group I, with Belarus three points behind after beating Georgia 2-0.
In Berlin, Sweden coach Erik Hamren was celebrating an "historical" comeback that seemed implausible as Germany ripped through his team in the first half.


Miroslav Klose scored in the eighth and in the 15th minute, Per Mertesacker added another in the 39th and Mesut Oezil made it 4-0 in the 56th.


But Ibrahimovic, Mikael Lustig, and Johan Elmander scored in the second half, before Elm snatched the point with a goal two minutes into injury time.


Germany still leads Sweden by three points in Group C but its rival has played a game less.


"I don't know how to explain it," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "Normally, we would not waste a four-goal lead. The problem seems to have been mental after 60 minutes. We became sloppy and lost our discipline."


In Bucharest, Jeremaine Lens headed the Netherlands in front in the ninth after goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu punched a ball to him, while Bruno Martins added a second from close range.


Ciprian Marica pulled one back for Romania after dribbling past three players, but Rafael van der Vaart netted from the penalty spot before half time and Robin van Persie added a late fourth.


The Dutch have a three-point lead in Group D over Romania and Hungary, which beat Turkey 3-1. Estonia claimed its first points by beating bottom-place Andorra 1-0.


In Milan, Mario Balotelli returned to the Italy side for the first time since Euro 2012 as he set up Riccardo Montolivo's opener and scored the third goal against Romania.


Denmark had threatened to make a comeback when William Kvist made it 2-1 in first-half stoppage time after Daniele De Rossi's second for Italy.


Italy forward Pablo Osvaldo was sent off 16 seconds into the second half for a reckless elbow into Denmark midfielder Nicolai Stokholm's face, but Balotelli made sure of the win that gave Italy a 4-point lead over Bulgaria in Group B.


Bulgaria was held to a 0-0 draw at the Czech Republic.


It's tight at the top of Group A, with Belgium only ahead of Croatia on goal difference.


Christian Benteke and Vincent Kompany scored twice in three minutes to give Belgium a 2-0 victory over Scotland, while Croatia beat Wales by the same score through goals from Mario Mandzukic and Eduardo.


In Group H, after the deluge in Warsaw forced Poland's game against England back a day, Montenegro joined the English on seven points at the top by winning 1-0 in Ukraine. Moldova beat San Marino 2-0.


Former England coach Fabio Capello's new team Russia made it four wins out of four in qualifying. Roman Shirokov's late penalty clinched a 1-0 victory over Azerbaijan to go five points clear of Israel in Group F.


Israel beat Luxembourg 3-0 to go ahead of Portugal on goal difference. It required a late equalizer by Helder Postiga for Portugal to cancel out Niall McGinn's first-half opener for Northern Ireland.


Switzerland remains three points in front of Norway at the top of Group E after second-half goals from Tranquillo Barnetta and Mario Gavranovic clinched a 2-0 win in Iceland. Norway won 3-1 in Cyprus, while Albania beat Slovenia 1-0.


The Group G lead is shared by Bosnia-Herzegovina, which beat Lithuania 3-0, and Greece, which won 1-0 in Slovakia.



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News Network
March 29,2020

Sydney, Mar 29: Steve Smith's two-year leadership ban ended quietly Sunday, leaving him eligible again to captain Australia at a time of uncertainty over when international cricket will resume.

Smith was stripped of the captaincy and banned from leading Australia for two years over his involvement in the 2018 ball tampering scandal in South Africa. His sentence ended Sunday and he can again captain Australia if called upon.

Australian players were due this week to conclude a series of matches in New Zealand and, for some, to join the Indian Premier League. But it wasn't clear Sunday if the IPL will take place this year and when international matches will resume. Australia's scheduled mid-year tours to England and Bangladesh are in doubt.

Smith told Channel Nine television's Sports Sunday he is doing his best to stay mentally and physically fit, training in his home gym, going on 10 kilometer (6 mile) runs and practising the guitar.

"It's obviously not looking likely (the IPL will go ahead) at the moment," Smith said. "I think there might be some meetings over the next few days to discuss what the go is with it all.

"I'm just trying to stay physically and mentally fit and fresh and, if it goes ahead at some point, then great. And if not, there's plenty going on in the world at the moment. So just play it day by day."

It seems unlikely Smith will return to the captaincy when cricket resumes. Tim Paine is firmly established as Australia's test captain and at 35 is not immediately considering retirement. Aaron Finch has captained Australia successfully in white ball cricket.

The conclusion of Smith's ban ends the period of upheaval in Australian cricket that followed the ball tampering incident in the second test at Cape Town in 2018 when Cameron Bancroft, with the knowledge of Smith and his vice-captain David Warner, used sandpaper to change the condition of the ball.

Smith and Warner received one-year bans from international and most domestic cricket and Bancroft was banned for nine months. The scandal also resulted in the resignation of coach Darren Lehmann and the departure of Cricket Australia's chief executive, James Sutherland.

Warner remains under a career-long leadership ban.

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Agencies
January 24,2020

Mumbai, Jan 24: Former Indian cricket captain and former MP Mohammad Azharuddin on Thursday denied allegations of cheating levelled by a travel agency in Maharashtra and threatened to file defamation suit of ₹100 crore.

"Those who filed the FIR have done it only to be in the limelight. There is no truth in it. The allegations are baseless," Azharuddin said in a video message on Twitter.

Azahruddin, who is now president of Hyderabad Cricket Association, said he would soon seek advice from his lawyer and will file Rs 100 crore defamation case against those who lodged the FIR.

A case was filed in Aurangabad on Wednesday against Azharuddin and two others for allegedly cheating a local travel agent of around ₹21 lakh.

The complaint was lodged by Shahab Y. Mohammed, 49, proprietor of Danish Tours & Travels here, a former executive with the defunct Jet Airways.

"We have lodged a first information report against Mujeeb Khan (Aurangabad), Sudheesh Avikkal (Kerala), Mohammed Azharuddin (Hyderabad). No arrests have been made and further investigations are underway," Investigating Officer A.D. Nagre, of the City Chowk police station, told IANS.

According to the complainant, between November 9 and 12, 2019, Avikkal booked several international airline tickets and Azharuddin's personal secretary Mujeeb Khan promised to pay the ticket charges. He said since no payment was made, he was compelled to lodge the police complaint.

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News Network
April 2,2020

New Delhi, Apr 2: BJP MP and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir on Thursday said that he will donate his two year's salary to PM-CARES Fund to support the battle against coronavirus pandemic in the country.

"People ask what can their country do for them. The real question is what can you do for your country? I am donating my 2 year's salary to #PMCaresFund. You should come forward too! @narendramodi @JPNadda @BJP4Delhi #IndiaFightsCorona," Gambhir tweeted.

The total number of coronavirus cases in India climbed to 1965 on Thursday after 131 people confirmed positive in the past 12 hours, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

At present, there are 1764 COVID-19 active cases in the country and 50 people have died due to the lethal infection.

Interestingly, on this day in 2011, India lifted its second World Cup title after a drought of 28 years. Gambhir played a crucial role in the final and anchored the run-chase.

India won its first World Cup in 1983 under the leadership of former all-rounder Kapil Dev. 

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