Sports

Porto Alegre, Jun 30: Algeria coach Vahid Halilhodzic on Sunday turned on reporters repeatedly asking whether his players are observing Ramazan on the eve of their World Cup clash with Germany. Germany take on the Algerians in Porto Alegre on Monday in their last 16 clash, but repeated questions about the Muslim month of fasting drew the coach's wrath. “Stop asking me about Ramazan or I will get

Fortalez, Jun 30: The Netherlands scored twice in the dying minutes through Wesley Sneijder and a Klaas Jan Huntelaar penalty to move into the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Mexico on Sunday. In a match conditioned by the baking heat and humidity in Fortaleza, Giovani dos Santos looked to have Mexico on the way to their first quarter-final appearance on foreign soil when he

Sydney, Jun 29: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal produced a dominating performance to lift her second title of the season, winning the USD 750,000 Star Australian Super Series after beating Spain's Carolina Marin in the summit clash here today. The sixth seeded Indian, who had won the India Open Super Series earlier this year, prevailed 21-18 21-11 in a 43-minute contest which left her richer by

Belo Horizonte, Jun 29: Nervous Brazil beat Chile 3-2 on penalties to reach the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday after an epic battle that left Neymar and his teammates in tears. Two first half-goals and were all the teams managed in a fast-paced and tense 90 minutes and extra time in the Mineirao Stadium. Gonzalo Jara missed the decisive penalty for Chile, crashing his shot against the post

Jun 28: In his first interview after last December’s Final Draw for the FIFA World Cup™, Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari told TV Globo that the one team he wanted to avoid in the Round of 16 was Chile – not South Africa 2010 Finalists Spain and the Netherlands, but Chile. “I’d prefer any other side,” said Felipão at the time. “They’re an awkward team to play. They’re organised and their system

Jun 27: Uruguay's Luis Suarez was hit with the biggest ban imposed at a World Cup on Friday morning as FIFA threw the book at one of football's most talented but controversial players for biting an opponent. The sport's governing body suspended Suarez from all football-related activity for four months and ruled he could not play in Uruguay's next nine competitive games, meaning he is unlikely to

Jun 27: The United States reached the knockout stage of consecutive World Cups for the first time, just not the way the Americans wanted. Germany beat the US 1-0 Thursday in soggy Recife on Thomas Mueller's 55th-minute goal to win Group G, but the Americans held onto second place when Portugal defeated Ghana 2-1 in a game played simultaneously in Brasilia. The Germans, three-time World Cup

Karachi, Jun 26: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) today said it has signed a binding agreement with the BCCI, in which two countries will play six bilateral series over the next eight years under the new future tours program. The PCB said in a statement from Lahore that it had made extraordinarily gains at the International Cricket Council's (ICC) annual meeting in Melbourne, which included the

Porto Alegre, Jun 26: Argentina beat Nigeria 3-2 in their last World Cup group match on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi and Ahmed Musa scoring two goals each before Marcos Rojo kneed in the winner. Argentina won Group F while Nigeria also advanced despite the loss, becoming the first African team in the Round of 16 in Brazil. Messi had his best match of the World Cup so far, scoring twice in the

Rio de Janeiro, Jun 26: Ecuador coach Reinaldo Rueda insisted that poor refereeing decisions cost his side in the 0-0 draw with France at the Maracana on Wednesday that brought their World Cup adventure to an end. The sending-off of captain Antonio Valencia for a dangerous challenge on Lucas Digne left the South American nation to play most of the second half with 10 men, while an apparent elbow