Soccer-Lack of European football good for injury-hit Chelsea says Pochettino

LONDON (Reuters) - The absence of European football will help Chelsea cope with their long list of injuries, Mauricio Pochettino said on Friday, but the Argentine manager added he was confident the Premier League club will return to continental competition next season. Chelsea, the 2021 Champions League winners, endured a turbulent campaign last season and finished...

Worries rise over Yew Sin and Ee Yi’s form ahead of Hangzhou mission

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi suffered a blow ahead of the Asian Games after shockingly going down in the men’s doubles first round of the Hong Kong Open. The world No. 8 lost out 16-21, 23-25 to Japan’s world No. 27 Keiichiro Matsui-Yoshinori Takeuchi at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon yesterday. It was...

Soccer-Portugal chalk up record win with 9-0 thrashing of Luxembourg

(Reuters) - Portugal enjoyed their biggest-ever win as they thumped Luxembourg 9-0 at Estadio Algarve on Monday to preserve their perfect record in Euro 2024 qualifying. Substitute Joao Felix secured the record victory with a goal two minutes from time after Goncalo Inacio, Goncalo Ramos, and Diogo Jota all scored twice. Ricardo Horta and Bruno Fernandes,...

Soccer-Germany’s interim coach Voeller rules out succeeding Flick

DORTMUND, Germany (Reuters) -Germany's national team director Rudi Voeller said on Monday he will not be a candidate to succeed sacked coach Hansi Flick despite taking over for Tuesday's friendly against France. Voeller, Germany's former World Cup-winning player who also coached the national team from 2000-2004, said he had stepped in for one match to help...

Soccer-England’s Southgate rules out experimenting against Scotland

GLASGOW, Scotland (Reuters) - England will not use Tuesday's 150th anniversary friendly against Scotland as a chance to experiment, manager Gareth Southgate said ahead of the Hampden Park clash. Southgate's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Ukraine in Poland on Saturday, the first time they have dropped points in their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign. A...

Soccer-Spain’s men’s coach sticks to football amid kiss furore

GRANADA, Spain (Reuters) - Spain's men's coach Luis de la Fuente said he and his team would "just stick to football" as he was bombarded with questions on Monday about the resignation of football federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales, announced a few hours earlier. De la Fuente was visibly uncomfortable as he tried to avoid talking...

Soccer-Juve’s Pogba provisionally suspended after testing positive for testosterone

(Reuters) -Juventus's France midfielder Paul Pogba has been provisionally suspended after testing positive for a banned substance, Italy's national anti-doping (NADO Italia) tribunal said on Monday. The test, performed after Juve's 3-0 Serie A season-opening victory at Udinese on Aug. 20, detected testosterone, a hormone that increases athletes' endurance. "In acceptance of the instance proposed by the...

Independent shuttler Zii Jia and Co return to ABM as attire issue resolved

PETALING JAYA: Professional singles shuttler Lee Zii Jia will return to Academy Badminton Malaysia (ABM) for Asian Games centralised training as his apparel issue has been settled. Zii Jia and several other independent shuttlers will begin their sessions with Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) players from Sept 19-23 at the academy in Bukit Kiara in preparation...

Aaron-Wooi Yik reach China Open semis

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Aaron Chia-Soh Wooi Yik have booked a spot in the men's doubles semi-finals in the China Open. The duo eked out a hard-fought 19-21, 21-19, 21-11 win over compatriots Ong Yew Sin-Teo Ee Yi at the Olympic Sports Centre Gymnasium in Changzhou on Friday (Sept 8). World No. 6 Aaron-Wooi Yik stayed composed in...

Mixed cheers in Changzhou

PETALING JAYA: Shuttlers Tan Kian Meng-Lai Pei Jing and Chen Tang Jie-Toh Ee Wei have been on contrasting trajectories this year. While Kian Meng-Pei Jing went through a horror run of form that saw them drop out of the top 10 to No. 23 in the mixed doubles world rankings, Tang Jie-Ee Wei progressed steadily to...