Sport
Friday’s Matches: South Korea advance, Portugal win group
In a thrilling finish to Group H play on Friday, South Korea stunned Portugal 2-1 on Hee-Chan Hwang’s goal in stoppage time to advance to the knockout stage at the World Cup at Al Rayyan, Qatar.
South Korea and Uruguay finished with the same record (1-1-1) in Group H, but South Korea advanced on goals scored (4-2).
Portugal, which won the group despite the loss to South Korea, got on the board first on Ricardo Horta’s goal in the fifth minute. Young-Gwon Kim evened it at 1-1 in the 27th minute. In a tightly contested match, both teams had 13 shots, including six apiece on target.
South Korea advanced from group play for the first time since 2010 and only the third time in its history. The team will play Group G winner Brazil.
Uruguay 2, Ghana 0
Competing with South Korea for the second spot in Group H, Uruguay needed to extend its two-goal lead in the final minutes, but it did not score again and was eliminated along with Ghana at Al Wakrah, Qatar.
Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored in the 26th and 32nd minutes for Uruguay, which failed to advance past group for the first time in four World Cup appearances.
Uruguay totaled 12 shots (seven on target), while Ghana finished with 10 shots (four on target). Ghana hasn’t advanced to the knockout round since 2010.
Switzerland 3, Serbia 2
Remo Freuler scored the go-ahead goal in the 48th minute to allow Switzerland to defeat Serbia in Doha, Qatar, and advance to the Round of 16 for the third straight World Cup.
Switzerland finished second in Group G, tied with Brazil with six points but behind on the goal differential tiebreaker.
The Chicago Fire’s Xherdan Shaqiri struck first for the Swiss with a goal in the 20th minute, but Serbia fought back to take a 2-1 lead thanks to goals by Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Vlahovic.
Breel Embolo tied the match 2-2 for Switzerland in the 44th minute before Freuler’s score three minutes after halftime.
Vanja Milinkovic-Savic made four saves for Serbia, which placed last in the group with one point.
Cameroon 1, Brazil 0
Vincent Aboubakar’s goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time was enough to hand Cameroon a 1-0 win over favorite Brazil in Lusail, Qatar.
Due to Switzerland’s victory, it wasn’t enough for Cameroon (four points) to advance to the Round of 16.
Brazil, which won Group B despite the result, outshot Cameroon 21-7, including 7-3 in shots on target. But Cameroon goalkeeper Devis Epassy stopped all seven shots he faced.
Aboubakar was shown his second yellow card of the day for excessive celebration after his goal and was sent off.
Where to watch
Afghan fans need not miss out on any of the excitement of this year’s tournament which is being broadcast live and exclusively by Ariana Television in Afghanistan.
For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE
Sport
Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL
Omar Zawak secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Istiqlal Kabul in the 80th match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan, delivering an impressive attacking performance.
The match was played in Kabul on Tuesday. Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the first half, which ended goalless.
However, Omar Zawak stepped up their attacking efforts in the second half, scoring five goals to take control of the match. Istiqlal Kabul managed to score just once as Omar Zawak sealed a convincing 5-1 victory.
Omar Zawak will face Ariana Khost in their next match on November 12, while Istiqlal Kabul will take on Aino Mina Kandahar on the same day.
All matches of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Sport
First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw
Zimbabwe produced a remarkable batting display to secure a draw against Afghanistan in the first Test in Sharjah, with Craig Ervine and Wessly Madhevere scoring unbeaten centuries on the final day.
Resuming the fifth and final day at 164/3, Zimbabwe finished on 523/5 in their second innings, following their first-innings total of 504. This marked the first time in Test cricket history that a team has scored more than 500 runs in both innings of a match.
Craig Ervine remained unbeaten on 206, while Madhevere scored 100 not out, as the pair frustrated Afghanistan’s bowlers throughout the day.
Ervine, aged 41 years and 82 days, became the third-oldest player to score a double century in Test cricket.
Afghanistan had posted 514 in their first innings. Afghanistan needed early wickets to put pressure on the hosts, but Zimbabwe’s batters showed patience and discipline on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers.
Brian Bennett scored a half-century before Mohammad Saleem dismissed him, while debutant Antum Naqvi contributed 61 runs. Naqvi and Ervine shared a 140-run partnership before Abdul Malik broke the stand.
However, Madhevere joined Ervine and the pair put together an unbeaten 208-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the highest for that wicket in Zimbabwe’s Test history. Madhevere also registered his maiden Test century during the partnership.
The result leaves the two sides level heading into the second and final Test, which is scheduled to begin in Sharjah on November 13.
Sport
Portugal beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Dakar Youth Olympics futsal semi-finals
Afghanistan’s Under-18 futsal team missed out on a place in the gold medal match at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Portugal in the semi-finals on Monday.
Portugal took the lead through Joao Carvalho, who capitalised on a goalkeeping error by Afghanistan’s Ahmad Esmaeili to score into an unguarded net from inside his own half.
Diego Ferreira doubled Portugal’s advantage before half-time, putting the European side firmly in control of the match.
Afghanistan pushed hard to get back into the game in the second half, creating several opportunities to reduce the deficit. However, they were unable to find the net, with Portugal goalkeeper Bernardo Borges making several important saves.
The victory sends Portugal into the gold medal match, while Afghanistan will now compete for the bronze medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
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