Sport
Cristiano Ronaldo close to signing deal with Saudi Arabian club
Cristiano Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes are reportedly close to agreeing to a lucrative deal for Portugal’s captain after his contract with Manchester United was terminated earlier this month.
Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly set to agree a deal to join Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.
The 37-year-old is said to have agreed to a two-and-a-half year deal worth $225 million per year, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.
Al Nassr, who have won the Saudi Pro League nine times but not since 2019, are said to have offered way more than any European or MLS club could offer.
Chelsea are said to no longer be interested in signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, while Newcastle – who are owned by a Saudi-led consortium – are also believed to have distanced themselves from making a move.
Bayern Munich CEO Oliver Kahn said on Tuesday that the Bundesliga champions are not in talks to sign the Portugal international.
He said: “We have a clear idea, a clear philosophy of how our squad should be put together. We all appreciate him, there is no discussion.
“We all love Cristiano Ronaldo, but that is something that doesn’t fit into our idea.”
The decision to terminate his contract came after Ronaldo criticized the Manchester United board, manager Erik ten Hag and the club’s infrastructure in an interview with Piers Morgan earlier this month.
Sport
Underdogs Afghanistan qualify for Futsal World Cup
Competing in their first AFC Futsal Asian Cup, Afghanistan have concluded a fairy tale tournament by edging the Kyrgyz Republic to reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Four second-half goals guided Afghanistan to a 5-3 win and the final 24-strong field for Uzbekistan 2024 is now set.
Unknown at continental level at the start of the month, Afghanistan have scripted one of the great futsal fairy tales by reaching the global showpiece for the very first time.
After raising eyebrows by pushing powerhouse Iran in their opening match and then progressing from the group, the Afghans were involved in a triple Central Asian tangle that ultimately saw them reach the FIFA Futsal World Cup.
Defeat at the hands of Tajikistan in the first of the quarter-finals looked to have marked the end for the daring debutantes only for World Cup hosts Uzbekistan to see off Vietnam in the last of the final eight match-ups to necessitate a play-off to determine the final slot at the sport’s showpiece event.
A 5-3 win against Iraq in the first round of the play-offs set up this winner-takes-all affair with a Kyrgyz Republic outfit also eyeing a maiden World Cup berth.
Settling the better of the two teams, it was a ninth-minute Omid Qanbari effort that sent Afghanistan to the break with a narrow lead; one that they would double nine minutes after the restart as an own goal from Mukhamed Askarbekov made it 2-0.
A frantic ten-minute period then produced six goals but with the Kyrgyz Republic always chasing the match, the Afghans never looked too troubled, with two late, long-range, goals from captain Mahdi Norowzi and Mehran Gholami capping off the impressive 5-3 win.
The FIFA Futsal World Cup is an international futsal competition contested by the senior men’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA, the sport’s global governing body.
Since the first edition that took place in 1989 in the Netherlands, the tournament has been held every four years since 1992.
The current champions are Portugal, who won their first world title after beating the 2016 defending champions Argentina in the final of the 2021 tournament in Lithuania.
Sport
Afghanistan qualify for FIFA Futsal World Cup for first time ever
Afghanistan qualified for the 2024 Futsal World Cup after 5-3 victory against Kyrgyzstan in the Playoff 3 of AFC Futsal Asian Cup in Bangkok on Sunday.
This is the first time that Afghanistan qualifies for the Futsal World Cup.
The tenth edition of Futsal World Cup is scheduled to start on September 14, 2024 in Uzbekistan.
Twenty-four teams will participate in the tournament.
Afghanistan, France, New Zealand and Tajikistan will make their debuts.
Sport
ACL: Mawj Sahil 2-1 Sarsabz Yashlar; Sorkh Poshan 6-0 Maiwand
Mawj Sahil defeated Sarsabz Yashlar 2-1 in the 15th match of Afghanistan Champions League in Kabul on Saturday, while Sorkh Poshan hammered Maiwand 6-0 in the 16th match of the tournament on the same day.
Sanan Rahimi and Esmatullah Hadafmand scored the two goals for Mawj Sahil.
Yashlar’s only goal was scored by Mohammad Nasir Niazi.
Sorkh Poshan’s six goals against Maiwand were scored by Habibullah Hotak (1), Samir Mirzai (1), Hamir Amiri (1), Omid Rajabi (2) and captain Farhad Alizada (1).
Sunday’s matches will see Istiqlal Kabul take on Adalat Farah at 1:00 PM, and Khadim face Jawanan Wahedi at 3:30 PM.
The matches are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
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