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Sunday’s matches: Morocco stun Belgium 2-0, Croatia win 4-1, Germany draw 1-1 with Spain

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(Last Updated On: November 28, 2022)

Sunday saw a clash of two World Cup titans when Spain took on Germany, in a match that could have sent the Germans home from the tournament early had they suffered another defeat.

Two other European teams were also in action: Belgium against Morocco, while Croatia played Canada.

Morocco 2 – 0 Belgium
In the Moroccan clash against Belgium, the two teams were still jostling for a goal when Abdelhamid Sabiri’s strike hit the net with under 20 minutes to go. This put Morocco ahead but with time virtually up, Zakaria Aboukhlal stunned the crowd making it 2-0 for Morocco – causing a major upset against the world’s 2nd ranked team.

Earlier, Moroccan joy at the Al Thumama Stadium was put on hold when Hakim Ziyech’s first-half goal was ruled out for offside.

Morocco had held Croatia to a goalless draw in their Group F opener.

The result poses serious questions about Belgium, seen as strong contenders in the tournament. But they only secured an underwhelming 1-0 win against Canada in their first group game.

Croatia 4 – 1 Canada

Alphonso Davies headed Canada into the lead after just two minutes following a sweeping move.

But relief for Croatia was on hand when Andrej Kramaric equalized from a tight angle just after the half hour.

Then, strong work from Marko Livaja just before half-time, saw him fire for the Croatians with a low shot from the edge of the area.

Kramaric struck again on 70 minutes to make it 3-1 for Croatia, before Lovro Majer scored an injury-time breakaway goal taking it to 4-1.

Canada is now eliminated. But at least their goal against Croatia is their first ever in a World Cup finals. They had failed to score in their previous four games, including in the opening 1-0 defeat against Belgium.

Croatia lost the 2018 final to France and the world’s 12th-ranked team opened the World Cup with a 0-0 draw against Morocco.

Germany 1—1 Spain

Substitute Alvaro Morata opened the scoring for Spain in the second half but Niclas Füllkrug equalized with seven minutes left to keep Germany in the tournament. But they go into the final game against Costa Rica in last place.

When the World Cup draw came out in April, one of the highlights of the group stage was Sunday’s match between the 2010 and 2014 champions at Al Bayt Stadium.

However, Germany’s surprising loss to Japan in its opener in Qatar meant the Germans would have been out if they had lost again.

After winning their fourth World Cup title in 2014 in Brazil, Germany didn’t make it out of the group stage in 2018 after losses to South Korea and Mexico.

Germany’s previous match against Spain was an embarrassing 6-0 defeat in the Nations League two years ago.

Spain went into the game looking to reinforce their status as one of the top title contenders following an impressive 7-0 rout of Costa Rica in their opener and 18-year-old Gavi became the youngest World Cup scorer since Pelé in 1958.

Costa Rica 1—0 Japan

A late, left-foot strike from Costa Rica’s Keysher Fuller from the edge of the penalty area following a defensive error was enough to secure victory for the Central American side.

The win puts Costa Rica back into play in Group E and will be a massive morale boost following their 7-0 thrashing against Spain, the 2010 world champions, in their opening match.

Japanese head coach Hajime Moriyasu warned his side to forget their historic 2-1 comeback win over Germany in their opening match. Japan struck twice in eight minutes late in the second half.

This is Japan’s seventh straight appearance at a World Cup finals.

Costa Rica meanwhile, which only has a population of just over five million, are appearing in their sixth World Cup. They reached the quarterfinals in 2014 in Brazil.

Where to watch

Afghan fans need not miss out on any of the excitement of this year’s tournament which is being broadcast exclusively by Ariana Television in Afghanistan.

For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE

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Afghanistan dominate Ireland to win T20I series

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(Last Updated On: March 19, 2024)

Afghanistan proved too strong with bat and ball against Ireland as they claimed a 57-run victory in Sharjah on Monday to edge the T20I series 2-1.

A superb 72 not out from Ibrahim Zadran, backed up by the bowling of Azmatullah Omarzai, gave the hosts victory in the final match of Ireland’s tour against Afghanistan.

“It is a great series win for us,” said Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan, going on to praise the performance of his young side.

The Irish were unable to chase down a target of 156, with Omarzai’s four wickets for just nine runs helping bowl the tourists out for 98 inside 18 overs.

Ireland won the first T20I of the mini-series last week but consecutive wins on Sunday and Monday ensured Afghanistan recovered to take the three-game series, after earlier winning the ODI series 2-0.

For the third consecutive time, Khan won the toss against Ireland and as he did in Monday’s 10-run win, he elected to bat first.

Batting at three, 22-year-old Zadran anchored Afghanistan’s innings with his career-best T20I score of 72, which boosted the hosts to a total Ireland could not match.

Opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz rounded off a T20I series he will hope to forget on a personal level, after scores of zero and three in the first two matches, when Harry Tector took a superb diving catch to dismiss him for six at the start of the third over.

Afghanistan were then ticking along nicely with Zadran and Sediqullah Atal at the crease, until Atal chipped a turning ball straight back to Gareth Delany.

In the very next over, Omarzai, on back-to-back golden ducks, was dropped by Delany on one but departed just two deliveries later, after lobbing Curtis Campher to Josh Little.

Mohammad Ishaq’s arrival steadied the ship for Afghanistan as he mounted a crucial fourth-wicket stand of 54 with Zadran, until the No 5 mistimed a lob on 27 and Paul Stirling snaffled up the ball.

With just over five overs left, Zadran kept the scoreboard moving along for Afghanistan.

Ijaz Ahmadzai ably deputized him at the end with 10 runs from three balls, including a monster six in the last over, before he was run out trying to get his partner back on strike for the final delivery.

Ireland’s run chase never really got underway, especially after Naveen-ul-Haq bowled both Andy Balbirnie and Lorcan Tucker with consecutive deliveries in the second over.

Some resistance came from Campher and Delany’s 36-run sixth-wicket stand but the visitors were never really allowed to form any partnership of great merit by Afghanistan’s pace attack.

Omarzai, 23, claimed the key wickets of Tector and George Dockrell, before removing Mark Adair and Barry McCarthy as Afghanistan took apart the Irish batting line-up.

Naveen-ul-Haq then bowled Ben White with a slower ball, bringing a close to affairs and securing Afghanistan a tight series win ahead of this summer’s T20 World Cup.

Despite defeat, Ireland will still view the tour as an historic success after they won their very first test match on March 1. – AFP

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Ireland beat Afghanistan by 38 runs in first T20I

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(Last Updated On: March 16, 2024)

Ireland defeated Afghanistan by 38 runs to take 1-0 lead in their three-match T20I series in Sharjah on Friday.

Sent to bat first by Afghans who won the toss, Ireland posted 149-6, with Harry Tector scoring 56 off 34 (not out). Captain Paul Stirling hit 25 while Andy Balbirnie made 22.

Rashid Khan, who returned to competitive cricket after months of absence due to back injury, picked up three wickets, giving away 19 runs in the four overs he bowled.

Nangeyalia Kharote picked up two wickets, giving away only 16 runs in his four overs.

Chasing 150, Afghanistan lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz in the very first bowl of their innings. They lost Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai in the second over.

Wickets continued to fall and Afghanistan were all out in the 18.4 overs, having made 111 runs. Mohammad Ishaq (32) was their top-scorer, followed by Mohammad Nabi who made 25.

The second T20I between the sides will be played on Sunday at the same venue.

 

 

 

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Rashid back in team for T20I series against Ireland

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(Last Updated On: March 14, 2024)

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the names of 15 national cricket team players for the T20 international series against Ireland.

Included in the team is Rashid Khan. This comes after a break of a few months following back surgery.

Rashid will also captain the team.

Afghanistan and Ireland cricket teams will face each other at Sharjah Stadium on March 15, 17 and 18 after playing the ODI series and one off test match.

List of Afghanistan players:

Rashid Khan (Captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Garbaz, Sediq Atal, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Ishaq Rahimi, Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharotai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Wafadar Momand, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq and Fazal Haq Farooqi.

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