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Messi, Bonmati scoop awards for FIFA’s best in 2023

Messi, Bonmati scoop awards for FIFA’s best in 2023
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi at the Florida Blue Training Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA, Jan. 13, 2024. (Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports)
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Updated 16 January 2024
AFP
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Messi, Bonmati scoop awards for FIFA’s best in 2023

Messi, Bonmati scoop awards for FIFA’s best in 2023
  • Lionel Messi claimed the award for the third time, but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was a surprise victor ahead of Erling Haaland
  • Aitana Bonmati’s selection as the best women’s player was less controversial as she completed a clean sweep of personal awards after helping Spain to win the World Cup
Updated 16 January 2024
AFP
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LONDON: Lionel Messi was crowned as FIFA’s best men’s player for 2023 on Monday, while Aitana Bonmati added to her collection of individual accolades at the awards ceremony in London.
Messi claimed the award for the third time, but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner was a surprise victor ahead of Erling Haaland on an otherwise glorious night for Manchester City.
The award only covered the period after Messi had led Argentina to World Cup glory in December 2022 to August 2023.
The 36-year-old had a subdued end to his career at Paris Saint-Germain, despite winning the League 1 title, before joining MLS side Inter Miami in June.
Messi quickly made his mark in the United States as he helped the franchise, part-owned by David Beckham, to their first trophy by winning the Leagues Cup in August.
Haaland was favorite to win after scoring 52 times in his debut season with City as the English side won a treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.
However, after receiving the same number of points from a scoring system based off votes from national team captains, coaches, journalists and fans, Messi was crowned victor thanks to more first-choice nominations.
Messi’s former club teammate Kylian Mbappe was third.
Bonmati’s selection as the best women’s player was less controversial as she completed a clean sweep of personal awards after helping Spain to win the World Cup and Barcelona to Champions League glory in 2023.
The 25-year-old also won the Ballon d’Or, Golden Ball for player of the World Cup and UEFA’s player of the year in recent months.
“A couple of weeks ago when 2023 came to an end I was nostalgic because 2023 was an exceptional and unique year I will remember for the rest of my life,” said Bonmati.
“I’m proud of being part of a powerful generation of women who are changing the rules of the game and the world.”
Pep Guardiola was named best coach after masterminding City’s first ever Champions League success.
Haaland was joined by five of his club teammates — Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne — in the team of the year.
Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, Messi and Mbappe made up the 11.
City’s Ederson won men’s goalkeeper of the year, while England and Manchester United stopper Mary Earps picked up the women’s award.
England national team boss Sarina Wiegman won the women’s coach of the year after leading the Lionesses to the World Cup final.
The Brazilian men’s team won the fair play award after they dawned an all black shirt for the first time in a show of support for forward Vinicius, who suffered several incidents of racist abuse while playing for Real Madrid last year.
There was also Brazilian success in the Puskas award for the best goal, scored by Botafogo’s Guilherme Madruga for his spectacular overhead kick.

Topics: Lionel Messi Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) Inter Miami Aitana Bonmati FIFA

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Pacer Marco Jansen admits South Africa face challenge after losing three wickets

Pacer Marco Jansen admits South Africa face challenge after losing three wickets
Updated 28 December 2024
AFP
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Pacer Marco Jansen admits South Africa face challenge after losing three wickets

Pacer Marco Jansen admits South Africa face challenge after losing three wickets
  • Pakistan’s opening bowlers had South Africa reeling at 27-3, 121 runs short of a win
  • The third day of the match started with a three-hour delay due to continuous rain
Updated 28 December 2024
AFP

CENTURION, South Africa: South African fast bowler Marco Jansen admitted that his team faced a challenge after Pakistan took three quick wickets late on the third day of the first Test at SuperSport Park on Saturday with the hosts chasing 148 runs for victory.
Pakistan opening bowlers Mohammad Abbas and Khurram Shahzad had South Africa reeling at 27-3, 121 runs short of a win which would clinch them a place in the World Test championship final in England next June.
Abbas took two wickets for three runs in four immaculate overs of swing bowling, dismissing Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs, while Shahzad trapped Ryan Rickelton.
Aiden Markram, South Africa’s top scorer in the first innings, was unbeaten on 22 going into what could be a nervy fourth day for the hosts.
Jansen, who took six for 52 as Pakistan were bowled out for 237 in their second innings, said the pitch had “quickened up,” with some balls lifting sharply and others keeping low.
“If Pakistan keep on bowling the lengths they did now we will have a task on our hands,” said Jansen.
But he added that a victory target of 148 “isn’t too much.”

South Africa’s Marco Jansen, left, celebrates with his teammates after dismissing Pakistan’s Babar Azam for 50 runs during day three of the Test cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan, at the Centurion Park in Centurion, South Africa on December 28, 2024. (AP)

“We know the new ball moves quite sharply, especially in the second innings. Once the ball gets older it gets a lot easier to bat,” the 24-year-old added.
All three South African wickets were leg before wicket decisions as the Pakistan bowlers attacked the stumps — and all three were reviewed.
De Zorzi batted outside his crease in an attempt to counter the swing which undid him in the first innings, but Abbas beat his inside edge and he was given out.
He reviewed umpire Alex Wharf’s decision but replays showed the impact was “umpire’s call,” with the ball going on to hit the stumps, and he had to go for two runs.
Rickelton failed to score before he was trapped by Shahzad and Stubbs made one before falling to Abbas — with Pakistan successfully reviewing on both occasions after the batsmen were initially given not out.
It was a dramatic end to a day on which the start was delayed by three hours because of rain.
South Africa seemed well on target for victory when Pakistan were bowled out for 237 despite Saud Shakeel making an impressive 84.
Resuming at 88-3, Babar Azam and the left-handed Shakeel batted confidently, adding another 65 runs in 14.5 overs.
Babar made 50, his first half-century in 19 Test innings, before Jansen had a burst of three wickets in 14 balls, starting when Babar slapped a short ball to deep point.
Shakeel was ninth man out when he missed a full toss from Jansen after hitting 10 fours and a six in a 113-ball innings.
“I was looking for a yorker,” admitted Jansen. “I missed by a shin length.”

Topics: Pakistan vs South Africa

Saudi Arabia defeat Iraq to advance to Gulf Cup last four

Saudi Arabia defeat Iraq to advance to Gulf Cup last four
Updated 28 December 2024
John Duerden
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Saudi Arabia defeat Iraq to advance to Gulf Cup last four

Saudi Arabia defeat Iraq to advance to Gulf Cup last four
  • Kingdom into the last 4 of competition
Updated 28 December 2024
John Duerden

KUWAIT CITY: Saudi Arabia defeated Iraq 3-1 on Saturday to finish top of Group B in the Arabian Gulf Cup and book their place in the last four of the Kuwait tournament.

Needing just a point to progress, two late goals from substitute Abdullah Al-Hamdan, following an earlier strike from his Al-Hilal colleague Salem Al-Dawsari, produced victory and meant that the Green Falcons stayed on course for a first regional title since 2004.

Both teams had chances in the first half, but 10 minutes into the second, Herve Renard’s men — who lost the opening game against Bahrain — got the breakthrough they had been looking for. Ibrahim Bayesh was judged by VAR to have handled in the area to give Saudi Arabia a penalty.

Al-Dawsari had missed his last two spot kicks for the national team, but the 2022 Asian player of the year showed few signs of nerves as he stroked the ball home to give his team a vital lead.

However, after 64 minutes Iraq were level. Mohanad Ali turned Ali Al-Bulaihi inside the area to shoot home inside the near post to give the holders real hope.

There were plenty of nerves among the Kingdom’s fans but the team restored their lead with nine minutes remaining following a delightful strike. Sultan Al-Ghannam pulled the ball back from the right side of the area for Al-Hamdan to take a touch and curl the ball into the top corner of the Iraqi net.

Five minutes later and it was all over. Al-Dawsari skipped clear of challenges in the Iraqi half to feed Al-Hamdan on the left corner of the area and the forward rolled the ball into the opposite side of the net with a precise low shot.

The result meant Saudi Arabia finished top of the group with six points, above Bahrain who lost 2-1 to bottom team Yemen.

The Green Falcons take on hosts Kuwait in the semifinals on Tuesday, while Bahrain meet Group A winners Oman.

Topics: football soccer Saudi Arabia Iraq 26th Gulf Cup Arabian Gulf Cup

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Rain washes out first session on Day 3 of first test between South Africa and Pakistan

Rain washes out first session on Day 3 of first test between South Africa and Pakistan
Updated 28 December 2024
AP
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Rain washes out first session on Day 3 of first test between South Africa and Pakistan

Rain washes out first session on Day 3 of first test between South Africa and Pakistan
  • South Africa wants a victory for a place in next year’s World Test Championship final
  • The host team claimed a 90-run lead after Markram and Bosch scored half centuries
Updated 28 December 2024
AP

CENTURION, South Africa: Rain delayed the start of the third day’s play in the first cricket test between South Africa and Pakistan with no play possible before lunch on Saturday.
The entire first session was washed out at SuperSport Park with Pakistan scheduled to resume its second innings at 88-3 – still trailing South Africa by two runs.
South Africa has plenty of time left to press its bid for a place in next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.
The home team needs to win one of the two test matches against Pakistan for a guaranteed place in next June’s WTC final at Lord’s.
South Africa claimed a 90-run first innings lead on the back of half centuries from Aiden Markram and debutant Corbin Bosch, who smashed an unbeaten 81 on a dream debut.
Bosch's scintillating knock, which featured 15 fours, was the highest score by a No. 9 batter on debut in test history.
Pakistan had been bowled out for 211 as Bosch claimed a wicket with his first ball and finished with impressive figures of 4-63.
Paceman Dane Paterson took 5-61 on a wicket where both teams have packed their line-ups with four fast bowlers each, going into the game without a specialist spinner.

Topics: Pakistan vs South Africa

Damac’s dangerman Georges-Kevin N’Koudou has Ronaldo and Mitrovic in his sights

Damac’s dangerman Georges-Kevin N’Koudou has Ronaldo and Mitrovic in his sights
Updated 28 December 2024
MARK LOMAS
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Damac’s dangerman Georges-Kevin N’Koudou has Ronaldo and Mitrovic in his sights

Damac’s dangerman Georges-Kevin N’Koudou has Ronaldo and Mitrovic in his sights
  • The Cameroon international has scored 13 goals in the Saudi Pro League so far this season
Updated 28 December 2024
MARK LOMAS

LONDON: Few players will want the winter break in the Saudi Pro League to be over more than Georges-Kevin N’Koudou.

Despite his team Damac sitting in 10th place in the Saudi Pro League table, N’Koudou has netted eight goals in 13 games so far; only Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Aleksandar Mitrovic have scored more in the league this season.

The Cameroon international primarily operates as a winger but since moving to Damac in the summer of 2023, N’Koudou has become a dangerous finisher. Before arriving in Saudi Arabia, he had only scored more than five goals in a season once in his career. At Damac, he has done it twice in a row.

N’Koudou hit the ground running in impressive fashion after his move from Turkish side Besiktas, bagging 14 goals in his first 16 games, including a sensational match-winning brace against then-reigning Saudi champions Al-Ittihad last December. The Damac No. 10 credits his prolific form to the influence of his coach, ex-AC Milan defender Cosmin Contra.

“The coach has given me so much responsibility and freedom on the field,”  N’Koudou told Arab News. “He knows I have experience, so he has just let me play my game and be happy on the pitch and off the pitch.

“I have had many great coaches in my career so far but before being a coach, (Contra) is a great man. He’s honest and if he has something to say he will say it to you straight.

“He’s really passionate about the game because he was a player before. He understands us and I think that’s maybe the difference between some of the coaches who weren’t players; he played at a good level in Milan. 

“(Now) I feel free and can enjoy my game. The coach helped me a lot and that’s why I think everything happened for me. I scored 15 goals last season and hope I can do the same this season too.”

It could have been even better in 2023-24 for N’Koudou, who tailed off in the second-half of the season, scoring just once in his last 14 games after his electric start. The Cameroon international firmly believes it was fatigue from the mid-season Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast that was responsible for the slowdown.

“When I came back from AFCON I was so tired; my legs were dead,” N’Koudou said. “I always try to recover as much as I can but sometimes you just can’t.

“Damac is a smaller team and they relied more on me to be the one to score goals or make an assist but it was more difficult (after AFCON).”

Without a continental tournament to disrupt his form this season, could N’Koudou make a serious tilt at the Saudi Pro League Golden boot?

“Honestly I’m not someone who looks at the numbers,” N’Koudou said. “These guys — Cristiano, Mitrovic, Benzema — they are strikers, they play on big teams. They fight for the title.

“I’m a winger, and sometimes No. 10, so for me it’s a little bit different. But I always try to do my best for the team and I will try to score more than last season and then I will see how far I can go. I will try to be there.”

Some of N’Koudou’s best performances for Damac have been against the league’s top sides. Having played in Ligue 1 for Marseille and Monaco, and in the English Premier League for Tottenham, he insists he doesn’t treat these matches any differently.

“I have been used to playing against big players since I was 17, 18. It doesn’t feel surprising to me, like it might for other players who don’t have this experience. I am not shy or scared to play. You still have to be able to express yourself, whoever the opponent — even when it is big players or big teams.”

Although he is one of Damac’s most experienced players, N’Koudou says he is a quiet presence in the club’s dressing-room. The Cameroon winger has certainly done most of his talking on the pitch since arriving in Khamis Mushait, winning over fans not only with high-energy displays but with his sunny disposition too. N’Koudou always plays with a smile on his face, something he attributes to the example set by his football heroes growing up.

“I loved Robinho, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo (Nazario),” he said. “When I was young, I saw these kinds of players, they enjoyed football and played with a smile. For me, this is football.

“It is the pleasure of playing before anything else, the same way I played with my friends as a kid or as people play at the weekend with their mates. This is why I smile too.”

N’Koudou hopes that he and his teammates have more to smile about come the end of the season and promised Damac supporters that he will do everything he can to try to take the club up the Saudi Pro League table.

“For a club like Damac our first priority is to stay in the league at the start of every season. And as a professional football player you want to be competitive — to try to go as far as you can.

“I think we have a lot to improve on from the first part (of the season), but I think if we can make a better finish than last season it’s going to be good for the club. We will see how far we can go.”

Topics: Saudi Pro League

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Rankings champion Niemann confirms place at International Series India

Rankings champion Niemann confirms place at International Series India
Updated 28 December 2024
Ali Khaled
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Rankings champion Niemann confirms place at International Series India

Rankings champion Niemann confirms place at International Series India
  • The $2m tournament will take place at DLF Golf and Country Club in January
Updated 28 December 2024
Ali Khaled

GURUGRAM:  In-form LIV Golf superstar Joaquin Niemann, The International Series Rankings champion for the 2024 season, is the latest big name to be confirmed for International Series India, the $2m tournament taking place at DLF Golf and Country Club in Gurugram next month.

The Chilean, who captains the Torque GC team in the LIV Golf League, will join defending US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau and local hero Anirban Lahiri for the tournament, which will take place from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2.

Niemann was runner-up in the LIV Golf League individual standings in an impressive 2024 season, winning two of the first three tournaments in Mayakoba and Jeddah, and clinching two T2 and two T3 places as he narrowly lost out to two-time major champion Jon Rahm.

The 26-year-old, a two-time PGA Tour winner, finished the campaign on a high by winning the Asian Tour's season-ending $5m PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers earlier this month in Riyadh in a thrilling play-off where he held his nerve to edge out 2022 Open champion Cam Smith and promising American Caleb Surratt.

That result, combined with a third-placed finish in the season-opening International Series Oman, gave Niemann the International Series Rankings crown.    

International Series India presented by DLF is the first tournament on the LIV Golf-backed series to be played on the subcontinent. It is the first of 10 events across the season on the Asian Tour that will include stops in Macau, Morocco, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia.

The series offers players from all over the world a pathway into the LIV Golf League, with the end-of-season rankings champion guaranteed a place on the roster for the following season. The International Series Rankings also offers players a second chance to claim a place on the LIV Golf League, through the innovative LIV Golf Promotions event.

Topics: LIV Golf

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