Tashkent: Uzbekistan narrowly missed out on direct qualification for the 2014 World Cup despite routing Qatar 5-1 on Tuesday.
Uzbekistan finished level on points with South Korea for second spot in Group A of Asian qualifying - which yielded automatic qualification for Brazil - but were one behind on goal difference.
Uzbekistan will go into a sudden-death playoff against either Oman or Jordan, who meet later Tuesday. Qatar took the lead in the 37th minute through Abdulqadir Ilyas.
Uzbekistan dominated in the second half. Bakhodir Nasimov tapped in a cross to equalize in the 60th. Goals in the 72nd and 74th put Uzbekistan up 3-1 and the hosts scored again in the 88th minute and stoppage time but ran out of time to further improve their goal difference....
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08:42 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Sydney: Australia, Iran and South Korea all secured berths at the 2014 World Cup on a dramatic final day of Asian qualifying on Tuesday. Australia beat Iraq 1-0, waiting until the 83rd minute before Josh Kennedy headed home the winner that secured second spot in Group B. Iran booked their place with a disciplined counter-attacking game that produced a 1-0 win at South Korea. While Iran finished top of Group...
07:59 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Rotterdam: An error-prone India need nothing short of a miracle to secure a direct berth in next year's hockey World Cup as they take on formidable Australia in the quarterfinals of the men's competition of the FIH World Round 3, here on Wednesday. Six top teams - three each - will qualify directly for the 2014 World Cup to be held in Hague, The Netherlands from the two editions of...
02:51 PM, Jun 18, 2013
Rotterdam: India paid the price of poor defending as they conceded a goal four minutes from time to play out a 3-3 draw in a thrilling match in their last pool fixture of the FIH World League Round 3 match here Monday. India, who dominated the match throughout, fought back in a remarkable fashion from a goal down in the first half and took the lead twice only to be...
10:18 PM, Jun 17, 2013
Johannesburg: FIFA is investigating Ethiopia and Togo for allegedly fielding ineligible players in World Cup qualifying. Possible sanctions against the pair would significantly affect Africa's qualifying competition for Brazil 2014 and give boosts to South Africa and Cameroon. Ethiopia qualified for the final playoffs Sunday with a 2-1 win over South Africa, but potentially faces being stripped of its 2-1 win in Botswana on June 8 for allegedly fielding an...
08:43 PM, Jun 17, 2013
Catch the live updates from the hockey encounter between India and New Zealand at Rotterdam A poor India will have to plug in the loopholes in defence as well as improve their finishing as they take on New Zealand in their last FIH World League Round 3 group match today. After missing out on a point against Ireland in their tournament opener, followed by Saturday's 0-2 reverse to the Netherlands,...
07:40 PM, Jun 17, 2013
Maputo: Ethiopia ended the hopes of 2010 World Cup hosts South Africa from making next year's finals in Brazil after a dramatic round of African group stage qualifying matches on Sunday. The Ethiopians join Algeria, Egypt, the Ivory Coast and Tunisia through to the third and final phase of the African preliminaries. Five places are yet to be decided with the last cycle of Round 2 group matches remaining. The...
10:37 AM, Jun 17, 2013
Kolkata: Fancied recurve archers including world No. 3 Deepika Kumari returned empty-handed as India finished a poor ninth in the World Cup Stage II that concluded in Antalya, Turkey on Sunday. According to information received here, India with a solitary silver medal in the mixed team event of the compound section finished ninth along with Austria in the medal standings. Korea reigned supreme with seven medals including three gold and...
08:39 PM, Jun 16, 2013
Antalya, Turkey: Rajat Chouhan and Manjudha Soy lost out by one point in the compound mixed team final to earn India a solitary silver medal in the Archery World Cup Stage II at Antalya, Turkey on Saturday. The unheralded Indian duo had a slender 112-111 lead against the Italian world champions Sergio Pagni and Marcella Toniolli at the end of the third set. But the inexperienced Indians faltered by a...
10:43 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Indian defence once again buckled under pressure to conceded soft goals and go down 0-2 to a dominating Netherlands side. India proved to be no match to the Dutch team that was relentless in attack and scored early through Billy Bakker (2nd minute) and Jeroen Hertzberger (18th). The win took Netherlands to 4 points while India, who next take on New Zealand on Monday, have 1. ...
07:32 PM, Jun 15, 2013
Zurich: FIFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against Argentina captain Javier Mascherano after he was sent off for kicking the driver of a medical cart in a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador on Tuesday. The Barcelona midfielder was shown a red card by Paraguayan referee Enrique Caceres with four minutes to go in Quito after the player lost his temper with the driver who he thought was going too fast in...
09:07 AM, Jun 15, 2013
Rio de Janeiro: FIFA has "full confidence" Brazilian police can cope with the violent protests and disorder in the streets leading to the country's warmup event for the 2014 World Cup. There were clashes with police on Thursday in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro after thousands protested rising bus and subway fares. Police said 40 people were detained in Sao Paulo, some with knives and gasoline bombs. Authorities are...
12:30 AM, Jun 15, 2013
Rotterdam: A lacklustre Indian women's hockey team eked out a 1-1 draw against Belgium to avoid a second consecutive defeat in the women's competition of the FIH World League Round 3 in Rotterdam on Friday. Anupa Barla saved the day for India with the equaliser in the 38th minute after Erica Coppey gave Belgium the lead in the fourth minute. Undoubtedly it was yet another patchy performance from India, but...
09:33 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Antalya, Turkey: Rajat Chouhan and Manjudha Soy stormed into the final of compound mixed section to assure India of a minimum silver medal as top archers came a cropper at the World Cup Stage II being held at Antalya, Turkey. The duo, who qualified third behind Korea, defeated Great Britain 151-149, Russia 156-154 and Canada 154-147 en route to the final. Chouhan and Manjudha will look to win a first-ever...
05:24 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Rotterdam: Held to a draw by lower-ranked Ireland in their FIH World League Round 3 opener, the Indian men's hockey team will have to regroup quickly and come up with something special against formidable Netherlands in their next Pool B match here on Saturday. Ranked four places ahead of their rivals, India (11) started as overwhelming favourites against Ireland (15) on Thursday, but it didn't really show in their game...
02:38 PM, Jun 14, 2013
Recife: Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas feels the 2014 World Cup in Brazil would represent the end of an era for Spanish football. The 32-year-old, who captained Spain to victory at the 2010 World Cup and the 2008 and 2012 European championships, also revealed that next year's World Cup could be his international swansong, reports Xinhua. "After Brazil many of us will probably call it a day and make way...
01:04 PM, Jun 14, 2013
New Delhi: Having got the government clearance, AIFF president Praful Patel on Thursday expressed confidence that India would win the right to host the U-17 FIFA World Cup in 2017 despite facing strong competition from the other three bidding countries. "This is an extremely positive development for Indian football and I am confident India will be able to make a formidable and successful bid with the backing of the Union...
10:43 PM, Jun 13, 2013
Rotterdam: Rupinderpal Singh scored two goals as India survived a scare before eking out a 4-4 draw against lower-ranked Ireland in a hard-fought Pool B match in the men's competition of the FIH World League Round 3, here on Thursday. Rupinderpal (40th, 66th minute) converted two penalty corners in the second half to save India the blushes after Akashdeep Singh (21st) and Shivendra Singh (47th) scored two field goals. For...
08:52 PM, Jun 13, 2013
A spiriting Ireland outfit held India to a 4-4 draw in the opening match of the FIH Hockey World League Round 3, which also doubles up as the World Cup qualifier, at Rotterdam on Thursday. Rupinderpal Singh (40th and 65th) scored two goals for India off penalty corners, with Shivendra Singh (47th) and Akashdeep Singh (22nd) being the other two marksmen. For Ireland, Alan Sothern (25th), Peter Caruth (30th), Conor...
06:26 PM, Jun 13, 2013
Rotterdam: India women's hockey team made a horrific start to their campaign in the FIH World League Round 3 as they were mauled 0-7 by higher-ranked New Zealand in the opening match of Pool B, here on Thursday. Ranked third in the world, New Zealand entered the tournament as the second-highest-ranked squad in the eight-team field and the top team in Pool B. And expectedly, the Black Sticks had no...
03:11 PM, Jun 13, 2013
