ROTTERDAM-- Croatia scored twice in extra time to beat the Netherlands 4-2 in their Nations League semi-final in Rotterdam on Wednesday and advance to Sunday’s decider. Croatia will play either Italy or Spain, who face off in the second semi-final in Enschede on Thursday, for a first major title as they continued their form from last year’s World Cup in Qatar, where they finished third. Substitute Bruno Petkovic curled home a stunning shot from the edge of the penalty area eight minutes into extra time to put them on their way and Luka Modric made sure of Croatia’s triumph with a late penalty, their second of the game.
The Dutch, hosting the four-nation tournament, had forced extra time with a last-gasp equaliser to ensure it finished 2-2 after 90 minutes despite being largely outplayed in front of their home fans at the Feyenoord Stadium. Donyell Malen handed the hosts a 34th-minute lead before Andrej Kramaric equalised from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half. Croatia then went ahead through Mario Pasalic in the 73rd minute before Noa Lang side-footed the ball into the roof of the net to equalise six minutes into stoppage time. The Netherlands’ first goal came against the run of play, but at the end of a swift series of passes that saw both quick feet and precise thinking. Cody Gakpo set it up by winning possession and five passes later, Mats Wieffer teed up an unmarked Malen to fire home.
But it was the street-smarts of Croatia captain Modric that got them level, stealing the ball in the Dutch penalty area from Gakpo, whose instinctive reaction was to tug at the 37-year-old veteran who went tumbling to the ground to win a penalty. Kramaric tucked it away comfortably, after which Luka Ivanusec played a pass into Pasalic, that he fired home on the turn despite a host of Dutch defenders around him to give Croatia a 2-1 lead. But a desperate last attack saw the Dutch take advantage of Croatia’s failure to clear their lines with Lang perfectly placed to equalise and force the game into extra time.
Parity, however, did not last long. Modric’s pass put Petkovic through on goal and he curled the ball into the net with a shot worthy of winning any cup tie. Modric completed the win with the late spotkick to seal another outstanding individual performance. The Netherlands now have to play in the third-place playoff game against Thursday’s losers in Enschede on Sunday. The final is in Rotterdam later that day.
ENGLAND- - Even a thunderstorm could not dent Manchester City's rousing victory parade on Monday as the players and manager Pep Guardiola celebrated completing the long-awaited treble after winning the Champions League trophy over the weekend.
City players soaked their already drenched fans with champagne during the delayed open-top bus parade that marked the club's most successful season -- when they followed their victorious runs in the FA Cup and Premier League with a 1-0 win over Inter Milan that secured them their first European Cup title. The blue side of Manchester were all euphoric as the team and fans also celebrated becoming only the second English club to win the treble, equalling the 1999 milestone of their fierce rivals Manchester United. "What a parade, what an afternoon, it had to be the best parade with this rain, otherwise is not Manchester.
We don't want sunshine," said Premier League manager of the year Guardiola in front of thousands of fans. Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan, who scored twice against United to claim the FA Cup title nine days ago, each showed off one of the trophies they won. "Basically for the past 24 hours, I've had the best day and night. To be fair, I don't think I've slept," said Grealish before Kalvin Phillips poured some alcohol into his mouth. As the players left the stage, the celebrations seemed far from over for the City fans who were ready to party on long into the night.
PARIS-- Defending champion Iga Swiatek was pushed hard by Beatriz Haddad Maia at the French Open on Thursday, but the top seed soaked up the pressure to overcome the Brazilian 6-2 7-6(7) and reach a third final in four years at Roland Garros. She will play on Saturday the unseeded Karolina Muchova, who saved a match point before overcoming second seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6(5) 6-7(5) 7-5 to end the Belarusian's hopes of becoming world number one.
Swiatek, who lifted the Suzanne Lenglen Cup last year and in 2020, was put through the wringer by Haddad Maia but held her nerve in a tense tiebreak to see off the 14th seed's challenge. "She has a really nice game for clay courts with a lot of top spin," Swiatek said of Haddad Maia, who beat the Pole in their only other meeting in Toronto last year. "She can also play flat and aggressive. She's a fighter. For every match, she played fierce." Sabalenka would have taken over top spot in the rankings by winning the title in Paris, but the Australian Open champion wasted her opportunity at 5-2 in the third set against Muchova and bowed out after losing the last five games in a row. That made Muchova only the third player ranked outside the top 40 to reach the Roland Garros final after Jelena Ostapenko (2017) and Swiatek (2020) - both of whom won the title. Skilful Best The last unseeded player left in the men's and women's draw, Muchova, who fought back from the mid-200s into the top 50 after an injury in 2021, was at her skilful best to subdue the big-hitting Sabalenka.
"I don't really know what happened," Muchova said. "The atmosphere, the people pushing me in all the match. I just keep fighting and it worked. I really don't know what happened. I am so happy." There was light at the end of the tunnel for Japan's Miyu Kato after a difficult few days, as she put her women's doubles disqualification behind her to claim the mixed doubles crown with Germany's Tim Puetz. The pair rallied to beat Canada's Bianca Andreescu and New Zealander Michael Venus 4-6 6-4 (10-6) in the final. Kato and her Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi had been disqualified from the women's doubles in the third round when Kato hit a ball down the court between points, inadvertently striking a ball girl. That led to the Asian pair's disqualification, leaving Kato in tears. "It's been challenging mentally after the disqualification. I want to thank everyone for the heartfelt messages of support," Kato said. "I was able to use all the positive energy so I could be here today.
Thanks to Aldila and all the Indonesian fans. I'm doing my best so we can one day return and claim the women's doubles title." The action resumes on Friday with the men's semi-finals, as world number one Carlos Alcaraz meets 22-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and last year's runner-up Casper Ruud faces Alexander Zverev.
PARIS-- Novak Djokovic said winning a record 23rd men's singles Grand Slam title at the French Open after beating Norway's Casper Ruud 7-6(1) 6-3 7-5 on Sunday was special given that it was always his toughest one to win.
LOS ANGELES-- Lionel Messi on Wednesday announced that he intends to join Major League Soccer side Inter Miami as a free agent after parting ways with French champions Paris St Germain and snubbing a lucrative contract offer in Saudi Arabia. Messi, who played his final game for PSG over the weekend, was also linked with a return to Barcelona but the Spanish club have had their hands tied due to LaLiga's financial fair play rules. "I made the decision that I'm going to go to Miami," Messi said in an interview with Mundo Deportivo and Sport newspapers. "I still haven't closed it 100%. I'm still missing a few things, but we decided to go ahead. If Barcelona didn't work out, I wanted to leave Europe, get out of the spotlight and think more about my family."
Messi, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in Qatar in December and has earned a record seven Ballon d'Or awards, won the Ligue 1 title in his two seasons with PSG as well as the French Super Cup in 2022. "After winning the World Cup and not being able to go to Barca, it was time to go to the U.S. league to experience football in a different way and enjoy the day-to-day," Messi said. "Obviously with the same responsibility and desire to want to win and to always do things well. But with more peace of mind." Ownership Stake The MLS said it was pleased that Messi intends to join Inter Miami this summer. "Although work remains to finalize a formal agreement, we look forward to welcoming one of the greatest soccer players of all time to our League," MLS said in a statement. Messi had wanted to go to a club where he could eventually have an ownership stake, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters this week. He also wanted to maximise his existing deal with Adidas and MLS's relationship with Apple. MLS earns a flat fee of around $250 million per year from Apple until it reaches a certain threshold of subscriptions, after which point it will earn a share of the revenue from those subscriptions.
Messi's move to MLS is expected to drive viewers to the Apple TV streaming platform, as the world's most recognisable soccer player. The forward was also linked with a move to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal after he received a formal offer. The Gulf country has been looking to bring the game's biggest players to its league and was successful in convincing Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo to join Al Nassr soon after the World Cup. French striker Karim Benzema joined Al Ittihad this week. Inter Miami are co-owned by former England captain David Beckham, who was one of the first major European stars to move to the United States to play in the MLS, winning the MLS Cup twice with Los Angeles Galaxy. Messi will have his work cut out in Miami, however, with the club rock bottom of the Eastern Conference standings -- six points from ninth place, the final spot which would give them a chance of qualifying for the playoffs. The team sacked coach Phil Neville last week after a dismal run of 10 defeats and five wins this season, a stark contrast to last season when they finished sixth and qualified for the MLS Cup playoffs. PSG Exit Once the crown jewel of European football, Messi has effectively been let go by two super clubs in two years -- for free.
At Barcelona, Messi has several records to his name at the club he did not want to leave, in a city he had called home since he was a teenager. But Messi had no choice in the manner of his exit from Barcelona in 2021 as the club failed to make it financially feasible to retain his services. His move away from PSG, however, is of his own volition as he felt the French club lacked a project for the future while fan unrest only hastened his exit. The highs after winning Argentina's first World Cup in 36 years were quickly offset by the lows he experienced in Paris. Even before he could rest on his World Cup laurels he found himself in the eye of a storm when, for the first time in his illustrious career, his club's fans turned against him amid PSG's troubling form. Supporters of PSG, owned and funded by Qatar Sports Investments, have become accustomed to winning domestic titles in the past decade. They won their ninth title in 11 seasons last month. But the holy grail -- the Champions League -- remains elusive after yet another meek exit in the last 16.
