26/03/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | MAR 26, 2025

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SHORTS Lithuania fight back to earn point A SPIRITED Lithuania comeback saw them recover from two goals down to hold Finland during yesterday’s World Cup Group qualifier at Dariaus Ir Gireno Stadium in in Kaunas, Lithuania. Just three minutes in, Daniel Hakans tricked his way into the area to set up Joel Pohjanpalo, who saw his effort blocked off the line, but the ball ricocheted back in off the fortunate Kaan Kairinen. The hosts’ task was made doubly difficult less than 15 minutes later, when Edvinas Girdvainis

on an assist from defender Jakub Moder. Poland are ranked 35th worldwide by football’s governing body Fifa, while Malta are No. 168. The Polish team will now take on Finland in its next World Cup qualifying fixture in Helsinki on June 10. The Poles opened their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 home win against Lithuania last Friday. Poland’s qualifying Group G also includes the Netherlands. Poland reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar before being eliminated by eventual runners-up France.

wiped out Hakans for a penalty which Pohjanpalo stroked home. Lithuania, who had shown little attacking threat, gave themselves a fighting chance six minutes before the break, with Armandas Kucys rifling in from Artur Dolznikov’s cutback. The Trispalvs kept plugging away and got the equaliser their never-say-die attitude deserved just under 20 minutes from time. Gvidas Gineitis picked the ball up 35 yards from goal and let fly, with his sweetly-struck effort curving away from Lukas Hradecky and into the bottom-left corner. Finland tried to re-establish their lead, but

Teemu Pukki could only slice his effort wide late on.

Poland beat Malta in second qualifier

POLAND’S national football team defeated Malta 2-0 in Warsaw yesterday in its second 2026 World Cup qualifier. Both goals at the National Stadium came from striker Karol Swiderski. He scored the opening goal in the 27th minute, after a series of defensive errors by Malta, and doubled the lead in the 51st minute,

Kiwis bury ghosts of past failures

Pochettino’s US compensation barrier to Spurs return MAURICIO POCHETTINO, the man at the helm of the US national team, has downplayed speculations of a swift return to Tottenham Hotspur despite his recent admission of an emotional pull to his former club. Pochettino, who steered Spurs with commendable success from 2014 to 2019, reaching the heights of a Champions League final and securing four top-four League finishes, has expressed a heartfelt desire to make a return. While he currently gears towards leading the United States into a World Cup on home soil in 2026, murmurs have persisted regarding a potential comeback amidst Tottenham’s lacklustre performance under Ange Postecoglou this season, with the team languishing at 14th in the standings. Pochettino, who still harbours a connection with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, articulated his sentiments clearly: “I am going to repeat. In the bottom of my heart I still feel the same. I would like one day to come back,” he stated. “Not because of my ego it’s because my feeling is I would like one day to win with Tottenham.” Despite recent setbacks with the US national team, Pochettino remains unfazed. After their defeats in the Concacaf Nations League and against Canada, he reassured fans: “I’ve seen some times that teams that were building to play in the World Cup, they were not good until around the World Cup. “I want to send a message to the fans, don’t be pessimistic and don’t get bad feelings.” However, a BBC Sport report suggests that prising Pochettino away from his current role before the 2026 World Cup could be a costly affair. It would reportedly require “one of the biggest financial compensation fees in football history”, comparable to the hefty sums paid for Julian Nagelsmann and Graham Potter’s managerial moves, which were around £21 million (RM116m). Pochettino signed a two-year contract in September, with multiple reports stating he earns £4.6m (RM25m) a year. However, it is understood the sum US Soccer would recoup if Pochettino leaves before next year’s tournament, which they are hosting along with Canada and Mexico, extends way beyond his salary and much closer to the amount Chelsea and Bayern, respectively, paid to land Potter and Nagelsmann.

All Whites book ticket to World Cup with win over New Caledonia

N EW ZEALAND’S return to the World Cup stage in 2026 will mark the end of a long road for a number of the nation’s players who have carried the regrets from a string of past qualifying failures. On Monday, their relief was palpable as the All Whites booked their ticket to the finals in North America with a 3-0 win against New Caledonia in Auckland. Few would have felt as emotional as veteran winger Kosta Barbarouses, who came off the bench to score the

that ended their hopes of returning to the World Cup at the 2018 tournament in Russia. Prior to his 55th international on Monday, the 36-year-old centre back had never scored for New Zealand but his thumping header on the hour mark at Eden Park put the hosts in front and settled their nerves. “When the goal went in, I think it was a bit more relief than anything else,” he said. “Just seeing everyone’s reaction with the ball at the back of the net was a pretty cool feeling.” Just minutes earlier, New Zealand’s talismanic captain Chris Wood had limped off injured, sending a chill through the home crowd. The Nottingham Forest forward is the only player left in the squad who played at the World Cup in South Africa, where the Ricki Herbert coached All Whites exited at the group stage after draws with Italy, Slovakia and Paraguay. Wood will have scans on a sore right hip later today and said he hopes it will be “nothing too major” ahead of Forest’s FA Cup quarterfinal against Brighton at the weekend. He will expect to be in the All Whites line-up for friendlies against Ivory Coast and Ukraine in June and Norway in November, with the long term target of leading New Zealand onto the pitch for the group stage at next year’s World Cup. “That’s the only way the team is going to be good is if we have all our players together and pulling in the same direction,” Wood told New Zealand media yesterday. – Reuters

So to be able to put that aside well and truly now I think I’ll feel a whole lot better about the situation now.” Barbarouses has featured in five New Zealand qualifying campaigns, with three ending in playoff defeats. He played a part in New Zealand’s last qualification for the World Cup in 2010 but then missed out on a place in the squad for the finals in South Africa. Teammate Michael Boxall shared in Barbarouses’ heartbreak during multiple qualifying campaigns, including the 2-0 loss to Peru in Lima

second goal and set up the last for teammate Elijah Just. Three years ago, Barbarouses was sent off for a rash tackle during a 1-0 playoff defeat by Costa Rica in Doha which ended New Zealand’s hopes of reaching the 2022 World Cup. “I think about it most nights, to be honest,” the 35-year-old said of the red card. “No joke, it crosses my mind at some point quite frequently. “Whether my red card affected the overall outcome of the game, deep down I feel like it might have. “I’ve been carrying that for a while.

New Zealand’s players celebrate after their Fifa World Cup 2026 Oceania qualifiers group final victory against New Caledonia. – AFPPIC

Partey time as Black Stars look for WC redemption

THOMAS PARTEY scored twice and fellow Premier League midfielder Mohammed Kudus once as Ghana outplayed Madagascar 3-0 yesterday in a top-of-the table African 2026 World Cup qualifying group match. Captain Jordan Ayew created all three goals to complete a successful night for Premier League players as Ghana built a five-point lead over second placed Madagascar in Group I. Adding to the joy in the Ghana camp was the fact that Mali, the top seeds in the group, surprisingly dropped two points in a 0-0 draw with the Central African Republic in Casablanca, Morocco. Ghana, seeking a fifth World Cup appearance, have 15 points, Madagascar 10, Mali and the Comoros nine each, the Central African Republic five and Chad none. Arsenal midfielder Partey scored both goals with his head. He finished an Ayew freekick on 11 minutes

laboured 1-0 win over Gambia in Abidjan. Sebastien Haller, scorer of the winning goal in a 2 1 Cup of Nations final triumph over Nigeria, netted after 15 minutes to sink the Gambians. Brighton winger Simon Adingra created the match-winner for the Ivorians, who qualified for three consecutive World Cup tournaments from 2006, but did not make it to the last two editions. Ivory Coast top Group F with 16 points. Gabon have 15, Burundi seven, Kenya six, Gambia four and Seychelles none. Group H leaders Tunisia grabbed a late 2-0 win over 10-man Malawi in Rades thanks to a header from Seifeddine Jaziri on 86 minutes and an added-time penalty converted by Elias Achouri. After conceding twice, Richard Mbulu missed a penalty for the Malawians, who had defended gallantly after Lloyd Aaron was red-carded on 65 minutes after being cautioned twice. – AFP

and a corner taken by the Leicester City veteran on 53 minutes. West Ham United star Kudus completed the scoring on 58 minutes. He raced on to an Ayew pass and fired past Luxembourg-based goalkeeper Geordan Dupire. Having crushed the Central African Republic 4-1 last week in their first match under coach and former France midfielder Corentin Martins, more was expected of Madagascar against Ghana. But they never threatened the Black Stars defence in Moroccan coastal city Al Hoceima, where Madagascar hosted the match as they are among 21 African nations who lack FIFA-approved venues. It was the fifth victory in six World Cup qualifiers for Ghana, who are seeking redemption for a disastrous 2025 Africa Cup of Nations campaign. While Ghana were cruising to victory, Cup of Nations title-holders Ivory Coast had to settle for a