09/01/2026

FRIDAY | JAN 9, 2026

29

SPORTS

Morocco under immense pressure Hosts face Afcon heat while Osimhen, Lookman to test Algeria keeper Zidane M OROCCO are on a mission to win the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) in front of their own fans but the Dec 21 before a 1-1 draw with Mali was greeted with jeers from the crowd. Regragui to be replaced by Tarik Sektioui – coach of the side that won the recent Fifa Arab Cup – with the upcoming World Cup in mind.

record of Algeria goalkeeper Luca Zidane, a son of French football icon Zinedine Zidane, in the quarterfinals on Sunday (12.01am). Zidane is the only first-choice goalkeeper amongst the eight quarterfinalists to have kept a clean sheet in all of his tournament matches so far, but the task facing him in Marrakesh will not be easy. Mali are the only survivors who have not been Afcon champions and they reached the last eight without winning. Mali will play against Senegal tomorrow (12.01am) for a spot in the semifinals. Ivory Coast have a dismal Afcon record against Egypt, losing seven of 11 matches and winning only one. The Elephant will play the Pharoahs on Sunday (3am). – AFP came back from going two goals behind but it’s not the right result ... we wanted to win our first match of 2026 in front of our fans,” said Di Lorenzo to DAZN . “I’m pleased for myself for the goal but it’s not enough.” Inter’s win has piled pressure on Napoli, especially given the continued injury crisis affecting Antonio Conte’s squad. Atalanta continued their revival under Raffaele Palladino with a 2-0 win at Bologna, with Nikola Krstovic bagging both goals in each half to push Atalanta above Bologna into sev enth, albeit eight points behind Juventus who sit fourth in the last Champions League spot. Fiorentina were denied a sec ond win of the season by Pedro’s stoppage-time penalty in a thrill ing 2-2 draw at Lazio and are two points behind Genoa who sit just outside the relegation zone. – AFP

“It is not normal for them to boo us. We want to have the supporters behind us,” said captain Achraf Hakimi in a rallying cry before the final group game against Zambia. “If the fans are behind us we can be champions of Africa together.” A 3-0 victory in that match may have eased some concerns around the football-mad nation of almost 40 million people, but the manner in which they beat rank outsiders Tanzania in the last 16 was hardly reassuring. Morocco required a Brahim Diaz goal in the second half to defeat a side who have never won a Cup of Nations match. Regragui insists that winning is

As the temperature rises around the Moroccan team – despite this being the coldest weather seen at an Afcon in decades – the big advantage for Cameroon, meanwhile, might be the lack of pressure on them. The Indomitable Lions are five time African champions but go into Friday’s match in relaxed mood having been written off pre-tournament. Reaching the last eight means that, for a team eliminated in the last 16 two years ago, their Afcon is already a success. Nigeria sharpshooters Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman will provide a stern test to the flawless

hosts must avoid buckling under the enormous weight of pressure as they face Cameroon in the quarterfinals tomorrow (3am Malaysian time). The tournament for Walid Regragui’s side will be seen as a failure unless they go all the way to the final on Jan 18 and lift the trophy, and the question is how they cope with that level of expectation in the coming days. Moroccan supporters demand the best from Africa’s top-ranked nation but are not convinced by what they have seen so far at this Cup of Nations. The Atlas Lions beat minnows Comoros 2-0 in the opening match on Barca reach Super Cup final FERMIN LOPEZ scored one goal and laid on two more as Barcelona tore through Athletic Bilbao to record a 5-0 victory in their Spanish Super Cup semi final played in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia yesterday, extending the Catalans’ winning run to nine matches. Raphinha scored twice while Ferran Torres and Roony Bardghji were also on target in a dominant display as Barcelona led 4-0 at halftime. Barcelona were rampant at this stage and they added a fifth goal through Raphinha in the second half as Bilbao failed to clear a ball into the penalty area. Barcelona are looking to defend the Super Cup title they won last season, extending their record number of victories in the competition to 15. The final will be played on Monday (3am Malaysian time) in Jeddah. – Reuters

ultimately all that counts – and his side are good at that, having put together a world-record run of 19 straight victories before the Mali stalemate. “These are the kind of matches that in the past we would have somehow lost. We got through by the backdoor, but all that matters is that we qualified,” the coach said after edging past Tanzania. Winning without turning on the style will not stop fans calling for

Inter extend Serie A lead, Napoli slip

INTER MILAN moved four points clear at the top of

the San Siro.

But their lead could be cut back to a point overnight as local rivals AC Milan, who sit second and are level on 38 points with Napoli, host struggling

Serie A yes terday after winning 2 0 at Parma w h i l e

Genoa.

“Today it was important to win and that’s what we did, now we can start thinking about Sunday’s match,” said Dimarco to DAZN . Inter now have a healthy cushion between themselves and Napoli, who had to fight back from two goals down at halftime to squeak a draw in Naples. Giovanni Di Lorenzo swept home a brilliant leveller with eight minutes remaining to grab a point after Scott McTominay’s header early in the second half started the fightback. “The positive thing is that we

r i v a l s Napoli bat tled to a 2-2 home

draw with Verona.

Federico Dimarco scored the opening goal just before halftime at a foggy Stadio Ennio Tardini before Marcus Thuram netted in stoppage time to give Inter a sixth straight league win and a handy advantage on third placed Napoli. Inter will hold top spot until at least the weekend, when Cristian Chivu’s team will host the cham pions in a Scudetto showdown at

Inter’s Manuel Akanji (left) in action with Parma’s Mateo Pellegrino during yesterday’s Serie A match at Stadio Ennio Tardini, Parma. – REUTERSPIC

Gauff drags US into United Cup semis COCO GAUFF pulled off double duty to drag defending champions, the United States, into the United Cup semifinals yesterday while world No. 2 Iga Swiatek did her bit for Poland. Fourth-ranked Gauff, who suffered a surprise defeat last time out, put the United States on their way to their quarterfinal against Greece with a 6-3, 6-2 win over former world No. 3 Maria Sakkari in Perth. Stefanos Tsitsipas brought Greece level by defeating struggling Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-5.

Sabalenka impresses again in AO warm-up WORLD No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka said she still had room for improvement after a second dominant win in the Brisbane International on Thursday. someone pushes you and you have to deal with moments under pressure.” Sabalenka said tournaments such as Brisbane, which features seven of the top 10 women, were perfect preparation for a Grand Slam.

“That’s the beauty of this tournament. So definitely happy to give my team the lead today.” Six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek beat 97th-ranked Suzan Lamens 6-3, 6-2 in the tie against the Netherlands in Sydney. Hubert Hurkacz, on his way back after being out for seven months following knee surgery, defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) as Poland sealed their last-eight spot. Poland will play hosts Australia, with the winner facing the United States for a place in Sunday’s final. In Perth, Switzerland’a Belinda Bencic beat Solana Sierra of Argentina 6-2, 6-2 but a 7-5, 6 4 loss by Stan Wawrinka to Sebastian Baez sent the tie into a mixed doubles decider. The Swiss finished off the win with Bencic and Jakub Paul clinching the winning point over Maria Lourdes Carle and Guido Andreozzi 6-3, 6-3. – AFP

Sabalenka was pushed at times by 36-year old Sorana Cirstea, but was never really troubled by the Romanian as she notched a 6 3, 6-3 win in 70 minutes. The Belarusian will next play either 21-year old Russian Diana Shnaider or Madison Keys, the American who beat Sabalenka in last year’s Australian Open final. Sabalenka said she aimed to get better as she targets a third Australian Open title in four years when the first Grand Slam of the year begins in Melbourne on Jan 18. “I think there is always room to improve, and I’m definitely not at my peak,” Sabalenka said. “Of course I prefer to win every match 6-0, 6 0, like everyone probably prefers, but at the end of the day you only get better when

“I think by bringing and having seven top players in the draw, it definitely helps to prepare better for the Australian Open,” she said. “I think it’s important to have quality matches before heading to the big event, just so you’re preparing yourself mentally for fights, for battles. “And playing against top players is definitely a huge help heading into the Grand Slam tournament.” Another of the top names is former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who also reached the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Spain’s Paula Badosa. – AFP

In the deciding mixed doubles, Gauff teamed up with Christian Harrison to battle past Tsitsipas and Sakkari 4-6, 6-4, 10-8. The 21-year-old Gauff struggled with her serve as she suffered her first-ever defeat at the United Cup on Monday when she was stunned by Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro. “Definitely a much better match today,” Gauff said after making light work of Sakkari. “Last match, I just tried to erase it.