Qatar floor Japan to win Asian Cup
Qatar stunned Japan 3-1 to capture their first Asian Cup title on Friday sparked by a moment of jaw-dropping brilliance from record-breaker Almoez Ali and after a controversial late twist.
Sudan-born striker Ali scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick after just 12 minutes and Abdelaziz Hatim curled in a superb second before Akram Afif converted a VAR-assisted penalty to give the 2022 World Cup hosts a famous victory in Abu Dhabi.
“We made history for our country,” said Qatar coach Felix Sanchez.
“We need to be proud of this achievement. It's one more step towards being ready for 2022.” Qatar survived a wobble at two-nil when Takumi Minamino pulled one back on 69 minutes, only for Uzbek referee Ravshan Irmatov to award the Maroons a penalty on review for a handball by Japan captain Maya Yoshida.
“That's one of the toughest ways to lose,” a distraught Yoshida told AFP. “That third goal is tough to accept. It killed the game. If that's a penalty probably I'll have to jump without using my arms.” Ali, meanwhile, became the first player to score nine goals at a single Asian Cup after being cleared to play just hours before kickoff following a UAE protest over his eligibility.
The Qataris had been pelted with plastic bottles and shoes during the 4-0 semi-final thrashing of hosts United Arab Emirates over the long-running Gulf blockade of the tiny, energy-rich state.
Emirati football officials subsequently lodged a formal protest over the eligibility of Ali and Iraqiborn defender Bassam Al-Rawi, which was thrown out by the Asian Football Confederation.
Surprise package Qatar had never before gone beyond the Asian Cup quarter-finals but they scored 16 unanswered goals coming into the final and kept a record six clean sheets.
Japan, on the other hand, had never lost an Asian Cup final, winning the last of their record four titles in 2011.
Wales stage dramatic second-half comeback to beat France
Wales made a dramatic winning start to the Six Nations as they staged a second-half revival to beat France.
The hosts started superbly and surged into a 16-0 half-time lead with tries from Louis Picamoles and Yoann Huget.
After an error- strewn first 40 minutes, Wales were unrecognisable in the second as Tomos Williams and George North crossed to put them 17-16 ahead.
Camille Lopez put France back in front but North intercepted a wild pass to seal Wales' 10th straight win.
The match-winning score came after a moment of madness from French lock Sebastien Vahaamahina, who undermined his side's earlier good work by throwing a recklessly high-risk miss-pass which North picked off and juggled before speeding to the line.
The British and Irish Lions wing had shown a similarly predatory instinct for his first try, pouncing on Huget's calamitous fumble on his own line.
It was fitting that Wales' triumph should come from their ability to seize on French mistakes, as this was a match littered with errors and defined by wildly fluctuating swings of momentum.
For Wales, it was also a result of huge relief after a first half which threatened to derail their Six Nations before it had begun in earnest.
A clean sweep of victories in the autumn series earlier this season had helped build a groundswell of optimism around Welsh rugby with this year's World Cup on the horizon.
Yet that sense of buoyancy threatened to be punctured by a limp first 40 minutes, ruthlessly exploited by an impressive French side.
But Wales' second-half resurgence turned the game on its head and secured a 10th successive win for the first time since 1999.
2012 Olympic champion among 12 banned for doping
London 2012 Olympic high jump champion Ivan Ukhov is among 12 Russian track and field athletes banned for doping by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Three years of Ukhov's results, including the 2012 Olympics, have been disqualified, meaning Britain's Robert Grabarz could be upgraded to silver.
Cas acted on evidence from the McLaren report, which found Russia operated a state- sponsored doping programme.
The 12 athletes have 21 days to appeal against the decision.
More than 120 failed doping tests have now been recorded from the London Games. The previous highest number of failed tests was 86 from Beijing 2008.
Cas says the athletes "participated in and/or benefited from anabolic steroid doping programs and benefited from specific protective methods" from London 2012 to the 2013 World Championships in Moscow.
Ukhov has been banned for four years, as has 2013 high jump world champion Svetlana Shkolina, while Tatyana Lysenko, who won world gold in the hammer throw, is banned for eight years.
Grabarz was one of three athletes to finish third at London 2012, a Games that has since been dubbed the dirtiest ever Olympics because of the number of failed drugs tests.