Ukraine returns to pitch with friendly in Germany
The Ukrainian men’s national team returned to action Wednesday for the first time since the invasion by Russia, beating German club Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-1 in a charity fundraiser.
The friendly was a chance for the Ukrainians to get back into form ahead of a World Cup qualifying playoff game against Scotland on June 1, but also just to show their team is still going, despite everything.
“We thank you all for your great help,” former world heavyweight boxing champion Wladimir Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is mayor of Kyiv, said in a video message to the German club and fans played ahead of the game. It felt as if “both (teams) are playing for us,” he added.
The squad for the unusual club-versus-country friendly was assembled from Ukrainian clubs whose league seasons were frozen Feb. 24 on the morning Russian troops invaded.
Ukraine has banned men of fighting age from leaving the country during the war, so the players needed special permission from the authorities to travel. Some have been touring Europe for weeks, first with the Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk clubs playing fundraising games, then at a national-team training camp in Slovenia.
If Ukraine beats Scotland in the single-leg playoff in Glasgow on June 1, it will face Wales four days later in Cardiff for a place at this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
Atlético earns Champions League spot again
Atlético Madrid secured a Champions League spot for the 10th straight season after defeating Elche 2-0 in the Spanish league on Wednesday.
The victory moved Diego Simeone’s team into third place, one point ahead of Sevilla, which earlier missed its own chance to guarantee a berth in Europe’s top club competition next season after a scoreless home draw against relegation-threatened Mallorca.
Matheus Cunha and Rodrigo De Paul scored a goal in each half to leave Atlético six points in front of fifthplace Real Betis with two rounds to go. Betis, which won 3-0 at Valencia on Tuesday, can’t surpass Atlético for the final qualification spot because it loses on the head-to-head tiebreaker.
PGA Tour returning to Colorado in 2024
The PGA Tour is returning to Colorado for the first time in a decade with the redesigned course at Castle Pines Golf Club serving as host to the 2024 BMW Championship.
It’s the first big-time professional golf tournament at the Jack Nicklaus-designed course 30 miles south of Denver since The International’s 21-year run ended in 2006. Nicklaus said every hole has been modified over the last five years, highlighted by the addition of several lakes on the mountainside course carved through natural rock and Ponderosa pines that opened in 1981.
“It’s very exciting to see Castle Pines back in tournament golf,” Nicklaus said. “We have made some excellent changes to the golf course over the last five years which make it more playable but still quite challenging.”
The undulating layout that features narrow fairways and elevated multilayered greens plays over 8,000 yards with a par of 72.
Tyler Dennis, PGA Tour executive vice president, said returning to the Denver market was a priority for the PGA.
The PGA Tour’s last big event in Colorado was the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club in 2014, which Billy Horschel won on his way to capturing the FedExCup title.