Juventus advances to Champions final
Dani Alves inspired Juventus to a 2-1 win over Monaco on Tuesday in Turin, Italy, to send the Italian club to its second Champions League final in three years.
Alves set up Mario Mandzukic’s opener in the 33rd minute and got on the scoresheet himself on the stroke of halftime with a fantastic volley as Juventus swept to a 4-1 victory on aggregate.
Kylian Mbappe scored a consolation goal in the 69th minute for Monaco. Juventus is likely to secure an unprecedented sixth Serie A title Sunday at Roma, and it is also in the Italian Cup final.
FIFA firings blasted: FIFA ousted its judge and prosecutor in a move the disgruntled two said jeopardizes the governing body’s integrity and the future of soccer.
German judge Hans-Joachim Eckert and Swiss prosecutor Cornel Borbely failed in a bid to be nominated by the council headed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino for re-election. The vote will be carried out by the congress of member federations Thursday.
Eckert and Borbely have multiple ongoing cases against soccer officials implicated in a widespread U.S. federal investigation of bribery and corruption.
“The impending and clearly politically motivated non-reappointment puts de facto an end to the reform efforts,” Eckert and Borbely said in a statement. “This will inevitably lead to a renewed loss of trust and further hurt the already tarnished image of FIFA. Consequently, the non-reappointment will have a negative impact on FIFA in the medium and long term.” Klinsmann’s son picked: Former Cal goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, the son of former U.S. national-team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, was picked for the American roster for the Under-20 World Cup, along with Arsenal midfielder Gedion Zelalem and Tottenham defender Cameron Carter-Vickers. Briefly: Inter Milan has sacked coach Stefano Pioli after five losses in its past six matches, replacing him with youth-team coach Stefano Vecchi for the final three matches of the season . ... North America’s request for an accelerated awarding of the 2026 World Cup without facing a challenge is on hold for a few months at least. FIFA’s ruling council decided to allow three more months for rival bids to be presented.