Italy fails to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades.
MILAN — Four-time champion Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time in six decades after losing its playoff to Sweden 1-0 on aggregate.
They played to a goalless draw in the second leg at San Siro on Monday.
Sweden advanced to its first World Cup since 2006.
This will be only the second World Cup missed by Italy. The first was in 1958.
Nadal withdraws from ATP FInals
Rafael Nadal will have to wait another year to win the ATP Finals.
The world No. 1 withdrew from the elite, season-ending tournament after losing his opening match to David Goffin 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-4 on Monday at the O2 Arena in London.
Nadal pulled out of the Paris Masters at the quarterfinal stage 10 days ago and admitted ahead of the ATP Finals on the indoor hard-court he struggles on, that his knees, which have caused him trouble throughout his career, were still “not perfect.”
Nadal’s exit simplifies Roger Federer’s path to a seventh ATP Finals title.
Top 3 seeds win at Mid-Amateur
Katie Miller, Lauren Greenlief and Marissa Mar each won Round of 64 matches in the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship on the Cypress Creek Course at Champions Golf Club.
Miller, who joined Greenlief and Mar with stroke-play scores of 2-under-par 142 and is the championship’s top seed, beat Colombia’s Liliana Ruiz-Munoz ,4and3. Greenlief, the No. 2 seed in the match-play bracket, upended Deborah Munoz, 5 and 4. Mar, the No. 3 seed, posted a 2-and-1 win over Alyssa Roland.
Anthopoulos named Braves GM
The Atlanta Braves hired former Dodgers and Blue Jays executive Alex Anthopoulos as their general manager.
Anthopoulos, 40, also was named executive vice president in control of baseball operations. John Hart is moving into a new role as a senior adviser as Anthopoulos takes over operations from Hart.
Anthopoulos succeeds John Coppolella, who was forced to resign Oct. 2 after an ongoing investigation by MLB disclosed rule violations committed by the Braves in the international player market.
Anthopoulos, Toronto’s onetime general manager, spent the last two seasons as the Dodgers’ vice president of baseball operations. In other news: • Royals manager Ned Yost said he could have died just over a week ago after suffering a “massive fracture” to his pelvis and four broken ribs as a result of a fall while working on a hunting stand on his property. He also lost so much blood that surgeons later told him he nearly died.
Yost, 62, said he can’t put weight on either leg for at least two months, which means he’s confined to his lounge chair or a wheelchair.