Day: September 3, 2021

The Italian national football team is tied with Brazil and Spain for the longest unbeaten streak after Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Bulgaria in a World Cup qualifier match.

Playing at Stadio Artemio Franchi, the goals came from Italian winger Federico Chiesa and Bulgarian forward Atanas Iliev.

The EURO 2020 champs, who last lost a game against Portugal (0-1) in September 2018, matched the longest unbeaten streak in men’s international history with a run of 35 games.

The Azzurri were crowned the winners of EURO 2020 after defeating England 3-2 on penalties at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, while the team claimed their first European Championship trophy since EURO 1968.

Source: Anadolu Agency

English footballers Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were racially abused during Thursday night’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Hungary.

Racist chants were directed at Sterling and Bellingham by spectators at the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

Cups were also thrown at Sterling as he celebrated his 55th-minute opening goal.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned the “completely unacceptable” abuse and called on FIFA to take “strong action.”

“It is completely unacceptable that England players were racially abused in Hungary last night,” he said on Twitter.

“I urge FIFA to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behavior is eradicated from the game for good.”

England routed Hungary 4-0 in the game, with goals from Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Harry Maguire, and Declan Rice.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Turkish women’s national goalball team bagged a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Paralympic Games on Friday.

Turkey beat the US 9-2 in the final match held at Makuhari Messe Hall.

Sevda Altunoluk, 27, scored all nine goals, including a penalty, as Turkey secured the gold in this summer’s games.

Asya Miller and Eliana Mason were the scorers for Team USA, which returned home with the silver.

Turkey previously won a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Round 13 of the 2021 Formula One World Championship will be held in the Netherlands on Sunday.

The Circuit Zandvoort, near the North Sea coastline, will host the Dutch Grand Prix, which will be raced on 72 laps on a 4.2-kilometer (nearly 2.5-mile) track.

The qualifying laps of the Dutch Grand Prix, returning to the F1 calendar after a gap of 36 years, will start Saturday at 1300GMT, with the race itself is set for the same hour on Sunday.

Max Verstappen of Red Bull-Honda has six race wins, Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) has four, while Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) and Esteban Ocon (Alpine) have one race victory each so far.

Driver standings

1. Lewis Hamilton (Great Britain): 202.5 points

2. Max Verstappen (Netherlands): 199.5

3. Lando Norris (Great Britain): 113

4. Valtteri Bottas (Finland): 108

5. Sergio Perez (Mexico): 104

Constructor standings

1. Mercedes 310.5

2. Red Bull: 303.5

3. McLaren: 169

4. Ferrari: 165.5

5. Alpine: 80

Source: Anadolu Agency

Concluding their quest for the European crown, the Turkish women’s volleyball team on Friday got eliminated in the semifinals of the CEV EuroVolley 2021, losing to Serbia 3-1.

Serbia struggled against Turkey at the beginning but in the end came out on top, winning the match with 32-34, 28-26, 25-23, and 25-13 sets at Stark Arena in the capital Belgrade.

Serbia’s Tijana Boskovic’s 39 points were key for her team’s victory.

The game marked the eighth victory for Serbia in 10 EuroVolley encounters with Turkey.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency after the game, Turkey captain Eda Erdem Dundar said: “We managed the first two sets well, but in the third set our service quality fell and they served and played better.”

The 34-year-old added that they should now focus on the upcoming match. She also thanked Turkish fans for their support.

Serbia coach Zoran Terzic congratulated the Turkish team for their efforts in the “tough match.”

Serbia on Saturday will take on Italy for gold, while Turkey’s Sultans of the Net will face the Netherlands for bronze.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkey is set to host twin Grands Prix competitions in the 2021 FIM Motocross World Championship as the Round 9 (Bitci MXGP of Turkey) will start on Saturday.

The sporting event held under the auspices of Turkey’s Presidency will run until Sept. 8 in the western province of Afyonkarahisar as two consecutive races: Bitci MXGP of Turkey on Sept. 4-5 and next week’s Bitci MXGP of Afyon on Sept. 7-8.

Both Grands Prix will take place at the Afyonkarahisar Motor Sports Center, with nearly 150 motocross riders expected to join.

Turkish racer Irmak Yildirim, 16, will be the first in the country to compete in the women’s championship.

The Turkish Motorcycling Federation’s deputy chief had previously told reporters that this would be “the largest sporting event and festival in Europe.”

“We are expecting at least 100,000 people,” Mahmut Nedim Akulke said on Wednesday, adding that spectators would be thrilled in the adrenaline-filled experience.

Slovenian motocross racer Tim Gajser, who is among the competitors, is the reigning MXGP champion.

Gajser previously won the 2016 and 2019 titles.

Another notable racer, Italy’s Antonio Cairoli, is the world record holder with nine titles.

Both Gajser and Cairoli will compete in the Turkish Grands Prix.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The Turkish men’s volleyball team clinched their second victory after beating Spain 3-1 in the CEV EuroVolley 2021 on Friday.

Turkey won the match with 25-16, 29-31, 27-25 and 25-23 sets at the Tampere Ice Stadium in Finland.

Adis Lagumdzija got 21 points, while Ramazan Efe Mandiraci scored 19 points.

The crescent-star team will face North Macedonia on Sept. 5 in their third match in the Group C.

Turkey won CEV Men’s European Golden League titles in a row in 2019 and 2021.

Source: Anadolu Agency

The 2018 FIFA World Cup silver medalist, Croatian football player Mario Mandzukic retired from the game.

“With an emotional letter to ‘little Mario,’ great Mario Mandzukic closes his fantastic playing career. Mandzo, thank you for everything and good luck in the future!” the Croatian Football Federation (HNS) said on Twitter on Friday.

Playing in forward position, Mandzukic helped the Croatian national team reach the 2018 World Cup final in Moscow.

France were crowned the World Cup champions in the Russian capital over a 4-2 win against Croatia in the final in which Mandzukic scored one goal and an own goal.

The 35-year-old played for Dinamo Zagreb, Wolfsburg, Bayern Munich, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and lastly AC Milan.

In a letter addressed to his younger self, the Croatian forward wrote that he “will help write the history of Croatian sports.”

“… you’ll succeed because you’ll always give your best. At the end, that’s what you’ll be most proud of. You’ll sacrifice a lot, but you’ll know it was worth it because of all the amazing moments,” he said.

“You’ll recognize the moment to retire, to put these boots in a cabinet and you’ll have no regrets. Football will always be a part of your life, but you’ll look forward to a new chapter. Enjoy!”

Mandzukic scored 33 goals in 89 international caps for Croatia, and 197 goals in 508 club appearances.

He won the 2013 UEFA Champions League with Bayern Munich, and earned numerous league titles with German powerhouse Bayern and Italian giants Juventus.

Near the end of his career, Mandzukic played for AC Milan and bid farewell to the Italian club in May.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Italy’s women’s volleyball team reached the CEV EuroVolley 2021 final after beating the Netherlands 3-1 on Friday.

Italy took the game with 25-19, 25-17, 16-25, and 25-18 sets at the Stark Arena in Belgrade.

Paola Ogechi Egonu led her team to victory with her 24 points, while Anna Danesi helped with 17 points.

Italy will now take on Serbia for gold, while Turkey will face the Netherlands for bronze on Saturday.

Source: Anadolu Agency