Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.
Soccer-Poland’s Marciniak to referee World Cup final
Poland’s Szymon Marciniak will referee Sunday’s World Cup final between Argentina and France, the Polish FA said on Thursday. The 41-year-old, who will be the first Pole to referee the final, officiated his first World Cup match in 2018 in Russia. He will be joined by assistants Pawel Sokolnicki and Tomasz Listkiewicz.
Soccer-Real Madrid agree deal to sign Brazilian 16-year-old prodigy Endrick
Real Madrid have reached an agreement to sign Brazilian teenager Endrick from Palmeiras, the teams announced on Thursday, beating a host of leading European clubs linked to the prodigy. The 16-year-old striker will join the European and LaLiga champions in July 2024, due to world soccer governing body FIFA’s rules prohibiting underage players from playing abroad.
Soccer-Argentina near full-strength for World Cup final against France
Argentina made a statement in their 3-0 World Cup semi-final win over Croatia and will head into Sunday’s showpiece with two players back from suspension and Angel Di Maria fit and ready to face France. Defenders Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna missed the semi-final as they were suspended after accumulating two yellow cards.
Stephen Curry to miss few weeks with shoulder injury
Golden State superstar guard Stephen Curry will miss a few weeks with a left shoulder injury sustained during Wednesday night’s game, ESPN reported Thursday. Curry suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Warriors’ loss to the Indiana Pacers while going for a steal. He exited and did not return.
Soccer-Portugal coach Santos leaves job after World Cup exit
Fernando Santos has left his job as Portugal coach after his team lost to Morocco in the World Cup quarter-finals, the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF) said on Thursday. The Portuguese suffered a shock 1-0 defeat by Morocco in Qatar on Saturday, after Santos started the match by leaving the country’s all-time record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo on the substitutes’ bench.
Olympics-IOC and Ukraine’s Zelenskiy agree to disagree over Russian athletes
The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the Games have a unifying mission when he spoke to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who called for a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes, the IOC said on Thursday. Zelenskiy had said on Wednesday after the call with Bach that he had opposed the idea of Russian athletes taking part under any kind of neutral banner at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as “all their flags are stained in blood.”
Tennis-Nadal, Swiatek named ITF world champions after stellar 2022 season
Rafa Nadal was crowned the ITF world champion for the fifth time in his career while top-ranked Iga Swiatek won the women’s award after a superb 2022 season, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said on Thursday. World number two Nadal fought back from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in January’s Australian Open final to capture his 21st Grand Slam trophy, before sealing a record-extending 14th French Open title in June for his 22nd major.
Soccer-Mental strength, moments of brilliance – how France reached the World Cup final
France started the World Cup with more questions than answers after being ravaged by injuries, but they quickly ended the curse of the defending champions to reach the final thanks to their ruthlessness, mental strength and moments of sheer brilliance. Kylian Mbappe scored five goals in his first three matches while Olivier Giroud, who owes his place in the starting lineup to Karim Benzema’s last-minute injury, became France’s all-time goal scorer as he launched the campaign with the first goal of their inaugural 4-1 win against Australia. He also netted the winner in the 2-1 victory against England in the quarter-final.
Soccer-No British fans arrested at World Cup – report
British soccer fans at the World Cup in Qatar behaved impeccably and none were arrested at the global tournament, the UK’s football policing lead said. “The behaviour of England and Wales out in Qatar was absolutely exemplary,” Chief Constable Mark Roberts of Cheshire Police was quoted as saying by USA Today on Thursday.
Tennis-Ukraine’s Svitolina rallies for forgotten compatriots
Ukraine’s former world number three Elina Svitolina said she fears people are forgetting about her compatriots, almost 10 months into Russia’s ongoing invasion that has reduced cities to rubble. One of Ukraine’s most celebrated athletes, she has added star power to a fundraising effort to supply electricity generators for Ukrainian hospitals as the invasion continues into the bitter winter months.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)