SPORTMonday 16 July 2018

PAGE | 22 PAGE | 23France fans

go wild after World Cup glory

Belgium squad gets hero’s welcome on Cup return

E | 22 PAGfans

after glory

Belgiheroon Cu

2018 - FRANCE

2022 - ?

2014 - GERM

ANY

2010 - SPAIN

2006 - IT

ALY

2002 - BRAZIL

1998 - FRANCE

1994 - BRAZIL

1986 - ARGENTIN

A

1982 - ITA

LY

1978 - ARGENTIN

A

1974 - W

EST GERM

ANY

1970 - BRAZIL

1966 - ENGLAND

1962 - BRAZIL

1958 - BRAZIL

1954 - WEST G

ERMANY

1950 - URUGUAY

1938 - ITA

LY

1934 - ITA

LY

1930 - U

RUGUAY

1990 - WEST G

ERMANY

2022SEE YOU IN

QATAR

AFP

MOSCOW: France won the World Cup for the second time in their history after beating Croatia 4-2 in an incredible final in Moscow yesterday that featured goals from Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe as well as a controversial VAR-awarded penalty.

In a match that had a bit of every-thing, Mario Mandzukic scored the first ever own goal in a World Cup final to put France in front at the Luzhniki Stadium, only for Ivan Perisic to equalise.

However, Antoine Griezmann’s penalty put France back in front after Perisic’s handball was penalised with the aid of the video assistant referee, before Pogba and Mbappe both scored in the second half.

The first team to score four times in a final since Brazil in 1970, the French could even afford to see Mandzukic pull a goal back following a ridiculous goal-keeping mistake by Hugo Lloris.

France join Uruguay and Argentina

in winning the World Cup for a second time, after their 1998 triumph over Brazil when Didier Deschamps -- now the coach -- was the captain.

Deschamps becomes just the third man to win the trophy as a player and a coach, following in the footsteps of Bra-zil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.

“It’s so beautiful, so wonderful,” Des-champs told France’s TF1. “I’m really happy for this group. It wasn’t always easy, but by working hard, listening, they are on top of the world for four years.”

The game will be remembered as the highest-scoring World Cup final since England’s win over West Germany in 1966, and for Mbappe becoming the youngest player to score in the final since Pele in 1958.

But while the celebrations begin on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris and across France, Croatia will wonder what might have been had the first-half penalty not been awarded just as they were in the ascendancy.

Croatia played all the football early on, with Mbappe on the fringes of the game, but it was France who went in front in the 18th minute.

Griezmann won a soft free-kick wide on the right and his delivery into the area was flicked into his own net by

the unfortunate Mandzukic. It was harsh on Croatia, especially with Pogba pos-sibly a fraction offside when the free-kick was played.

Their coach Zlatko Dalic looked rueful, but his team were back level just before the half-hour, Domagoj Vida laying the ball off for Perisic, who shuffled the ball from right foot to left before drilling a superb shot past Lloris with the aid of a touch off Raphael Varane.

But Perisic was at the centre of the controversy that led to France’s second goal in the 38th minute.

His handball at a corner could hardly be described as deliberate, yet Argentine referee Nestor Pitana reviewed the video by the side of the pitch and gave the penalty.

As a thunderstorm erupted in the sky over Moscow, Griezmann stroked home the penalty, his fourth goal of the competition and his third from a spot-kick.

It was also France’s first actual

attempt on goal, but they picked off Croatia after the break.

Shortly after several pitch invaders briefly interrupted proceedings, the third French goal arrived in the 59th minute.

Pogba started the move with a drilled pass for Mbappe on the right. His cutback found Griezmann, and he laid the ball off for Pogba to score at the second attempt from 18 yards.

Mbappe then added his name to the scoresheet in the 65th minute when he collected a Lucas Hernandez pass and fired low past Danijel Subasic from 25 yards, capping what has been a fine tournament for the 19-year-old.

That should have been that, but Croatia were given something to cling to as Lloris absurdly tried to dribble away from Mandzukic on the edge of his six-yard box, and the striker stuck out a foot to divert the ball in.

However, for Lloris the World Cup winner’s medal will help make up for the embarrassment of that moment.

FRANCE CROATIA

4 2MANDŽUKIĆ - 18' OG

GRIEZMANN - 38' PEN

POGBA - 59'

MBAPPE - 65'

PERIŠIĆ - 28'

MANDŽUKIĆ - 69'

The 1998 winners beat Croatia in 6-goal thriller Les Blues end Croatia’s dream run in Moscow

22 MONDAY 16 JULY 2018SPORT

AFP

MOSCOW: England’s Harry Kane won the World Cup Golden Boot award as top scorer with six goals.

The Tottenham star topped the chart by two goals ahead of a group including Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe, who both scored in France’s 4-2 defeat of Croatia in yesterday’s final.

Kane is the first England player to win the coveted prize since Gary Lineker 32 years ago.

He scored twice against Tunisia in England’s first match in Russia and then

bagged a hat-trick in a 6-1 romp against Panama.

M a n a g e r G a r e t h Southgate rested Kane for the third group game against Belgium but the captain returned to score from the penalty spot against Colombia in the last 16.

He failed to add to his tally in England’s next three games -- the 2-0 quarter-final win over Sweden, the 2-1 semi-final loss to Croatia nor the 2-0 third-place play-off defeat by Belgium.

Joining Griezmann and Mbappe on the four-goal mark were Russia’s Denis Cheryshev, Portugal’s Cris-tiano Ronaldo and Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku.

England’s Harry Kane in action against Belgium during their third position play-off in Saint Petersburg on Saturday.

England’s Kane claims World Cup Golden Boot

6 goals: Kane (ENG) - Golden Boot winner

4 goals: Cheryshev (RUS), Ronaldo (POR),

Griezmann (FRA), Lukaku (BEL), Mbappe

(FRA)

3 goals: Cavani (Uruguay), Costa (Spain),

Dzyuba (Russia), E. Hazard (Belgium), Man-

dzukic (Croatia), Mina (Colombia), Perisic

(Croatia)

2 goals: Aguero (Argentina), Coutinho (Bra-

zil), Granqvist (Sweden), Inui (Japan), Jedi-

nak (Australia), Khazri (Tunisia), Modric

(Croatia), Musa (Nigeria), Neymar (Brazil),

Salah (Egypt), Son Heung-min (South Ko-

rea), Stones (England), Suarez (Uruguay)

TOP SCORES

Three things we learned from France’s triumphAFP

MOSCOW: France are world champions for a second time as Les Bleus ran wild while Croatia’s energy reserves ran dry to win a thrilling World Cup final 4-2 in Moscow, yesterday.

Didier Deschamps’s men also had luck on their side as they led 2-1 at half-time thanks to Mario Mandzukic’s own goal -- the first ever in a World Cup final -- and a controversial Antoine Griezmann penalty awarded by video assistant referee.

However, Croatia finally paid for their exertions in going to three periods of extra-time in defeating Denmark, Russia and England after the break as Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe put France out of sight before a rare error from goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gifted Mandzukic a consolation goal.

We look at three things we learned from the World Cup final:

French redemption After blowing the final of

Euro 2016 on home soil to Por-tugal, it did not matter how France got the job done, just that they brought the World Cup home.

Twenty years on from lifting the trophy as captain, Deschamps became just the third man to win the World Cup as a player and a coach.

On route to the final France had been largely effi-cient rather than enthralling. That was also the case for the first 45 minutes, with

Griezmann’s penalty their first shot on goal.

However, two years ago France did not boast the pace of Mbappe.

The 19-year-old cut loose in the second period to confirm his status as the breakout star of the World Cup.

His run and cross helped set up Pogba before drilling his fourth goal of the tournament low past Danijel Subasic.

VAR cruel on Croatia On the eve of the final,

FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailed VAR a resounding success in the sys-tem’s first World Cup, but there are four million Croatians who would now strongly disagree.

France’s vital second goal came from a fiercely contested penalty call by Argentine referee Nestor Pitana for an

Ivan Perisic handball. Perisic had little time to react when Blaise Matuidi’s header skimmed off his arm. But Pitana overturned his initial call not to award the spot-kick and Griezmann sent Subasic the wrong way.

Croatia even had a case VAR should have intervened to rule out Mandzukic’s own goal as Pogba appeared to be standing in an offside position as Griezmann’s free-kick was swung into the box.

For the smallest country to reach the final for 68 years to lose out thanks to such a marginal call was cruel.

Griezmann delivers the goods

Griezmann did not shine as a goalscorer in Russia like he did in winning the Golden Boot at Euro 2016 from open play, but he made a telling contribution with the dead ball in a World Cup dominated by set-pieces.

The Atletico Madrid striker’s four goals came from three penalties and a goal-keeping error by Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera.

However, Griezmann’s wicked set-piece delivery that provoked Mandzukic to head into his own net also saw Raphael Varane and Samuel Umtiti open the scoring against Uruguay and Belgium in the previous two rounds.

Griezmann missed a penalty in the 2016 Champions League final, but this time he stayed cool to dispatch his spot-kick and also had a hand in teeing up Pogba for France’s third goal.

France’s forward Antoine Griezmann celebrates with the trophy, yesterday.

From Paris to Moscow: France fans go wild after Cup gloryREUTERS

PARIS/MOSCOW: Millions of French soccer fans were delirious with joy yesterday as France beat Croatia 4-2 to win soccer’s World Cup in a pulsating final in Moscow and spark ecstatic scenes from Paris to Marseille, Bordeaux and beyond.

In the capital, where 90,000 people watched the match on vast TV screens next to the Eiffel tower, there were choruses of the Marseillaise, honking horns and hundreds of thousands of red, white and blue tricolor flags fluttering on the breeze.

The boom of fireworks and

firecrackers filled the air, while drivers honked their horns incessantly to celebrate France’s second world title after their triumph on home soil in 1998.

A deafening chorus of “We are the champions, We are the champions” rang out from the Sacre Coeur in the north of the city to the Sorbonne on the Left Bank. Similar scenes erupted in Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and other major cities.

Even before the final whistle, crowds streamed on to the Champs Elysees, the elegant, tree-lined boulevard that runs up to the Arc de Triomphe, the traditional gathering place for celebration, including the Bastille

Day parade 24 hours earlier. “It’s just astonishing what

they’ve done,” said Josh, 41, who travelled from Brittany to Paris to watch the match with his girlfriend.

“Pogba, Mbappe, Grizou (Griezmann) -- they’re on top of the world,” he said, naming three of the standout players.

“We’re the champions of the world! It’s phenomenal, just phenomenal.”

More than 250,000 people were expected to descend on the Champs Elysees and the Place de la Concorde, yet the atmos-phere was warm and convivial. Security forces kept a distance.

“To get a second star (World

Cup) after 20 years, it’s just bril-liant,” said Tommy Hamon, 23, who was working in Le Deau-ville, a bar on the Champs Elysees.

Even football fans who were not rooting for France but found themselves in the French capital for the game were overcome by the occasion and the scenes of celebration.

“France was not my team but I am so pleased for them today,” said Sarah, a 24-year-old from Birmingham in England who is studying medicine in Paris.

“The players just showed something special all along, something that I liked, and I was

not sure they would win today but they did. A lot of people are going to be drunk, if not already.”

In Moscow, where tens of thousands of fans travelled to watch the game, there were tears of joy among the sea of red, white and blue. President Emmanuel Macron, who trav-elled to Moscow to watch the final with his wife Brigitte, hugged the players after the win and stood with them in the pouring rain.

As the World Cup trophy was brought on to the pitch for the victory ceremony, Macron briefly kissed it and beamed with joy.

“It’s amazing,” said Brioche Pasquier, 57, a French fan inside the Luzhniki Stadium for the match. “I am happy. I arrived in Moscow this morning specially for the final.”

Despite the deluge of rain that struck Moscow right after the game ended, fans danced and sang in the streets and a fire-works display could not be dampened out.

France coach Didier Des-champs was full of praise for his team despite signs of nerves at the start of the game and several missed opportunities during it.

“It is really beautiful. It is marvellous. We did not play a great match, but we showed a strong mental quality,” Des-champs said.

“We also scored four goals. We merit it. I am very happy for this team. We are coming from very far and it has not always been easy, but thanks to hard work, they are here and are on top of the world for the next four years.”

Fans celebrate in front of the Eiffel Tower after France win the World Cup final, yesterday.

2018 - Didier Deschamps, France

2014 - x-Joachim Loew, Germany

2010 - Vicente del Bosque, Spain

2006 - Marcello Lippi, Italy

2002 - Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil

1998 - Aime Jacquet, France

1994 - Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazil

1990 - y-Franz Beckenbauer, Germany

1986 - Carlos Bilardo, Argentina

1982 - Enzo Bearzot, Italy

1978 - Cesar Luis Menotti, Argentina

1974 - y-Helmut Schoen, Germany

1970 - Mario Zagallo, Brazil

1966 - Alf Ramsey, England

1962 - Aymore Moreira, Brazil

1958 - Vicente Feola, Brazil

1954 - y-Sepp Herberger, Germany

1950 - Juan Lopez, Uruguay

1938 - Vittorio Pozzo, Italy

1934 - Vittorio Pozzo, Italy

1930 - Alberto Suppici, Uruguay

x-born in West Germany

y-won title coaching West Germany

WORLD CUP WINNING COACHES

Pride and tears for Croatians after lossREUTERS

MOSCOW: After watching their soccer team lose 4-2 to France in the World Cup final in Moscow yesterday, some Croatians wept with sadness while others felt pride that their tiny nation had gone so far in the tournament.

One young woman used a red-and-white Croatian flag to wipe tears from her eyes as a female friend, also crying, put her arm around her.

Others continued waving Croatian flags and scarves through the disappointment after watching their country play in the World Cup final for the first time.

“The French proved better in decisive moments although we practically let them score the first two goals too easily. Still, it is a great achievement to play in the final and we can only be proud of what our soccer team has done in the World Cup,” 59-year old Darko Ila-kovac said.

Croatia, with a population of only 4.2 million people, were not among the favourites at the start of the tournament.

Croatia will stage a wel-coming party today for the soccer team in Zagreb. Thou-sands of Croat fans are expected to come to the main Zagreb square in the early afternoon when the players are due to arrive.

23MONDAY 16 JULY 2018 SPORT

Belgium squad gets hero’s welcome on Cup returnREUTERS

BRUSSELS: Belgium’s team received a hero’s welcome in Brussels yesterday, after achieving their best-ever World Cup result in Russia.

Belgium beat Panama, Tunisia and England in the opening round, staged a dra-matic comeback against Japan in the last-16 and fought past Brazil in the quarter-finals.

Their dreams of World Cup glory, however, were shattered by France in the semi-finals, but another win against England on Saturday sealed third place.

Belgium, who bettered their

fourth-place finish in 1986, were greeted by tens of thou-sands of enthusiastic flag waving fans, some climbing street signs and traffic lights to catch a glimpse of the players who rode in on open-top buses along the streets of central Brussels, before heading to the city’s picturesque Grand Place square.

After being treated to some fries, Belgium’s national del-icacy, at Brussels town hall, the team moved to the balcony overlooking the sun-drenched renaissance square, where a crowd of thousands had been waiting since the early morning, clad in the country’s

tricolour flags. “When we were in Russia, we received many messages that you believed this team would make history. I hope we made you proud. We showed the world that we are Belgium,” manager Roberto Martinez told the crowd.

Some of Belgium’s key players will now have difficult decisions to make about where they play their club football next season.

Playmaker Eden Hazard, currently at Chelsea, has been linked with a move to Real Madrid and burnished his already lofty reputation with several strong performances in Russia with three goals and two

assists in the tournament.After scoring the second

goal in Belgium’s 2-0 win over England on Saturday, Hazard said he was considering leaving Chelsea.

In what could be another blow for the Stamford Bridge club, keeper Thibaut Courtois, who kept Belgium in the World Cup with a series of dramatic saves against Brazil in the quarter-finals, is also reported to be on Real’s radar.

“Wherever I go, Hazard has to come. We won’t let each other go no more. Oh well, we shall see. Holidays first, then I’ll think about it with my people,” Courtois told Belgian daily Het

Laatste Nieuws. Midfielder Nacer Chadli could also be set to leave West Bromwich Albion, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, amid rumoured interest from Turkish side Besiktas and French club Olympique Lyonnais.

By scoring 16 goals in seven games, Belgium also forced an electronics retailer to refund the purchase price of flat screen televisions for thousands of customers.

The retailer had launched a promotion before the World Cup promising to pay out if Belgium scored more than 15 goals.

Belgian team players appear on the balcony of the city hall at the Brussels’ Grand Place, after taking the third place in the World Cup 2018, in Brussels, yesterday.

Third place ensures legacy for Belgian football: MartinezReuters

ST PETERSBURG: A third place finish at the World Cup on Saturday leaves a strong legacy for Belgian football, coach Roberto Martinez said, as he declared the tournament a success for his team.

“We set a real milestone and it is exactly what these players deserved,” he said after the 2-0 play-off win over England at the Saint Petersburg Stadium ensured Belgium’s best ever World Cup finish.

“We wanted to win it. Obvi-ously, when you beat Brazil and you get into the semi-finals, the focus has to be on trying to win the World Cup. But we also have to be realistic and when you look back at the tour-nament, these players made history back in Belgium, and that’s all that matters,” Martinez said.

He noted that the team had gone one step further than the Belgian squad at the 1986 World Cup, who lost their playoff match and finished fourth.

“The generation of ’86 in Mexico were always an

inspiration and set a vision for all football in Belgium, and now this group of players have exceeded that, and that’s his-toric. It’s taken 32 years to be in this position and that gives a real sense of satisfaction,” Mar-tinez added.

“It is the manner in which we achieved it. The way we played with our brand of Belgian football, the togeth-erness and the flexibility we had showed tactically.

“It’s been a really successful journey, but in football you need to look forward and look to improve with the next oppor-tunity we have.”

Martinez said Belgium now needed to work on their junior structures and get their age-group teams winning more.

“So that there can be a seamless flow of talent into the national team,” he said.

Martinez said allowing the players’ families in the team camp after Tuesday’s 1-0 semi-final loss to France had lifted the mood for the third-place playoff, always a difficult match for sides still wallowing in the disappointment of missing out on the World Cup final.

England have ‘no illusions’: SouthgateAFP

SAINT PETERSBURG: Manager Gareth Southgate said England have “no illusions” as to their standing in international football after finishing fourth at the World Cup in Russia.

Belgium won Saturday’s third-place playoff in Saint Petersburg with goals from Thomas Meunier and Eden Hazard to deny England their best finish at a World Cup on foreign soil.

“We are very proud of what we’ve done, but we’re under no illusions as a team as to where we stand,” said Southgate, after his side lost to Belgium for the second t ime in the tournament.

“We finished in the final four but we’re not a top-four team yet, we’ve never hidden behind that. Against the very best teams we’ve come up short.”

England lost three of their seven matches at the tour-nament. Their 2-1 semi-final defeat by Croatia prevented them from reaching a first final in 52 years.

They have beaten just two countries ranked inside the world’s top 20 during South-gate’s tenure, knocking Colombia out on penalties in the last 16 while overcoming a mediocre Dutch side in a friendly.

“I felt it was important to tell the team how proud I was of what they’d done and rec-ognise how far they’d got,” Southgate said, as England matched their fourth-place finish from 1990.

“We also recognised after the semi-final where we stood, which is exactly what we found out again today.

“We haven’t hidden in terms of where we see our progress. We haven’t hidden in terms of what we think needs to improve, but we also leave here having progressed a lot as a team.”

England’s next game is

against Spain in September in their opening match of the new UEFA Nations League, a compe-tition introduced to effectively replace international friendlies.

“We now have some big fix-tures in the autumn, playing the likes of Spain, Switzerland and Croatia,” Southgate said.

“They’re great opportunities for us to develop, to improve, to try things and look at players.

“We have to just constantly try to evolve and improve. We’ve done that, particularly over the last eight months, and we’ve ended up having a brilliant adventure here.”

The success of Southgate’s young squad in Russia has been greeted with a groundswell of support back home, after Eng-land’s best performance at a major competition since Euro 96.

But the 47-year-old acknowledged the need to stay grounded as England begin to switch their attention to Euro 2020, when the semi-finals and final will be played at Wembley.

“I think we’re very realistic about the level we are. We’ve had a lot of praise but also bal-anced with that a lot of reality as well,” he said.

“We don’t kid ourselves at all. We know exactly the areas we hope to get better and we really enjoy working with this group of players.”

England coach Gareth Southgate reacts after losing third place play-off against Belgium in Saint Petersburg, on Saturday.

We finished in the final four but we’re not a top-four team yet, we’ve never hidden behind that. Against the very best teams we’ve come up short: Gareth Southgate

- Tops - Kylian Mbappe: Hardly an unknown fol-

lowing a 180m-euro ($210m) transfer from

Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe

became a global phenomenon after tearing

Argentina apart in a thrilling 4-3 last-16

win.

In scoring twice, Mbappe, 19, became the

first teenager since Pele in 1958 to score

multiple times in the same World Cup

game.

Luka Modric: Fresh from winning a fourth

Champions League in five seasons with

Real Madrid, Modric boosted his case to be

considered the world’s best midfielder with

three man-of-the-match awards before the

final. Modric’s stunning strike was the

highlight as Croatia announced themselves

as contenders by thrashing Argentina 3-0

in the group stage.

Eden Hazard: It was another case of

what might have been for Belgium’s ‘gold-

en generation’, who lost their semi-final

defeat against France by the finest of mar-

gins. But unlike four years ago and at Euro

2016, Hazard showed his full range of skills

on the international stage.

- Flops - Germany: The defending champions went

the same way as Spain four years ago and

Italy in 2010 as holders who failed to get

out of their group.

Defeats to Mexico and South Korea saw the

four-time world champions finish bottom

of their section and fall at the first hurdle

for the first time in 80 years.

African teams For the first time since 1982

no African teams made it beyond the group

stage. Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Egypt and

Morocco won just three matches between

them, sparking concerns over the competi-

tive balance of a tournament dominated by

European sides.

Bad luck, though, also played a big part in

Africa’s downfall as Senegal missed out on

second place in Group H to Japan because

of a marginally poorer disciplinary record,

while Egypt’s talisman Mohamed Salah’s

impact was limited by injury.

Messi, Ronaldo domination over?

Messi, 31, and Ronaldo, 33, may have seen

their last chance to win a World Cup come

and go as Argentina and Portugal both

exited in the last 16.

Ronaldo at least had the consolation of a

hat-trick to kickstart the competition into

life in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Spain, but

added only one more goal and was even

lucky to avoid a red card against Iran.

Messi scored just once, against Nigeria, to

at least avoid the embarrassment of a

group-stage exit, but was no match for

Mbappe in the seven-goal shootout with

France.

RUSSIA 2018: TOPS AND FLOPS

24 MONDAY 16 JULY 2018SPORT 25MONDAY 16 JULY 2018 SPORT

French President Emmanuel Macron celebrates during yesterday’s final at the Luzhniki Stadium.

French midfielder Paul Pogba (right) scores his team’s third goal.French forward Antoine Griezmann scores a penalty against Croatia during the FIFA 2018 World Cup final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday.

Antoine Griezmann celebrates after scoring against Croatia.

Kylian Mbappe scores the fourth goal for France.

A screen signals a Video Assistant Refereeing (VAR) review during yesterday’s final.

French players celebrate after midfielder Paul Pogba scored their third goal during the FIFA 2018 World Cup final against Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday.

FRANCE CROWNED KINGS OF FOOTBALL

REUTERS

GALLE, SRI LANKA: The idea of scrapping the traditional coin toss prior to Test matches has found a “big fan” in South Africa captain Faf du Plessis who believes it would help reduce home advantage and bring more balance.

The International Cricket Council, the world governing body of the sport, discussed the possibility in a meeting in May but decided to continue with what has been a ritual since the first test between Australia and England in 1877.

“I’m a big fan of taking away the toss,” du Plessis said after his team were beaten inside three days by Sri Lanka in the opening match of the two-Test series on Saturday.

“I think even in South Africa you’ll still prepare the conditions the way you prepare them now, but you just make sure that you bring some balance.”

The merit of the toss has been debated as a need to reduce home advantage that often results in host nations rolling out pitches doctored to favour their players in what tends to end up as one-sided encounters.

In Galle too, Sri Lanka won the toss and unleashed their spinners who claimed 17 of the 20 South African wickets as the visitors managed only 126 and 73 in their two innings before surrendering on a turning track.

“In home conditions teams will still win the majority of the games, but you still do even it out a little,” du Plessis said. “I think over the last two or three years away-records have definitely gone down, and games are finishing a lot sooner than they used to.”

On a pitch that offered considerable turn and bounce for the slow bowlers, Sri Lanka’s first innings lead of 161 proved decisive as South Africa simply crumbled in the fourth innings on a deteriorating track.

“When I started playing Test cricket, 400s and 500s were happening quite regularly,” du Plessis said.

“So I’m not just speaking about subcontinent conditions.

“In South Africa games hardly reach the end of day four anymore. I think that’s one of the ways you can make sure that balance is a little better.” Former Australia cap-tains Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh have backed a move to scrap the toss, while West Indies pace great Michael Holding also felt it would encourage an even contest between bat and ball.

26 MONDAY 16 JULY 2018SPORT

Windies crush Bangladesh to sweep two-match seriesAFP

KINGSTON, JAMAICA: Skipper Jason Holder produced another devastating burst of bowling as the West Indies completed a 2-0 series win over Bangladesh yesterday, romping to a 166-run victory inside three days at Sabina Park.

Chasing a daunting target of 335 after the hosts were dis-missed for 129 in their second innings, Bangladesh slumped to 162 all out off just 42 overs.

West Indies captain Holder was responsible for most of the carnage, taking six for 59 in the second innings to finish with match figures of 11 for 103.

“We played as a team and different players stood up at different times,” said Holder,

named Man of the Match and Series.“It’s all about heart, about putting in the effort every day to ensure that we are able to come away with the results and the performances that we wanted.” Holder’s opposite number, Shakib al Hasan, fought with both bat and ball in a vain attempt to stave off defeat. He took six for 33 with his left-arm spinners to engineer the West Indies’ second innings collapse from their overnight position of 19 for one. Shakib then offered the lone meaningful resistance with a topscore of 54 as the wickets tumbled around him.

“I knew coming back as captain it would be tough but I didn’t expect it to be this tough,” said Shakib.

Du Plessis ‘big fan’ of scrapping toss in Tests

Jason Holder of West Indies holds the winners trophy on day three of the second Test against Bangladesh at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica, yesterday.

Sri Lanka postpones new T20 leagueAFP

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s cricket authorities yesterday announced the indefinite postponement of the country’s Twenty20 league scheduled for next month and said revised dates will be decided by a new board.

The Lankan Premier League (LPL) was due to start on August 18, but an interim management body appointed last month decided to delay the tournament, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) said in a statement.

“Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to inform that the LPL (T20) has been postponed indefinitely, until an elected body is constituted at the SLC,” the statement said.

In late May, Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal suspended elec-tions for the crisis-ridden cricket board.

Sports minister Faiszer Musthapha appointed a com-petent authority to run the board until elections are held within six months.

Board elections were scuttled following a petition by a former secretary of SLC Nishantha Ranatunga who argued that outgoing president Thilanga Sumathipala was unsuitable for re-election.

Sumathipala was pitted against Ranatunga, a younger brother of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga, in the election.

The Ranatunga brothers accuse Sumathipala of vio-lating International Cricket Council regulations by holding office despite alleged links to gambling.

Sumathipala acknowledges that his family is involved in gambling, but says he has nothing to do with the business and has not violated the ICC code of conduct.

The court intervention in the cricket board last month came as four Sri Lankans were implicated in an alleged match-fixing scandal exposed in an Al Jazeera documentary.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez celebrates with the trophy on the podium after winning the MotoGP race at the Grand Prix of Germany at the Sachsenring Circuit in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, eastern Germany, yesterday.

Marquez wins in Germany for ninth year in a rowREUTERS

GERMANY: Honda’s MotoGP champion Marc Marquez triumphed for the ninth year in a row in Germany yesterday to stretch his lead over Italian great Valentino Rossi to 46 points ahead of the European summer break.

Rossi finished second, 2.196 seconds behind, with Spanish Yamaha team mate Maverick Vinales third at the Sachsenring circuit.

Marquez led from pole

position, also his ninth in a row in Germany, but fell behind fast-starting compatriot Jorge Lorenzo before retaking the lead from the Ducati rider with 18 laps remaining and pulling away.

Lorenzo was also reeled in by Rossi before struggling for grip and fading to sixth.

“It was quite tough, espe-cially in the beginning because the start was not perfect,” Marquez said.

“I lost two positions and then to overtake Ducati riders is quite

difficult. “Nine victories in a row here is incredible. Liebe dich (I love you) Sachsenring.”

Rossi said he had made no mistakes but Vinales was not happy with his afternoon, with the Yamaha still not handling to his liking.

“It’s always the same problem on the electronics on the exit of the corner,” he said.

“It’s impossible to battle the Ducatis, I lost seven or eight laps fighting with them while I could be a second faster,” he said.

Marquez’s run of wins at the

eastern circuit started in 2010 when he was in the 125cc cat-egory (now Moto3). He then won in Moto2 in 2011 and 2012 and is on a sequence of six in MotoGP.

Yesterday’s could be the last German grand prix at the Sach-senring, however, with specu-lation that the race could switch to the Nuerburgring due to con-tractual issues.

The Spaniard has 165 points after nine races to Rossi’s 119.

The next race is at Brno in the Czech Republic on August 5.

ODI: Root urges England to remain ‘ruthless’ against India in final match

AFP

LONDON: Joe Root insisted England must stay “ruthless” when they go in search of a one-day international series victory over India at his Head-ingley home ground tomorrow.

Root’s well-constructed 113 laid the platform for an 86-run win at Lord’s on Saturday that saw England square the three-match contest at 1-1.

His innings, allied to fifties from captain Eoin Morgan (53) and David Willey (50 not out) helped England post a total of 322 for seven.

India could only manage 236 all out in reply as they batted out their full 50 overs, with England fast bowler Liam Plunkett taking four for 46.

Victory saw England remain at number one, with India second, in the International Cricket Council men’s ODI standings.

It was a win made all the more satisfying by the fact England, the 2019 World Cup hosts, had suffered an eight-wicket drubbing in Thursday’s series-opener at Trent Bridge.

“That ruthless side of the ODI team really came out today (Saturday),” said Test skipper Root. “And we’re seeing it more and more.” “Hopefully we can back that up and finish the series off now,” added Root after his first century at this level since March.

England were faltering at 239 for six but Willey picked a good time to make his maiden ODI half-century, with his innings coming during a quickfire seventh-wicket stand of 83 with Yorkshire team-mate Root.

“David came in and took a lot of pressure off me, to help us turn in what was at least a par score, so it was a fabulous effort from him,” said Root.

Prior to Saturday, Root had faced just three deliveries from India’s Kuldeep Yadav, whose left-arm wrist-spin had been proving something of a mystery for England’s batsmen.

They certainly appeared to have little idea of how to play him while Kuldeep was enjoying a stunning return of six for 25 at Trent Bridge.

But Root looked far more

assured at Lord’s, even if Kuldeep still took three for 68.

Root was dropped recently from England’s Twenty20 team and there have been suggestions that his brand of patient accu-mulation is no longer suited to the modern one-day game.

- ‘Trust your game’ - But when it comes to rebuilding an innings, there appears little wrong with Root’s approach.

“Ultimately you’ve just got to trust your game and trust your technique; I felt I was picking him (Kuldeep) OK,” he said.

He added: “I feel I’ve got a solid approach against spin bowling.

“On a turning surface it’s important to make sure you feel you’re playing it in the right manner and working things out.

“Thankfully I managed to follow through here. I thought we were quite smart in getting to what we thought was a good total; we didn’t go too hard too early.”

No India batsman made a fifty and the tourists struggled after England’s quicks took three wickets early in their chase.

England’s Joe Root walks back to the pavilion after losing his wicket during the ODI match against India at Trent Bridge in Nottingham central England on Thursday.

WEST INDIES 1st innings .......................354BANGLADESH 1st innings ......................149WEST INDIES 2nd innings (overnight 19-1)K. Brathwaite b Shakib Al Hasan .......................... 8

D. Smith st Nurul Hasan b Shakib Al Hasan .......16

K. Paul st Nurul Hasan b Shakib Al Hasan .......... 13

K. Powell lbw Shakib Al Hasan .............................18

S. Hope lbw Taijul Islam .......................................... 4

S. Hetmyer lbw Abu Jayed ....................................18

R. Chase b Mehidy Hasan ..................................... 32

S. Dowrich not out ..................................................12

J. Holder st Nurul Hasan b Mehidy Hasan ............. 1

M. Cummins b Shakib Al Hasan .............................. 1

S. Gabriel b Shakib Al Hasan .................................. 0

Extras (b-1, lb-2, nb-2, w-1) ................................ 6

Total (45 overs, all out) .........................129Fall of wickets: 1-19 (Brathwaite), 2-28 (Smith),

3-53 (Paul), 4-60 (Powell), 5-64 (Hope), 6-97 (Het-

myer), 7-122 (Chase), 8-124 (Holder), 9-129 (Cum-

mins), 10-129 (Gabriel)

Bowling: Abu Jayed 8-1-21-1 (1nb, 1w), Mehidy

Hasan 11-2-45-2, Kamrul Islam 2-0-3-0 (1nb), Shakib

Al Hasan 17-5-33-6, Taijul Islam 7-0-24-1

BANGLADESH 2nd innings (target 335)Tamim Iqbal lbw Holder ......................................... 0

Liton Das c Hope b Paul ........................................33

Mominul Haque lbw Chase ...................................15

Shakib Al Hasan b Holder ..................................... 54

Mahmudullah c Hope b Chase ............................... 4

Mushfiqur Rahim b Holder ....................................31

Nurul Hasan lbw Holder ......................................... 0

Mehidy Hasan c Smith b Gabriel ..........................10

Taijul Islam not out .................................................13

Kamrul Islam lbw Holder ....................................... 0

Abu Jayed b Holder ................................................. 0

Extras (b-4, lb-2, nb-2) ........................................ 8

Total (42 overs, all out) .........................168Fall of wickets: 1-2 (Tamim Iqbal), 2-40 (Liton Das),

3-52 (Mominul Haque), 4-67 (Mahmudullah), 5-121

(Mushfiqur Rahim), 6-121 (Nurul Hasan), 7-138 (Me-

hidy Hasan), 8-162 (Shakib Al Hasan), 9-168 (Kamrul

Islam), 10-168 (Abu Jayed)

Bowling: J. Holder 13-3-59-6, S. Gabriel 9-2-29-1, K.

Paul 7-0-34-1 (1nb), M. Cummins 5-1-20-0 (1nb), R.

Chase 8-4-20-2

SCOREBOARD

27MONDAY 16 JULY 2018 SPORT

Djokovic ends Grand Slam drought

Serbian star clinches fourth Wimbledon title

REUTERS

PARIS: Novak Djokovic proved conclusively he remains one of the biggest beasts in men’s tennis by outplaying South African giant Kevin Anderson to claim a fourth Wimbledon title yesterday.

The 31-year-old put two years of turmoil behind him to beat a battle-weary Anderson 6-2 6-2 7-6(3) on a sweltering Centre Court and add a 13th Grand Slam trophy to his bulging cabinet.

It was clear what it meant to the Serb as he ended a two-year Grand Slam title drought by getting his hands back on the trophy he also raised in 2011, 2014 and 2015.

“I had any moments of doubt and didn’t know if I could compete,” Djokovic, who retired in the quarter-final last year with an elbow injury that required surgery this year, said on court.

“It’s my first Grand Slam final in a couple of years and this is the best place to come back. It’s very, very special.”

Even more so because his young son Stefan watched as he was handed the trophy -- although he was not old enough to be allowed to sit through the

two hour 19 minute final.“I was visualising, imagining

this moment of him coming to the stands, cherishing this moment with my wife and me and everyone. It’s hard to describe,” Djokovic said.

A first Wimbledon men’s final in the professional era fea-turing two players aged 30 or over was no classic.

The last drops of drama had been used up in the two longest men’s semi-finals ever played at the All England Club. But Djokovic did not care about that.

Having dropped to his lowest ranking since 2006 and without a title of any description this year -- the world number 21 entered Wimbledon in the unusual

position of being an outsider.CBut his game caught fire

throughout a sun-drenched fort-night and against Rafael Nadal in an epic semi-final completed on Saturday he looked like the player who has spent 223 weeks of his brilliant career as world number one. In truth, he never had to scale those heights against the 32-year-old Anderson who for two sets looked to be suf-fering the effects of having spent 21 hours on court just to reach his first Wimbledon final.

Anderson stunned Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, saving a match point to win in five sets, then beat John Isner 26-24 in the fifth set in a semi-final serve-a-thon which, at six hours 36 minutes, was the second longest tennis match of all time.

His elbow needed treatment, his legs, which he described as like jelly after the Isner epic, would not move properly and his thinking was fuzzy as errors flowed.

Djokovic, who made only one unforced error in the first set, picked over the carcass with relish. The ruthless Serb broke in the first game and twice more in a 29-minute first set and

although Anderson offered more resistance in the second set the outcome was the same as Djokovic pulled the 6ft 8ins eighth seed from corner to corner.

The faint-hearted probably wanted Anderson to be put out of his misery. But he is made of sterner stuff as he showed by coming back from a similar deficit to stop Federer.

Firing himself up after vir-tually every point he threatened an unlikely comeback and had two set points when Djokovic served at 4-5 and three more at 5-6.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic kisses the winners trophy after beating South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in the 2018 Wimbledon Championships in London yesterday.

Stone wins Scottish Open, but misses chance for historic 59REUTERS

SOUTH AFRICA: South African Brandon Stone won the Scottish Open by four strokes yesterday but missed a chance to become the first to shoot 59 on the European Tour.

Stone’s shot at history went begging when he could not convert a short birdie putt at the final hole at Gullane Golf Club east of Edinburgh.

But the 10-under-par 60 was more than enough to secure his third victory on the European Tour and his first outside his home country. He finished at 20-under 260, four clear of Eng-lishman Eddie Pepperell who carded a final-round 64. Stone

and Pepperell secured late exemptions into the British Open starting at Carnoustie on Thursday.

Overnight leader Jens Dantorp of Sweden clinched the third Open berth up for grabs when he tied for third on 15 under with South African Trevor Immelman and American Luke List. “It’s been a long 18-month journey, making a few changes, but the swing felt incredible today, the putting felt even better and the mental state was flawless,” said the 25-year-old Stone who arrived in Scotland with no form to speak of this season. “A day shooting 60 and winning... is something I’m going to hold

dear to my heart for a very long time,” he added.

“Hopefully, I can find some accommodation (in Carnoustie). I wasn’t exactly planning on going through.” Stone’s final margin on another day of low scoring on the bone-dry links course disguised the close battle for most of the final round, with the winner only breaking clear when he sank a 30-foot putt to eagle the par-five 16th.

History beckoned when he stuck his approach to about eight feet at the last, but his putt for 59 broke left to narrowly miss the hole, leaving Stone in the unusual position of looking dejected despite his dominant performance.

Degenkolb strikes again as Porte crashes out of TourREUTERS

ROUBAIX, FRANCE: Two years after suffering a career-threat-ening accident, former Paris-Roubaix champion John Degenkolb claimed his maiden Tour de France win on his favourite terrain when he tamed the cobbles and powered to victory on Sunday’s ninth stage.

The German, who won the Queen of the Classics in 2015, was one of three riders to jump away from the main pack 19km from the line and he was the fastest in the final sprint, beating overall race leader Greg van Avermaet of Belgium.

Another Belgian, Yves Lam-paert, took third place after a 156.5-km ride from Arras fea-turing 21.7km of bone-shaking cobbled sectors, some of them featuring on the Paris-Roubaix route.

“It is very emotional, I went through such a difficult period so today is pure happiness,” said Degenkolb, who suffered several fractures and a serious finger injury after he and some team mates were hit by a car during a training ride in January 2016.

“But my team and my family supported me. In Germany they say those who have had a brush with death live longer.

“I’ve had bad luck, but I always had the will to come back to my best.” Frenchman Warren Barguil, a former team

mate of Degenkolb’s who was also in the 2016 accident in Spain, said: “Everybody was saying he was finished, I’m so happy for him.”

Among the contenders for the overall win, last year’s runner-up Rigoberto Uran lost one minute 28 seconds on his main rivals after crashing about 30km from the finish. Australian Richie Porte pulled out after an early crash.

Today’s first rest day, after an 800-km transfer by plane to the Alps, will be much appre-ciated by the riders, who crossed the line in Roubaix, their faces covered by a mixture of dust and sweat after three and a half hours in scorching heat.

The Tour is, however, over for Porte, who was taken to hos-pital with a suspected shoulder injury after hitting the asphalt 10 kilometres into the stage

-- the second time in a row that the BMC rider crashed out of the race.

Defending champion Chris Froome fell off his bike as he tried to avoid a rider who crashed before him, but never lost his composure and finished with all the main title con-tenders. France’s Romain Bardet, who was third overall last year, suffered three punc-tures but managed to limit the damage, only losing seven seconds to Froome and the four-time champion’s Sky team mate Geraint Thomas. Froome attacked as soon as Bardet punctured for the last time just at the end of the last cobbled sector, but the Frenchman, who at some points was lagging 40 seconds behind, benefited from huge pulls by his team mates Tony Gallopin and Oliver Naesen.

South Africa’s Brandon Stone celebrates with the trophy after winning the Scottish Open at the Gullane GC in Gullane, Scotland, Britain yesterday.

World ranking: 21

Age: 31 (22/05/1987)

Residence: Monte Carlo

Weight: 170 lbs (77kg)

Height: 6ft 2ins (1.87m)

Career titles in total: 69

Career Grand Slam titles: 13

Australian Open: 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015,

2016;

French Open: 2016;

Wimbledon: 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018;

US Open: 2011, 2015

Career prize money: $114,143,245

NOVAK DJOKOVIC

Recent Wimbledon men’s champions after the 2018 final yesterday:

2018: Novak Djokovic (SRB) 2017: Roger Federer (SUI) 2016: Andy Murray (GBR)

2015: Novak Djokovic (SRB) 2014: Novak Djokovic (SRB) 2013: Andy Murray (GBR) 2012: Roger Federer (SUI) 2011: Novak Djokovic (SRB) 2010: Rafael Nadal (ESP)

2009: Roger Federer (SUI)

RECENT WINNERS

Germany’s John Degenkolb celebrates on the podium after winning the ninth stage of Tour de France race yesterday.

SPORT 28MONDAY 16 JULY 2018

Honours for Modric and Mbappe

France players toss coach Didier Deschamps into air to celebrate

their World Cup final victory over

Croatia in Moscow, yesterday. It is second World

Cup title for Les Blues since their triumph in 1998

World Cup.

Triumphant Les Blues celebrate

From young Mbappe to aging keeper, World Cup in recordsHere is a look at the records set and broken during the World Cup in Russia, and what it tells us about the tournament:

PLENTY OF GOALSWith just one scoreless draw in 63 games so far, Russia’s World Cup has been far from

dull.By the time France and Denmark delivered a boring 0-0 draw, 35 games had been

played with at least one goal scored, breaking a World Cup record that had stood for 64 years.

The tournament averaged 2.58 goals per game through the semifinals, second only to Brazil in 2014 for World Cups this century.

The record of 5.38 per game from 1954 is unlikely ever to fall without major rule changes. Back then, many teams lagged far behind the best, leading to two 7-0 thrashings and a 9-0 game.

KANE’S PENALTIESTeams have scored more goals than usual, but many weren’t particularly

noteworthy.The 11 own goals are a record - in part because FIFA has stricter guidelines about

attributing deflected shots - while the new Video Assistant Referee system led to an increase in the number of penalties awarded to a record 28, 10 more than the previous mark from 2002. Of those, 21 were converted from the spot.

Harry Kane typified the trend in his push to be tournament top scorer. The England captain scored three of his tournament-leading six goals from penalties and two shortly after corner kicks, leaving just a single deflected goal from open play.

Modern technology has helped the World Cup’s more modest teams pick the right tactics to frustrate top-class opponents, but there have still been some outstanding goals. Denis Cheryshev’s curling shot for Russia against Croatia and Benjamin Pavard’s swerving strike for France against Argentina are among the highlights.

MBAPPE AND El HADARYYoung stars have made a mark, none more than France’s 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe,

who became the youngest player to score two goals in a World Cup game since Pele in 1958.

Aging players have set records, too. Goalkeeper Essam El Hadary became the oldest player ever start in a World Cup game when he lined up in Egypt’s last match against Saudi Arabia aged 45. Mexico veteran Rafael Marquez became the first player picked in a starting 11 at five World Cups.

CROATIAN GRITCroatia got to the final the hard way, becoming the first team ever to win three con-

secutive games in extra time at a World Cup.That added up to 360 minutes of football in the knockout stages, the equivalent of a

full game more than France, which also had an extra day to rest for the final.KEEPING IT COOL

Perhaps with one eye on the VAR system, players didn’t break the rules so much, but they’ve certainly been bending them.

There hasn’t been a single red card for violent conduct, and just four ejections in total. If it stays that way in the last two games, it’ll be the lowest number at the World Cup for 40 years. Compare that with 2006, when 28 reds were issued including four in one game when Portugal beat the Netherlands.

However, there have been plenty of cases of players mobbing referees, wasting time and writhing in exaggerated agony. Swiss broadcaster RTS calculated Neymar spent nearly 14 minutes on the ground in Brazil’s first four games.

Croatia’s Luka Modric poses with the FIFA Golden Ball award as France’s Kylian Mbappe poses with the FIFA Young Player award after the final in Moscow, yesterday. BELOW: France coach Didier Deschamps celebrates after winning the World Cup with his family.

FRANCE RELISH WORLD CUP VICTORY

NATIONAL COACH DIDIER Deschamps

“It is really beautiful. It is marvellous. We did not play a great match

but we showed a strong mental quality.“We also scored four goals. We merit it. I

am very happy for this team. We are coming

from very far and it has not always been easy,

but thanks to hard work, they are here

and are on top of the world for the next four

years.”

ANTOINE GRIEZMANN, SCORER OF A PENALTY

“I don’t know where I am, it is great... Very

happy. It was a difficult match. Croatia play a great game. We

started timidly. We knew it was a World

Cup Final. We got into the game and on counter attacks, we

made the difference. Very happy. We look forward to lifting the cup and taking it to

France.”