Tag: Spain

Giannis, Greece make Paris Olympics as Spain, Brazil also qualify

On: By: admin


Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, reacts as one of his children holds a sign after his team qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics eliminating Croatia, following a FIBA Olympic Qualifying basketball final, at the Peace and Friendship stadium, at Athens’ port city of Piraeus, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)

Giannis Antetokounmpo steered Greece to an Olympic berth on Sunday as he overcame a slow start to score 23 points in an 80-69 qualifying tournament victory over Croatia in Piraeus.

The game was one of four finals on Sunday to determine the last qualifiers for the Paris men’s basketball tournament.

In Riga, Brazil beat hosts Latvia 94-69. In Valencia, Spain edged the Bahamas 86-78.

READ: Fiba OQT: Giannis, Greece beat Doncic-led Slovenia to reach final

In the Olympic tournament in Lille, Greece and Spain will play in Group A with Australia and Canada. Brazil will line up in Group B with France, Germany and Japan.

The final place in the Olympics went to qualifier hosts Puerto Rico, who upset Lithuania 79-68 in San Juan.

Puerto Rico advanced into Olympic Group C with the United States, South Sudan and Serbia.

Before the qualifying tournament started, Antetokounmpo had not played competitively since injuring a calf on April 9 playing for the Milwaukee Bucks.

He returned for the tournament opener in Piraeus on July 2 and, even though he was rested for Greece’s second game, ended up collecting the tournament most valuable player award.

READ: Tim Cone on Gilas’ Fiba OQT: Now we know we can compete

On Sunday, Croatia, with 7-foot-1 Los Angeles Clippers center Ivica Zubac at the heart of their defense, packed the paint to deny Antetokounmpo.

Croatia led by as many as four points in the first quarter. As Antetokounmpo began to penetrate and Greece went 12-of-32 on three-point attempts, the hosts took control. Antetokounmpo finished as the top scorer and also grabbed eight rebounds to ensure his first Olympic appearance.

‘One step at a time’

“It’s incredible. I don’t think the scenario could have been better. Being in your house, with people that support you. It’s an incredible feeling,” Antetokounmpo said. “Since I was a kid I always wanted to play the Olympic Games.”

“I don’t want to get ahead and be talking about medals,” he said at the press conference. “The last time we went to the Olympic Games was 2008. One step at a time.”

Zubac had 19 points and 13 rebounds for Croatia.

In Riga, Brazil hit eight out of eight three-point attempts as they took a 34-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and then cruised to victory.

Forwards Leo Meindl and Bruno Caboclo each scored 21 points.

Caboclo, who plays for Red Star in Serbia, was voted tournament MVP.

“I’m so excited, I’m so happy. These are the best plans I could imagine,” he said looking ahead to the Games.

In Valencia, Spain took the lead for the first time against Bahamas midway through the second quarter and nursed their advantage the rest of the way.

Guard Lorenzo Brown top scored for Spain with 19. He was matched by NBA guard Buddy Hield for Bahamas.

Rudy Fernandez scored nine points for Spain to book a record sixth trip to the Olympics at the age of 39. He is tied with six other men and four women on five Olympic basketball tournaments.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

At Puerto Rico, New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado scored 23 points and grabbed six rebounds while guard Tremont Waters, who played 45 NBA games from 2019-2022, added 18 points to spark the hosts to victory.

Rokas Jokubaitis led Lithuania with 16 points while Sacramento Kings star center Domantas Sabonis had 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

Spain rallies to thrash Georgia, reach Euro 2024 quarterfinal

On: By: admin


Spain’s midfielder #08 Fabian Ruiz celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Euro 2024 round of 16 football match between Spain and Georgia at the Cologne Stadium in Cologne on June 30, 2024. (Photo by Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP)

Rodri, Fabian Ruiz, Nico Williams and Dani Olmo all scored as Spain came from behind to beat surprise packages Georgia 4-1 at Euro 2024 on Sunday and set up a blockbuster quarterfinal against hosts Germany.

Robin Le Normand’s own goal gave Georgia a shock lead in the 18th minute of this last-16 tie to send their noisy supporters wild in Cologne.

It was the first goal Spain had conceded at the competition but they came back to equalise six minutes before the interval courtesy of Manchester City midfielder Rodri.

READ: Ronaldo still Portugal’s main man despite slow start to Euro 2024

Ruiz then headed home in the 51st minute and Williams ran through for the third before substitute Olmo made sure of the win as La Roja stayed on track to become European champions for the fourth time.

“There are things we need to improve and at some points in the game we were not forceful enough, but in general terms we were superior,” said Rodri.

Spain now takes on Germany in the last eight in Stuttgart on Friday in a repeat of the Euro 2008 final, which they won 1-0 to begin their golden era of dominance in international football.

“Germany might be playing at home but we are not afraid. We are here to win, not just to play well or give off a good image,” Rodri added.

Luis de la Fuente’s team is looking to bring back the glory days and they were expected to brush Georgia aside here.

READ: Spain advances to knockout round at Euro 2024, beating Italy

They would have ultimately won by a far greater margin had they converted more of their chances, with 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal squandering several opportunities in his attempt to become the youngest ever goal-scorer at the Euros.

Georgia is ranked 74th in the world, 66 places below Spain. Willy Sagnol’s team lost twice to Spain in qualifying, going down 7-1 at home and 3-1 away.

Yet they still qualified for a first major tournament and then made it to the knockout stages with a stunning 2-0 win over Portugal. They now go home with their heads held high despite eventually crumbling here.

“I am not saying we are disappointed but we are a bit sad because we lost,” Sagnol said.

“I am sure in some days we will realize exactly what we have done and the happiness will come back very quickly.”

They have a lively attacking partnership between Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Georges Mikautadze that is a danger for any opponent, and Giorgi Mamardashvili has been one of the best goalkeepers at the tournament.

Audacious

Mamardashvili had already saved from Pedri and kept out Dani Carvajal’s glancing header before Georgia went ahead.

The move started with a fine piece of play by Kvaratskhelia on the left, as he picked out a pass for Mikautadze, who then released Otar Kakabadze on the right wing.

Kakabadze’s cross into the box was a horrible one for Le Normand, who had Kvaratskhelia arriving behind him and could not stop the ball rebounding off him and into the net for the eighth own goal of Euro 2024.

Spain was now vulnerable to the counterattack, which is Georgia’s strength, but the men in red continued to dominate the game and kept testing Mamardashvili.

The Valencia shot-stopper made several more interventions in an increasingly wild encounter before the equalizer came, Rodri controlling a Williams pass at the edge of the box and stroking the ball into the corner.

It felt as if that might be that for Georgia, but they remained audacious on the break, with Kvaratskhelia almost scoring from inside his own half at the beginning of the second period, his shot going just wide with goalkeeper Unai Simon out of position.

Spain went ahead shortly after, as Yamal crossed from the right for Ruiz to head in his second goal of the tournament.

Yamal didn’t just miss chances of his own, as he also forced an own goal which was disallowed for offside before Georgia fell apart defensively under increasingly heavy rain.

Ruiz released Williams, who ran from inside his own half, skipped past Giorgi Gvelesiani into the box and fired into the roof of the net to make it 3-1 on 75 minutes.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

A delightful control and finish from the edge of the box by Olmo completed the scoring with seven minutes left.

Spain advances to knockout round at Euro 2024, beating Italy

On: By: admin


Spain’s Alvaro Morata celebrates with teammates after Italy’s Riccardo Calafiori, right, lies face down on the pitch after scoring an own goal during a Group B match between Spain and Italy at the Euro 2024 football tournament in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Thursday, June 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany— Europe beware — Spain might just be back.

The three-time European champion advanced to the round of 16 at Euro 2024 after a 1-0 win against holders Italy on Thursday.

A 55th-minute own goal by Riccardo Calafiori settled the Group B game at the Veltins Arena in Gelsenkirchen. But that didn’t begin to tell the full story of a statement performance from Spain, which surely marks it as one of the favorites to win a record-extending fourth European Championship.

“I think it was the best Spain performance I have taken charge of,” coach Luis de la Fuente said. “I don’t see a ceiling on this team. The sky is the limit.”

READ; Mbappe breaks nose in France Euro 2024 win

Spain totally dominated defending champion Italy, with 16-year-old winger Lamine Yamal further enhancing his reputation as one of football’s most exciting young stars.

Player of the match Nico Williams also tormented Italy’s defenders and was the width of the crossbar away from scoring in the second half.

It took Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to keep the score down with a string of fine saves until inadvertently pushing the ball into the legs of Calafiori, who couldn’t prevent it from ricocheting into his own goal.

“They deserved to win and we were never in the game,” Italy coach Luciano Spalletti said. “There was too much of a gulf. We were constantly stretched, we were never able to squeeze the gaps between the various units and they were able to cause us problems. They caused us more problems than the score line suggests, let’s not beat around the bush.”

READ: Spain removes word ‘women’ from national team name to show conceptual shift

Spain produced a throwback performance that brought to mind the years when it ruled international football when winning back-to-back Euros and the World Cup from 2008 through 2012.

Having failed to dominate possession for the first time in 136 competitive games in its opening 3-0 win over Croatia, Spain was back to its old ways in starving Italy of the ball and dictating play in a largely lopsided game.

Chances came thick and fast in the first half, with Donnarumma pulling off a number of saves to keep the score goalless.

For all of Spain’s superiority, it took Calafiori’s own goal to break the deadlock after halftime.

Donnarumma pushed Alvaro Morata’s glancing header into the legs of Calafiori, who could only watch as the ball rebounded into the back of the net.

Williams was then millimeters away from extending the lead with a curling shot that hit the bar.

“We dominated across the board,” Williams said. “Italy are an excellent side but we played very well and deserved to win.”

Williams is just one of the bright young stars in De la Fuente’s team. Yamal is another and the Barcelona teenager, who has a $1 billion buyout clause, showcased his talents with slaloming runs and tricks.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri looks like the modern-day answer to Spain great Andres Iniesta.

“I want to underline the quality of this generation of players, particularly those in this squad. Spanish players are the best in the world,” De la Fuente said.

Spain has endured frustrating times since it last won the Euros in 2012, with early exits from the last three World Cups.

At the last Euros, it lost on penalties to Italy in the semifinals.

But there have been signs of its resurgence in recent times, having won the UEFA Nations League last year.

Now it looks well-positioned to push for another major title in Germany.

“Essentially we haven’t achieved anything yet,” De la Fuente said. “Football can be very cruel. We have to be cautious, humble and show resect.”

England drew 1-1 with Denmark in Group C after Harry Kane scored and then made a mistake that led to the Danes’ leveler. Kane struck a record-extending 64th goal for his country to fire England ahead in Frankfurt. But his loose pass then allowed Morten Hjulmand to equalize from long range.



Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.


Your subscription has been successful.

In the other Group C game, Luka Jovic scored in stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 for Serbia against Slovenia.

England leads the group on four points and is likely to advance to the round of 16.