LYON: Moroccan soccer is having a moment.
Surprise semifinalists at the World Cup two years ago, the men’s team has emulated that achievement at the Paris Olympics.
Morocco routed the United States 4-0 in the quarterfinals and plays Spain on Monday for the chance to reach the final.
“I have one goal here, which is to win the medal,” Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi said, referring to gold.
A place in the final would be extra special for Hakimi, who plays his club soccer for Paris Saint-Germain, and would compete at his home stadium, Parc des Princes, if Morocco advances.
Then again, most Morocco matches have felt like home games for the team, given the fervent support it has enjoyed in France, which has a large Moroccan population. Moroccan fans packed Parc des Princes for the victory over the Americans.
It will be the same again for the semifinal in Marseille, France’s oldest city, which has deep North African connections.
“The fans follow us everywhere we go. Let’s hope it continues like this until the end of the tournament. We are here to make them feel proud of us,” Hakimi said.
That support has overstepped the mark at the Games when fans rushed the field and threw bottles in Morocco’s 2-1 win over Argentina in the group phase and caused the game to be suspended for around two hours.
Against the US, fans were warned by the stadium announcer not to light flares after several were set off following Morocco’s first goal.
Morocco’s supporters lit up the Qatar World Cup in 2022 in a different way — uniting many fans in the region as the first Arab and African team to advance to the semifinals — eventually taking fourth place.
It couldn’t follow that success at this year’s African Cup of Nations — being eliminated by South Africa in the round of 16 — but it did win the Under-23 version of the tournament to qualify for the Olympics and showcase its depth of talent.
At these games, the Moroccans have advanced to the semifinals for the first time and has the chance to medal. The win against Argentina started its tournament off with a bang.
“We are a proud, proud country. We love our country,” Morocco coach Tarik Sektioui said. “We all love to be Moroccan and, it’s (taken) a lot of work. We as coaches or players are determined to improve and (show) to everybody that Moroccan players can be world players and the Moroccan coach can be also a good, world, coach. It’s just a question of work and mentality.”
Morocco’s senior team shocked Spain by eliminating it from the last World Cup and its Olympic team is aiming to emulate that feat and secure a place in the final against France or Egypt.
Spain won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and has taken silver on three other occasions, including the last Games in Tokyo when it lost to Brazil in the final.
Spanish soccer is also enjoying a boom period after the men won the European Championship this summer and the women were crowned world champion last year.
Both the men’s and women’s teams are into the semifinals at the Olympics.
If Morocco wins, it could be down to the tournament’s leading scorer Soufiane Rahimi.
The 28-year-old striker was one of Sektioui’s overage picks. The Olympic men’s tournament is restricted to under 23s with the exception of three overage players.
Rahimi’s selection has certainly paid off, with the forward scoring five goals so far.
Rahimi plays his club soccer for Al Ain in United Arab Emirates and won the Asian Champions League last season when he was top scorer with 13 goals. Al Ain eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr in the quarterfinals.
Sektioui believes Rahimi has the ability to play in one of Europe’s top leagues.
“Last year he was one of the best strikers in Asia and won the Asian Cup (Champions League). That means everything,” the Morocco coach said. “He has everything... he’s explosive, he’s clever, he can score.”
France vs. Egypt
Also Monday, host nation France plays Egypt in Lyon and is looking to end a 40-year wait for Olympic gold in the men’s soccer.
France’s only gold came at Los Angeles 1984.
This is Egypt’s third time in the semifinals having has twice finished in fourth place — at Amsterdam 1928 and Tokyo 1964.
If Egypt and Morocco both win it would set up the first all-African final in Olympic men’s soccer.
Morocco making waves with polished play and fervent fans at Olympics, Spain awaits in soccer semis
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Morocco making waves with polished play and fervent fans at Olympics, Spain awaits in soccer semis
- Morocco routed the United States 4-0 in the quarterfinals
Al-Faisal Al-Zubair wins Gold Cup at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch (England): Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT’s Al-Faisal Al-Zubair and teammate Jens Klingmann delivered a sensational performance to win the second of the one-hour Sprint races at the opening round of the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Series at Brands Hatch in England on Sunday.
After finishing fifth in the first of the two short races, Al-Zubair and Klingmann delivered a masterclass in pit strategy to kickstart their season in the new series with outright victory in the Gold Cup category and sixth position overall in Sprint Race Two at the helm of the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
Al-Zubair said: “Starting off doing very minimal laps in the Sprint Championship was something to get used to. Brands Hatch is such a difficult track, and we didn’t have much running time. There were a few red flags in practice. I think we did a total of 20 laps before we got into qualifying. It was not so easy.
“We started off with qualifying on the wrong foot. We finished fifth in class in the first race and then we won the second race. To jump so many people in the second stint and in the pit stop is something that we should be very happy of. It is good to get a start like this, and we can look forward to the rest of the season.”
Al-Zubair began the opening one-hour Sprint race from sixth on the Gold Cup grid but was not able to make headway through the opening laps. Arthur Rougier drove the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari to give the CSA Racing McLaren a brief lead, but Chris Lulham hit the front again in the Ferrari after the mid-race pit stop and driver change.
Klingmann took over from Al-Zubair with the sole target of moving up the field, and he managed to sneak ahead of James Kell in the CSA Racing McLaren following the driver changeovers after 23 laps.
Lulham continued to lead from Louis Prette in the Garage 59 McLaren as the opening Sprint race headed into its closing stages and on to the checkered flag. Klingmann held on to secure a fifth-place finish for the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW after 42 laps of racing.
Race Two took place in similar cool and overcast conditions in the afternoon. Klingmann took the wheel for the first stint and quickly settled into fourth place behind the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari, the Sainteloc Racing Audi and the Tresor Attempto Racing Audi.
Full course yellows failed to prevent Klingmann from maintaining his position, but the damage was done at the driver changeover when the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT delivered the strategy to perfection and Al-Zubair hit the front.
The Omani continued to lead from the defending champions, Sainteloc Racing, and overcame another full course yellow to win Race Two with a margin of just under three seconds to Thierry Vermeulen and Lulham in the Emil Frey Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 after 37 laps.
Al-Zubair and Klingmann carried out free practice on Saturday morning and ran the Al-Manar Racing by Team WRT BMW for 30 laps. The team carded a best lap of 1 minute 24.186 seconds that put them fifth of the Gold Cup runners. The Emil Frey Racing Ferrari topped the times with a tour of 1 minute 23.178 seconds.
Pre-qualifying was next on the agenda, but the Al-Manar Racing duo could only manage a best lap of 1 minute 24.720 seconds, and the bragging rights from the Gold Cup session went to the Garage 59 McLaren with a time of 1 minute 24.122 seconds.
Qualifying was split into two sessions, and Al-Zubair managed six laps in Q1. The Omani carded a best tour of 1 minute 24.626 seconds, and that put him in sixth in the stint, with Thierry Vermeulen winning Q1 for Emil Frey Racing with a lap of 1 minute 23.374 seconds.
Klingmann fared slightly better in Q2 and was classified fifth in the Gold Cup runners with a best lap of 1 minute 24.012 seconds, with Lulham winning the stint for Emil Frey Racing to claim pole position for the first of the two one-hour Sprint races.
Action in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Series continues at Zandvoort in the Netherlands on May 16-18.
India coach Gambhir wants no cricket with Pakistan
- Two-way cricket between nuclear-armed neighbors remains suspended since 2013
- They play each other only in multi-team tournaments, mostly in neutral venues
NEW DELHI: India head coach Gautam Gambhir personally believes the country should not play any cricket with Pakistan, not even in neutral venues, after a deadly Islamist militant attack in Indian Kashmir last month.
India struck nine sites in Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir on Wednesday in response to the April 22 killing of 26 tourists in the Himalayan region.
Two-way cricket between the nuclear-armed neighbors remains suspended since 2013 and they play each other only in multi-team tournaments, mostly in neutral venues.
“My personal answer to this is absolutely no,” Gambhir said on Tuesday, hours before India launched the airstrikes, when asked for his view on India-Pakistan cricket.
“Till all this doesn’t stop, there should not be anything between India and Pakistan.”
Any match between the arch-rivals remains a cricketing blockbuster and is declared sold out within hours after tickets go on sale.
India have dominated that rivalry in recent years but emotions still run high on either side of the border whenever the cricket-mad neighbors clash.
Pakistan’s men’s team toured India for the 50-overs World Cup in 2023 but their neighbors have not reciprocated.
India refused to tour Pakistan for the Champions Trophy earlier this year and played all their matches in Dubai instead.
Gambhir said he would follow whatever the Indian cricket board (BCCI) or the government decide on bilateral cricket with Pakistan.
“Ultimately, this is (the) government’s decision whether we play them or not,” Gambhir said.
“This is not up to me, it’s not in my jurisdiction. This is for BCCI and, more importantly, the government to decide whether we should play them or not.
“Whatever decision they make, we should be absolutely fine with it and not politicize it.”
Last month India’s star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra withdrew his invitation to Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem to compete in a May 24 event in the southern city of Bengaluru following the Kashmir attack.
Alpine promotes Franco Colapinto to replace Jack Doohan for the next 5 Formula 1 Grand Prix races
- The team says Flavio Briatore will continue as executive adviser and will cover Oakes’ duties
- Apline says “Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July”
LONDON: Formula 1 team Alpine has changed its driver lineup to promote Franco Colapinto for at least the next five Grand Prix races at the expense of Jack Doohan.
Alpine confirmed the change Wednesday, a day after Oliver Oakes quit as team principal. The team said Flavio Briatore will continue as executive adviser and will cover Oakes’ duties.
“Colapinto will be paired with Pierre Gasly from the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, ahead of a new evaluation before the British Grand Prix in July,” Alpine said in a statement.
Alpine is ninth in the F1 constructors’ standings after six rounds. The next race weekend is May 16-18 at Imola.
At Sunday’s Miami Grand Prix, Doohan ran into another car on the opening lap and then crashed on the second lap.
Media reports of a driver rotation were dismissed ahead of the Miami GP weekend by Oakes, who had indicated that the rookie Australian driver would remain in the seat.
Doohan, who didn’t score a point in his seven GP races and had a best finish of 13th, will revert to being the team’s reserve driver.
The son of five-time motorcycle world champion Mick Doohan, Jack Doohan made his Formula 1 debut in the last race of 2024 and started this year for Alpine at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix. He replaced Esteban Ocon, who left Alpine after a disappointing 2024.
Colapinto joined Alpine as a reserve driver in January after racing in 2024 for Williams, where he earned five points after replacing Logan Sargeant in August.
Pakistan cricket board says PSL tournament to continue despite regional tensions
- PSL features several foreign players and is credited with reviving international cricket in Pakistan
- PCB says the cricket league will proceed, with Islamabad United set to take on Quetta Gladiators today
KARACHI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday confirmed that the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) will proceed as scheduled, with Islamabad United set to face Quetta Gladiators later tonight in Rawalpindi, despite rising military tensions with neighboring India.
The match is set to begin at 8 PM local time at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, marking the league’s return to the city for four consecutive fixtures from May 7 to 10.
“HBL Pakistan Super League X will continue as planned with Islamabad United set to take on Quetta Gladiators later today at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium,” reads a handout issued by PCB.
The final group match, the PCB added, will be played in Multan on May 11, followed by the Eliminator in Rawalpindi on May 13. The playoffs and final are scheduled for May 14, 16 and 18 at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium.
The confirmation comes hours after Pakistan’s military said Indian missile strikes had killed at least 26 civilians and wounded 46 in cross-border attacks on six locations inside Pakistani territory.
India’s defense ministry said it had launched “Operation Sindoor,” targeting what it claimed were “militant infrastructure” linked to a recent deadly assault on tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir.
New Delhi has blamed the attack on Pakistan, a charge Islamabad has repeatedly denied.
Responding to the Indian attack, Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the country’s air force had downed five Indian fighter jets in the early hours of Wednesday.
The PSL, which features several foreign players, is widely credited with reviving international cricket in Pakistan after a decade-long suspension following the 2009 militant attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore.
The HBL PSL, now in its 10th season, is considered Pakistan’s premier T20 franchise competition and a symbol of the country’s sporting resilience.
Since its full return to home soil in 2020, it has helped Pakistan rebuild its reputation as a safe destination for international cricket.
Haliburton stunner sinks Cavs, Warriors down Wolves despite Curry blow
- Tyrese Haliburton’s 24-foot three-pointer with just 1.1 seconds remaining sealed a remarkable comeback from fourth seeds Indiana as they took a commanding 2-0 lead
- The Timberwolves had dismantled the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the previous round, but struggled to get to grips with a steely Golden State defense
- The 11-time All-Star headed to the locker room for treatment and did not return, almost certainly ruling him out of Thursday’s Game 2
LOS ANGELES: The Indiana Pacers defeated the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers 120-119 as the Golden State Warriors shrugged off a Stephen Curry injury to claim victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA playoffs on Tuesday.
Tyrese Haliburton’s 24-foot three-pointer with just 1.1 seconds remaining sealed a remarkable comeback from fourth seeds Indiana as they took a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Donovan Mitchell had almost single-handedly dragged an injury-depleted Cleveland to victory with a masterful performance, scoring 48 points in a game the Cavs led by 20 midway through the third quarter.
But Cleveland, missing injured starters Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and De’Andre Hunter, wilted visibly down the stretch as a dogged Pacers lineup refused to roll over and steadily chipped away at the Cavaliers’ lead.
Cleveland forward Max Strus looked to have put the Cavs on course for victory after draining his fifth three-pointer of the night to put the home side 117-110 up with just over a minute remaining.
Indiana, though, closed with a 10-2 run, culminating with Haliburton’s winning three to set the seal on a sensational fightback.
“Cleveland hit us with a hellacious punch early in the game and it was difficult to get the ball over half court, let alone score,” Indiana coach Rick Carlisle said afterwards.
“We played from behind the whole game. But in the fourth quarter we just hung in there...our group has a belief in one another and we just keep executing and keep playing.”
Pacers point guard Haliburton finished with 19 points while Aaron Nesmith and Myles Turner scored 23 points apiece. Six Indiana players finished in double figures.
Mitchell’s 48-point performance was backed by Strus with 23 points while Jarrett Allen added 22.
Cleveland coach Kenny Atkinson said his team had faded in the critical fourth quarter.
“We outplayed them for most of the game,” Atkinson said.
“We couldn’t really separate ourselves. Every possession, they just upped their physicality. We ran out of gas.”
Game 3 is in Indianapolis on Friday.
In Minneapolis, the Golden State Warriors were forced to dig deep before battling to a 99-88 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in their Western Conference semifinal series opener.
The Timberwolves had dismantled the third-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the previous round, but struggled to get to grips with a steely Golden State defense in a low-scoring contest at the Target Center.
Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards had a rare off-night, sinking just one three-pointer in his 23-point total.
The Wolves’ wayward long-range shooting proved the difference, with the team making just five of 29 from beyond the arc.
The Warriors by contrast made 18-of-42 from three-point range with Buddy Hield draining five threes to lead the Golden State scoring with 24 points.
Jimmy Butler added 20 points while defensive linchpin Draymond Green also chipped in with an important 18-point haul.
But the victory was clouded by a worrying injury to superstar Curry, who left the game in the second quarter clutching his left hamstring.
The 11-time All-Star headed to the locker room for treatment and did not return, almost certainly ruling him out of Thursday’s Game 2 and putting a question mark over his fitness for the rest of the series.
“We want Steph back, I tell you that — it’s hard playing without that man,” Butler told TNT television after the win. “Steph is our best player, and the game is much easier when we’ve got him.”
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said the veteran would undergo an MRI scan on Wednesday.
“We’re definitely game-planning for him not to be available on Thursday,” Kerr said.
“We don’t know yet, but with a hamstring, it’s hard to imagine that he would play Thursday.
“I spoke to him at halftime and he’s obviously crushed. But the guys picked him up and played a great game. We’re all concerned but it’s part of the game.”
