Credit: X
In the world of football, Jurgen Klopp spoke about how Liverpool will “show their class” in handling Joel Matip’s contract situation after he suffered an ACL injury last weekend. India women's junior hockey team defeated Korea 3-1 in a classification of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023. Former NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley slammed the North Carolina-born for his poor game in the In-Season Tournament semifinals.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Jurgen Klopp hints at Joel Matip’s contract extension after ACL injury
The Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp addressed the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury of Joel Matip, suffered during a 4-3 win against Fulham in the Premier League, stating that the “club will show their class” on his road to recovery. Notably, the current contract of Joel Matip with Liverpool is set to run out at the end of the ongoing 2023-24 season, wherein he is unlikely to take any part due to the severity of his injury, to which Jurgen Klopp was quoted as saying, “I'm pretty sure they have told Joel already whatever happens, as long as he's injured everything's fine, and now we have to decide with Joel how it looks after that.”
Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo to be out for weeks, says manager Thomas Frank
Thomas Frank, the Brentford manager said that their forward Bryan Mbeumo, who’s the top scorer for the club with seven goals this season, is going to be out of action for weeks after suffering an ankle injury during their 1-2 loss against Brighton in the Premier League. He was quoted as saying to the club website, “It is bad. He'll (Bryan Mbeumo) have a scan later, but we don't know the exact number of weeks he will be out. He will not play on Saturday, and he will be out for weeks. We will know more in the next couple of days.”
USMNT to face Uruguay, Mexico to Ecuador in Copa America group stage draws
The 2024 Copa America draws are finally on the books with the USA being hosts for this time. The draws for the upcoming tournament took place on December 8, Friday (IST), and saw the hosts in a group with Uruguay while the fellow hosts Mexico are set to lock horns with Ecuador. The reigning champions Argentina are set to lock horns with two-time title winners Peru in the group stage. Brazil, who are placed in the fourth group will take on Colombia, who are the 2021 third-place finisher.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Manchester United’s 25 per cent deal announcement pushed back: Reports
As per the report from Mail Sport, the announcement of Sir Jim Ratcliffe of the Ineos Group purchasing a 25 per cent stake in Manchester United is pushed back until the week after next with the “legal structural” matters being disclosed as the reason by the sources in the USA. It is also revealed that the officials were looking forward to broadcasting the arrival of Sir Jim Ratcliffe before Manchester United kicked off their midweek UEFA Champions League clash at Old Trafford against Bayern Munich.
Dele Alli close to making return to full training at Everton: Reports
The Everton midfielder Dele Alli is closing in on his return to full training at Everton in his bid to completely recover from an injury that kept him out of action throughout the ongoing 2023-24 season. Notably, the 27-year-old hasn’t played any competitive football since February of this year, when he turned up for Besiktas in Turkey before his loan deal was cut short because of an injury.
Some major results in football are as under:
Premier League 2023-24
- Everton 3-0 Newcastle United
- Tottenham 1-2 West Ham United
Copa Del Rey 2023-24
- Arandina 2-1 Cadiz
- Cayon 0-3 Athletic Bilbao
- Orihuela 2-5 Girona
- Sestao River 1-2 Celta Vigo
Ligue 1 2023-24
- Brest 1-1 Strasbourg
Eredivisie 2023-24
- PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Heerenveen
Saudi Pro League 2023-24
- Damak 3-1 Al-Ittihad
- Al-Shabab 0-0 Al-Ittifaq
NBA
Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley slam Zion Williamson for his performance in In-Season Tournament semifinals
Former NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley slammed Zion Williamson for his poor game in the In-Season Tournament semifinals. Shaq said, “I saw a couple times when he had a couple times at the basket, he don’t seal, right? He doesn’t demand the ball … and he doesn’t have that look. Like, I’m not the greatest athlete ever, but I know a look when I see it. In every sport, I know a look. Tiger Woods had that look, Jack Nicklas had that look. He just doesn’t have that look. And he doesn’t rebound. He does not rebound.”
Shaq’s fellow Hall of Fame inductee Charles Barkley added his views and said, “The thing that disturbs me is he’s not a young kid. When Moses [Malone] told me I was fat and lazy, I was a rookie. He’s been in the league long enough — he’s got two guys on the team that are better players than him and they shouldn’t be. He was the No. 1 pick in the Draft. He should be a better player than [Brandon] Ingram, we like Ingram. Obviously, we love C.J. [McCollum]. He should be the best player and he’s not close.”
Tennis
Rafael Nadal drops hints at taking retirement after 2024 season
Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal dropped hints on announcing his retirement after the 2024 season. In a new video posted on Twitter, the 22-time Grand Slam winner said, "It is a reality, there are many chances that it will be my last year without any doubt. There are chances that it may only be half a year, there are possibilities it may be a full year, that we may not be able to reach all that.. these are things right now I do not have the capacity to be able to answer, this is the truth.” He added, "I am only in conditions to say that I return to compete, that I continue having in my head that the normal thing, or that there are many possibilities that it is my last year, and I am going to enjoy the tournaments in that way.”
Hockey
India defeat Korea in classification match of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023
India women's junior hockey team defeated Korea 3-1 in a classification of the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup 2023. India’s goals came from Ropni Kumari, Mumtaz Khan, and Annu in 23’, 44’ and 46’ minutes while Korea’s lone goal came from Jiyun Choi in the 19th minute. India have already bowed out of the title contention after finishing third in the Pool C. However, their victory over Korea will cement their chances to finish ninth in the tournament when they take on either Chile or USA in their last match of the competition on 10th December at 03:45hrs IST.
Spain beat India 4-1 in pool-stage match of Junior Men’s World Cup 2023
Indian junior men’s hockey team was defeated by Spain 1-4 in the second Pool C match in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Thursday (7th December 2023). In their opening game on Tuesday, India beat Korea 4-2, owing to vice-captain Araijeet Singh Hundal's hat-trick. The Men in Blue will play their last pool match against Canada on Saturday, December 9. Talking about the pools of the tournament, Pool A has defending champions Argentina, Australia, Chile, and Malaysia, while Pool B has Egypt, France, Germany, and South Africa. Pool D is the toughest group with Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, and Pakistan. The top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals.
