The media saluted Theo Walcott on Thursday after his hat-trick in England's 4-1 demolition of Croatia in a World Cup qualifier in Zagreb.
Teenager Theo Walcott scored a hat-trick as an inspired England crushed 10-man Croatia 4-1 in their World Cup Group Six qualifier in Zagreb on Wednesday. It was the first defeat in 36 qualifiers on home soil for the Croats since they resumed playing competitive football as an independent nation in 1994.
England hope to put behind their gloomy recent experiences against Croatia when they travel to Zagreb on Wednesday for an early key World Cup qualifier. Croatia beat England twice in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, costing them a place in June's finals in Switzerland and Austria and coach Steve McLaren his job.
Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien will be out of action for at least five months after rupturing an anterior cruciate knee ligament. The Chelsea website said Essien had sustained the injury playing for Ghana against Libya in a World Cup qualifier last Friday and would undergo surgery once the swelling had subsided.
Former European champions Ajax Amsterdam made a shock exit from the UEFA Cup on Thursday after a 3-2 home defeat by Dinamo Zagreb gave the Croatians victory on the away goals rule.
England manager Fabio Capello said his team relished facing Croatia again on Wednesday and would play with more confidence in their Group Six World Cup qualifier in Zagreb than they would at Wembley.
Portugal had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Spain in a heavyweight friendly on Wednesday after hammering the crossbar twice and missing a last-gasp open goal.
Sunitha Rao and Prakash Amritraj failed to advance in the Wimbledon qualifiers, both going down the second round on Wednesday. Sunitha, India's second-highest ranked player, lost 4-6, 2-6 to 15th seed Russian Olga Poutchkova. On Tuesday night, Amritraj put up a spirited performance but lost to 13th seeded Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky 3-6, 6-1, 3-6.
The 31-year-old is still recovering from the knee injury which forced him to limp out of the Euro 2016 final against France in the first half, coach Fernando Santos said.
Images from Day one of the 2019 Davis Cup at La Caja Magica in Madrid on Monday
Croatia's euphoric media ran out of superlatives as they hailed the Balkan nation's stunning World Cup win over Argentina which propelled them into the competition's knockout stages for the first time since the 1998 tournament when they finished third.
Thirteen teams have now qualified for the last 32 including Bayer Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Lazio who had already secured places in the next stage of the competition.
Pep Guardiola's ManchesterCity will play Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round after the draw was made in Nyon on Friday.
Czech Tomas Berdych claimed his first ATP singles title in over a year with a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic at the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Sunday.
Rathore shot 139 in the qualifying rounds, but it was not enough to figure among the finalists at the World Shooting Championships.
Ten images that show it's an odd, odd world we live in.
Croatia are to face a disciplinary hearing over their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy during which a swastika cross was imprinted on to the pitch.
Rafael Nadal claimed a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis to reach the second round of the Dubai Open.
The country of around 4 million people came to a standstill as Croatians watched the game on screens in squares and cafes.
Croatia will play their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy behind closed doors after their fans caused more trouble during the 5-1 win over Norway, UEFA said on Wednesday.
Wayne Arthurs defeated Sergui Tarasevitch and Chris Guccione whipped Alexandr Zotov in the dead second singles of the Davis Cup quarter-final.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Croatia made heavy weather of beating Denmark in their worst performance of the tournament, but will seek to rediscover their fluency in a weekend showdown against Russia for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
Arsenal look set for a place in the Champions League group stage after they beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 in qualifying.
Arsenal's captain will miss next week's Champions League qualifier due to a lack of pre-season training, while keeper Jens Lehmann is suspended for the third round, first leg tie.
Olympic silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore says his damaged gun cost him a place in final of the double trap event at World Shooting Championships.
Clubs from Lithuania, Georgia, Moldova and Macedonia on Tuesday became the first four to progress from 11 Champions League first qualifying round ties.
A summary of Tuesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
The 23-year-old, a bronze-winner in the 10m air pistol and the 50m pistol events of the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast earlier this year, shot a score of 564 to finish on top.
Top seed Ivan Ljubicic won his third title of the year by beating fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the Vienna Open final on Sunday.
Top seed Ivan Ljubicic was the only seed to reach the quarter-finals of the Zagreb indoor tournament
Jaspal Rana and Samresh Jung finished sixth and 36th respectively in the 25 m Standard Pistol event at the World Shooting Championships.
Abhinav Bindra, who is suffering from chronic back pain, has been flown to Munich to undergo treatment.
The Indian girl finished eighth in the 10m Air Rifle event at the ISSF World Shooting Championships, but snatched a berth at the Beijing Games.
Abhinav Bindra won the gold medal in the men's 10 m air rifle event at World shooting championships.
Holders Croatia had to be content with a win and a loss from the opening day's two singles rubbers in the Davis Cup.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances