Category: Sports

England qualified for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Euro 2024, following its difficult victory over Slovakia with a score of 2-1 after extra time, in the round of 16 match held on Sunday. Slovakia took the lead initially thanks to Ivan Schranz's goal in the 25th minute, only that England managed to equalize in the 5th minute of extra time, through Jude Bellingham. England's second goal was scored by Harry Kane in minute one of the 1st extra period. In the next round, England will face Switzerland in Dusseldorf on Saturday. The Swiss qualified for the quarter-finals yesterday, after eliminating Italy, the defending champion, with two goals to null. Source: Qatar News Agency

The Qatar Skydive Team, of the Qatar Air Sports Committee (QASC) of the Joint Special Forces, will compete in the 46th CISM World Military Parachuting Championship (WMPC) set to be held in Hungary from July 2-12 with the participation of 33 countries. The Qatari national team is represented in the 46th WMPC by the 4-Way Formation and Al Hadaf teams. Qatar Skydive Team is considered one of the best teams in the world. It is also the largest night parachuting team in the world and the team has conducted impressive air show formations. The QASC achieved remarkable success specifically since 2008 through its participation in many continental and international skydiving championships and has won many titles. The team made a historic achievement by entering the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest nighttime parachute canopy formation in the world. The Qatari team prepared for the Championship's 4-way formation through a closed preparatory camp in Germany, during which they performed 85 jumps. The tea m roster includes Hamad Rashid Al Marri, Rashid Issa Al Kubaisi, Fahd Saud Al Shammari, Abdulaziz Shafi Al Shammari, and Muhammad Al Namlan Al Ahbabi. Al Hadaf team held a training camp in Slovenia a month prior to the Championship and participated in international tournaments through which it won many titles and medals. Al Hadaf team consists of Abdulaziz Al Hajjaji (senior category) and Saleh Al Obaidi (junior category). Vice Chairperson of the QASC Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Saeed Al Mansouri expressed his great confidence in the team's capabilities and its ability to achieve the best results in the 46th WMPC despite the strong competition. The QASC makes sure to provide high-level programs to prepare them well for such major tournaments since the Committee pays great attention to world championships and always strives to achieve good positions and win titles, he added. Secretary-General of the QASC Captain Hazza Hamad Al Attiyah shared his optimism about the Qatari team's ability to compete strongly in the Championship. The competition is set to be very strong given the high technical level of all participating teams but there is great confidence in the Qatari team to prove itself and compete strongly, he added. On his part, the captain of the 4-Way Formation team Hamad Rashid Omair Al Marri stated that they expect the competition to be very strong given the participation of an elite group which raises the challenge level for everyone. The Qatari team is fully prepared to give their best in the 46th WMPC, especially after the level it delivered and the titles it won during the recent period, Al Marri said. Source: Qatar News Agency

Germany's national football team secured their place in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Euro 2024 by defeating Denmark 2-0 in a Round of 16 match held at Signal Iduna Park in Dortmund on Saturday. The tournament is taking place in Germany and will run until July 14. Germany's goals came from Kai Havertz, who scored from a penalty kick in the 53rd minute, and Jamal Musiala, who added a second goal in the 68th minute. In the quarterfinals, Germany will face the winner of tomorrow's match between Spain and Georgia. Source: Qatar News Agency

Messi is set to miss Argentina's final match of Copa America group stage against Peru due to injury. Argentina secured its qualification to the quarter-finals after two wins over Canada 2-0 and Chile 1-0, and its draw with Peru today in Miami will be enough to top its first group. Source: Qatar News Agency

Switzerland qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2024 UEFA European Championship, securing a well-deserved 2-0 win over defending champions Italy in the first round of 16 match held Saturday at the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Remo Freuler opened the scoring for Switzerland in the 37th minute, followed by a second goal from Ruben Vargas in the 46th minute. This marks the second consecutive quarterfinal appearance for Switzerland in their six European Championship participations. They previously exited at the group stage in 1966, 2004, and 2008, and were eliminated in the Round of 16 in 2016. In contrast, the Italian team, which has won the European Championship titles in 1968 and 2020, failed to reach the quarterfinals and retain their title. The four-time World Cup winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006) were unable to deliver a performance that would secure them a victory today. Switzerland's success in Euro 2024 mirrors their previous achievements, such as eliminating France in the Round of 16 of the last tourna ment, winning 5-4 on penalties after a 3-3 draw. Additionally, Switzerland avenged their 3-0 loss to Italy in the group stage of the previous edition. Switzerland will face the winner of the match between England and Slovakia on Sunday. Source: Qatar News Agency

Brazil national team defeated its Paraguayan national team (4-1) today in the Copa America 2024 football championship, making its qualification for the quarter-finals almost a formality. The Brazilian national team settled for a goalless draw with Costa Rica in the first round of Group D, today's win takes its point tally to four points in second place. In the second match, the Colombian team defeated Costa Rica 3-0, its second win of the tournament in as many matches. The result means Colombia qualified to the quarter-finals. Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: Al Gharafa SC announced the departure of Algerian player Farid Boulaya from the Club's first football team. Through its social media platforms, the Club thanked Boulaya for his time and effort during his run with the team. Al Gharafa SC signed Boulaya on August 21, 2022, along with Ishak Belfodil. The Club had previously announced the departure of Brazilian player Lyanco. On Tuesday, Al Gharafa SC renewed the contract of its Portuguese coach Pedro Martinez until 2026. It is expected that the Club will announce more contracts in the next period to strengthen the ranks of the team as it has important local and continental matches. Al Gharafa SC will participate next season in the preliminary round of the AFC Champions League Elite in the hopes of reaching the group stage. The team is set to hold its preparatory camp for the new season in Slovakia from July 16 to August 1. Source: Qatar News Agency

Doha: The Qatar Stars League (QSL) and Ooredoo signed a contract to sponsor the league championship, according to which the official name will be 'Ooredoo Stars League' in the new season (2024-2025). This agreement was announced at a Press conference on Tuesday, in the presence of President of Qatar Football Association and QSL Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain and HE CEO of Ooredoo Qatar Sheikh Ali bin Jabor Al-Thani, along with a lineup of officials from both entities and representatives of media outlets. The press conference also revealed the new Ooredoo Stars League logo, along with the new official ball for QSL's tournaments, including the Ooredoo Stars League 2024-2025 season which will be among the first leagues to use it, presented by adidas and equipped with the latest technology. On the occasion, the President of Qatar Football Association and QSL expressed his pleasure for the signing of this agreement and extended his sincere thanks and appreciation to Ooredoo for continuing their co-operation and s upport for QSL and Qatar football. Al Buenain continued saying, "We're proud of this strategic partnership with one of the largest companies in the region and the world, the pioneer of communications in Qatar. We're proud of its many great successes and its role in supporting sports and athletes." He added that this step comes in line with the vision to continue the development process for Qatar's professional football and the league championship at all organizational and technical levels. In turn, HE CEO of Ooredoo Qatar Sheikh Ali bin Jabor Al-Thani stated that the signing of this historic agreement with QSL represented an important step towards enhancing the Qatar National Vision in the field of sports. His Excellency added that Ooredoo's sponsorship of QSL signifies "our strong commitment to develop sports and support talents. It's an opportunity for us to contribute towards building a bright future for sports in general and football in particular". HE the CEO of Ooredoo Qatar said, "This partnership w ith QSL comes in line with our continuous efforts to achieve our goals and contribute to the development of sports, especially after the recent achievements in football. We look forward to working together to achieve new and distinguished successes, as our partnership with QSL extends for years." For his part, Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Communication at QSL Hassan Rabiah Al Kuwari expressed his great pleasure at partnering with Ooredoo Qatar, praising its valued efforts and significant collaboration in the success of Qatari football tournaments. Al Kuwari noted that the partnership between both sides goes far back to many years ago, launching numerous fan initiatives and organizing several tournaments, notably the Ooredoo Cup, which was a great success and played a significant role in developing the tournament. QSL has set August 9th as the start date of the Ooredoo Stars League tournament in its 2024-2025 season, with training commencing on July 1, for all clubs. Source: Qatar News Agenc y