Utd Q1 profit up
Soccer Roundup Two wins in 2 for Senegal, Nigeria
JOHANNESBURG, Nov 18, (Agencies): Famara Diedhiou scored a hat trick in a game interrupted by heavy rain as Senegal beat Eswatini 4-1 for two wins out of two in qualifying for the 2021 African Cup of Nations.
Diedhiou missed an early penalty and it was 0-0 at halftime when Senegal coach Aliou Cisse substituted Sadio Mane.
Diedhiou netted all three of his goals in a nine-minute period from the 59th to keep this year’s African Cup runners-up on course in the final stage of qualifying for the 2021 tournament. Badou Ndiaye scored Senegal’s fourth in Manzini against the kingdom formerly known as Swaziland.
Senegal lost to Algeria in the final of this year’s African Cup of Nations in Egypt and is embarking on another attempt to win the continental title for the first time. Like Senegal, Nigeria have also won their first two of six games in the qualifiers’ decisive group stage after the Super Eagles benefited from an outstanding performance by forward Victor Osimhen in a 4-2 win over Lesotho. Osimhen scored twice and set up the other two as Nigeria again came from behind to win, like they did in their opening qualifier.
South Africa beat Sudan 1-0 with a goal by Lebogang Phiri for their first win of the qualifiers after losing to Ghana first up. Cameroon, who will host the 2021 African Cup, also registered a first win by beating Rwanda 1-0. Midfielder Ngoumo Ngamaleu scored in Cameroon’s first competitive win under new coach Toni Conceicao and first in six games.
Cameroon have already qualified as hosts but are still taking part in qualifying. The top two teams in each of the 12 groups will qualify with the exception of Cameroon’s group. There, the highest-placed of the other three teams – currently Mozambique – goes through to the 24-team finals which will be played in mid-2021.
Diedhiou
Manchester United on Monday posted a jump in first-quarter core earnings, boosted by increased revenue from sponsorship deals and as player wages fell after the English soccer club failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
The 20-time English champions saw their revenue flat line in the quarter but stood by their annual revenue and core profit targets.
The club had warned in September that annual revenue would fall for the first time in five years and profit would also drop, as they will not be able to capitalise on UEFA’s broadcasting revenue distribution system.
Qatari organizers have chartered two cruise liners to accommodate fans at the 2022 World Cup.
The floating hotels with 4,000 cabins between them will be berthed in Doha Port for the tournament, which starts on Nov. 21, 2022.
The ships from Geneva-based MSC Cruises have been chartered to help the small Gulf nation cope with the potential influx of hundreds of thousands of fans for the first World Cup in the Middle East.
World Cup organizers did not provide details of how fans will be able to reserve cabins. Camping sites are also being planned for supporters.
Another milestone in women’s soccer was reached on Sunday when a record Super League (WSL) crowd of 38,262 saw Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 defeat by champions Arsenal at their new stadium but such matches in big grounds are still the exception.
Total attendances on a packed day of top-flight women’s games in England was almost 75,000, with 23,500 at Anfield to watch Liverpool lose 1-0 to Everton in the Merseyside derby.