Sporting Alert

College Football, NCAAB, NBA, NFL

Germany

Muller Helps Germany Beat Hungary

by Leave a Comment

GELSENKIRCHEN, Germany — A poacher’s put back from Thomas Muller and an Adam Lang own goal lifted Germany to a 2-0 win over Hungary in its final warmup for Euro 2016 on Saturday.

Embed from Getty Images

The World Cup champions entered the game on the back of a dismal spell, which saw them losing 3-1 in a friendly clash against Slovakia in wet conditions in Augsburg last weekend.

However, head coach Joachim Low fielded a much strong side this time round, as he looked to work on a few things before the start of the European Championships this week.

After poking for much of the first half and coming up with near misses, Germany finally took the lead in the 39th minute when Lang stirred home a Jonas Hector’s cross past his own goalkeeper with Mario Gotze putting pressure on the travelling defender.

The German players celebrated the goal with Gotze, thinking that the Bayern Munich forward was the one with the final touch, but even he knew he made no connections with the ball, which went in off the shin of Lang.

There was no mistake about who scored the second goal, though, as Bayern Munich forward Muller, back in the starting lineup today and played 68 minutes, converted a rebound at the far post in the 63rd minute, after substitute Mario Gomez’s header was saved by Hungary goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly.

After tinkering with his lineup and resting several of his World Cup stars, Low started, arguably his best available starting XI, although leading defender Mats Hummels remains sidelined due to injury.

Germany opens the Euro 2016 tournament against Ukraine in Lille on June 12.

“We have a few things to work on for next week,” said Loew. “The team wasn’t so fresh. That will be different next week.”

Besides Muller, Goetze, who played 78 minutes and Real Madrid holding midfielder Toni Kroos, both impressed for the world champions.

“It was a reasonable test,” Kroos said. “We only allowed one good chance for Hungary in the first half. Altogether the performance was in order.”

Hungary opens its Euro 2016 campaign against Austria in Bordeaux on 14 June.

International Friendly Results and Scores: May 29

by Leave a Comment

Sporting Alert – A brief wrap up of the international friendly football games that took place on Sunday, 29, May.

A brace from Nolito piloted Spain to a 3-1 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina in a Euro 2016 international friendly game in Switzerland.

In the absence of several first team starters, Nolito got the opportunity to lead the attacking line and the Celta Vigo forward didn’t hurt his chances of making the final squad for the Euros, after bagging a first half brace.

The striker who had failed to score in any of his six previous appearances in the national colours, opened the score in the 11th minute when Cesc Fabregas fed him for a curling shot.

Nolito doubled the lead in the 18th minute with Fabregas supplying the pass again.

However, Emir Spahic replied for Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 29th minute to make it 2-1 when he headed home a corner kick by Miralem Pjanic, but the Hamburg defender was dismissed just before the end of the first half, following a touchline spat with Fabregas.

Bosnia-Herzegovina was given a scare after leading forward Edin Dzeko had to lead the game in the 22nd minute and replaced by Milan Djuric due to an injury.

At Ta’Qali National Stadium in Malta, Italy squeezed out a narrow 1-0 victory over Scotland with Southampton forward Graziano Pelle grabbing the lone goal in the 57th minute.

World Cup champions, Germany, playing without a number of its first team players, suffered a shocking 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in the pouring rain at SGL Arena in Augsburg.

Mario Gomez gave Germany the lead from the penalty spot in the 13th minute, but Slovakia hit back with three unanswered goals, including two just before half time.

Marek Hamsik cancelled out Gomez’s strike in the 41st minute before Michal Duris gave Slovakia the lead three minutes later.

Juraj Kucka added a third when he finished between the legs of goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who had replaced Bernd Leno at half time.

In other results, Dayro Moreno, Roger Martinez and Juan Cuadrado netted for Colombia in a 3-1 victory over Haiti, Portugal, playing without captain and leading forward Cristiano Ronaldo beat Norway 3-0, Romania went down 4-3 to Ukraine, while Turkey edged Montenegro 1-0.

Friendly International Results

Germany 1-3
Spain 3-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Romania 3-4 Ukraine
Turkey 1-0 Montenegro
Italy 1-0 Scotland
Portugal 3-0 Norway
Colombia 3-1 Haiti
Panama 0-2 Brazil

FIFA U-20 World Cup Points Standings on June 4

by Leave a Comment

WELLINGTON (Sporting Alert) — Table and points standings on Thursday from the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament in New Zealand.

Group A

The United States, on six points from two games lead Group A and have already booked their place into the last 16 with one game remaining in the group rounds. USA defeated Myanmar and hosts New Zealand in their opening two matches to control  the group and lead Ukraine, who are on four points from their two games.

Ukraine, after drawing 0-0 with the Kiwis, hammered newcomers Myanmar 6-0 in their second game to move within a point of qualifying for the second round. They will face USA in their last fixture of the group. Home side New Zealand are sitting third with one point, while Myanmar are at the base of Group A without a point.

1. USA U-20 2 2 0 0 6-1 6
2. Ukraine U-20 2 1 1 0 6-0 4
3. New Zealand U-20 2 0 1 1 0-4 1
4. Myanmar U-20 2 0 0 2 1-8 0

Group B

There is a two-way tie in this group, with Austria and Ghana sitting on four points with one game left on their respective group schedule. After the two nations tied in their opening Group B outing, Ghana went on to shock Argentina, 3-2, while Austria edged Panama 2-1 in their second game.

Argentina are on one point and will need to beat Austria in their last fixture to have a chance of making it into the last 16 from the group, while Ghana and Panama, who are still searching for their first World Cup win, will face-off in the next Group B contest.

1. Ghana U-20 2 1 1 0 4-3 4
2. Austria U-20 2 1 1 0 3-2 4
3. Argentina U-20 2 0 1 1 4-5 1
4. Panama U-20 2 0 1 1 3-4 1

Argentina and Panama are on one point apiece.

Group C

After back-to-back wins over Senegal and Qatar, Portugal top Group C with six points with a date with second place Colombia to come. The Colombians are sitting second on four points, following a 1-0 victory over Qatar and a 1-1 draw with Senegal in their second game in the tournament.

Senegal sit third in Group C with one-point, with Qatar yet to get off the mark in the table standings.

1. Portugal U-20 2 2 0 0 7-0 6
2. Colombia U-20 2 1 1 0 2-1 4
3. Senegal U-20 2 0 1 1 1-4 1
4. Qatar U-20 2 0 0 2 0-5 0

Group D

Things are very interesting in Group D, as all four teams have three points and still have a chance of topping the group and booking a last 16 slot. Serbia, Mali, Uruguay and Mexico all have three points and are sitting in that list order in the standings.

This sets up an exciting final round of matches in Group D with leaders Serbia taking on bottom placed Mexico and Mali battle with Uruguay for a place in the second round.

1. Serbia U-20 2 1 0 1 2-1 3
2. Mali U-20 2 1 0 1 2-2 3
3. Uruguay U-20 2 1 0 1 2-2 3
4. Mexico U-20 2 1 0 1 2-3 3

Group E

Brazil lead Group E with six points after bagging two wins from their opening fixtures of the tournament. They are safely through to the last 16 – waiting to see who will join them. Hungary and Nigeria each have three points and will meet each other next.

Korea DPR remain without a point in the group. They will face Brazil in the final Group E fixtures.
1. Nigeria U-20 3 2 0 1 10-4 6
2. Brazil U-20 2 2 0 0 6-3 6
3. Hungary U-20 2 1 0 1 6-3 3
4. Korea DPR U-20 3 0 0 3 1-13 0
Group F
Germany are running away with Group F, as they sit on six points from two games, following an 8-1 victory over Fiji and a comfortable 3-0 win against Uzbekistan in the second game of the tournament. Next up for the Germans are Honduras, who sit second on three points.
Fiji are also on three points in third place with Uzbekistan yet to trouble the points tally.
1. Germany U-20 2 2 0 0 11-1 6
2. Fiji U-20 3 2 0 1 7-8 6
3. Honduras U-20 3 1 0 2 4-9 3
4. Uzbekistan U-20 2 0 0 2 3-7 0

Euro 2016 Qualifying Fixtures and Live Scores and Updates

by Leave a Comment

Robbie Keane ahead of the clash with Germany

(SportingAlert.com) — Germany will look to bounce back from the weekend’s defeat against the Republic of Ireland in a Euro 2016 Qualifying Group D game at Veltins Arena on Tuesday.

Euro 2016 Qualifying Fixtures and Live Scores

The World Cup winners, Germany, were shocked 2-0 away by Poland over the weekend head coach Joachim Löw will hope his team can get back to winning ways.

Amongst the starters for the injured hit Germans are Mario Gotze, Julian Draxler, Thomas Muller, Toni Kroos, Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels.

Matthias Ginter and Draxler come into the team for Chelsea forward Andre Schurrle and Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Christoph Kramer, who are both injured, while Lukas Podolski and Max Kruse are amongst the players on a very thin bench for Germany.

Meanwhile, experienced forward Robbie Keane lead the Republic of Ireland’s attack, with Jon Walters, John O’Shea, Aiden McGeady, Glenn Whelan and James McClean also in the away team’s starting XI.

Kevin Doyle, Darron Gibson, Shane Long, Anthony Stokes and Robbie Brady are on the bench.

Meanwhile, also in action today is Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, who will take on Denmark in a crucial Group I clash at Parken Stadion.

Portugal were stunned 1-0 by Albania in their first game of the qualifiers and need a victory to get things back on the right path.

Veteran defender Ricardo Carvalho, Pepe, Joao Moutinho, William Carvalho and Danny also start the game.

English Premier League goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen and former Arsenal forward Nicklas Bendtner, are amongst the starters for Denmark.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Greece will entertain the Northern Ireland, Poland meet Scotland, while Serbia and Albania will battle.

Euro 2016 Qualifying Fixtures
Denmark v Portugal
Faroe Islands v Hungary
Finland v Romania
Germany v Rep Ireland
Gibraltar v Georgia
Greece v Northern Ireland
Poland v Scotland
San Marino v Switzerland
Serbia v Albania

Euro 2016 qualifiers Qualifiers Fixtures and Channels

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Euro 2016 qualifiers get underway on Sunday, with Germany and Portugal amongst the teams down for action on the day.

FIFA World Cup champions Germany open their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign against Scotland with live coverage being on FoxSoccer2Go.

The World champions were beaten 4-2 in their last outing – a friendly international against Argentina in midweek – but confidence remains high in the camp as Joachim Low’s men start their hunt for more glory.

Also on the day, Portugal, who will be without captain and start forward Cristiano Ronaldo, play host to Albania in another encounter.

The likes of William Carvalho, Joao Moutinho, Pepe, Ricardo Costa and Fabio Coentrao will feature for Paulo Bento’s side, but Nani could be dropped to the bench.

TV Channels: Fox Soccer 2Go, Fox Sports GO, Fox Sports 1 USA, Fox Deportes, BBC Radio 5 Live, Sky Sports 5/HD, Sky Go Extra, Sky Go, Sportsnet 360, ESPN3, WatchESPN.

Georgia v Ireland 12:00 PM ET
Denmark v Armenia 12:00 PM ET
Hungary v Northern Ireland 12:00 PM ET
Portugal v Albania 2:45 PM ET
Germany v Scotland 2:45 PM ET
Gibraltar v Poland 2:45 PM ET
Faroe Islands v Finland 2:45 PM ET
Greece v Romania 2:45 PM ET

WatchESPN: Germany v Argentina – World Cup final rematch

by Leave a Comment

(Sporting Alert) — Manchester United new recruits Marcos Rojo and Ángel Di Maria both start for Argentina against Germany in today’s football friendly international.

Watch Live Coverage on WatchESPN.com

Rojo will play alongside Martín Demichelis, Federico Fernández and Pablo Zabaleta in the backline, while Di Maria will team up with Sergio Agüero and Erik Lamela in the attack as Argentina look to avenge their defeat to Germany in the 2014 World Cup finals.

Germany, meanwhile, have opted to rest several of their stars in the opening 45-minutes, with World Cup stars Mats Hummels, Jérome Boateng, Thomas Müller and Mario Götze all starting on the bench.

However, Manuel Neuer keeps his place in goal, while Bastian Schweinsteiger, who replaces Philipp Lahm as the national new captain is not in the match day squad.

Mario Gomez leads the attack, with Marco Reus, Cristoph Kramer, Toni Kroos, Julian Draxler, Matthias Ginter and Benedikt Höwedes all start the game.

Friendly Internationals TV Channels and Fixtures – Sept. 3

by Leave a Comment

LONDON (Sporting Alert) — Argentina, Germany, USA and England are all amongst the teams in friendly football international action on Wednesday around the globe.

In a repeat of the 2014 World Cup final, champions Germany, which will be led by new captain Bastian Schweinsteiger, will take on Argentina at ESPRIT Arena in Dusseldorf.

Newly recruited Manchester United players Angel Di Maria and Marcos Rojo are both set for action as new national team head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino takes charge of his first game with Argentina, but skipper Lionel Messi will miss the game because of an injury.

The Barcelona forward did play the full 90 minutes for his club in the 1-0 win over Villarreal on Sunday, but was not with his national teammates after withdrawing with what the Spanish club says is a minor adductor muscle problem.

In another fixture on the day, Wayne Rooney will lead England out as captain for the first time since taking over as new captain from Steven Gerrard, when his side face Norway at Wembley.

Elsewhere in international football friendlies on Wednesday, the Czech Republic will battle with the United States, Russia take on Azerbaijan, while the Ireland Republic play against Oman.

Amongst the TV Channel broadcasters providing live coverage and streams on Wednesday are: beIN Sports, Univision Deportes USA, UniMás, Sports 2 USA, NBCSN, NBC Sports Live Extra, WATCH ESPN, BT Sport 1, FoxSoccer2Go, Fox, FoxSportsGO, ITV 1, The ITV Player, UTV, STV Scotland, BBC Radio 5 Live, TalkSport Radio.

FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: ESPN3 Live Streaming

by Leave a Comment

(SportingAlert) — Watch FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup live streaming coverage on ESPN3.com, with the final round of group matches at Canada 2014 set for Tuesday evening.

Watch FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Live Streaming on ESPN3

In Group A, at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal, leaders Korea DPR take on hosts Canada, with the former only needing a draw to progress.

The second game in the group with see third place Ghana facing Finland, who are yet to registered a point. This game will be played at the Moncton Stadium.

In Group B, South Americans Brazil go in search of their first victory at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup when they battle with group leaders Germany. The Germans have four points from their opening two games, while Brazil only have one.

Elsewhere in the group, second place USA take on China PR at Moncton Stadium, with the Americans looking for a victory they could see them toping the group if Germany fail to beat Brazil.

Match schedule

Group B
Brazil v Germany (Montreal, Olympic Stadium, 3:48 PM EDT)
USA v China PR (Moncton Stadium, 3:48 PM EDT)

Group A
Korea DPR v Canada (Montreal, Olympic Stadium, 19.00, local time)
Ghana v Finland (Moncton Stadium, 20.00, local time)

Germany wins World Cup; Gotze late goal stuns Messi and Co.

by Leave a Comment

Germany’s Mario Gotze scores World Cup winner. SportingLife.com

RIO DE JANEIRO (Sporting Alert) — A late Mario Gotze strike in second half extra-time was enough for Germany to beat Argentina 1-0 and lift the 2014 FIFA World Cup title here at Estadio do Maracana in Rio de Janeiro, Sunday evening.

With the game heading for penalties and both teams locked at 0-0, Gotze, who came on as a substitute for Miroslav Klose, scored a superb winning goal from a tight angle in the 113th minute, as Germany secured its fourth World Cup title.

It was their first in 24-years, while becoming the first team from Europe to win the tournament in South America.

Germany came into the World Cup as fourth favourites, but there performances in the month-long tournament here in Brazil saw them pushing all the way to the overwhelming top contenders for the title as the competition progressed.

It was another heart break for Argentina captain Lionel Messi, who was hoping to get his hands on his first ever World Cup trophy, but the Barcelona forward failed to spark in the deciding game.

Germany’s Manuel Neuer won the Golden Glove as the top goalkeeper at the tournament.

Argentina-Germany World Cup Final TV Channels; Streaming Info

by Leave a Comment

Lionel Messi of Argentina ahead of the World Cup Final against Germany

RIO DE JANEIRO (Sporting Alert) — The following are live TV channels and live streaming providers for the World Cup finals between Germany and Argentina on Sunday.

The game, which kicks-off at 3:00 pm ET (16:00 Local time) at the Estadio do Maracana, here in Rio De Janeiro, will broadcast live on ABC, with live online streaming on ESPN3.com, Watch ABC and WatchESPN.com. Other major television and streaming providers includes, BBC iPlayer, ITV 1 UK, BBC One UK, UTV, STV Scotland, ITV Player, ESPN Deportes, Univision USA, Univision Deportes USA, ARD Live Stream, Sportschau Live Stream, Zattoo, ARD Das Erste, ESPN Cono Norte, DIRECTV Argentina, DeporTV, Canal 7 TV Publica, CBC Sports Live Streaming, RTE Player, RTE 2, beIN Sports 1 HD, beIN Sports 2 HD, beIN Sports 11 HD, beIN Sports 13 HD…

Sunday’s 2014 FIFA World Cup final will see the battle between three-time winners Germany (1954, 1974, 1990) and two-time world champions Argentina (1978, 1986), as both teams try to win the crown for different reasons.

Argentina, which is expected to have majority of the supporters, will be hoping to defend the South American home turf, while Germany is looking to win the title for the European community and become the first European team to win the World Cup in the Americas.

Germany and Argentina will be meeting for the 21st time, and a record-equalling seventh time at the World Cup and for a record third time in the final.

The Germans are leading Argentina in their tournament head-to-head clashes, with three wins, two draws and one defeat, with their latest tournament win being a 4-0 result in the quarter-finals of the 2010 World Cup.

Notably, Argentina were knocked out by Germany in the previous two World Cup tournaments and Lionel Messi and his teammates will seek to avenge thus prior results.

La Albiceleste have been very tight at this year’s World Cup thus far – keeping four clean sheets, including three from three in the knock-out stage, and is the only team which is yet to go behind at this year’s tournament.

Meanwhile, in team news for Germany, centre-half Mats Hummels, who was subbed off at half-time against Brazil because of tendonitis, is expected to keep his place in the starting lineup, with boss Joachim Low set to stick with the same team that featured the semi-finals.

Argentina, meanwhile, could recall fit-again Manchester City forward Sergio Aguero, who could replace Ezequiel Lavezzi.

Alejandro Sabella boss is said to admirer the work-rate of Gonzalo Higuain and wants to keep him in the side to unsettle the German back line.

Left-back Marcos Rojo is recovering from a sore ankle, which forced him out of training early on Friday, while teammate Angel di Maria, who is being troubled by a thigh problem is not expected to play, despite returning to light training.

Sky Bet makes Germany favourites to win World Cup final

by Leave a Comment

RIO DE JANEIRO (Sporting Alert) — Germany head into Sunday’s World Cup final as the favourites to beat Argentina and lift the trophy in the back yard of a South American team.

The three-time World Cup champions hammered hosts Brazil 7-1 to book their place in the final, while Argentina had to work hard for their place – picking up a penalty shootout victory over the Netherlands after the teams ended 0-0 in 120 minutes of football.

Heading into the final, Germany are the new 13/10 favourites to win, this after replacing Argentina as the team attracting the most of the money in the run up to the final. Argentina have odds at 5/2, while the draw is at 9/4.

Sky Bet has Germany winning in extra-time at 9/1, while Argentina are at 12/1.

In other interesting odds coming into the World Cup final, Argentina’s captain Lionel Messi and Germany forward Thomas Muller are both at 11/2 to score opening the goal.

Messi has so far scored four goals at this World Cup, but hasn’t scored since the round of 16. Muller has scored five goals in six games, including a hat trick against Portugal in the opener.

Both players still trail Colombia’s playmaker James Rodriguez, who leads the World Cup scoring chart with six goals.

After scoring against Brazil, Muller is now being back at 3/1 to take over as the lead goal scorer, while Messi starts the game with a 16/1 chance.

World Cup Final: Germany v Argentina Live on ESPN3 – Preview

by Leave a Comment

World Cup Final: Germany and Argentina Live

RIO DE JANEIRO (Sporting Alert) — The finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup marks the end to what has been an exciting tournament in Brazil. Watch live streaming on ESPN3, Watch ABC and WatchESPN.

Today, 3:00 PM ET on ABC, ESPN3 – World Cup Final
Estádio Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro

The culmination of all the football talents in the world have led to this point in time. This World Cup has not been without its controversy, there has been more than enough drama to sustain the viewership. Brazil finished the tournament in stunning fashion losing two consecutive World Cup games.

But the focus now turns to the final game of the tournament on Sunday July 13th, when Argentina takes on Germany to declare a world champion.

Interestingly, the final pits arguably the best defense against arguably the best attacking team at this year’s World Cup.

Germany are coming off a sound thrashing of Brazil in the semi-finals, which has led to many, including SkyBet, backing them to go all the way and lift the title.

The Germans make frequent use of short passes, combining to make a quick running attack.

At the other side of things, Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, will use a crushing combination of sharp defend and counter-attacking football to bypass the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira in the holding roles for Germany.

The teams have faced long odds to get to this position, and the results will be nothing but a teeth-gnashing, heart-pounding final.

Argentina, who beat the Netherlands in a shootout in the semi-finals, after both teams played to a 0-0 draw, have been tenacious, therefore many suspect that the game will be low scoring.

Surely we will not see another result such as the 7-1 blowout that Germany handed to Brazil in their semi-finals round, with the most popular score being 1-0 for either team. Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller, who is on five goals at the tournament, is eying the golden boot and he has been backed to be on the scoresheet on Sunday.

The pundits also believe that Germany will need to attack early in order to make the match competitive, with Messi and company expected to be organized. It is doubtful that Joachim Low side will rest on its laurels either, regardless, it appears that this final is shaping up to be a classic.