The Palestinian team lost to its Australian counterpart (0-1), in the match that brought them together today, Tuesday, in the second round of the double qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup.
Credit for the victory of the Australian national team goes to its defender, Harry Souttar, who scored the only winning goal for the “Kangaroos” in the 18th minute of the first half of the match, which took place at the “Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium” in the Kuwaiti city of Ardiya.
After this defeat, the Palestinian “Fedayeen” team’s score stopped at one point, which it gained after drawing against its Lebanese counterpart without goals in the match that brought them together last Thursday, at the beginning of its journey in the double qualifiers qualifying for the finals of the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Football Cup, and it fell to Third place in the ninth group (I) standings.
While the Australian team achieved its second victory in a row, after the first over Bangladesh with seven unanswered goals, also last Thursday, and strengthened its lead in the group, moving away by four points from its Lebanese runner-up.
Bangladesh is at the bottom of the standings with one point.
Sandworm blood raises concerns from the World Anti-Doping Agency
The blood of sandworms has raised concerns from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as a means of obtaining a banned substance, according to French cycling magazine.
A recent discovery suggests that blood extracted from lugworms, also known as sandworms, which are commonly used as fishing bait, may be the latest way to improve performance in professional cycling.
According to a report published by the French newspaper L'Equipe, the hemoglobin extracted from it is known for its exceptional ability to carry oxygen 40 times more than the human hemoglobin molecule.
This means that the hemoglobin in sandworm blood can be used as a blood substitute, increasing an athlete's endurance and performance.
The French newspaper reported that the inventor of this technology, Dr. Frank Zall, founder of Hemarina, was contacted in 2020 by one of the famous cyclists and participants in the Tour de France seeking to use the product.
The scientist subsequently reported the incident to French law enforcement agencies, and the Scientific Director of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Olivier Rabin, confirmed that the agency is aware of the rumors about this new form of steroids, adding that at the present time no one has used a new type of steroids.
Statement by the President of the International Olympic Committee on the Russian Friendship Games
International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach made a statement about holding the Friendship Games in Russia.
Bach said that it is too early to talk about the consequences that organizing the sports competition will have for Russia.
Emphasizing that he had only heard about the plans to organize the Friendship Games from the Russian government, the IOC president concluded that “they must adhere to the rules of sports organizations.”
On November 15, the International Olympic Committee recommended that the National Olympic Committees ignore the Friendship Games in Russia, as it considered that participation in the competitions conflicts with the sanctions imposed on Russian sports.
On October 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin decided to hold the tournament (Friendship Games). The decision was made to ensure free access of Russian athletes and sports organizations to international sports activities.
The tournament is scheduled to be held in the cities of Moscow and Yekaterinburg from September 15 to 29, 2024.
Teams qualifying for Euro 2024
The curtain fell on Tuesday evening, November 21, 2023, on the main qualifiers for the European Football Championship finals, which will be held in Germany during the period from June 14 to July 14, 2024.
53 teams out of 55 members of the European Football Association (UEFA) participated in the qualifiers for the 17th edition of the European Football Championship. The teams were distributed into 10 groups, 7 of which included 5 teams, and 3 of which consisted of 6 teams.
The groups were competed in a home-and-away system, and the winner and runner-up of each group qualified for the finals of the Old Continent Championship, that is, 20 teams joined Germany, the host of the tournament, while three teams will qualify through the European Nations League competition (2022-2023), to complete the contract of the 24 teams. Participation in the Euro 2024 finals.
The Croatia national team became the last qualifier to the 2024 European Nations Cup finals, through the main qualifiers, by defeating its Armenian guest with a single goal, in the match that brought them together on Tuesday evening, in the final tenth round of the qualifiers.
The following is the final standings for the qualifiers for the finals of the European Football Championship (Euro 2024):
First group (A):
1- Spain – 21 points
2- Scotland – 17 points
3- Norway – 11 points
4- Georgia – 8 points
5- Cyprus – without points.
The second group (B):
1- France – 21 points
2- Netherlands – 15 points
3- Greece – 12 points
4- Ireland – 6 points
5- Gibraltar – without points.
Third group (C):
1- England – 20 points
2- Italy – 14 points
3- Ukraine – 14 points
4- North Macedonia – 8 points
5- Malta – without points
Fourth group (D):
1- Türkiye – 17 points
2- Croatia – 16 points
3- Wales – 14 points
4- Armenia – 8 points
5- Latvia – 3 points.
Group Five (E):
1- Albania – 15 points
2- Czech Republic – 15 points
3- Poland – 11 points
4- Moldova – 10 points
5- Faroe Islands – two points.
Sixth group (F):
1- Belgium – 20 points
2- Austria – 19 points
3- Sweden – 10 points
4- Azerbaijan – 7 points
5- Estonia – one point.
Seventh group (G):
1- Hungary – 18 points
2- Serbia – 14 points
3- Montenegro – 11 points
4- Lithuania – 6 points
5- Bulgaria – 4 points.
Eighth group (H):
1- Denmark – 22 points
2- Slovenia – 22 points
3- Finland – 18 points
4- Kazakhstan – 18 points
5- Northern Ireland – 9 points
6- San Marino – without points.
Ninth group (I):
1- Romania – 19 points
2- Switzerland – 17 points
3- Israel – 12 points
4- Kosovo – 11 points
5 Belarus – 9 points
6- Andorra – two points.
Group Ten (J):
1- Portugal – 30 points
2- Slovakia – 22 points
3- Luxembourg – 17 points
4- Iceland – 10 points
5- Bosnia and Herzegovina – 9 points
6- Liechtenstein – without points.
It is noteworthy that the Italian national team was crowned champion of the last edition of “Euro 2020” at the expense of its English counterpart, after defeating them on penalties, after they tied (1-1) in regular and extra time, at “Wembley” Stadium in the heart of the capital, London.