Italy Beat Turkey in Post-world Cup Disaster Friendly

Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini (R) congratulates Giacomo Raspadori (L) who scored twice against Turkey Ozan KOSE AFP
Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini (R) congratulates Giacomo Raspadori (L) who scored twice against Turkey Ozan KOSE AFP
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Italy Beat Turkey in Post-world Cup Disaster Friendly

Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini (R) congratulates Giacomo Raspadori (L) who scored twice against Turkey Ozan KOSE AFP
Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini (R) congratulates Giacomo Raspadori (L) who scored twice against Turkey Ozan KOSE AFP

Italy won their first match after failing to qualify for a second straight World Cup by beating Turkey 3-2 in Konya on Tuesday.

Bryan Cristante's 35th minute header and a Giacomo Raspadori brace gave the European champions the win after Cengiz Under had given the hosts a fourth-minute lead.

Serdar Dursun pulled one back with seven minutes left but Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had a wobbly evening, stopped the Fenerbahce forward from heading Turkey level moments later with a superb save.

Raspadori, who put Italy ahead in the 39th minute and sealed the win with 20 minutes remaining to take his international tally to three, was one of the young hopefuls who turned out in an experimental line-up, AFP reported.

Roberto Mancini is expected to confirm that he is staying on as Italy coach despite his team being beaten by North Macedonia in Thursday's play-off semi-final and selected a starting XI which featured a clutch of fringe players.

Mancini has a contract which runs until the 2026 World Cup and hinted heavily on Monday that he would not step down.

The 22-year-old Raspadori was making his ninth Italy appearance, in attack alongside his Sassuolo teammate Gianluca Scamacca, 23, had only played twice for his country before Tuesday.

Mancini also selected AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali, 21, who has struggled to get past Euro 2020 heroes Jorginho, Marco Verratti and Nicolo Barella while Roma starlet Nicolo Zaniolo performed poorly in a rare appearance for the national team.



Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)

CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Bakr said on Friday the Kingdom’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is part of integrated and comprehensive efforts to build a distinguished future for the sports sector in the Kingdom.

This will help reach the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in achieving sports excellence and building a vital and stimulating sports sector for young Saudi men and women.

Al-Bakr said the participation reflects the support of the country’s wise leadership for the sports sector, as well as the efforts made by the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee to develop the sector under the supervision of Sports Minister and Chairman of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal.

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program, which is “achieving excellence in several sports regionally and globally” by launching several initiatives on supporting and empowering Saudi athletes and contributing to increasing the number of athletes participating in the Olympic Games.

Since its launch in 2018, the program has offered many initiatives to develop the sports sector, Al-Bakr said. He cited the Elite Athletes Development Program, which trained and empowered Saudi players participating in the Paris Olympics, in addition to initiatives concerned with supporting and empowering women to contribute to the sports system, the Saudi Games, and building sports academies, including the establishment of Mahd Academy.

The program seeks to discover, develop, and support sports talents with the aim of creating a sports generation capable of competing in and representing the Kingdom in various regional and international events, he added.