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Morocco Finish 4th in World Cup 2022

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Morocco fans react inside the stadium. Reuters
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Morocco fans react inside the stadium. Reuters
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Morocco Finish 4th in World Cup 2022

Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Morocco fans react inside the stadium. Reuters
Soccer Football - FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 - Third-Place Playoff - Croatia v Morocco - Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar - December 17, 2022 Morocco fans react inside the stadium. Reuters

Croatia beat Morocco 2-1 in the World Cup third-place playoff on Saturday to secure a top three finish in the tournament as Morocco, the first World Cup semi-finalists in history, came in fourth.

Runners-up in 2018, Croatia also came third in the 1998 World Cup, beating the Netherlands 2-1.

Josko Gvardiol put Croatia in front after a well-designed set-piece play. Lovro Majer lobbed a free-kick to Ivan Perisic, who peeled away from his marker to head the ball to the middle of the box where Gvardiol was perfectly positioned to nod the ball into the net with a brilliant diving header.

But it only took two minutes for Morocco to find the equalizer, also from a free-kick, as Croatia’s Majer tried to clear the ball but miscalculated his header and missed badly, setting up Morocco’s Achraf Dari, who was alone in the six-yard-box to send home a close-range header.

Croatia scored the winner three minutes from the break when Mislav Orsic netted a dipping, curled shot from just inside the area that went in off the post. They held their lead through an absorbing yet goalless second half.

The "Lions of the Atlas" were the first Arab or African team ever to reach a semi-final in 92 years of football's top tournament.

Morocco had a string of victories, including over Belgium, Spain and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.

But France ended Morocco's World Cup dream as goals from Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani gave the holders a 2-0 win in their semi-final clash to set up a showdown on Sunday with Lionel Messi's Argentina.

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Lindsey Vonn Back in US Following Crash in Olympic Downhill 

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)
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Lindsey Vonn Back in US Following Crash in Olympic Downhill 

Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics - Alpine Skiing - Women's Downhill 3rd Official Training - Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre, Belluno, Italy - February 07, 2026. Lindsey Vonn of United States in action during training. (Reuters)

Lindsey Vonn is back home in the US following a week of treatment at a hospital in Italy after breaking her left leg in the Olympic downhill at the Milan Cortina Games.

“Haven’t stood on my feet in over a week... been in a hospital bed immobile since my race. And although I’m not yet able to stand, being back on home soil feels amazing,” Vonn posted on X with an American flag emoji. “Huge thank you to everyone in Italy for taking good care of me.”

The 41-year-old Vonn suffered a complex tibia fracture that has already been operated on multiple times following her Feb. 8 crash. She has said she'll need more surgery in the US.

Nine days before her fall in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Vonn ruptured the ACL in her left knee in another crash in Switzerland.

Even before then, all eyes had been on her as the feel-good story heading into the Olympics for her comeback after nearly six years of retirement.

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Japan Hails ‘New Chapter’ with First Olympic Pairs Skating Gold 

Gold medalists Japan's Riku Miura and Japan's Ryuichi Kihara pose after the figure skating pair skating free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
Gold medalists Japan's Riku Miura and Japan's Ryuichi Kihara pose after the figure skating pair skating free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Japan Hails ‘New Chapter’ with First Olympic Pairs Skating Gold 

Gold medalists Japan's Riku Miura and Japan's Ryuichi Kihara pose after the figure skating pair skating free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
Gold medalists Japan's Riku Miura and Japan's Ryuichi Kihara pose after the figure skating pair skating free skating final during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

Japan hailed a "new chapter" in the country's figure skating on Tuesday after Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pulled off a stunning comeback to claim pairs gold at the Milan-Cortina Olympics.

Miura and Kihara won Japan's first Olympic pairs gold with the performance of their careers, coming from fifth overnight to land the title with personal best scores.

It was the first time Japan had won an Olympic figure skating pairs medal of any color.

The country's government spokesman Minoru Kihara said their achievement had "moved so many people".

"This triumph is a result of the completeness of their performance, their high technical skill, the expressive power born from their harmony, and above all the bond of trust between the two," the spokesman said.

"I feel it is a remarkable feat that opens a new chapter in the history of Japanese figure skating."

Newspapers rushed to print special editions commemorating the pair's achievement.

Miura and Kihara, popularly known collectively in Japan as "Rikuryu", went into the free skate trailing after errors in their short program.

Kihara said that he had been "feeling really down" and blamed himself for the slip-up, conceding: "We did not think we would win."

Instead, they spectacularly turned things around and topped the podium ahead of Georgia's Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who took silver ahead of overnight leaders Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany.

American gymnastics legend Simone Biles was in the arena in Milan to watch the action.

"I'm pretty sure that was perfection," Biles said, according to the official Games website.

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Mourinho Says It Won’t Take ‘Miracle’ to Take Down ‘Wounded King’ Real Madrid in Champions League

Benfica's coach Jose Mourinho reacts during a press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League knockout round play-off first leg football match against Real Madrid at Benfica Campus in Seixal, outskirts of Lisbon, on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
Benfica's coach Jose Mourinho reacts during a press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League knockout round play-off first leg football match against Real Madrid at Benfica Campus in Seixal, outskirts of Lisbon, on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Mourinho Says It Won’t Take ‘Miracle’ to Take Down ‘Wounded King’ Real Madrid in Champions League

Benfica's coach Jose Mourinho reacts during a press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League knockout round play-off first leg football match against Real Madrid at Benfica Campus in Seixal, outskirts of Lisbon, on February 16, 2026. (AFP)
Benfica's coach Jose Mourinho reacts during a press conference on the eve of their UEFA Champions League knockout round play-off first leg football match against Real Madrid at Benfica Campus in Seixal, outskirts of Lisbon, on February 16, 2026. (AFP)

José Mourinho believes Real Madrid is "wounded" after the shock loss to Benfica and doesn't think it will take a miracle to stun the Spanish giant again in the Champions League.

Benfica defeated Madrid 4-2 in the final round of the league phase to grab the last spot in the playoffs, and in the process dropped the 15-time champion out of the eight automatic qualification places for the round of 16.

Coach Mourinho's Benfica and his former team meet again in Lisbon on Tuesday in the first leg of the knockout stage.

"They are wounded," Mourinho said Monday. "And a wounded king is dangerous. We will play the first leg with our heads, with ambition and confidence. We know what we did to the kings of the Champions League."

Mourinho acknowledged that Madrid remained heavily favored and it would take a near-perfect show for Benfica to advance.

"I don’t think it takes a miracle for Benfica to eliminate Real Madrid. I think we need to be at our highest level. I don’t even say high, I mean maximum, almost bordering on perfection, which does not exist. But not a miracle," he said.

"Real Madrid is Real Madrid, with history, knowledge, ambition. The only comparable thing is that we are two giants. Beyond that, there is nothing else. But football has this power and we can win."

Benfica's dramatic win in Lisbon three weeks ago came thanks to a last-minute header by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, allowing the team to grab the 24th and final spot for the knockout stage on goal difference.

"Trubin won’t be in the attack this time," Mourinho joked.

"I’m very used to these kinds of ties, I’ve been doing it all my life," he said. "People often think you need a certain result in the first leg for this or that reason. I say there is no definitive result."