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US Wins Gold in Men's Basketball and Women's Soccer

Gold medallists USA's #04 Stephen Curry (L), USA's #06 LeBron James and teammates celebrate on the podium after the men's Gold Medal basketball match between France and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
Gold medallists USA's #04 Stephen Curry (L), USA's #06 LeBron James and teammates celebrate on the podium after the men's Gold Medal basketball match between France and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
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US Wins Gold in Men's Basketball and Women's Soccer

Gold medallists USA's #04 Stephen Curry (L), USA's #06 LeBron James and teammates celebrate on the podium after the men's Gold Medal basketball match between France and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
Gold medallists USA's #04 Stephen Curry (L), USA's #06 LeBron James and teammates celebrate on the podium after the men's Gold Medal basketball match between France and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)

The US collected gold in men’s basketball and women’s soccer and earned three more golds in a huge night at the track Saturday at the Paris Olympics.

Stephen Curry scored 24 points to lead Team USA over France 98-87 at Bercy Arena to win its fifth straight gold medal and 17th overall, The Associated Press reported. France got 26 points from star Victor Wembanyama, but it wasn’t enough to earn the host nation its first gold medal in the sport.

The US needed a rally to beat Serbia 95-91 in a compelling semifinal. In the final, Curry hit four 3-pointers in the last three minutes. When he made the last one, which pushed the lead to 96-87 with 35 seconds left, he put his hands to the side of his face in a “go to sleep” gesture.

“I think we might be the only team in the world whose fans are ashamed of them if they get a silver medal,” US coach Steve Kerr said. “That’s the pressure that we face. But our players, and you saw Steph, they love the pressure. They appreciate this atmosphere and they were fantastic.”

Kevin Durant, who became the first four-time men’s gold medalist in Olympic basketball history, added 15 points and LeBron James had 14. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, James pumped his fist before embracing Durant.

It’s the fourth Olympic silver for France, which was runner-up to the Americans in 1948, 2000 and 2020. Wembanyama, this year's NBA Rookie of the Year, cried as the US celebrated. Later, Durant gave him a hug and the two talked for a couple of minutes.

Earlier Saturday, the US women’s soccer team beat Brazil 1-0 on a second-half goal by Mallory Swanson to win its fifth Olympic gold medal and first since 2012 in London.

After Swanson put the Americans on top, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher secured the win with a one-handed save on Adriana’s header in stoppage time at Parc des Princes.

“We’ve grown so much,” said Swanson, who was making her 100th national team appearance. “And that’s really cool to me seeing that. We’ve grown on and off the field. And you keep probably hearing it — we’re playing with joy. We’re having so much fun and I’m just so happy.”

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Sports

After Travel Ordeal, Iraq Faces Bolivia for World Cup Spot

Iraq's coach Graham Arnold gestures during a training session ahead of a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Iraq's coach Graham Arnold gestures during a training session ahead of a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
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After Travel Ordeal, Iraq Faces Bolivia for World Cup Spot

Iraq's coach Graham Arnold gestures during a training session ahead of a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
Iraq's coach Graham Arnold gestures during a training session ahead of a World Cup 2026 qualifying soccer match against Bolivia in Monterrey, Mexico, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Earlier this month, Iraq coach Graham Arnold was stranded in Fujairah, on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates, due to the Mideast war. He wondered if his national team would even be able to compete for one last chance to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

After traveling a long and winding road to reach Mexico, Arnold and Iraq will seek to return to a World Cup after an absence of 40 years when they face Bolivia in the final of their intercontinental playoff in Monterrey in northern Mexico on Tuesday.

“It’s been very difficult being stranded, I’d rather not talk about it, I try to remove all of that from the players' brains because a lot of things are going on in the Middle East,” Arnold said Monday in a media conference. “But players know what they’re doing, they seem very relaxed and ready to go.”

Arnold was with his wife in a hotel in Fujairah after a series of Iranian missiles hit nearby when the war between the United States and Iran began. The Australian coach was able to move to Dubai, but he was unable to join the team for several days.

Iraqi players were also stranded because the country's airspace was closed, preventing the team from using commercial flights to leave the country. Team officials officially asked FIFA to postpone the playoff match.

“I came from Europe directly to Monterrey, but for the rest of the players who play in the Iraqi local league, they had a long trip, but we had a lot of time to recover from that,” said Merchas Doski, who plays as a left back for Viktoria Plzen, in the Czech first league. "We are fully prepared."

The team also faced visa complications because Mexico does not have an embassy in Iraq and players struggled to obtain the necessary visas to enter the country. But the issue was resolved when the Mexican foreign affairs ministry facilitated visas at other regional embassies, The Associated Press reported.

The team finally arrived in Monterrey on March 21 after a 25-hour journey that included navigating travel restrictions and a stopover in Portugal.

“It has been very tough 20 days for us, but it is an honor and a privilege to be here — I lived in Australia for a long time and I know that qualifying for a World Cup can change a nation," said Arnold, who guided the Socceroos to the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup.

Since arriving in Mexico, the team has had plenty of time to adjust to the climate and players have practiced without incident. They have also been able to fraternize with children from local schools who have visited them during their training sessions.

“They (Mexican fans) have been amazing. It’s really fun to see that they cheer us,” said Aimar Sher, who plays for Sarpsborg 08 in Norway. “We talked about it a couple of days ago that their support means a lot to us and we’re very happy to have them by our side.”

To qualify for its second World Cup, their first since Mexico in 1986, Iraq must defeat Bolivia, which eliminated Suriname 2-1 in the intercontinental playoff semifinals last week.

“It has been fantastic, it is an absolute honor to get Iraq to his part of the playoffs after 40 years and with just one more game to go,” Arnold said. “I am confident that it will be a very special night for Iraq.”

Sports

Italy Pushing Youth Reform as Ailing Football Nation Eyes World Cup Return

Italy's supporters cheer during the play-off FIFA World Cup 2026 European qualification semifinal against North Ireland in Bergamo on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
Italy's supporters cheer during the play-off FIFA World Cup 2026 European qualification semifinal against North Ireland in Bergamo on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
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Italy Pushing Youth Reform as Ailing Football Nation Eyes World Cup Return

Italy's supporters cheer during the play-off FIFA World Cup 2026 European qualification semifinal against North Ireland in Bergamo on March 26, 2026. (AFP)
Italy's supporters cheer during the play-off FIFA World Cup 2026 European qualification semifinal against North Ireland in Bergamo on March 26, 2026. (AFP)

As Italian football fans worry that their national team might miss out on a third straight World Cup in Tuesday's play-off decider with Bosnia and Herzegovina, moves are afoot to take the Azzurri back to the top.

Announced earlier this month, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has launched a project for youth football in a country which once produced some of the world's very best players but hasn't done so for a generation.

The team that will line-up in Zenica lacks the star power of years gone by, such as Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Fabio Cannavaro or Francesco Totti who won Italy the World Cup in 2006.

The feeling of being left by the wayside was exacerbated by dreadful performances on the continent this season by Italy's top clubs and the continuation of a golden age for the country in a host of other sports.

On Sunday tennis star Jannik Sinner cruised to victory at the Miami Masters, yet another win for the four-time Grand Slam champion who at the age of 24 is the dominant force in men's tennis alongside Spanish rival Carlos Alcaraz.

Kimi Antonelli and Marco Bezzecchi lead the Formula One and MotoGP championships, while alpine skier Federica Brignone's double gold at the Winter Olympics the highlight of a record-breaking medal haul of 30.

Even the rugby union team is more a source of national pride than the footballers thanks to a historic win over England in the Six Nations.

So the FIGC, after years of criticism from media and fans alike, has decided for grassroots reform and deeper involvement in youth football across the country.

"Everyone who's played for the national team started out in neighborhood clubs. That means that every coach in charge of these kids has to be trained," former Italy midfielder Simone Perrotta tells AFP.

Now 48 years old, Perotta, who spent the majority of his club career at Roma, played alongside Del Piero and Totti in that talent-packed Italy team two decades ago.

- Football culture -

Alongside another World Cup winner in Gianluca Zambrotta, Perrotta now reports to the FIGC's new head of development Maurizio Viscidi, the long-time head of the national youth team set-up who now oversees every aspect of youth football.

The FIGC wants to harmonize as much as possible training across a vast number of clubs which coach around 700,000 kids aged between five and 15, with the aim of teaching coaches to prioritize young players developing individual skills so that a new generation of stars can come through.

"There isn't a shared methodology that says 'let's try to develop this way of playing football'," says Perotta, who added that he believes there has been an "impoverishment" of technical ability among Italian footballers.

The project provides free online courses for coaches while small groups of FIGC training staff based around the country will visit youth football clubs every fortnight, with Perrotta saying that the idea is "to get the federation inside the clubs".

The experimental phase will be rolled out, Perrotta hopes, by this October and will be centered on the 162 clubs in Serie D, Italy's regional fourth tier and the highest level of amateur football in the country.

One of the frequent talking points in Italy is that youngsters no longer play football unaccompanied in the streets as Perrotta says he did as a child, while the cost of sending children to football clubs is a barrier to kids from poorer backgrounds.

The FIGC is aiming to increase base participation by working with local councils to try and create more spaces where young people can play without having to pay.

"We want to work with institutions here to help increase the number of hours kids play because one of the things we've noticed is the difference between here and other countries in how much they train and how much contact they have with the ball," says Perrotta.

"It's systemic. It can't just be the federation's project, it can't just be down to us."

Sports

World Cup-bound Ghana Fires Coach after 4 Straight Losses in Friendlies

Head coach Otto Addo of Ghana reacts during the friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, 30 March 2026. EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI
Head coach Otto Addo of Ghana reacts during the friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, 30 March 2026. EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI
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World Cup-bound Ghana Fires Coach after 4 Straight Losses in Friendlies

Head coach Otto Addo of Ghana reacts during the friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, 30 March 2026. EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI
Head coach Otto Addo of Ghana reacts during the friendly soccer match between Germany and Ghana in Stuttgart, Germany, 30 March 2026. EPA/ANNA SZILAGYI

Otto Addo has been released from his contract as head soccer coach of Ghana, just 2 1-2 months before the team plays its first match at the World Cup.

“The Ghana Football Association (GFA) have parted ways with the head coach of the senior men’s national team (Black Stars), Otto Addo effective immediately,” it said in a statement Monday on its website.

It gave no further details on a replacement for Addo, or the reasons for the termination.

The firing came after a 2-1 loss to Germany in Stuttgart on Monday. Ghana ⁠also lost 5-1 in Austria last Friday and has lost four friendlies in a row.

Addo was on his second spell as coach of the team after Borussia Dortmund agreed to release him from his role in talent development at the end of the season in March 2024. Addo already coached Ghana on an interim basis for much of 2022, including at the World Cup in Qatar, when Ghana beat South Korea but was still eliminated in the group stage.

During his playing career, the Hamburg, Germany-born Addo won the Bundesliga with Dortmund and played for Ghana at the 2006 World Cup.

Ghana, which ⁠reached the World Cup for the fifth time, is in Group L with Croatia, England and Panama. It plays its first match on June 17 against Panama at Toronto.