Olympic Champions Brazil Shocked 1-0 by Paraguay in 2024 Qualifier https://english.aawsat.com/sports/4836556-olympic-champions-brazil-shocked-1-0-paraguay-2024-qualifier%C2%A0
Olympic Champions Brazil Shocked 1-0 by Paraguay in 2024 Qualifier
Football - South America Olympic Games Qualifiers - Brazil v Paraguay - Estadio Brigido Iriarte, Caracas - February 5, 2024 Paraguay's Leonardo Rivas celebrates after Fabrizio Peralta scores their first goal. (Reuters)
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Olympic Champions Brazil Shocked 1-0 by Paraguay in 2024 Qualifier
Football - South America Olympic Games Qualifiers - Brazil v Paraguay - Estadio Brigido Iriarte, Caracas - February 5, 2024 Paraguay's Leonardo Rivas celebrates after Fabrizio Peralta scores their first goal. (Reuters)
Olympic champions Brazil suffered a setback in their bid to secure a place at this year's Paris Games after their under-23 team slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat by Paraguay on Monday in the final four South American qualifying tournament.
Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela are competing in a round robin final qualifying stage for the 2024 Games, with only the top two securing berths in Paris.
Fabrizio Peralta's header in the final seconds of the first half was enough to give Paraguay, who last competed at the Olympics in 2004, an unexpected victory.
Brazil's teenage prodigy Endrick, who will join Real Madrid later this year, squandered a chance to put the 2020 Tokyo Games gold medalists ahead when he missed a penalty after 29 minutes.
In a later qualifying game, a last-gasp penalty from substitute Kevin Kelsy snatched a 2-2 draw for Venezuela against Argentina.
Javier Mascherano's side finished the game with nine men after Valentin Barco and Gonzalo Lujan were sent off, while Venezuela's Bryant Ortega also received a red card.
Brazil will next face Venezuela, who beat them 3-1 in the preliminary stage earlier this month, on Thursday. Paraguay's next fixture will be against Argentina.
The qualifiers, being held in Caracas, wrap up on Feb. 11.
(FILES) Gold medallists Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pose after the victory ceremony of 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. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
(FILES) Gold medallists Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara pose after the victory ceremony of 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. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)
Japan's Olympic figure skating pairs champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara announced their engagement on Sunday.
Two-time world champions Miura, 24, and Kihara, 34, became media darlings after they won Japan's first Olympic pairs gold medals at the Milan-Cortina Games in Italy in February.
They retired from competition in April.
"We're engaged," AFP quoted the pair as saying in a statement.
"Through both the happy times and the difficult ones, we've shared so many moments together, supporting each other every step of the way," they said.
"Over time, we became irreplaceable parts of each other's lives."
In February's Olympics, Miura and Kihara, popularly known in Japan as "Rikuryu", went into the decisive free skate in fifth place after errors in their short program.
They then stunned the world by topping the podium with personal-best scores, making them national heroes in Japan.
Man City Boss Maresca Targets Next Rodri after Midfielder's Exithttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5310097-man-city-boss-maresca-targets-next-rodri-after-midfielders-exit
16 August 2026, United Kingdom, Cardiff: Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca reacts on the touchline during the FA Community Shield soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City, at Principality Stadium. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
Man City Boss Maresca Targets Next Rodri after Midfielder's Exit
16 August 2026, United Kingdom, Cardiff: Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca reacts on the touchline during the FA Community Shield soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City, at Principality Stadium. Photo: Nick Potts/PA Wire/dpa
Manchester City manager Enzo Maresca said the club would look to find the next Rodri following the midfielder's departure to Barcelona, insisting City had repeatedly shown an ability to replace key players.
Rodri, 30, ended a seven-year spell at City on Tuesday, bringing to a close a trophy-laden stay that included four Premier League titles, the Champions League and two FA Cups.
"I'll try to find a new Rodri - it is what it is," Maresca told reporters on Saturday, a day ahead of City's Premier League opener against Bournemouth.
"Rodri, before he arrived here, he didn't win the Ballon d'Or, he didn't win the Champions League, he didn't win the Club World Cup. Then he joined the club and then he achieved many important things.
"Now the target for us is to try to find the new Rodri,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
Maresca acknowledged the Spain international would be difficult to replace but said City's recruitment history gave him confidence that a successor could emerge.
"When David Silva was here, everyone was worried – Kevin (De Bruyne) arrived. When Sergio Aguero was here, everyone was worried – Erling (Haaland) arrived. When Fernandinho left, Rodri arrived. It's just about this," he said.
"When they leave, you need to be good and recruit the next one."
Rodri, the 2024 Ballon d'Or winner and a member of Spain's European Championship-winning team, further enhanced his reputation by captaining his country to World Cup glory last month and being named player of the tournament.
His departure is among several notable changes during the close season as City continue to reshape their squad.
Maresca said he expected further transfer activity before the window closes but remained relaxed despite reports linking Omar Marmoush and Nico Gonzalez with moves away.
"We need to adapt and we don't want to keep players here that don't want to stay. The normal thing in transfer windows is that you have to wait because all the clubs try to keep players until the last week and then sell for more money," he said.
"It's normal. I'm not worried about that. When the transfer window closes and we have all the squad there, for sure it will be different."
Pegula Dethrones Swiatek to Book Cincy Final Against Gauffhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5310090-pegula-dethrones-swiatek-book-cincy-final-against-gauff
Jessica Pegula of the USA in action against Iga Swiatek of Poland during their semi final match of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati, USA, 22 August 2026. EPA
Pegula Dethrones Swiatek to Book Cincy Final Against Gauff
Jessica Pegula of the USA in action against Iga Swiatek of Poland during their semi final match of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati, USA, 22 August 2026. EPA
Jessica Pegula rallied in the third set to topple defending champion Iga Swiatek and book a title showdown with Coco Gauff at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.
World number three Pegula won a "crazy" match against Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.
Gauff powered past giant-killer Sara Bejlek 6-4, 6-1, ending the unseeded Czech's dream run that included a fourth-round victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka.
Their all-American Sunday night final will be a men's title clash featuring American Frances Tiafoe and Arthur Fils of France.
Fils charged into his first Masters 1000 final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over French Open runner-up Flavio Cobolli in a match delayed for 45 minutes by rain and lightning.
Swiatek and Pegula then waited out another rain delay before their match, which was also briefly interrupted two games in.
"Crazy match today," Pegula said after needing nearly three hours to subdue Swiatek, who was coming off her first title of 2026 in Toronto last week.
"A lot of back and forth, a lot of breaks," AFP quoted her as saying, "Really windy, kind of odd conditions. I felt like we were playing well and then not playing well.
"It was really tough to kind of get a gauge on the match."
MASON, OHIO - AUGUST 22: Iga Swiatek of Poland plays a forehand during the match against Jessica Pegula of the United States during day 12 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on August 22, 2026 in Mason, Ohio. Dylan Buell/Getty Images/AFP
The two rode a rollercoaster of breaks and re-breaks before Pegula took a 5-4 lead in the final set, Swiatek saving three break points before double-faulting on a fourth.
Pegula quickly closed it out, firing a service winner on match point.
"I was just really happy with the way I was able to kind of handle just a lot that was going on today," the 31-year-old American said. "I did a good job of no matter what was happening."
The first five games of what evolved into an epic went against the server as Pegula and Swiatek struggled to adjust to the conditions.
Swiatek blinked first as Pegula held at love for a 4-2 lead, but Swiatek won the next three games before Pegula broke again, finally taking the set when Swiatek smacked a volley into the net on set point.
They had exchanged two breaks in the second when Swiatek broke in the final game to square the match.
Swiatek leaves for the US Open starting on August 30 with a good feeling about her game despite the defeat.
"We made some steps forward in this intensive part of the season," the six-time Grand Slam champion said. "It was tough to play today with the wind, but we each put pressure on the other. I didn't feel good in the first set but coming back in the second and using all of my chances was a good change."
Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion, got off to a hot start against Bejlek, jumping to a 4-1 lead. Bejlek fought back to 4-4, but the American regained her rhythm to close out the set and run away with the second.
"I tried not to take my foot off the gas because I knew at any moment she could come back," Gauff said.
Tiafoe, runner-up to Jannik Sinner in Cincinnati in 2024, returned to the final with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over fellow American Brandon Nakashima.
Tiafoe saved three set points in the opening set, breaking Nakashima five times in all to earn the win in less than two hours.
"It feels damn good," Tiafoe said.
The American predicted a "hell of a show" against Fils, whose 68-minute win over seventh-seeded Cobolli made him the youngest French Masters finalist since a 20-year-old Richard Gasquet in Toronto two decades ago.
Fils admitted he had been unsettled by the weather delay.
"You come on court more nervous because it's a semi-final. The rain arrives, you wait, and when you come back conditions are completely different," he said.
"It was tough but I'm happy with how I dealt with it."
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