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Germany Forward Undav Rescues 3-3 Draw for Stuttgart with Heidenheim in Bundesliga

Stuttgart's Deniz Undav, front, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Heidenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 31, 2024.(AP)
Stuttgart's Deniz Undav, front, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Heidenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 31, 2024.(AP)
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Germany Forward Undav Rescues 3-3 Draw for Stuttgart with Heidenheim in Bundesliga

Stuttgart's Deniz Undav, front, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Heidenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 31, 2024.(AP)
Stuttgart's Deniz Undav, front, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Heidenheim in Stuttgart, Germany, Sunday, March 31, 2024.(AP)

Germany forward Deniz Undav scored in stoppage time to rescue a 3-3 draw for third-place Stuttgart against Heidenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday, preserving the team’s seven-game unbeaten streak after a dramatic finale.

An own-goal from Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nübel and two quick-fire goals from Tim Kleindienst had given the visitors a late 3-2 lead after Stuttgart had looked comfortable leading 2-0.

But Maximilian Mittelstädt sent a long ball forward for Undav to take with his back toward goal. Undav eluded two defenders as he turned and scored inside the far corner for Stuttgart’s equalizer.

Undav, who has 15 Bundesliga goals this season, made his Germany debut against France last week.

Neither Stuttgart nor Heidenheim were happy with the draw.

“We’re not happy because we took over the game completely when we got the goal back, we believed in ourselves, turned the game around with unbelievable will and then conceded the equalizer in the 90th-plus-eight,” said Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt, who led Heidenheim to its first promotion last season.

“In the end it’s still a point. Despite all the disappointment of my team, which is of course really annoyed that we gave the game away – that’s why we’re not happy – but after a day’s distance and a night’s sleep, I’ll tell the team tomorrow that we took a point from the third-place team in the table, who will probably play Champions League next season. That’s worth something,” Schmidt said. “In two games against VfB Stuttgart we’ve collected four points. We shouldn’t forget that.”

The home team thought it had made a great start with Serhou Guirassy firing inside the left post after a fast break involving Undav and fellow Germany player Chris Führich, but the goal was ruled out after a VAR check for offside.

Guirassy did score in the 41st to take his tally to 23 goals in 21 league appearances. Angelo Stiller combined with Undav to give Guirassy an easy finish, and Stiller gave Stuttgart a comfortable 2-0 lead early in the second half after another perfectly played combination with Undav.

The visitors got one back in the 62nd when Nübel dropped a harmless-looking header from Kleindienst that saw the ball squirm between his legs.

Kleindienst wasn’t done yet. The 28-year-old forward equalized in the 84th with a volley to Jan-Niklas Beste’s cross, then headed in Eren Dinkçi’s cross a minute later.

Heidenheim forward Nikola Dovedan was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Mittelstädt just before Undav preserved Stuttgart’s unbeaten run and gained a point for its Champions League qualification bid. The top four in Germany are sure of qualifying for Europe’s premier club competition. Stuttgart has a seven-point cushion over fifth-place Leipzig with seven games remaining.

Sunday’s match was the 1,000th Bundesliga game to be played in Stuttgart’s stadium, formerly known as the Neckarstadion before sponsors paid to rename it. The Stuttgarter Kickers played in 36 of those games in the 1988-89 and 1991-92 seasons.

Elsewhere, Bochum squandered a two-goal lead to draw with last-place Darmstadt 2-2 in the late game. It left Bochum just six points clear of danger. Darmstadt is six points behind Mainz in the relegation playoff place, and 12 points behind Bochum in 15th.

Augsburg drew with Cologne 1-1 in the early game, leaving Cologne in relegation danger. The Billy Goats were second from bottom, one point behind Mainz and seven from safety.

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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love", in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

The 30-meter (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-meter diameter ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.

It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organizers said.

"We are so proud of this show, I'm so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain," Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.

A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.

It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

"I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace," International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.

Nakamura's performance drew some of the ceremony's biggest cheers. Rumors of her inclusion had sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences than French.

POURING RAIN

While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.

"It was good other than the rain, it was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium being on the river, so that's always a good thing - interesting, unique," said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.

"Once you're wet, it's fine," he said. Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.

"It would have been better with sun," said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter and who paid 1,600 euros ($1,736) for her seat.

With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace was closed.

Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the ceremony. Armed police patrolled along the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.

WELCOMED IN TAHITI

A mix of French and international stars, including soccer great Zinedine Zidane, 14-times French Open champion Rafa Nadal, 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three paralympic athletes were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.

It will blaze until the closing ceremony on Aug. 11.

At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat - the first delegation, by tradition - and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team. The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.

The two most decorated athletes in the Games' history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.

At one point, there was a live crossover to the early morning welcome ceremony at the surfing venue, 16,000 km away in the Pacific island of Tahiti.

ISRAEL DELEGATION

France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there was no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

But since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop.

Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and are given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.

The Israel delegation got some boos, but also a lot of cheers, as it sailed by spectators, Reuters reporters saw. Chants of "Palestine! Palestine! Palestine!" rose from the crowd as the boat passed.

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.