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Morocco Pick Hakimi, Confident He Will be Ready for Cup of Nations

Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
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Morocco Pick Hakimi, Confident He Will be Ready for Cup of Nations

Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
Paris 2024 Olympics - Football - Men's Quarter-final - Morocco vs United States - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - August 02, 2024. Achraf Hakimi of Morocco celebrates scoring their third goal. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo

Hosts Morocco have included African Footballer of the Year Achraf Hakimi in their 26-man squad for the Africa Cup of Nations, confident he will recover from an ankle injury in time to play.

There had been concern about the full back's availability for the tournament, which kicks off on December 21, after suffering a severe sprain of his left ankle during Paris St Germain's 2-1 defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League last month, according to Reuters.

Coach Walid Regragui had already expressed optimism that Hakimi would be available to captain the team in the opening match against Comoros in Rabat.

"He's been working hard since his injury and doing what he has to do. He's a hard worker. He wants to be there from the first match," the Moroccan coach told French radio at the weekend.

Left out of the squad, but named as a reserve is Lille striker Hamza Igamane, who hurt his adductors playing against Olympique de Marseille last Friday.

Igamane has made a major impact in Ligue 1 and with the Morocco side and was expected to be a starter at the tournament for the hosts.

Morocco, who were semi-finalists at the last World Cup and are heavily fancied for home success, also take on Mali and Zambia in Group A.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou (Al Hilal), Munir El Kajoui (Renaissance Berkane), El Mehdi Al Harrar (Raja Casablanca)

Defenders: Nayef Aguerd (Olympique de Marseille), Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal (Stade Rennais), Mohamed Chibi (Pyramids), Jawad El Yamiq (Al Najma), Achraf Hakimi (Paris St Germain), Adam Masina (Torino), Noussair Mazraoui (Manchester United), Romain Saiss (Al Sadd), Anass Salah-Eddine (PSV Eindhoven)

Midfielders: Sofyan Amrabat (Real Betis), Eliesse Ben Seghir (Bayer Leverkusen), Brahim Diaz (Real Madrid), Neil El Aynaoui (AS Roma), Bilal El Khannous (VfB Stuttgart), Azzedine Ounahi (Girona), Oussama Targhaline (Feyenoord)

Forwards: Ilias Akhomach (Villarreal), Ayoub El Kaabi (Olympiakos), Youssef En-Nesyri (Fenerbahce), Abdessamad Ezzalzouli (Real Betis), Soufiane Rahimi (Al Ain), Ismael Saibari (PSV Eindhoven), Chemsdine Talbi (Sunderland).

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Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka

Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka
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Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka

Sinner Edges Into Indian Wells Quarters, Sabalenka Powers Past Osaka

World number two Jannik Sinner survived a stern test from Joao Fonseca on Tuesday to reach the Indian Wells quarter-finals, while women's world number one Aryna Sabalenka eased past 16th seed Naomi Osaka 6-2 6-4 to progress to the women's last eight.

Sinner was pushed hard by the 19-year-old Brazilian, trailing 6-3 in the first set before rallying to close out the match 7-6(6) 7-6(4).

"I am very happy winning this match," Reuters quoted Sinner as saying.

"Joao is an incredible talent. He was serving really well. I was trying to be as aggressive as possible and that was the key to get through against the incredible talent."

The Italian will now meet the home favorite Learner Tien on Friday for a place in the last four.

"I feel he is a very consistent player and I am very happy to face him again. He has improved a lot since the last time we met," Sinner said of his American opponent.

Meanwhile, in the ⁠first meeting between ⁠the two four-time Grand Slam champions since 2018 - when Osaka beat Sabalenka at the US Open en route to her maiden major title - the Belarusian's power proved too much for the former world No. 1 on Tuesday.

"Yeah that's crazy, for so many years we only played once. I'm pretty sure we are playing many more matches, she's coming back playing great tennis," Sabalenka said in her on-court interview. "I'm pretty happy for the result today, much better than last time."

Mar 10, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Naomi Osaka (JPN) and Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) embrace after their fourth round match in the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Osaka began confidently with a strong opening service game, but top seed Sabalenka soon found her rhythm and capitalized on a brief ⁠dip from the Japanese, breaking for 2-1 after two double faults.

The Belarusian tightened her grip with a barrage of powerful backhands to lead 5-2, then served out the set comfortably with an ace.

After a series of solid holds from both players early in the second, Sabalenka again used her firepower to take control, breaking again for a 4-2 lead that proved decisive in closing out the win and continuing her run in the tournament without dropping a set.

"I'm happy that I put so much pressure on her today, that I brought variety to the court," Sabalenka said. "My serve worked well. On the return I played really great tennis. Happy with my performance for sure."

Last year's runner-up Sabalenka will continue her quest for a first title in the California desert against Canada's Victoria Mboko, who sailed past higher-ranked American Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-1.

It will be a rematch of an Australian Open round-of-16 between ⁠the two, which Sabalenka won ⁠in straight sets.

Elsewhere, Australia's Talia Gibson enjoyed the biggest win of her career, beating Italy's world No. 7 Jasmine Paolini 7-5 2-6 6-1 in her first match against a top-10 player.

The 21-year-old, playing her first WTA 1000 main draw, also became the first qualifier in 11 years to reach the quarter-finals of the tournament.

"I just have a confidence in the way I'm playing," Gibson said. "I'm in shock."

Czech Republic's Linda Noskova, the 14th seed, sailed past Alexandra Eala in just 55 minutes with a 6-2 6-0 win to book a quarter-final meeting with Gibson.

In the men's draw, Alexander Zverev saw off Frances Tiafoe 6-3 6-4, converting two of three break points and firing 14 aces to seal his ninth win over the 21st-seeded American.

He will next face France's Arthur Fils as he looks to reach his first Indian Wells semi-final.

Fils earlier produced a stunning 6-3 7-6(9) win over Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, saving five set points and rallying from 0-5 down in the second-set tiebreak to book a place in the quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.

Sports

Iranian Women’s Football Team Member Changes Mind on Asylum in Australia

Members of Iran's women's football team walk as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after taking part in the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 tournament in Australia, in Sepang on March 11, 2026. (AFP)
Members of Iran's women's football team walk as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after taking part in the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 tournament in Australia, in Sepang on March 11, 2026. (AFP)
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Iranian Women’s Football Team Member Changes Mind on Asylum in Australia

Members of Iran's women's football team walk as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after taking part in the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 tournament in Australia, in Sepang on March 11, 2026. (AFP)
Members of Iran's women's football team walk as they arrive at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport after taking part in the AFC Women's Asian Cup Australia 2026 tournament in Australia, in Sepang on March 11, 2026. (AFP)

An Iranian women's football team member who sought sanctuary in Australia has changed her mind after speaking with teammates, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said Wednesday.

Seven members of Iran's visiting women's football team had claimed asylum in Australia after they were branded "traitors" at home over a pre-match protest.

One player and one support member sought sanctuary before the side flew out of Sydney to Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday evening in emotional scenes, joining five other athletes who had already claimed asylum.

Burke said in parliament on Wednesday that he had since been advised one of the group "had spoken to some of the teammates that left and changed their mind".

"She had been advised by her teammates and encouraged to contact the Iranian embassy," he said.

"As a result of that it meant the Iranian embassy now knew the location of where everybody was."

The remaining players have been moved from a safe house to another location, he said.

The travelling squad arrived in Malaysia early Wednesday morning after flying out from Sydney, AFP photos at Kuala Lumpur International Airport showed.

There were fears male minders travelling with the team might try to prevent other women seeking asylum.

Burke said each player was separated from the squad at Sydney Airport and given time to mull the offer in private.

Australian officials had "made sure this was her decision" he said, referring to the Iran team member who had changed her mind.

Sports

Infantino Says Trump Welcomes Iran’s World Cup Participation

13 July 2025, US, East Rutherford: FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the DAZN pre-match interview ahead of the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Metlife Stadium. (dpa)
13 July 2025, US, East Rutherford: FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the DAZN pre-match interview ahead of the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Metlife Stadium. (dpa)
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Infantino Says Trump Welcomes Iran’s World Cup Participation

13 July 2025, US, East Rutherford: FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the DAZN pre-match interview ahead of the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Metlife Stadium. (dpa)
13 July 2025, US, East Rutherford: FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the DAZN pre-match interview ahead of the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea FC and Paris Saint-Germain at Metlife Stadium. (dpa)

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said ‌on Wednesday that he met with United States President Donald Trump, who told him he welcomed Iran’s participation in the 2026 Soccer World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.

Iran was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held last week in Atlanta, deepening questions over whether the country's football team will compete on US soil this summer amid an escalating regional war.

Trump told Politico earlier that he ‌is not concerned ‌about Iran's participation, as they were ‌a "very ⁠badly defeated country".

"We ⁠also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026," soccer's world governing body, FIFA, boss Infantino said in a post on his official social media account.

"During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the ⁠Iranian team is, of course, welcome to ‌compete in the tournament in the ‌United States.

"We all need an event like the FIFA World ‌Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and ‌I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World."

Iran secured a trip to a fourth successive World Cup by ‌topping Group A in the third round of Asian qualifying last year, but Mehdi ⁠Taj, president ⁠of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the viciousness of the attacks by US and Israeli forces did not augur well for the World Cup, to be held from June 11 to July 19.

The Iranians were grouped with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in Group G. Their matches are scheduled to take place in the US, two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.

If both the US and Iran finish second in their respective groups, the two countries could meet in a July 3 elimination match in Dallas.