Kvaratskhelia Named Champions League Player of the Season
(FILES) Paris Saint-Germain's Georgian forward #07 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates at the end of the UEFA Champions League second-leg, semi-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Munich, southern Germany on May 6, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Kvaratskhelia Named Champions League Player of the Season
(FILES) Paris Saint-Germain's Georgian forward #07 Khvicha Kvaratskhelia celebrates at the end of the UEFA Champions League second-leg, semi-final football match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in Munich, southern Germany on May 6, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP)
Paris Saint-Germain's Georgia winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was named Champions League player of the season on Sunday by a UEFA panel of judges.
Kvaratskhelia was a constant menace in PSG's defence of the title with ten goals and six assists from his 16 games.
PSG came from a goal down against Arsenal on Saturday to equalise from the spot on 65 minutes after Kvaratskhelia was scythed to the floor inside the box with Ousmane Dembele converting the spot-kick.
Both had left the fray before the game went to extra-time and ended 1-1, before PSG emerged from a shoot-out as narrow 4-3 winners.
UEFA's technical observer board of around 30 football dignitaries such as Gareth Southgate, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Rafa Benitez voted for the award.
The panel's statement described his season as pivotal and dazzling, AFP reported.
"Arguably Kvaratskhelia's finest performance came in the unforgettable 5-4 semi-final first-leg win over Bayern, as he curled in a beauty to draw his side level at 1-1 before adding a fierce drive in the second period to complete a fine double," they said.
He also scored three goals over the two legs against Chelsea in the last 16 and another at Liverpool in the quarter-finals.
The now 25-year-old was also on the score sheet in the 2025 final as PSG thumped Inter Milan 5-0.
Kostyuk Stuns 4-time Champion Swiatek on Big Day for Ukraine at French Openhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5279029-kostyuk-stuns-4-time-champion-swiatek-big-day-ukraine-french-open
31 May 2026, France, Paris: Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk celebrates a point against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their Women's Singles Match on Day 8 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex. Photo: Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
Kostyuk Stuns 4-time Champion Swiatek on Big Day for Ukraine at French Open
31 May 2026, France, Paris: Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk celebrates a point against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their Women's Singles Match on Day 8 of the French Open tennis tournament on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Complex. Photo: Matthieu Mirville/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
There will be a first-time women’s champion at the French Open this year, and two Ukrainian players are among the strongest contenders.
Undefeated this season on clay, 15th-seeded Marta Kostyuk showed her strong credentials as she reached the quarterfinals in Paris for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.
She will be up against her compatriot Elina Svitolina next, ensuring there will be an Ukrainian woman semifinalist at Roland Garros for the first time in the professional era (1968). The seventh-seeded Svitolina rallied past Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.
“There’s going to be Ukraine in the semifinals, so it’s already amazing,” said Svitolina, whose country is in a 4-year-old war with Russia.
“I think it couldn’t be a better, amazing achievement for Ukrainian tennis. I think in such a difficult situation right now in the war, with the invasion, it’s really, really difficult, and I think it’s really inspiring for the next generation to really believe that it is possible one day to play on this court and win.”
None of the players still in the draw have yet lifted the trophy in Paris, following Coco Gauff’s elimination on Saturday and Swiatek's exit. It's the same in the men’s draw, after the defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic and with Carlos Alcaraz absent because of an injury.
Kostyuk had lost her three previous matches against Swiatek and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday.
“I’m still in shock. To beat such an unbelievable player, who won four times here," The Associated Press quoted her as saying.
Kostyuk has been the best player of the clay-court season. She defended extremely well, chasing Swiatek’s shots all over the court, and also produced some stunning groundstroke winners while her rival was also undone by her own mistakes.
Poland's Iga Swiatek leaves the court after losing to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk in the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
An intense baseline battle unfolded from the outset. Swiatek showed signs of nerves as she double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide and then missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5 in the opener. Swiatek hit two more double faults in the 12th game and the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player sealed the set with a backhand passing shot.
Swiatek then briefly left the court. Meanwhile, Kostyuk kept herself warm by stretching and hopping beside her chair, then received some applause as she did a few dance moves to the music playing in the stadium.
Following a first week marked by a suffocating heatwave, relief finally arrived in Paris on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to 21 degrees C (70 F) around midday. When play resumed, Swiatek broke but another double fault coupled with more unforced errors brought her opponent back at 1-1. Kostyuk then won the last five games.
Kostyuk, who had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021 when she lost to Swiatek, extended her winning streak on clay to 16 matches. Ahead of the French Open, she won in Madrid, the biggest title of her career, after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.
“The most important thing that I’ve been doing this whole time is really just trying to enjoy,” she said. “It’s helping. I want to keep enjoying. I try not to focus at all on winning or losing because I’m not playing tennis to win, I’m playing tennis because I love it."
17 years later Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach her second Roland Garros quarterfinal, 17 years after first making it to the last eight.
The gap between Cirstea’s first and second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in Paris is the longest at a single major by any woman in the Open Era.
“There is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,” Cirstea said. “I think back then I was a kid, just started on tour. Now I have so many years behind me. I have so much experience, maturity. I feel I’m a completely different player.”
Jordan to Let Fans Start Work Late for World Cup Debuthttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5279021-jordan-let-fans-start-work-late-world-cup-debut
Jordan's defender #2 Mohammad Abu Hashish (L) fights for the ball with Switzerland's midfielder #16 Christian Fassnacht next to Jordan's forward Mohammad Abu Zraiq (R) during a friendly match between Switzerland and Jordan ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup football tournament at the Kybunpark stadium, in St. Gallen on May 31, 2026. (Photo by Ennio LEANZA / AFP)
Jordan to Let Fans Start Work Late for World Cup Debut
Jordan's defender #2 Mohammad Abu Hashish (L) fights for the ball with Switzerland's midfielder #16 Christian Fassnacht next to Jordan's forward Mohammad Abu Zraiq (R) during a friendly match between Switzerland and Jordan ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup football tournament at the Kybunpark stadium, in St. Gallen on May 31, 2026. (Photo by Ennio LEANZA / AFP)
Jordan said on Sunday it will allow a late start to work for public sector employees on World Cup matchdays to let fans enjoy the national team's debut appearance at the tournament.
A decree from Prime Minister Jafar Hassan said official working hours would begin at 10 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. for its Group J games against Austria, Algeria and Argentina which are being played in the US on June 17, 23 and 28.
"The decision aims to enable citizens to follow and rally behind our national football team during its historic participation in this tournament," Reuters quoted a government statement as saying.
Jordan, popularly known as Al-Nashama (The Chivalrous Ones), qualified for the World Cup after finishing second behind South Korea in their Asian qualifying group, an unprecedented achievement that sparked nationwide celebration.
Japan Defeat Iceland in World Cup Send-off through Late Ogawa Headerhttps://english.aawsat.com/sports/5278956-japan-defeat-iceland-world-cup-send-through-late-ogawa-header
Japan Defeat Iceland in World Cup Send-off through Late Ogawa Header
Japan eked out a late 1-0 win over Iceland in Tokyo on Sunday through Koki Ogawa's 87th-minute header as Hajime Moriyasu's side closed out their home-based preparations for the World Cup with a barely deserved victory.
Ogawa was one of 11 substitutions made by Moriyasu in a match that had the mood of a testimonial with Maya Yoshida granted a final appearance for the Samurai Blue almost four years after his previous game for Japan.
The 37-year-old left the pitch to a guard of honor in the 13th minute and passed the captain's armband to Wataru Endo, the Liverpool man returning to the line-up after several months on the sidelines in an injury-affected season, Reuters reported.
Yoshida had started in a backline that featured Takehiro Tomiyasu for the first time in almost two years, the former Arsenal defender continuing to build his fitness towards Japan's World Cup opener against the Netherlands on June 14.
The Japanese threatened in the early exchanges, with Keito Nakamura sliding his attempt from the left across the face of the Iceland goal.
But Logi Tomasson almost caught the hosts out in the 30th minute when he swept a first-time left-foot shot towards goal from 25 yards out only for the ball to bend away from Zion Suzuki's left post.
Takefusa Kubo's long-range attempt was gathered by Hakon Valdimarsson, who soon after tipped Keito Nakamura's header over the bar as Japan pressed for the opener.
Suzuki threw himself to his right to keep out Dagur Dan Thorhallsson's attempt late in the half while Valdimarsson gathered Tomiyasu's strike at the second attempt in stoppage time.
Ko Itakura was denied by Valdimarsson six minutes after the restart and Ogawa bent his 62nd-minute effort wide of the post with Japan laboring to find a way through the Icelandic defence.
With three minutes remaining Ogawa pounced, nodding Yukinari Sugawara's cross from the right beyond Valdimarsson, beating the goalkeeper via the inside of the post.
Japan will be appearing at their eighth consecutive World Cup and will face the Netherlands, Tunisia and Sweden in the group phase.
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