Sports News Roundup: Tennis-Australia into Davis Cup final, will face either Canada or Italy; Mixed Martial Arts-Pacheco stuns Harrison to win PFL title and more

The U.S. dominated play for long periods but were unable to convert a flurry of first-half chances and played out a second straight draw, after Monday's 1-1 stalemate with Wales. Analysis-Soccer-England's midfield goes AWOL in American stalemate English hopes of a run deep into the World Cup took a bit of a bruising on Friday when a lively and high-pressing United States team reduced the youthful stars of their tournament opener to anonymity.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 26-11-2022 13:31 IST | Created: 26-11-2022 13:27 IST
Sports News Roundup: Tennis-Australia into Davis Cup final, will face either Canada or Italy; Mixed Martial Arts-Pacheco stuns Harrison to win PFL title and more
Representative Image Image Credit: Pixabay

Following is a summary of current sports news briefs.

Tennis-Australia into Davis Cup final, will face either Canada or Italy

Australia beat Croatia 2-1 on Friday in Malaga, Spain to reach the Davis Cup finals for the first time in 19 years and will next face either Canada or Italy. Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson clinched the winning point for Australia with a 6-7(3) 7-5 6-4 win over Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic in a clash that was nearly a rematch of the Wimbledon doubles final until a late player switch.

Kelly Oubre Jr., Hornets use big third quarter to beat Wolves

Kelly Oubre Jr. scored 28 points and the Charlotte Hornets used a strong second half to overcome the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves for a 110-108 victory Friday. Terry Rozier's 22 points, PJ Washington's 16 points, and reserve Theo Maledon's 14 points also gave the Hornets a boost as they won back-to-back games for the first time this season.

Mixed Martial Arts-Pacheco stuns Harrison to win PFL title

Brazilian Larissa Pacheco pulled off a shock decision victory over Kayla Harrison after an epic five-round battle to claim the women's Professional Fighters League (PFL) lightweight title at Madison Square Garden on Friday. Pacheco, who had lost to two-time Olympic judo champion Harrison twice previously, handed her American opponent the first defeat of her professional MMA career as she picked up the million-dollar prize for winning the 2022 PFL championship.

Soccer-Clinical edge crucial for U.S. to reach last 16, says Berhalter

United States coach Gregg Berhalter admitted his team need to be more clinical if they are to stand a chance of reaching the knockout stage at the World Cup after they produced a lively display against England on Friday but ultimately fired blanks. The U.S. dominated play for long periods but were unable to convert a flurry of first-half chances and played out a second straight draw, after Monday's 1-1 stalemate with Wales.

Analysis-Soccer-England's midfield goes AWOL in American stalemate

English hopes of a run deep into the World Cup took a bit of a bruising on Friday when a lively and high-pressing United States team reduced the youthful stars of their tournament opener to anonymity. Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount dazzled in the 6-2 win over Iran on Monday and had England fans dreaming of a effervescent midfield that would take them through this World Cup and onto the next.

Soccer-England suffer reality check in 0-0 draw with U.S

England suffered a sobering reality check as they were outplayed for long periods by a youthful United States side in a tense 0-0 draw in their second World Cup Group B game on Friday.

A 6-2 thrashing of Iran on Monday sent fans' hopes soaring but Gareth Southgate's side were fortunate not to suffer a repeat of their 1950 World Cup calamity against the Americans.

Soccer-Qatar eliminated from World Cup after Netherlands and Ecuador draw

Qatar became the first team to be eliminated from the World Cup on Friday after Group A rivals the Netherlands and Ecuador drew 1-1. The Dutch and Ecuador each have four points, Senegal have three. Qatar are without a point after they lost their opening game 2-0 to Ecuador and then went down 3-1 to Senegal earlier on Friday. They cannot qualify whatever happens in their final match against the Dutch on Tuesday.

Golf-Smith takes three-shot lead into final round at Australian PGA Championship

Home hero Cameron Smith carded a two-under-par 69 to take a three-shot lead into the final round of the Australian PGA Championship on Saturday, inching closer to a third title at the A$2 million ($1.35 million) event. British Open champion Smith got off to a strong start with four of his six birdies coming in his first six holes, but the world number three struggled on the back nine in windy conditions.

Hockey great Salming succumbed unusually quick to ALS, doctor says

Toronto Maple Leafs great Borje Salming, who passed away on Thursday from nervous disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), succumbed unusually quickly to the disease less than four months after diagnosis, his doctor told Swedish broadcaster SVT.

Salming died at the age of 71 and became the first Swedish player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. He announced in August that he had been diagnosed with ALS.

Soccer-Iran deliver sucker punch to Wales with stoppage-time winners

Iran scored twice after the eighth minute of stoppage time to snatch a stunning 2-0 win over Wales on Friday that breathed new life into their World Cup campaign and left the Welsh flat on their backs and facing a make-or-break decider against England. After Wales keeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off in the 87th minute, Iran produced a remarkable finale, with Roozbeh Cheshmi driving home to give them the lead before Ramin Rezaeian added another in the 11th minute of stoppage time.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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