Latest news with #Kanno
Arab News
20-03-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
Saudi midfielder Mohammed Kanno to miss World Cup qualifier against China through injury
RIYADH: Midfielder Mohammed Kanno will miss the Saudi national team's 2026 World Cup qualifier against China on Thursday but could be available for the match against Japan on Tuesday, coach Herve Renard revealed on Wednesday. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport 'Kanno will not be ready for tomorrow's match, just as he wasn't for the Australia game, but we hope he can travel with us to Japan,' the Frenchman said. Kanno picked up an injury playing for his club, Al-Hilal, against Al-Taawoun on Saturday. The Saudis are one of four teams on six points in Group C after six games of the final stage of the Asian qualifiers. With four games left to play, Australia are in second place on seven points and Japan top the group on 16 points. The top two teams from each of the three groups will qualify for the World Cup, while the teams in third and fourth place progress to the play-off phase. 'We expect to perform well,' Renard said of the upcoming double-header. 'There is no pressure on us after the Gulf Cup, and we are still fortunate to have a direct qualification opportunity after our previous matches. Qualification is in our hands and we want to win.' He attributed recent improved performances by China to their Croatian coach, Branko Ivankovic, adding: 'Matches against him were tough when he coached Oman, and tomorrow's match will be no different. China is a well-organized team that excels in attacking transitions and we must be ready for that.' Renard thanked the Saudi fans for ensuring Thursday's clash at Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh is a sell-out, and highlighted the important role they play in supporting the players. 'We can't do it alone,' he said. 'We need the fans, they are the foundation of our qualification. We need everyone and we must show our desire and determination to win.' Ivankovic acknowledged Saudi Arabia's superiority ahead of the clash but expressed confidence in his players' ability to get a result. 'Saudi Arabia is one of Asia's top teams,' he said. 'They played against Argentina and defeated them in the World Cup. They have the advantage but we believe in our chances and capabilities and want to complete our mission with a positive result. 'We have prepared well for Thursday's match. We have 15 new players, bringing fresh energy and experience. We know (the Saudis) well — they are an excellent team.' Recalling his previous encounter with Renard, Ivankovic added: 'We faced him when I was with Oman. He is not just a good coach but an outstanding one.' He also had high praise for the injured Kanno, describing him as 'the best Saudi midfielder,' but added: 'It doesn't matter whether he plays or not. We prepare for our opponent with their full squad. That's our approach.'
Saudi Gazette
11-03-2025
- Sport
- Saudi Gazette
Al Hilal crushes Pakhtakor to storm into AFC Champions League quarter-finals
Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — Al Hilal delivered a dominant display to book their place in the AFC Champions League Elite 2024/25 quarter-finals, thrashing Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor 4-0 at Kingdom Arena on Tuesday. The four-time Asian champions overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit in emphatic fashion, keeping their quest for a record-extending fifth continental title firmly on track. Pakhtakor stuck with the lineup that earned them victory in the first leg, while Al Hilal head coach Jorge Jesus made key adjustments, including pairing Mohamed Kanno with Rúben Neves in midfield and giving Hamad Al-Yami a starting role in defense. Al Hilal signaled their attacking intent from the start, with Kanno, Neves, and Malcom piling the pressure on Pakhtakor goalkeeper Jhonatan. Despite their early dominance, the hosts had to wait until the 31st minute to break the deadlock. Salem Al-Dawsari recovered possession high up the pitch and found Kanno, who delivered a perfect cross for Al-Yami to head home with a diving Saudi Pro League leaders almost doubled their lead four minutes later, but Moteb Al-Harbi's header was brilliantly saved by Jhonatan. However, Al Hilal would not be denied, and their second goal arrived in the 42nd minute following a brilliant sequence of surged past Pakhtakor's midfield before sliding a precise through ball to Malcom, who coolly slotted home into the bottom right corner to send the home crowd into a nearly pulled one back just before halftime when Khojiakbar Alijonov set up Flamarion, but Yassine Bounou produced an acrobatic save to maintain Al Hilal's two-goal Hilal resumed their attacking onslaught in the second half, and in the 51st minute, Al-Dawsari won and converted a penalty, sending Jhonatan the wrong way to make it hosts continued to press, with Kaio César teeing up Al-Dawsari for a shot in the 70th minute, but Jhonatan denied him. Marcos Leonardo pounced on the rebound, only for his close-range finish to be ruled final blow came in stoppage time, as Nasser Al-Dawsari latched onto an Abdullah Al-Hamdan assist to wrap up a resounding 4-0 victory, sealing Al Hilal's place in the AFC Champions League quarter-finals.
The Guardian
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I saw taxis as magical things': Sega's pop-punk classic Crazy Taxi at 25
Kenji Kanno, director of Sega's legendary driving game Crazy Taxi, remembers the exact moment he knew the game had made a seismic impression. 'I was going to Las Vegas for promotional work,' he says. 'I got into the taxi and the driver drove me very fast, arriving at my destination quickly. At the end, he laughed and said: 'I am the real Crazy Taxi!' It was a strange experience.' Initially released in arcades, the zany, pop-punk drive-em'-up celebrates its 25th anniversary this month. Crazy Taxi was an addictive coin-swallowing thrill ride, the game's eccentric cabbies continually yelling 'Ready to have some fun?' and 'Time to make some crazy money!' in the faces of perturbed-looking normies who simply wish to be chauffeured over to Pizza Hut. Driving green-haired Axel's yellow 1960 Cadillac Eldorado so fast that its front bumper smashed into sunny San Francisco's concrete hills was a memorable experience for all who played. (The Ford Mustang-driving Gena was my mum's character of choice.) I remember losing an entire summer trying to master the 'crazy dash' technique that allowed you to boost faster around corners on the critically acclaimed Sega Dreamcast version of the game (released in 2000 and running at an impressively fluid 60 frames-per-second), instead of going outside to play with my friends. Subsequent ports on the PlayStation 2, GameCube, and Xbox 360 drove sales of Crazy Taxi into the millions, creating a hit for Sega at a time where things weren't easy, as the formerly dominant Japanese console manufacturer was on the edge of exiting that business. Rock band the Offspring provided turbo-charged guitar riffs for Crazy Taxi's soundtrack, but that's not the only thing that makes it feel like a time capsule from the turn of the millennium. This game captured the carefree hyperactivity of late 90s/early 00s pre-9/11 America; an era where many young people's biggest worry was whether beer-swilling Stone Cold Steve Austin might retain the WWE world title. Despite its crossover success, Crazy Taxi had a lot of early detractors, Kanno remembers. 'At the beginning of development, more than half of the project members were strongly opposed to the idea of a game about taxi drivers,' he recalls. The way Hollywood had historically framed cabbies made the concept of Crazy Taxi a tough sell for Sega's executives. In the words of Marcello Di Cintio, the author of Driven: The Secret Lives of Taxi Drivers: 'Cabbies in pop culture have often been characters on the margins. The stereotype, then and now, is that cabbies had a window on the seedy side of urban life, and were part of a nocturnal world the rest of us don't see. Drugs. Alcohol. Sex …' Kanno, though, was much more interested in the less sinister taxi drivers present in Luc Besson's 1998 action-comedy film Taxi, as well as the challenge of turning the guy behind the steering wheel into someone more lovable. Crazy Taxi's drivers are decidedly un-sinister, a bunch of grinning, colourfully dressed thrill-seekers who are the furthest thing from mundane. Kanno wanted the game to do for taxi drivers what Paperboy had done for, well, paperboys. 'I told the team: 'I think it is the job of games creators to make regular jobs look more cool! Even if this is a vision that no one has ever had before, then we should do it.'' Growing up, Kanno found taxis somewhat magical, he says. 'In Japan, taxi doors open automatically. As a child, I wondered why taxi doors opened as you approached them, but my family's car door stayed shut? This was so mind-blowing to me that I came to see taxis as these magical things.' When he got older, Kanno was obsessed with old Hollywood movies, and wanted to capture that same giddy tension and glamour presented in the iconic driving sequences in classics such as The Italian Job and The French Connection. A location such as San Francisco was perfect. 'What I wanted to express the most in Crazy Taxi was the dynamism of movie car chases. I chose San Francisco because it is a city with so many undulations that you can constantly express that kind of action.' Unlike most racing games, Crazy Taxi makes you think on your feet rather than learn its tracks. (Echoes of this chaotic approach can be seen in The Simpsons: Road Rage, which basically took the Crazy Taxi concept over to Springfield.) 'This is a game where players make split-second decisions in constantly changing situations,' Kanno says. 'That's why I made the other vehicles into obstacles. The design is not about memorising every course and taking the best line, but about the player navigating a constantly changing path.' A planned multiplayer mode was cut due to the technical limitations of the time. But the leaderboards still allowed for competitive, wait-your-turn battles between friends. For those who still struggle to last more than two minutes while playing Crazy Taxi (FYI: one rooftop shortcut is a gamechanger), is there any chance of a modern, multiplayer-enabled sequel? 'I can't say much,' replies Kanno. 'But Crazy Taxi will make you smile again soon!'
