Latest news with #qualifying
BBC News
9 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Thomasberg expects 'interesting' tie against 'strong' Hibs
Head coach Thomas Thomasberg expects Hibernian to play "with heart and brain" against his Midtjylland side in their Europa League second round qualifying Hibs take on the Danish club at the MCH Arena in Herning on Thursday before the return a week later at Easter Road, where Thomasberg says "everyone struggles" against David Gray's finished runners-up in the Danish Superliga last season and reached the knockout phase play-off round of the Europa League where they lost to Real is well aware of the threat Hibs pose, telling BBC Scotland: "We know we are meeting a good, strong team who have a lot of qualities. "We know there is also a great away game, with a good atmosphere, so hopefully we can get as good a result at home as possible."We need to be prepared to defend, to be smart and clever because I know Hibs have a good counter-attack."If they get to control the game, they can also do something offensively, fill up the box where they have good strikers, but I hope it will go the way we hope and expect."It's a club that have been in a very good period, I can see at home everybody struggles against them. "I know they will play with heart and brain, so we are ready for two interesting games, the first one tomorrow."
France 24
a day ago
- Sport
- France 24
Newcastle cult hero 'Nobby' Solano appointed Pakistan coach
Solano, 50, who also played for Aston Villa and West Ham United in the English Premier League before retiring in 2012, was an assistant coach for his country Peru when they qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. "We have hired the services of Solano with a hope that he will bring more energy and zest to the national players and lift our standings at the international level," the Pakistan Football Federation president, Mohsen Gilani, said in a statement. The cricket-obsessed nation has reached the second round of Asian qualifying for the FIFA World Cup only once. Pakistan are 201st of 210 teams the in FIFA world men's team rankings, and have sought to improve standards by inducting players of Pakistan heritage based in the UK. Pakistan football has suffered badly from political parties fighting over control of the federation, which receives a large annual grant from world governing body FIFA. The federation was for 10 years run by a FIFA-appointed committee and earlier this year briefly suspended for political interference ahead of elections in May. FIFA in 2021 banned Pakistan from playing international matches for 15 months, also for political interference in the federation. Solano's first task will be with the under-23s men's team, who are due to face Cambodia, Iraq and Oman in September in qualifying for the U23 Asian Cup next year. Solano's first matches in charge of the senior team will be a double-header against Afghanistan in 2027 Asian Cup qualifying in October. Pakistan kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 away defeat to Syria in March and a 1-0 loss to Myanmar in Yangon last month.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Blues, Larne and Swifts learn potential third round opponents
Linfield, Larne and Dungannon Swifts have found out their potential third round opponents in Uefa Conference League qualifying after the draw was made on Premiership champions Linfield have dropped into the Conference League after their defeat by Shelbourne in Champions League take on Lithuanian side Zalgris away in the first leg of their second qualifying tie on Thursday and if they win over the two legs, the Blues could face Vikingur from the Faroe Islands in the next required penalties to overcome Auda in the first qualifying round and take on FC Prishtina of Kosovo in the second qualifying round with the first leg at the Ballymena Showgrounds also taking place on they progress, they will come up against the winner of the tie involving Portuguese side CD Santa Clara and Croatian outfit NK Cup winners Dungannon enter the competition at the second qualifying round after their cup win and take on FC Vaduz with the away first leg taking place in Lichenstein on will take on Dutch giants AZ Alkmaar or Finnish side Ilves if they overcome two legs of the third-round ties are set to take place on 7 August and 14 August.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Rangers are 3/4 favourites to win in Russell Martin's first game as boss - as Scottish giants bid to reach Champions League group stage
Russell Martin faces his first test as Rangers manager when his side welcome Greek outfit Panathinaikos to Ibrox in Champions League qualifying this week. The Scottish giants have been made 3/4 favourites by Sky Bet to claim a first-leg win on Tuesday night ahead of the return at the end of the month. Rangers last made the group stages during the 2022-23 season and their path to the League Phase this year will include six matches if successful. Tuesday night's game will be Martin's first competitive match in the Rangers dug out. Sky Bet have priced an away win at 3/1, while an equally frustrating draw is priced at 23/10. The bookmakers is offering a range of bets during the match, including first goalscorer, total corners and team goals. Additionally, a host of RequestABets are set to be on offer for the night. Scottish giants have been made 4/5 favourites by Sky Bet to claim a first-leg win on Tuesday Sky Bet Match Result Rangers vs Panathinaikos: Rangers - 3/4 Panathinaikos - 3/1 Draw - 23/10 Sky Bet First Goalscorer: Cyriel Dessers - 9/2 Hamza Igamane - 9/2 Danilo - 11/2 Thelo Aasgaard - 6/1
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Norris says Austria pole lap 'close to perfection'
Austrian Grand Prix Venue: Red Bull Ring, Spielberg Date: 29 June Race start: 14:00 BST Coverage: Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app Lando Norris said he felt like he was back to the form he had missing for much of this season after taking a stunning pole position for the Austrian Grand Prix. The McLaren driver's season has been hampered by repeated mistakes in qualifying, but he headed the field by more than half a second on one of the shortest laps of the year at the Red Bull Ring. Briton Norris said his pole lap was "as close to perfection as I would probably ask for". Ferrari's Charles Leclerc will start alongside Norris with McLaren team-mate and championship leader Oscar Piastri in third. "It's nice to see the old me back every now and then," Norris said. "It's more just the feeling I had today was a feeling I've missed for quite a long time, the feeling I have behind the wheel with the car, the understanding where the grip is and how to exploit it. "That showed in performance and then lap time is a very good combination to have. That when you feel like you can go quicker here and you go out and do it, that's the best feeling a driver can ask for, really." Norris takes Austria pole with sensational lap Ferrari qualifying 'fantastic result' - Hamilton How to follow Austrian Grand Prix on the BBC Norris has felt this year that a lack of feeling from the front axle of the car has been provoking mistakes when he has tried to push to the absolute limit in qualifying. At the last race in Canada, McLaren introduced a revision to the front suspension to reduce what the team have described as a "numbness". Norris has continued with that part in Austria but Piastri feels he does not need it. That added to aerodynamics upgrades to the car to the front wing and suspension introduced in Austria led to the largest margin any pole winner has had in percentage terms all season. Norris said: "To come into this weekend and at least move in the right direction was very positive and very reassuring for myself most of all but probably for us as a team as well, so a big thanks to them. "The feelings I've been requiring, the feelings that I've not been getting as easily, when they are more my way and more where I want them to be, I can put in better performances and have days like today." Norris is 22 points behind Piastri in the championship, a margin partially created by him crashing out of the race in Canada after running into the back of the Australian. As a result, he needs a strong result in Austria on Sunday to reduce Piastri's lead. Norris said that his session on Saturday was "easily my best qualifying of the year from a delivery point of view". But he added: "It's very satisfying, but, again, it's about consistency. Everyone can be a hero in one weekend. It's progress. It's steps forward. I'm very happy with today, but it's still a long journey. It's a long season. The job I needed to do today, I did. And it doesn't make up for the last few weekends or anything, but I did it today, and that's what mattered." 'Basically everything felt bad' - Verstappen Red Bull's Max Verstappen is the McLaren drivers' closest challenger in the championship, in third place, 21 points behind Norris. But the Dutchman had a difficult day, qualifying only seventh. Verstappen was unable to complete his final lap as Pierre Gasly spun his Alpine through 720 degrees at the final corner in front of him, but had managed only sixth fastest time on his first lap. The Dutchman said Red Bull had been caught by surprise by the lack of grip in their car "In qualifying basically everything felt bad," Verstappen said. "Every corner was a struggle, I just didn't have the balance. It was either understeer or oversteer. Even every single lap that I did I had a little bit different behaviour with the car. So yeah, that's not ideal. "I didn't expect it to be this bad in qualifying, but I think no one did in the team. So, that's something that we have to analyse." But Norris and Piastri both said they would not rule out Verstappen coming into contention in the race. "Until he's out of the race, I don't think we're ever going to take Max out of the equation," Norris said. Verstappen, Russell and Mercedes - what factors are at play? Austrian Grand Prix Qualifying Review Andrew Benson Q&A: Send us your questions
