Sports News Highlights: ESP Beat GER In UEFA Euro 2024 QF; Carlos Alcaraz Beats Frances Tiafoe In Wimbledon 3rd Round

After a massive victory parade celebrating the T20 champions, Friday, July 5, is shaping up to be a thrilling day for sports fans. At the Copa America 2024: Argentina defeated Ecuador to advance to the Semi-final, and Spain beat Germany in Euro 2024 QF. In women's cricket, South Africa defeated India in the 1st T20I. For all the latest updates on these exciting events happening around the globe, get it here

Argentina entered the locker room with a 1-0 lead over Ecuador in their Copa America quarterfinal matchup. The intensity is high, and both teams will be looking to make their mark in the second half.

Five minutes added at the end of the second-half!

Ecuador snatches a dramatic equalizer in stoppage time! A quick freekick finds Yeboah, who whips in a perfect cross. Kevin Rodriguez gets a delicate touch with his head to steer the ball past the goalkeeper and level the score at 1-1!

AIFF president Kalyan Chaubey announced the imminent appointment of a new head coach for the men's senior national team, expected to join by the end of July. This comes during a transformative period for Indian football, with fans eagerly awaiting the announcement of who will lead the Blue Tigers forward.

World champions South Africa will set up camp at Jersey RFC and the Strive health club in October to prepare for their upcoming European autumn internationals.

After a dramatic collision at the Austrian Grand Prix that left both drivers fuming, Max Verstappen and Lando Norris seem to have buried the hatchet (mostly). Reports suggest they discussed the incident and found common ground, with Verstappen himself saying they agreed on "99% of everything."

Now they focus on British Grand Prix.

Hayden Springer, ranked 236th in the world, achieved a remarkable feat at the John Deere Classic in Illinois on Thursday, recording the PGA Tour's 14th sub-60 round with a stunning first-round score of 59.

Confident in India's bid to host the 2036 Olympics, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged athletes heading to this month's Paris Games to share their views on the arrangements in the French capital. Their feedback will help his government in its ambitious plan to bring the quadrennial event to India.

Indian cueist Pankaj Advani is on the brink of clinching his third consecutive Asian Billiards title after cruising into the final with a commanding 5-0 victory over compatriot Sourav Kothari in Riyadh. Advani demonstrated his dominance on the billiards table by notching up a perfect score of 100 in every frame. The match commenced with Advani taking an early lead by scoring 100, while Kothari, despite his best efforts, managed to score only 29.

In the first round of the USD 2 million International Series Morocco golf tournament in Rabat, Morocco, Dubai-based Rayhan Thomas, a graduate from Oklahoma, performed well, shooting 4-under 69 to secure the tied-11th position at the par-73 Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam. At the top of the leader-board were Order of Merit leader John Catlin of the USA, who carded a seven-under-par 66, and New Zealand’s rising star Kazuma Kobori, who shot 67. Following closely was Filipino Miguel Tabuena with a score of 67.

Floored by the grand reception and the comprehensive police presence that ensured orderly conduct of proceedings for the most part, star India Virat Kohli on Friday thanked the Mumbai Police for doing a "phenomenal job" in crowd control during the victory parade of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team in Mumbai. The team returned to a euphoric reception on Thursday after a 16-hour non-stop flight from Barbados.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has broken from its tradition of announcing international series at the last minute by confirming that the men’s team will play nine Tests, 14 ODIs, and nine T20Is in the 2024/25 season. The schedule includes a high-profile series against England. This year, Pakistan will host England in a three-match Test series in October. Additionally, tours by Bangladesh and the West Indies are also on the calendar.

India's Uvena Fernandes, who served as an assistant referee at the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, has announced her retirement, the All India Football Federation (AIFF) announced on Friday. Uvena became the only Indian assistant referee in a FIFA World Cup final, having officiated at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2016 in Jordan. The 43-year-old Uvena, who is from Goa, will continue to work as a referee assessor and instructor.

The love shown by the fans during their victory parade was a testament to what the T20 World Cup victory meant not just for his team, but for the entire country. Overwhelmed, India's skipper Rohit Sharma said that the reception in Mumbai was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

"You can make out from the excitement, it shows how much it means not just to us but to the entire nation, it means a lot, so I am very happy that we could achieve something like this for them as well," Rohit told BCCI.TV while soaking in the electric atmosphere among chants of "Rohiiiiiit, Rohiiiit".

Brazilian defender Abner Vinicius has signed a five-year deal with Lyon, the seven-time French league champion, announced on Friday. Lyon stated that the transfer is valued at 8 million euros (USD 8.7 million) and includes a 20% resale clause. The 24-year-old Betis left-back was brought in as a replacement for Henrique, who departed after three years at the club. Lyon has a long-standing tradition of recruiting players from Brazil, and Abner is now the 27th Brazilian player to join the club.

Jude Bellingham has avoided an immediate ban after the England midfielder appeared to make an offensive gesture in his team's win over Slovakia. Bellingham will be available for England's game against Switzerland on Saturday for a place in the semifinals after UEFA on Friday imposed a one-game ban but said it is not immediately enforced and is subject to a probationary period of a year. The Real Madrid midfielder will have to pay a fine of 30,000 euros ($32,500). UEFA said the punishment was for violating the basic rules of decent conduct in the Slovakia game.

Skipper Harmanpreet Singh knows that the Indian men's hockey team will be entering the Paris Games with high expectations. He has promised that the team will return from the French capital with great success, which they will celebrate with passionate fans, much like the triumphant cricket team. India, eight-time champions, ended their 41-year-long medal drought in Tokyo by winning a bronze medal.

Saina Nehwal, the bronze medalist at the London Olympics, offered her support to P V Sindhu, who has won medals twice, encouraging her to regain her form in time for the Paris Games. Nehwal mentioned that Sindhu's recent performance should not be the sole basis for judgment, as success in the upcoming Olympics will depend on her fitness level and training. Sindhu will be aiming for her third consecutive Olympic medal in Paris. Prior to the Olympics, Sindhu's performance had been inconsistent after her return from a knee injury in February. Despite reaching the final of the Malaysia Masters Super 500, she struggled to secure victories against top players.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) has suspended Turkish player Merih Demiral for two matches due to a controversial gesture he made at the European Championship. The governing body stated on Friday that the defender was banned "for failing to comply with the general principles of conduct, for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature, and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute."

The Badminton Association of India (BAI) has successfully conducted a coaches development program to bring uniformity to coaching practices and create a robust pipeline of potential badminton stars. The 11-day program, conducted in collaboration with REC Limited and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), started on June 25 and concluded on Friday, incidentally also World Badminton Day.

Shubman Gill acknowledges the challenge of matching the impressive performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, but the young batting sensation aims to transition into the role of a T20I opener following the retirement of the two modern-day greats from the format. Gill, who was part of the reserve squad during the recently concluded T20 World Cup, is captaining a second-string Indian team in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, starting this Saturday.

In the first T20I of the three-match series in Chennai on Friday, South Africa posted a competitive total of 189 for four against India with fine half-centuries from Tazmin Brits (81) and Marizanne Kapp (57). Brits scored 81 runs off 56 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, while skipper Laura Wolvaardt chipped in with 33 runs. The South African openers, Brits and Wolvaardt, had a watchful start, managing 50 runs in 43 balls, providing a good launching pad for their team to reach a healthy total after being asked to bat first.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Rishabh Pant's mother when the star wicketkeeper-batsman was recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash. He assured that Pant would receive treatment abroad if necessary. During an interaction with the T20 World Cup-winning cricketers, the PM mentioned that he followed Pant's social media posts, which showcased his rehabilitation routine.

Spain and Germany have remained 0-0 at half-time with either sides not going past the defences. A tight game with something special could decide the outcome of the match.

Florian Wirtz scored in injury time to take the 1st QF between ESP and GER in to Extra-Time.

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz came back to eliminate Frances Tiafoe 5-7, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 to reach Wimbledon's fourth round on Friday in an entertaining match between two pals that was filled with moments of brilliance and a series of momentum swings. The third-seeded Alcaraz was outplayed for stretches by No. 29 Tiafoe but surged to the finish and improved to 12-1 for his career in fifth sets. Tiafoe fell to 6-13 in that category. (AP)

ESP beat GER 2-1 in Extra-time to book their place in the UEFA Euro 2024 semis. Till then, it's goodnight from us.