Oman Observer

MUSCAT — One, one, one… Oman No 1! The chants by a dedicated group of cheerleaders from Al Nahda Club throughout the friendly match between Oman and Morocco at the ROP Stadium in Wattayah on Saturday night seemed to have rung the ears of the Oman players, who came up with an inspired and intelligent brand of soccer to hold the much higher ranked...

DUBAI — Japan and Qatar clinched crucial World Cup wins in the crushing humidity of the Gulf on Saturday to hammer home a double warning to Australia of the dangers ahead on the road to the World Cup finals. Japan beat Bahrain 3-2 in Manama while Qatar eased past Uzbekistan 3-0 in Doha to get Group One of the final round of Asian qualifiers off to a flying start.

PARIS — France, the 1998 world champions, suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to lowly Austria to endure a nightmare start
to their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign. On a night when reputations counted for little, defending champions Italy needed
a last-minute goal to beat Cyprus 2-1 while England could only defeat little Andorra, the 186th team in the world rankings, 2-0.

BUENOS AIRES/BOGOTA — The South American qualifiers towards the 2010 World Cup in South Africa were wide
open on Saturday. After seven rounds of play, Paraguay leads with 14 points, followed by Argentina on 12 and Uruguay
on 11. Colombia and Chile have 10 points, although Chile have a game in hand, against Brazil.

BUENOS AIRES — The United States and Mexico reeled off wins in Concacaf World Cup qualifiers on Saturday on a day
that mixed soccer with politics. The United States beat Cuba 1-0 in Havana with a first-half Clint Dempsey goal. The third round Group 'A' match took place against the backdrop of a 46-year-old US trade embargo against Cuba, imposed after Fidel Castro...

Newcastle war of words hots up

LONDON — The spat between Newcastle United and their former manager Kevin Keegan worsened yesterday as the former England boss insisted he had been guaranteed complete control over player transfers. The English Premier League club, facing a backlash from fuming fans, said it did not want to get involved in a "war of words" but felt compelled to fight "inaccurate...

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS — Formula One was plunged into new controversy yesterday when race stewards at the Belgian Grand Prix stunningly stripped Lewis Hamilton of a brilliant victory. The stewards' decision, which will be seen by many as part of a conspiracy to rig the results to ensure a close fight in the title race, came long after the race when they hit the Briton...

Khan pledges to bounce back from lightning KO

MANCHESTER, England — Amir Khan is confident he can recover from his first professional defeat and still become world lightweight champion. The English boxer was knocked out within a minute after twice being sent to the canvas by Colombian Breidis Prescott at the MEN Arena in Manchester on Saturday.