Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim attracted the attention of fans by scoring two goals in the friendly match between Barcelona and Birmingham City, which ended in a 2-2 draw on Friday.
Egyptian forward Hamza Abdelkarim attracted the attention of fans by scoring two goals in the friendly match between Barcelona and Birmingham City, which ended in a 2-2 draw on Friday.
This friendly match between Barcelona and Birmingham City took place at St Andrew's Stadium in England as part of the teams' preparation for the 2026-2027 season.
Despite Barcelona dominating and possessing the ball in the first half, they failed to score a goal.
Birmingham opened the scoring in the 31st minute thanks to a goal from August Prisk.
In the 41st minute, Barcelona was awarded a penalty after Abdelkarim received a foul inside the penalty area. Abdelkarim masterfully converted the penalty, leveling the score with Birmingham at 1-1 in the 42nd minute. For a strong tackle by a Birmingham player in the 44th minute, he received a yellow card. The first half of the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
In the 60th minute, Abdelkarim scored his second goal, making the score 2-1 in favor of Barcelona against Birmingham City. The second goal was scored after Abdelkarim continued a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, which was saved by the Birmingham goalkeeper. The Egyptian forward capitalized on the rebound and sent the ball into the net with his left foot. After scoring twice against Birmingham, Abdelkarim was substituted in the 62nd minute.
In the 68th minute, Birmingham equalized thanks to a goal from John Solis, setting the final score at 2-2.
At the 2026 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Saturday proved to be a remarkable day for Indian athletics. In the men's triple jump, Indians Pravin Chitravel and Selva Prabhu won two medals, marking a historic achievement for the country. This is the first time in the history of the Commonwealth Games that India has secured a double podium finish in this sport.
In a close competition, Pravin Chitravel won the silver medal with a best jump of 16.58 meters. Meanwhile, Selva Prabhu managed to secure the bronze medal with a result of 16.52 meters. The gold medal was won by Jordan Scott from Jamaica, who jumped 16.72 meters.
The start of the competition was not easy for the Indian athletes. After the first three rounds, Selva Prabhu was in third place with a jump of 16.43 meters, while Pravin was in fifth position with a result of 16.31 meters.
The situation changed drastically in the fourth round. Athlete Pravin Chitravel from Tamil Nadu suddenly took first place with an excellent jump of 16.58 meters. However, later Jordan Scott from Jamaica secured the gold medal by jumping 16.72 meters.
Selva demonstrated strong willpower under pressure. His jump in the fourth round was deemed invalid, causing Eden Oliver from New Zealand to take the lead, and Selva seemed to lose his chance for a medal. Nevertheless, on the fifth attempt, Selva showed incredible determination, jumping 16.52 meters and overtaking Oliver by only 2 centimeters, thus winning bronze once again.
The silver medal won by Pravin Chitravel is the result of his hard work. On the other hand, young Selva Prabhu won his first medal at his debut Commonwealth Games tournament, performing brilliantly under high pressure.
Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi was not included in Olympiacos' squad list for the Champions League qualifying match against NEC Nijmegen.
Ayyoub El Kaabi will be the sole recognized central striker in this qualifying match. Notably, Taremi and Roman Yarmolenko were left out of the list despite both being experienced national team players with significant European experience.
Experts note that such squad decisions cannot be viewed as routine. Typically, a club preparing for a two-legged European qualifying round tries to ensure at least two natural strikers are available.
Instead, Olympiacos decided to include five forwards and wingers, but only one traditional number nine. This indicates that José Luis Mendilibar and the club's recruitment department have reached two conclusions: El Kaabi remains the undisputed favorite, and Taremi and Yarmolenko are no longer considered essential enough to build the European registration around them.
Although El Kaabi has long been the leading striker, this list turns sporting preferences into structural dependence. Thus, Olympiacos maintains attacking flexibility but loses positional redundancy.
Taremi's absence is particularly noticeable due to his versatility. ESPN Brasil previously reported that Vasco da Gama is considering Taremi as part of their search for a penalty area striker. According to available information, Vasco is also looking into Luciano Rodrigues, meaning the club has not yet decided on a specific profile or plan of action.
Ashutosh Sharma, the star batsman of Delhi Capitals (IPL), surprised everyone with his all-rounder skills in England. Ashutosh, who is generally known for big sixes, delivered a tremendous performance with the ball rather than the bat on this occasion.
Playing for Hampshire, Ashutosh bowled 10 overs against Essex in a One-Day Cup match, conceding 51 runs and taking 5 crucial wickets. This performance from Ashutosh, who usually bats, was the main attraction of the match.
Essex, having won the toss and batted first, posted a large score. Opener Noah Thaine played a brilliant innings of 109 runs off 96 balls, which included 17 fours and one six. Additionally, Matt Cricheli (43) and Grant Roloffsen (52) scored quickly. Amidst all this, Ashutosh Sharma continuously took wickets and significantly contributed to limiting Essex's total to 317 runs by shaking the foundation of Essex's batting in the middle overs.
Ashutosh Sharma, who usually bats aggressively, displayed excellent control in his bowling, which is considered the most memorable bowling performance of his career. His bowling allowed Hampshire to continue the match, otherwise, Essex could have reached close to 350.
Chasing the target of 318, Hampshire's start was not satisfactory. Nick Gubbins (53), Fletcher Middleton (47), and Tom Prest (51) steadied the innings. Ashutosh Sharma managed only 16 runs with the bat, but his bowling had already changed the course of the match. James Fuller played an explosive innings of 58 runs off just 31 balls, while Andrew Neil scored an unbeaten 33 runs to lead the team to a thrilling 3-wicket victory.
