World Sports News in Brief

Motor racing: Hamilton fastest in first Austrian GP practice

Formula One leader Lewis Hamilton lapped fastest in first practice for the Austrian Grand Prix on Friday with Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel splitting the two Mercedes at the top of the timesheets.

Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas during practice - Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - June 28, 2019. (Photo: Reuters)
Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas during practice - Formula One F1 - Austrian Grand Prix - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Austria - June 28, 2019. (Photo: Reuters)

Five-times world champion Hamilton set a best time of one minute 04.838 seconds at the sunny Spielberg circuit, 0.144 quicker than Vettel. Hamilton's team mate Valtteri Bottas ended up third fastest, 0.017 slower than Vettel.

* Megan Rapinoe struck twice as the United States beat hosts France 2-1 in the women's World Cup quarter-finals at the Parc des Princes on Friday to set up a last-four clash with England.

* South Africa's Bongani Zungu scored with a header from a second-half corner to secure a 1-0 win over Namibia on Friday and his country's first points in Group D of the Africa Cup of Nations.

* Morocco reached the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations after beating Ivory Coast 1-0 on Friday to serve notice that they are one of the sides to beat at the tournament in Egypt. Youssef En-Nesyri’s 23rd-minute goal ensured a second win in Group D for Morocco, who move onto six points and join fellow heavyweights Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria with a 100 percent record.

* Leicester City have signed versatile defender James Justin from Luton Town on a five-year contract for an undisclosed fee, the Premier League club said on Friday. The 21-year-old, who is Leicester's first signing of the close season, had a successful 2018-19 campaign at Luton, playing 52 matches in all competitions and helping them seal promotion to the Championship (second tier) after a 12-year absence.

* Tunisia captain Wahbi Khazri scored from a deflected free kick to rescue a 1-1 draw against Mali whose goal came direct from a corner in their Africa Cup of Nations match on Friday.

* Karolina Pliskova scythed down Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands 6-1 6-2 on Friday to move into the Eastbourne final, where she will meet reigning Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber. The world number three, who has not dropped a set so far in Eastbourne, fired 21 winners and never faced a break point to reach her third title clash at the venue in four years.

* Defending champion Geraint Thomas and Egan Bernal will lead the charge of Team Ineos in the Tour de France starting next month, with four-times winner Chris Froome out injured. Jonathan Castroviejo, Michal Kwiatkowski, Gianni Moscon, Wout Poels, Luke Rowe and Dylan van Baarle complete their lineup for the 21-stage race which begins in Brussels on July 6.

* Naby Keita's return from injury looks to have been short-lived with Guinea announcing on Friday he is unsure of competing in their must-win last group game at the Africa Cup of Nations against Burundi.

* Keita started his first match in almost two months when he played for Guinea against Nigeria in their Group B match in Alexandria on Wednesday, but had to go off after 70 minutes of the 1-0 defeat. He had made a substitute appearance in the 2-2 draw with Madagascar last Saturday in a first run out since hurting his adductors playing for Liverpool against Barcelona in the Champions League on May 12.

* Italian soccer club AC Milan has voluntarily accepted a one-year ban from all European competitions after breaching financial fair-play (FFP) rules saying it was the only option to eventually go back to complying with such rules. Earlier on Friday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport approved an agreement AC Milan reached with UEFA after breaching its FFP break-even obligations during the 2015-2017 and the 2016-2018 periods.

* Honda's Jorge Lorenzo was ruled out of MotoGP's Dutch TT on Friday after being taken to hospital following a crash in practice at Assen. MotoGP doctors reported the triple MotoGP champion, who has had several big crashes over the last year and missed four races in 2018, had suffered a fracture of the sixth thoracic vertebrae. MotoGP medical director Angel Charte said the rider would be transferred to Barcelona for further scans.

* Nottingham Forest have sacked manager Martin O'Neill after five months in charge, replacing him with former Stade Rennes boss Sabri Lamouchi, the Championship club said on Friday. O'Neill, who took over in January and guided Forest to a ninth-place finish in the English second-tier, leaves the club less than a week after assistant Roy Keane's departure.

* The 2020 Copa America final will be held in Colombia, the Andean nation's President Ivan Duque said on Thursday. The 2020 tournament is being co-hosted by Colombia and Argentina, the first to be held jointly by two nations.

* Ecuador international right-back Antonio Valencia has joined LDU Quito, a month after ending his 10-year spell at Manchester United. The 33-year-old signed a two-year contract with the option of a third year, the Ecuadorian first division side said in a statement on Friday.

* Atletico Madrid have reached a deal to sign highly rated left-back Renan Lodi from Athletico Paranaense, the Brazilian club said on Friday. The 21-year-old is expected to join the Spanish outfit this summer for a reported 20 million euros.

Reuters, Xinhua