Digest

SKIING

Goggia crashes, breaks 2 bones in right leg

Leading downhill skier Sofia Goggia crashed in training Monday and broke two bones in her right leg, ending her season prematurely.

Goggia, who has had numerous serious injuries throughout her career, straddled a gate with her right leg while training for the giant slalom in northern Italy.

The Italian Winter Sports Federation said that she underwent surgery at a Milan hospital to insert a metal rod in her leg, attached with seven screws, to repair her tibia and malleolus bones.

Goggia is the latest casualty among the top skiers, following recent crashes involving Mikaela Shiffrin, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, Petra Vlhova, Alexis Pinturault and Corinne Suter, among others.

Vlhova, the Olympic slalom champion who crashed at her home race in Jasna, Slovakia, last month, had surgery Monday in Switzerland to repair torn ligaments in her right knee.

"The operation was successful," Vlhova's coach, Mauro Pini, said, adding the "recovery is going according to plan."

The 31-year-old Goggia leads the World Cup downhill standings with an 89-point advantage over Austria's Stephanie Venier. She is fourth in the super-G standings, and fifth overall.

SOCCER

Brazil shocked 1-0 by Paraguay in qualifier

Olympic champion Brazil suffered a setback in its bid to secure a place at this year's Paris Games after its under-23 team slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat to Paraguay on Monday in the final four of the South American qualifying tournament.

Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Venezuela are competing in a round-robin final qualifying stage for the 2024 Games, with only the top two securing berths in Paris.

Fabrizio Peralta's header in the final seconds of the first half was enough to give Paraguay, who last competed at the Olympics in 2004, an unexpected victory.

Brazil's teenage prodigy Endrick, who will join Real Madrid later this year, squandered a chance to put the 2020 Tokyo Games gold medalist ahead when he missed a 29th-minute penalty.

In the other qualifier, a last-gasp penalty from substitute Kevin Kelsy snatched a 2-2 draw for Venezuela against Argentina.

Egypt sacks coach after early cup exit

Rui Vitoria has been sacked as Egypt head coach after the African football giant's hopes of a record-extending eighth Africa Cup of Nations triumph were dashed last week, the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) announced.

In a statement, the EFA board of directors "thanked Portuguese manager Rui Vitoria and his staff," adding it was "reviewing foreign coaches' resumes".

In the interim, former al-Ahly coach Mohamed Youssef will take charge of the national side, which was knocked out of the competition last week in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The loss in the round of 16 was a bitter pill for the Egyptians, who had gone to Cote d'Ivoire hoping to win a first Cup of Nations since 2010, a year before talisman Mohamed Salah made his senior international debut.

The team had already lost the Liverpool star to a hamstring injury, after what was seen as a lackluster group stage performance, with just three draws to its name.

AMERICAN FOOTBALL

Eagles fly south for NFL's Brazil debut

The Philadelphia Eagles will be the host team for the NFL's first regular-season game in Brazil on Friday, Sept 6 — a day after the 2024 season opener, commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday.

Goodell addressed gambling, officiating, diversity, the Rooney Rule, and much more, in a nearly one-hour news conference, before players and coaches from the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers met the media for Super Bowl opening night.

Goodell made headlines when he said the Eagles will play in Sao Paulo against a yet-to-be-named opponent. It'll be the first time the NFL has played a game on the Friday night of its opening weekend since the Los Angeles Rams hosted the St Louis Cardinals on Friday, Sept 18, 1970.

The game will be played at the Corinthians Arena. The stadium was used in both the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics. The Eagles' opponent, along with the kickoff time, will be announced later this spring.

Agencies