Football

Doha, Qatar: Four-time champions Brazil fought back to edge last edition’s runners-up France 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw, while Portugal stormed into the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Qatar 2025 with a 5-0 win over Mexico. The quarter-finals, scheduled for Friday, will also feature Morocco, Italy, Burkina Faso, Japan, Austria and Switzerland, who all won their Round of 16 matches on an eventful day at Aspire Zone’s Competition Complex. At the Ibrahim Khalfan Pitch, goalkeeper Joao Pedro emerged as Brazil’s hero again, blocking Abdoulaye Camara’s first penalty before denying Milan Leccese. Ruan Pablo then sealed victory for the Selecao. Pedro, who also starred in Brazil’s shootout victory over Paraguay in the Round of 32, earlier blocked a spot kick from Christ Batola in the first half. France took the lead in the 33rd minute through Remi Himbert, with Luis Eduardo hitting the post and Paolo missing a late penalty as Brazil pushed for an equaliser. Pietro Tavares finally struck in the 89th minute, sending the match to a shootout and extending Brazil’s march in the tournament after Pedro’s heroics. “It’s always a great game against France, with history in youth football as well. This makes us even stronger in the competition,” said Brazil coach Carlos Eduardo Patetuci. Brazil will face Morocco in the quarter-finals after the Atlas Lions edged Mali 3-2 at Mansour Muftah Pitch. Ismail El Aoud scored twice following Ziyad Baha’s opener for Morocco, while Raymond Bomba and Seydou Dembele found the net for Mali in the all-African clash. Portugal dominate Mexico Portugal punished nine-man Mexico after a second-half onslaught at Bader Bilal Pitch. Captain Rafael Quintas converted a 15th-minute penalty before Mexico were reduced to 10 men following a red card to Jose Navarro in the 36th minute. Anisio Cabral added his sixth goal of the tournament, followed by strikes from Zeega, Miguel Figueredo and Yoan Pereira in the last 10 minutes. Santiago Lopez’s red card in the 88th minute capped Mexico’s difficult evening. Portugal players celebrate after scoring a goal.PIC: FPF Portugal will meet Switzerland in the quarter-finals. Switzerland eliminated debutants Ireland with a hard-fought 3-1 win at Mohammed Ghanim Pitch. Adrien Llukes opened the scoring in the 57th minute, Sandro Wyss doubled the lead in the 69th and Mladen Mijajlovic sealed the victory in the 86th minute, despite Vinnie Leonard pulling one back for Ireland in the 82nd minute. Burkina Faso edge Uganda on penalties At Khaled Ballan Pitch, Burkina Faso ended Uganda’s dream run, winning 5-3 on penalties following a 1-1 draw. Arafat Nkoola gave Uganda the lead in the 56th minute, while Alassana Bagayogo equalised in the 77th. Uganda’s substitute Derick Ssozi missed his penalty as Burkina Faso maintained a perfect shootout record, booking a quarter-final clash with Italy. “We knew it would be a tough team to beat, but we did everything we could to give ourselves the best chance, and we’re really proud of ourselves - even in the penalty shootout,” said Burkina Faso captain Cherif Barro. At Mahmoud Soufi Pitch, Thomas Campaniello scored a brace as Italy ended Uzbekistan’s campaign with a 3-2 victory. Campaniello netted the opener in the 19th minute and added another in the 68th, after Amirkhon Muradov had equalised. Dauda Iddrisa made it 3-1 for Italy, with Azizbek Erimbetov scoring a late consolation in stoppage time. “I’m very happy because my two goals helped us go to the quarter-finals. But it’s not just credit to me, it’s all credit to the team. We are all fighting together. We are getting more and more confident,” said Campaniello. Austria crush England A 50th-minute red card to England striker Alejandro Gomes Rodriguez proved costly as Austria won 4-0 at Adel Mallala Pitch. Hasan Deshishku opened the scoring in the 47th minute, followed by a double from Johannes Moser after Rodriguez’s sending off. Ifeanyi Ndukwe completed the victory in the 86th minute. “We were very prepared for England, and we implemented the match plan very well. We had great team spirit and a great willingness (to work hard). The win was deserved, said Austria coach Hermann Stadler. Austria will now face Japan in the quarter-finals. Japan advanced after defeating North Korea 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw at Khaled Salman Pitch. Jelani Ren McGhee scored for Japan in the sixth minute, while captain Ri Hyok-gwang equalised for North Korea in the 67th minute. Japan ultimately prevailed in the shootout to secure their place in the last eight.

NBA

Los Angeles, United States: LeBron James began his NBA-record 23rd season for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday after missing almost the first full month of the campaign due to sciatica. The 40-year-old superstar, a four-time NBA champion and four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, missed the Lakers first 14 games before taking the court at home against Utah. In his absence, the Lakers went 10-4 to stand fourth in the Western Conference. James, the NBA's all-time scoring leader, practiced with the Lakers on Monday and had no pain or soreness after his first game-style workout with the club since last season's playoffs. That set the stage for him to start against the Jazz, breaking a tie with Vince Carter for the most career seasons in NBA history. The home crowd cheered as James was introduced and moments later James made history when the game tipped off. The Detroit Pistons stretched their longest win streak since 2008 to 11 games with a 120-112 victory in Atlanta, snapping the Hawks' five-game win streak. The Pistons, who lead the Eastern Conference at 13-2, got 25 points and 10 assists from Cade Cunningham and 24 points with eight rebounds from Jalen Duren. Jalen Johnson sparked Atlanta (9-6) with 25 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. At Brooklyn, Jaylen Brown scored 29 points and Payton Pritchard added 22 and 10 rebounds to spark the Boston Celtics in a 113-99 victory over the Nets. Desmond Bane scored 23 points and reserve Anthony Black added 21 to lead the Orlando Magic over visiting Golden State 121-113. Stephen Curry led the Warriors (9-7) with 34 points while Jimmy Butler added 33 in a losing cause. Hurting Spurs win At San Antonio, De'Aaron Fox scored 20 of his 26 points in the second half and Harrison Barnes added 23 to spark the host Spurs over Memphis 111-101. The Spurs (10-4) were without star big man Victor Wembanyama due to a left calf strain and guard Stephon Castle with a left hip flexor strain while Memphis star guard Ja Morant was sidelined by a right calf strain. "We're trying to do this as a collective. There's no replacing Vic," Barnes said. "Were just trying to find ways to win, share the ball, move the ball, that's how we'll do that." Barnes scored the first seven points in an 11-0 game-closing run to secure the victory. "Harrison Barnes carried us through this. That's just what a vet does," Fox said. "It felt great winning the game with all the guys we have out. "We have a team and we know that when one guy goes down we have a number of guys that can step up. No one guy will take up the slack for one being out." ESPN reported that Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss the next one to two weeks of the season with a left groin strain suffered in a Monday loss to Cleveland.

Qatar Sport

Doha, Qatar: The Camel Racing Organizing Committee has unveiled the details of the Founder Sheikh Jassim bin Mohammed bin Thani Camel Festival, the first camel racing festival of the 2025-2026 season. The 15-day event will kick off at Al Shahaniya and Lobsair Racetracks from December13 to 27, 2025, featuring a record turnout from various GCC fields. This year's festival showcases a bountiful program including 337 races distributed across the categories of royal camels for Their Highnesses and Sheikhs, and Tribal Camels, alongside 28 prestigious awards, the most notable being the Golden Sword, dedicated to tribal camel races. Elite camels will compete in a version considered among the largest and strongest in terms of participation and prizes. The festival's events will commence at dawn on December13, with two heritage "Human Rider" camel races over four kilometers-the first race reserved for Qatari competitors, and the second open to GCC participants aged 18 to 35, the committee highlighted. This traditional opening marks the official inauguration of a new kind of most prestigious annual festivals in the racing calendar, with evening sessions showcasing competitions for royal camels for Their Highnesses and Sheikhs, until December17. Subsequently, races for tribal camels will continue until the festival's closing day. This flagship festival corrals camel owners across Qatar and GCC countries, reflecting its established status as one of the season's foremost and largest events in terms of participation and competitive level. Interestingly, the organizing committee allocated valuable and diverse cash and in-kind prizes for all categories, including awards for the general races, in addition to major prizes for other competitions, underscoring the festival's prestige and encouraging participants to perform at the highest level. On the final day, approximately QR 25 million will be allocated for the six concluding races, including QR 10.5 million for the Golden Sword race for Al Heil, open to Tribal Camels- QR 5 million for the winner, QR 2.5 million for second place, QR 1.5 million for third, QR 1 million for fourth, and QR 500,000 for fifth.