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Germany beat WWC debutants Morocco 6-0
Germany began their Women’s World Cup campaign in style as captain Alexandra Popp scored twice to see off debutants Morocco in Melbourne.
It was a comfortable victory for world number two side Germany, who are heavy favourites to top Group H.
Striker Popp, who was ruled out of the Euro 2022 final through injury, made her mark with two clinical headers in the first half. Klara Buhl pounced on a rebound shortly after half-time to extend Germany’s lead, before Morocco’s Hanane Ait el Haj and Yasmin Mrabet poked into their own net on separate occasions.
Germany continued to cause problems and completed the rout when substitute Lea Schuller added a sixth, firing it into an empty net after a swift counter-attack on the right. It was a strong performance from Martina Voss-Tecklenburg’s side as they created numerous chances and looked sharp going forward, hitting the woodwork on two occasions and having a goal ruled out for offside.
Despite missing key players Lena Oberdorf and Marina Hegering through injury, Germany maintained their impressive record in the group stages of the competition, losing only once in 25 matches.
Morocco, one of eight teams making their World Cup debut this year, were dangerous in flashes, but they lacked the clinical touch that Germany’s Popp provided at the other end.
With some of Europe’s bigger nations underwhelming in their opening matches, Germany took their opportunity to put a marker on the competition, confirming their position as one of the favourites. They were ruthless in attack and it was talismanic striker Popp who delivered the early goals in the first half which allowed them to play with creativity and flair as the game wore on. She was gifted a free header when Morocco goalkeeper Khadija Er-Rmichi missed a cross from Kathrin Hendrich, and later connected with a corner to make it 2-0.
Popp joins the USA’s Sophia Smith and Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa as the only players to score twice in their opening games and she went off to applause from travelling fans in the stands with 10 minutes remaining.
Morocco, ranked 70 places lower than Germany, were not as poor as the scoreline suggests, as they pressed high and caused problems on the counter-attack. Tottenham striker Rosella Ayane was an outlet with her pace, while captain Ghizlane Chebbak tested goalkeeper Merle Frohms on a few occasions.
But Germany showed their superiority in the moments when it mattered and could easily have added to their tally. Germany face Colombia in their second group game in a strong position, while Morocco face South Korea next, hoping to pick up their first points at a Women’s World Cup.
( BBC Sports)
Iran has named Mojtaba Khamenei as its new supreme leader, just over a week after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , in joint United States-Israeli strikes that have.plunged the entire region into a sprawling war.
The 56-year-old, who will now be charged with leading the Islamic Republic through the biggest crisis in its 47-year history, was named by clerics as his father’s successor on Sunday.
Key leaders, Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and the armed forces were quick to pledge their backing to the new leader.
Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, who has been tasked with steering Iran’s security strategy since the US and Israel launched their all-out offensive, called for unity around the new supreme leader.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf welcomed the choice, saying that following the new supreme leader was a “religious and national duty”.
Mojtaba Khamenei has never run for office or been subjected to a public vote, but has for decades been a highly influential figure in the inner circle of the supreme leader, cultivating deep ties to the IRGC.
In recent years, Khamenei has increasingly been touted as a top potential replacement for his father. His selection could be a sign that more hardline factions in Iran’s establishment retain power, and could indicate that the government has little desire to agree to a deal or negotiations in the short term as the war enters its second week.
Al Jazeera’s Ali Hashem described Khamenei as his “father’s gatekeeper”.
“He adopts the positions of his father with respect to the United States, with respect to Israel. So we are expecting a confrontational leader. We’re not expecting any moderation,” he said.
“However, if this war comes to an end and he is still alive, and he is able to continue running the country, there is going to be big potential… to find new routes for Iran,” Hashem said.
(Aljazeera)
Global oil prices have jumped above $100 (£75.11) a barrel for the first time since 2022 as the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran has fuelled fears of prolonged disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Sunday named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader, signalling that a week into the conflict hardliners remain in charge of the country.
The US and Israel launched fresh waves of airstrikes across Iran over the weekend, hitting multiple targets including oil depots.
Major disruption to energy supplies from the region threatens to push up prices for consumers and businesses around the world.
Early on Monday in Asia, Brent crude was around 15.5% higher at $107.16, while Nymex light sweet was up by more than 17% at $106.77.
Stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region fell sharply in early trading on Monday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 index down by more than 5% and the ASX 200 in Australia more than 3.5% lower.
Many in the markets predicted that oil would hit the $100 a barrel mark this week.
In the event it took about a minute to jump 10%, and then another 15 minutes to rise a further 10% in early Asian trading.
Last week the markets had been relatively relaxed about the seeming nightmare scenario for millions of barrels of crude and liquefied natural gas trapped in the Gulf, unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
But the escalations over the weekend, alongside scenes of destruction of energy infrastructure both in Iran and across the Gulf, saw the markets take rapid fright.
The question now is where does this go? Some analysts argue that if the shutdown in the strait lasts until the end of March, we could see record oil prices above $150 a barrel.
The existing rise is likely to further increase petrol prices, and those of important derivative products such as jet fuel and vital precursors for fertilisers.
The physical supplies from the Gulf are mainly consumed in Asia.
Already however there are signs that Asian consumers are bidding up prices for US gas, with some tankers originally heading for Europe turning around in the mid-Atlantic.
US President Donald Trump responded to the jump in prices by saying that short term rises were a “small price to pay” for removing Iran’s nuclear threat.
His energy secretary told US broadcasters on Sunday that Israel, not the US, was targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure, amid some concern about rising domestic pump prices caused by the war.
(BBC)
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