Philippe Coutinho, No 11, of Brazil celebrates his goal against Ecuador with teammate Willian. Pilar Olivares / Reuters
Philippe Coutinho, No 11, of Brazil celebrates his goal against Ecuador with teammate Willian. Pilar Olivares / Reuters
Philippe Coutinho, No 11, of Brazil celebrates his goal against Ecuador with teammate Willian. Pilar Olivares / Reuters
Philippe Coutinho, No 11, of Brazil celebrates his goal against Ecuador with teammate Willian. Pilar Olivares / Reuters

Coutinho makes up for Barca transfer disappointment to score winner for Brazil


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Philippe Coutinho shrugged off his transfer disappointment with a goal as Brazil beat Ecuador to guarantee top spot in South America's 2018 World Cup qualifying race on Thursday while Chile and Argentina stumbled once more.

Liverpool star Coutinho, who had seen his hopes of a dream move to Barcelona dashed earlier on Thursday as the transfer window slammed shut with no agreement, produced a scintillating second-half display in a 2-0 victory over Ecuador in Porto Alegre.

The 25-year-old player has not played for Liverpool this season, officially sidelined by a back problem as the intrigue over a move to the Camp Nou swirled.

However Coutinho showed no sign of injury after coming on for Renato Augusto in the second half, enlivening the hosts after a goalless first 45 minutes before a restless home crowd in Porto Alegre.

New Barcelona signing Paulinho opened the scoring for Brazil, lashing home from close range in the 69th minute after Willian's corner.

Coutinho then fashioned Brazil's second, playing Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus into space behind the Ecuador back four with a lofted pass.

Jesus wrongfooted the covering Ecuador defence with a sublime flick and then headed into the path of Coutinho who finished emphatically.

Watch goal here

The win was Brazil's ninth consecutive qualifying victory and gives the five-time World Cup winners an 11-point cushion with three games remaining, meaning they cannot now be overhauled at the top of the table.

The top four teams in South America's round-robin competition qualify automatically for next year's finals in Russia, with the fifth-placed team facing a play-off.

The scramble for automatic qualifying spots promises to go down to the wire, with only two points separating second-placed Colombia (25 points) and fifth-placed Argentina (23 points).

Paraguay also thrust themselves into contention with arguably the performance of the day on Thursday, a 3-0 away win over Chile in Santiago.

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The defeat capped a miserable 24 hours for Chile's unsettled Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez.

Like Coutinho, Sanchez had also seen his hopes of a transfer evaporate on Thursday, with a mooted move to Manchester City stalling.

Sanchez barely featured in a disappointing display by the Chileans, who fell behind after midfield talisman Arturo Vidal scored a spectacular headed own goal in the first half to put Paraguay ahead.

Further goals from Victor Caceres and Richard Ortiz sealed a deserved win for Paraguay, who moved up to sixth spot with 21 points - just two points behind Argentina, who remain in fifth place.

Argentina meanwhile endured another frustrating outing after being held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in Montevideo.

Argentina dominated the early exchanges but their challenge fizzled out in a dreary second-half display littered with fouls on both sides.

For Uruguay, the quicker-than-expected return of Luis Suarez - just two weeks after a knee injury - could not invigorate their attack.

Highlights from the draw

Suarez authored one of Uruguay's best chances late in the first half after Edinson Cavani pounced on an Argentina slip near halfway and passed to the Barcelona star.

Suarez looked up and attempted an audacious lob from 40 yards as Argentina goalkeeper Sergio Romero backpedalled, only for the ball to fly just over.

The draw means Uruguay remain in third place in the standings on 24 points, one behind second-placed Colombia, who were held to a 0-0 draw against already-eliminated Venezuela in San Cristobal.

The story in numbers

18

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

73

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

About Karol Nawrocki

• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.

• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.

• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.

• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.

THE SPECS

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Transmission: six-speed manual
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 3.9 seconds
Price: Dh230,000
On sale: now

While you're here
Du Plessis plans his retirement

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis said on Friday the Twenty20 World Cup in Australia in two years' time will be his last.

Du Plessis, 34, who has led his country in two World T20 campaigns, in 2014 and 2016, is keen to play a third but will then step aside.

"The T20 World Cup in 2020 is something I'm really looking forward to. I think right now that will probably be the last tournament for me," he said in Brisbane ahead of a one-off T20 against Australia on Saturday.