FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019: US win it for the fourth time

When a World Cup novice is faced with a foe as experienced and ruthless as USWNT, the outcome is almost inevitable and so it was a muggy afternoon in Lyon when the reigning world champion defended its title with a comfortable 2-0 win over the Netherlands.

Competing in its first World Cup final, few gave the Dutch hope. The reigning European champion it may be, but it had not yet come up against the best team in the world, the dominant force of its generation.

The Netherlands held on for over an hour but two goals within eight minutes sealed the underdog's fate. In a tournament where she has transcended her sport, Megan Rapinoe coolly drilled home a penalty before a Rose Lavelle thunderbolt made sure of a second successive title for the US.

This is the World Cup where it became apparent that the USWNT is being rapidly pursued by those European countries whose men's national teams have long since been a force. Leading the chase is the Netherlands, European champion and a finalist in just its second World Cup, which is part of a pack, but all challengers have been vanquished. Thailand, Chile, Sweden, Spain, France, England and now the Netherlands have all swept aside by a team which is now unbeaten in 17 World Cup matches.

Portugal won UEFA Nations League 2019

Portugal have won the inaugural UEFA Nations League tournament beating the Netherlands 1-0 in final. Goncalo Guedes scored the winner early in the second half to give Portugal their first trophy since the 2016 European Championship.

The hosts' victory in UEFA's newest competition denied the Netherlands its first trophy since the 1988 European Championship. The revamped Dutch team was seeking some redemption after failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and the 2016 European Championship.

Cristiano Ronaldo, coming off a hat-trick in the semifinals, wasn't much of a factor against Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk in the matchup of likely contenders for the player of the year award, but Guedes couldn't be stopped when he hit a powerful right-footed shot from outside the area in the 60th minute at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto. Guedes started the build-up to the goal with a pass to Bernardo Silva, receiving the ball back at the top of the area and firing a firm low shot past Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen, who touched the ball but couldn't parry it away.

Portugal had lost the 2004 European Championship final at home to Greece, but this time the team got to celebrate in front of their fans after a scrappy match. The Netherlands kept pressing but Portugal was able to hold on to clinch the first title in the competition created by UEFA to give national teams more meaningful games and reduce the number of friendlies.

Belgium wins Hockey World Cup 2018

A gritty Belgium defeated former Champions the Netherlands in sudden death in a thrilling summit clash to win their maiden men’s Hockey World Cup title at the Kalinga Stadium. Olympic silver medalist Belgium created history by eking out a 3-2 win in the penalty shoot-out after the final match of the game’s showpiece event ended in a goalless draw.

It was a great day for Belgium hockey as the country registered its second biggest international title after the Olympics silver in Rio in 2016. In the last edition of the World Cup at The Hague in Netherlands, Belgium had finished fifth. The Netherlands, on the other hand, failed to match Pakistan’s record of a fourth world title for the second consecutive edition. The Dutch had finished runners-up to Australia four years ago in front of their home crowd. They last won a World Cup title way back in 1998 in Utrecht.

Incidentally, it was the Netherlands’ second consecutive match that went to shoot-out in the tournament after their victory over Australia in the semi-finals on Saturday. In shoot-out, Belgium goalkeeper Vincent Vanasch outmatched his Dutch counterpart Pirmin Blaak by making four saves to hand his side their maiden World Cup title.

Earlier in the day, Australia thrashed England 8-1 to claim the bronze medal. The title clash, which was witnessed by none other than cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar and Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, turned out to be a fierce contest between the two European sides. While the Netherlands took the early initiative and attacked continuously in the first two quarters, Belgium made a strong comeback after the change of ends.

Netherlands won Women Hockey World Cup 2018

Netherlands have been crowned Hockey World Cup winners for a record eighth time after a crushing 6-0 win ended Ireland’s fairy tale tournament. Four goals in a seven minute spell around the half-time break earned the Dutch an emphatic victory.

Ireland had won new fans on their unlikely road to the final but found no answer to their opponents' intensity. Despite the defeat, Ireland is expected to climb up to 10th in the world rankings for the first time. Lidewij Welten, Kelly Jonker, Kitty van Male, Malou Pheninckx, Marloes Keetels and Caia van Maasakker all scored for the Dutch, who have extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to 32 matches.

The top four goal scorers in the tournament all came from Alyson Annan's squad, with van Male topping the order with an incredible eight goals for the defending champions. The only other World Cup meeting between these two teams took place in the group stages of the 2002 tournament when the Dutch crushed Ireland 6-0 on their way to the final.

The period before and after the interval firmly settled the contest and ended any chance Ireland had of getting back into the game, as the Netherlands continued their rampant form to clinically seal the gold medal. Ireland kept the Dutch scoreless in the final quarter and could have snatched a consolation at the other end as they once again showed their grit and work-ethic, giving everything right up until the final whistle.

MotoGP 2017: Grand Prix of Netherlands

Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi won his first race for more than a year, as he came through to take victory in a thrilling MotoGP Netherlands Grand Prix. The veteran hadn't savored glory since the 2016 Catalan Grand Prix, but he showcased all his experience in spades at Assen, as he held off Ducati's Danilo Petrucci in an absorbing battle. Defending world champion Marc Marquez came home in third place for Honda.

Rossi's team-mate Maverick Vinales crashed out, allowing Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso to take the lead of the championship by four points; the top four riders in the standings are now covered by just 11 points. It was Johann Zarco who started the race on pole having produced a storming qualifying performance. The rookie eventually didn't finish in the shakeup for victory, losing ground due to a misguided tactical switch and coming home in 14th spot.

Another rider who endured a disappointing day was Vinales. After enjoying a blistering beginning to the season with his new team, the young Spaniard has lost momentum in recent weeks and paid the price for losing balance at Turn 17 with 14 laps to go. With the duo out of contention, some more seasoned competitors were juking it out at the front in pursuit of the victory, with Rossi moving through into first position. Petrucci was keeping the Doctor on his toes, though, as the pair engaged in a fascinating tussle.

Indeed, as the heavens threatened to open and drizzle sprinkled across the Assen circuit, the riders needed to be careful. Eventually, it was the duo aforementioned who handled the conditions the better, as they pulled away from the rest of the field. The Italians each held the lead in the final stages, as they each pushed their bike to the limit in pursuit of the win. World Superbikes rider Alex Lowes paid tribute to another great Rossi performance, who has now won 10 times at the Assen circuit.

FIH Hockey World League

A Spirited India broke their 33 year old medal jinx in a major International tournament as they came back from two goals down to stun defending champions Netherlands in the shootout after both the teams were tied at 5-5 at regulation time in a thrilling bronze medal play-off match of the Hockey World League Final in Raipur.

India last won a medal in an International tournament way back in 1982 when they beat Pakistan 5-4 in the Champions trophy in Amsterdam. In the shootout, the Indians prevailed over the Dutch 3-2 at the Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Stadium and win avenged India’s 1-3 defeat against the Netherland in the pool stages in the tournament here. After starting the match on a slow note, India produced a fine show in the last two quarters to beat the world number two side with their relentless attacks in the second half.

Netherlands were quick to take a 2-0 lead in the first half. It was high intensity match which produced as many as six goals in the last 10 minutes, three each to India and Netherlands. The Indians got their acts together after the change of ends and Ramandeep Singh scored from a field strike before Rupinder Pal Singh converted a penalty corner in the 47^th minute to level the scores.

It was raining goals as India took the lead in the next minute when Akshdeep Singh found the back of the Dutch net to give India 5-3 lead. But the Dutchmen did not sit back and fought back valiantly to score two goals in the last two minutes to take the match into shoot-out. Final match was won by Australia beating Belgium by 2-1 in Raipur.