Sports News 12:30

BULLETIN SPORTS NEWS 7 July 12:30 pm

Good day, let’s look at the latest sports news and scores:

# We begin with soccer: 2010 champions Spain and Belgium will face off in the World Cup quarterfinals. Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time goal secured a 1-0 victory for Spain in their last 16-tie against Portugal in Dallas. The defeat has resulted in Roberto Martinez stepping down as Portugal’s head coach, while Cristiano Ronaldo revealed before the tournament this would mark his last World Cup. In Seattle, Belgium thrashed co-hosts USA 4-1 thanks to a brace from Charles de Ketelaere and goals by Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku.

Meanwhile, US president Donald Trump has admitted he personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to review American striker Folarin Balogun’s one-match suspension. The 25-year-old was set to miss the match against Belgium after being shown a straight red card for a foul against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the round of 32. FIFA decided to suspend Balogun’s one-match ban for 12 months. Trump says it’s the right decision:

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says he wants to give as many players as possible the opportunity to experience Test rugby. He rang the changes for Saturday’s Nations Championship match against Scotland at Loftus, leaving only five players in the starting 15 that beat England 45-21 at Ellis Park over the weekend. Pieter-Steph du Toit will captain the team again as part of the loose trio with Evan Roos and Paul de Villiers, who made his debut against England. Erasmus says Scotland will be a great test for the Boks’ depth.

# Cricket: Marizanne Kapp is the only South African named in the Women’s T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament. The 36-year-old scored 124 runs and took eight wickets. The Proteas Women were knocked out in the semifinals by England. After clinching a record-extending seventh title, Australia has four players: team captain Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, and Ashleigh Gardner. Runner-up England has two representatives – Danni Wyatt-Hodge and captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, while India, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Scotland have one each.

# And tennis: World number 114 Arthur Fery stunned Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov at Wimbledon to become the first British wild card to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament in the Open Era. He will next face Italian Flavio Cobolli, who ousted Australia’s Alex de Minaur. American Taylor Fritz defeated Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik. In the women’s draw, Italian Jasmine Paolini beat Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, while Czech Linda Nosková knocked out American Madison Keys to make the quarterfinals.

Stay tuned for more news………….