RUGBY
A typhoon that caused the first cancellation of Rugby World Cup games ended Italy’s prospects of reaching the quarterfinals and also could upset Scotland’s chances of progressing to the knockout stages.
Rugby World Cup organizers Thursday announced in Japan that two games scheduled Saturday – the Pool C decider between England and France in Yokohama and the Pool B game between defending champion New Zealand and Italy in the city of Toyota – were canceled because of the potentially devastating impact of Typhoon Hagibis.
Organizers will leave a decision until Sunday on the Japan-Scotland match at Yokohama, which is scheduled to end the group stage that night. Scotland needs to win to have any chance of advancing. Rugby World Cup said no matches would be postponed or rescheduled and the result of canceled games would be 0-0 ties.
SOCCER
IRANIAN WOMEN: Flag-draped Iranian women watched a FIFA soccer match from inside a Tehran stadium – the first time they’ve been freely allowed into a stadium in decades.
The 2022 World Cup qualifier between Iran and Cambodia marked a decades-long push by Iranian women to be able to watch matches, something hard-liners in the nation’s Shiite theocracy still oppose. Iran won, 14-0.
EURO 2020: Belgium – the world’s top-ranked team – became the first nation to qualify for the event by crushing San Marino 9-0, matching the biggest margin of victory in its history. It was 6-0 by halftime in Brussels, with Romelu Lukaku scoring two goals to pass 50 in internationals.
• Russia looks almost certain to join Belgium in advancing from the group after beating Scotland 4-0 at home to stay eight points clear of Cyprus in second place.
BOXING
CHAMPION HURT: Welterweight champion Errol Spence crashed a speeding Ferrari in Dallas and was badly injured but is expected to survive, police said.
The crash happened just before 3 a.m., when Spence’s Ferrari crossed a median into oncoming traffic and flipped over several times, ejecting Spence, who wasn’t wearing a seat belt, police said. Spence was taken to a hospital and placed in the intensive care unit.
TENNIS
SHANGHAI OPEN: Roger Federer saved five set points in the first set and scrambled to a 7-6 (7), 6-4 win over David Goffin to advance to the quarterfinals. Federer will play Alexander Zverev of Germany.
Also, John Isner served his 1,000th ace of the season but it wasn’t enough to stop defending champion Novak Djokovic from advancing with a 7-5, 6-3 win. Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
UPPER AUSTRIA LADIES: Top-seeded Kiki Bertens overcame a slow start to beat Alison Van Uytvanck 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 and set up a quarterfinal against American teenager Coco Gauff at Linz, Austria.
GOLF
PGA: Austin Cook and Talor Gooch shot 8-under-par 64s to take the lead after the first round of the Houston Open at Humble, Texas.
Cook, who tied for 11th as a Monday qualifier in 2015 when the tournament was played the week before the Masters – its calendar slot until 2018 – shot a career-best 29 on the front side. He hit every green in regulation, another career first.
EUROPEAN: Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland matched his career-best score on the Tour with a 7-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Italian Open in Rome.
HOCKEY
NHL: Carolina Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks with a core muscle injury.
Martinook will have surgery Friday.
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