Sports News: Afghanistan Secures T20 Super Eight Spot; England and Bangladesh Triumph, Nadal Joins Alcaraz for Paris Olympics

Afghanistan went into the Super Eight round of the 2024 T20 World Cup with a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea that knocked out New Zealand from the tournament. Fazalhaq Farooqi finished with three wickets as the Afghan bowlers' effort saw them bowl out PNG for 95 before Gulbadin Naib's unbeaten 49 helped them past 101-3 in 15.1 overs even as early batsmen fell cheaply. Farooqui, who was adjudged 'Man of the Match', now has 12 wickets in the tournament. The win takes Afghanistan into the next round along with hosts West Indies.

England went past Oman by 8 wickets, the comprehensive win also improving their NRR and strengthening their Super 8s bid in the T20 World Cup 2024. Inviting Oman to bat, England's Jofra Archer and Mark Wood took three wickets each and Adil Rashid returned with four as Oman was skittled for 47. Phil Salt and Jos Buttler quickly sealed the chase in 3.1 overs. Oman's winless campaign highlighted struggles to get beyond elite sides, despite a close opening fixture against Namibia.

Bangladesh recorded their second ICC T20 World Cup victory as they defeated the Netherlands by 25 runs. Shakib Al Hasan's unbeaten fifty took Bangladesh to 159/5 while Rishad Hossain's 3-33 held the Dutch to 134/8. Opener Tanzid Hasan chipped in with 35. The win has put Bangladesh in a strong position to make it to Super Eights. Although the Netherlands had started well, they lost their way since the dismissal of Sybrand Engelbrecht, losing wickets in a heap. Bangladesh's final group encounter will be against Nepal.

Scotland will meet Germany in the Euro 2024 opener, in a game that begins with both teams level on paper presumably, despite the German being three-time European champions. The host nation is under pressure after mediocre results in major tournaments of late and a lukewarm reception for coach Julian Nagelsmann who replaced Hansi Flick last year. Most noticeably, Scottish fans have been more visible and vocal in Munich than the self-effacing German fans, which are representative of the general lack of confidence.

Surprises are part and parcel of football's Euro extravaganza, where even favouritesMore often than not, find it hard to clear the group stage hurdle. Kylian Mbappe recently grabbed the attention of Lionel Messi by saying that the European Championship is more difficult to win than the World Cup. Messi immediately reacted to say that the Euros didn't have World Cup winning teams like Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay. It's not the first time that Mbappe has weighed in on a comment related to the tougher competition faced across Europe compared to what players like Messi and Neymar have the advantage of competing in in the Copa America.

Rafael Nadal, already an Olympic gold medalist from Beijing 2008, will be pairing with Carlos Alcaraz for the latter's first tournament ever and after the recent French Open victory. This was announced by the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation; its coach, David Ferrer, hinted that one other pair is yet to be finalized for the participations by Spain.