SAO PAULO: Brazil coach Dorival Júnior was fired on Friday after 14 months amid poor results and disappointing performances from the national team.
Júnior’s sacking by Brazilian Football Confederation president Ednaldo Rodrigues came three days after a 4-1 defeat to bitter rival Argentina in Buenos Aires, Brazil’s heaviest defeat in a World Cup qualifier.
Júnior’s replacement has yet to be picked.
Brazil are fifth in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The top six qualify automatically.
Under the 62-year-old Júnior, Brazil won seven matches, drew another seven, and lost two. The team scored 25 goals and conceded 17.
In the Copa America last year, Brazil were eliminated in the quarterfinals by Uruguay on penalties.
Rodrigues was just re-elected on Monday to head the confederation to 2030. In 2023, he bet on Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti to take over one year later. While waiting for Ancelotti, Brazil retained Fernando Diniz as their coach.
Diniz was fired in January 2024 after six matches on the job after Ancelotti extended his contract in Spain.

Lee holds off Scheffler to clinch maiden PGA Tour victory at Houston Open

• The 26-year-old from Perth withstood ferocious pressure down the stretch from Scheffler, who posted a 63 to finish tied for second alongside Gary Woodland
• Finland’s Sami Valimaki finished alone in fourth place on 17 under, three off the lead, after a course-record 62

HOUSTON: Australia’s Min Woo Lee held off a final day charge from world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler to clinch his first PGA Tour title on Sunday with a one-shot victory at the Houston Open.

Lee, who had opened up a four-stroke lead with a dazzling 63 in Saturday’s third round, carded a closing 3-under par 67 to finish on 20-under at Memorial Park.

The 26-year-old from Perth withstood ferocious pressure down the stretch from Scheffler, who posted a 63 to finish tied for second alongside Gary Woodland.

“It’s hard, really hard,” a relieved Lee said after his triumph. “Scottie is a wonderful golfer and he keeps you on your toes.

“This is my first time being in front and trying to hold a lead. I’m glad I got it done, but man, I’m just very exhausted.

“It was a lot of mental grind. I’m so proud of the way I handled myself.”

Lee, who has won four times on the European and Asian tours, had looked to be cruising to victory after going bogey-free through 15 holes to lead by three shots with three to play.

But after a flawless round to that point, Lee wobbled on the par-five 16th, slashing his tee shot into the water before salvaging a bogey.

Scheffler, playing in the group immediately ahead of Lee, had meanwhile missed an eagle putt on the 16th that would have given him a share of the lead. Instead the two-time major champion settled for a birdie to move within one of the Australian with two holes remaining.

Woodland, meanwhile, had entered the equation with a scintillating eight-under-par 62, equalling the course record which Scheffler had matched in Friday’s second round.

Former US Open champion Woodland had moved to within one of Lee with a brilliant birdie on the par-four 18th, drilling a 199-yard second shot to two feet of the hole to tap in for three.

Scheffler still had a chance to force his way into the reckoning on the 18th.

But desperately needing a birdie to put the pressure on Lee, Scheffler under-hit his second shot to leave himself just off the green and 77 feet from the pin.

He recovered to make par, but it left Lee heading to the 18th with a one-shot lead and knowing that a par would be enough for victory.

Lee had to work hard to seal his win though.

Lee’s tee shot on 18 went wide of the fairway before he went through the back of the green with his second, which left him 53 feet from the hole.

But with the tension building, Lee produced a brilliant putt to within inches of the hole, allowing him to tap in for par and victory.

Finland’s Sami Valimaki finished alone in fourth place on 17 under, three off the lead, after a course-record 62, while Rory McIlroy, Wyndham Clark and Taylor Pendrith were tied for fifth on 15 under.

McIlroy closed with a six-under-par 64 which included six birdies and an eagle.

Hyo Joo Kim tops Vu in playoff to win LPGA Ford Championship

• The American’s putt came up short and Kim sank hers to claim her seventh LPGA victory, and her first since 2023
• Vu, who missed three months last year with a back injury that still troubles her, was pleased with her week, despite the playoff disappointment

LOS ANGELES: South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim rolled in a six-foot birdie putt at the first playoff hole to win the LPGA Ford Championship on Sunday ahead of American Lilia Vu.

Kim had nine birdies in her 8-under par 64, the lowest round of the day at the Whirlwind Golf Club in Chandler, Arizona, taking her to a 22-under total of 266.

Overnight leader Vu carded a four-under-par 68, but when they returned to the par-four 18th for the playoff Kim put her approach six feet from the pin while Vu left herself more than 15 feet.

The American’s putt came up short and Kim sank hers to claim her seventh LPGA victory, and her first since 2023.

“So it’s been a while since I had any wins so I was getting a little bit stressed,” the 29-year-old Kim admitted.

“But I did work out a lot during the winter time so now that I have a win I’m a little bit lighthearted.”

“The feeling was great today,” said Kim, who needed just 24 putts. “I just thought one birdie at a time.”

Having started the day four shots off Vu’s lead, Kim had seven birdies in the first 11 holes to seize the solo lead on 21-under.

However, she found the water off the tee at 12 on the way to a bogey, missing a short par save attempt.

Kim then drained a birdie putt from off the green at 16 and added another birdie at 17 to land in the clubhouse with a one-stroke lead.

But Vu got up and down for birdie from a greenside bunker at the 17th, blasting out of the sand to about a foot.

Vu, who had endured a long wait for the green to clear at 17 had another tense delay on the 18th tee as Nanna Koerstz Madsen searched for her ball in the desert scrub.

Vu’s second shot bounded through the green but the two-time major winner and former world number one chipped to about six feet and holed the par putt to force a playoff.

Kim had been waiting and watching as Vu finished her round.

“I kept on thinking we might go on a playoff, so I kept stretching,” she said. “I thought I would be very nervous, but I really wasn’t.”

Vu, who missed three months last year with a back injury that still troubles her, was pleased with her week, despite the playoff disappointment.

“I’m proud that I kind of stuck to my goal, my weekly goal. The only goal is to be in tune with my body,” she said.

“This is probably the most I’ve felt like me in the past year and a half.”

American Allizen Corpuz, the 2023 US Women’s Open champion, thrust herself into contention with a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 but had to settle for third on 267.

World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand was in the hunt, sharing the lead after her sixth birdie of the day on 13.

But the birdies dried up and her six-under 66 left her alone in fourth on 268.

NBA ‘basketbrawl’: 5 players, 2 coaches ejected after Pistons-Timberwolves clash

• The game featured 12 technical fouls, the most in an NBA game since March 23, 2005, per OptaSTATS
• The Timberwolves rallied from an early 16-point deficit to beat the Pistons 123-104

MINNEAPOLIS: Five players and two coaches were ejected after a wild brawl broke out during the Minnesota Timberwolves’ clash with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA on Sunday.

Detroit lost head coach J.B. Bickerstaff, center Isaiah Stewart, forward Ron Holland II and guard Marcus Sasser. Minnesota forward Naz Reid and guard Donte DiVincenzo also were tossed, along with assistant coach Pablo Prigioni.
“Obviously things went too far,” Bickerstaff said. “But what you see is guys looking out for one another, guys trying to protect one another, guys trying to have each other’s backs. ... Those are non-negotiables in our locker room.”
The skirmish began with 8:36 left in the half with the Pistons up 39-30. Stewart had received a technical foul just moments earlier when he bumped DiVincenzo hard after the whistle. Then Holland was called for a foul as he slapped the ball out of Reid’s hands near the baseline.
The two exchanged words, DiVincenzo stepped between them and grabbed Holland’s jersey, and soon all 10 players on the court and multiple coaches and trainers were part of the scrum.
As the players were being separated, Bickerstaff and Prigioni were screaming at each other and had to be separated by team personnel.
The whole scene played out just 20 feet from new Timberwolves owner Alex Rodriguez, who walked over from his courtside seat in the aftermath and appeared to call for assistance for a young fan who got caught in the middle of the melee.
The game featured 12 technical fouls, the most in an NBA game since March 23, 2005, per OptaSTATS.
“I thought leading up to that the game was way too physical,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “It’s unfortunate, but we knew they were a super physical team. They hit you, they hold you, all the stuff that you want your physical teams to do. But I just thought it got to a point where players were going to take matters into their own hands. You don’t ever want that.”
The Timberwolves rallied from an early 16-point deficit to beat the Pistons 123-104.

Serie A title race down to Inter and Napoli after Atalanta lose again

• It’s developing into a two-team title race after third-placed Atalanta lost their second straight game, falling 1-0 at Fiorentina to drop nine points back
• Cagliari beat last-placed Monza 3-0

ROME: Victor Osimhen left in September. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia departed in January.

Now it’s almost April and Antonio Conte’s Napoli — somehow — are still in contention for the Serie A title.

Matteo Politano and Romelu Lukaku scored first-half goals, Alex Meret saved a second-half penalty kick from Santiago Gimenez, and Napoli beat visiting AC Milan 2-1 on Sunday for a statement victory.

Luka Jovic pulled one back for Milan in the 84th to set up a tense finale during which Milan came close to equalizing.

The result kept Napoli within three points of Serie A leader Inter Milan, who edged Udinese 2-1 earlier.

It’s developing into a two-team title race after third-placed Atalanta lost their second straight game, falling 1-0 at Fiorentina to drop nine points back.

While Lukaku has filled the void left by Osimhen after the Nigeria striker left to sign a loan deal with Galatasaray, it has taken a group effort to replace Kvaratskhelia’s output after the winger signed with Paris Saint-Germain.

One player picking up playing time in Kvaratskhelia’s absence has been Politano. He seized upon a ball over the top from Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo and evaded three defenders to blast in a long-range shot 63 seconds in at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Then Billy Gilmour set up Lukaku all alone in front of the goal to double the advantage after less than 20 minutes – helped by poor positioning from Milan defender Kyle Walker.

It was Lukaku’s 400th goal for club and country.

Milan remained ninth.

Sommer’s saves help Inter preserve a victory

Goalkeeper Yann Sommer made two clutch saves in Inter’s win.

Marko Arnautovic took advantage of a rare start at center forward, opening the scoring early in the first half by redirecting in a cross from Federico Dimarco with one touch.

Davide Frattesi quickly doubled the lead with a nearly identical goal.

Center back Oumar Solet pulled one back for Udinese midway through the second half with a long, curling shot for his first Serie A goal.

Sommer then palmed away a dangerous effort from Lorenzo Lucca to preserve the lead.

Sommer also made a save on a close-range effort from Solet in stoppage time, after which vehement protests from Simone Inzaghi resulted in the Inter coach being sent off.

Arnautovic replaced Lautaro Martinez, who picked up a knock with Argentina.

Inter, which faces Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarterfinals, also sorely missed injured center back Alessandro Bastoni.

Atalanta’s fading title hopes take another hit

Atalanta were also beatwn 2-0 by Inter before the international break.

Fiorentina striker Moise Kean scored his 16th goal of the season at the end of the first half with a solo action.

“In terms of the title race, I would say we’re done,” Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said. “It was an impossible dream that I think had already faded away during the match with Inter.”

Also, Cagliari beat last-placed Monza 3-0.

Lewandowski leads the way as Barcelona regains 3-point lead over Real Madrid

• Lewandowski has scored nine goals in his last nine league games and has 25 goals in total in the competition, three more than Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé

MADRID: Barcelona reestablished its three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish league after beating Catalan rival Girona 4-1 on Sunday.
Robert Lewandowski added to his league-leading tally with two second-half goals.
Lewandowski has scored nine goals in his last nine league games and has 25 goals in total in the competition, three more than Madrid’s Kylian Mbappé.
“For me the most important thing is what I can do to help the team,” Lewandowski said. “I know that if I score two goals, I’ll be helping my team. As a striker it’s important to have confidence for when the ball comes to me.”
Barcelona went in front with an own-goal by Girona defender Ladislav Krejci in the first half. Ferran Torres added the fourth goal for Barcelona in the final minutes at Montjuic stadium.
On Saturday, Madrid had moved level on points with Barcelona with a 3-2 victory over Leganes at home and third-placed Atletico Madrid dropped nine points off the lead following a 1-1 draw at Espanyol.
It was Barcelona’s sixth win in a row in all competitions, and 11th in its last 12 matches. Hansi Flick’s team is yet to lose in 20 games this year, with its last loss coming against Atletico in December.
“We are in great form at the moment and we are creating a lot of chances when we have the ball. What I take from today is our ability to react after the break,” Flick said. “The great thing about my team is that we always want to score goals and everyone likes to see that.”
Barcelona has scored four or more goals in 20 of its 45 matches in all competitions this season.
“When you score four times it means you played a great match,” Lewandowski said. “We’ve been scoring a lot, and it’s important that when we can’t score early we have been patient and not changing our game plan.”
Flick praised the “special” Poland striker.
“Lewandowski is really important,” Flick said. “I don’t like to pick out individuals but he is special inside the box.”
Arnaut Danjuma scored early in the second half for Girona, which is winless in seven consecutive matches and stayed in 13th place.
Barcelona forward Raphinha stayed on the bench to get some rest following his matches with Brazil in South American World Cup qualifying.
Barcelona visits Atletico in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals on Wednesday. The first match ended 4-4.
Other results
Fifth-placed Villarreal won 2-1 at Getafe to gain ground on fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao, which couldn’t manage more than a 0-0 home draw with 14th-placed Osasuna. Villarreal trails Athletic by six points with a game in hand.
Valencia moved to 15th place by beating eighth-placed Mallorca 1-0 with Diego López scoring the winner in the 50th. Valencia has won twice in its last six league matches. It was Mallorca’s first loss after six matches.