LONDON: The spectre of Premier League relegation loo­m­­ed ever larger for Tott­enham Hotspur on Thursday after a 3-1 home defeat by Cry­stal Palace left them teetering just above the drop zone.

When striker Dominic Sola­nke gave 16th-placed Totten­ham the lead against the run of play in the 34th minute, a first league win in 2026 looked on the cards for the hosts.

But they collapsed in shambolic fashion before the interval with Palace replying three times to stun the hosts after Tottenham defender Micky van de Ven was sent off.

Van de Ven hauled back Ismaila Sarr in the area to receive a red card before Sarr coolly slotted home the resulting penalty, sending Gugli­elmo Vicario the wrong way.

Adam Wharton then played in Jorgen Strand Larsen to slot a low shot past Vicario in the first minute of stoppage time and provided another classy assist for Sarr to make it 3-1.

Sarr also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside shortly before Solanke’s opener.

Ten-man Tottenham battled after the break in a subdued atmosphere and emptying stadium but could not prevent a fifth successive league defeat which extended their winless league run to 11, their worst for 50 years.

They have 29 points from 29 games, one more than Nottingham Forest and West Ham United. Palace’s victory lifted them into 13th place with 38 points.

Tottenham have been ever-present in the Premier League and were last relegated from the top flight in 1977, but interim manager Igor Tudor must turn things around quickly if they are to stay above the trap door.

Despite another blow, he remained relatively upbeat.

“It was two games, after the red card it was a different game. The second half we tried and I saw interesting things,” Tudor told TNT Spo­rts. “After this game I believe more than before, maybe that sounds strange but I saw something in the team, I saw some good energy and passion and fight.”

Tottenham qualified for the last-16 of the Champions Lea­g­ue in impressive fashion but have not won in the Premier League since beating Crystal Palace on Dec. 28 and their home record is the joint-worst in the division along with Burnley.

Croatian Tudor was hired after the sacking of Thomas Frank last month — his reputation as a man for a crisis presumably why the club made a surprise appointment.

His record now stands at three defeats from three games though and Totte­nham’s next league match is away at Liverpool, after a Champions League clash away to Atletico Madrid.

Tottenham finished 17th last season but won the Europa League and while they are still in Europe, the priority is top flight survival with a BBC report estimating that relegation could cost the club 260 million pounds ($347 million).

Asked if the pressure was causing the sort of bad decision-making which saw Van de Ven dismissed, Tudor said bluntly: “We need to stop with speaking about pressure.”

Last season Tottenham were spared because the bottom thr­ee were cast adrift well before the end of the campaign.

This time, while Wolverh­ampton Wanderers and Bur­nley look set to drop, the scrap to avoid finishing 18th will be intense, with West Ham beating Fulham on Wednesday and Forest drawing away at Manchester City.

While Tottenham face anxious weeks ahead, Palace are now 10 points clear of the drop zone and looking up.

“What I loved most is the reaction after we conceded the goal,” manager Oliver Glasner said. “But we also have to be critical that we could have done better in the second half.”

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2026

LAHORE: Pakistan put up an impressive performance to edge Japan 4-3 in the semi-final of the FIH Hockey World Cup qualifier at the Suez Canal Authority Hockey Stadium in Egypt on Friday.

The win has guaranteed the Green Shirts a place in the global event and marks their return to the Hockey World Cup after eight years. The tournament will be hosted jointly by Belgium and the Netherlands in August.

The Pakistan team, led by Ammad Butt, was trailing 3-1 in the third quarter of the match against Japan, when it smashed three goals in the last nine minutes of the final quarter to edge ahead 4-3, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.

Ammad gave his side an early lead in the ninth minute with an impressive field goal. The lead, which remained intact till the end of the first quarter, was neutralised in the second quarter (21st minute) when Japan’s Ryoma Ooka scored a field goal.

In an inspiring show, Japan took control of the match in the penultimate quarter when Shota Yamada (35th minute) and Yamasaki Koji (40th minute) struck in quick succession to take a solid 3-1 lead.

However, in a sensational comeback in the final quarter, Pakistan’s Abu Bakr Mahmood, Sufyan Khan and Afraz scored a goal each in the 52nd, 55th and 57th minute, respectively, to reclaim the lead that remained intact till the final whistle.

Just two minutes before the end of the match, Japan lost a golden opportunity to equalise when Fujishima Raiki missed a penalty-stroke.

Pakistan have put up an impressive show in the qualifier, winning all of their group matches against China (5-4), Malaysia (5-3) and Austria (4-2) and Japan (4-3)

Ammad and company will now face England — who routed Malaysia 7-1 in the other last-four match — in the final of the qualifying event at the same venue on Saturday.

Once a giant force in global hockey and four-time World Cup winners, Pakistan had failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup held in The Hague, Netherlands, and finished poorly in 12th position in the 16-nation edition staged in Bhubaneswar, India in 2018. Pakistan had also failed to qualify for the 2023 World Cup held in the Indian city of Odisha.

India face New Zealand on Sunday in Ahmedabad, looking to become the first side to lift the T20 World Cup for a third time but under huge pressure with the weight of a nation on their shoulders.

Standing in the way of Suryakumar Yadav’s side are a team who have already upset the odds with a thumping nine-wicket win over the previously unbeaten South Africa to reach the final.

New Zealand believe, after Finn Allen’s record 33-ball century in the semi-final in Kolkata, that they are capable of taking down the hosts to win their maiden T20 World Cup title.

“We’ve got a lot of momentum going into the weekend,” warned Allen. “I think if we play our best cricket, we can beat anybody.”

India will not only have to withstand the expectations of 100,000-plus cricket-obsessed fans in a packed Narendra Modi stadium and hundreds of millions more watching on TV, but also the weight of history.

The world’s top-ranked T20 team are attempting to become the first to win back-to-back T20 World Cups and the first to lift the trophy on home soil.

“There will definitely be pressure and nerves, especially playing in India and going for the title,” said Suryakumar after a nerve-shredding seven-run win against England in a high-scoring semi-final.

“But the boys and the whole support staff are excited as well.”

India have effectively played three knockout games to reach the final, after losing their opening Super Eights match to South Africa.

They hammered Zimbabwe by 72 runs and chased down 196 to beat the West Indies in must-win games to reach Thursday’s semi-final against England.

After posting a mammoth 253-7 against Harry Brook’s side, India needed a pivotal 18th over from death-bowling master Jasprit Bumrah to stave off an England batting assault.

‘Showed character’

Bumrah conceded just six runs from his final over to leave England with too much to do and, despite Jacob Bethell’s 105, India held on to spark wild celebrations.

Suryakumar acknowledged he was lucky to have such a unique talent to call upon in the crucial moments.

“We all know what he’s capable of and what he’s done for India over the years. He did the same thing again today, raised his hand and showed character to pull the game away from them,” he said.

“It was a special bowling performance.”

The main concerns for India are the form of opening batsman Abhishek Sharma and leading spinner Varun Chakravarthy.

Both are number one in the International Cricket Council T20 rankings but have been out of sorts as the tournament heads to its climax.

Abhishek had three consecutive ducks in the group phase and his only score of any note was a fifty against Zimbabwe.

Chakravarthy was targeted mercilessly by England’s batsmen at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium as they pummelled him for 64 runs from his four overs.

He has taken just four wickets since the group phase.

Mitchell Santner’s New Zealand have blown hot and cold, having been beaten by South Africa and England earlier in the tournament.

But all their players are hitting form at the right time and they have enough firepower to upset India.

They crucially also have nothing to lose as they will go into the final as huge underdogs.

Opener Tim Seifert, who has three fifties in the tournament, has been consistently setting a platform for the likes of Allen and Glenn Phillips to launch.

“I just looked to play almost a support role to Tim,” said Allen after the semi-final, where Seifert hit 58 off 33 balls as the pair put on 117 for the first wicket in 9.1 overs.

“He’s in incredible form, he’s an incredible player and I think he’s just showing the world what he can do,” he said.

“I think that makes it easy for me to sit back and have the best seat in the house.”