The women's football tournament kicked-off at the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday with Brazil's Marta firing her way into the record books, while the mighty USA were humbled by Sweden.
At the Miyagi Stadium in Rifu, Marta became the first woman footballer to score in five consecutive Olympic Games when she bagged a brace in Brazil's 5-0 Group F battering of China.
The 35-year-old scored her first Olympic goal in Athens in 2004 and, following her latest double salvo, now has 12 Games strikes. The 35-year-old opened the scoring in the Group F clash in the ninth minute when she arrived late in the box and pounced on a rebound. Debinha made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.
Marta added her second with a low drive from a tight angle in the 74th minute before forward Andressa converted a penalty with eight minutes to go. Beatriz completed the rout in the 89th minute after latching on to a low cross to beat the goalkeeper with a first-time effort.
Their 43-year-old teammate Formiga also wrote her name into the record books by becoming the first women's footballer to take part in seven Olympic Games.
There was a huge shock in Group G when world champions USA — unbeaten in 44 games going into the Olympics — were hammered 3-0 by Sweden at the Tokyo Stadium in their opening match.
Striker Stina Blackstenius scored either side of the break in the Group G clash — her first came when she beat Abby Dahlkemper to Sofia Jakobsson's cross and steered home a glancing header.
Blackstenius' second came when she stabbed into the roof of the net after Amanda Ilestedt's header bounced back off post.
Sweden ensured there would be no way back for the US as substitute Hurtig rose to nod in a Hanna Glas delivery with 18 minutes left to condemn the Americans to a humbling defeat.
The US, who go on to play New Zealand and Australia in their next two group games, had not lost since going down 3-1 to France in a friendly in January 2019.
In Group E, Team GB started their campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over Chile, with Manchester City striker Ellen White scoring both goals at the Sapporo Dome.
The first came after 18 minutes when Lucy Bronze’s deep cross was nodded back by Lauren Hemp and White cashed in from six yards.
Chile offered little threat, with Ellie Roebuck a second-half spectator in goal, and White added a second with 17 minutes left. Her flick was laid off to Bronze by Nikita Parris and Bronze crossed for White to acrobatically volley in from six yards.
Team GB now face the hosts Japan in Sapporo on Saturday before playing Canada in Kashima to complete their group-stage fixtures next Tuesday. Manager Hege Riise said: "We have been waiting for this game a long time and we were so eager to get started. Get a good start, get a win, keep them away from our goal, score two goals — it’s a good statement for the games coming up.”
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- 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
- 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250
Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution
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- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
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- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
