- Bangladesh into Super Eights with win over Nepal
- Nuclear arms spending soars as global tensions swell: studies
- Sri Lanka deliver big win over Dutch as they bow out of T20 World Cup
- 'Outsiders,' 'Stereophonic' top Tony Awards
- Weghorst reprises super sub role to offer Dutch plan B at Euros
- Portugal's record collector Ronaldo 'thinking big' at Euro 2024
- Philippine, Chinese ships collide near hotspot reef: Beijing
- Asian stocks struggle after tepid Wall St lead, euro dips further
- Once fruitful, Libyan village suffers climate crisis
- 'Meaty rice'? South Korean professor aims to change global protein
- Sri Lanka make 201-6 against Netherlands in T20 World Cup
- 'Shot of my life' helps lift DeChambeau to second US Open title
- Philippine ship, Chinese vessel collide in South China Sea: Beijing
- France begins frenetic campaign after Macron poll gamble
- Wu makes Australian diving history with fifth Olympics
- Illegal gold mining eats into Peruvian Amazon
- Shareholders OK with soaring executive pay in US
- On thin ice: Greenland's last Inuit polar bear hunters
- McIlroy silence speaks volumes after US Open collapse
- Walsh follows up 100m fly world record with Olympic berth
- McIlroy departs Pinehurst without talking to media after US Open collapse
- Team 'Melodi' woos India as Meloni-Modi video goes viral
- DeChambeau outlasts McIlroy to win second US Open crown
- DeChambeau edges McIlroy by one stroke to win US Open
- In hostile Boston, Mavs' Irving aims to keep focus on NBA Finals challenge
- Southgate says England will benefit from Serbia suffering
- Vu wins LPGA Meijer Classic after playoff thriller
- Nuclear arms more prominent amid geopolitical tensions: researchers
- Lucu boots Bordeaux-Begles into Top 14 semis
- England begin Euro 2024 quest with win over Serbia, Dutch edge Poland
- Bellingham sparkles as England star takes centre stage at Euros
- Bellingham gets unconvincing England off to winning Euros start
- Water crisis batters war-torn Sudan as temperatures soar
- 'Best manager' Ten Hag reveals Tuchel was approached for his United job
- DeChambeau and McIlroy share US Open lead as drama builds
- Zuma's party joins S.African opposition alliance
- Love double as Boulter and De Minaur win tennis titles on same day
- Denmark's Eriksen glad for 'very different' Euros experience
- Eriksen scores on emotional Euros return as Denmark held by Slovenia
- Rangnick optimistic as he leads Austria into Euros in home country
- French Open champion Alcaraz eager to take clay form into grass season
- Babar delivers captain's knock as Pakistan bow out with win over Ireland
- US Open leader DeChambeau tees off in last round at Pinehurst
- Belgium coach Tedesco 'sure' De Bruyne ready for Euros
- Eriksen scores on emotional Euro return as Denmark held by Slovenia
- 'Inside Out 2' posts smashing debut at N.American box office
- Andy Murray uncertain if he'll play in fifth Olympics
- France braces for frenetic campaign as Mbappe warns against extremes
- German police shoot man wielding weapons ahead of Euros match
- Afghan Taliban govt says to attend next round of UN talks in Doha
'Dublin is over', says Alonso as Leverkusen eye German Cup redemption
Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said his side would use their pain at the Europa League final loss to Atalanta this week as fuel ahead of Saturday's German Cup final clash with Kaiserslautern.
The 3-0 loss to Atalanta in Dublin on Wednesday was Leverkusen's first defeat since May 2023, ending a record run of 51 games unbeaten.
The manager said the team did not spend too much time dwelling on the result which ended the Bundesliga champions' hopes of a remarkable treble.
"We didn't take long -- our focus is on tomorrow.
"It is over, Dublin is over," the coach said ahead of the season finale.
"It was a long way and finally we're here. After Wednesday, we're ready and focused."
Despite Wednesday's loss, Leverkusen are hot favourites against the second-division side, who narrowly escaped relegation to the third division.
Kaiserslautern, a four-time Bundesliga winner now languishing in the second division, only played one top-flight side on the way to the final -- FC Cologne, who have since been relegated.
Alonso said: "Being favourites means nothing. We need to fight, be well prepared and after Wednesday I have the feeling that our hunger is a bit bigger, because the pain is fresh.
"We need to use it in the right way – to play well tomorrow and to deserve to win it."
Alonso confirmed captain Lukas Hradecky would be in goal for the match, with Matej Kovar preferred in the German Cup and Europa League this season.
Hradecky won the German Cup final with former club Eintracht Frankfurt in 2018 but has lost on two other occasions, once in 2015 and again in 2020 after his move to Leverkusen.
Alonso, who is in his first full season as a manager in the top grade, takes on veteran coach Friedhelm Funkel, who started his career in the dugout in 1989.
Funkel will coach in his third German Cup final, having lost the previous two as manager of Duisburg in 1998 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2006 -- both times against Bayern Munich.
The 70-year-old was called out of retirement to manage Kaiserslautern in February and said he knew Leverkusen would win the title long before they finally clinched their first ever Bundesliga crown in April.
"I was retired so I had time to watch plenty of Leverkusen games -- I knew they would be champions."
"We've got a mega challenge ahead of us."
"It's indescribable to be here again as a coach. I'm looking forward to it incredibly."
J.Bergmann--BTB