Sports weekend with Izvestia

Hockey

"Match of the Year"

For the third summer in a row, Russia has hosted a vibrant event — an exhibition match featuring Russian NHL and KHL stars. Russians from the NHL traditionally spend the entire season overseas and can play in their home country only for the national team and only if it competes at the home World Cup or the Olympics. And in the conditions of our exclusion from international tournaments, the residents of Russia had no chance at all to see their overseas compatriots live.

The Match of the Year, organized by star hockey players Mikhail Sergachev and Artemy Panarin, gives fans the opportunity to watch Alexander Ovechkin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Igor Shesterkin, Kirill Kaprizov and many others from the stands. The last two such events were held in Moscow and gathered full stands. Now the meeting will take place in St. Petersburg at the largest ice arena in the world with a capacity of more than 23 thousand people.

July 25, 18:00, SKA Arena (Saint Petersburg).

Live broadcast on Channel One.

Water calculation: how Russia beat the European champions in the quarter-finals of the KM

The bright return of our water polo players to the elite

Football

The Russian Championship. CSKA — Baltika, Rubin — Krasnodar

On July 24, the new Russian Football Championship draw will begin. On this day, the first match of the RPL season will take place, in which CSKA will host Kaliningrad Baltika. Both teams finished the last championship in the top 6, so from the point of view of their level, the confrontation can be considered central in the first round. The second most important game will be held in Kazan, where Rubin will play with the vice-champion of the country Krasnodar.

July 24, 20:00, VEB Arena (Moscow).

July 26, 19:30, Ak Bars Arena (Kazan).

Live broadcasts on Match TV and Match Premier.

Fencing

World championship

The return of the national flag and the anthem of Russia has also reached fencing this year, where our athletes have already performed fully at the European Championships, and this week they started at the World Championships in Hong Kong. Olympic sabre champions Yana Yegoryan and Olga Nikitina, Olympic champion in the team foil and many lower-status Russians are already competing in the qualifying parts of individual competitions. And next weekend, the main tournaments in men's foil, women's sabre, men's and women's swords will be held, following which the winners and prize-winners of the world championship will be announced.

July 24, qualification:
04:00, women, rapier;
06:00, men, saber.

July 25th:
03:30, men, foil, main tournament;
05:10, women, sword, main tournament;
13:30, men's foil, semifinals and final;
13:30, women, sword, semifinals and final.

July 26th:
04:00, men, sword, main tournament;
05:40, women, sabre, main tournament;
13:00, men, sword, semifinals and final;
13:00, women, sabre, semifinals and final.

AsiaWorld-Expo Convention and Exhibition Center (Hong Kong, China).

Live broadcasts on Match Arena.

Cross the flags: what to expect from the Russian national team at the Fencing World Cup

For the first time since 2019, our team will compete at the World Championships with state symbols.

Mixed martial arts

UFC Fight Night 282. Magomed Ankalaev — Bogdan Guskov

The UFC Fight Night mixed martial arts tournament will be held in the United Arab Emirates over the weekend, with 13 fights. Russians will take part in five of them, and four of these matches will take place within the main card. And the title event will be a light heavyweight bout between our former champion in this category, the number one in the UFC rankings, Magomed Ankalaev, and the number five, former American contender Khalil Rowntree.

July 25th:
16:00, the start of the tournament;
22:00, Ankalaev Roundtree.

Etihad Arena (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

Live broadcasts on Match TV and Match Fighter.

Water polo

The World Cup. Women. The semi-finals. Russia — Spain

The return to the international arena under its own flag and anthem has so far been very successful for the Russian women's national water polo team. In the spring, she easily qualified for the superfinal of the World Cup, which is taking place this week in Sydney. Our guys are already playing with top teams there. They started in the quarterfinals with a crushing victory over the reigning European champions from the Netherlands (11:6). Now they will have a semi-final against the reigning Spanish Olympic champions.

According to the regulations, getting into the top three of the World Cup will mean automatic qualification for next year's World Cup in Budapest, which, in turn, will be a qualifier for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The USA will play Australia in the second semi-final.

July 24, semi-finals:
11:30 a.m., USA — Australia;
13:15, Russia — Spain.

July 26th:
05:45, third place match;
09:15, the final.

Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre (Sydney, Australia).

Live broadcasts on Match TV and Match Game.