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Borussia Dortmund seals Champions League qualification, Stuttgart’s hopes hit a bump

By The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund sealed Champions League qualification on Sunday with an easy 4-0 win over a distracted Freiburg team in the Bundesliga.

Maximilian Beier, Serhou Guirassy and Ramy Bensebaini effectively decided the result in the first half hour, before substitute Fabio Silva completed the scoring late.

Dortmund ‘keeper Gregor Kobel denied Cyriaque Irié a consolation goal.

With three rounds remaining, Dortmund is assured of finishing among the top four to qualify for Europe’s premier club competition.

Freiburg coach Julian Schuster had made a host of changes to the team that suffered a bitter defeat against Stuttgart in the German Cup semifinals on Thursday.

Freiburg next faces Sporting Braga away for the first leg of their Europa League semifinal match.

Debut days

Dortmund coach Niko Kovač gave Samuele Inacio his first start and the 18-year-old Italian forward made the most of it, earning ovations when he went off in the 74th minute.

United States Under-17 forward Mathis Albert went on for the final minutes to make his Dortmund debut. The 16-year-old from Greenville, South Carolina, joined Dortmund’s academy in 2025 from LA Galaxy’s academy. and was part of the U.S. team at last year’s Under-17 World Cup.

Another youngster, the 18-year-old midfielder Rouven Tarnutzer, had already gone on late for his Freiburg debut.

Stuttgart stutters

Stuttgart’s hopes of Champions League qualification were tempered in a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen.

Ermedin Demirović canceled Jens Stage’s early goal for the visitors and just kept Stuttgart in fourth place on goal difference from Hoffenheim before they face each other for a high-stakes clash next weekend.

Stuttgart and Hoffenheim were on 57 points, two ahead of Bayer Leverkusen, which still harbors its own hopes of Champions League qualification.

Bremen’s point from the draw in Stuttgart moved it six points above St. Pauli in the relegation zone.

Bayern Munich already sealed the title last weekend and will face Stuttgart in the German Cup final on May 23.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

NYPD says dozens rescued from human trafficking during World Cup

By WTOP Staff
▶ Watch Video: Inside look at security preparations for World Cup Forty-three people, including seven minors, were rescued from human traffickers during the World Cup matches in the New York City area, according to the New York City Police Department's Special Victims Unit.The rescue operations were carried out between June 11 and July 19 by specialized NYPD detectives who arrested 89 individuals."The surprise was really the outpouring of support behind the mission and the collaboration with all our partners," said Inspector Gary Marcus, commanding officer of the Special Victims Unit.Those rescued, largely the victims of sex trafficking, are now being supported with an array of social services for the victims, including food, housing and counseling.The 87 operations carried out during the World Cup have generated new leads, officials said, and law enforcement agencies are building more cases based on the investigations already underway."We have ongoing investigations now as a result of these operations," an NYPD official told CBS News.Major sporting events are known to law enforcement as hotbeds of human trafficking.Years in advance, the NYPD devoted significant resources to preparing for the World Cup. Eight matches were played at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium, including the final on Sunday."When we talk about the outreach and the prep we do, a large part of that involved visiting the known sex offenders, particularly the known human traffickers, in our registry," Marcus said. "Whether they're on parole or probation for human trafficking, we visited them to make sure they're compliant with the terms of their release, and secondly, to let them know that the NYPD is watching."The matches were held in multiple cities around the U.S., Mexico and Canada. Preparations to secure those games and prepare for crimes like human trafficking were coordinated between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.Police departments in many locations that hosted World Cup matches have made arrests and rescues connected to human trafficking, including in Georgia, New England and Missouri. Nationally, there were more than 673 arrests on human-trafficking charges made during the World Cup, and 61 adults and 13 minors rescued, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
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