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WOLVERHAMPTON, England: Substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in two minutes as Wolverhampton Wanderers beat fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United 3-2 to reach the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday.

Promoted Leeds United and Sunderland followed West Ham out of the competition, losing on penalties to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and third tier Huddersfield Town respectively.

Strand Larsen came on in the 73rd minute and made an immediate impact, the Norwegian striking in the 82nd and 84th to turn around the match at Molineux after Lucas Paqueta had headed West Ham in front in the 63rd.

Rodrigo Gomes had scored Wolves’ first goal of the season two minutes before halftime, after Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty rebounded off the post, but Tomas Soucek headed an equalizer in the 50th.

The battle between the top flight’s bottom two teams provided no respite for West Ham manager Graham Potter, whose side have been thrashed 5-1 by Chelsea and 3-0 by Sunderland in the league.

Leeds went out 3-0 on penalties after fulltime at Hillsborough ended 1-1, a shock result watched from afar by many Wednesday fans who boycotted the match in protest at the financially-troubled second-tier club’s Thai owner.

US international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was the home hero, the man of the match mobbed by his teammates after saving twice and keeping a clean sheet in the shootout on his debut after joining on loan.

“I have been in the door four or five days. I had to learn 10 new names in the first match I played and in this game I had to learn another 10 new names,” Horvath told Sky Sports television.

League One Huddersfield won their shootout 6-5 after regulation time at the Stadium of Light ended 1-1.

Brentford beat Bournemouth 2-0 on the South Coast in the night’s other all-Premier League match, with Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago scoring either side of the break and against the run of play.

Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara, who scored on his league debut on Saturday, came on as a substitute against his old club.

Burnley, one of seven Premier League sides fielding much changed lineups from last weekend’s games, beat second tier Derby County 2-1 with Oliver Sonne scoring a stoppage-time winner at Turf Moor.

Wrexham’s Hollywood owners had plenty to smile about after their side won 3-2 at Preston North End thanks to a stoppage-time Kieffer Moore goal after the hosts had twice taken the lead in the second tier clash.

League Two (fourth tier) Cambridge United beat Championship side Charlton Athletic 3-1.

The third round draw will take place after Wednesday’s matches.

LONDON: Before starting their annual runs toward what they hope is an NBA championship, players like Serbia’s Nikola Jokic, Greece’s Giannis Antetokounmpo and Slovenia’s Luka Doncic have another trophy to chase this summer.

They’ll be seeking the European title.

EuroBasket — a 24-team tournament pitting the best squads in Europe against one another — opens Wednesday. Spain are the defending champion, and more than two dozen players who currently are on NBA rosters are expected to take part in the event.

“I think you guys have gotten a taste of it a little bit with Olympics maybe and it’s kind of similar for us really how much pride there is in that tournament,” said Sweden guard Pelle Larsson, who plays for the Miami Heat, when asked to explain how big a deal EuroBasket is on his home continent.

“Everyone comes to compete and is really proud to represent their country,” he said. “For a country like Sweden, that is our biggest competition and that’s the most prideful.”

Spain beat France in the final of the 2022 tournament, the most recent last time EuroBasket was held.

Tournament format

Nations were drawn into groups of six. Teams will play the other teams in their group once in the opening stage. The top four teams in each group will advance to the knockout phase in Riga, Latvia, from Sept. 6 through Sept. 14.

Group A preview

Group site: Riga, Latvia

Teams (FIBA world ranking):

Serbia (2), Latvia (9), Czechia (19), Turkiye (27), Estonia (43), Portugal (56)

Outlook: The good news for Latvia is that they will be at home for the entirety of the tournament, with the group stage and the knockout rounds all in Riga. The bad news for Latvia (and Czechia, Turkiye, Estonia and Portugal) is that Serbia will be there as well. Serbia is the tournament favorite for good reason, with Denver’s Nikola Jokic set to lead a team that has been proven on the world stage for some time. Serbia went 7-0 in tune-up games leading into EuroBasket, winning them all by at least 10 points.

Predicted to advance: Serbia, Latvia, Czechia, Turkiye

Group B preview

Group site: Tampere, Finland

Teams (FIBA world ranking): Germany (3), Lithuania (10), Montenegro (16), Finland (20), Great Britain (48), Sweden (49)

Outlook: This could be the most competitive group, with the reigning World Cup champion in Germany, a traditional power like Lithuania and a rising team like Finland — who played very well in exhibitions this summer and get the edge of playing group games at home. Dennis Schroder and Franz Wagner should be enough of a 1-2 punch to get Germany into the knockout round. After that, chaos seems possible.

Predicted to advance: Germany, Lithuania, Finland, Sweden

Group C preview

Group site: Limassol, Cyprus

Teams (FIBA world ranking): Spain (5), Greece (13), Italy (14), Georgia (24), Bosnia and Herzegovina (41), Cyprus (84)

Outlook: It is the group of champions, with five of the last eight EuroBasket winners (Spain three times, Greece once, Italy once in that span) all starting out in Cyprus. Count Spain out at one’s own peril; no, it has not been a good summer for the defending champions, but history has shown that coach Sergio Scariolo’s squad always finds a way to give themselves a chance in the biggest moments. And it should be noted that Spain have reached the EuroBasket semifinals in each of the last 11 such tournaments. Hosts Cyprus are on this stage for the first time.

Predicted to advance: Spain, Greece, Italy, Georgia