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Mikel Arteta has made decisions over the futures of Arsenal duo Riccardo Calafiori and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who have both been courted by AC Milan.

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Arteta wants to keep CalafioriZinchenko exit sanctionedUkrainian joined Arsenal in 2022Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Arsenal manager Arteta has no desire to sell Calafiori this summer but is willing to sanction an exit for Zinchenko, according to . Italy international Calafiori made a strong impression during his first season at the Emirates Stadium, though a number of injuries restricted his total appearances in all competitions to 29. AC Milan are said to be keen on bringing him back to his homeland, but such a move has been ruled out by Arteta.

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Arteta seems content to let Zinchenko leave, however. The Ukraine international was a valuable utility player when he first signed from Manchester City in 2022, but Myles Lewis-Skelly's breakout campaign at left-back and Arsenal's strength in midfield restricted him to just 15 Premier League appearances last season, with only five coming as starts.

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Milan are also said to hold interest in Jakub Kiwior, who enjoyed a run in the starting XI towards the end of the campaign after Gabriel Magalhaes suffered a hamstring injury and had to have surgery. Massimiliano Allegri has returned to San Siro as manager and is eyeing a repeat of the Serie A title victory he earned with Milan back in 2010-11.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Arsenal are hoping to recruit a new striker during the summer transfer window and have reportedly been in discussions with Sporting CP over Viktor Gyokeres.

Double-century stand with Luke Procter defies Lancashire attack at Old Trafford

Paul Edwards25-Jul-2023Sporting fashion is so contagious that every time a county has departed from cricket’s orthodoxy this season or sought to force the pace in a match, local commentators have sought to label it some variety of England’s current tactics. Lancashire have not been immune from this piffle – Chazball is a current favourite, even though Glen Chapple, their head coach, is about as funky as a saint’s sock-drawer. Nevertheless, even on a day when Northamptonshire enjoyed one of their best days of the Championship season, it should be noted that Jack Morley and Tom Hartley were bowling in tandem at 2.10pm this afternoon.It is rare enough for Lancashire to select two spinners for a first-class game but no one can remember the last time two twisters were operating together half an hour after lunch on the first day, certainly not at Old Trafford. That it should have been so was partly testament to the quality of a Test match wicket that was going to help the twirlers if anyone but today showed little deterioration on its fifth day of use and no ill-effects from 48 hours under cover. Principally, however, it showed how Lancashire’s marquee seamers, Tom Bailey and Will Williams, had been tamed by a slim opener from Bedford, Emilio Gay, whose classically correct strokeplay was to make our day memorable.By the time he was dismissed six overs before the close when attempting a tired drive at a ball from the excellent George Balderson, Gay had made 144, his fourth first-class century and one run short of his career-best. His languid drives between point and mid-on, mixed with secure defence, had also offered some confirmation of a talent that was blighted by a knee injury at the start of the season and then cursed by the worms of uncertainty that can slither into any cricketer’s head when he wonders if and when the next big innings is coming.So the impressive thing about Gay’s hundred today was that his batting reflected none of this self-doubt. Yes, he was to offer one chance, to Keaton Jennings at slip off Jack Morley when he’d made 60, but he took boundaries off both the new-ball bowlers and Balderson early in his innings and came into lunch unbeaten on 35 having played with the sort of care that threw the dismissals of his colleagues into shaming relief. Indeed, Gay had watched as Ricardo Vasconcelos and Justin Broad had both fallen to Balderson when they failed to execute well-chosen attacking strokes. Steven Croft at backward point and Morley at midwicket had gobbled up smart catches and Northamptonshire were 29 for 2. Ten overs later Sam Whiteman was stumped by Phil Salt off Morley when he came down the wicket to a ball that turned inside his drive. That left the visitors on 59 for 3 and we thought a familiar story was about to be told to travelling supporters tired of hearing the bloody tale.Instead, though, Gay was joined by his skipper, Luke Procter, who once plied his trade in these parts and has often reminded his old muckers of a talent they probably underestimated.True, Procter’s crouching stance at the wicket still recalls that of the ancient Private Godfrey in “The Test”, a cricket-themed episode of , and of course, Northamptonshire’s 35-year-old captain is becoming something of a veteran himself. Yet when his moons align, he remains a mightily effective cricketer, coming down the wicket to the spinners and transforming himself from an arthritic pensioner into a model of orthodoxyPerhaps more significantly here, however, he gave Gay precisely the sort of encouragement the 23-year-old needed as he progressed beyond fifty towards the century he would eventually dedicate to his recently deceased and much beloved Uncle Gladstone. The pair had put on 207 by the time Procter was pinned on the back foot for 75 by Will Williams, whose aggression and economy have been one of the features of a Lancashire season that has not been whelmed in triumph.All the same, elements of Gay and Procter’s achievement are unlikely to have prompted street parties in Wellingborough or Brackley. For example, this was only Northamptonshire’s third century partnership of the season and the pair’s achievement in batting through from lunch till tea gave the county their first wicketless session since May 2022. Jennings’ bowlers, meanwhile, can reflect that they allowed Northamptonshire to collect only their second and third batting bonus points of their year. But at least one more venerable and certainly more respectable landmark was reached. Gay and Procter’s 207-run stand is their county’s highest for the fourth wicket against Lancashire, beating the unbroken 158 put on by Mushtaq Mohammed and Jim Watts at Liverpool in 1972.But if this was an indifferent day for Lancashire’s cricketers, even less could be said for the county club or “Lancashire cricket” as some officials crassly like to compress it. All gates near the Metro station on Brian Statham Way were closed this morning, parking was limited and non-members were expected to sit square of the wicket, although this resulted in a group of splendidly stubborn souls invading A Stand and letting the devil take the consequences. Not for the first time, Lancashire’s arrangements for a first-class match at Emirates Old Trafford had been made with the Operations Team thinking what they could get away with rather than what supporters might reasonably require. An Ashes Test is a prized honour west of the Pennines but if the consequence of holding one is not giving a toss about the faithful folk who turn up through fat years and lean ones, loyal Lancastrians are entitled to be a tad thankful Australia will not play here again until 2031.

Andy Balbirnie’s 72 was not enough as Ireland finished 34 short of their target of 186

Abhimanyu Bose20-Aug-2023Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a half-century but Rinku Singh stole the limelight with a swashbuckling innings at the death as India sealed the series by beating Ireland by 33 runs in the second T20I.Gaikwad and Sanju Samson put on 71 to stabilise India after they lost two wickets in the powerplay. Then, with Ireland applying the squeeze following their departures, Rinku – batting for the first time in international cricket – took centre stage to help India pump 42 runs off the last two overs and get to a total of 185, which proved too much for Ireland.Andy Balbirnie fought a lone battle for Ireland with a 51-ball 72 but it wasn’t enough as Prasidh Krishna, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravi Bishnoi spearheaded India’s defence with two wickets apiece.After India were put in on a sunny afternoon in Malahide, Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal got going in the second over. Gaikwad nudged Josh Little behind square for the first boundary of the match before Jaiswal pulled successive deliveries for four and six.Jaiswal drove Barry McCarthy for another four before Craig Young got him for the second consecutive match by cramping him with a short ball. Jaiswal went for the pull nonetheless, and ended up caught on the boundary by Curtis Campher running to his left from deep midwicket and reaching over his head.McCarthy then struck in similar fashion as Tilak Varma skied a pull to deep square leg.Gaikwad stepped up the tempo soon after the powerplay, taking on the short ball. He first pulled legspinner Ben White in front of midwicket and then dispatched Young on either side of the midwicket fielder off consecutive balls in the next over.Samson then played an impeccable on-drive off Adair before ramping up the pressure on Little, hitting him for three fours and a six in the 11th over as the left-arm quick ended up conceding 48 in his four overs. Samson drove him over cover for a one-bounce four and then slapped a length ball over extra-cover. He then steered a low, wide full-toss past the keeper to make it 4, 4, 4. A dot off the next ball was only momentary respite for Little, who then went short only to be pulled behind square for six.Josh Little conceded 48 off his four overs•Sportsfile via Getty ImagesBut Young pulled things back with a five-run 12th over before Samson dragged on off White, to bring Rinku to the crease.Rinku swept White for his first four in the 15th over before Gaikwad brought out a sweep of his own to bring up his half-century. Gaikwad then smacked him down the ground for six to take India to 129 for 3, leaving them poised for a potential 200-plus score.McCarthy outfoxed Gaikwad with a slower ball in the 16th over, however, and Ireland began stifling India with good use of the short ball and slower ones. India could score just 14 runs off the 16th, 17th and 18th overs.A below-par score on a high-scoring ground looked likely, with both Rinku and Dube struggling to break the shackles. Then Rinku did what he had done so many times in IPL 2023 to earn his India call-up.He carved McCarthy over backward point for four in the 19th over and hoicked the next ball, a slower one, over long-on for his first six. McCarthy then bowled two wides on the trot and changed his angle to go around the wicket, but it did little to stop Rinku’s charge as he carted him over cover for another six.Adair started the final over with a leg-stump full toss that Dube helped behind square for the first of two sixes. The next ball was in the slot and Dube swung it far into the stands over deep midwicket. Rinku then duly pulled a length ball for another six, the crowd’s cheers growing louder with each hit.A top-edge off an attempted pull saw Rinku walk back for 38 off 21, but by then he had done enough to get India to a more-than-fighting total.Chasing 186, Ireland saw out Jasprit Bumrah’s first over, although Balbirnie survived an lbw appeal that returned umpire’s call at the stumps after India reviewed the not-out decision.Sanju Samson scored a fluent 40 off 26 balls•Sportsfile via Getty ImagesBalbirnie got going off the next over, hitting Arsheep Singh for two boundaries on either side of the wicket.But Prasidh broke the game open in the next over, using the short-ball tactic that had worked well for Ireland. He got Paul Stirling to top-edge a pull that Arshdeep claimed, running in from fine leg to send the Ireland captain back for a four-ball duck. Two balls later, Lorcan Tucker miscued a pull towards mid-on, where Gaikwad held on running across from midwicket, despite a mini-collision with Dube.Ravi Bishnoi completed a good powerplay for India by cleaning Harry Tector up with a wrong’un. At 31 for 3, Ireland already needed more than 11 an over.Balbirnie briefly raised their hopes, sweeping Washington Sundar for back-to-back fours in the seventh over, and Campher got going with a slog-swept Bishnoi for a six off his next over. But a quiet over from Dube amped up the pressure and Campher spooned a catch to backward point off Bishnoi to leave Ireland reeling at 64 for 4 after ten overs.But Balbirnie kept going, hitting Dube for two sixes and sweeping Bishnoi for four either side of a four-run 12th over bowled by Bumrah. Balbirnie brought up his tenth T20I fifty in the 13th, which also saw Dockrell hit Bishnoi down the ground for six.Ireland now needed 92 from 42 balls. Gaikwad dropped a regulation chance of Dockrell off Washington’s bowling in the 14th over, but Dockrell was soon walking back after a mix-up with Balbirnie.Balbirnie, who had pulled Prasidh for six right before Dockrell’s dismissal, gave Arshdeep similar treatment but the left-arm quick came back by throwing it up wide and getting the opener to edge behind.That all but sealed India’s win as McCarthy failed to recreate his heroics from the first T20I, holing out off a Bumrah slower ball. Mark Adair hit a few lusty blows at the end, but by then the contest was over. Bumrah eventually had him caught in the deep as he closed out the game with a wicket maiden.

Vincent Kompany's side fell to a disappointing defeat and failed to top Group C in USA, with Leroy Sane among those to struggle.

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Bayern beaten 1-0 by BenficaKane came off bench to no availFinish second in CWC groupFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱TELL ME MORE

Benfica beat Bayern Munich 1-0 to top Group C at the Club World Cup, with both sides qualifying for the knock-out stages. Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal of the game for the Portuguese side, dispatching Fredrik Aursnes' cross on 13 minutes during a first half which they had the better of.

Bayern improved after introducing leading goalscorer Harry Kane from the bench at half-time but were frustrated in their efforts. Leroy Sane missed a one-on-one before Joshua Kimmich's effort from distance found the net but was ruled out, with Kane obstructing the goalkeeper from an offside position.

Sane was denied once more in the final moments before Kane headed wide from a corner as Bayern surrendered top spot and landed themselves in the same quarter of the draw as PSG.

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By winning the game and overtaking Bayern at the top of Group C, Benfica have likely booked themselves a last-16 tie against Chelsea. The Blues must avoid defeat against ES Tunis to secure second spot in Group D and guarantee a tie with the Portuguese side on Saturday.

Watch every FIFA Club World Cup game free on DAZNStream nowTHE MVP

Benfica were forced to ride their luck in the second half and had goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin to thank for remaining in front. The Ukrainian denied Sane from two huge chances, produced another fine stop from a close-range Aleksandar Pavlovic effort, and was exemplary in his dealing with crosses into the box.

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Sane will leave Bayern at the end of this competition and will hope to be remembered for better than this performance. The German missed a presentable opportunity in the first half before wasting two second half one-on-ones in the second.

Sairaj Bahutule will be the bowling coach for the men, while Munish Bali takes charge of the fielding

Abhimanyu Bose11-Sep-2023VVS Laxman and Hrishikesh Kanitkar will travel as the head coaches for India’s men’s and women’s teams respectively to the 2023 Asian Games, which will be played in Hangzhou in China. Sairaj Bahutule will be the bowling coach for the men, while Munish Bali will be their fielding coach. For the women’s team, Rajib Dutta will be the bowling coach and Subhadeep Ghosh the fielding coach.Both teams will enter the competition at the quarter-final stage. As per the latest schedule, the India men’s quarter-final match is on October 3 with the semis likely on October 5, if they qualify. The final is scheduled for October 7. The India women’s team’s quarter-final is scheduled for September 21, with their potential semi-final on September 23 and final on September 25. The games will be played at the Zhejiang University of Technology’s (ZJUT) Pingfeng campus cricket ground.Laxman, who is the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru, has previously too stepped in as head coach on men’s tours when Rahul Dravid has been rested – as was the case recently for the T20I series in Ireland. The India men’s unit at the Asian Games will be a second-string squad, led by Ruturaj Gaikwad, with the main squad preparing to play the World Cup that begins on October 5.Related

Harmanpreet to miss first two matches of Asian Games

Gaikwad to lead second-string India side in Asian Games

Kanitkar oversaw the women’s team for the home T20I series against Australia in December last year and then the tri-series in South Africa followed by the T20 World Cup earlier this year. The women’s team has been without a permanent head coach since December last year, when Romesh Powar was moved to the NCA. Former India bowler Nooshin Al Khadeer was appointed interim head coach for the women’s team’s last assignment – a white-ball tour of Bangladesh. The BCCI’s cricket advisory committee had conducted interviews for the women’s head coach position with three shortlisted names, but there has been no update on any appointment.In the men’s squad, there are doubts about Tilak Varma’s availability, as he could be asked to stay on in India on standby for the World Cup, given Shreyas Iyer had suffered back spasms just before the Super Four clash against Pakistan in the Asia Cup on Sunday.The women’s team will be led by Smriti Mandhana to start with. If India do make it to the semi-finals, Harmanpreet Kaur, who had been handed a two-match international ban for disciplinary issues, will return to lead in the final or the third-place playoff.

Miami were never likely to win, and their Club World Cup exit emphasized where MLS sits relative to world football

Even the linesman was tired by the end. The man on the far side of the pitch had been running up and down the touchline all match, just trying to keep up with a Miami defense constantly in retreat. He hadn't put a foot wrong. In the 76th minute, an intrusive camera panned his way. The man looked exhausted.

So was everyone else not wearing the effortless navy blue of PSG. Inter Miami were battered here, out run, outplayed and embarrassed on home(ish) turf. The 4-0 loss Sunday in the Club World Cup round of 16 will hurt the competitors on the pitch, give fuel to the online Lionel Messi trolls, and reflect poorly on Javier Mascherano in his first season in club management.

Inter Miami owners Jorge Mas and David Beckham won't take it well. It will also, undoubtedly, be a stick to beat MLS with in the coming days, weeks, and months.

But to criticize Miami, loss or not, is to miss the broader point. The 4-0 scoreline was comprehensive. But when put into context, makes perfect sense. Miami had stretched what MLS could do in this tournament, reached just beyond where the league really sits in the global sphere. And when they took the field against the true elite – who had big money and better players – there was only one way this game was going to go.

AFPA predictable battering

Miami were in the game for about five minutes. The opening exchanges looked admittedly promising. The Herons dug in. Mascherano pointed around with vigor and encouragement. Luis Suarez got those old legs churning. This was a contest between the European champions and the team currently with the 11th best points total in the ninth best league in the world.

And the plucky underdog – yes, a team can still have Messi and be an underdog – looked alright.

Then PSG started to play a bit. Their first goal was simple enough, a wide open Joao Neves nipping in at the far post to head back across Oscar Ustari. What crushed Miami, though, was the next 15 minutes.

Noah Allen went off with an injury. PSG dominated possession. Khvicha Kvarastskhelia pulled the Herons' defense left and right, leaving a confused Marcelo Weigandt reduced to a pool of flailing limbs. Tomas Aviles came on, tried to set the tone with a shin high crunching tackle on Nuno Mendes – and went straight into the book. Messi barely touched the ball.

They did well, in fact, to hold out for as long as they did. It was a surprise that the Parisians needed until the 39th minute to make it two. But even that one was simple. Sergio Busquets was stripped at the top of his own box. Five touches, four passes and eight seconds later, the ball was in the back of the Miami net.

Busquets, one of the great defensive midfielders of his time, barely had time to compute what had happened. The third and fourth came in short order. Aviles headed into his own net after a slick move down the right. Hakimi basically walked the ball home for the fourth after a kind ricochet.

PSG boss Luis Enrique took off his captain and a vital midfield piece at half time, and spent the majority of the second half rotating. Miami enjoyed a bit more of the ball. Messi danced around for moments. A clunky touch from Suarez prevented what would have been a tap in. Messi whacked a free kick into the wall.

A goal, in truth, wouldn't have been fair – 4-0 felt about right, a first half battering followed by a second half siesta for the French giants and their Spanish manager.

AdvertisementAFPFighting against the numbers

PSG issued a thumping in pretty much every statistical category. Pick your preferred number to measure it all. They had 67 percent possession. They completed 685 passes. Miami completed 306. They took 19 shots. Miami took eight. They won the xG battle, 2.49-0.43.

They dominated elsewhere, too. Miami averaged 45 seconds between ball recoveries. PSG needed just 18. The Parisians scored more goals in the first half (four), than Miami had completed passes in the final third (three).

But all of that should come as a surprise to no one. Zoom out, look at the numbers beyond the white lines of the football pitch, and it all makes so much sense. One thing that we can take away from this expanded version of the Club World Cup – it is a measure of the relative strength of the global sport.

This game reflected exactly where the numbers lie off the pitch, as well. Since 2023, PSG have spent $445 million on new players. Miami have spent $26M. PSG, in 2024, dished $744M on wages – $121M more than anyone else in Europe. According to the most recent MLS salary guide, Miami is spending $46.8M – around 1/17th of PSG's total annual allotment (and just under half of that goes into the pocket of one player.)

The Parisians collected $94M for winning the Champions League this year and pocketed another $58M for lifting the Ligue 1 title. And there's $125M on the line for whichever team wins this Club World Cup.

Miami did not win a major trophy last season, and Bloomberg estimated that they took about $8M from MLS' broadcast deal with Apple – which is split between teams in the league. PSG are funded by Qatari Sports Investment – a massive sovereign wealth fund that has invested not only in football but also in basketball, baseball and hockey. Miami are owned by David Beckham and the chairman of an engineering company.

For comparison, MLB's famous "Moneyball" Oakland A's had a salary of $41M to the New York Yankees' $125M. This is perhaps among the biggest examples of financial disparity in professional sports, being played out on a pitch.

AFPPSG are so, so good

Of course, it is one thing to have money, and another to use it well. For years, PSG offered an absolute clinic on how to throw away cash without any real direction. They signed the wrong players, hired the wrong managers, and spent basically a decade constructing poorly pieced together squads that always lost on the biggest stages.

Star power failed them. So, last summer, they were clever. Luis Enrique admitted that he was glad that Kylian Mbappe left because he could finally have a .

His ownership bought him a pretty good one. What PSG created was a well-oiled pressing machine, full of some of the brightest young talents in Europe. And when the season was off to a poor start – when it looked like they might be in danger of dropping out of the Champions League at the group phase – they simply spent $72M plus add ons to buy the best player in Serie A, if only to complete the side.

No one else in the world has that luxury – least of all an MLS team.

Fittingly, there is no real star player here. Ousmane Dembele might be a Ballon d'Or frontrunner, but his 30 minutes of involvement against Miami were the first he has played all tournament. Kvarastskhelia may be electric, but he's unassuming. Desire Doue scored two in the Champions League final, plays with the kind of flair that sells shirts en masse, but is still 20 (and will presumably don the white of Real Madrid before reaching his absolute peak as a footballer).

They embarrassed Inter Milan, 5-0, in the Champions League final. That beatdown was so comprehensive that the merciful referee didn't even add any stoppage time in the second half – such was the wobbliness of the Milanese legs. They followed that by battering Atletico Madrid to open their CWC campaign.

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GettyBotafogo, who play without ego

What happened after that, then, might be confusing. PSG smashed back-to-back European giants before facing Brazilian side Botafogo – and were beaten 1-0. It would seem to run counter to all of the rhetoric about money, power and, well, quality. It served as a reference point, a blueprint – perhaps even a glimmer of hope. If Botafogo could do it, why couldn't Miami?

It's a fair assumption, but dig a little deeper, ponder the circumstances, the angles, and the actual physical teams playing football, and it's a flawed comparison.

Any such assumption is a massive disservice to Botafogo as a team, and the Brazilian Serie A as a league. Botafogo, remember, are the reigning Copa Libertadores champions. They are led by Igor Jesus, who has started up front for the Brazilian national team. More broadly, Brazil's top flight is, well, better than MLS. Botafogo are a better team, playing in a better league, with a more impressive resume to back it up.

But perhaps the real reason Botafogo were able to beat PSG when Miami couldn't is because of the vibe, the setup, what kids call "aura." Manager Renato Paiva claimed that the "cemetery of football is full of favorites" before the game, and seemed to instruct his side to kick the Parisians to their football grave.

They committed 15 fouls across those 90 minutes, and got away with so many more. Their goal came from a kind deflection from Jesus's rather scuffed shot, and they were shameless in their defensive setup thereafter. Botafogo dug in for an hour, "played" something resembling a 6-3-1, and were good value for a vintage smash and grab.

Miami, meanwhile, set up with a hint of ego. This is the curse of having Messi in your team: you have to play like it. Miami tried to match PSG man-for-man. Their 4-4-2 formation, with a bit more attacking intent, predictably, was ripped to shreds.

Critics have long pointed out that the Herons don't have the athleticism to survive against younger, quicker and more expansive sides. Those are all traits that PSG have. Throw in the fact that they can also field a team of 11 elite footballers, and this was a thrashing waiting to happen.

Star legspinner hopes the performance provides solace to people who are struggling back home

Ashish Pant15-Oct-20231:27

What made the Afghanistan spinners so good against England?

Rashid Khan has always been in tune with the struggles of the Afghanistan people. At the time of the Taliban takeover, he was in the UK, playing in the Hundred, and all he wanted was “peace”. Now, in the aftermath of earthquakes that have wreaked immense damage in Herat, he hoped that their humbling of the men’s ODI World Champions England may give the nation some form of solace.”It will be a big celebration back home,” he told after the game “We don’t have that kind of wins and that kind of situation back home in Afghanistan where people could celebrate. I think cricket is the only source which gives them lots of happiness and lots of good memories and people back home just wait. We have lost so many games but still the kind of support we got from them…and they are so excited for us to be playing in that stage.””Winning the game against England was a big one for us, back home they will be so proud. Lately, we’ve had an earthquake back home in Afghanistan in Herat where lots of people lost their lives, more than 3000. Around 2000 people’s houses were destroyed. This victory will give them a little bit of smile on their faces and they could little bit forget those tough days.”Related

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The Great Upset: Afghanistan bring World Cup to life with England conquest

Coming into the game, Afghanistan’s only win at the World Cup in 17 attempts, came against Scotland back in the 2015 edition. But having racked up their second-highest score at this tournament, the Afghanistan spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi wove their magic as England went down by 69 runs in Delhi – their second loss in three games.Rashid played a huge role in the win, both with the bat and ball. He first scored a crucial 23-ball 22 coming lower down the order to arrest a slide as Afghanistan recorded 284 in 49.5 overs. He then followed it up with a three-wicket haul taking his side to the biggest upset of the competition this year.”Against a big team like England, it always gives you a kind of huge boost. We had very tough games in the Asia Cup and the series against Pakistan,” he said.There’s no keeping down Mujeeb Ur Rahman after he strikes•Getty Images”We were very close there but we were not winning those games, which was disappointing to the players because they were working very hard and at the end they were ending on the wrong side. They were not getting the right kind of energy and boost up. This win will give us a lot of energy for the rest of the competition. Now we have the belief that we can beat any side at any time.”While Rashid’s major contribution came with the ball as he removed Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, that isn’t the thing that had him smiling from ear to ear. “More than the three wickets, it was the 23 runs that were crucial. I was so happy with that, especially the cover drive off Mark Wood,” he said, “That is something I am more excited about after the game than my three wickets. That was the kind of contribution I wanted to have for the team. Happy after a long time to get three wickets. I was struggling a little bit to get the wickets as well but happy to get them at a very crucial time.”Along with Rashid, the other major influence in the game was Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman who first slammed a 16-ball 28 before picking 3 for 51 off his ten overs to take home the Player-of-the-Match trophy. After Fazalhaq Farooqi set the ball rolling with the wicket of Jonny Bairstow, Mujeeb made a mess of Joe Root’s stumps inside the powerplay.”As a spinner, it is very hard to bowl in the powerplay. You have only two fielders outside but that is something I have been working on in the nets,” Mujeeb said at the presentation. “Bowling with the new ball there and I try my best to be as consistent as possible and that is something which made me more effective. In the powerplay, you don’t have much of the areas to bowl wider or leg stump but I always try my best to bowl stump to stump and make it simple for myself.”Whenever I am bowling in the nets, same mindset and same mentality. I am bowling into the wicket and that’s where I am enjoying my bowling.”It’s a very proud moment to be here in the World Cup and beating the last World Cup champions. It is a great achievement for the whole nation, for the whole team and I think it is a kind of opportunity and we have worked hard for this day to beat such a big team and so happy for this performance.”Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi termed this win against England as Afghanistan’s best and was confident that this was just the start of his side’s journey in the World Cup.”This was the best win that we got today and the confidence will be there for the next games and all the country will be proud and happy,” he said. “Last couple of games we did not finish well, but we had the belief. This is not the first win that we are looking for. Moving forward, we will be positive for the next games. This means a lot for us. This was the first one, not the last one.”

Marcus Rashford has sent out a strong message after losing the No. 10 shirt to new Manchester United signing Matheus Cunha.

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Rashford not in Man Utd plansCunha takes his No. 10 shirtEngland man sends messageFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Soon after Cunha swapped Wolves for United, the £62.5 million ($85m) signing was given the No. 10 jersey at Old Trafford – a number Rashford had held. Less than a day after this development, the 27-year-old has posted a photo of himself training hard in the gym as he heads to a new chapter in his career.

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The former Aston Villa loanee uploaded a photo on X of him holding a weight in a gym, with the caption: "#NewProfilePic."

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Rashford has seemingly made it clear that his United days are over as he looks for a summer move. His dream switch would be to Barcelona but that move has not been forthcoming, yet, so the England international is facing an uncertain future. But for the time being, he is making it clear he is fit and raring to go ahead of the new season.

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United academy product Rashford, who will not head back to Villa after they passed up the chance to sign him for £40m ($54.6m), will hope to find a new team soon as he will no doubt be eyeing a spot in Thomas Tuchel's England squad for next year's World Cup.

Scorchers held control before Harmanpreet and Wareham knocks but it wasn’t enough for Renegades

Tristan Lavalette03-Nov-2023Beth Mooney and Sophie Devine pummelled an under pressure Melbourne Renegades in a well-executed chase as Perth Scorchers recorded a comfortable victory at the WACA.A chase of 172 appeared tricky until Mooney and Devine combined for a 105-run third-wicket partnership. They relished the batting friendly conditions under lights as Scorchers waltzed to the target in the 17.2 overs.The defeat puts pressure on Renegades, who are struggling to keep touch with the top four with five losses in six games. After electing to bat, Renegades were pinned down until a 76-run partnership between Harmanpreet Kaur and Georgia Wareham engineered a fightback.Their momentum carried over when offspinner Hayley Matthews dismissed Chloe Piparo in the first over. But Renegades were left to rue Sarah Coyte dropping a sitter in the deep when Mooney was on 9 robbing 16-year-old left-arm quick Sara Kennedy of her first WBBL wicket.Ahead of her imminent Year 10 exams, Kennedy hit speeds nudging 120kmph in her third WBBL match, but Renegades ultimately succumbed to veterans Mooney and Devine.Having overtaken Elyse Villani as Scorchers’ highest ever run-scorer, Mooney used her feet superbly to thwart Wareham’s legspin. The game was on a knife’s edge at the midway point, but Scorchers decided to go for broke with the power surge after the drinks break.The gamble worked superbly with Devine smashing three consecutive sixes off Matthews to turn the contest on its head.Mooney reached her half-century after a drop from a leaping Tammy Beaumont at point in a tough chance that seemingly ended Renegades’ hopes. Devine reached her half-century in style with a six but fell off the next delivery to Georgia Prestwidge.Harmanpreet Kaur anchored Melbourne Renegades with an unbeaten half century but it wasn’t enough•Getty ImagesScorchers should be well satisfied with their 4-2 record ahead of the season debut on Sunday of star England allrounder Nat Sciver-Brunt, who was a controversial late signing after not nominating for the overseas player draft.With turn playing a factor in the earlier Strikers-Sixers match, star legspinner Alana King loomed large. She produced sharp turn immediately and on the second ball of the innings had Beaumont edging to slip.Emerging spinner Amy Edgar, who has made a strong start to the season, relished the extra bounce on the surface and had Courtney Webb poking tamely to midwicket.The pressure was on Matthews, who had scored just 63 runs from five games. Matthews struggled to shake her sluggish form, but rode her luck on 12 when Amy Jones dropped a regulation chance at long-on.Matthews looked out of sorts until smashing a couple of boundaries from offspinner Lilly Mills in the eighth over. Just when she was building momentum, powering past her previous season high score of 20, Matthews fell to teenaged quick Chloe Ainsworth.Harmanpreet and Wareham played smartly to steady the ship as Scorchers’ long-held struggles of taking wickets in the middle overs reared. The batters were intent on nudging the ball around and building a platform for the power surge, which they took in the 16th over.Tensions boiled over when Harmanpreet was not ready to face Devine, whose dot delivery ultimately was deemed a dead ball. A brief delay ensued leading to a war of words as Devine’s mood deteriorated further when Wareham put the foot down to smash four boundaries off Edgar in the 17th over.Devine felt slightly better after producing a direct run out to end Wareham’s 25-ball 44 and she was all smiles later in the night as Scorchers remained unbeaten at home.

Napoli are closing in on the signing of Noa Lang from PSV after agreeing a transfer fee for the Netherlands international.

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Napoli sign Noa Lang for €28m including bonusesLang scored 11 goals and added 10 assists last seasonHe will become Napoli’s third summer signingFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Napoli have finalised a €28 million (£24m/$30m) deal with PSV for the winger, according to Fabrizio Romano. The agreement includes a 10% sell-on clause for PSV, with Lang set to sign a long-term contract worth €2.8 million (£2m/$3m) net per season. Medical tests are scheduled, and the clubs have exchanged all required documentation to complete the move.

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Lang will become Napoli’s third signing of the summer following Kevin De Bruyne and Luca Marianucci. The 26-year-old will add depth to Conte’s attack, particularly on the left wing after Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s January departure to Paris Saint-Germain. Napoli targeted Lang in January but were turned down by the Eindhoven side.

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Lang registered 11 goals and 10 assists in 29 Eredivisie appearances during the 2024–25 campaign. PSV’s sale of Lang at €28m marks a major profit, having signed him from Club Brugge in 2023 for €12.5m (£11m/$14m).

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IMAGOWHAT NEXT FOR NAPOLI?

Lang is expected to join the squad for pre-season training once his medical is completed. Napoli may continue their summer spending as they seek further attacking reinforcements amid persistent uncertainty over Victor Osimhen's future. Lang is likely to compete for a starting role with Matteo Politano and David Neres in Conte’s system.