England will assess the knee problem that saw Fran Kirby pulled from the starting lineup to face Austria, but there is good Chloe Kelly news.
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Federico Valverde has posted a crude "three legs" message to Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham, in reference to his celebration against Girona.
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Newcastle United are still active in the transfer window even though the new Premier League season is well underway. Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has offered an update to GIVEMESPORT on their pursuit of Arsenal and Scotland fullback Kieran Tierney.
Something stands in the way of Tierney transfer?
Newcastle got off to the best possible start last weekend as they put Aston Villa to the sword, romping past them at St James’ Park to a 5-1 victory. Alexander Isak scored a brace whilst the opener was grabbed by none other than debutant Sandro Tonali.
An even bigger test is up next as the Magpies prepare to face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City who are fresh off of their Super Cup victory.
Dan Burn started at left-back against Unai Emery’s Villa and will surely hold on to that spot for the trip to the Etihad. That being said, Eddie Howe and co are on the hunt for an upgrade in that position with Kieran Tierney at the top of their list, along with Chelsea’s Marc Cucurella.
This Tierney saga has gone back and forth with Real Sociedad and Celtic also interested in striking a deal for the Scotsman. The major sticking point has been surrounding whether it would be a permanent deal or a loan, something which La Real and the Gunners have been unable to agree on.
What is Fabrizio Romano's update?
Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano gave his opinion on what we can expect regarding Tierney and Newcastle to GIVEMESPORT.
"There is interest from Newcastle United, it's true, but again, with Arsenal asking for a permanent transfer, we know the Newcastle situation with Financial Fair Play is not that easy.
"So they have to be careful on how they spend money, what kind of proposal they can offer to Arsenal.
"So that's why the deal is not so easy. But it's true that he's appreciated. So, I think in the next few weeks, something could happen for Tierney."
Should Arsenal let Tierney leave?
A lot of the chatter amongst the Emirates faithful relates to these Tierney links and whether or not their club should allow him to move on to pastures new.
Ben Jacobs revealed on the Loaded Mag NUFC podcast the position of Arteta on the future of Tierney.
“The starting point of Arteta, I understood, was that if Tierney was happy at Arsenal, Arteta was happy with Tierney staying because he’s hugely valued as a squad player and they’re going to have a lot of important games now that they’re back in the Champions League.
Jacobs then went on to echo a sentiment shared by a large amount of Arsenal fans, saying that, “What if Zinchenko gets injured? You’d love a player like Tierney there that can come in.”
As previously mentioned, the Gunners now have UCL action to contend with as well and Zinchenko hardly boasted the most positive fitness record last term. Knee problems and two separate calf issues kept the Ukrainian international out of action for over 150 days in 2022/23, as per Transfermarkt, so the decision to part ways with his only realistic replacement would certainly raise eyebrows across the Premier League landscape.
Darren Sammy’s scorching last-over burst, followed by Mohammad Sami’s four-wicket haul, broke Comilla Victorians’ five-match winning streak, as they lost to Rajshahi Kings by 30 runs in Chittagong
The Report by Mohammad Isam25-Nov-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsBCBDarren Sammy’s scorching last-over burst, followed by Mohammad Sami’s four-wicket haul, broke Comilla Victorians’ five-match winning streak, as they lost to Rajshahi Kings by 30 runs in Chittagong.Rajshahi had seemed to be ambling towards a middling score, but blitzed 72 runs off 22 balls following Sammy’s arrival. They ended up with 185 for 7, with Sammy unbeaten on 47 off 14 balls. His strike-rate of 335.71 is the highest for a batsman to have struck more than 40 runs in a BPL innings.Sammy tonked six sixes in total, four of which came in the last over that went for 32 runs. Mohammad Saifuddin, who had the misfortune of sending down that over, now holds the unenviable record of conceding the most runs in an over in BPL history.Comilla recovered well from that late onslaught and were going well in the chase, with Tamim Iqbal and Shoaib Malik putting together an 87-run stand. But once Sami dismissed Tamim, the rest simply caved. It was similar to their bowling effort that came apart after a very good start.Comilla hit back after early blowsEach of Rajshahi’s top four fell after getting their eye in. Dwayne Smith, who had got going with four punchy boundaries, was first to fall when he inside-edged Saifuddin onto the stumps after reaching out for an expansive drive. In the next over, Mominul Haque, who had raced away to a brisk start with five crisply-struck fours, paid the price for a moment’s hesitation. Mominul pushed the legspinner Rashid Khan behind point and Luke Wright called for a single straight away. Mominul, though, wasn’t as convinced and was felled by a direct hit at the non-striker’s end. Zakir Hasan found the bounce of an Al-Amin Hossain bouncer disconcerting and top-edged a pull that was snaffled by the bowler, before Imrul Kayes’ terrific catch at long-on ended Mushfiqur Rahim’s stay. From 43 for no loss, Rajshahi lost four wickets by the time they could double that score.Wright keeps Rajshahi tickingThe gift of timing completely abandoned Luke Wright, who struggled for large parts of his 42. But to his credit, he gritted it out. After scratching around for 20 balls for his first 14 runs, Wright showed the first signs of acceleration by collecting 16 runs off his next six balls. That included two sublime fours through midwicket off successive deliveries against Al-Amin. He added 37 runs for the fifth wicket with James Franklin in quick time, before the latter fell leg-before to a Hasan Ali yorker. Wright fell in the following over, when his scoop found short fine leg. He fell eight short of a fifty but had kept Rajshahi intact till the 18th over before Sammy took over.Sammy lays a brutal finishing touchWhen Tamim Iqbal threw Saifuddin the ball for the final over, it was in the hope that he could finish off a job well-started. Saifuddin had figures of 3-0-18-3, but nothing could have prepared him for the onslaught he suffered at the hands of Sammy. His first delivery to Sammy was a fuller ball that came into him, and all Sammy had to do was help it on its way to deep backward square leg. The rest of the over was a generous mix of fuller deliveries, or worse still, full tosses that were shoveled with brute force. Saifuddin set out on a search for the wide yorker and instead fed to Sammy’s swinging arc and offered him ample room. To make matters worse, Saifuddin sent down two wides, extending Sammy’s party to an eight-ball over. Just last month, Saifuddin had suffered a similar shellacking at the hands of David Miller, who took him apart for five successive sixes in one over, in a T20 international against South Africa.Comilla shrug off early stutterFakhar Zaman’s BPL debut lasted just five balls as he chopped Sami onto his stumps, and Imrul Kayes fell to a harsh lbw decision, with replays suggesting the ball would have missed leg – as Comilla lost two wickets in the first two overs of their chase.Tamim and Malik then resurrected Comilla’s chase with an 87-run stand for the third wicket. It was broken when Malik’s stroke-filled 45 ended tamely. One ball after a stunning four that split short third man and backward point, Malik chipped a simple return catch to Dwayne Smith, leaving Comilla with 95 to get in 52 balls.Sami’s 3-in-1Comilla did not feel the pinch of Malik’s dismissal as much as Buttler picked up from where Malik left. With Tamim, he struck 34 runs in three overs to keep Comilla’s prospects alive. Tamim launched Hossain Ali over extra cover to bring up his fifty and the 4000th run of his T20 career while Buttler used his favoured reverse sweep to good effect.Sami then got Tamim to skew an inside-out shot to deep point in the 15th over to open the gates. Alok Kapali perished two balls later when he swung across the line and lost his stumps. Sami then ended the over by having Saifuddin hole out to deep point. He gave away just one run in his last over to finish with 4 for 9 in four overs. His effort left Comilla with 32 to get from the last over, which was precisely how much Sammy hit in Rajshahi’s last over.What they said”Darren Sammy doing that made a huge difference. I think if we just got 150, we would have probably lost. And then Mohammad Sami with the ball was amazing, but I think Sammy put massive pressure on them, which helped take those wickets in the end.”
The captain also said the onus was on the fast-bowlers to make the best use of the slightly more seamer-friendly conditions a day-night Test offers
Osman Samiuddin in Dubai06-Oct-2017Sri Lanka stand on the verge of a rare feat. Since beating Pakistan in Pakistan at the turn of the century, they have won only one away series against opposition excluding Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. That was the 2014 series against England and like the 1999-00 series against Pakistan, it was a humdinger – both triumphs built in equal parts skill, wit, will and grit.That is probably the best way to get a measure of the scale of their achievement in Abu Dhabi last week, inflicting on Pakistan their first defeat at the venue. Look where it leaves them. And Look at the circumstances out of which it was born.The temptation will be to put that win down to Pakistan doing another Pakistan, or to Sri Lanka relying on some late-career Rangana Herath magic. Neither are untrue. But there was more to it.They were in control of their destiny until that fourth afternoon collapse and throughout Pakistan’s chase. From Dimuth Karunaratne’s first-day calm through Dinesh Chandimal’s nine-hour epic via two essential (and responsible) contributions from Niroshan Dickwella right down to Suranga Lakmal and Nuwan Pradeep outbowling Pakistan’s pace attack, this was much, much more than just Herath.Not the best time then, you might think, to be playing your first day-night Test. Sri Lanka did arrange a pink-ball trial in their last domestic season but, bizarrely, it was a day game. The tourists enter this as good as blind.They continue to put faith in their traditional strengths, and go in with three spinners on a surface Chandimal noted for being “really dry”, as much as the one in Abu Dhabi. The pitch will, he predicted, bring spinners into play over the last couple of days.Last year, in Pakistan’s day-night Test here against West Indies, Pakistan scored nearly 600 in their first innings, for the loss of only three wickets. They crumbled for 123 in their second, Devendra Bishoo’s legspin accounting for eight wickets. But the pitch was still firm enough over the last two days for West Indies to get within 56 runs of chasing 346 on the final day.Plenty of responsibility will still fall on Lakmal and Pradeep. “I think especially with the pink ball, I played one game in domestic cricket, and I feel the first 20 to 25 overs there is a bit seam and swing,” Chandimal said. “I mean more helpful for the fast bowlers and especially when the ball gets old there is a lot of reverse swing. Nothing that much for the spinners so I think it is really helpful for the fast bowlers as far as I am concerned.”They have the benefit of being able to pick nearly the same XI – only Lahiru Thirimanne is a doubt. Some stiffness in his back kept him off the field on the final day in Abu Dhabi and if he doesn’t wake up well tomorrow, it could mean a debut for wicketkeeper batsman Sadeera Samarawickrama.Ultimately, personnel issues and even conditions may not matter as much as the approach they take. Few teams nowadays set out to draw Tests but for a side in the kind of form Sri Lanka is in, unfamiliarity with winning can seep into how they approach sessions or days. Sri Lanka don’t have to look too far or long back – it was in Sharjah in January 2014 where Angelo Mathews’ defensiveness resulted in a series levelled rather than one won.”Actually we are looking to win so we are not going to play for draw,” Chandimal said. “That is our main target that we are going to [go for a] win. We just need to go back to our basics.”In Abu Dhabi the pitch was totally different to the last two series. We saw on the last day there were so many cracks. When we come to Dubai it normally suits the spinners, lot of grip so this will be a really good game for both sides.”The final word then, as it was in Abu Dhabi, as it is so often with Sri Lanka and especially so in this rivalry, for Herath.”As far as I am concerned throughout my career normally the Pakistan batters they really struggle against left-arm spinners. We all know Rangana is a legend and he is an outstanding bowler so I am sure he will be a really good asset for this game as well.”
Chelsea have been dealt a disappointing blow in their efforts to sign Viktor Gyokeres with the striker saying he wants to stay at Sporting CP.
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Manchester United are interested in signing Serhou Guirassy from Stuttgart in January as the club looks to add competition for Rasmus Hojlund.
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Man Utd in contact with Serhou GuirassyWant competition for HojlundCould get striker for a very low feeGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
With 15 goals in only eight Bundesliga starts, Guirassy has had an incredible start to the season, propelling Stuttgart into the Champions League discussion. As per The Guardian, the Red Devils are extremely interested in Guirassy's services as the Guinea international's contract with Stuttgart contains a meagre €17.5 million (£15m/$19m) release clause. It is believed that United has been in touch with Guirassy's representatives to discuss a possible transfer after Hojund had a challenging start to his Premier League career and has failed to score or assist in the competition.
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Guirassy would be a more seasoned supplement for Hojlund. However, the Guinean attacker could miss a month of club action as he is anticipated to travel to the Africa Cup of Nations in January with Guinea. It has also been reported that Guirassy is on Newcastle's shortlist as Eddie Howe tries to bolster his offensive options. West Ham, Fulham, Brentford, Crystal Palace, and Bournemouth have all been connected to Guirassy in the past.
DID YOU KNOW?
This season, Guirassy set a new record for goals scored after seven fixtures of a Bundesliga campaign after scoring 13 times, breaking Robert Lewandowski’s landmark of 11 goals
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(C)Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR GUIRASSY?
Erik ten Hag's side are still some way away from actually making a move for the Guinean, if they do decide to do so. Meanwhile, the forward will continue to perform with Stuttgart starting with their weekend clash against Werder Bremen.
Argentina U17 starlet Claudio Echeverri recreated a Lionel Messi-esque finish to complete his hat-trick against rivals Brazil in the U-17 World Cup.
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Echeverri recreated Messi's 2012 finish Both players scored a hat-trick in their respective matchesBrazil at the receiving end on both occasions WHAT HAPPENED?
The Argentine U17 starlet scored an incredible hat-trick in a win over Brazil to fire his side into the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Jakarta on Friday. He opened the scoring with a brilliant sole attempt just minutes before the half-hour mark and then doubled the lead in the 59th minute with a tight finish from the edge of the box. Whereas, his third goal was the cherry on the top as it not only helped him complete a hat trick but also closely resembled a 2012 finish of Messi. On both occasions, the forwards dribbled past the keeper and then pushed the ball into an empty net after latching onto a defence-splitting through ball from midfield.
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Echeverri's goal has some other uncanny similarities to Messi's strike over a decade back. Apart from the electric finish, both players wore the No. 10 shirt during their respective matches and Brazil found themselves at the receiving end of such a genius onslaught. In fact, Echeverri's hat trick was the first since Messi's 2012 heroics against their arch-rivals. Back in his homeland, comparisons are already being made with the 2022 World Cup winner but Echeverii believes that his style is more like Pablo Aimar who is a part of the national team staff.
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Doc. LOC WCU17/BRYWHAT NEXT FOR ECHEVERRI?
The River Plate starlet will hope to carry on with his rich vein of form in the remaining two matches of the U-17 World Cup and emulate Messi by lifting the trophy in the finale on December 2.
West Indies’ batsmen need to find an answer to teenage legspinner Shadab Khan if they are to keep the series alive
The Preview by Danyal Rasool31-Mar-2017Match factsApril 1, 2017
Start time 12:30 local (16:30 GMT)Will West Indies find an answer to Shadab Khan?•Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty ImagesBig PictureThe 2-0 scoreline may suggest more of the same from the remaining T20 matches this series, but the manner in which Pakistan sneaked over the line in the second game brought the tour to life. It was an encounter West Indies looked to have wrapped up a number of times, only to let it slip through their fingers during a frenetic last over. Even so, West Indies have shown they’re up to the task of challenging the visitors, and on the evidence of Thursday’s showing, a long-awaited limited-overs win against Pakistan might not be far away.The hosts’ primary headache is the lack of form for many of their key T20 players. Lendl Simmons has scored just 21 runs in his last five T20I innings, while Keiron Pollard has not scored more than 26 in a T20I since July 2013, and has a disappointing (by his standards anyway) strike rate of 103.9 since then. Captain Carlos Brathwaite is yet to regain the touch that blasted West Indies to the World T20 title, and the openers lack experience. In addition, the previous game saw one of the worst fielding displays from West Indies in recent times, multiple schoolboy errors gifting Pakistan extra runs in a match they only won by three.Pakistan, for their part, will recognise that they made off with a win they barely deserved, relying heavily on their 18-year old legspinner Shadab Khan, who, besides Wahab Riaz, was the only player to walk away from the game with any credit. Pakistan’s batting is at the same, maddeningly inconsistent level it’s been at for a number of years now, and West Indies have a bowling attack to exploit that weakness. However, with West Indies appearing to have what can only be described as a mental block against Sarfraz Ahmed’s men, Pakistan may walk away with a series win that will, on current evidence, only paper over the cracks.Form guideWest Indies LLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWWWWIn the spotlightThe second T20 was as close to a one-on-one match-up as cricket could hope for, with the result of the match looking like it hinged on the duel between Marlon Samuels and Shadab. After a lean period, which saw the West Indies batsman being dropped from the ODI series against England, he was at his expansive best on Thursday. Imad Wasim went for consecutive sixes in an over Samuels took 19 from, and two cover drives in a Hasan Ali over showed Samuels was as much at home with finesse as he was with force. He looked like he might drag West Indies over the line on his own, and his failure to do so may well see him hungry to make amends in the upcoming encounter.The fire was back in Wahab Riaz’s belly during the second match after a disappointing opener. At the Queen’s Park Oval, Wahab combined the two things that so often fail to go hand in hand for him: raw pace and accuracy. The penultimate over of the West Indies’ innings – bowled by Wahab – was riveting viewing, with the ball at times coming in as fast as 95mph, beating the batsmen for pace. It also accounted for the crucial wicket of Brathwaite, whose presence, as everyone knows now, always means West Indies are always in with a chance. If Wahab can find that sort of performance consistently, he can ensure the hosts have one more thing to worry about.Carlos Brathwaite is yet to regain the touch that fired West Indies to the World T20 title last year•AFPTeam newsWest Indies didn’t make any changes after a dismal performance in the first game, so they are likely to stick with the side that so significantly improved four days later. The only question mark may be over the inclusion of Rovman Powell, who fell for a first-ball duck, with Jason Mohammad a possible replacement. The hosts otherwise named the same 13-man squad for the last two T20s.West Indies (probable): Evin Lewis, Chadwick Walton (wk), Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Keiron Pollard, Rovman Powell/Jason Mohammad, Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Sunil Narine, Jason Holder, Samuel Badree, Kesrick WilliamsPakistan’s top order was ordinary yet again, but with no obvious replacements, they may stick to the same eleven that edged the second game in Trinidad. However, replacing Kamran Akmal with Mohammad Hafeez might be a possibility, if only for the extra bowling option he gives them.Pakistan (probable): Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal/Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Hasan Ali, Wahab RiazPitch and conditionsThe pitch at the Queen’s Park Oval, as was witnessed during the second T20, is expected to favour the slow bowlers and offer plenty of turn. There is cloud cover expected in the evening, which might offer movement to the faster bowlers, but no rain.Stats and trivia Marlon Samuels has now played 51 T20I innings without ever being dismissed for a duck in the format. Only Angelo Mathews has played more innings (54) in the format without falling for nought. Shadab Khan is only the third player to have won the Man-of-the-Match award in his first two T20Is, after Sanath Jayasuria and Ajantha Mendis.
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAsela Gunaratne continued his good form in international cricket•Getty Images
Australia’s “best of the Big Bash League” took Sri Lanka to the final ball. The hosts and their three debutants fought to the finish against the visitors in front of a raucous crowd at the MCG, but a win offered Sri Lanka the chance to wrap up the series at Kardinia Park on Sunday.The Perth Scorchers’ Andrew Tye was left with six runs to defend from the final over, and one from the final ball. Chamara Kapugedara surveyed the ring field then punched the winning boundary through the covers to secure the result. His composure ensured Sri Lanka finished in the ascendant after looking the more likely victors throughout their chase, largely due to a boundary count that outstripped the hosts, 21 to 13.None of Australia’s batsmen were able to go on to substantial scores after Upul Tharanga sent them in to bat, as a spongy pitch and disciplined Sri Lankan bowling denied them the ability to find a domineering rhythm. Sri Lanka’s pursuit was then given the desired fast start by Dilshan Munaweera after Tharanga was dismissed in the first over, and Asela Gunaratne’s nimble half-century guided the tourists to within sight of victory in front of 42,511 spectators, many of them barracking for Sri Lanka.Gunaratne also made a brief but notable contribution with the ball, goading the captain Aaron Finch into a skier after he had appeared the man most likely to produce a truly damaging tally for Australia. The dismissal came two balls after Finch had hammered the biggest six of the night, and 10 runs after Michael Klinger’s long delayed international debut was ended.Lasith Malinga, making his own return from a long absence, bowled tidily and scooped a couple of late wickets, while Seekkuge Prasanna gave up a mere 23 runs from four overs that featured 10 dot balls and should have been rewarded with the wicket of Travis Head – dropped badly by Tharanga at point.Tharanga’s night did not improve when he opened the batting, as he received a perfectly pitched ball going across him from Pat Cummins in the first over and offered a thin edge through to Tim Paine behind the stumps. While the Australians celebrated this wicket with some gusto, they were soon haring about the MCG outfield as Munaweera and Niroshan Dickwella went to work.Their partnership ensured the run rate was not going to be much of an issue, compelling Finch and his bowlers to chase wickets and consequentially offer more scoring opportunities. Adam Zampa delivered his usual handy spell and deserved his two wickets, but oddly Finch did not try his other spin options until introducing Ashton Turner with only a modest equation required.Dilshan Munaweera’s six fours in his quick innings rallied Sri Lanka till the halfway mark•Cricket Australia
Turner’s offbreaks were rewarded by a smart Paine stumping to end Gunaratne’s innings just when he appeared to be coasting home, before a debatable lbw verdict against Milinda Siriwardana closed the gap between the teams. In the end, Kapugedara was left needing a single from the final delivery, an assignment he made light work of with a steely drive for four.Klinger, Turner and Billy Stanlake were all named for their first T20 appearances for Australia but there was no room for Ben Dunk and only three specialist batsmen selected – Finch, Head and Klinger. The visitors included the left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan, who was so effective against Australia in the Test series in Sri Lanka last year.Malinga kicked off the evening with his first ball in a full international since February last year, and also bowled the first ball faced by Klinger in an international match no fewer than 19 years after his state debut. The pitch was a little on the sluggish side, but Klinger and the acting captain Finch made a decent start with a smattering of boundaries and hustling between the wickets.They had 76 on the board by the time Klinger tried to tug a Sandakan googly to the leg side and was pouched by Malinga via the resultant top edge. Finch had his eye on a big score as leader, but after depositing Gunaratne’s first ball well into the Great Southern Stand he tried to repeat the trick two balls later against an offcutter and popped another high catch.From there the innings was a sequence of fits and starts, as Head, Moises Henriques, Turner and James Faulkner all offered cameo contributions. However, Prasanna’s spell was particularly tidy, Sri Lanka did well to keep the boundary count down – only seven fours and four sixes in total – and two wickets in successive balls for Malinga in his final over also served to aid the tourists’ ultimately winning cause.