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Justin Langer, Australia’s coach for the West Indies tri-series, said that he’s in awe of the young fast bowling talent he saw in the West Indies

Brydon Coverdale28-Jun-20162:47

Langer hopes for no more ‘dead’ WI pitches

West Indies cricket would go a long way to reaching its potential if Caribbean pitches regained the pace and bounce of yesteryear, according to Australia’s stand-in coach Justin Langer. After Australia won the tri-series final against West Indies on Sunday, Langer said he had been in awe of the talent he had seen among local net bowlers over the past month.However, the pitches offered up during the series tended to be on the slower side, as has been the case in the region for many years. Langer said he found it baffling that pitches were prepared that would help spinners such as Sunil Narine, who he said was “still going to be a star” on any surface due to his natural talent, instead of fast bowlers who could rattle opposing batsmen.”There is so much fast-bowling talent here,” Langer said. “You’ve got big, tall, beautiful athletes, and they run in and bowl fast and they keep bowling all day, but I don’t understand why they play on such dead, low, lifeless wickets. It doesn’t make any sense to us.”If you could harness the natural ability you’ve got in the West Indies with those tall fast bowlers … it would get the batsmen more used to facing fast bowling, more used to facing short-pitched bowling. And with the natural talent they’ve got it won’t take long. But you’ve got to face it. You’ve got to be exposed to it.”There’s so much natural talent. We’ve seen it in the net bowlers. I’m in awe of how many young fast bowlers you’ve got in the West Indies. We’ve seen it in Guyana, we’ve seen it in St Kitts, we’ve seen it in Barbados, and yet you play on wickets that bounce about this high. It doesn’t make sense to me.”The 19-year-old Leeward Islands bowler Alzarri Joseph was one such talent who impressed Langer with his work in the nets against the Australians during the St Kitts leg of the tour. Joseph was part of the West Indies side that won the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh earlier this year, and Langer said he was seriously impressed by what he saw at training.”He reminded me of Andre Russell,” Langer said. “He bowled fast, beautiful yorkers – and what an athlete. I reckon I’ve seen four or five who have really, really raw talent, and they just kept bowling. That’s what I kept loving. They just kept running in and bowling all day.”In a lot of parts of the world now it’s so structured with workloads and bowling loads. These kids just kept running in and bowling fast, and it was bloody hot … I do know they gave our batsmen a workout, and there was talent. The talent is very obvious.”Langer, in charge of the Australian squad while Darren Lehmann had a break at home, emerged from the tour with a series win to his name, but he said West Indies should have a bright future judging by their performances this year.”West Indies cricket is so exciting,” he said. “They won the T20 World Cup, they’re so dangerous. They’re like a boxer who’s got the big right hook and could knock you out at any time. They’ve got so much talent.”I really respect and admire the guys who are playing, Jason Holder and Darren Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite to name a few – Narine, Pollard is always dangerous. [Johnson] Charles is a very dangerous player. Until we got him out I was nervous for the game, because he’s a serious player. He whacks it – not a lot of foot movement but he’s a dangerous player. If he could harness his ability and go out and score more hundreds … Darren Bravo got a brilliant hundred the other day.”There’s a lot of talent and I think they’re playing really well. They made the final, they beat South Africa very well, who are on paper an unbelievable cricket team. West Indies have a lot to look forward to.”

Ahead of South Africa’s departure for the World T20, coach Russell Domingo feels that his side’s consistency in the shortest format will hold them in good stead at the tournament

Firdose Moonda10-Mar-20164:14

‘We have to learn from our mistakes’ – Du Plessis

For all the unwanted accolades Russell Domingo earned this summer – he oversaw South Africa’s longest winless streak in Test cricket since readmission in which they were also bowled out for their two lowest scores – he remains their most successful major tournament coach and therein lies the chance for him to declare this season a success. Domingo has been in charge for two ICC tournaments, the World T20 in 2014 and the 2015 World Cup. South Africa reached the semi-finals in both tournaments and he has reason to believe they can go one, or even two better at the World T20 in India.”We’ve got a chance. We are one of the most consistent sides in this format. We can go there very confident,” Domingo said on the eve of South Africa’s departure for India. “We have prepared very well. We have some of the best players in the world. We’ve got a seriously good side. We’ll be there and thereabouts.”

Cleared action doesn’t guarantee Phangiso spot in XI

Despite having his bowling action declared legal, Aaron Phangiso may still be on the sidelines for the World T20, as he was during the 2015 World Cup. Phangiso was the only member of South Africa’s 2015 party who did not play a single game and has since struggled to establish himself against an array of personal problems. He remains back-up to Imran Tahir.
“I can’t guarantee anybody a spot. We need to get there and play our best starting XI,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach said.
Phangiso’s remodeled action has not yet been tested in international cricket. He was rushed through two tests after being reported for a suspect action during a domestic game last month. Phangiso’s action was found to be illegal after a first round of tests.
Domingo explained Phangiso will get a chance to put his new action to the test in the warm-up matches before South Africa decide on their final XI.
Phangiso is one of only two black African players in the squad and there could be pressure to play him as the country’s sports minister got involved in the controversy around the bowler’s action.

South Africa signed off on their home season with a 2-1 series defeat to Australia, but victories over England and India in India in the shortest format would seem to put them among the favourites. However, a difficult few months headlined by Test defeats and talk of AB de Villiers’ workload management means they will fly under the radar for a change and Domingo is quite happy with that. “We are all pretty chilled. I don’t think there is a weight of expectation around our team or any of the teams because of the nature of the competition,” he said.The structure of the tournament – two groups of five teams with each team playing each other only once – means the chances of slipping up are greater, so Domingo is encouraging his team to “keep it simple,” and not look for a special formula. “You can’t get too fancy, you can’t get too funky. There is no magic wand to wave. The sides that do the basics really well in high-pressure games, they usually come out on top,” he said.South Africa were that side for five successive limited-overs matches at home when they came from behind to beat England 3-2 in an ODI series and win the first two T20s. All those wins and the first against Australia came chasing, which has allowed South Africa to bury one ghost but resurrect another. “We’ve chased really well which is a big bonus but we need to defend a score. We need to find ways of scraping,” Domingo said.Domingo’s way of helping them find that is to ensure they have clarity of thought rather than an overload of technical expertise. “I can’t hit my players if they bowl a no-ball, or slap them on the wrist,” he said. “If you make a mistake, the last thing a player wants to hear is, ‘Why did you bowl that?’ Encouraging them and working on their thought processes is the key. If your thoughts are clear you have got a better chance of executing your plan.”Faf du Plessis has already bought into that philosophy and emphasised that the fundamentals should be South Africa’s focus as they head to into the World T20: “This team has had really good results in the subcontinent but we’ve got some of work to do to make sure we are ready for that first game. We’ve got to work on the basics.”

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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• Kirby to be assessed
• Injury ruled her out of Austria win
• Wiegman also gives Kelly update

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Having initially been down to start the friendly in Spain, Kirby's absence from the eventual 7-2 win over Austria was put down to some "irritation" with her knee suffered in the warm-up. Chloe Kelly, meanwhile, was already set to miss out due a minor training injury but has every chance of being involved for the upcoming Italy game.

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• WHAT WIEGMAN SAID

  Wiegman said: "Fran had some little irritation on her knee. In this moment, we're not going to take any risks with anyone. We just said: 'We'll take you off and assess it tomorrow.'

  "Hopefully it's just a little bit of irritation and we can move on. Chloe is doing better and we hope she will be back for Tuesday."

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  Kirby has featured regularly for Chelsea this season, recording four goal contributions in 14 WSL appearances, but was forced to miss last summer's World Cup after undergoing surgery on her knee, and has yet to get back to top form for the Lionesses.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR THE LIONESSES?

  The Italy friendly is scheduled for Tuesday. It remains to be seen whether Kirby will be involved, but Wiegman has alluded to Kelly being declared fit and featuring. After that, the Lionesses will wait for their next set of fixtures to be announced ahead of the April international break.

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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• Bellingham starred as Real won 4-0
• England international scored twice
• Valverde posts joke on Instagram

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bellingham turned in a brilliant performance against Girona as Real won 4-0, scoring a brace. He subsequently posted a photo on Instagram of himself celebrating, and Valverde posted a joke in reference, seemingly, to the England international's genitalia.

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• WHAT BELLINGHAM AND VALVERDE SAID

  Bellingham wrote: "Nothing's decided yet, we'll keep pushing. 20 piece. #HalaMadrid." The "20 piece" refers to a celebratory bucket of chicken.

  Valverde responded: "You can't play with three legs."

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  The angle of Bellingham's celebratory picture shows that he maybe enjoyed it a little too much, and Valverde made sure to make crude reference to it. The real story, though, is that Real are now five points clear of second-placed Girona at the top of La Liga after Saturday's win.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BELLINGHAM?

  Real are next in action in the Champions League, against RB Leipzig, in the first leg of their Round of 16 clash on Tuesday. They will then return to La Liga action against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

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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• Gyokeres in excellent form in Portugal
• Chelsea among teams eager to sign striker
• €100m forward wants to stay at Sporting

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Blues are said to be after the Sweden international, who has scored 17 goals in 20 matches this season. However, the 25-year-old striker is in no hurry to leave the Portuguese club any time soon having only moved to Lisbon in the summer.

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  WHAT GYOKERES SAID

  He told : "I’m very happy here and I don’t care about any interested parties at the moment. I’m enjoying every day here and not thinking about what’s going on around me. Yes, there’s talk of big clubs, but for now it’s just news. That’s all… This is where I want to stay."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Sporting have no intention of selling one of their prized assets at this stage, either, and any team trying to sign him will have to match the €100 million (£87m/$110m) release clause in his contract. Coach Ruben Amorim reiterated that they would not accept a lower fee, but admits Gyokeres' attitude could change at any moment and he may want to leave. He told reporters recently: "Anything is possible, the players may want to stay but it could happen that changes our way of seeing things. In the past it was more difficult for me because an offer could come up and the player had to go, we had another urgency, but now it's just for the clause. The player's will changes, sometimes anything in our life changes, everything is possible. But we are protected because we have a clause that is high. I am more relaxed now because our situation is clearer, if you have to go, go by the clause. What matters is that the player is happy, but Sporting will survive without Viktor."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Gyokeres is not the only Sporting player Chelsea are reported to be interested in signing. They are said to be already in talks with the Lisbon club over a possible deal for central defender Ousmane Diomande, who is said to valued at around £69m ($88m).

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.