Tag Futebol

Buddhika Mendis stroked an unbeaten century to steer Singapore to their third win in a row in the ICC World Cricket League Division 6

Cricinfo staff01-Sep-2009Buddhika Mendis stroked an unbeaten century to steer Singapore to their third win in a row in the ICC World Cricket League Division 6, when they beat Bahrain by seven wickets on a rain-affected day on Tuesday.Play began at all the three venues but heavy rain set in around midday and only Singapore and Bahrain were able to finish their fixture at the Padang ground, while matches at the Kalang and the Indian Association ground were washed out.Batting first, Bahrain were 122 for 4 after 34 overs when the rain came down hard to stop any further play until 4pm. And when the match resumed, Singapore were set a revised target of 164 in 34 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis method.Singapore successfully knocked off the runs in 30.4 overs, losing only three wickets, and Mendis starred with an unbeaten 103. His innings was all the more impressive considering he had to bat with a runner for the major part of his innings after he had suffered an injury to his right leg.”I’m extremely happy with today’s result. We didn’t start well with our batting but then Mendis came in and played extremely well,” said Trevor Chappell, the Singapore coach. “He was helped earlier in the innings by Anish Param and later by Monish Arora. Arora and Mendis took us through to the end and I’m pleased with the team. We’re just going to have to wait and see how Mendis’ injury goes tonight, ahead of tomorrow’s match against Norway.”At the two abandoned matches, Guernsey were 184 for 2 in 35.2 overs against Norway before downpour prevented any further play at the Indian Association ground while Botswana reached 144 for 4 against Malaysia at the Kalang when play was called off.Tuesday’s abandoned matches will now be played on Thursday, the next designated reserve day. Guernsey will face Norway at the Indian Association ground and Botswana will play Malaysia at the Kalang.Wednesday’s fixtures will remain as scheduled. Norway will play Singapore at the Kalang, Bahrain will play Botswana at the Singapore Cricket Club and Guernsey will take on Malaysia at the Indian Association ground.

Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa has been lauded for his ability to coach and improve players throughout his career in the game.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola called him the best coach ‘in the world’ and revealed the respect he has for the Leeds man.

His coaching has been clear for all to see at Elland Road, taking the club from being in the Championship to competing in the Premier League, and he has improved several players along the way. One player he has helped progress at Leeds is goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

The Frenchman joined the club on loan at the start of the 2019/20 Championship season as Bielsa looked to bring in a back-up to Kiko Casilla. He ended up playing ten matches in the division that year as the Whites claimed the second-tier crown, keeping seven clean sheets and conceding four goals in that time.

Leeds then signed him on a permanent deal from Lorient in the summer of 2020 and Transfermarkt valued him at £4.05m. Bielsa made Meslier his number one and put his faith in the youngster for the 2020/21 Premier League campaign and it paid off as kept 11 clean sheets in 35 outings as the club avoided relegation back down to the second-tier.

The 21-year-old’s form in the top-flight led to journalist Phil Hay lauding the Frenchman and claiming that he has ‘vast’ potential as a shot-stopper. He said on his podcast, via This is Futbol:

“It was ridiculous [a save from Maja] and he’s pulled off quite a few like that, which I think is the sort of thing that marks him out as massive goalkeeping talent.

“He’s so young that there are parts of his game which are going to have to improve, aerially particularly, I think that’s quite apparent to everybody, but he is only 21.

“That is a young age for a footballer, generally, but a very, very young age for a goalkeeper – the potential in him is vast.”

At the time of writing (04/10/21), Transfemarkt value Meslier at £18m. This is a whopping 344% increase in one year of football for Meslier. This shows how much progress he has made during his time in England and proves that Bielsa was right to ditch Casilla and go with him as his first-choice goalkeeper.

It has been a coaching masterclass from Bielsa, which is proven by Meslier’s exponential increase in value under his management. Hopefully, the Argentine coach will be able to continue improving the French youth international further as Leeds attempt to climb the Premier League table.

AND in other news, Worrying transfer claim emerges over £35k-p/w Leeds “rock”, fans must be scared…

Lee Ryder has revealed that Wayne Rooney is keen on the manager job at Newcastle United.

The Lowdown: Rooney speaks out

Speaking to Derbyshire Live, Rooney was asked about the manager job at St. James’ Park following the departure of Steve Bruce, to which he claimed that he is ‘committed’ to Derby County.

However, he did not rule himself completely out of the running, although he said that he has had ‘no contact’ with the North East club.

The Latest: Ryder on Rooney

Writing in his latest piece for The Chronicle, Ryder has revealed that he believes Rooney is ‘keen’ on the job on Tyneside given that Bruce has now left.

He would also want to bring Shay Given with him as part of his coaching staff, a player who made a total of 463 appearance over all competitions across 12 seasons with the Magpies (‘Toon favourite’.

The Verdict: Avoid

Of course, Rooney was an absolute legend of the game as a player, winning both the UEFA Champions League and Premier League among many other major trophies (Transfermarkt), but his managerial experience is limited to just Derby and the EFL Championship.

With the likes of Unai Emery and Diego Simeone being thrown about as potential contenders for the role, unfortunately the Englishman just does not compare.

Nonetheless, the new owners need to make a statement with their appointment, and Rooney’s name certainly does not jump off of the paper.

In other news, find out which ‘incredible’ 9-trophy manager NUFC are eyeing here!

Aston Villa look set to be without John McGinn for tonight’s Carabao Cup clash against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

What’s the story?

The Scotland international was involved in an early collision with Michael Keane during the victory over Everton in the Premier League at the weekend, and despite receiving treatment, had to go off later in the first-half.

Speaking after the game, the Villa boss himself said: “He got a whack on the head after five minutes. He felt he was OK to continue. Around about the 26th minute mark, he got another whack on the head I think it was. There was a break in play and he came to alert us to it. Our doctor kept an eye on him but he called it then and went, ‘No, I’m too dizzy’ and went down. Our doctor was on it.”

And now, as confirmed by The Daily Mail, “McGinn will not play at Stamford Bridge under the FA’s ‘return to play’ guidelines that demand a six-day absence for a head injury.”

Dean Smith will be gutted

A mainstay of Smith’s side in the Premier League, the 26-year-old enjoyed a fine campaign last season, with Sky Sports and Match of the Day pundit Micah Richards raving about his influence.

He said: “This season he’s been absolutely incredible, back to the John McGinn I know. A lot of shine goes off of him because of Grealish because Grealish does the little bits that make people stand up on their chairs, but in terms of hard work, putting in tackles, goals and assists, John McGinn is a top, top player. Villa have been a successful side largely down to him as well and his work-rate in there.”

In fact, in the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League just a couple of weeks ago, McGinn was arguably one of Villa’s more impressive performers, with The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece giving him an eight in his post-match player ratings and saying: “Very, very lively. In fact, McGinn was everywhere and forced Chelsea into a string of errors as he pressed and pressed and pressed in that opening 45 minutes.

“The Scot loves playing at Stamford Bridge after three back-to-back impressive displays here in west London. McGinn faded a little in the second half but always looked to rally the troops. He’s had a fine start to the season. Booked and was incredibly irate at the end as he flew into Jorginho late on. McGinn was fantastic.”

The fact he’ll now be missing from tonight’s game against the Blues again is sure to have Smith gutted.

Meanwhile, Dean Smith must start this Villa “warrior” vs Chelsea…

Frank McAvennie has given his reaction to some ‘devastating’ Newcastle United injury news he’s now heard from Tyneside.

The Lowdown: Six weeks out

As per The Athletic, Callum Wilson is now set to be out for the next six weeks through injury.

The former AFC Bournemouth striker was taken off during the North East club’s 2-2 draw with Southampton at St. James’ Park before the international break, and did not play in the 4-1 away loss to Manchester United on Saturday afternoon.

The Latest: McAvennie on Wilson

Speaking to Football Insider, former Celtic and West Ham United striker now pundit McAvennie has claimed that the Tyneside outfit will struggle massively without Wilson in their side: “It’s not just the goals with Wilson.

“He holds the ball up so well, he’s a real live wire.

“It’s a massive blow to lose him for that long. Obviously the transfer window has shut and Newcastle didn’t sign a striker.

“Wilson is so good on the ball, to get another player like him was always going to be hard.

“He’s so good under pressure, it’s a devastating loss for Newcastle.

“They are really going to struggle without him.”

The Verdict: All downhill…

It just about could not get any worse for Steve Bruce right now, with his team currently sitting in 19th spot in the Premier League table with no wins and just one point from four matches so far (Premier League).

To top it off, they are now set to be without Wilson for the next few rounds of fixtures, who has already managed two goals in three appearances so far this season (Transfermarkt), one of the lone bright sparks in an otherwise frighteningly thin squad.

Nonetheless, with Leeds United at home coming up in the top flight on Friday night, the Magpies need to somehow find a away to get all three points without the Englishman.

In other news, find out who is set to be recalled against LUFC here!

West Ham have been handed a timely injury boost ahead of the Premier League’s return next weekend…

What’s the latest?

According to The Athletic, Irons defender Arthur Masuaku is expected to be available for selection after the international break, having been absent since March with a knee problem.

The 27-year-old left-back has yet to be named in any of David Moyes’ three matchday squads but he has been keeping up his fitness levels by playing for the U23s squad in the Premier League 2.

Masuaku featured for the full 90 minutes in their wins over Arsenal and Chelsea and during their defeat to Brighton and Hove Albion. An encouraging sign.

It was also claimed in the report that there were no plans to farm the DR Congo international out on loan or sell him on, so that only goes to show what the Hammers’ boss thinks of him.

Timely boost

Masuaku is certainly not the first choice in the current squad, with Aaron Cresswell taking that crown, but having him fit and available is certainly a big boost to Moyes.

If the Englishman were to get injured, then the 5 foot 10 dynamo is his only senior back-up, whilst at times last season, the pair of them played together when the 58-year-old wanted to deploy a back-three.

He started ten of their opening 11 matches in 2020/21 and that was largely with Cresswell making up the backline as a left-sided centre-half.

His return allows Moyes to be flexible in his tactics, something that he may not be able to do without Masuaku at his disposal, given his lack of options in the role.

Despite a lack of game time last season, Masuaku still managed to top the charts for dribbles per game (2.4), which was more than Cresswell (0.1) and even the likes of Michail Antonio (1.7), Said Benrahma (1.4), and Jesse Lingard (1.1), per WhoScored.

This suggests that he’s very much one of Moyes’ more attacking defensive options and could be one reason why he likes to deploy him alongside Cresswell at times.

The 27-year-old isn’t bad defensively either, having averaged 1.7 tackles per game (joint-third most).

Valued at £6.3m and on wages of around £40k-per-week, Masuaku’s presence on the pitch will certainly be needed, especially when the games come thick and fast with the Hammers in the Europa League this season.

After returning against Southampton next Saturday, the Irons will head to Croatia to face Dinamo Zagreb on Thursday, before returning to England to host Jesse Lingard’s Manchester United in back-to-back matches.

Cresswell won’t be able to play them all, so his availability should come as a timely and big boost.

AND in other news, West Ham dealt hammer blow as huge Rush Green development emerges, fans will be fuming…

Southampton extended their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions as they beat Sheffield United on penalties in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

The Saints were able to come out on top in a penalty shoot-out after a 2-2 draw in regular time, winning 4-2 on penalties – with Oriol Romeu scoring the winning spot-kick.

Ibrahima Diallo and Mo Salisu got the goals to take the game to penalties in the 90 minutes, with both players scoring their first goals for the club.

Although there were some positives to take from the game, there were also some big negatives. One player, in particular, struggled to make a good impression on the pitch and that was debutant Lyanco.

First and foremost, the Brazilian was at fault for one of the Blades’ goals. He looked uncomfortable attempting to play a first-time pass into midfield and skewed the ball straight to a Sheffield United player. From that, the Blades were able to find Oli McBurnie unmarked in the box and he was able to slot past Fraser Forster with a composed finish.

The former Torino man struggled defensively and on the ball throughout the game. Per SofaScore, he completed three of his 11 long pass attempts and only 72% of his passes overall, gifting possession back to United 14 times in his 70 minutes on the pitch before Hasenhuttl hauled him off.

To his credit, he did win all three of his aerial battles. However, per SofaScore, he also made zero tackles, was dribbled past once and made an error directly leading to a goal. This shows that he was not able to deal with the threat the Blades posed on the ground as they were able to bypass him with ease throughout the match.

It is worth pointing out that this was his debut in English football and he may not be on the same wavelength as his teammates just yet, but there were some basic errors in his game that will surely worry Hasenhuttl.

Regardless of fitness levels, a player cannot give the ball away when under little-to-no pressure just outside of his own box as it puts unneeded pressure on his team.

Lyanco let Hasenhuttl down and he will now need to vastly improve when he is next called upon, whether that is in the Premier League or the League Cup.

The new signing did not repay the faith that the Austrian showed in him by handing him a start and will now need to earn his manager’s trust back.

AND in other news, Ex-ref makes bold claim on “fantastic” Saints gem that’ll leave fans feeling relieved…

Five Caribbean countries have made bids to host matches during the 2010 World Twenty20, half the number that pitched for matches at the 2007 World Cup

Cricinfo staff29-Nov-2008Five Caribbean countries have made bids to host matches during the 2010 World Twenty20, half the number that pitched for matches at the 2007 World Cup.Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis and St Lucia met the deadline of November 18 for submitting their bids and will now wait to find out the results. Three venues are required to host the event and the ICC will make the final decision on which bids are successful.”The organising committee met in Barbados last week and have made theirrecommendations to the ICC,” an official source told the CMC Sports Wire.”It must be stressed that the organising committee is only in a position tomake recommendations, and it is up to the ICC to make the final decisionabout the host venues.”West Indies were due to host the Champions Trophy in 2010, but the postponement of the 2008 edition in Pakistan until next year means the same tournament would have been held twice within nine months.The switch will still mean two of the same global events will be held within a year of each other – England host the second World Twenty20 in June 2009 – but the ICC will regulate the calender and the Twenty20 will be played every two years in future.

علق هيثم شعبان المدير الفني لنادي بتروجيت على خسارة فريقه أمام الأهلي في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما في نصف نهائي كأس مصر، موضحا تفاصيل حديثه مع ريكاردو سواريش مدرب الأحمر عقب اللقاء.

وخسر بتروجيت بهدفين نظيفين من الأهلي الذي تأهل لمواجهة الزمالك في كأس مصر نسخة الموسم الماضي 2021.

طالع أيضًأ.. فيديو | أفشة يسجل هدف الأهلي الأول أمام بتروجيت

وقال هيثم شعبان في المؤتمر الصحفي: “ابارك للاهلي، قدمنا مباراة تكتيكية جيدة، وأشكر اللاعبين على روحهم العالية، لم ننزل المباراة مستسلمين وكنا نطمع في اللقاء منذ أول دقيقة”.

وأشار: “بعد نهاية اللقاء ريكاردو سواريش هنأني على الأداء وتمنى أن نصعد للممتاز وقال إننا فريق محترم وأنا تمنيت له التوفيق في مشواره مع الأهلي”.

وتابع: “نحن كنا نواجه فريقا عظيما ولكننا صدقنا أنفسنا وأننا قادرون على تحقيق الفوز”.

وأضاف: “الأهلي ناد كبير وعريق ولديه إمكانات فنية عالية، وبالفعل أعتقد أننا قدمنا أداء تكتيكيا على أكمل وجه وهناك خطأ تسبب في الهدف الاول والهدف الثاني جاء من ضربة ثابتة”.

وواصل: “كان لدينا نقص في مراكز اللاعبين، وكان هناك لاعبون يشاركون في مراكز مختلفة عن التي يلعبون بها بسبب النقص العددي في الفريق”.

وأردف: “سنقاتل في كل لحظة لكي نصعد للدوري الممتاز وهذا هدفنا في بتروجيت، فالفترة الأخيرة استعديت بها بـ١٦ لاعبا فقط”.

وتابع: “أوجه اللوم للوكلاء لأنهم جعلوا بعض اللاعبين يستكملون الموسم في بيوتهم بدلا من أن يشاركوا معنا اليوم بحجة أنهم وقعوا لفرق اخرى وهذه ليست احترافية”.

وأردف: “تغيير صفة اللاعب من هاوي لمحترف بعد انتهاء مسابقات الناشئين تسبب في أننا لم نستفد من لاعبي الفريق الناشئين اليوم وأنا أوجه رسالة للمسئولين لا بد النظر في هذا الأمر لكي يتحسن حال الكرة والمنتخب”.

وواصل: “الأهلي يعيش ظروف صعبة بسبب ضغط المباريات وكان من الممكن أن نستغل ذلك لكن نحن أيضًا نعاني من ظروف صعبة”.

واستأنف: “إذا النتيجة استمرت تعادل كان من الممكن أن تتغير المياراة، خصوصا أننا اهدرنا ركلة جزاء فرقت معنا بجانب تسجيل الأهلي الهدف الثاني من ضربة ثابتة”.

واختتم: “لا يجب إلقاء اللوم على اللاعبين والمدربين فقط، لاعبتنا (بتتحرق) في المنظومة الرياضية، ولابد من إعادة ترتيب الكرة المصرية”.

Many Liverpool fans have been angered on Twitter, following news that their defender Andrew Robertson started on the right-hand side of defence for Scotland in their World Cup qualifying match against Denmark [BBC].

Walking into the game with no natural right-back figure due to COVID-19 related issues, former Reds assistant manager now Scotland head-coach Steve Clarke made the surprise decision to start Robertson at right wing-back in Copenhagen over Kieran Tierney [BBC].

Not proving to be a success and achieving a match rating of just 5/10 in The Daily Record newspaper, the 27-year-old was restored to his more natural berth at left-wing back for the second half.

Upon seeing this unusual turn of events, no wonder loads of diehard Liverpool fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the occurrence.

Liverpool FC fans react:

Replying to popular Liverpool FC fan outlet This is Anfield on Twitter, here is what some fans had to say about Robertson filling in on the right:

“Ye bit weird, taking away a big part of Robertson’s game not being able to bomb down the line and whip it in, think Tierney would be alright at RB and just sit and do a solid job defensively”

Credit: @2110lfc

“So we have got cover for Trent then …”

Credit: @kevhLFC”Stinking the place out unsurprisingly”Credit: @Kieran_Reid99″We’re giving FSG ideas”Credit: @KazzyLFC”Don’t tell Klopp”Credit: @mgksuarez”Klopp seeing this and now thinking that he can be the cover for Trent if needed”Credit: @alibaggedagainIn other news, Liverpool weighed up a move for a Premier League ace in the transfer window. Find out more here.