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تحدث ليونيل سكالوني المدير الفني لمنتخب الأرجنتين في مؤتمر صحفي مساء اليوم الاثنين قبل مواجهة المملكة العربية السعودية في أولى مباريات الفريق بمونديال قطر 2022.

ويلتقي منتخب الأرجنتين مع السعودية غدًا الثلاثاء ضمن مباريات الجولة الأولى لدور المجموعات في كأس العالم 2022. 

وقال سكالوني: “الفريق لديه التصميم، أخبرتهم اليوم، لن يكون هناك تغيير في الخطة ولن يتغير عما نشهده هذه الأيام”.

وأضاف: “المرشحون الكبار لا يفوزون عادة بكأس العالم، هناك فرق رائعة، ما لا يقل عن ثمانية أو عشرة فرق يمكنها الفوز بكأس العالم، معظمها أوروبية كما في السنوات الأخيرة”.

وأردف: “لأسباب غير متعلقة بكرة القدم، لم تتح الفرصة لفرق أمريكا الجنوبية للوصول إلى النهائي، باستثناء المباراة النهائية التي لم تفز بها الأرجنتين دون استحقاق (أمام ألمانيا في مونديال 2014)”.

وأصر الأرجنتيني: “إنها تفاصيل ولن تكون كأس العالم مختلفة، ليس بالضرورة أن يكون البطل هو الأفضل، فهناك الكثير ممن يمكنهم تحقيق ذلك”.

وتابع سكالوني: “يجب أن يعرف الناس أننا فريق وطني ومجموعة من اللاعبين الذين سيقدموا كل شيء حتى تسير الأمور على ما يرام بالنسبة لنا”.

واستطرد مدرب الأرجنتين: “الفريق يخرج للعب أكثر هدوءًا لأننا لا نملك ضغطًا خارجيًا لعدم الفوز”.

وأردف: “هذا هو مفتاح القدرة على اللعب في كأس العالم، الشحنة العاطفية اليوم مختلفة، نحن أكثر هدوءً من ذي قبل”.

اقرأ أيضًا | رينارد يحدد ملامح تشكيل منتخب السعودية أمام الأرجنتين في كأس العالم

وعن الغيابات، أشار سكالوني: “لسوء الحظ، هناك لاعبان غادرا مع كل الألم في العالم لأنه لم تكن هناك ضمانات بأنهما كانا في حالة جيدة من الناحية البدنية طوال المسابقة، جاء زميلان آخران في الفريق وهما بخير وسيساهمان بدورهما”.

وشدد: “يستمتع كل من الجهاز الفني واللاعبين بالتواجد هنا، ومشاهدة كأس العالم، هذه ليست اللحظات الصعبة، هذه هي اللحظات التي يجب الاستمتاع بها”.

وأكد سكالوني: “اللحظات الصعبة قبل المباراة، علينا أن نستمتع بأنفسنا، ونستعد لما نريد، أن نفعل ومعرفة أن الفريق في حالة جيدة، تمكنا من الوصول إلى المباراة بالطريقة التي أردناها، وهذا هو الشيء المهم”.

وبشأن إشادات لويس إنريكي مدرب إسبانيا بليونيل ميسي قائد الأرجنتين، أفاد سكالوني: “يتحدث إنريكي عن ليو لأنه دربه ويعرفه ويعرف ما يعنيه، كلماته موضع ترحيب، نستمتع بميسي ونأمل أن يستمتع به الجميع لأنه من الرائع مشاهدته وأنه يمكنه اللعب في كأس العالم، كل الإطراءات لن تنتهي لأنه سيستمر، يبقى التمتع به، لا أكثر”.

وأشار سكالوني للفرق العربية في البطولة: “بالأمس فازت الإكوادور بشكل جيد للغاية، إنه منتخب ذو مستوى عالٍ للغاية، في كل مرة لعبت، كنت أقول نفس الشيء دائمًا، سيواجه الباقون وقتًا عصيبًا ولست مندهشًا من فوزهم”.

وصمم: “هذا لا يعني أن قطر فريق سيء، إنجلترا قوة لكني لا أجرؤ على القول إن الفرق العربية في الأسفل، عليك أن تظهر أنك متفوق، والمباريات لها شحنة عاطفية، والشيء المهم هو المضي قدمًا، منطقيًا لدينا طريقتنا في اللعب وسنحاول عدم تغييرها”.

Since their promotion to the Premier League back in 2018, Wolves have reasserted themselves as a solid Premier League side.

They finished seventh in their first two seasons back in the top flight, and after sustaining something of a blip finishing in a 13th place the season in 2020/21, now look as though they will add to their consistency of finishing in the top half of the table with what looks to be, but not guaranteed, an eighth-place finish.

However, while their position in the table looks positive, they have struggled to score goals this season, averaging just one goal per match, a stat that places them 16th, just ahead of the likes of Watford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Burnley and Norwich City.

As such, it is clear to see they need some more creativity in attack, so the latest reports will surely be welcomed by Old Gold supporters.

What’s the word?

According to a report from Spanish outlet Super Deporte, two Premier League teams have enquired about signing Sevilla’s versatile winger; Lucas Ocampos.

The two Premier League teams in question are West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Whilst West Ham have asked Sevilla about the situation of the Argentine attacker, Wolves are tipped to pip them to the signing due to their positive relationship with the Andalusian club, after Rafa Mir joined Sevilla last summer.

It is said that the Spanish outfit want Ocampos to renew his contract for another year, giving them the opportunity to add a release clause of between €70m-€90m (£58m-£75m), with Sevilla not prepared to sell the Argentine attacker for less than that.

A source of creativity

It is no secret that Trincao’s loan spell from Barcelona has not exactly gone to plan from a Wolves perspective – with the £131k-per-week winger having so far scored just one goal and provided one assist over his 24 Premier League outings.

And whilst there have been glimpses of quality from the young Portuguese winger, they need consistency in their attacking line.

Ocampos can offer just that.

In three of the last four seasons, the £27m-rated attacker who journalist Fede Prami dubbed “electric” has notched up 10 or more goal contributions and has demonstrated his ability to hit the back of the net, having scored an impressive 14 league goals during the 2019/20 season in La Liga.

Wolves’ efforts to boost their offensive threat could well lie in the form of the £26k-per-week Lucas Ocampos, who would undoubtedly offer Bruno Lage a great deal more than Trincao.

AND in other news: Lage could unearth Wolves’ next Neves as Shi plots £25m bid for 17 y/o sensation

Stuart Broad believes that the same professionalism that helped England to victory in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean back in May has enabled them to keep their focus amid a torrid week

Andrew Miller at Cardiff06-Sep-2010

Stuart Broad believes that the same professionalism that helped England to victory in the World Twenty20 in the Caribbean back in May has enabled them to keep their focus amid a torrid week for world cricket, but says that international cricketers have only themselves to blame if they allow themselves to be drawn into corrupt practices.With the eyes of the world focussed on Sophia Gardens for all the wrong reasons, following a week of newspaper allegations surrounding the Pakistan team and the recent Lord’s Test, England overcame a “slight hiccup”, in the words of their captain Paul Collingwood, to chase down a modest target of 127 with 17 balls to spare in the first Twenty20 in Cardiff. It was the team’s first outing in the format since overcoming Australia on a memorable afternoon in Barbados four months ago, and while the circumstances of this contest were far from ideal, the end result was pleasing nonetheless.”We’ve been very focused on what we have to do on the pitch,” said Broad. “You can get distracted by everything going on. But at the end of the day, that doesn’t help you bowl the ball and hit it out of the park. Speaking personally, I’ve kept myself pretty well away from it. I’ve tried not to read too much or get myself too involved in it, because I want to focus on these two Twenty20 games here.”After the Twenty20 World Cup, last night was a good statement that we want to take this team forward,” he added. “It would be easy for us to sit back and say ‘we’ve won a Twenty20 World Cup, and that’s brilliant’. But last night saw a determination, everyone hurling themselves around in the field, to win and carry this streak on. We showed a lot of character to come back from five down (for 62), with the game looking a little bit iffy.”Broad, whose career-best 169 in last week’s fourth Test was quickly overshadowed by the spot-fixing furore that erupted at the close of that third day’s play, insisted – with good personal justification – that he had no sympathy for the situation in which the Pakistan squad now found itself.”I’m sure for the Pakistan team, there’s everyone following them around and there’s a lot of hype around them at the minute, and that would be difficult to deal with. But at the end of the day, that’s not our problem,” said Broad. “There are always distractions in international cricket because that’s part of being an international sportsman. There are probably more than most this week, to be honest, but that’s why as players you’ve got to be able to shut things out and focus on what you’ve got to do.”Nor did he believe that any of the team had any excuse for not being aware of the threats posed by illegal bookmakers – not even the teenager Mohammad Amir – seeing as Broad himself had had the dangers drummed into him from the age of 19, when he first became part of the England set-up.”I don’t know what other boards do, I can only speak as an England player,” he said. “But the ECB are very regimented in the advice they give us, because that’s the responsibility that they have to take to make sure every player is educated. I don’t think any player could ever have an excuse – ‘I didn’t know’, or ‘We weren’t educated’.”We get hand-outs, handbooks. With the amount of books I’ve got from the ICC at home, full of information, there’s certainly no excuse as players. As soon as you come into the England team, the ICC get hold of you; you’re put through this video, which is very watchable, very clear – it takes you back to when you were five or six, that’s how clear it is. It outlines everything you’re not allowed to do, everything you are allowed to do.”Broad conceded that the newspaper revelations had left the teams somewhat distanced from one another off-the-field, but he added that there had not been a lot of interaction beforehand, because the nature of modern-day sport doesn’t allow much down-time for socialising. “I think that’s gone out of the game a little bit, because obviously you don’t want to give away little secrets about what you are planning,” he said. “It’s only after a series that you tend to have a drink with them and chat.”Nevertheless, Broad did regret not having had the chance for a proper catch-up with his former Leicestershire colleague, Mohammad Asif, whose bowling had been one of Pakistan’s few high spots on their tour of Australia at the beginning of the year. Given everything that has now transpired, the chance to pick his brains on Australian conditions has surely been and gone.”It’s a difficult position and hard to comment on,” he said. “He’s a lovely fellow, I got on really well with him and he’s obviously a world-class bowler. He is very open and willing to help and was a good overseas player for the six weeks he was at Leicestershire. But obviously these allegations have come from the News of the World and it will be interesting to see how it curtails and when it curtails.”He is a seriously talented bowler,” added Broad. “I only played about three games with him, I think. But he talks very much about getting close to the stumps and bowling wicket-to-wicket, and he was fantastic to learn from. Throughout this series I was saying to him ‘at the end of this series I would like to have a chat with you about Australia’ because he got a six-for (6 for 41) in Sydney and how he bowled over there. But with him being left out of the squad now, it’s probably not going to happen.”For the time being, England and Pakistan have six more contests to get through before the end of the tour, starting with Tuesday’s second Twenty20, and while the spot-fixing storm shows no sign of abating, Broad predicted that both sides would seek to immerse themselves in the remaining matches.”We’ve just got to go out there and try to win,” he said. “In international sport you get distractions all the time, but at the end of the day that shouldn’t affect how you deliver a ball or how you hit a ball. That’s one of the nice things about being a sportsman is that once you cross that white line, it is a freedom, you are away from everything in life really. You are playing cricket and that’s an escape from everything. That’s as clear as you get really.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Não é difícil para o torcedor botafoguense, mesmo para os menos fanáticos, escalar o time titular do Botafogo na era Felipe Conceição. À exceção da eliminação para a Aparecidense e do primeiro tempo contra a Portuguesa, os onze titulares do Alvinegro foram Jefferson, Arnaldo, Carli, Igor Rabello e Gilson; Matheus Fernandes, João Paulo, Valencia; Luiz Fernando, Rodrigo Pimpão e Brenner.

Agora, com o novo técnico, Alberto Valentim, novos nomes ganharão mais oportunidades? A julgar pelo que a imprensa pôde ver dos treinos, sim. Nos coletivos desta semana, o comandante mesclou jogadores até então titulares e reservas, o que indica que ninguém larga na frente.

A lista de jogadores em busca de recuperar ou ganhar mais espaço entre os 11 começa com o goleiro Gatito Fernández. Titular em 2017, ele vê Jefferson dar umas deslizadas neste início de temporada. Recuperado de lesão, o paraguaio larga em condições de de igualdade com o veterano de 35 anos. Pelo menos foi o que garantiu o treinador em sua apresentação, na quarta-feira.

Na zaga, um outro gringo: Carli, que sofreu com uma lesão e foi reserva contra o Flamengo, no último sábado. Quando esteve em campo, o argentino viu a braçadeira de capitão ser transferida para Jefferson. Mas ele se garante:

-São 25 jogadores e o treinador tem que escolher 11. O Felipe escolheu o que era melhor. Eu não vou perder a importância se estiver fora – comentou o defensor.

A lista dos jogadores que tentam reconquistar um lugar ao sol no Botafogo inclui o volante Rodrigo Lindoso, que só fez três jogos neste ano, e Marcos Vinicius, que só jogou contra a Lusa, quando marcou o gol do empate.

Por fim, mas não menos importantes, os reforços Renatinho, Leandro Carvalho e Kieza. Cada um, por um motivo diferente, não conseguiu iniciar uma partida neste ano. E, claro, Ezequiel. Xodó da torcida na reta final de 2017, ele admite que a mudança no comando motiva o elenco:

-Chegou treinador novo, quem não vinha jogando vê isso como oportunidade. E pra quem vem jogando também é forma de motivação – opinou.

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MatériaMais Notícias

Pressionado pela torcida, o técnico Dorival Júnior tem a missão de fazer o São Paulo reencontrar o caminho das vitórias diante da Ferroviária, neste domingo, às 17h, no Morumbi. Balançando no cargo, o treinador igualará o número de jogos de Rogério Ceni à frente do Tricolor nesta tarde. Em caso de derrota, o comandante ficará com o mesmos 49,54% de aproveitamento de seu antecessor e pode ter o mesmo infeliz destino do ídolo: a demissão.

Desde que foi contratado para comandar o São Paulo, em julho do ano passado, Dorival dirigiu a equipe em 36 partidas. Entre altos e baixos, o treinador soma 15 vitórias, 10 empates e 11 derrotas, o que lhe garante um aproveitamento de 50,92% dos pontos disputados, ligeiramente superior ao de seu antecessor no cargo.

Maior ídolo da história do clube, Rogério Ceni durou exatos 37 jogos no comando do Tricolor (contado as duas partidas na Florida Cup durante a pré-temporada). O ex-goleiro registrou 14 vitórias, 13 empates e 10 derrotas, totalizando 49,54% de aproveitamento.

Embora Dorival tenha livrado o time do rebaixamento inédito à Série B do Brasileirão, as duas derrotas seguidas nesta temporada para, respectivamente, Santos e Ituano, somadas às más atuações do time, colocam o treinador em uma situação desconfortável. No meio da semana, logo após o revés em Itu, torcedores organizados foram ao CT da Barra Funda pedir a cabeça do treinador.

Por representar uma época extremamente vitoriosa do clube e deixado seu nome escrito na história do Tricolor, Rogério Ceni se manteve no cargo mesmo com as seguidas eliminações para o Corinthians, no Paulistão, Cruzeiro, na Copa do Brasil, e para o modesto Defensa y Justicia, da Argentina, na Copa Sul-Americana. O técnico apenas foi mandado embora quando o São Paulo entrou na zona do rebaixamento do Brasileirão.

Ciente de que não contará com tanta paciência vinda da torcida e da diretoria quanto Ceni, Dorival e os jogadores encaram o duelo contra a Ferroviária como final de campeonato. Afinal, mesmo sendo o líder do Grupo B do Paulistão, o São Paulo não vive um de seus melhores momentos. No clube, a ordem é vencer ou vencer.

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أشاد الحساب الرسمي لـ الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم “فيفا” عبر تويتر بنجاح المنتخب السعودي في تحقيق فوز تاريخي على حساب الأرجنتين في كأس العالم 2022.

وحقق منتخب السعودية الفوز الأول له في تاريخه على الأرجنتين حيث سبق وأن خسر في مباراتين وتعادل في مثلهما.

وذكر فيفا من خلال “تويتر”: “واحدة من أكبر المفاجآت في تاريخ المونديال”.

اقرأ أيضا..أبو تريكة: كنت أمنح التعليمات للاعبي السعودية من الملعب.. وانتظرت ميسي ولكن ظهر الدوسري

ويحلم المنتخب السعودي بتكرار إنجازه في كأس العالم 1994 بالتأهل إلى دور ثمن النهائي في أول مشاركة له.

المنتخب السعودي تمكن من تحقيق أول انتصار له في افتتاحية المونديال، حيث خسر في النسخ السابقة في 4 مباريات بالجولة الأولى وتعادل في مباراة وحيدة.

ونجح الأخضر في انهاء أطول سلسلة للمنتخب الأرجنتيني دون هزيمة في كافة البطولات (36 مباراة قبل مواجهة السعودية).

ويلعب منتخب السعودية أمام بولندا في الجولة الثانية يوم 26 نوفمبر في الرابعة عصرًا بتوقيت السعودية، الثالثة عصرًا بتوقيت مصر ثم المكسيك يوم 30 نوفمبر في العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت السعودية، التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت مصر.

وتشارك السعودية في كأس العالم 2022 للمرة السادسة في تاريخها بعد بطولات 1994، 1998، 2002، 2006 و2018.

A big Newcastle United transfer claim has emerged on their chances of landing Thomas Muller this summer…

What’s the talk?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has provided an update on the club’s pursuit of the German international ahead of the upcoming window.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I’m told Newcastle have been informed that Thomas Muller will be signing an extension with Bayern, so they will be moving on from their interest in him.

“They were intrigued by the potential of a player of his quality and experience becoming available but will now look elsewhere, as this one has hit a dead end.”

The midfielder putting pen to paper on a fresh deal with the Bundesliga giants now appears to have left PIF looking elsewhere for reinforcements in that position.

Eddie Howe will be deflated

Howe will surely have been deflated by this claim as Muller would have been a sensational signing for the Toon army heading into the 2022/23 campaign.

The German has enjoyed a wonderful career with Bayern and proven himself to be a top-quality player over the years for club and country. He has produced 226 goals and 242 assists in 624 matches for the Allianz giants, whilst also scoring 43 times in 112 caps for Germany. This shows that he has delivered on a consistent basis in the final third over the course of a number of years, which means that he is a known quantity.

He would have come in at Newcastle as a player who can make an instant impact as he knows exactly what it takes to perform at the top level. Muller is not an up-and-coming prospect finding his way in the game and this means that he would have been less of a risk than, for example, signing a 22-year-old with under 100 appearances in a top European league.

In the Bundesliga this season, the 32-year-old has chipped in with seven goals and 17 assists in 30 outings. Meanwhile, no Newcastle player has more than six strikes or four assists in the Premier League, which means that Muller would have been a major upgrade on what Howe currently has at his disposal in attack.

Therefore, the head coach will be disappointed that the Magpies are now set to miss out on him as he looks to extend his stay with Bayern instead of making the switch to St. James’ Park.

AND in other news, 71% duels won: £19k-p/w NUFC titan brought his “passion off the pitch” onto it vs NCFC – opinion

The Australians had a satisfactory first day of cricket on their tour of India. Two of their batsmen scored centuries without much fuss, and two others seemed on the way

Sidharth Monga in Chandigarh25-Sep-2010
ScorecardSreesanth’s lacklustre show will be a cause of worry for the the Indian team’s management•AFP

The Australians had a satisfactory first day of cricket on their tour of India. Two of their batsmen scored centuries without much fuss, and two others seemed on the way. On a pitch that was expectedly slow, thanks to unseasonal rains until earlier this week, Shane Watson and Simon Katich hardly looked like getting out, and Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke followed suit with an unbroken 87-run partnership. It is unlikely now that Australia will consider splitting Watson and Katich at the top during this tour.The first day of the game didn’t bring any good news for India. Not only did the tourists look in form, India’s two Test bowlers – Sreesanth and Pragyan Ojha – bowled 34 overs without a wicket. Apart from bowling 13 unimpressive overs and sliding down the leg side often, Sreesanth let slip four boundaries in the field. The first of those could have been a catch at backward point. The last left him grimacing with a cramp in the calf, and he hobbled off the field, with the new ball just around the corner. However, he is likely to bowl on the second day.Ojha, too, seemed to have picked a stomach ache in the afternoon session. That Ojha, who was strictly steady, was the pick of the bowlers says how good the day was for the Australians. The only time their balcony looked concerned – and that too mildly – was when a bus tyre went flat outside the stadium with a loud explosion. Even that ended with some in their support staff taking pictures. By then, without any explosiveness, their openers were entrenched in the middle.Katich, who was quicker than Watson, didn’t make the smoothest of starts, though. He had trouble adjusting to the slowness of the pitch, and his bat face closed early on a few occasions when facing the left-arm seamer Jaidev Unadkat. Apart from that, none of three fast bowlers posed any threat. Neither of the openers was made to play straight, and neither was looking to take any risks.Katich looked more comfortable against spin than Watson. He was quick to late-cut, and flick into the leg side with both spinners turning the ball into his pads. Watson was beaten on a few occasions by Piyush Chawla’s legbreaks. Ojha bowled tightly – his 21 overs went for just 23 – and had a couple of close lbw shouts against Watson, but the batsman was well forward on both occasions.The battle between Ojha and Katich was more interesting. Katich preferred staying back and cutting, Ojha fancied hitting that in-between length and sneaking in through the gap or making Katich play on. Katich did chop a few off the underside edge, but none of them was close to his stumps.Both the batsmen had reached similar scores at similar strike-rates by lunch, but Katich took the lead after the interval. Just after reaching his fifty, he edged Unadkat twice, first wide of second slip and then just short of him. That, along with a tough run-out chance against Watson, which Wriddhiman Saha missed, was the closest the BP XI came to a wicket.Tim Nielsen, the coach, realised these two were not going to get out, and took turns to give Clarke, Marcus North, Phil Hughes and Steven Smith throw-downs in the adjoining nets. By the time he returned from the nets, Katich had reached his century and Watson was nearing it. During that middle session, Gautam Gambhir, the home captain, got Ravindra Jadeja to keep signalling towards the dressing room for Ojha to return on the field. ” [Stomach ache],” came the reply. Not that Ojha would have been lining up to bowl.Watson went to tea five short of his century, and came back with a new partner as the Australians decided that Katich had had enough of a look-in. Perhaps Watson knew the same would happen to him once he reached the hundred, or it was his usual nerves in the 90s, he took 17 more balls to raise three-figures. As he got there with a sweep, he seemed to have done a hamstring. He got back up, though, and opened fire at Chawla, hitting him for 14 runs in the next over. At the end of it, though, he was bowled while going for another boundary.The others too batted without much trouble. Ponting made a slightly iffy start, not reading the spinners’ lengths early, but Chawla let him get away by feeding him two long-hops early on. The first ball Clarke faced on the tour, he jumped out of the crease, got to the pitch of the ball, and then pushed it wide of mid-off for one. There was to be more exemplary footwork later in the innings, when he charged at Chawla and lofted him for a straight boundary. The next ball, he seemed to be charging down again, but transferred his weight back in a flash to cut a slightly flat delivery for four.The new ball, take for the last four overs of the day, didn’t have much impact either, and “retired not out” is likely to be the most favoured way of changing batsmen on the second day.

South Africa moved calmly and inevitably towards a comfortable series-opening win, contributions from the entire top order steering them to 127 for 1 after 25 overs

The Bulletin by Osman Samiuddin29-Oct-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsLonwabo Tsotsobe bowled impressively in hot conditions in Abu Dhabi•Associated Press

Smart Stats

This was South Africa’s 22nd win over Pakistan in away and neutral ODIs, the most by them against any opposition.

This was the 16th occasion overall and the second time against Pakistan that South Africa won by a margin of eight or more wickets while chasing a target of 200 or more in ODIs.

Both Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis retired hurt during the match making it the seventh time that a South African batsman has had to retire not out in ODIs. It was only the fourth time though that two batsmen had to retire hurt in one match.

This was South Africa’s tenth consecutive win in ODIs. Australia hold the record with 21 consecutive wins between January and May 2003.

Since October 29th 2009, AB de Villiers has scored 1007 runs at an average of 77.46 and strike rate of 110.41 in 17 matches. He has scored six hundreds and four fifties which is the most fifty plus scores by any player during this period.

According to Ramiz Raja during commentary, Shahid Afridi asked Graeme Smith at the toss on Friday who Lonwabo Tsotsobe was. Having already suffered two top-order collapses at Tsotsobe’s hands in the Twenty20 internationals, Afridi should have known him. He didn’t, but Tsotsobe’s four-wicket haul that set up an eight-wicket South African triumph in the first ODI should leave Afridi in no more doubt.This time Tsotsobe shuffled things up, causing Pakistan’s middle and lower order to implode quicker than a poorly-made soufflé. The key script was written in the middle overs, the dead air of ODIs. Having chosen to bat, Pakistan were cruising at 140 for 1, propped up by fifties from Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan. But they lost the meat of their batting between the 31st and 40th overs and, though credit should not be taken from Tsotsobe, the bowling was standard ODI fare – straight, honest and well mixed.First, Hafeez did little to dispel the impression that he is more than just an ice sculpture in the desert: good to look at but not long-lasting. Having worked his way to a pretty 68, he cut a nothing ball from Johan Botha straight to point. Younis, who provided 54 further reasons why the PCB chairman should have resigned long ago, was leg-before and suddenly Botha’s career haul against Pakistan was doubled.The real implosion came with Tsotsobe’s return. He complemented an opening spell in which his triumph was to not flag in the heat. Misbah-ul-Haq returned to ODIs after 13 months, only to remind many why he was dropped in the first place. A scratchy 25-ball 14 ended with him slogging Tsotsobe off his pads to deep square leg; Afridi went three balls later as Afridi does. When Abdul Razzaq and Fawad Alam fell, Pakistan had lost six wickets for 37 and the advantage, and Tsotsobe had taken three. In all they lost eight for 46, limping to 203.Until then the sides had gone at each other with all the intent of a jar of valium. The intense heat and two burn-outs in the Twenty20s didn’t help, so Pakistan returned to the ODI policy that served them well since the Miandad six of 1986: keep wickets in hand, explode late.Younis and Hafeez’s 114-run stand was substantial but mostly unremarkable. There were nice strokes, a punch through covers from Younis, a whippy cut from Hafeez, and enough single-pinching to keep the threat of a late burst alive. Neither pace nor spin tested them and they were polite enough to not take full advantage.Tsotsobe was unlucky not to pick up Hafeez when he was on 5 and, 15 overs later, he reached 50 off 63 balls. It was surprisingly swift, given that he got off the mark in the seventh over. Soon Younis was celebrating an untroubled 38th ODI fifty with excessive demonstration – understandable after a frustrating nine-month absence.All of it came to nought, however, and the chase was a doddle. South Africa got just the start from Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith. His bat looking ever more like a toothpick in his hands, Smith was even beginning to locate some of the authority that deserted him in a fifty-less year. But after crunching Shoaib Akhtar through cover, he was hit on the hand by a swift, short one and retired hurt subsequently. Amla looked unusually hurried, but littered the innings with enough quality shots to instill in it a good dollop of authority. Two stood out; a pull as conclusive as a slap in the face off Shoaib and then a cut so late off Afridi, he looked to have been beaten.Tight spin from Afridi and Saeed Ajmal briefly kept sense of a contest, but there was never enough to defend. Amla was trapped in front but once AB de Villiers had pulled and driven Umar Gul after the drinks break, a comfortable groove had been found.At that stage, Pakistan’s best hope lay in the remaining batsmen falling over from heat exhaustion, as Kallis threatened to in the run-in to the first drinks interval. An extended break, however, restored him. Thereafter, he relocated his impenetrability and emulated de Villiers with an accomplished 66, but he succumbed to the conditions eventually. It was the first time two batsmen had retired hurt in the same innings to not return since 1990, a rarity that would not have amused either side.

Tottenham Hotspur return to Premier League action this afternoon and the north London outfit will be looking to maintain ground in the race for a top-four finish.

The Lilywhites have slipped up in recent outings, picking up just a point from Brentford and Brighton, and it has allowed their arch-rivals, Arsenal, to gain an advantage with the Gunners sat two points clear in fourth position.

Antonio Conte’s side can put pressure on their fierce foes as they don’t play until later, travelling to West Ham this evening.

It will be interesting to see what sort of side the Italian names for this encounter, not at least because they struggled to create anything of note against Christian Eriksen’s Bees last time out.

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Here’s the XI we are predicting today…

Goalkeeper: Hugo Lloris is likely to remain between the sticks as trusted no.1 and club captain.

Back three: This area is also set to be unaltered, meaning impressive Atalanta loanee Cristian Romero continues alongside Eric Dier – the middle of the three – and left-back Ben Davies.

Left wing-back: In the absence of Sergio Reguilon, who Conte confirmed as being absent for this clash during his pre-game press conference, the Italian will only be able to depend upon Ryan Sessegnon.

Right wing-back: Given Emerson’s persistent struggles in the role and Matt Doherty’s season-ending injury, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a bold call on the right. One player capable of featuring here is Dejan Kulusevski, who has averaged 1.2 tackles and 0.8 interceptions per game, only 0.2 and 0.1 off of the Irishman.

“Also Dejan Kulusevski can play as a wing-back,” claimed the Italian head coach ahead of kick-off.

Central midfield: This is another area that is likely to go unscathed, with both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and January arrival Rodrigo Bentancur marshalling the engine room once again.

Left wing: Heung-min Son will keep his place on the left, playing just off the striker, as normal.

Right wing: With the 22-year-old Sweden international in a new role, we could see a rare start for Lucas Moura, who has previously been dubbed a “nightmare” to train against by his teammate, Dier. The £18m-rated Brazilian lost his place to Kuluseveski but may earn a chance to impress today.

It would be his first start since February, some 12 games ago.

Striker: Harry Kane is undroppable at this point, so we can expect the England talisman to remain.

Predicted Spurs XI (3-4-2-1): Lloris; Davies, Dier, Romero; Sessegnon, Hojbjerg, Bentancur, Kulusevski; Son, Moura; Kane.

AND in other news, Sold for £11m, now battling relegation in Turkey: former Spurs titan has fallen off massively…