Gio Reyna played just 10 minutes off the bench for Nottingham Forest, who were beaten 4-2 by Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.
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Emma Hayes' side are pursuing a fifth-successive league title this season, and the young American can help massively in that, as her debut showed
When Chelsea manager Emma Hayes sat down for her post-match press conference on Sunday, after the Blues had opened their new Women’s Super League season with a 2-1 win over Spurs, one journalist wanted to talk about Lauren James. The England star has captured the attention of a nation in the past year and showed her quality again at the weekend when she netted Chelsea’s second.
Hayes, though, wanted to talk about others. She wanted to talk about Niamh Charles, James’ England team-mate who assisted both goals, and she wanted to talk about Mia Fishel, the lesser-known American forward who scored on her debut, having led the line in the absence of Sam Kerr.
“She is so coachable and malleable,” Hayes said of the forward, who joined the Blues this summer from Mexican side Tigres. “Whatever instruction we're giving her she is just picking it up right away. I think she's very thoughtful about her intention. She really wanted to come to Chelsea and she knew the squad. She wants to be there training with the best and learning.”
Fishel was excellent on her debut, playing brilliantly with her back to goal as Chelsea’s starting centre-forward. Her neat footwork, strength to hold off Spurs defenders and link-up play with her new team-mates all stood out, the latter particularly impressive with James despite this being the pair’s first competitive outing together.
The moment the 22-year-old will remember most, though, came in the 28th minute when she headed Charles’ cross beyond goalkeeper Becky Spencer to give Chelsea, the club she has supported since she was eight years old, the lead at Stamford Bridge.
“It’s a dream come true,” she told the cameras afterwards. It’s a dream that has so much more to come, too. It’s early days but Fishel looks to be exactly what Chelsea – and Kerr – need as they pursue a record fifth-successive WSL title.
GettyAn unorthodox path
Fishel’s path to joining one of the biggest clubs in the world, her childhood team and the dominant force in English women’s football, has been by no means ordinary. As a 20-year-old, she was one of the top attacking prospects in the 2022 NWSL Draft and it was no surprise to see the Orlando Pride jump at the chance to select her as the fifth overall pick in December 2021. The club had just seen Alex Morgan leave for the San Diego Wave and the coach, Amanda Cromwell, worked with Fishel at college.
But the young forward wanted something that the draft couldn’t give her. “I wanted to take control of my own destiny,” she told GOAL in early 2022. Instead of moving to Orlando, Fishel crossed the border into Mexico. She signed for Tigres, one of the top teams in Liga MX Femenil, a league massively on the up that had only allowed foreign signings for the first time in 2021, having been founded just four years prior.
“What I did was historic,” she said. “You don't see U.S. players coming to Mexico. This hasn't been done yet. The rate at which the league has been growing was very appealing. They've only been here for five years or so and the global media recognition, the passionate fans, playing in [large] stadiums, you just don't get that in the U.S. I think that I deserve to be in a place where I would be appreciated and seen.”
AdvertisementGettyA force in Mexico
Fishel’s comments upon joining Tigres showed the belief she had in herself and also her ambition. If anyone had any doubts as to why, then she exhibited all the reasons with her performances in Mexico. The forward netted 47 goals in 64 games across two seasons, those contributions helping her team to win two major titles and herself a Golden Boot.
“On the absolute rise, not because of hype, but because of true genuine desire to grow and be the best version of herself day in and day out,” Tigres head coach Carmelina Moscato said of Fishel earlier this year. “I mean it when I say it’s her driving the bus. I’m just there for guidance. She’s vision clear.”
GettyFlying under the radar
But despite Fishel hitting the back of the net at a remarkable rate in a league that was regularly proving that it was constantly growing in quality, one thing was missing: a call from the United States women’s national team.
She had been involved in a training camp in late 2020 while still at college, but onlookers were left surprised time and time again that head coach Vlatko Andonovski otherwise opted against bringing Fishel in to evaluate her in the national-team environment, even while she was on fire for Tigres.
“We do follow her form and her performances,” he said in August 2022. “But I also have to say that there are a lot of players in the NWSL that are performing as good as or maybe better than Mia that we’re very happy to see.”
Back in January, the message was the same. “Mia is a very good young player,” Andonovski said, before adding: “Right now, after looking at everything, we decided the players that we have in camp are going to give us the best chance to be successful.”
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GettyMoving on up
Sadly, that never changed in Andonovski’s tenure or while Fishel was in Mexico. Whether that was about the player, the coach or the league, it’s unclear, but things have changed dramatically in the last few weeks.
On August 4, Fishel completed her dream move when she was announced as a Chelsea player. “I’m excited to know London, to meet the people and get to know everybody,” she said. “I’m blessed and excited to start this journey with Chelsea.”
A few weeks later, before she had even kicked a ball competitively for her new club, Fishel was called into a USWNT camp by interim coach Twila Kilgore, the 43-year-old taking the position after Andonovski left his role following the team’s shock last-16 exit at the 2023 Women’s World Cup. On September 24, against South Africa, Fishel made her senior international debut.
“Dreams to reality,” she wrote on social media. “And it’s just the beginning.”
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O Botafogo-SP lançou nesta quarta-feira (8) uma campanha pelas redes sociais em que o torcedor do clube poderá escolher o novo modelo do uniforme número 2 para o restante da temporada. A votação está disponível e termina às 16h desta quinta-feira (9).
O novo uniforme continuará sendo listrado nas cores vermelha, branca e preta na parte da frente da camisa. Porém, o torcedor vai escolher como ficará a parte de trás: vermelha ou preta.
Na cor vermelha, a manga será preta com detalhes em vermelho. Já na opção preta, a manga também será preta com detalhes em vermelho.
Os torcedores que quiserem participar devem acessar as redes sociais do clube. A participação pode ser feita através do Facebook, Instagram e Twitterdo Pantera para votar.
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Com a eliminação do Corinthians na última quarta-feira, em uma das fases prévias da Copa Libertadores, o clássico deste sábado, diante do São Paulo, no Morumbi, tem cenário quase idêntico àquele de 2019, quando o Tricolor havia caído na mesma etapa do torneio continental. Neste sábado, os rivais duelam em situação parecida com o do ano passado, mas em papéis invertidos.
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O Timão caiu na Segunda Fase da Copa Libertadores de 2020 ao ser eliminado pelo Guaraní-PAR, após ser derrotado na partida de ida, no Paraguai, por 1 a 0 e vencer a volta por 2 a 1, na Arena. O gol sofrido em casa fez a diferença no resultado agregado e a equipe de Tiago Nunes deixou a competição de forma precoce, comprometendo o planejamento para o restante da temporada.
Situação parecida aconteceu com o São Paulo, em 2019, quando também foi eliminado na Segunda Fase da Libertadores. Naquela ocasião, os são-paulinos perderam na ida por 2 a 0 para o Talleres-ARG e empataram em 0 a 0, na volta, no Morumbi. O time era comandado por André Jardine, que foi demitido em seguida, antes da rodada do final de semana pelo Campeonato Paulista.
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E o adversário daquele jogo seguinte era justamente o Corinthians, ou seja, em 2020 o cenário é praticamente igual, mas os papéis dos rivais estão invertidos. No ano passado quem chegava pressionado era o Tricolor, que teve uma eliminação vexaminosa e teria que enfrentar logo de cara um de seus maiores rivais, em um jogo na temida Arena de Itaquera, onde jamais venceu.
Desta vez, é o Timão que chega de uma eliminação inesperada, e também vexaminosa, em uma fase precoce da Libertadores. A equipe do Parque São Jorge vai até o Morumbi, onde não vem tendo um retrospecto positivo nos últimos jogos e precisará mostrar reação para evitar que o ano tome o mesmo rumo do 2019 do rival, que após cair na competição sul-americana sofreu com as consequências desse trauma ao longo dos meses seguintes.
No confronto de 17 de fevereiro de 2019, quatro dias depois da eliminação são-paulina, quem se deu melhor foi o Corinthians, vencendo por 2 a 1, com gols e Manoel e Gustavo. Pablo foi o autor do tento tricolor. Em 2020, o encontro está marcado para 15 de fevereiro, três dias após a eliminação corintiana. Até nas datas a situação é praticamente idêntica. Resta saber se quem chega mais “tranquilo” e terá sua torcida a favor vai sair vencedor desta vez.
São Paulo e Corinthians se enfrentam neste sábado, às 19h, no Morumbi, pela sexta rodada da fase de grupos do Paulistão-2020. O Tricolor, com oito pontos, ocupa a terceira posição no Grupo C, atrás de Mirassol e Inter de Limeira, já o Timão, com sete pontos, é o vice-líder do Grupo D, atrás do Guarani.
An emotional Virat Kohli called his unbeaten, match-winning, World T20 semi-final spot sealing 82 off 51 balls as his best innings in the format
ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-20163:18
Match Day: Kohli’s low dot-ball percentage was crucial
An emotional Virat Kohli has called his unbeaten, match-winning and World T20 semi-final spot sealing 82 off 51 balls as his best innings in the format. India had been set a target of 161, and they were fading away at 94 for 4 in the 14th over. The required run-rate had hit double-digits as early as the 10th over, but Kohli took it head on and did so by trusting his game.In February, he had spoken about coming to terms with not being able to hit as many sixes as he’d like, and that he had worked past that by looking for fours. The work he had done towards that goal came to fruition in Mohali as he single-handedly led India to victory. Eight of his 11 boundaries came in the last five overs.”It certainly has to be in the top three,” Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “Probably the top right now, because I’m a bit emotional, so I would like to put this on top. Against Australia, a world-class side, literally a quarter-final for us, we had to go over the line. There’s a lot riding on us in this World Cup, we are playing at home and the crowds want to see us and we just want to give them as much entertainment and fun as possible.”The game was packed up with five balls to spare and Kohli, who was at the non-strikers’ end, simply raised his hands in triumph and fell to his knees with nothing more than a smile. He has a reputation of not holding back while celebrating, but this innings and the weight it lent in turning the match India’s way had hit him hard.”I don’t really know what to say right now, because I’m overwhelmed by the position we were in and then to take out the match,” Kohli said. “This is what you play cricket for. You need new challenges in every game, but trust me, you don’t like these situations too much.”The man who reined those emotions in while the battle was at its peak was India’s captain MS Dhoni. “MS, in the end, kept me calm. I could have gotten over-excited so I think it was a wonderful team batting effort and very happy we crossed the line,” Kohli said.The reason Kohli, one of the best chasers in the limited-overs game, was feeling uncertain was because of how much India struggled during the middle-overs. Suresh Raina fell to the short ball in the eighth over leaving the score at 49 for 3, and the incoming batsman Yuvraj Singh hurt his left ankle off the second ball he faced. From that time, India had to settle for 40 runs in 35 balls and found the boundary only twice.”It was a bit tough at that time to focus on what we need to do,” Kohli admitted. “He’s [Yuvraj] such an explosive player, you don’t have to have him at 60-70%.”He just decided that he was just going to go for the team’s cause. He perished, but it was a good thought because if you are injured, you might as well make the most of the balls that you are going to play because you are not going to be able to push as you want to push as a runner. I think that was a great call.”Virat Kohli is floored by emotion after sealing a famous win for India•Getty Images
India began reeling back lost ground with the partnership between Kohli and Dhoni, which was kickstarted by singles and twos. “Me and him have a great understanding as to where to hit the ball and how to push the fielders on the boundary and that’s why you train in the gym,” Kohli said. “That’s why you do those fitness regimes, those sprints, and all the other tests that you go through. It all helps. I like to play for when I’m tired, I should be able to run as fast as when I’m on zero and I think that training paid off today.”Another factor in upping his game tonight was the crowd. “The support was unbelievable. Mohali has always been special. We played the 2011 World Cup semi-final here, the atmosphere was electrifying and as I said, the positive energy from the people in the stadium helps you push through those tough moments and a bit of luck goes your way as well”Kohli hit seven of his nine fours in the last five overs, and a lot of them were placed with skillful precision. It began when he picked a slower ball – the first ball of the 18th over – from James Faulkner and clattered it to the square leg boundary. The next one – a wide yorker – was calmly steered to the backward point boundary and a lofted thwack over extra cover for six provided the exclamation point. Kohli had taken control as those six balls yielded 19 runs.The penultimate over, from Nathan Coulter-Nile, was crashed for four fours despite what length the bowler bowled. Half-volleys were easy. Length balls simply provided leverage and the short ball was caned to the fine-leg boundary because the man was inside the circle.Before that sequence, India had to get 39 off 18. After it, the equation was a mere 4 off 6.”That was a pretty serious innings, that,” Australia captain Steven Smith said when asked if one man had beaten his side tonight, “Under pressure, he just hit everything out of the middle and found the gaps. And he’s done it for a very long time and credit to him, he played beautifully.”Dhoni was lavish with his praise for Kohli as well, but underneath that lay a rap for the rest of the Indian batsmen.”I think he has been playing brilliantly in the last two-three, maybe four years, and we have seen him evolve as a cricketer,” Dhoni said. “That is something that is very important. Everyday when you turn [up] on the field, when you play a big innings, you want to improve and you want to keep the learning because you will commit mistakes but what is important is to take the positives out of game and that’s what he has done.”He has kept improving his game, he is very hungry to score runs for the team and that’s what really counts and actually it’s the other batsmen who have to step up. You can’t rely on one batsman, yes the others have contributed, but still at the same time, if we can do a bit more with the bat at the top of the order and the middle overs, I think we will feel the pressure slightly less. Also, it will be good, because still we feel we are batting at 65% barring Virat”
Kumar Sangakkara has called for England and Kevin Pietersen to “iron out their differences” and find a way for him to return to international cricket – perhaps in time for this summer’s Ashes series.Sangakkara’s comments might be regarded as a predictable show of support for Pietersen now that he has joined forces as a Surrey team-mate, a recognition of the value that a constructive relationship can bring to Surrey’s season at the start of his two-year contract with the county.But, in his years with Sri Lanka, Sangakkara has experienced the murkiest depths of cricketing politics and his view that the best team must be fielded – sometimes against the odds – is unlikely to have been expressed glibly. Sangakkara is not known for doing glib.”It is not just an English media obsession,” he said. “It is a case where you have a fantastic player and you have had some controversy and some strain in the relationship between him and the ECB. I think everyone is wishing – the spectators, I’m sure, want to watch KP out there in the middle.”When you have a batsman of that ability I reckon even the side would like him there. It’s not my call to make or my place to comment on it but at the end of the day I just hope that they iron out their differences.”Sangakkara still has vivid memories of Pietersen’s exceptional hundred in searing heat in Colombo, an innings that sustained England on their last Sri Lanka tour.”I know from playing against Kevin when he came to Sri Lanka the last time. Wiith England 1-0 down, the way Kevin Pietersen came into that last Test with that hundred was magnificent.”He is an out-and-out matchwinner. I want to watch a matchwinner out there, I would want a matchwinner in my side so hopefully they can iron out their differences and Kevin Pietersen can come back and play.”
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O time do Botafogo teve mudanças no treinamento na manhã desta quinta-feira, no campo anexo do Estádio Nilton Santos. Sem poder contar com Diego Souza contra o São Paulo, no próximo sábado, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro, por questões contratuais, Eduardo Barroca busca novas opções no ataque e contou com novos nomes no comando ofensivo na atividade.
> O DIA A DIA DO BOTAFOGO
Após testar Victor Rangel como titular durante toda a semana, Eduardo Barroca colocou dois jogadores no onze inicial no treinamento. Na primeira metade da atividade, Vinícius Tanque foi o escolhido para ficar ao lado de Marcinho e Luiz Fernando. Na outra, foi a vez de Pachu assumir a vaga na escalação, no treino tático realizado pelo técnico.
Sem chance de colocar Diego Souza em campo, Barroca vem testando Victor Rangel entre os titulares desde o começo da semana. O atacante, inclusive, foi um dos destaques no treino de finalizações realizado na última quarta-feira. Mesmo assim, o treinador optou por testar novas opções para a posição.
Portanto, a tendência é que três jogadores lutem por uma vaga no time titular. Victor Rangel, contratado pelo CRB antes do começo da Copa América, ainda não marcou gols pelo Botafogo. Vinícius Tanque e Pachu são criados nas categorias de base e trabalharam com Eduardo Barroca na equipe sub-20.
> CONFIRA E SIMULE A TABELA DO CAMPEONATO BRASILEIRO
Com 27 pontos conquistados no Campeonato Brasileiro, o Botafogo enfrenta o São Paulo em busca de se reaproximar do G6. O Tricolor, justamente na sexta posição, tem 32 pontos e a distância entre as equipes diminuiria, obviamente, em caso de vitória alvinegra. O duelo será realizado no sábado, às 11h, no Estádio Nilton Santos.
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O Santa Cruz não terá mais nenhum compromisso oficial até 2020 com a eliminação precoce na fase de grupos da Série C. E, com isso, a movimentação de atletas procurando oportunidades em outras equipes para seguir se mantendo em atividade começou pelo meio-campista Charles e o atacante Elias.
No caso do meio-campista de 24 anos de idade, o destino deve ser o futebol português para vestir a camisa do Vilafranquense, equipe da segunda divisão lusitana, em acordo que será válido até junho de 2020.
O empresário do jogador, Ytalo Pontes, disse em fala ao portal Superesportes que a negociação se desenroloude maneira bastante rápida também mediante ao curto espaço para o fechamento da janela de transferências rumo a Portugal:
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-Quando o Santa Cruz não se classificou e, como não tem mais calendário, o Charles, que foi um jogador que foi bem na competição e tem mercado, a gente só tinha uma semana antes da janela de transferência da Europa fechar. A gente fez alguns contatos e tivemos uma propostas de um clube de Portugal. A gente sentou com o Santa Cruz e ajustamos a melhor proposta para todo mundo e embarcamos ontem mesmo para Portugal.
No caso de Elias, o nome do mesmo tem sido relacionado a um empréstimo até o fim de 2019 para a Ponte Preta, restando somente a oficialização do negócio.
Four Sri Lanka players, including Kumar Sangakkara, will be replaced in the squad for the two final ODIs against India, as the selectors seek to test fringe players with the World Cup on the horizon
Andrew Fidel Fernando08-Nov-2014Four Sri Lanka players, including Kumar Sangakkara, will be replaced in the squad for the two final ODIs against India, as the selectors seek to test fringe players with the World Cup on the horizon.Dhammika Prasad, Suraj Randiv, Upul Tharanga and Sangakkara will be withdrawn after the third ODI, and Shaminda Eranga, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dinesh Chandimal and Ajantha Mendis will enter the squad in their stead. Of the four withdrawn players, only Sangakkara and Prasad were being rested, team manager Michael de Zoysa said.Thirimanne and Chandimal arrive in the side with some match practice, and form, having recently played against West Indies A, on their tour of Sri Lanka. Thirimanne hit three fifties in four innings during that tour, while Chandimal hit two half centuries in his four outings. Chandimal may also keep wickets against India, in Sangakkara’s stead, though Kusal Perera is also capable of filling that role.If he plays, Eranga is expected to add pace and experience to the pace attack, which has seemed flat and out of ideas in the first two matches. He has not played an ODI since July 2013, however. Ajantha Mendis’ inclusion comes days after he was named in the ICC’s ODI team of the year – the only Sri Lanka player to make that side.Tharanga’s ODI career appears on hold once more, having already been dropped, and now replaced, after a mediocre outing in the first ODI. Kusal had done no better in Tharanga’s place when he collected a duck in the second match, but with Thirimanne now in the mix for the last two matches, Sri Lanka have yet another opening option available.
Just a week ago, Rahul Dravid was a former India captain and a cricket pundit. He was speaking about the need for intense and competitive warm-up games. Although Dravid mentioned only the recent trend of counties putting up their 2nd XIs, it has not helped that India insist on using their whole squad as opposed to picking an XI, robbing these matches of their first-class status. A week later, Dravid is now part of the support staff, a batting consultant in the lead-up to the first Test, which begins in Nottingham on July 9.Dravid’s presence in Derby on the eve of the warm-up game against Derbyshire is unlikely to make the game any more intense. India will play all their 18 players, with only 11 batting and 11 on the field at any given time, and the game is against Derbyshire, who might not need to play a second team to bring the intensity down: they are a place from the bottom of the second division, lost three players last week, and were pummeled by Durham in a Twenty20 on Sunday.Yet there is an incentive for India to get their intensity up. In their previous tour game, against Leicestershire, who are placed bottom of Division Two, their bowlers conceded 349 for 5 in 62 overs. Two of the five wickets were “retired out”. Ishant Sharma and Pankaj Singh were the only two to get wickets. Even as the pressure grows on England after their defeat to Sri Lanka, the focus in the visitors’ camp is squarely on their bowlers.With these quick bowlers, much maligned and missing their bowling captain Zaheer Khan, the intensity was high during India’s only training session between the two tour games, on Monday. The lot of them reported at the ground an hour before the rest of the team, along with Duncan Fletcher-led support staff, Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara. There were no batsmen to bowl to, but the purpose of coming early was to put them through an endurance test. All of them had to do five laps of the ground, without stopping to catch a breath or walking in between before picking up again. Times were kept, charts prepared for Fletcher to examine properly. Almost all of the bowlers seemed winded by the effort. There was no respite, though: after a break for lunch and a team meeting, they went through a full bowling session at the nets.Mohammed Shami, though, was not part of the endurance test as he worked separately with physio Evan Speechly and strength and conditioning coach Sudarshan VP. His workout was not nearly as intense as the others’, he didn’t bowl much, but there were no injury concerns to report. Shikhar Dhawan, who had taken a blow and retired hurt in Leicester, was back fit too.After this game, India move to Nottingham for their preferred mode of preparation, four days of intense training sessions, before the series begins.