All posts by n8rngtd.top

Martin O’Neill’s time in charge of Celtic couldn’t have gone much better really.

The legendary manager saw his beat their Old Firm rivals, reach a cup final and draw level with Hearts at the top of the SPFL table.

It took the Hoops a while to find their new manager but they finally have their man in the form of Wilfried Nancy who arrives following a stint in MLS.

That said, for those at Parkhead, chiefly Liam Scales, he’s not had much time to think about what could be in store under the new boss.

Scales preparing for new era at Celtic

Republic of Ireland international Scales was asked after the 1-0 victory over Dundee on Wednesday evening whether he had been doing his research on the 48-year-old Nancy.

“No, I haven’t had time,” the defender said. “It’s been so busy. Obviously we know bits and pieces but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We need to focus on the games that we have and now is the time where we’re going to have to really focus on the tactical changes and whatever he wants us to do.

“It’s hard to do homework on someone you’ve never met because you don’t want to create a false idea of them. It’s better just to wait and really learn from them in person.”

Nancy arrives ahead of a crucial run of games. Celtic will go top of the Premiership if they beat Hearts on Sunday before facing St Mirren in the League Cup final a week later.

“It doesn’t get much bigger than the week he has come in. It’s probably ideal. You want to come in and be part of massive games and he has a chance to win a trophy early on.

“If you come in and do well over the next three games, it’s the best way you can start a job. We’ll be doing our best to make that happen for him because we want to be successful as a team.”

Scales could be set for new role under Nancy

Scales was in excellent form under O’Neill, notably hailed as Celtic’s “player of the year” by some. Evidently, he thoroughly enjoyed his time with the interim manager in the dugout.

The defender said of O’Neill: “He’s been really good. It’s been a positive four weeks or five weeks. We’ve won a lot of games. We’ve obviously won a cup semi-final and won an away game in Europe as well. They were big wins. It’s just been really enjoyable and positive.

“In the game now, the defenders are on the ball a lot and you need to link play. But to go back to basics and just be told that you need to win your headers, you need to win your duels, I’ll keep that with me.”

Whether the centre-back continues his form remains to be seen. After all, Scales could be set for a modified role given Nancy’s preference for a back three. “I’ve played in back threes, I’ve played in back fives, I’ve played in back fours. I just want to be in the team. That’s all I care about.”

Better than Maeda: Celtic star is going to be undroppable under Nancy

This Celtic star who was even better than Daizen Maeda against Dundee should be Wilfried Nancy’s first undroppable star.

1

By
Dan Emery

Dec 4, 2025

After a loss to Canada and a draw vs New Zealand in the September international window, the USMNT have fallen one spot in the latest rankings

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• Updated CONCACAF ranking index released
• USMNT falls, Canada climbs and Mexico stays put
• Could have implications on Nations League matches

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The latest edition of CONCACAF's index rankings were released Monday, and the U.S. men's national team fell from second to third place, being leapfrogged by Jesse Marsch's Canada. Mexico remain unchanged at the top, sitting in first place.

  The USMNT's drop arrives after a poor September international window, where they fell to 2-1 and then, days later, went on to draw New Zealand 1-1.

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The index rankings will factor into the upcoming 2024-25 CONCACAF Nations League knockout stage, where the U.S. is set to feature this November.

  The USMNT will play an opponent TBD on Nov. 18 in St. Louis, MO as part of a two-legged quarterfinal match in the competition. Eight teams in total will enter the knockouts, with the top-four teams in the index earning an automatic berth. The four remaining teams will be determined via competition through the September and October international windows in qualifying.

  The November slate will be Mauricio Pochettino's first competitive match as U.S. manager after being appointed as head coach of the program in September.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The U.S. have won the last three CONCACAF Nations League titles, defeating Mexico in 2021 and 2024, and Canada in 2023.

  They're looking to make it four-straight championship victories in the competition come 2025, but first up will be the November quarterfinals.

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT?

  Ahead of the November international window, Pochettino will take the touchline for the first time this October in a pair of international friendlies against Panama and Mexico.

  The U.S. first clash with on Oct. 12 and then follow it up with a trip to Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Jalisco to take on .

New Zealand vs England as experienced from the back of a taxi in Chennai

Aditya Iyer09-Nov-2024When I start watching the game on my mobile phone in Liyaqath’s taxi shortly after dusk, New Zealand’s reply is underway. Opener Devon Conway is batting at one end. At the other stands the relatively unknown Rachin Ravindra. In his previous seven ODIs, all played in 2023, the curly-mopped left-hander hasn’t batted higher than No. 6. But something about Ravindra’s top score of 61 in a 100-run loss to England at Lord’s in the lead-up to this World Cup made the New Zealand team management promote him to No. 3 in Ahmedabad. It seems to have paid off instantly.With a few quick clicks on chronological time-stamps, Liyaqath and I watch all that we’ve missed in the innings. Just as we go live, Ravindra welcomes us back with a terrific hook off the speedy Mark Wood, where he gets inside the line of the bouncer and almost casually swats it away over square leg for six. There’s a slow-motion clatter of the ball against an electronic hoarding in Motera and a louder crash just in front of us in Guindy, for Liyaqath, in his eagerness to catch the replay, has nudged the car in front of him as we move halfway up the choked flyover. He slams hard on the brake pedal, but the damage has been done.Through the columns of water being displaced on the windscreen, we can see that the right taillight of the Maruti S-Presso ahead of us has been hit. Liyaqath steps out to inspect both cars. Two men emerge from the S-Presso to do the same. One of them is in regular office clothes, a shirt tucked into his trousers, but the other wears a crisp black and a diaphanous black shirt, a very specific kind of combination that only devotees of Sabarimalai Ayappan tend to wear, and immediately I fear that this situation could well take a communal turn; Liyaqath, with his beard under a moustache-free upper lip, is very evidently Muslim.But they just blink at each other in the falling rain, pointing at what I suppose are dents and nicks on both vehicles. I can’t hear what they are saying, but their gestures are pretty self-explanatory: nods and sighs and pursed lips and hands on hips. The man in black walks back to his car and re-emerges with his phone. He shelters the device with a palm and punches in whatever Liyaqath is dictating to him. Missed calls are made, photos of number plates clicked, heads shaken and nodded. That’s it, fracas over. Liyaqath is drenched by the time he heaves himself into the driver’s seat and sighs heavily over the sounds of pelting rain. The S-Presso is now part of the indistinguishable swarm ahead.

I catch the strains of Tamil commentary. I follow the sound and identify three flower-sellers as the ones listening to it, squatting in a line on the sand as they arrange strings of jasmine in coir baskets

Liyaqath is grumpy, muttering and castigating himself for his carelessness. “Please, I want to stop at a tea after this flyover, I just need to compose myself. Only if you don’t mind, please, okay?” he says. In a short while, we are parked beside a
shop from whose awning hang many hands of bananas so ripe that they have lost all nutritional value. It is a stationery store, tobacco shop, confectionery stall, tea halt and shopkeeper’s living room all rolled into one. A woman sits on a red plastic stool, watching the World Cup game on a small TV on the green wall.We duck under the suspended bananas and Liyaqath lifts two fingers at the shopkeeper, who in turn whistles at a working the kettle by the backroom stove, who nods and exaggerates the motion of his pour into two paper cups, mainly to incite fresh froth in the milk chai. We slurp into the rising steam, watching the rain. “It was completely my fault,” says Liyaqath, looking bitterly into his hot beverage. I tell him that I’m just glad the hullabaloo didn’t acquire a communal shade. Liyaqath gives me a quizzical look. Then he throws his head back and laughs, deep, jolly rumbles emanating from his stomach. We now have the shopkeeper’s attention.”This is not your Delhi or Bombay, sir. This is Tamil Nadu, and our politicians might constantly stir other stupid things but they don’t do this Hindu-Muslim-Christian division here,” Liyaqath says. The shopkeeper nods along. “All of us coexist happily, what do you say ?” makes a perfect circle with his head a few times in agreement. Liyaqath likes the validation, the response, the power of telling off an outsider in front of his own, teaching a complete stranger the ways of this land, his land. “Unlike in the north, where widespread illiteracy allows the leaders to take advantage and polarise the people, the south is largely literate. Tougher to turn us against each other. Religion in the south of India, be it here or Kerala, or even Andhra Pradesh, is there to give us believers strength. It doesn’t make us weaker. We can be from any religion but here we are Tamil first, correct ?”The rain has stopped just as suddenly as it had started, and the winding roads leading up to the bay are bathed in the phosphorescent yellow hue of the dim streetlights. About a hundred metres short of Elliot’s Beach, the Uber stops next to a permanent -painted entryway to an apartment block in Besant Nagar, so named after British
educationist Annie Besant, who established the Theosophical Society a stone’s throw from where I stand. I learn that my friend, whose apartment I will be staying in until the end of India’s match in Chennai, is a good two hours away from getting home. I drag my strolley over the wet pavement towards the beach for a lonely wait. But then Liyaqath, parked at the intersection of the residential avenue and the beach road, calls out to me once again.He has pushed his seat back as far as possible and is smoking a herb. Potent, aromatic coils waft from the window as he enquires where I’m headed. On finding out that I’m at a loose end, he says: “Come come, sit inside. Want to try? It is very good, from Idukki.”Penguin Random House”Sure. But can we go to the beach? I happen to have a bottle of whisky that I got for my friend. Would you like to try some of that?”Each of us having accepted the invitation to indulge in the other man’s poison, we sit on the low peripheral wall around the Kaj Schmidt Memorial, a monument consisting of a single archway to remember a Dutch man who died while saving a British girl from drowning in undivided India. That was when this city was very much still Madras. The tide is low and calm, and it laps gently against the receding shore. Watching it, we smoke and drink, drink and smoke.In the silence, we hear two young lovers close by, their faces hidden under a thick jacket, giggle and playfully admonish each other for getting too frisky. I also catch the strains of
Tamil commentary from the Ahmedabad match. I follow the sound and identify three flower-sellers as the ones listening to it, squatting in a line on the sand as they arrange strings of jasmine in coir baskets.Just as the might of the intoxication kicks in, Liyaqath nudges me in the ribs with his elbow and holds out his phone, showing me a picture of a girl no older than five, maybe six. “My daughter. Mahira.”I nod my spinning head.”I named her after Thala.”It doesn’t strike me immediately, so he smiles and pokes me again.”What, sir? Didn’t get the connection? Dhoni, sir! Mahi, sir! That is how I chose the name.”We are now lying on the sand, hands behind heads, looking up at the inky sky in our dizzy silence. Two boys in college uniforms trudge past us with their noses stuck into a mobile
screen. I yell out to them for the score. “Over, over, all over,” one of them shouts back. “Ravindra hundred. Conway 150. Both not out.”Somewhere in the far west of this vast, vast country, the World Cup has well and truly begun. A nation will live and breathe nothing else over the next six weeks, one deep lungful at a time.

West Ham boss Nuno Espírito Santo is a planning a serious overhaul of his squad as he makes ‘big plans’, according to a former Hammers employee.

West Ham battling relegation with January crucial

The Hammers find themselves embroiled in a desperate fight for Premier League survival following one of their most turbulent campaigns in recent memory, with the January transfer window representing a potential lifeline for Nuno’s struggling side.

Currently languishing in 18th with just 11 points, they’ve endured a nightmare start that saw Graham Potter dismissed after recording the second-worst win percentage of any West Ham boss in Premier League history.

Recent form under Nuno has offered some encouragement, but the Portuguese faces an uphill battle to drag his squad away from the relegation zone.

West Ham play Man United in a vital clash tonight, which has been made all the more important by Leeds United and Nottingham Forest’s victories this week, with Nuno desperate not to let the points gap at the bottom grow any further.

Securing a striker has also emerged as the club’s absolute priority ahead of the winter window.

Niclas Füllkrug’s disastrous spell appears destined to end after just 18 months, with the German international managing only three goals since his £27 million arrival from Borussia Dortmund.

His agent publicly admitted a January departure “makes sense,” and West Ham have already begun identifying replacements.

Union Saint-Gilloise forward Promise David is a very solid candidate in this regard.

West Ham hold talks with £20m star who has the same agent as Kyle Walker-Peters

The Hammers already have a productive relationship with his representatives.

By
Emilio Galantini

Dec 3, 2025

The imposing 6 foot 5 striker has notched 34 goals in 63 appearances for the Belgian champions and could be available for just £17.5 million, representing excellent value for the east Londoners, who are reportedly in pole position after making contact.

West Ham also want a new defender and midfielder, according to insiders like ExWHUemployee, and this has been backed up by another former worker of the club.

Nuno making 'big plans' at West Ham in transfer revelation

Speaking to Football Insider, ex-West Ham senior scout Mick Brown has claimed that Nuno is making ‘big plans’ for the transfer market and wants to bolster an array of key positions.

Brown went on to claim that West Ham also have their eyes on a centre-half, midfielder and a top goalscorer, so there is a lot of work for David Sullivan to contemplate if they manage to stay in the top flight.

In terms of the budget for January to pull off this overhaul, West Ham may not have much to play with, as reports suggest they’re set to operate with limited spending power.

For Nuno to realistically get his wish, it’ll likely be over multiple windows, but that will again be dependent on West Ham’s standing come May.

Trent Rockets complete straightforward win with unbeaten fifties from Malan and D’Arcy Short

George Dobell24-Jul-2021A brutal spell of fast bowling from Marchant de Lange set Trent Rockets on the path to an overwhelming victory over Southern Brave at Trent Bridge.de Lange, a late replacement as overseas player in the Rockets squad, claimed the tournament’s first five-for as reward for a spell of sustained and smart pace bowling to help the Rockets complete a nine-wicket victory with 18-balls to spare.Provided excellent support from his side’s spin bowlers – not least Joe Root and Samit Patel, who both conceded less than a run-a-ball – de Lange’s burst kept Brave to the lowest total so far recorded in the competition on an excellent pitch offering surprising pace and bounce. Indeed, de Lange, who had never played a competitive game at the ground, said he had been warned the surface would be a bit sluggish.There were a couple of uncomfortable moments early in the Rockets reply. Alex Hales was bowled by the first ball he faced, a lovely inswinging yorker from George Garton, and Dawid Malan sustained a sharp blow on the glove from a lifting ball from the distinctly slippery Tymal Mills.But with little pressure from the run-rate, Malan was able to take a measured approach to his innings. And in partnership with D’Arcy Short he added an unbroken 124 from 82 balls to take Rockets to victory over one of the pre-tournament favourites for the title.”De Lange is quite an aggressive bowler and he hit the deck pretty hard and used his yorker well towards the end,” Ross Whiteley, who top-scored for his side with 39, said. “He is a class act.”Losing a couple of wickets in the Powerplay is always tough. We tried to rebuild through the middle but kept losing wickets at crucial times and were probably 25 or 30 short.”Marchant of menace
If you don’t know what de Lange looks like, imagine a bear in man fancy dress. Maybe the teeth are a little less sharp; maybe the back a little less hairy. But he is, basically, an enormous, beast of a man who looks as if he could snap tree trunks, hurl boulders and scare the villagers into chasing him with pitchforks. Really, he could make Arnold Schwarzenegger look like a vole, want to wear long sleeves and commit to going to the gym far more often.Anyway, until a couple of weeks ago, de Lange was looking at spending this portion of the season playing for Somerset in the Royal London One-Day Cup. But with Wahab Riaz struggling to gain a visa, de Lange won a late call-up and has now made history – of sorts – by becoming the first person to take a five-for in the Hundred.And quite an impression he made, too. Complementing his sharp pace – he reached 94mph/151kph at one stage – with good control and an ability to implement the plans set ahead of the game, he claimed three important wickets in his first 10 balls to ensure the Brave innings could never really gain any momentum.After striking with his first ball – Delray Rawlins carving to cover – he went round the wicket to Colin de Grandhomme and, after a couple of short balls, bowled him round his legs with a full one as he moved across his stumps and looked to flick behind square. Devon Conway was then caught behind as he fished at one angled across him delivered with a cross-seam.Generally, even the quickest bowlers need variations in limited-overs cricket. But the pace of the deliveries which took those wickets – 92.4mph, 92mph and 93mph respectively – tells a pretty accurate story of his spell: it was brutally, relentlessly, wonderfully fast. Those 10 balls cost just eight runs.”The top wicket takers in the short formats are normally spinners and slower bowlers,” he said. “But I feel like there is a time and a place for express pace. I tried to keep it simple and just do the basics well and it was a pitch that helped me today.”I didn’t expect to be involved in the competition until a couple of weeks ago but I just try to take opportunities whenever they come along.”He came back later for more. After having Chris Jordan, who has sometimes struggled against the short ball, taken on the deep backward square fence with a well-directed 89mph bouncer, he then completed the format’s first five-for with a full, straight and fast one (91 mph) which bowled Garton. There was perhaps one slower ball in the entire 20.The left Root
Is Joe Root an allrounder these days? Probably. He opened the bowling in the last World T20 final, after all, and claimed two wickets, including that of Chris Gayle, in his first over. He’s recently taken a Test five-for (for just eight runs), too, and operated as England’s lone spinner in their most recent Tests.Certainly he made a valuable contribution to Trent Rockets’ victory with his bowling here. Darting the ball in at a sharp pace – around 58mph at times – he sometimes cramped the batters for room and sometimes asked them to stretch for the ball. What he didn’t allow was skipping down the pitch and hitting over long-off. Eighteen of his 20 deliveries were at Brave’s plethora of top-order left-handers, and in all he conceded just 17 runs with nine dot-balls. Three of those runs were from wides and the only boundary came from a misfield.Proving that he wasn’t reliant upon left-handers, though, Root claimed a wicket with 50% of the deliveries he bowled at right-handers. Sure, that was only two balls. But in bowling Liam Dawson with his final ball, Root completed an excellent contribution.Dawid Malan guided the chase•Getty Images

Love it when a Malan comes together
However well Malan does – and as the world’s top-rated T20 batter, he really has done very well – you feel he’s only one poor innings from the questions about his place in the England team resurfacing. He sometimes takes a little while to get going, you see. And in the fast-paced world of T20 – or 100-ball – cricket, there isn’t much time to smell the roses.His critics will, therefore, suggest this innings taught us little. They will point out that the run rate was relatively undemanding and he had the time to play himself in as is his preferred method. And it’s true, Rockets will rarely be required to score so few on so good a surface.But in marshalling this chase with calm precision, Malan showed one of his many skills. It’s not just that he has a good range of strokes; it’s that he has the temperament which seems to adapt to the demands of the occasion. And his desire to take responsibility for scoring the winning runs really isn’t such a bad quality for a batter.Here, at least, he played a calm and expert hand. Despite taking a painful blow to the hand from Mills – which we may yet hear more about in the coming days, as it looked worryingly painful – he was quick to come forward to anything over-pitched and drove quite beautifully. And when Garton and Chris Jordan dropped short, they were pulled imperiously or uppercut respectively for sixes. With him at the crease, there was never much doubt about this result.Crowd noise
You’re never more than about an hour from the latest missive – be it from the ECB or the broadcasters – informing you of record viewing figures at these games. Sometimes those figures are genuinely impressive; sometimes they are somewhat puzzling. The claim that Friday’s match at Edgbaston set a record for the highest attendance for a women’s domestic match outside London turned out to be inaccurate. It might, to be fair, have been the highest attendance at a professional women’s match outside London.But the attendance at the men’s matches has been less impressive. The Kia Oval was not full on Thursday, for example. And it very often is for T20 games. And while Edgbaston’s numbers on Friday were decent – at 12,137 they were below what they might be for a local derby but above what they might be for most other domestic games – the figure for this game of 12,783 was again only respectable. This is a ground on which T20 has tended to sell well for several years.Is that good enough? Maybe. But, judging by the chants and songs – at one stage, the crowd attempted to get their own “Sweet Caroline” going – the much fabled new audience isn’t quite as prevalent as you might have been told. And, contrary to what you might hear elsewhere, some kids have been seen previously at T20 Blast matches.These games are attracting at least respectable attendances. And they’re entertaining encounters. But they’re not quite the miracle cure some would have you believe.

Brendon McCullum highlights differing requirements of Test and county cricket after latest curveball selection

Andrew Miller05-Sep-20240:35

Ollie Pope excited to see ‘massive’ Josh Hull debut for England

“So what was it, Baz, that first attracted you to the 6ft 7in left-arm fast bowler, Josh Hull?”It wasn’t quite phrased as per Mrs Merton to Debbie McGee, but Brendon McCullum’s answer to the inevitable pre-match query at the Kia Oval doubtless had the effect of making England’s rawest recruit feel like a multi-millionaire ahead of his Test debut against Sri Lanka.”Josh Hull? Six foot heaps, bowls left-arm, ranges in pace from 80 to 90 miles an hour. Swings it, not too dissimilar to the likes of Jimmy Anderson. He’s 20 years of age … good farming stock. It’s not a huge gamble, is it?”And, well, when you put it like that… no, I guess it isn’t.Related

• Hull, England's left-armer from left-field, prepares for shock Test debut

• England eye summer sweep, Sri Lanka an Oval repeat

• Hull, 6ft 7in left-arm seamer, handed England Test debut

• England shelve the need for speed as attack puts shoulder to the wheel

• McCullum to combine Test and white-ball coaching roles

What it is, however, is perhaps the clearest indication yet of McCullum’s determination not to be bound by English convention, which in itself is saying something. For he’s not exactly been shy about parading his genre-busting methods over the past two-and-a-half years of Bazball, but in backing this latest hunch about Hull, he’s surely made his most left-field pick yet.”We hope he goes well, he might go there and take ten-for … we’ve got no idea, but it kind of doesn’t matter,” McCullum explained. “We see him as someone that’s worth investing in, and worth giving opportunities to. And whatever happens, we’ll wrap our arm around him, and make sure that he knows that he’s firmly in our sights for the future.”The optics are extraordinary, either way. Not least when you consider that the chief beneficiary of Hull’s selection could be another unusually tall 20-year-old in England’s ranks, who also boasted a mere ten first-class wickets when he first came to the attention of the selectors, and whose offspinners into the rough outside the right-hander’s off stump are likely to bite that little bit harder once Hull’s sizeable boots have pounded through the crease a few times.”The footmarks that he’s going to present as well for Shoaib Bashir will be interesting,” McCullum added. “It’ll give Bash a lot of excitement too. But again, I stress, if this isn’t this week, it doesn’t matter. Ultimately, he’s someone who is going to be able to provide us with another string to our bow, another weapon that is going to make us a more rounded side, that can challenge teams in various conditions.”And there we have it. A few imposing vital statistics, a sprinkling of positive vibes, and the recipe for Test success is there waiting to be grasped, notwithstanding Hull’s first-class haul for Leicestershire this season – two wickets at 182.50 – which might invoke some deeply offended harrumphing in the shires.And yet, of the five men to have claimed five-fors on debut since McCullum and Ben Stokes took control of the team, only Gus Atkinson came into the side with anything resembling expectation, and he then breezed through to England’s best newbie figures for more than 130 years. Bashir, meanwhile, had three five-fors in five Tests by the time he’d bowled England to victory at Trent Bridge in July. When this England team sets out to do things differently, it doesn’t go in for half-measures.Josh Hull’s rise this season has been meteoric•Getty Images”The talent we’ve introduced has exceeded expectations, if I’m being totally honest,” McCullum said. “You hope the guys go well early, but you’re not after that instant gratification when you pick them. If you’re doing that, then I think you’re guessing.”We look at these guys and we think they’re going to be good. It might take a bit of time, but they’re worth investing in. Zak Crawley was a good example of that a couple of years ago. Some of these other guys have come in have done it quicker than what I thought they would do, and that’s incredibly encouraging, and probably testament to the leadership of Stokesy and the leaders within the setup.”There’s something especially ironic, too, that Hull’s debut will be taking place at The Oval, the home of county cricket’s most storied champions, Surrey. In Atkinson and Jamie Smith, not to mention the current England captain, Ollie Pope, the club continues to churn out a glut of players who are integral to the current regime’s plans. And yet, Surrey’s dominance of the County Championship seems to be epitomised by players who no longer fit the brief.Take Rory Burns and Dom Sibley, for instance, who were briefly England’s bedrock under Chris Silverwood but who are now redolent of their strokeless summer of 2021, or Ben Foakes, whose peerless glovework cannot atone for limitations with the bat that England identified on their last tour of India, and which had previously been masked by his perfectly respectable first-class average of 38. Elsewhere in Surrey’s line-up, there’s Dan Worrall too, a soon-to-be-England-qualified seamer whose methods in home conditions, even at the age of 33, would doubtless have hoovered up countless Test wickets given half a chance … much as Chris Rushworth, or Sam Cook, or, yes, James Anderson might still expect to do.And yet, that’s not what England are looking for anymore. It probably came with a jolt of recognition, at Lord’s last week, when – in the absence of Mark Wood, and with Atkinson a notch below his slipperiest pace – England found themselves grinding to victory thanks to a hard-working fleet of four right-arm medium-pacers, all operating at speeds between 82 and 87mph, which is precisely the sort of line-up that caused the selectors to vow “never again” after the travails of the last Ashes tour.Matthew Potts has been left out of the XI as England sought a point of difference•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesHence the cruel but unsentimental ditching of the luckless Matthew Potts, whose important two-wicket burst in the first innings at Lord’s could not disguise the fact that he was operating, albeit skilfully, at the limits of his potential. And if the selection instead of lanky and raw left-armer seems like an over-compensation, then it also feels like a truer reflection of England’s pre-season promise, around the time of Anderson’s axing, to start recruiting the weapons they will need to win in Australia in barely 12 months’ time.”We need to identify that county cricket and Test cricket are probably slightly different games,” McCullum said. “If we were picking a county side, it would look a little bit different to what it looks like on the Test side. Hence our understanding of what counties are doing, and the decisions that they make, they might not always line up with us, and that’s cool.”We don’t do stuff in spite of them, we completely understand they have a different job to do. We’re bringing some of these guys who we see as rough diamonds with incredibly high ceilings, into an environment where we’re able to shape them, and give them the opportunities and hasten the process of them getting to the level that we think they can get at.”One subtle difference for Hull is that he will not be debuting under the direct tutelage of Stokes. Instead, he’ll be the first new cap of Pope’s interim reign, and therefore an added responsibility for a captain who is already feeling a bit of heat after his haul of 30 runs in his past four innings.McCullum, however, has no qualms about Pope’s competence for the role, citing his aggressive captaincy in England’s victory push on the fourth day at Lord’s, or his ability to bounce back to the form he showed against West Indies earlier this summer, with a century and two further fifties in the course of England’s 3-0 win.”It was only a couple of Tests ago, he was scoring runs and playing really well, right?” McCullum said. “No. 3 is a very difficult place to bat over here, he’s done a great job for us over the last couple of years in that position. He would have loved to have scored more runs since he’s taken over the captaincy, but you don’t always get what you wish for.”In my mind, it hasn’t affected his leadership, which is very important,” he added. “I think he’s grown a lot in two Tests too. His best session in charge was probably the last session of the [Lord’s] match where he became ultra-aggressive and put a lot of pressure on Sri Lanka with the fields that he set and the carrots that he dangled.”He’s been great. I’ve been totally impressed with how Popey has been able to handle the job so far. And that’s great because Stokesy is our leader, and ultimately you need to make sure that things don’t come crashing down if your leader’s not there for a series or two. It’s great credit to Stokesy that he’s put faith in Popey, and it’s great credit to Popey that he’s been able to stand up.”

Unlike in years past, Arsenal are very well represented when it comes to England squads these days.

The likes of Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka are guaranteed starters, while a couple of other players tend to make it into the squad, like Eberechi Eze.

The former Crystal Palace star featured in both games this international break and certainly made his case for a place at the World Cup.

However, his form on the domestic front has been somewhat middling, and if he’s not careful, he could eventually be replaced by one of the brightest talents in the country.

Eze's start to life at Arsenal

Now, to make things clear, Eze is an extraordinarily gifted footballer and has not been bad for Arsenal this season.

However, it would be fair to say that, aside from a goal against his old side and a few moments of magic, he has not exactly hit the ground running just yet.

For example, in 15 appearances for the Gunners, he has scored two goals, one of which was against Port Vale, and provided three assists.

Those are not really the numbers of a marquee summer signing, no less one who managed to produce a sensational tally of 25 goal involvements in 43 games for a significantly worse team last year.

However, there might not be too much to worry about, as according to FBref, he still ranks in the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers in the league for shot-creating actions coming from his own shots and the top 5% for goal-creating actions stemming from live passes, per 90.

In other words, while the output has been underwhelming, the 27-year-old still has some promising underlying metrics, which suggest that as he becomes more familiar with the team, the goals and assists should come.

After all, while his performance against Albania was nothing to write home about, fans were reminded just how technically magnificent a player he is with the goal he scored against Serbia.

In all, Eze will more than likely come good for Arteta and Co, but if he doesn’t, Arsenal might already have his perfect long-term replacement.

The Arsenal gem who could replace Eze

In this situation, many fans might instantly think of Ethan Nwaneri, as the 18-year-old already has plenty of first-team experience and is surely set for an England call-up at some point in the next year or so.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

However, while he might one day become a regular starter in the first team, he has already been somewhat usurped as the most exciting prospect at Arsenal, if not in the country, by Max Dowman.

Yes, it is certainly still early days for the 15-year-old dynamo, but he has been considered one of the next big things for some time now.

For example, in September of last year, talent scout Jacek Kulig boldly proclaimed him as the “most exciting prospect” he had seen “since Lamine Yamal.”

Then, just two months later, Hale End expert Will Balsam described him as “one of the greatest footballing brains that’s ever come through Hale End” and “the biggest talent in England.”

That might sound like a lot to say about someone who was just 14 at the time, but it probably wasn’t as thoroughly the season he proved time and time again that he is a special talent.

For example, in 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes, he racked up a tally of 19 goals and five assists, which comes out to an average of 1.04 goal involvements per match, or one every 81.04 minutes.

Then, on the pre-season tour, he made it clear that, be it junior or senior football, he was more than capable of, in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson, “humiliating” opposition players with his incredible close control.

It was this technical brilliance that saw him win a penalty against Leeds United on his Premier League debut, and then again, why he started and shone against Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup.

If that wasn’t enough, the Chelmsford-born teen then became the youngest player in Champions League history against Slavia Prague, and was called a “miracle player” by defender David Zima.

Finally, if fans needed any more convincing that the Hale End gem is truly special, then recent news about him already being considered for England’s U21S should do just that.

Ultimately, Eze is safe from losing his place for now, but if he doesn’t start scoring and assisting more, then he could be usurped by Dowman within a season or two.

The new Rice: Arsenal chasing "generational" midfielder in £100m move

The international star could be as good a signing for Arsenal as Declan Rice has been.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Nov 17, 2025

Pedro Neto admitted that "no one can sleep" at Chelsea due to the intense competition for places after completing a £54m transfer from Wolves.

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• Neto joined Chelsea in the summer
• Faces stiff competition from Madueke, Sancho & others
• Scored against Barrow to stake his claim

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The forward, who was brought in to bolster the London club's attacking options, has quickly realized that securing regular game time at Stamford Bridge is no easy task. With the rise of young talents such as Noni Madueke alongside big names like Jadon Sancho and Mykhailo Mudryk, Neto knows that the pressure is immense.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  On Tuesday night, Neto made a significant impact, staking his claim for a regular spot in the Chelsea attack after he scored his first goal for the Blues in their emphatic 5-0 victory over Barrow in the Carabao Cup third round. He was used by Maresca on the right wing, while Mudryk slotted in at the left flank with Christopher Nkunku leading the lines.

• WHAT NETO SAID

  Reflecting on the competition within the squad, Neto told reporters that, “With the amount of quality that we have here, no one can sleep. As the coach has said, 'Everyone will not play every game.' So we have to work hard and push ourselves every weekend, every training session, every game. That’s the mentality that can take us to the top.”

  He added: "Everyone has to work hard. When you arrive at a big club, it is a new adaptation. Maybe in Wolverhampton, I was going to play maybe 90% of the games. Here I have to work even more or maybe I'll not play because the coach will rotate the players. It makes you play even better because you know that you have to work. But even at Wolverhampton, if I was playing 90% of the games, I would go into every training session to be the best."

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Neto missed Chelsea's pre-season in the United States, meaning he still has work to do to build his fitness levels. However, he remains determined to improve and contribute to the team's success.

  "I continue to work," Neto said on his fitness. "I continue to work on my confidence, on my football, on the adaptation, and I hope to be [fully fit] as soon as I can. I'm settling in really good. I needed time. I needed the pre-season. I went to the European Championship without playing many games. But I am here. I am working hard to get into my best shape, and I will continue to work to give happiness to this club and to bring this club to where it deserves to be."

Inter Miami manager Tata Martino was fuming postgame after midfielder Yannick Bright was brought down in the box

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• Inter Miami draw NYCFC 1-1
• Herons concede last-gasp equalizer
• Tata Martino blasts referee over call

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Herons conceded a last-gasp equalizer in their 1-1 draw with NYCFC Saturday, when Pigeons' midfielder James Sands leapt into the air to smash home a header off a corner kick. It was the U.S. international's first-ever MLS goal, and sent Yankee Stadium into a frenzy, with the final whistle coming seconds after the restart.

  However, defender Thiago Martins appeared to shove Miami's Yannick Bright during the play, and despite a VAR review, the goal was deemed good. Miami manager Tata Martino vehemently disagreed, saying the match "lacked a good referee" and that Miami should have earned three points.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  "The team didn't lack anything, but the match lacked a good referee," Martino said in his postgame news conference.

  The Herons had five yellow cards handed to players on the pitch throughout the contest, and a pair of yellows – resulting in a red card and immediate ejection – to a staff member sitting close to Tata Martino in the 66th minute.

  Miami scored through forward Leonardo Campana shortly after that frenzy, with the Ecuadorian bagging an effort in the 75th minute, but Sands' late header resulted in the two sides each walking away with a point.

  "We had a good game, we should've won," Martino added. "If the referee would've called the foul committed against Yannick Bright, we would've won the game 1-0."

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Miami are still sitting first in the race for the 2024 MLS Supporters' Shield, despite stumbles in back-to-back matches in which they earned draws by conceding late equalizers.

  Martino believes Miami will be "fine" as long as they look at how they have played over the course of the summer, minus their performance against FC Cincinnati in July, and the two draws this week.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR INTER MIAMI?

  The Herons are back in action next Saturday against Charlotte FC before a potentially season-defining match against the Columbus Crew on Oct. 2.

  The Crew are the only MLS Supporters' Shield contender with two games in-hand, and as a result they can mathematically catch the Herons in the race for the regular season title if they win-out the remainder of their season.

Can South Africa break the Gurbaz-Ibrahim alliance quickly? How crucial will Maharaj’s role against Afghanistan’s right-hand batters be?

Nagraj Gollapudi26-Jun-20242:15

Fleming: Afghanistan need more from their batters against SA

The toss factor: make Afghanistan chase

Four of Afghanistan’s five wins at the T20 World Cup 2024 have come batting first.On three of those occasions, the opposition put them in. Uganda, New Zealand and Australia all opted to chase. And Afghanistan elected to bat against Bangladesh on Tuesday in Kingstown.Related

• Can Afghanistan continue their dream run against unbeaten South Africa?

• SA coach wants team to embrace 'anxiety and excitement' in low-key semi-final build-up

• Tarouba venue guide: High-scoring game on even covering of grass with cracks

• Maharaj: South Africa have found a way to win 'small moments'

• South Africa knock West Indies out to enter semi-final

But Afghanistan have lost two matches where they have fielded first: against West Indies after winning the toss, and against India, who elected to bat.The solitary match they won fielding first came against Papua New Guinea, which, incidentally, was played in Tarouba, the venue for the semi-final.South Africa, the only team apart from India to be undefeated at the World Cup so far, have won four times batting first and three times chasing. Don’t be surprised if Afghanistan are asked to chase if South Africa win the toss.

South Africa can’t let Gurbaz-Ibrahim flourish

No opening pair at this World Cup has scored more runs than Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who are also first and third, respectively, on the list of leading run-scorers in the tournament. The two 22-year-olds, friends from their Under-19 days, have aggregated 442 runs at an average of nearly 74, which is the highest among all teams for the opening wicket – Jos Buttler and Phil Salt, who have compiled 286 runs at an average of 57.20, come a distant second.The Afghanistan openers have stitched together three 100-plus stands and a fifty-plus partnership, and between them have scored nearly half (46.3%) the runs (954) Afghanistan have scored in this World Cup.Gurbaz usually does the power-hitting early on, while Ibrahim provides stability at the other end. Gurbaz, though, hurt his left knee while keeping against Bangladesh and limped out. If he misses out, South Africa’s job might become easier. And if he does recover in time, South Africa will have to find a way to break Afghanistan’s batting spine quickly.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Can Afghanistan stop de Kock?

Quinton de Kock is South Africa’s in-form batter and the enforcer, a role he played to perfection against England in their Super Eight contest. Since 2022, though, de Kock averages 21.60 against offspin at a strike rate of 105.88. Rashid has asked his senior team-mate Mohammed Nabi to bowl in the powerplay frequently, and against de Kock, he could be deployed as a favourable match-up. While Nabi hasn’t got the better of de Kock yet in T20 cricket, he has given away only 32 runs in 28 balls.South Africa’s batting numbers in the powerplay are among the poorest this tournament: not only have they lost the most wickets (15) in the phase, their run rate of 6.73 is nearly three points behind England’s 9.49. Their average of 18.76 is also among the lowest. Afghanistan will look to mount pressure from both ends, combining Nabi with Fazalhaq Farooqi, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker who also has the most powerplay wickets in all T20s in 2024.

Alternate route to get de Kock: go around

Jofra Archer and Tanzim Hasan Sakib went around the wicket to force mistakes from de Kock. Against England, he was caught behind trying to play at a delivery wide outside off, while against Bangladesh he played on.As the graphic below shows, since 2022, de Kock has been susceptible against the around-the-wicket line of attack, often lured into playing away from his body and/or falling when trying to slash hard.His problem becomes glaring if you look at the first ten balls of his innings. In the same period and same matches, in 30 innings, de Kock has been dismissed six times in 82 balls bowled from around the stumps, and has scored just 77 runs at a strike rate of 93.90 and an average of just under 13.In the same period, in the first ten balls he has faced bowled from over the wicket, he has been dismissed 12 times in 64 innings but has scored 436 runs in 313 balls at a strike rate of 139.30 and an average of 36.33.ESPNcricinfo LtdIncidentally, Dwayne Bravo, who is Afghanistan’s consultant, has had success against de Kock bowling around the wicket. So, don’t be surprised if you see Naveen-ul-Haq, who had dismissed Travis Head using the same line, attacking de Kock from around the stumps.

How will South Africa counter Rashid?

Most of South Africa’s top-order batters – de Kock, Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller and Tristan Stubbs – have not managed to dominate Rashid in T20Is. Barring Stubbs, whose sample size is low – he has faced nine deliveries and taken 22 runs at a strike rate of 244.44 – no other South Africa batter has a strike rate of over 130 against Rashid in T20Is.The significant duel will be between Miller and Rashid. Miller, South Africa’s second-highest run-scorer in the tournament, ranks among the top finishers in T20 cricket and has been striking at nearly 150 since the start of 2022 against legspin. However, Rashid, who is Miller’s team-mate at Gujarat Titans in the IPL since 2022, has had a significant upper hand against him. Miller has scored just 50 runs off 42 balls against Rashid in all T20s while striking at 119.04 and has been dismissed four times.Rashid will be on the prowl along with Nabi and Noor Ahmad with the trio bowling a majority of the overs in the middle phase.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Maharaj, South Africa’s X-factor

Keshav Maharaj scripted one of the moments of this World Cup when he defended ten runs off the final over of the match against Bangladesh in New York. Even though he got lucky, going unpunished despite slipping consecutive full tosses of the last two balls of the over, Maharaj was resolute and courageous, picking two wickets. Both batters – Jaker Ali and Mahmudullah – were right-handers. In fact, all nine wickets South Africa’s lead spinner has taken this tournament have been of right-hand batters.Maharaj will look forward to bowling against Afghanistan, whose batting is made up almost entirely of right-hand batters – Hazratullah Zazai played just one game, against India, while Najibullah Zadran played the group-stage matches but hasn’t featured since the India game.ESPNcricinfo Ltd