Manchester United could well have identified a leading option to replace Harry Maguire this summer, amid reports that the club have held talks regarding the signing of OGC Nice star, Jean-Clair Todibo.

What's the latest on Todibo to Man United?

With West Ham United having seemingly agreed a £30m deal to help rescue Maguire from his Old Trafford nightmare, transfer insider Fabrice Hawkins has also revealed that United have been in contact with both Todibo's representatives and the Ligue 1 outfit over a prospective move.

Writing on Twitter, Hawkins stated: "Manchester United targets Jean-Clair Todibo. Discussions with Nice and the defender's entourage. The Reds devils are waiting to sell Harry Maguire to take action. West Ham have accelerated on HM and hope to complete the transfer."

Read the latest Manchester United transfer news HERE…

While the 6 foot 3 ace is valued at around €15m (£13m) by CIES Football Observatory, prior reports have indicated that the Frenchman could command a fee of closer to €30m (£26m), with four years left to run on his existing deal.

Should Man United sign Todibo?

With Maguire – who was only recently stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag – set to be on his way to the London Stadium, the Red Devils will have a real pressing need to bolster their centre-back ranks before the end of the window, particularly with Raphael Varane having proven somewhat unreliable due to his persistent injury woes.

In the form of Todibo, Ten Hag could find himself a relatively youthful and "underrated" talent – in the words of Jacek Kulig – who can represent a long-term option at the Theatre of Dreams, with the one-time Barcelona man having been as "solid as a rock" in his homeland of late, as per Kulig.

The former France U20 international will likely be looking to emulate the impact that Thiago Silva has enjoyed in the Premier League since trading Paris Saint-Germain for Chelsea back in the summer of 2020, with Todibo himself having previously spoken of his admiration for the veteran Brazilian:

"I've been inspired a lot by Andrea Pirlo in central midfield, and also by Thiago Silva in defence."

As per the Bundesliga's official website, one of the former Schalke man's key strengths is the fact that he is 'superb on the ball', as he notably ranks in the top 5% for successful take-ons per 90 among his European peers and in the top 15% for progressive passes per 90.

That composure in possession is also seen by the fact that one-time Toulouse titan also ranks in the top 20% for pass completion and the top 13% for passes attempted, ensuring he is going someway to matching Silva's impact for the Blues, as the 38-year-old ranks in the top 8% and the top 7% for those same two metrics, respectively.

Despite his advancing years, the latter man – who won the Champions League with the west Londoners back in 2021 – remains a truly exceptional presence at the heart of the defence, with his average match rating of 7.26 during the 2022/23 campaign, as per Sofascore, ranking him second behind only Bruno Fernandes in relation to the United squad.

The likeness between Silva and Todibo can also be seen by their defensive prowess and knack for sniffing out the danger, with the younger man having averaged 3.4 tackles and interceptions per game in Ligue 1 last season, while his experienced counterpart averaged 2.8 in that regard in England's top flight.

With Silva a simply "incredible centre-back" – according to ex-Chelsea boss Frank Lampard – the hope will be that Todibo can reach similar heights if he is to follow in his idol's footsteps and trade France for England this summer.

The future of one Arsenal player in particular has been up in the air in the last few months. Transfer insider Dean Jones has stated that he “would actually be surprised” if the midfielder was to move on from the Emirates in this window though.

Is Jorginho here to stay?

Jorginho only arrived at the Emirates in January and yet his future is already in question.

The Italian won both a Champions League and a Europa League with London rivals Chelsea before making the move across the English capital. He started in midfield in the final of the latter against his current employers with the Blues romping to a 4-1 victory.

He is yet to really become a regular in the red and white but deputized at important times of the season for Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey.

Xhaka has since moved on to pastures new, his up-and-down Arsenal career coming to an end as he returns to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. This may well present an opportunity for the experienced Jorginho to lock down a spot in this Gunners starting XI, particularly given that Mikel Arteta’s side will now be playing in the Champions League as well. But, Declan Rice's arrival could have made it even harder,

What has Dean Jones told Football Fancast?

He said: “Jorginho is staying at Arsenal as it stands, and I would actually be surprised if that changes.

“There was some talk at the beginning of the window that he would leave, but that was knocked down, and my information is that unless something ridiculous comes along he will be sticking with Arsenal. They’re definitely not actively looking to offload him.

“Balogun will probably still leave. Arsenal are pricing out of a move at the moment, but there is a feeling among some circles that the situation will resolve itself at the back end of this window. The price Arsenal are putting on him at the moment is too punchy, but I think as we get closer to the end of this month there will be a couple of moments that change the outlook of this potential transfer and he will eventually leave.”

What else is going on at Arsenal?

The latest news surrounding Arsenal is positive if you’re a Gunners fan as there is a new arrival in between the sticks. Brentford’s David Raya has come in to provide a huge challenge for goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, something which is again great when European football is on the cards.

It is a case of one in and one out in that department as the USMNT number one Matt Turner has been snapped up by Nottingham Forest. He has gone in search of regular first-team football after rarely featuring for Arsenal since joining MLS side, the New England Revolution.

Raya is the fourth major signing for Mikel Arteta following on from the trio who all appeared in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City. Declan Rice, Jurrien Timber and Kai Havertz are the three players in question, joining from West Ham United, Ajax and Chelsea respectively.

The first two in particular stood out on the way to the penalty shootout success that Arsenal enjoyed under the infamous Wembley arch.

Celtic's 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign is set to begin this afternoon as they host Ross County at Parkhead on the opening day.

What's the latest Celtic team news?

Brendan Rodgers will be without defenders Alistair Johnston and Yuki Kobayashi and summer signing Marco Tilio, who arrived from Melbourne City, through injury.

However, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, Maik Nawrocki, and Odin Thiago Holm could all make their debuts for the Bhoys following their respective moves to Scotland during the transfer window.

Central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers and right-back Anthony Ralston could also make their competitive returns from injury, although the Northern Irish boss has confirmed that they are not fully up to speed ahead of this clash.

Will David Turnbull start against Ross County?

One player who should be unleashed from the start for the game today is attacking midfielder David Turnbull, who could benefit from the change in management this summer.

The Scotland international could thrive if Rodgers opts for his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation as his form in a number ten position under Neil Lennon suggests that the potential is there for him to be a lethal partner for Kyogo Furuhashi at the top end of the pitch.

Turnbull, who only started six Premiership matches for Ange Postecoglou last season, showcased his immense creative talents across 30 league starts throughout the 2020/21 campaign.

He consistently carved open the opposition's defence from an attacking midfield role, which could now be available to him under Rodgers, and averaged 2.9 key passes per game.

Matt O'Riley led the way for the Hoops in that sense last season as he averaged 2.1 chances created per outing. This suggests that Turnbull has the ability to be Celtic's outstanding creative threat if he is able to replicate his form for Lennon under Rodgers' management in a number ten position.

The ex-Motherwell starlet, who was recently hailed for his "excellent" pre-season by the boss, only registered six assists from 104 chances created in the 2020/21 season and Kyogo's presence could provide him with a clinical scorer to make the most of the opportunities he creates.

Odsonne Edouard was the top scorer for the Bhoys during Lennon's final campaign with 18 strikes and Turnbull has a better number nine to find in the box this time around as the Japan international plundered 27 goals in 31 league starts last term.

Kyogo has proven himself to be a sensational goalscorer at this level and is capable of finding the back of the net at an exceptional rate, which is why he could be perfect for the Scottish magician.

Turnbull's ability to create chances at a terrific rate could provide the Japanese hotshot with the ammunition he needs to punish opposition teams and potentially improve upon his 27-goal tally during the upcoming campaign.

Therefore, they could form a fearsome partnership in the final third for the Hoops if Rodgers opts to go with the 6 foot 1 maestro behind Kyogo in a 4-2-3-1 set-up.

That is why the Northern Irish head coach must finally unleash the Scottish ace from the start today against Ross County after a frustrating year for the talented gem, which was mostly spent on the bench under Postecoglou.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras volta ao Morumbi como mandante depois de quase 13 anos. O compromisso diante do Santos, neste domingo (23) às 16h, marca um longo período sem atuar no estádio de um rival como o dono da casa.

A última vez foi especial para o zagueiro Nen. O defensor marcou o gol da vitória sobre o Corinthians por 1 a 0 no dia 23 de setembro de 2007. O resultado ajudou a rebaixar o Alvinegro no Campeonato Brasileiro.

– Aquele momento foi realmente especial. Estava vindo de muitas lesões, não conseguia me firmar e o Caio Júnior confiou em mim. Tinha perdido um gol logo no início (defesa do Felipe) e depois acertei uma cabeçada após a cobrança do Caio, que batia bem na bola – relembra o ex-jogador de 42 anos.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasDocumentários do Palmeiras serão exibidos no Allianz ParquePalmeiras21/08/2020PalmeirasA cada cinco jogos em que o Palmeiras precisa sair do Allianz Parque, um é em clássicoPalmeiras20/08/2020

Nen vive atualmente em Brasília e mantém a ligação com o clube até os dias de hoje, principalmente pelo carinho que tem em razão do período em que atuou no Palestra Italia, entre 2004 e 2007.

– Continuo vidrado no Palmeiras. Mesmo com as passagens por Atlético-MG e Bahia, lá foi uma vitrine para mim. Graças a Deus foi campeão paulista porque tem muito corintiano aqui em Brasília (risos) – brinca Nen.

O ex-defensor encerrou a carreira em 2011 e tem uma escolinha de futebol na Capital Federal.

شهدت مباراة بايرن ميونخ أمام شتوتجارت في بطولة الدوري الألماني، إصابة لأحد لاعبي البافاري، اليوم السبت.

ويلتقي بايرن ميونخ وشتوجارت ضمن مباريات الجولة الثانية والثلاثين لبطولة الدوري الألماني.

وفي وقت مبكر من مباراة الفريق في الدوري الألماني أمام شتوتجارت أصيب الظهير الأيسر للفريق، رافائيل جيريرو.

وتم استبدال جيريرو في الدقيقة 17 من عمر اللقاء، بعدما تعرض لإصابة تبدو عضلية.

اقرأ أيضًا | توخيل يفتح باب التكهنات أمام إمكانية استمراره مع بايرن ميونخ

وتأتي إصابة جيريرو قبل مباراة بايرن ميونخ وريال مدريد في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويحل بايرن ميونخ ضيفًا على ريال مدريد يوم الأربعاء القادم لخوض إياب نصف نهائي دوري أبطال أوروبا.

وكانت مباراة الذهاب بين الفريقين في ملعب “آليانز آرينا” انتهت بالتعادل الإيجابي بهدفين لمثلهما.

What is it stake you ask, in this second and final Test of an always low-stakes rivalry? The ICC will focus on the rankings – if Pakistan don’t win, they drop to seventh, the lowest they have been since January 2010. Late August 2016, when they officially became number one, suddenly feels much more than just 13-and-a-bit months away.That might not sting as much though as, potentially, the end of one of the proudest streaks in international cricket. Two days after the scheduled end of this Test – October 12 – will mark exactly a decade since Pakistan last lost a home series – 1-0 to South Africa.One can crib about the semantics of ‘home’ – that Pakistan have only played one actual series since then in their actual home and the rest in their adopted home of the UAE – but that should actually add lustre to a remarkable run. Since 1970, Australia, West Indies, India and New Zealand have had ten-year plus undefeated streaks at home and they all had the benefit of playing at their real home. Pakistan themselves went undefeated in Pakistan between 1980 and 1995, but given the circumstances of this run, it is at least the match of that.What it will mark, more definitively, is the end of the MisYou era. That end had begun in Abu Dhabi, not so much with the final-day collapse and loss, but with the decision to play three pace bowlers and a lone spinner. Misbah, if he could help it, rarely went that way.Pakistan want to persist with three fast bowlers because they feel it is now their strength, though Wahab Riaz will come in for Hasan Ali, who has a slight niggle in his left glutes that management is keen to rest ahead of the limited-overs games.Asad Shafiq slaps one over midwicket•Tom Dulat/Stringer

The pitch is dry, conditions hot and humid and Sri Lanka will play three spinners. This is the problem with two-Test series, that there isn’t enough time to know whether a strategy shift such as this has worked and should be persevered with or dumped. There were murmurs throughout Abu Dhabi about shifting from two spinners to three fast bowlers, but in truth, it wasn’t Pakistan’s bowling, or their bowling combination, that messed up there.By and large, and especially in the second innings, the attack did well. If there was a question mark it was over the most experienced of the trio of fast bowlers. Mohammad Amir went wicketless in the Test and other than a late second-innings spell in which a catch was spilled off his bowling, he did not look quite right.By Mickey Arthur’s admission, Amir started the Test poorly on the first morning and some observers felt the switch in conditions, from bowling in England with Essex and then bowling in the extreme heat of Abu Dhabi played a part. Just two first-class matches ago, after all, he took his second career ten-for, to add to a summer in which he bowled his most decisive spell since his return in 2016 – against India in the Champions Trophy final.It is worth nothing that since his 6-44 in Kingston back in April, he has taken just seven wickets in seven innings. He will play, of course, and Sarfraz Ahmed, his captain, is not concerned.”Amir did bowl well in Abu Dhabi but unfortunately did not get wickets. I’m sure he will give us a better performance here.”Sarfraz Ahmed was aggressive before playing on•Francois Nel/Getty Images

The real problem, which pre-dates Sarfraz’s ascension, is with the batting – one might quip that is an issue that pre-dates the creation of Pakistan itself. The last-day collapses are stacking up, but so too is the pressure on Asad Shafiq.Shafiq had as poor a second half of the Test as imaginable, first dropping two catches in Sri Lanka’s second innings at slip, and then undone by a combination of a good ball and indecisive strokeplay when he was on 20 in the chase. His first-innings 39 was more assured but it bore clear signs of the extra responsibility his seniority now demands. It means he is averaging less than 31 in 16 Tests since the start of the England series in 2016 – a curious run given it includes two memorable hundreds and a handful of important fifties.Arthur was unequivocal in his backing for Shafiq after the Abu Dhabi Test, insisting that he was a major part of this side’s future. But Pakistan don’t play another Test till next May, and that too in England, a break long enough to work against a Test-specialist like Shafiq.Sarfraz – and you’ll note a pattern here – is not worried.”Asad was playing really well in that first innings but just got out. In the second innings he got a good ball. I have full confidence in him – he is our main batsman and I’m confident he will show his form in this Test and hopefully help us win it.”Most of Sarfraz’s work in the days since Abu Dhabi has been of this nature – to give his team the confidence that one bad innings does not make them a bad side. Pakistan have chosen not to practice too much in the days since.”We worked on a few key things that we got wrong, like the fact that we went into our shells and played a little slow when batting,” he said. “We’ve spoken about that, but mostly we’ve told the guys to play their natural games and to not be scared of failure. One good or bad performance doesn’t make a difference. The main thing is we have to back them.”Pakistan don’t often go into a Test in the UAE needing to win it to save the series. It has happened only once before, that too against Sri Lanka, nearly four years ago. Then, they produced the memorable chase to level the series. Sarfraz played a key role in it, moved up the order to give the chase some oomph. It is the moment where his rise began to where he now sits. And he now admits he should’ve gone up in the small chase last week. He will learn. Pakistan needs him to.

Crystal Palace could be set to lose one of their most important players this summer due to a clause in his contract at Selhurst Park, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.

Which clubs are keen on signing Michael Olise this window?

According to Football Insider, Crystal Palace could be 'powerless' to stop winger Michael Olise from leaving Selhurst Park this summer due to a £35 million release clause in his current contract at the Eagles, which is set to run until 2026.

Manchester City and Chelsea are both keen on offering the France youth international a fresh challenge in the final weeks of the window and the former are targeting him as a potential replacement for Riyad Mahrez, who has recently completed a move to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Ahli.

Last term, Olise showed his creative efficiency for Crystal Palace on a consistent basis, registering two goals and 11 assists in 40 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

In conversation with Sky Sports via The Sun, Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson admitted that the final decision on Olise's future will be left down to the Hammersmith-born playmaker to determine, as he stated in a recent interview: "No one knows at this moment. If there are clubs desperately preparing a bid and tempting him then he'll decide. I can only wait and see what decision he will make; he knows we want to keep him."

Olise is contracted to Crystal Palace until the summer of 2026 and is believed to earn in the region of £85,000 per week on the books at Selhurst Park, as per Capology.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Sky Sports reporter Sheth thinks that Olise's release clause will indeed signify that he will get the final decision on whether to stay at Crystal Palace or leave his current employers this window.

Sheth stated: “It's a little bit up in the air. Crystal Palace are desperate for him to stay, but I think, as it stands, there is some sort of release clause there. If someone can trigger that release clause, then Crystal Palace might not be able to do anything about keeping Olise or not. It will be down to the player himself. So, I think that's where we stand with City just now.”

What now for Crystal Palace?

According to journalist Alan Nixon on Patreon, Crystal Palace are eyeing a move for Southampton goalkeeper Alex McCarthy as Hodgson looks to add depth to his goalkeeping department.

Leicester City stopper Daniel Iversen is another name that has been earmarked to come in and replace Vicente Guiata, who is refusing to play for the Eagles at present, as per The Daily Mail.

Chelsea youngster Lewis Hall has agreed a new contract at Stamford Bridge which could run until the year 2030 and will spend the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Crystal Palace, as per The Evening Standard.

Hall is capable of playing in central midfield and filling in at left-back and Crystal Palace look to have beaten off competition from Newcastle United to bring in the 18-year-old.

England’s comfortable victory in the first match ended West Indies’ hopes of automatic World Cup qualification and they must lift themselves to stay in the series

The Preview by Andrew Miller20-Sep-2017

Big PictureDespite West Indies’ well-documented woes in recent years, it’s still pretty shocking to consider that one of the most storied teams in the sport – the winners of the first two World Cups in 1975 and 1979 – are now in serious danger of missing out on qualification for the 2019 event. Defeat at Old Trafford confirmed that they can no longer overhaul Sri Lanka as the eighth automatic pick. They must instead now muscle their way through a qualification process in which the likes of Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Ireland, Scotland and the Netherlands will all have serious aspirations of their own, and if the lethargy of Tuesday’s loss is anything to go by, they dare not take anything more for granted.It was a listless display from West Indies in the opening match – notwithstanding some lusty early blows from the returning Chris Gayle, who marked his first ODI appearance since the 2015 World Cup with 37 from 27 balls. Worryingly, the energy of their victory in the one-off T20 in Durham had dissipated entirely by the end of the contest, which might well have been wrapped up with more than 11.1 overs to spare had Ben Stokes not been reining himself in to ensure that Jonny Bairstow had time to rack up his maiden ODI century.We’ve been here before with West Indies on this tour – as a team effort, this was by no means as pitiful as their innings defeat in the first Test at Edgbaston, and we all remember how they bounced back from that setback in the second Test at Headingley. But, in the 50-over format, it’s hard to see from where the telling improvements are going to materialise.Marlon Samuels, another of West Indies’ returning grandees, was especially culpable in sucking all momentum from the middle of their innings – his 17 from 46 balls contained no boundaries and a wasteful 31 dot balls, stats that sum up the fundamental difference between the approaches of the two sides. Joe Root, to name just the most obvious contrast, failed to score from just 17 balls in a similar-length innings, including his first three sighters, en route to 54 from 53 balls.England’s performance wasn’t entirely without fault. They were at times spectacular in the field, but a bad miss from Root at slip off Gayle might have been more fiercely punished on another day. And, for all that he enjoyed a fine day with the ball, to follow up his six-wicket heroics in the Lord’s Test, Stokes suffered a Kolkata redux moment at the death, when a more zealous umpire might have expelled him from the attack for two beamers in a final over that went for 15 runs.But, having stumbled badly in their previous ODI outing, the Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan, England’s performance was a return to the sort of front-running batting power that has been a hallmark of their recent upsurge in white-ball cricket. West Indies started the series needing a whitewash to secure their World Cup qualification. On the evidence of one match, the one-way traffic is more likely to head in the other direction.Form guide(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWWW
West Indies LLWLLIn the spotlightOnce again, there are rumblings afoot about England’s captain, Eoin Morgan, whose rampant form from the top end of the summer has gone up in a puff of smoke. Morgan’s career is among the most peculiar in the modern game – approximately one-fifth international kingpin and four-fifths T20 nomad, if you wish to boil it down to its essence. He hasn’t played a first-class match for Middlesex in two years, he captained their T20 team to an underwhelming seventh place in the Blast South Group, and has just returned from a sojourn with the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League, where he contributed scores of 2, 2, 5 and 0. His innings of 10 in the first ODI, therefore, was a relative triumph. Nevertheless, with Jason Roy on the outside looking in since his form loss in the Champions Trophy, Morgan will be aware of the continued pressure to perform in such a super-charged batting line-up. For the record, his canny leadership remains unquantifiably important to England’s improvement in white-ball cricket, but runs are the only currency that truly resonate. He generally finds a way to silence his intermittent doubters.Where now for Marlon Samuels? His innocuous performance in the first ODI was a concern for West Indies, especially given how much hope had been riding on his recall. But, on a personal level, the lack of runs won’t hurt him nearly as much as the identity of the man who got him out. The war of words between Samuels and Ben Stokes has been unusually diverting as these things go, given how long it has been dragging on and how varied its iterations have been. But there was a sense watching Samuels on Tuesday that, having warned Stokes that he ought to hide on the other side of the boundary when he was batting, he became rather preoccupied with not giving it away. Maybe getting out to Stokes is the spark he needs to take his game to the next level – a cattle-prod of incentive to take the attack back to England. West Indies will certainly hope so.Teams newsNo real need for England to make any changes to a winning line-up, although the temptation to blood Tom Curran must be growing, not least because of his prowess at bowling at the death, one area where England didn’t quite get their lines right on Tuesday. David Willey’s left-arm attack is valued for its variety but he remains slightly anonymous once the initial new-ball swing has worn off.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jonny Bairstow, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 David Willey, 11 Liam PlunkettNo specific shortcomings in West Indies’ side, just a collective malfunction to correct. After picking two spinners for the more receptive surface at Old Trafford, there may be a temptation to trade one of them, probably Devendra Bishoo, for an extra quick. Alzarri Joseph and Miguel Cummins are on standby.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Jerome Taylor, 10 Kesrick WilliamsPitch and conditionsTrent Bridge has been one of the grandstand venues for 50-over cricket in recent times, with Nottinghamshire habitually racking up totals in excess of 400 in the Royal London Cup, and another straw-coloured belter has been prepared for this game. But, all eyes on Thursday are likely to be on the heavens, with a dismal autumnal deluge pencilled in from about 12pm to 7pm. A rain-reduced wallop in the early evening, perhaps? West Indies might not complain if that’s the case. The shorter the game, the more their power-hitters come into play.Stats and trivia England are returning to Trent Bridge for their first ODI since the visit of Pakistan in August last year, when Alex Hales crashed an England-record 171 on his home ground, to power his team to a new world-record total of 444 for 3. Their most recent international fixture at Trent Bridge, however, was less auspicious. South Africa crushed them by 340 runs in the second Test earlier this summer, only days after they had themselves slumped to defeat at Lord’s. Moeen Ali needs two more wickets to reach 50 in ODI cricket.Quotes”I’m not someone who ever looks too far ahead because you know how quickly things can change.”
“From the start we had, with Chris [Gayle] and Evin [Lewis] flying, we were looking at a really good score. But we fell away badly in the middle.”

Quarter-finalists of the 2016 Under-19 World Cup handed the defending champions of the Asia Cup a rude shock in Kuala Lumpur

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Nov-2017Kaushal AdhikariNepal stunned defending champions India on the third day of the Under-19 Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Playing a key role in the 19-run win was the captain Dipendra Singh Airee. First he made 88 in Nepal’s modest 185 for 8. Then he took 4 for 39 to wrestle India down from 91 for 1 to 166 all out.There were several points in the match when the eventual result looked quite unlikely. Like when Himanshu Rana got the chase off to a brisk start, smacking seven fours and a six in his 38-ball 46. Though he fell to Kamal Singh Airee, India seemed to have things well in hand. At one point, they only needed 96 runs in about 27 overs with nine wickets in hand.The game turned when Dipendra dismissed Atharva Taide. Pawan Sarraf (2-24) and Shalab Alam (2-11) also chipped in with a couple of wickets to ensure India’s middle and lower order felt the pressure of the chase. And eventually the quarter-finalists in the last Under-19 World Cup secured victory.It was perhaps the situation Dipendra had hoped for when he was batting earlier in the day, doing his best to repair the innings after the loss of both openers inside 10 overs. He added 49 for the third wicket with Jitendra Singh, before taking charge with an innings that included six fours and two sixes. Having faced 101 deliveries, he was dismissed only in the penultimate over.Nepal, who were beaten by Bangladesh by two wickets in their tournament opener, play Malaysia next on Tuesday, while India, winners by 202 runs against Malaysia, take on Bangladesh.

شدد حلمي طولان، المدير الفني السابق لفريق الزمالك، على أهمية تسجيل لاعبي الأبيض هدفًا مبكرًا في مرمى نهضة بركان المغربي، في إياب نهائي كأس الكونفدرالية الأفريقية، وذلك لضمان الفوز بنتيجة جيدة وحصد اللقب.

ويستعد الزمالك لمواجهة نهضة بركان، يوم الأحد المُقبل، في إياب نهائي كأس الكونفدرالية، على ملعب استاد القاهرة؛ وذلك بعد أن حسم الفريق المغربي موقعة الذهاب لصالحه بهدفين مُقابل هدف.

وأوضح طولان، خلال مداخلة هاتفية عبر إذاعة “أون سبورت إف إم”، أن المدرب البرتغالي جوزيه جوميز سيحتاج إلى بعض الوقت لمعرفة لاعبي الزمالك بشكل أفضل، حيث يعمل مع قائمة محدودة تضم لاعبين جيدين وآخرين لا يرتقون لمستوى القميص الأبيض.

طالع أيضًا | حسام المندوه: لا شك أن البطولة ستدخل مبلغ جيد للنادي.. وكنا نريد حسم لقب الكونفدرالية من المغرب

وعبر طولان عن ثقته في قدرة الأهلي على حسم لقب دوري أبطال إفريقيا، مؤكدًا على خبرة الجهاز الفني واللاعبين، مشيراً إلى أن وسام أبو علي هو الأنسب لقيادة هجوم المارد الأحمر.

ويلتقي الأهلي مع الترجي، يوم السبت المقبل 18 مايو، في إطار مواجهة الذهاب لنهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا على ملعب رادس بتونس.

ومن المقرر أن تقام مباراة العودة لنهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا بين الفريقين في القاهرة، يوم السبت 25 مايو.

واختتم طولان حديثه بنفي وجود أي مفاوضات معه لتدريب أي نادٍ في الوقت الحالي، مؤكداً أن هذا الأمر لم يحدث مطلقًا.