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There comes a point in a series when there is nothing but pride to play for. That is usually when a team has disintegrated as much as is possible, or when the games are dead rubbers. Neither of those situations actually exist in the ongoing contest between South Africa and Sri Lanka, but already it feels like pride is all Sri Lanka have to lean on as they enter the second match.Paarl is a place Sri Lanka would like to strike off the map. The number between 42 and 44 will become an unmentionable for them. Humiliation is an easy word to write or say, but a painful one to experience.South Africa know all about being embarrassed and although they are now the ones inflicting the blushes, there is a sense of pathos about the way Hashim Amla spoke of Sri Lanka’s woes. “If a similar thing had happened to us, we would be quite motivated to put in a better performance,” Amla said at Boland Park, ahead of the second ODI. “So taking that into account, we know that Sri Lanka will come back firing – as they did in the Test matches. They are a proud team with a lot of heritage, so we’re not going to take them lightly.”For a team to bounce back from a thrashing is to be expected, especially when there is hardly any room for them to get worse. For a team to keep the momentum going after handing out a thrashing is tricky.Historically, this is the juncture at which South Africa tend to slack off. Only recently have they started admitting to it, and captain AB de Villiers had previously stressed that it is something they will address seriously in this series. “The most important thing will be the attitude that we bring to the game,” Amla said. “With a very convincing victory, the mood in the camp is good and we hope to continue that [winning].”Amla was central to the victory, as his century set South Africa up for a total of over 300. His three-figure knock also showed that he probably performs better without the extra burden of leadership. Amla captained in de Villiers’ absence in the previous series against Australia and had scored 24, 0 and 52. “Not being captain, there is a lot less on your plate,” he said. “I just tried to take things simply and when you get a partnership going, it’s always easier to score.”Jacques Kallis was the dominant partner in a 144-run second-wicket stand with Amla. As Kallis accumulated with ease, Amla was allowed to take his time to build his innings. “In situations like that, it is important to put emphasis on the partnership rather than on personal runs,” Amla said. “As the partnership progressed, I found my feet and started scoring more freely.”By the time Kallis was dismissed, in the Powerplay, Amla had hit a good rhythm. With de Villiers, he took 91 runs off the next 12 overs, to take the game away from a weary Sri Lankan attack. “AB is a phenomenal player, he reads the situation very well,” Amla said. “He took the game to the opposition. Sometimes, it becomes a tendency not to score as quickly when you lose a wicket but his awesomeness came through.”On a pitch that had some uneven bounce and started off slow and low, South Africa batted like they were walking on a velvet carpet. Their intent did not subside with the ball and the bowlers battered the Paarl strip to create extra bounce. Amla expects the same in East London, which is also known to be a placid surface. “We’ll still bowl with a lot of intent but you have to be adaptable to these kinds of games.”The team may have to do without Amla soon, as he is awaits the birth of his first child. His wife, Sumayya, is due “any day now”, and he has made arrangements to take a break from the series when the baby arrives. Amla is due to play in East London but may not make it to Bloemfontein, which will leave South Africa in a tricky position at the top.Amla is the in-form opener with Graeme Smith struggling. The former captain has not scored an ODI hundred since 2009 and has only made one half-century in his last 14 innings. Robin Peterson may be used in a makeshift role or the selectors could use the opportunity to blood a youngster like Richard Levi. The only other concern for South Africa is in the reserves.Rory Kleinveldt, who has not played for the national team since a World T20 match in 2010, will have to wait to make his comeback. A quadricep injury has ruled him out of the rest of the series.

Mohammad Ashraful has said he has not been given a fair chance by the Bangladesh selectors after he was dropped for the two Tests against West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Oct-2011

Mohammad Ashraful, who was dropped for the two Tests against West Indies, has said he has not been given a fair chance by the Bangladesh selectors. Ashraful said chief selector Akram Khan had told him that he would sit out the second and third ODIs against West Indies, but would return for the Tests. Ashraful ended up playing the second one-dayer, but was dropped for the third.”Akram told me ahead of the second ODI that I should sit out the next two and play in the Test,” he was quoted as saying in the . “I told him that I want to play the remaining games and earn my way into the Test side. How can there be a guarantee in cricket? I wanted to play out the ODI series and take it from there.”Khan, though, said he had not made any promises and whatever he said to Ashraful had simply been encouragement. “I don’t know what Ashraful has said but I talk to players all the time and I say a lot of things to encourage them,” he said. “These issues get ignored when they do well but not so when things are not right.”Ashraful scored a patient 73 in Bangladesh’s last Test, against Zimbabwe in August, but had not scored a half-century in 16 Test innings before that. His form in ODIs has been woeful: his last ODI half-century was in January 2010, since then he has averaged 10.11 in 18 one-day innings with a highest score of 31. He defended that record saying he had not been given an extended run and his form had suffered from being in and out of the side.”I know I haven’t scored a half-century in 18 games,” he said. “Players have careers that don’t last that long but I have played those matches intermittently, where I would get dropped after one or two matches. I never got a full stretch. Here too [in the ODIs against West Indies] I was going to be dropped after the first game, which has happened often in the past.”Akram Khan also rubbished rumours that Ashraful’s exclusion had been due to pressure from higher-ups in the Bangladesh Cricket Board. “This is absolute rubbish,” Akram said. “He was omitted only on account of his ordinary performance. If we had acted upon pressure or sentiments from different quarters, then he would not have been in the one-day team.”We were not getting what was expected from Ashraful. He bats at No. 3 but he wasn’t contributing in several ways so we want to go with the other option, Shahriar Nafees.”Bangladesh’s coach Stuart Law had reacted to the decision by saying it was a necessary one to send players the message that they needed to perform consistently to be picked, though he said Ashraful’s career was not over.

A round-up of the seventh match-day of the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifier

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Aug-2011

Nitish Kumar racked up the tournament’s highest score, 150, only to see it bettered by Christopher Kent, who scored 166 to help Papua New Guinea Under-19s chase Canada Under-19s total of 261 at Woodvale Road with two balls to spare. Kumar’s knock, and starts from both openers, had put Canada in a strong position at 172 for 2 in the 35th over. But late wickets meant Canada could not push on as they might have wanted to, but they still managed a challenging total, which looked more imposing when PNG slipped to 13 for 3. Kent counterattacked, playing shots all around the wicket, and reached his half-century in 40 balls. He steadied himself in the middle overs, before launching into another attack in the end. PNG needed 15 runs off the last two overs, and Kent got boundaries off the first two balls of the 49th. They still needed five in the last over, and Toua Tom finished things off by crashing a boundary to midwicket.Kent, who was declared man of the Match said PNG’s focus would now be to end the tournament on a high. “I was just thinking of playing every ball on its merit,” he said. “I wanted to bat right through the innings. Two more good days and our dream could well be true.”Nepal Under-19s have caught up with Ireland Under-19s on five wins after beating them by 10 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis method at the Bready Cricket Club. Nepal only managed 187 for 7 after a spell of 10-4-15-3 from Ireland captain George Dockrell, but Nepal’s own left-arm spinner Rahul Vishwakarma came up with figures of 4 for 28 to wipe out Ireland’s low order, and go to the top of the tournament’s wickets-chart in the process. Vishwakarma’s four scalps completed a collapse that had been begun with the run-out of Adam Coughlan for 48 and the dismissal of Dockrell for 55. Those two had taken Ireland out of trouble to 161 for 4. Ireland still needed 25 runs off 19 balls to be ahead of the D/L par score at the end of 46 overs when Coughlan departed, and the late wickets ensured they did not get there. Nepal’s total had been built on Sagar Pun’s half-century, and contributions from Vishwakarma and Krishna Karki down the order.Soctland Under-19s took advantage of Ireland’s slip-up, and went to the top of the table, after a 40-run victory versus Namibia Under-19s at the other ground at the Bready Cricket Club. The game was reduced to 43 overs, and was another low-scoring affair with Scotland only managing 180 for 9, and then bowling Namibia out for 140 in 39.5 overs. Scotland’s top order laid a solid base, with each of the top three getting starts, but the middle and lower order did not contribute much. Namibia lost wickets in a cluster at the beginning of their chase and then again at the end. Pelham Myburgh scored 43 and battled till the 24th over but his side were never in the game after the early blows.United States of America Under-19s handed Vanuatu Under-19s their seventh-straight defeat in a rain-affected match at the Drummond Cricket Club. The match was initially reduced to 32 overs, and Vanuatu managed 128 for 8 after being put in to bat. USA scored quickly in the chase, and when rain stopped play after 22 overs they were 42 runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par score. Steven Taylor who made an unbeaten 33 for USA was named Man of the Match. “In the last three games I had not done well,” Taylor said. “I was glad to have made a contribution to the side’s win again. The side is gelling well now and we are looking good as a combination right now.”In another shortened match, at the Limavady Cricket Club, Afghanistan Under-19s put together a whirlwind chase, going past Kenya Under-19s’ total of 154 for 5 in just 18.4 overs. The match had been reduced to 24 overs, and Kenya scored at 6.41 in their innings, with Rahul Vishram scoring 59 off 40 balls. Afghanistan scored at 8.30 in the chase; Javed Ahmadi smashed five sixes in his 86 off 51 balls, while Hashmatullah Shaidi got 63 off 58 balls.

MatériaMais Notícias

Há quase 14 anos, o São Paulo escrevia uma das páginas mais memoráveis de sua história em competições continentais. No dia 12 de maio de 2004, o Tricolor vencia, de virada, o Rosario Central, adversário desta noite pela Copa Sul-Americana, por 2 a 1 e, nos pênaltis se classificava para as quartas de final da Copa Libertadores. A partida no Morumbi teve de quase tudo e quem viveu aquele momento não o apaga da memória.

– Sem sombra de dúvida, foi uma das partidas mais emocionantes que tive pelo São Paulo. Se tratando de Libertadores, esse jogo foi até mais emocionante do que a final contra o Atlético-PR no ano seguinte. Aconteceu de tudo naquela partida. Um time como o São Paulo resolver ficar no campo durante o intervalo e com a torcida cantando, acho que não vai ter outro momento como esse – relembrou o ex-lateral Cicinho, a pedido doLANCE!

Depois de perder, por 1 a 0, na partida de ida em Rosário, o Tricolor precisava de uma vitória por dois gols de diferença para avançar de fase e saiu perdendo no Morumbi. O que parecia difícil ficou ainda pior quando Luís Fabiano desperdiçou um pênaltil. Comandante do Tricolor na época, Cuca colocou o centroavante Grafite em campo e a sorte do São Paulo começou a mudar. Antes do intervalo, Cicinho jogou na área e o próprio Grafite mandou para o fundo da rede. O Morumbi explodiu.

O time não foi para o vestiário no intervalo e permaneceu em campo durante a paralisação. A torcida abraçou a ideia e cantou durante os 15 minutos de paralisação. Era o ânimo que o time precisava.

– A recordação mais impactante do jogo foi quando nós resolvemos ficar ali no banco de reservas, no intervalo, e a torcida começou a cantar. Foram 15 minutos cantando e aquilo nos motivos de uma maneira que nem tem como falar, foi muito forte. Essa é a recordação mais impactante que eu vivi com a torcida do São Paulo. Foi um momento único – relata Cicinho.

No segundo tempo, já quase no fim da partida, Grafite fez seu segundo gol na partida e levou o Tricolor para a decisão de pênaltis. O São Paulo saiu atrás, com Cicinho desperdiçando a primeira cobrança. Na sequência, a estrela de Rogério Ceni brilhou.

O goleiro-artilheiro foi para a marca da cal precisando converter para que o São Paulo não fosse eliminado e, na sequência, defender o pênalti batido por Gaona para levar o duelo às cobranças alternadas. E foi exatamente o que o ídolo tricolor fez. Depois, ainda pegou o chute de Irace e levou a equipe para as quartas de final daquela edição da Copa Libertadores.

Ao fim da partida, Cicinho e Fabão choravam em campo. Os quase 60 mil são-paulinos que estavam no Morumbi naquela noite explodiam de alegria. A virada diante do Rosario marcou uma era no clube, que foi coroada com as conquistas da Copa Libertadores e do Mundial de Clubes no ano seguinte.

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A passagem de Cicinho pelo São Paulo foi tão significativa que o jogador ganhou uma homenagem do clube quando anunciou sua aposentadoria, no Morumbi. Atualmente, o ex-lateral prepara o próximo passo de sua carreira: trabalhar dando palestras para empresas, escolas e clubes de futebol sobre sua história de vida. A convite da reportagem, o são-paulino falou sobre o jogo.

Você se lembra de conversar com o Rogério antes do início das cobranças de pênalti?
A lembrança de conversa, não. Foi mais a questão que vieram me perguntar se eu bateria o pênalti e eu falei que estava bem. Pedi para ser o primeiro. Eu nunca fui um cara tranquilo para bater pênalti. Para falar a verdade, esse é o único pênalti da minha carreira. Eu tenh o100% de negatividade, digamos assim (risos). Mas ali, com a torcida gritando, eu estava confiante. É que eu bati à meia altura, no lugar que os goleiros mais gostam, e ele (Gaona, goleiro do Rosario) acabou pegando. Mas o importante foi o resultado final. A certeza que eu tenho é de que foi um dos dias que eu mais orei na minha vida (risos).

Qual foi o clima no intervalo do jogo, quando vocês não desceram para o vestiário para sentirem o clima da torcida?
Para falar a verdade, não foi nem para sentir o clima da torcida. Foi mais um desabafo nosso, para mostrar que a gente queria a vaga. Porque é fácil você ir para o vestiário, e naquele momento, se fôssemos para o vestiário, poderia nos esfriar, e naquele calor do jogo não teve tempo nem de pensar em alongar direito. Do jeito que nós estávamos, ficamos. Nem abaixamos o meião, nem nada. Não tiramos a caneleira e não trocamos o uniforme, como é costume. Todo mundo continuou do mesmo jeito. Foi um momento único. Por isso que o São Paulo é paixão e reviver esses momentos é maravilhoso.

Qual era importância do Morumbi para vocês nesses jogos decisivos da Libertadores?
O Morumbi, na verdade é o Morumtri (risos). Naquela época, quando você descia a avenida para chegar ao estádio e já via aquele mar de gente tricolor, batendo no ônibus, cantando o hino, gritando o nome dos jogadores. É uma atmosfera única. Eu acho que não tem outro time no mundo que vive a expectativa de um jogo, de uma competição, como os torcedores do São Paulo vivem na Libertadores. É inexplicável. Só quem vive e veste essa camisa sabe.

Mashrafe Mortaza, the Bangladesh seamer, has cleared himself to play against Australia in the three-match limited overs series starting on Saturday in Mirpur, his captain Shakib Al Hasan has said.A combination of fitness issues and the poor health of his wife had left 27-year-old Mortaza a doubtful starter for quite some time after he missed the World Cup with a knee problem.But Shakib indicated on the eve of the first ODI that Mortaza was allowed to make up his own mind about participating in the series, and had chosen to stay.”He decided he’ll be staying with the team and he’ll be part of this series,” Shakib told reporters at the Shere Bangla Stadium.There could be plenty of difficulty in all this for Mortaza, as whispers of board pressure have also swirled around his presence in the squad.”I think it would not be wise to talk about the issue now. What I can say is that I am honest in my position. It would be good not to make public what happened before the selection,” Mortaza said this week in response to questions about whether he had been consulted prior to selection.”I’m giving 100% in my bowling and it’s not as if I was far away from my standard. But it could have been much better if I got at least one more week for preparation. Physio (Michael Henrry) also told me that I need a few more days for gaining full fitness.”Because of family problems I was out of touch for almost 40 days which made it difficult for me to regain full fitness. As a player I want to play this series but I have to think about my team also.”As for the series, which forms an odd little postscript to unsuccessful World Cup campaigns for both sides, Shakib refrained from any bold statements. “I don’t think it will be easier for them, it will be always a hard game,” he said of Australia. “The three matches we’re playing will be very competitive. I’m not putting any number, or whether we’ll win any games or not.”I think it will be a very competitive series.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIshant Sharma put in a much improved performance on the third day•AFP

North Zone got themselves back into the match on the third morning with three wickets in the first session, but just when it looked like they might restrict South Zone to a lead of less than 100, they got sloppy in the field and South’s tailenders got their fair share of luck to push the lead to 140.Scoring was much slower than the frenetic pace of the second day, when 369 runs were made from 86.1 overs. Only 229 runs came from 85.2 overs on Friday, with scratchy batting from South’s lower order being the feature of the day. The action-packed second day had seen an altercation between South batsman Robin Uthappa and North bowler Ishant Sharma, and it was announced on Friday that both players would be fined 100 per cent of their match fee.The day started briskly enough: S Badrinath, who was 97 not out overnight, reached his 27th first-class century off the sixth ball he faced, getting to the landmark with a drive past mid-on off legspinner Amit Mishra. Badrinath went over long-on for six in Mishra’s next over and Bodapati Sumanth kept the runs flowing from the other end. When Sumanth was bowled by Sumit Narwal in the 87th over, South had already added 61 runs to their overnight score of 298 and taken the all important first-innings lead.That wicket, though, seemed to act as a speed breaker to the innings, and only two more boundaries were hit in the rest of the session. Badrinath was unfortunate to be run out for 136 in the 96th over. Ishant Sharma dropped a return catch from Amit Verma, but he inadvertently deflected the ball onto the stumps at the non-striker’s end and Badrinath was caught backing up. North found an opening back into the game four overs later when Ishant got CM Gautam to edge a short-of-length delivery to first slip. The umpires called for lunch with North the happier of the two teams.The opening got bigger straight after the break, as Ishant got R Vinay Kumar in similar fashion to Gautam, edging to Shikhar Dhawan at first slip. Ishant had been poor on Friday, but put in a much improved performance on the third morning and his two scalps had evened out the game. At that stage, South were only 49 runs ahead with three wickets in hand.But North failed to capitalise and allowed South to build partnerships. Verma hit a couple of big shots off Mishra, before falling to Joginder Sharma for 32. Abhimanyu Mithun chipped in with a useful 26 runs that included some fortunate edges. One of his miscues went away for four to the long-off boundary, and Mithun rubbed salt into Joginder’s wounds by hitting him for another four and then a huge six over extra-cover off the next two balls.Pragyan Ojha came in at No.10 and looked scratchy from the word go. But North gave him a let off the third ball he faced, Paras Dogra dropping a sitter at backward point off Joginder. Ojha managed to last another 57 balls, and scored a frustrating 21. By the time he was out, stumped by Uday Kaul off Yashpal Singh, South had added 91 runs for the last three wickets.North’s openers started their second innings slowly, scoring just 28 runs in the first 16 overs. Ojha was borught into the attack early, and the move paid off as he struck in his fourth over, getting Dhawan to inside-edge one onto his pads and Sumanth pouched the catch at forward short leg. North ended the day on 50 for 1 and will need a huge effort from their batsmen to give themselves a chance of winning the game outright.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their transfer plans ahead of the upcoming window… 

What’s the talk?

Reporter Jacque Talbot has revealed that the Magpies are eyeing up a number of left-backs as they consider what they want to do in that position this summer.

Matt Targett is currently on loan from Aston Villa and is reportedly available for a fee in the region of £15m, but the Toon may go down another route.

Talbot tweeted: “Exc: Renan Lodi remains a target for Newcastle despite the glowing performances of Matt Targett, who will hold talks with the club in the summer. The club have a list of left-back options and both names are on it.”

He added: “Newcastle and Lodi’s representatives have had talks before but nothing came to fruition. Lodi is a more attacking option to Targett and would cost about double. But club’s priorities are with the striker and centre-back positions.”

Eddie Howe will be excited

Magpies head coach Eddie Howe will surely be excited by this update, as Lodi would be a sublime addition to his squad heading into next season.

In Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days, the Brazilian defender ranks in the 99th percentile for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.23) in his position and is in the 95th and 98th percentiles for attacking touches (3.42) and progressive passes received (5.16), as per FBRef.

This shows that he is an attack-minded full-back who can get fans off their seats with his drive to get involved in attacks. He has played 49 La Liga matches for Atletico Madrid since the start of last season, which means that he has consistently delivered an impressive return in the final third over a significant spell of game-time.

At the age of 24, he also has plenty of years left ahead of him to develop. He has time on his side to hone and improve his skills, so Newcastle would be buying a player with the potential to get even better whilst also bringing in someone who is already a proven performer at the top level.

Meanwhile, Targett has averaged a solid SofaScore rating of 6.92 in the Premier League this term playing for Villa and Newcastle. He has seamlessly slotted in at left-back for Howe and has been a reliable outlet for the ex-Cherries coach since arriving on loan.

Therefore, the Toon boss will be excited by the prospect of signing Targett or Lodi this summer, as both players have the potential to be excellent signings for the club. The former is proven in England and is currently showing his quality for the Magpies, whilst the latter has excelled in Europe for a big club in Spain and has the potential to improve even further.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Bruno: PIF must finally launch NUFC move for “outrageous” £50m dynamo…

Ally McCoist expected better from Rangers right-back James Tavernier against Motherwell on Saturday. 

The lowdown

Rangers survived an early red card for centre-back Leon Balogun in their 3-1 win at Fir Park, closing the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership to three points ahead of Celtic’s trip to Ross County on Sunday afternoon.

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It was Tavernier who effectively sealed the victory when he converted a penalty on 62 minutes to establish a two-goal cushion.

Even as Giovanni van Bronckhorst rang the changes ahead of Thursday’s trip to RB Leipzig for the Europa League semi-final first leg, the skipper played the full 90 minutes for the 32nd time in 34 SPFL matches this season.

The latest

Speaking live on Sky Sports during the match, the Gers’ all-time leading goalscorer McCoist expressed his frustration at a Tavernier cross that was easily dealt with by Motherwell.

“It’s a really poor delivery from someone whose delivery is usually really good,” he said, as quoted by Ibrox News.

The verdict

Even though he scored, it’s fair to say that Tavernier could have played better.

The £6.3million-rated star is perhaps his side’s foremost creator, with a team-high 14 assists under his belt this season.

But even though he swung in seven crosses, he failed to create a chance on Saturday. Indeed, only two of his deliveries found a team-mate (via SofaScore).

Overall, 17 of his 51 passes (equating to 33%) and seven of his eight long balls, went astray.

He lost possession more than any other player on the pitch (29 times, two more than next-worst Borna Barisic).

The £24,000-per-week man may hope to be more effective when Rangers travel to Germany for perhaps the biggest game of their season so far.

In other news, the stats showed that this trio struggled most vs Motherwell.

علق جورج ليكنز المدير الفني الأسبق لمنتخب بلجيكا على هزيمة الأخير أمام منتخب مصر بهدفين مقابل هدف خلال اللقاء الودي الذي جمع بينهما الجمعة الماضية.

واستطاع منتخب مصر الفوز أمام بلجيكا بنتيجة 2-1 خلال المباراة التي أقيمت على استاد جابر الأحمد في الكويت.

وقال جورج ليكنز في تصريحات تلفزيونية عبر قناة الحياة: “منتخب مصر يستحق الفوز لأن الأداء البلجيكي لم يكن جيدًا بل كان سيئًا، وعلى الجانب الآخر الفريق المصري أراد أن يثبت نفسه”.

وأكمل: “كان لدى اللاعبين المصريين رغبة في أثبات أنفسهم، أما اللاعبين البلجيكيين فلم تكن أذهانهم في الملعب ولم يكونوا مركزين بالقدر الكافي بل كانوا مركزين على مباراتهم الثانية أمام المغرب وليس كندا”.

وأشار: “لكن الغرض هو التعود على اللعب أمام فرق شمال إفريقيا، ولذلك واجهت بلجيكا مصر للتعود على هذا النوع من الكرة التكتيكية الشمال إفريقية الجميلة”.

وتابع: “نتيجة طبيعية وأعتقد هذا الفوز مستحق لمنتخب مصر، مشجعين كثيرين في الكويت يدعمون الفريق المصري، واللاعبين المصريين كانوا متحفزين جدا، أمام منتخب بلجيكا وكانوا يخشون الإصابة ولم يكن أدائهم جيد على الإطلاق، تستحقون التواجد في كأس العالم ولكن أنتم تعرفون كرة القدم”.

طالع | هشام يكن عن فوز منتخب مصر على بلجيكا: انتهت خطة “باصي لـ صلاح” ولاعب الفراعنة يتعلم من طارق حامد

وأضاف: “الفريق المصري لم يفاجئني وخاصة أننا في منتصف الموسم، حسنًا فعل الفريق المصري إطلاق نوبة استيقاظ لمنتخب بلجيكا، فتحتم أعيننا وجعلتم آذاننا صائغة”.

واستطرد مدرب بلجيكا السابق: “الآن نعرف ما سيحدث الذهن كله تركيزه على المباراة الأولى في المونديال، والسرعة المصرية خلقت مشكلات للدفاعات البلجيكية غير الجيدة ولعبتم بشكل جماعي.

وبسؤاله عن اللاعب الذي لفت نظره من منتخب مصر أمام بلجيكا؟، أجاب: “ليس لاعب واحد، أنا أحب محمد صلاح من الذي لا يحب صلاح؟، هو أفضل لاعب في ليفربول، لم يكن في أفضل أحواله ولكن عندما يمتلك الكرة تشعر أن هناك شيئا مختلفا”.

وأوضح: “لكن اللاعب الذي كان يؤدي بكفاءة عالية تريزيجيه أدى بشكل جيد جدًا أمام بلجيكا، نحن نعرفه جيدًا في بلجيكا عندما كان يلعب في أندرلخت، هو لاعب موهوب وتحسن مستواه وأصبح جاهزًا لكي يكون أحد اللاعبين البارزين في طرابزون التركي وأنا راض تمامًا عن آدائه أمام بلجيكا”.

واختتم: “أديتم المباراة بشكل جيد جدًا من البداية حتى النهاية، استحوذتم على الكرة، وتستحقون التواجد في كأس العالم”.

Leeds United have been tipped to consider bringing Reading midfielder John Swift to Elland Road this summer, LeedsLive report.

The Lowdown: Swift interest

Swift was linked with a move to Yorkshire in the January window, with reports suggesting the 26-year-old was on the club’s list of midfield targets.

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As we know, a move for the Royals star didn’t materialise, with Leeds failing to add to Marcelo Bielsa’s squad in any capacity.

Bielsa, who Phil Hay said admired Swift, was sacked in February, with Jesse Marsch the new man in charge, but despite the switch in manager, Swift has come up in conversation once again ahead of the summer window.

The Latest: Free transfer?

LeedsLive reporter Danny Bloomer shared a story on Thursday morning, looking at five free agents the Whites could be interested in this summer.

Swift was one of those, with no progress made with Reading regarding a new contract, and as a result, he could end his six-year stay with the club.

The Verdict: Smart signing?

Swift, labelled as ‘super-talented’ by former Reading boss Veljko Paunovic, has been in impressive form this season, contributing to 24 goals in 38 Championship games, netting 11.

Therefore, picking up the attacking midfielder on a free transfer to bolster Marsch’s midfield options could be a shrewd piece of business. The 26-year-old is clearly a player of interest to Victor Orta given the interest in January and the Whites only have four midfielders on the books at this moment in time.

He appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high £5.4m Transfermarkt valuation, so the coming months could be the perfect time to firm up their long-term interest in the former Chelsea youngster.

In other news: ‘Big’ – Journalist excited by who Orta and Marsch may now ‘bring’ to Leeds this summer.