The England captain attempted to reset the tone for the tour as the team begins preparations for the second Test

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-Nov-20253:04

Should England fans be worried about Root?

Ben Stokes is willing to accept criticism of England’s performance in the first Test as “rubbish” but feels labelling his side “arrogant” is a step too far.Australia’s victory in Perth has seen the tourists come under heavy fire, after succumbing to defeat inside two days. Despite holding a strong position on day two – 105 in front, with nine second innings wickets in hand – England capitulated, losing 9 for 99 through questionable shot selection, before Travis Head completed the rout for an eight-wicket victory.With an 11-day gap between the end of the first and the start of the second Test at The Gabba next Thursday, there has been ample space for postmortems, particularly in the Australian media. Publications and pundits have lined up to take shots at not just England’s approach in the match, but around it, too. Mitchell Johnson was the latest former Australian cricketer to seek his pound of flesh with his column on Friday. Such critiques have also come from the UK.Related

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A lack of an intense warm-up ahead of the series, with a three-day match against the Lions at Lilac Hill, has been followed by a decision for all but three unused squad members to miss the Prime Ministers’ XI match in Canberra this weekend – a two-day pink-ball fixture ahead of Brisbane’s day-night Test. Factor in paparazzi shots of the team playing golf and an unflattering picture has been painted of an unserious team not committing wholly to one of the most anticipated Ashes tours in recent history.Stokes, however, was keen to set the record straight in England’s first official media engagement since the end of the Perth Test. Prior to an additional training session at Allan Border Field on Saturday morning – the first of five ahead of the second Test – England’s Test captain ceded they must wear what comes their way, but stressed not all of it was valid.”Look, you can call us rubbish, call us whatever you want,” Stokes said. “We didn’t have the Test match that we wanted to. We were great in passages of that game… but I think arrogant might be a little bit too far.”But that’s okay. We’ll take the rough with the smooth. I’d rather words like ‘rubbish’, but ‘arrogant’, I’m not so sure about that.”Ben Stokes speaks to the media as England resume training•Getty Images

Stokes also defended England’s decision not to send more of their first-string to join the Lions for the PM’s XI match, which starts on Saturday afternoon. Only Jacob Bethell, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts are at Manuka Oval, with the remainder of the Ashes squad in situ in Brisbane since Wednesday.It left Lions captain Tom Haines in the uncomfortable position of fielding questions from local media on Friday at the captain’s press conferences, asking if England had disrespected the match – and by association – prime minister Anthony Albanese.”I do understand it,” said Stokes of the blowback to shunning the fixture. “We have a pink-ball match coming up in Brisbane, and we have an opportunity to play some pink-ball cricket. When you look at it just like that, I don’t want to say it makes sense, but I totally understand it [that view].”But there’s obviously a lot more to it than just that. There’s where it is, in Canberra, which is a different state from Brisbane. The conditions are going to be completely different to what we are going to have coming up.”You take all the factors into consideration, the pros and cons, whatever it may be. We then discuss that and decide what we think is the best preparation. We have a few more days off than we planned after that Test. We had to go away and ask how we use these next few days wisely in order to be prepared for what it will be like in Brisbane.”We schedule everything as if the Test match is going to go five days. It didn’t go five days, so we had three days planned of training, and that obviously had to change. That’s why now we have a longer build-up for this pink-ball game.”Saturday’s session lasted close to three hours before rain arrived in Brisbane. The week has been punctuated by thunderstorms, with more expected in the next few days that could hamper both team’s preparations and the Test itself although the forecast does become more settled.Pink ball in hand: Jofra Archer prepares for the day-night Test•Getty Images

Regardless of the weather, Australia will be seen as the dominant force coming into next week. They boast an impressive 13 wins from 14 in day-night Tests, suffering their first defeat against West Indies at the Gabba in 2024. Mitchell Starc, fresh from 10 wickets in the first Test, is the standout with the pink ball, with 81 dismissals at an average of 17.08.With the odds stacked against England, Stokes issued a rallying cry to his team – and supporters – as he seeks to right the wrongs of Perth.”We did some amazing things in that Test match,” he said. “The way we bowled in the first innings, and we were [effectively] 100 for 1, and put a score on the board that we felt was definitely defendable. We all know, and have looked back on it, that there were moments in that game where we could have been a lot better to help us gain even more of an advantage.”The important thing we need to do as a team and individuals is learn from it. We have identified those moments, spoken about them as a group, that’s what we need to do. In terms of execution, could we have been better at executing what we want to do, definitely. But again, we have a mindset of playing the game which is looking to put the opposition under pressure, but also absorbing pressure.”Sometimes when you go out there and make a decision, it doesn’t always pay off, or work the way you want it to. That’s the key for the rest of this tour, staying true to the beliefs of how we play our cricket. But also we do know we could have been a lot better in certain ways.”We know that there’ll be a lot of disappointed fans in England after that first defeat. But it’s a five-game series, we’ve got four games to go, we’ve lost the first one – we’re absolutely desperate to come home with that goal from before we even started the series, which is to win the Ashes.”

كشفت تقارير صحفية أن نجم ريق ليفربول، محمد صلاح، مستعد لخطوة جريئة في إطار مستقبله مع بطل الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، بعد التصريحات النارية التي أدلى بها قبل أيام.

كان محمد صلاح قد صب غضبه على إدارة ليفربول والمدرب آرني سلوت، في تصريحات نارية يوم السبت الماضي، بعد تهميشه من جانب المدير الفني الهولندي في 3 مباريات متتالية.

وانتشرت التكهنات منذ ذلك الوقت حول مستقبل محمد صلاح، حيث يمتلك عقدًا ساريًا مع ليفربول حتى يونيو 2027، وأفادت تقارير صحفية بأن إدارة النادي لا تفكر في مسألة بيعه في يناير المقبل.

على العكس من ذلك، ذكرت شبكة “teamtalk” الإنجليزية أن ممثلي محمد صلاح مستعدون لطلب فسخ عقده بالتراضي مع ليفربول، ربما في يناير القادم، بينما من المتوقع وصول عرض مذهل قريبًا لصاحب الـ33 عامًا.

وأوضحت أنه رغم التوقيع على أكبر عقد في تاريخ ليفربول، في أبريل الماضي، مقابل 400 ألف جنيه إسترليني أسبوعيًا، يبدو الانفصال بين الطرفين، بعد أكثر من 6 أشهر، أمرًا واردًا بعد هجوم محمد صلاح المفاجئ مؤخرًا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. كاراجر يقسو على محمد صلاح: لم تفز بأي بطولة مع مصر.. وليفربول جعل منك نجمًا

وأفادت بأنه بينما لا يغلق سلوت الباب أمام عودة محمد صلاح إلى الفريق، ويبدو أنه ترك الباب مفتوحًا لعودته قبل مباراة الدوري الإنجليزي ضد برايتون في أنفيلد، فإن ليفربول يتصارع داخليًا مع قضية صعبة للغاية خلف الأبواب المغلقة.

وحاول النادي في البداية التقليل من شأن التكهنات حول محمد صلاح، وأجرى محادثات مطولة مساء السبت والأحد قبل اتخاذ قرار باستبعاده من التشكيلة التي سافرت لمواجهة إنتر ميلان يوم الثلاثاء، لكن مصادر مقربة من معسكره أخبرت الشبكة نفسها أن الأسطورة المصري لا يشعر بمستقبله في الفريق.

وأشارت إلى أن المصادر أكدت أن محمد صلاح يصر على كون الأمر لا يتعلق بالمال، وأنه منفتح تمامًا على مغادرة ليفربول حال التوصل إلى اتفاق.

ويجب التأكيد على أنه لم يُذكر أي شيء يشير إلى أن ليفربول، سيكون مستعدًا بالفعل لقبول رحيله في يناير، ويظل ريتشارد هيوز، رئيس مجلس إدارة ليفربول التنفيذي والمدير الرياضي للنادي، مالكي النادي، على اطلاع دائم بالوضع.

كما يتواصل الطرفان باستمرار في إطار علاقتهما العملية، مع التأكيد على كون موضوع محمد صلاح هو بلا شك القضية المُلحة.

Opener Finn Allen could miss the start of New Zealand’s upcoming five-match T20I series in India due to BBL commitments.The series, which starts on January 21 in Nagpur, serves as important preparation for the T20 World Cup to be played in India and Sri Lanka. It is the second leg of New Zealand’s white-ball tour with three ODIs slated from January 11-17.But Allen might not be available until possibly the fourth T20I on January 28 if Perth Scorchers reach the BBL final set to be played on January 25. Scorchers wrap up their regular season against Melbourne Stars on January 17 in Perth. If they don’t qualify for the finals, then Allen should be available for the full T20I series.”Pending selection, I’ll head straight to India once the Big Bash finishes up for us [Scorchers],” Allen told ESPNcricinfo.Allen, 26, is one of five players who signed casual agreements in order to have some flexibility between playing for New Zealand, remaining within the high-performance system, and taking up franchise opportunities overseas.”Playing for New Zealand is still, for me, the pinnacle and the reason why I love playing is to represent my country,” Allen said. “But cricket’s obviously evolving and changing year on year.”New Zealand Cricket’s been really good to work with over the last wee while. [I’m] confident about getting back into some Black Caps stuff after the Big Bash and hopefully can continue that.”Gearing up to partner Australia T20I skipper Mitchell Marsh at the top of the order for Scorchers, Allen will be making his return to competitive cricket after being sidelined with a foot stress fracture sustained in the MLC in early July.In the season opener of MLC, Allen had smashed 151 – featuring a T20 record of 19 sixes – in San Francisco Unicorns’ victory over Washington Freedom at the Oakland Coliseum.Allen last played international cricket in March, where he hit 27 off 12 balls in New Zealand’s eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in Wellington.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras está perto de oficializar a venda de Estêvão para o Chelsea, da Inglaterra. O clube inglês pagará em torno de 60 milhões de euros, 15 milhões de euros a mais do que o valor previsto em contrato, que estabelece uma multa rescisória de 45 millhões de euros (R$ 250 milhões). A informação sobre o avanço da negociação foi publicada inicialmente pelo portal “Ge”.

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➡️O mata-mata da Copa do Brasil está pegando fogo! Abra a sua conta e faça já a sua aposta no Lance! Betting

➡️ Siga o Lance! Palmeiras no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Verdão

Convertendo para a moeda brasileira, o montante ofertado pelos ingleses se aproxima de R$ 350 milhões, R$ 100 milhões a mais do que a multa. O motivo disso é que, para contratar o jogador pelo valor determinado no vínculo com o Verdão, os Blues teriam que efetuar o pagamento à vista.

Para contratar um jogador à vista, os clubes ingleses podem se complicar com o fair play financeiro e se limitarem na janela de transferências.

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O Palmeiras detém 70% dos direitos econômicos de Estêvão, que tem direito a 30% do negócio com o Chelsea. Portanto, dos R$ 350 milhões, o Alviverde ficará com R$ 245. O atleta embolsará em torno de R$ 105 milhões.

Também é importante ressaltar que a transferência inclui bônus por metas esportivas, além da parte fixa. Ou seja, os R$ 350 milhões não são garantidos. O modelo de negócio é semelhante ao de Endrick, que se mudará para o Real Madrid em breve.

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Com 17 anos, Estêvão só poderá deixar o Palmeiras rumo ao Chelsea quando completar 18, em abril de 2025. O Verdão, porém, deve conseguir mantê-lo para a disputa do Super Mundial de Clubes da Fifa, que acontece entre junho e julho do próximo ano.

O atacante foi integrado de vez ao time profissional do Alviverde nesta temporada. Titular, ele soma 16 partidas e três gols no ano.

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ChelseaEstevãoPalmeiras

Authoritative displays in Lilac Hill warm-up have ended the speculation leading into Perth Test

Vithushan Ehantharajah16-Nov-2025The debate as to who will bat No.3 for England in the first Ashes Test has been all but settled with Ollie Pope’s standout performance in the warm-up match against England Lions locking up his familiar spot for Friday’s opener in Perth.Scores of 100 and 90 saw Pope emerge from Lilac Hills in credit, hurdling the challenge put forward by Jacob Bethell, who scored 3 and 70. Named in the England side for the warm-up match while Bethell was carded three for the Lions, Pope was comfortably the best batter on show across both innings. He looked more composed, and authoritative, even if this match was a far cry from the intensity the tourists will experience at the Optus Stadium from November 21.It effectively ended what has been months of speculation over Pope’s place in the side for the start of this Australia tour. Initial doubts were triggered by Bethell’s form at the back end of the summer, including a maiden professional century in an ODI against South Africa. They then gained momentum when Pope was ditched as Test vice-captain for Harry Brook. “I respect the decision they’ve made,” Pope said. “If they think that’s the right thing for the team going forward, and obviously Brooky captaining the one-day stuff and the T20 stuff as well, then that’s absolutely fine by me and I respect the decision they’ve made.”Perhaps spurred on further by the loss of an official leadership role, Pope reinforced his reliability on the eve of the biggest Ashes series in generations. Along with an accomplished body of work at No.3 – averaging 41.60 from 57 innings since the promotion up the order, while scoring eight of his nine career centuries – he feels confident this week has ended speculation, in his favour.”I hope so,” Pope said, when asked if he had ended the debate. “I’ve got so used to those conversations being had (about the No.3 position). I don’t go looking for them but it’s pretty hard to avoid sometimes. I’m so used to seeing it, I’ve just learned to focus on my game.Related

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“I’m just trying to become a better player each time I step out and that’s all I can do. Fingers crossed to get the nod, but all the trust is in those guys and I respect the decision they make.”Pope revealed he had made a few technical tweaks which he was workshopping this week, though was unwilling to disclose what they were ahead of the series. However, he did acknowledge the challenge posed by Bethell had narrowed his focus.Both have been pitted against one another since Bethell impressed on his maiden tour of New Zealand in 2024. That opportunity was ultimately provided by Pope, who ceded the No.3 position so he could bat lower and keep wicket after an injury to Jordan Cox in the lead-up to the series, with Jamie Smith on paternity leave.It was a selfless act from Pope that, in hindsight, looked a grave error. But he believes dealing with the extra scrutiny and fighting for his place will serve him well. Amid the huge clamour for Bethell to start against India last summer, Pope struck 106 in his first innings of the series. “It’s been good for me that I’ve learnt that, under the most pressure, I’ve been able to deliver, especially in that Headingley Test. I know that I can learn how to deal with that and get the best out of myself at times.”Everyone wants to be the first name on the team sheet, that’s pretty clear. But at the same time we’re playing international sport. I’ve got to remind myself of that at times – there’s always going to be someone on your heel if you haven’t quite scored the volume of runs that you would have liked.”I’ll try and use the pressure I’m under to get the best out of myself. I think I’m a far better player than I was the last time I came out to Australia. I’ve got those experiences behind me and I know how I want to go about it. So fingers crossed that I can deliver with a lot of runs.”In truth, Pope only really had one way to go after that last tour. A torturous 2021-22 campaign saw him average 11.16 from six innings. He played the first two Tests before being axed, only to be brought back for the last match in Hobart, which Australia won to confirm a 4-0 hammering.Can Pope make this tour count? Time will tell, but the signs are promising. He has faith in the batting improvements he is keeping close to his chest, and, for the first time in a year, has certainty over his place. He may also enjoy the liberation of not having to wonder if he might have to captain, in the event Stokes gets injured, having done so five times in the space of 12 months. Whatever happens, he is raring to go again.”Everyone is just so excited for it,” he said. “There’s obviously a lot of chat from the media, everywhere you look it’s Ashes, and for us it is enjoy that, enjoy the experience of it. But let’s just remember what’s made us a real good side over the last few years, and hopefully if I do get the nod on Friday, then it’s going to be an amazing series to be a part of.”

The Argentine deserved his second straight MVP award, but might face more competition for the honor next year – and Miami, too, could feel the heat

Lionel Messi has been named MLS Most Valuable Player. 

Need we say more? Is there anything to intellectualize here? The best player on the planet – yes, still – has been named the best player in his domestic league. 

What else did you expect? Who else could it probably be? Lionel Messi will be the best player in Major League Soccer until he doesn't want to play in Major League Soccer anymore. If this sport were about talent and talent alone, Messi would be the best footballer in the world into his 50s. It is pretty much impossible to understate exactly how good he is. 

It's also pointless to make any argument for anyone else to be the MVP. Last season – yes, Messi won it then, too – you could make a semi-compelling case. Cucho Hernandez was excellent. Luis Suarez might have split the vote. Messi's win this year was comprehensive and entirely deserved. Anders Dreyer finished in second after a wonderful season for San Diego. But there are levels here. 

Yet, somehow, amid all of this, there is tension. Messi is the clear choice for MVP – and he’ll likely enter next season as the favorite again – but the field around him is getting stronger. LAFC’s Son Heung-Min looms as a real threat, and the Vancouver Whitecaps' Thomas Muller should mount a challenge of his own. The sense of inevitability around Messi may soon give way to genuine competition, which will only strengthen MLS.

For Miami, though, the award raises the stakes. They have won MLS Cup, carried mostly by Messi's brilliance in the final. The club is opening a new stadium in Miami Freedom Park and will likely find a way to carry a star-studded roster next season, but it still hasn’t truly built a balanced team around Messi. Their playoff run was an excellent exercise in getting hot at the right time, but there are still questions to be asked about how prepared this team is to survive long-term. And if this is to be more than a one-off for a consistent MVP, Miami need to get smart in the transfer market. 

• AFP
  

  The best season in MLS history?

  Let's run through the facts here. Most had Messi as their MVP before the season. And that assumption has stayed alive and well. Messi started the season strong and never truly let up. In 28 games, he scored 29 and added 19 assists. This was all done while flying around the world on Argentina duty, and following a surprisingly hefty preseason tour of Central America. 

  He led MLS in the following stats: goals, assists, goal contributions, shots, shots on target and big chances created. He was poked fun of for being a "brace man" – often scoring twice but failing to complete a hat-trick – yet that also gave him the lead in multi-goal games. And he bagged three on the final day of the regular season, just to kill that narrative. 

  Not a single one of his goals came from inside the 6 yard box. And even when he wasn't directly involved, 10 of Miami's shots per game came in which moves Messi touched the ball. 

  This was, in effect, the most dominant attacking season the league has ever seen (with due respect to Carlos Vela – who had one more goal contribution but played three more games). It is worth pointing out, too, that most of those numbers came with the Argentine being man-marked, or often double-teamed. Of course, there's the flip side. Only one attacking player ran fewer or put in fewer sprints. He had more goal contributions than defensive actions. But who cares? This is pure, stripped-down football. Get it to Messi, and get out of the way. 

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  The individual performances

  And then, there were the big games. Messi had the audacity to score one regular season hat-trick in 2025. But it was a vital one. The final game of the regular season had nothing riding on it. There was, at that point, no jeopardy in the standings. The Supporters' Shield was out of reach. The Herons were playing for little more than momentum and pride.

  Miami were battered by Nashvile for 30 minutes. Sam Surridge and Hany Mukhtar probed and harassed. Somehow, inexplicably, the game remained level. And then Messi woke up. He scored the first from the top of the box after 35 minutes, bagged the second from the penalty spot after the break, and iced the game in the 81st. Miami won 5-2. Messi secured the Golden Boot. That game also set up a first round playoff matchup with Nashville. And the Tennessee-based side never quite recovered from the psychological damage. Sure, they sent Miami to three games in the first round, but the Herons were mightily assured (it helped, too, that Messi scored five goals and added an assist across the three games). He notched four-goal contributions in the Eastern semis. He assisted two of Miami's goals in the final. By the time the playoffs had ended, Messi had tallied 15 goal contributions. 

  But there were other big showings, too. He ran the show against Porto in the Club World Cup, with a wonderful free kick securing first MLS win over a European side. That game, more than all, was perhaps the most significant – one that gave the league an extra slice of legitimacy on the club game's biggest stage. 

  By the end of it all, his manager was sold: Messi had to win this thing. 

  "Clearly, I think if anyone had any doubts about what his regular season was like, the reality is that he's cleared any doubts. They'll surely give him the MVP award for everything he's shown," Javier Mascherano said. 

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  The highs are dazzling, the lows unmistakable.

  Eagle-eyed viewers might have noticed that Miami technically had a worse season than in 2024 – and they would be right. Last year, Miami set an MLS single-season points record and comfortably claimed the Supporters’ Shield. This year, they collected nine fewer points and conceded six more goals.

  Whether this is, overall, a worse team is up for debate. In truth, not much has materially changed. Names have come and gone, but the net effect is a remarkably similar squad in terms of talent. Rodrigo De Paul was an obvious upgrade in midfield. Yet Luis Suárez’s decline was stark and, at times, difficult to watch. The issues at center back also remain, with Maxi Falcón still unreliable next to the developing Noah Allen. Tadeo Allende and Telasco Segovia have provided flashes, but prioritizing them over Benjamin Cremaschi – before his loan to Parma – is open to scrutiny. And Sergio Busquets, who looked considerably older this season, has now retired following MLS Cup.

  Taken together, even if Messi’s numbers improved, the team around him did not. MLS Cup wins are incredibly difficult to come by, but it’s not outrageous to suggest that Vancouver may actually have outplayed Miami in the final.

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  Is the window closing?

  The issue is simple: there is only so much Messi left. The Argentine may have signed a multi-year deal to stay in MLS, but time and resources are limited. Miami must operate under a tricky salary cap, and that means they need to be shrewd. The widely held belief has long been that if Miami built a more MLS-savvy team around Messi – players who understand the league – then long-term, sustainable success would follow.

  Instead, the club has been riskier and, at times, without clear direction. Allende and Segovia were signed from abroad. De Paul is elite, but another European product. Even Javier Mascherano had never overseen a minute of MLS before taking charge. Stars can be foreign in this league, but history has shown that the connective tissue around them must be MLS-experienced. It’s not unlike how Argentina constructed their national team: willing runners, hard-nosed competitors, a structure that makes Messi shine.

  Last year, the LA Galaxy learned this lesson the hard way. Their title-winning squad was built heavily on expensive imports. Salary-cap restrictions forced them to sell or release key players, and they fell to 14th in the Western Conference the season after lifting the trophy.

  The irony, of course, is that Messi is partly responsible. No one has said it outright, but it’s hardly a secret that Miami were built to provide a Barcelona reunion. Sergio Busquets admitted as much when he joined: he was “happy” to be playing with former teammates. Jordi Alba was even more direct:

  “We’re here to help [Messi], all the team, the staff. There is a great atmosphere. He’s feeling well, he’s feeling loved. That’s very important. He has won everything, yeah, and more. But he’s still willing to compete, to win.”

  It’s also fair to question whether Miami’s front office alone would have elected to sign Rodrigo De Paul, or loan Benjamin Cremaschi to Parma. MLS commissioner Don Garber has confirmed that roster rules are being reviewed, but no changes are imminent.

  Which means Miami have to get smart – quickly.

Jesse Lingard is set to be available as a free agent with the former Manchester United forward quitting FC Seoul. Lingard, now 32, confirmed that Wednesday’s AFC Champions League meeting with Melbourne City will mark his final appearance for the club he joined in February 2024, a move dubbed the biggest in K League history.

Lingard prepares for final outing with Seoul

Lingard's departure concludes a tenure that brought no trophies but did lift FC Seoul back into competitive relevance. During his debut season, he played a pivotal role in steering the capital side to fourth place in the K League, their best finish since 2019, while the most recent campaign ended with the team in sixth. Across 66 matches, Lingard recorded 18 goals and 10 assists, figures that underline his steady influence after a turbulent chapter in his career. 

Lingard enjoyed a surge of individual recognition this year, most notably during a blistering run in July. Over four league matches, he scored twice, took home two Man of the Match honours and earned a Player of the Week award. That form ultimately earned him the division’s Player of the Month trophy, his first major individual accolade in South Korea. 

His improved performances also translated to continental competition. In a crucial AFC Champions League Elite clash away to Chinese champions Shanghai Port, Lingard orchestrated a 3-1 victory almost single-handedly. He broke the deadlock with a clinical finish shortly after half-time and, even after Mateus Vital pulled the hosts level, the midfielder responded by supplying a pinpoint cross for Lucas Silva to restore Seoul’s lead. He wrapped up the night with another crisp strike, sealing three points that strengthened Seoul’s position in the eastern standings. 

AdvertisementLingard's message of gratitude

Lingard confirmed his exit through a heartfelt message on social media, reflecting warmly on a journey that revived his spirit as a footballer. In his statement, he revealed that talks with the club had led to a mutual decision to part ways after the 2025 season, acknowledging that walking away was far from easy.

He wrote: "After positive discussions with FC Seoul, we have mutually agreed that I will be leaving the club at the end of the 2025 season, with my final game on December 10th. This wasn’t an easy decision. My time in South Korea has been unbelievable — the football, the atmosphere, and the passion around this club have been top-class. The love, support and the appreciation you have shown towards me for these last 2 years has been truly amazing. Playing football here has been an unforgettable experience and one I will always value. I want to thank FC Seoul, my teammates, the staff, and everyone associated at the club for trusting me and welcoming me from day one. I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity to play for such a massive club."

A career of highs, lows and reinvention

Lingard’s decision to leave Seoul marks the latest twist in a career defined by early promise and abrupt setbacks. He left Manchester United in 2022 after 22 years at Old Trafford, during which he played 232 times and scored some of the club’s most memorable goals of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. His trophy cabinet includes the FA Cup, Europa League and League Cup. 

But after leaving United, Lingard’s fortunes nosedived. A short stint at Nottingham Forest after a brief revival at West Ham produced just 20 appearances before he departed at the end of his one-year deal. Eight months passed with no club willing to take him on, forcing him into the unfamiliar position of a free agent fighting for relevance. And then he decided to join FC Seoul in the far East. It was a bold step into a new culture and a new league at a time when he desperately needed a fresh start. Yet the early weeks were harsh. Lingard was visibly short of fitness and was subsequently sidelined by a meniscus injury. However, with time, he turned around his fortunes and was even handed the armband on a few occasions. 

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As he prepares for his final bow on Wednesday night, Lingard once again stands at a career crossroads. The free-agent market beckons, and while the next step remains uncertain, his two-year stint in Seoul has re-established him as a player capable of influencing matches. Teams across the English football pyramid that are looking to strengthen in the January window suddenly find a Premier League veteran in the market. He should have offers, if not from the top-flight, but more likely from the lower divisions. 

Athletics closer Mason Miller throws a baseball very, very hard. That's the most efficient, but not entirely helpful scouting report a manager could give a hitter tasked with turning around that velocity. For the visual learners, Miller is absolutely dominating the top of the charts when it comes to speed.

That 104.1 mph effort, which on first blush reads like a misprint, happened on Thursday night in the Athletics' 5-4 victory over the Atlanta Braves. Sean Murphy was the unfortunate batter in the box at the time of the pitch, which resulted in strike three swinging.

How does one go about hitting that? A salty ol' ball coach might tell you to choke up and move back in the box but they're not the one watching a hard object fly in at such a pace so it's easy for them to say. Miller finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year voting last season and made the All-Star team.

Perhaps the most surprising thing in this is that he hasn't exactly been a shutdown option out of the 'pen in his second full MLB season, carrying a 4.28 ERA as the All-Star break approaches. Miller is surrendering a hard-hit rate of 42.2% so when batters connect they connect.

Former St. Louis Cardinals star catcher Yadier Molina will reprise his role as the manager for Puerto Rico at the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

Molina has participated in every World Baseball Classic so far, competing in the 2006, '09, '13 and '17 tournaments, then coaching in the 2023 event. In his coaching debut at the last WBC, Puerto Rico reached the quarterfinals round. As a player, Molina was runner-up with Puerto Rico twice in '13 and '17.

Molina retired from MLB following the 2022 season after 19 years with the Cardinals. He won two World Series titles, earned 10 All-Star selections and won 9 Gold Glove awards during his tenure. He's known as one of the most impressive catchers in recent MLB history.

New York Mets star Francisco Lindor will serve as Molina's captain of Team Puerto Rico, just as he did back in 2023.

The WBC will kick off on March 5, 2026 with Puerto Rico competing in the Pool A group, consisting of Canada, Colombia, Cuba and Panama. The games will be held at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

With five spinners in their squad, and three likely to start in their XI, slower surfaces could make them extremely hard to beat

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Feb-2025India will play all their Champions Trophy 2025 games in Dubai. The pitches there were used in the ILT20, which ended on February 9, only 11 days before India’s tournament opener. Does that mean that the surfaces will be predominantly slow? And will they wear out as the tournament progresses?Matthew Sandery, the head curator at the Dubai International Stadium, is non-committal about the latter question. But he is confident his team has had enough time since the completion of the ILT20 to prepare the “best surfaces” at the venue where India will play their group matches and – in case they qualify – the knockouts too.”The wickets that we will use for the Champions Trophy will have a minimum of two weeks of recovery from their last game of ILT20,” Sandery tells ESPNcricinfo. “We will aim to provide the best surfaces possible for Dubai and its conditions. I am confident that the pitches will be suitable for ODI requirements as expected around the world.”Related

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India are unlikely to mind if the pitches are on the slower side. They go in as favourites despite the absence of their premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who misses out due to back issues.Their squad includes five spinners, three of whom are fingerspinning allrouners – Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar – who provide batting depth, and two are X-factor wristspinners in Kuldeep Yadav and Varun Chakravarthy. This enviable collection of bowlers can create pressure on most surfaces, but they’re likely to be even harder to negotiate on slow pitches. Going by their recent line-ups, it’s likely that India will begin the tournament with a three-seamer-three-spinner combination.During the ILT20, a total of 15 matches, including the final, were played in Dubai, of which 14 were day-night games. Conditions at the ground offered a fair balance, giving batters and both kinds of bowlers something to work with. Fast bowlers averaged 25.06 at the venue while going at an economy rate of 8.08, while spinners managed corresponding figures of 29.16 and 7.46.1:12

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Dubai, though, has not hosted ODIs involving the Full Member teams since June 2019. This makes it hard to read into recent 50-overs numbers from the venue. For what it’s worth, if you consider ODIs from 2018, Australia and Pakistan have scored the only two 300-plus totals in 35 matches at the venue, and both came in the same match. Since 2018, the average first-innings total in Dubai in ODIs has been 213, while the average winning total has been 252. Teams batting first have won 14 and lost 19 times, with one tie and one no result also in the mix.Sandery does not foresee dew being a major factor, especially with the difference between day- and night-time temperatures in Dubai expected to be low. “Dew is a funny thing; we have played a very competitive ILT20 Season 3 in the UAE over the last month, and I think it didn’t come into play much at all.”The Champions Trophy is the first marquee men’s event being played in Dubai since the 2021 T20 World Cup, where India failed to make the semi-finals. They have been training since Sunday at the ICC Academy and will kick off their campaign on February 20, against Bangladesh.