“I have actually had a few teams’ coaches approach me and ask about our schedule and how potentially they could fit into their schedule”

Shashank Kishore11-Nov-2023Ryan Cook, the Netherlands head coach, believes his side has earned the respect of opponents for their style of play and ability to compete for long periods.Ahead of their ninth and final World Cup fixture, against India in Bengaluru, Cook looked back on the growth of his side over the past two months with fondness, while also giving an honest account of their shortcomings.”It goes without saying that the guys have put in some really good performances both individually and as a team, both batting and bowling and fielding,” he assessed. “So, I think everyone has gone in a respect for the way that we’ve played our cricket and the style in which we’ve gone about it.”And that’s been really pleasing to see from a coaching perspective. The guys have improved a lot in terms of all their different habits that they have in their training and refining our processes and the tournament has been very good for us in that regard.”Prior to the World Cup, Cook had implored the bigger teams for some game time. When they didn’t get that, they were forced to come to India in October without having played an official ODI since their heroics at the Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in June. But now, things are looking up.”I have actually had a few teams’ coaches approach me and ask about our schedule and how potentially they could fit into their schedule, so that bodes well,” Cook revealed. “But I know the international schedules are quite full.Related

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“But again, we would obviously love to play as many teams as possible. We’ve shown that we can compete for long periods of the game, and obviously by playing games against these teams, we’re going to be able to compete better for longer.”Cook admitted the scrapping of the ODI Super League – of which Netherlands were a part between 2020 and 2023 – was a big blow. However, there’s hope yet, with the ICC set to discuss the issue at its annual conference slated for later in the month.As things stand, the Super League isn’t part of the next cycle, with the participants for the 2027 World Cup to be decided based on the ODI rankings. This means there is no imperative for teams to play a set number of matches in the next four years. Associate nations, like Netherlands, will be hit hardest as they aren’t guaranteed a fixed number of games (it was 24 in the Super League cycle).”Yeah, I think the Super League was really influential for the players and they often refer back to those as reference points that they’ve had playing in different countries, playing against some of the top teams in the world,” Cook said. “And I think it’s probably one of the reasons why we sit in the position that we’re in today to be competing at the World Cup.”The guys get better playing better opposition[s] and obviously the more of those opposition[s] we can play, it will be handy for us. I think we had a situation where after the qualifiers we had no cricket against any – we just had Karnataka that we played against.Ryan Cook coaches Bas de Leede•ICC/Getty Images”And probably in hindsight, we missed a couple of fixtures to refine our skills and get ourselves going in terms of quality fixtures that we had. Those two games [against Karnataka] were really good, but probably not quite enough for preparation for a World Cup like this. And that was no fault of our own. We tried our best to try and get as many fixtures as we could. But obviously, as we said, the schedules are quite packed.”So, yeah, the Super League is obviously a blow for us, but again, there’s nothing stopping a bilateral series happening between two countries in ODI cricket or in T20 cricket as we move towards the T20 World Cup as well. They will be up against the good teams again and obviously we’ll be trying to prepare as well as we can for that tournament.”Cook was also forthright in talking about Netherlands’ shortcomings, without using their circumstances or scheduling as an excuse. “We need to be better for longer, whether that’s with the bat or with the ball,” he said. “I think we’ve shown glimpses of great periods of play. Some of those periods have been 20-30-40 overs long, but an ODI is 100 overs long.”In the field, I think the guys have stuck with it really well. I think we’ve shown ourselves to be one of the best fielding teams in this competition. And they put a lot of pride into that. And we put a lot of time and effort into that because it is one area that we can compete in. And you’ll see it every training session that we have. We always do fielding and the guys are always improving that aspect.”Cook was particularly effusive in his praise for the group’s camaraderie and commitment, which has helped them tide over some tough losses. “I’ve been very proud personally of the effort that all the guys have put in,” he said. “We are on the last leg [of the tournament], but you would never know that by being in and around the team.”You’d never sort of see a dull moment, the connection between the group, the cohesion, the unity that we stand for is probably even stronger than it’s ever been. So, I think that goes to show the kind of culture that we have and how we are learning and how it isn’t so much about the results as it is about the progression at this stage of our development as a team.”Netherlands came in wanting to shed this tag of being called Associates. This, Cook felt, had the potential to undermine their belief and play a certain way. They spoke often about the semi-finals being a realistic goal. While that couldn’t be achieved, Cook was happy that they will leave India knowing they’re a far better team than the one that arrived mid-September.”Yeah, I mean, obviously, would we have wanted to sort of be in those semi-final spaces come tomorrow? Yes, I’m sure we would have. But I think the guys take valuable lessons away and the relationships that we’ve been able to develop have been really strong. I think we’ve also learned a lot of lessons around how we should prepare for these types of conditions.”We came out to Bangalore [Bengaluru] twice, which was a great experience for us. And that was sort of a mind-opening and eye-opening experience for everyone. And yeah, if we’d had a few more games in the subcontinent, I think probably we would have come in a little bit better prepared. But nonetheless, we had what we had and the guys, as you say, have been putting in the full effort that they can every game that they play, every training session that they come to. So very proud as a coach in that regard.”

Things are going from bad to worse for the Nerazzurri, who now have to deal with an internal dispute after some very public humiliations

When it came time to speak to reporters after Inter's epic Champions League clash with Barcelona at San Siro, Davide Frattesi was still struggling to catch his breath, still struggling to find the right words.

"It's just incredible," the match-winner said, "I don't know what to say." But then it came to him: "This is the beauty of football." And it really was.

Inter's 4-3 victory at San Siro really was the stuff dreams are made of, the kind of surreal spectacle in which nothing much makes sense. Not even Simone Inzaghi had any idea what Francesco Acerbi was doing up front when the 37-year-old centre-back coolly converted a near-post cross from Denzel Dumfries in the 93rd minute to force extra-time.

Frattesi, meanwhile, probably shouldn't have even been on the pitch but, just like his captain Lautaro Martinez, the midfielder fought through the pain in order to play a pivotal role in Inter's stunning success. "I have to thank the physios, because yesterday I had an abdominal strain, so they did incredible work getting me fit for this match," Frattesi told .

Then, when he slotted home Inter's extra-time winner, he "nearly had a blackout" during the raucous celebrations that ensued. "I was fortunate to see out the game!" he admitted. "But this has been my career, really. I wasn't blessed with incredible talent, but I am the last to give up and the first to believe, so this is a reward for effort and dedication."

In that sense, Frattesi kind of personified Inter, a team not lacking in gifted footballers, but nonetheless renowned for their tactical discipline and togetherness. It's, therefore, shocking that two months after beating Barcelona in the greatest Champions League semi-final ever player, Inter are not only divided – but in total disarray….

Getty Images SportThrowing away the title

Inter followed up their shock defeat of a brilliant Barca side by beating Torino on May 11 to keep alive their hopes of a second-consecutive Scudetto. The very next weekend – the penultimate of the 2024-25 season – the Serie A title race appeared to have turned in the Nerazzurri's favour.

With leaders Napoli being held to a scoreless draw in Parma, Inter were heading top of the table thanks to Dumfries' 79th-minute header at San Siro. However, in the dying seconds of normal time, Lazio were awarded a contentious penalty for a handball by Yann Bisseck, and Pedro slotted home the spot-kick to earn the visitors a 2-2 draw that effectively gifted the scudetto to Napoli.

Clearly believing themselves to have been the victims of some terrible injustice, Inter refused to fulfil any of their media obligations after the game. However, Inzaghi – who had been sent off for reacting furiously to the award of the Lazio penalty – and his players only had themselves to blame for throwing away the title, which Napoli sealed the following Friday with a Scott McTominay-inspired victory over Cagliari.

"We didn't deserve to win it because we're not top after 38 games," centre-back Stefan de Vrij told. "But there's a feeling that we could have done more in the league this year."

However, as the Dutch defender pointed out, Inter still had one game to play – the most important of their season: "We've worked really hard this year and done very well in the Champions League, so we'll now do everything we can to finish on a high. There's a huge desire to play a great final next week."

Unfortunately, what Inter produced against Paris Saint-Germain was a historically-bad performance on one of the most humiliating nights in the club's history.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportHumiliated

Ahead of their May 31 showdown with PSG in Munich, Inter's players insisted that they had learned a lot from their previous Champions League final appearance in Istanbul in 2023. On that occasion, they had lost 1-0 to Manchester City, but played far better than anyone had expected. At the Allianz Arena, though, they were worse than anyone could have imagined.

The game was essentially over after 20 minutes, with PSG 2-0 up thanks to Achraf Hakimi and Desire Doue. A clearly exhausted Inter offered absolutely nothing by way of a response. Alessandro Bastoni was among those left utterly shell-shocked by a "painful" 5-0 defeat that left "a deep sense of bitterness and will take time to fully understand."

From the outside looking in, it felt as if time had simply caught up with Inter. An exuberant PSG showed them to be exactly what they were: an old team in need of rejuvenation. What they definitely did not need, though, was Inzaghi stepping down as coach just three days later to take charge of Al-Hilal.

Getty Images SportFrom Inzaghi to Chivu – via Fabregas

Inzaghi's exit upset the majority of Inter fans. The Nerazzurri's financial constraints are well-documented, and a source of frustration to many connected with the club, but Inzaghi looked like a captain leaving a sinking ship.

The backlash only intensified after Al-Hilal revealed that Inzaghi had agreed to join the Saudi Pro League side before the Champions League final, which inevitably prompted questions over whether his imminent exit had played a part in the Munich debacle. The even suggested that Inzaghi had been trying to convince Nicolo Barella and Bastoni to follow him to Jeddah, which only intensified the feeling of betrayal at San Siro.

Aside from the manner of Inzaghi exit, which Inter had not been anticipating even in spite of the pre-existing uncertainty surrounding his future, the act itself created a problem for Beppe Marotta & Co. They suddenly had a massive hole to fill, and finding a worthy replacement before the start of their Club World Cup campaign was never going to be easy.

Cesc Fabregas was Inter's top target, as the Spaniard had done an excellent job securing a top-10 finish with Como in their first season in Serie A for 21 years. However, Como refused to allow the former Arsenal midfield to leave, meaning Inter had to turn to Christian Chivu, the former Nerazzurri defender who had earned praise for keeping Parma up after taking over at Ennio Tardini in mid-February, when the Gialloblu were 19th in the table.

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Getty Images SportUnderwhelming Club World Cup campaign

Chivu's tenure didn't get off to the most encouraging of starts, with Inter held to a 1-1 draw by Monterrey in their Club World Cup opener. They were also staring an embarrassing loss to Urawa Red Diamonds in the face when captain Lautaro Martinez sparked a crucial, come-from-behind win with a 78th-minute equaliser in Seattle.

Inter then beat River Plate at the same venue to seal top spot in Group E and raise hopes that the cash-strapped Nerazzurri could not only finish a draining campaign with a flourish, but also earn some serious prize money in the process. However, while Inter did reasonably well out of the Club World Cup financially , they still suffered a humiliatingly early exit at the hands of Fluminense that exposed a massive divide in the dressing room.

MatériaMais Notícias

A CBF escolheu o goiano Wilton Pereira Sampaio para apitar o jogo de volta da final da Copa do Brasil, entre Flamengo e Corinthians, na próxima quarta-feira (19), no Maracanã. Para os corintianos, a escolha não poderia causar mais arrepios, já que Wilton era o arbitro de vídeo na decisão do mesmo torneio em 2018, quando o Timão foi derrotado pelo Cruzeiro.

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Na ocasião, o Time do Povo havia perdido a partida de ida por 1 a 0, em Belo Horizonte, saiu atrás do placar na volta, em Itaquera, mas conseguiu virar o jogo com um golaço de Pedrinho.

Contudo, na ocasião, Wilton Pereira Sampaio chamou o árbitro da partida Wagner do Nascimento Magalhães e solicitou a revisão por conta de uma falta do meia corintiano Jadson no zagueiro Dedé, da Raposa, no início da jogada.

Ao consultar as imagens, Magalhães concordou com a recomendação de Wilton e anulou o gol corintiano, o que até hoje gera revolta à Fiel Torcida.

No fim da partida, o Cruzeiro chegou a marcar o segundo gol, com Arrascaeta, e definiu o placar e o título da Copa do Brasil, em plena Neo Química Arena.

+ Timão ou Flamengo? Simule o vencedor da Copa do Brasil

Quatro anos depois, o Corinthians está de volta a uma final de Copa do Brasil, dessa vez contra o Flamengo, e terá novamente Wilton Pereira Sampaio à frente no jogo decisivo, desta vez não no vídeo, mas no campo.

E o momento atual traz bastante pressão à arbitragem na quarta-feira (19), isso porque os corintianos deixaram a partida de ida reclamando de um pênalti que nem mesmo foi checado pelo VAR, após um toque com o braço do zagueiro Léo Pereira dentro da sua área.

Após a divulgação dos áudios da conversa entre o árbitro Bráulio da Silva Machado e o responsável pelo vídeo Rodrigo D’Alonso, o Timão enviou um ofício à CBF cobrando providências, principalmente pelo fato que o diálogo comprova que a não marcação, tampouco checagem, da penalidade ocorreu porque a bola supostamente havia tocado na barriga do defensor flamenguista antes de ir ao braço.

Three days before their World Cup semi-final against Australia, South Africa were given a potential boost, as their captain Temba Bavuma took full part in an optional training session, at Eden Gardens, on Monday.Bavuma ran a couple of laps around the outfield, before doing some fitness drills under the watchful eye of the team physiotherapist Sizwe Hadebe and the strength and conditioning coach Runeshan Moodley. He then proceeded to do some shuttle runs, increasing the pace with each lap, and then moved to running drills as he moved forward and backwards. While Bavuma occasionally looked uncomfortable and bent over with his hand on his sides, he did not appear to be at any unease while running. The South Africa captain was seen with a bit of a strapping on his thigh.Later in the session, Bavuma padded up and shadow batted with a stump before having a lengthy conversation with coach Rob Walter. After watching Rassie van der Dussen for a while, Bavuma then padded up and went into a net, where he spent around 50 minutes batting. He even advanced down the track to hit a few balls.Related

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“Temba’s right hamstring strain has shown good objective signs of improvement over the last 72 hours,” said a statement from the South African medical team. ” We will continuously assess his progress through the management plan over the next few days towards giving him the best chance to play on Thursday.” They also clarified that the work Bavuma was putting in on Monday was not for a fitness test but merely “part of the rehabilitation strategies of the recovery plan.”Bavuma had suffered a hamstring injury during South Africa’s league game against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad last week. He left the field after nine balls of the first innings, and returned four overs later but limped as he fielded – mostly at mid-off. He chased balls gingerly and hobbled as he jogged to talk to his bowlers but did not go off again, with his role as opening batter in mind. Had Bavuma spent significant time off the field, he would have only been allowed to bat after the same amount of time had elapsed or until at least five batters had been dismissed, which he did not want to do as he searches for form. To date, Bavuma has a top score of 35 at the tournament, and scored 23 against Afghanistan.CSA had said on Sunday that Bavuma had “shown an improvement” overnight, and that he had not been sent for scans, but did not give an official update on his current condition.If Bavuma is unable to play the semi-final, Aiden Markram is likely to captain South Africa – as he did when Bavuma missed the England and Bangladesh games with illness – while Reeza Hendricks could open the batting.

The hamstring injury picked up against South Africa has put paid to his tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Nov-20232:07

Have New Zealand been unlucky?

New Zealand quick Matt Henry has been ruled out of the ODI World Cup due to the hamstring strain he picked up against South Africa with Kyle Jamieson confirmed as his replacement.Jamieson, who was a traveling reserve earlier in the tournament before returning home, had already been called up to join the New Zealand squad in India after their injury list grew during the game in Pune. He will come straight into contention for the game against Pakistan in Bengaluru on Saturday.”We’re fortunate to have a player of the class of Kyle waiting in the wings,” head coach Gary Stead said. “His skills and physical attributes always make him a threat with the ball and it’s an added bonus he was able to train with us in the first two weeks of the tournament.Related

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“Kyle’s had to work really hard to return from two separate back injuries and I know he’s really excited about being involved in his first ODI World Cup.”Henry’s injury had added to those of Kane Williamson (thumb), Mark Chapman (calf), Lockie Ferguson (Achilles) and James Neesham (wrist) which meant New Zealand had just 11 fit players part way through the game against South Africa.Matt Henry’s World Cup is over•AFP/Getty Images

Henry had taken 11 wickets at 28.63 with an economy rate 5.79 in seven matches. He started the tournament with back-to-back three-wicket hauls against England and Netherlands before coming in for some harsher treatment in recent matches.”We’re gutted for him,” Stead said. “Matt’s been a crucial part of our one-day side for a long time and to see him ruled out as we reach the business end of this tournament is immensely disappointing.”He’s consistently been ranked inside the ICC top 10 ODI bowlers for the past few years which is testament to his class and skills. Moreover, Matt’s a great team man and we’re all going to miss his personality and experience.”Stead was hopeful that Ferguson could be available to face Pakistan while adding that Chapman was recovering well and x-rays had cleared Neesham of any broken bones. Williamson had started batting again and will be further assessed in the next couple of days.”We’re faced with a little bit of adversity with injuries,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said after the South Africa game which was their third defeat in a row. “Pretty quick turnaround in Bangalore so we need to reflect on this quickly and go into the next game with a positive mindset. We don’t become a bad team overnight.”

Heavy hitter managing expectations after learning of ECB central contract omission via social media

Cameron Ponsonby02-Dec-2023Will Jacks was not told by the ECB that he had missed out on a central contract, saying “I just ended up seeing it on Twitter like everyone else.”Jacks, 25, has played in all three formats for England over the past 12 months and was a surprise omission from the ECB’s list of 29 players to receive a contract offer.”It was a bit of a difficult one,” Jacks said on the eve of England’s ODI opener against West Indies. “I didn’t really find out at all. I knew everyone was hearing and I was waiting to hope that I would find out and then I didn’t. I just ended up seeing it on Twitter like everyone else did and that was obviously disappointing. I was hoping to get one.”Jacks is in high demand on the T20 franchise circuit, with contracts to play in the SA20 in January and the IPL in March. As a result, the omission has been a double edged sword, with Jacks now able to pick and choose his winter commitments as he builds to his number one priority: making the squad for the 2024 World Cup.”The last two World Cup years I’ve just narrowly missed out on selection, so making the World Cup squad is a massive goal of mine and playing T20 cricket in South Africa against some of the best players will be perfect for that.”Related

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The difficulty for England and Jacks, is that the SA20 clashes with England’s Test series against India where, given the explosive batters’ ability with the ball and his strong performances in Pakistan last year, he would be a likely candidate for selection in the squad, if not the playing XI.”I wouldn’t say it’s changed my motivation to play for England,” Jacks said in regards to whether the snub has led to him re-jigging his priorities. “Obviously England is the pinnacle and I want to play as much as I can, but what it has done is managed my expectations.”The India Test matches have obviously been in the back of everyone’s mind for the recent period – it’s such a massive series and there’s all the talk about spin and the need for allrounders and having a deep squad. So it’s probably just that instead of me thinking that I was going to be picked I’m now thinking okay, if they wanted to pick me then realistically, I would have been given a contract. So the fact that they haven’t given me one, probably says something.”Where Jacks is definitely wanted, however, is here and now. Jos Buttler and Matthew Mott have confirmed to him that he will open in all three ODIs alongside Phil Salt, as they look to give their high-risk, high-reward openers as much opportunity for success as possible.”That [backing] is huge for everyone,” Jacks said. “If you bring in a fear of failure or worry about if you are going to play or not, obviously that hinders your performance and you won’t be able to go out there and play with 100 percent confidence. That is really important in any team you play for and especially for England. Everyone knows how high the competition is for places.”England are not expecting the three-match ODI series to be a high-scoring encounter, with the training wickets at the Sir Vivian Richards stadium taking a lot of spin and scores in and around the 250-300 mark assumed to be closer to par.”It’s going to be a bit more – not a grind – but you’re really going to have to think your way through an innings and treat it like it is a longer format…there’s no worries of it becoming an extended T20.”Sunday’s match kicks off at 9:30am, a non-issue for a group still just about on UK time and waking up at 6am naturally. But, on Saturday, the squad had an earlier wake up call than normal when an earthquake registering 5.2 on the Richter scale struck Antigua. No major damage on the island was experienced, but for a group of lads from Shires, Manchester and Surrey, it was a new experience.”We’re all claiming that we’re earthquake survivors now,” joked Jacks, who slept through the whole thing. “I woke up at about six, saw the messages on the group and couldn’t really believe it. Some of the guys said their whole room was shaking and everything.”With England staying at a resort on the south-east corner of the island that looks straight out across the ocean, some players were more concerned than others.”Brooky [Harry Brook] messaged me saying: ‘Is there going to be a tsunami?’ Jacks quipped at his mate’s expense. “That was the first thing we thought but it’s all good now.”

وجه بيب جوارديولا مدرب مانشستر سيتي بعض الرسائل للاعبيه بشأن الموسم الجديد، ويعتقد الإسباني أن فريقه جاهز للمرحلة القادمة بشكل جيد.

ويواجه فريق بيب جوارديولا فريق وولفرهامبتون في اللقاء الافتتاحي في البريميرليج ويسعى مانشستر سيتي لاستعادة لقب الدوري من ليفربول وإنهاء الموسم في صدارة البريميرليج للمرة الخامسة في ستة مواسم.

أقرأ أيضاً.. الركوع مرتين.. قرار مهم من لاعبي الدوري الإنجليزي قبل انطلاق الموسم

وكان مانشستر سيتي قد عزز صفوفه بالتعاقد مع لاعبين مثل تيجاني رايندرز وريان شرقي وريان آيت نوري مما يضيف عمق للفريق.

وسئل بيب جوارديولا عن أفكاره بشأن الموسم الجديد قبل لقاء وولفرهامبتون خلال تدريبات مانشستر سيتي المفتوحة في اكاديمية النادي:” كل موسم هو نفسه ولكن في الوقت نفسه هو مجرد استمرار لما فعلناه على مدار العقد الماضي”.

وأضاف: “بالطبع نريد أن نحاول تقديم أداء أفضل من الموسم الماضي وخاصة التركيز على الاستمرارية ولن نجد أمامنا السجادة الحمراء”.

وواصل: “كما تعلمون، في كل مرة نبدأ فيها الموسم لا نفكر في عدد الإنجازات التي سنحققها، بل نحاول أسبوع بعد أسبوع وشهر بعد شهر أن نكون أفضل ونطور أدائنا الكروي لأن البداية دائماً ما تكون صعبة”.

وتابع: “لكن إذا كنا في نفس الأجواء والروح التي بدأنا في خلقها في أمريكا خلال كأس العالم للأندية نأمل أن يكون جمهورنا فخور بنا”.

وحول غرفة الملابس في مانشستر سيتي أتم بيب تصريحاته: “الإيجابية موجودة، أنا متأكد تماماً من أنها ستكون جيدة لكنها لن تكون موسم سهل بل ستكون هناك دائماً مشاكل، المهم هو كيفية التغلب على هذه المواقف”.

وأكمل: “أود أن أقول إن هذا النادي نضج في آخر 15 أو 20 عاماً وهو الآن في صدارة كل بطولة نشارك فيها، فلنواصل ذلك والموسم القادم يعتمد على كيفية لعبنا وأدائنا”.

وختم: “في النهاية عندما يبذل الناس روح طيبة ويقاتلون ويركضون ويقدمون أفضل ما لديهم وبعد أن يكون الخصوم دائماً مشاركين، في بعض الأحيان يمكنك أن تفعل أفضل ما لديك ويكون الخصوم أفضل،الأمر يعتمد علينا وهذا ما علينا فعله، نتحدى أنفسنا وهذا هو هدفنا لهذا الموسم”.

MatériaMais Notícias

Depois do hat-trick, Cano alcançou três recordes e levou ao delírio da torcida do Fluminense, no Maracanã. Essa foi a segunda vez em que o atacante marcou três gols em uma partida com a camisa tricolor. A primeira aconteceu na histórica goleada por 10 a 1, sobre osobre o Oriente Petrolero na Bolívia, pela Sul-Americana. Com duas rodadas pela frente, o argentino ainda pode atingir outras marcas.

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Em sua melhor temporada na carreira, Cano já estufou a rede em 42 oportunidades na temporada e superou o seu melhor ano, quando havia marcado 41, em 2019, pelo Independiente Medellín, da Colômbia. O jogador está, agora, a um gol de Neymar e Gabigol, que marcaram 43, nos anos de 2012 e 2019, respectivamente.

+ Confira e simule a tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro

Ao marcar o hat-trick em treze minutos, Cano superou Magno Alves como o maior artilheiro do Fluminense em um mesmo ano neste século. Além disso, se tornou o maior goleador gringo em uma edição do Campeonato Brasileiro de pontos corridos (2003 – 2022).

O desempenho ganhou destaque no futebol argentino, com elogios do periódico ‘Olé’. O atacante também igualou o francês Mbappé, companheiro de Neymar no PSG, como maior artilheiro do mundo em 2022 com 42 gols. Vale destacar que esta contagem é apenas por clubes, já que o astro estufou a rede mais duas vezes em amistosos e quatro vezes pela seleção.

Sendo assim, o jogador também está próximo de quebrar um tabu. O Brasileirão não tem um artilheiro estrangeiro há 50 anos. O último foi o uruguaio Pedro Rocha, que anotou 17 gols em 1972, com a camisa do São Paulo e dividiu o prêmio com Dadá Maravilha, do Atlético-MG.

Com o triunfo deste sábado, o Fluminense alcançou a marca de 64 pontos. A equipe já garantiu uma vaga na fase de grupos da próxima edição da Copa Libertadores e agora almeja sua melhor campanha desde o tetra, de 2012 (caso termine entre os quatro primeiros).

+ Cano elogia Diniz e revela lema para marcar hat-trick pelo Fluminense: ‘Sempre acreditar até o fim’

Essa será a terceira vez seguida em que o clube carioca disputará a competição continental. Repete o feito de 2011, 2012 e 2013, quando também esteve presente em três edições consecutivas.

Todos os Artilheiros do Ano desde 2008
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2008: Keirrison (Coritiba) – 41 gols
2009: Diego Tardelli (Atlético-MG) – 39 gols
2010: Jonas (Grêmio) e Neymar (Santos) – 42 gols
2011: Leandro Damião (Internacional) – 38 gols
2012: Neymar (Santos) – 43 gols
2013: Hernane (Flamengo) – 36 gols
2014: Magno Alves (Ceará) – 37 gols
2015: Ricardo Oliveira (Santos) – 37 gols
2016: Robinho (Atlético-MG) – 25 gols
2017: Henrique Dourado (Fluminense) – 32 gols
2018: Gustavo (Fortaleza) – 30 gols
2019: Gabigol (Flamengo) – 43 gols
2020: Diego Souza (Grêmio) – 28 gols
2021: Hulk (Atlético-MG) – 36 gols

Four matches. Four fifty partnerships. Between Phil Salt and Will Jacks, life as England’s latest opening pair has been sweet.”He’s probably the best partner I’ve batted with in white-ball cricket,” Salt said of his partner in powerplay. “We did it together in SA20 and we’ve done it this summer for England against Ireland.”Opening the batting, sometimes you have different partners, you give them the strike early on and they’re just focused on boundaries but he’s good at communicating. We have an understanding where it’s not just about getting a flyer by hitting a boundary but rotating strike.”You could be forgiven for assuming Salt didn’t care about singles. In 11 of his 16 ODI innings for England his strike rate has been above 130. And in his last five knocks it has never dropped below it.Related

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Taking on the Rohit Sharma role, Salt has been the aggressor of an already high-octane duo, with the downside being that of the two, Salt has been the first to leave the party on all four occasions he and Jacks have batted together. The idea is that if Salt bats for a good time, England will bat for a long time. But it is nevertheless a source of frustration for an opening batter who has made it out of the first powerplay in just two of 16 innings for England, with both of those occasions coming against Netherlands almost 18 months ago.”You asked how I feel my international career has gone so far,” Salt said. “I feel like at times I’ve been guilty of pushing the accelerator a little bit too hard because I know the lads behind me are such good players and we bat so deep, but maybe I haven’t done myself justice when I’ve had those starts, and I’ve earned the right to sort of go on, but it’s a learning curve.”The problem for Salt is his role is one of high-risk and high-reward, where the risk has now increased. Yes, he has been part of England’s set-up for over two years and even has a T20 World Cup medal to his name, but the series against New Zealand in September saw him lose his spot as the back-up T20 opener to Jacks, and in an ODI capacity, the return of Bairstow will mean there is only space for one of England’s new white-ball wannabes.The pressure on this group of players is different to what it was before. In years gone by, they knew they were merely keeping a shirt warm until the return of whatever legend they were borrowing it from. But now, the chance to make the spot their own exists and there is something lose.”That’s elite sport,” Salt said of his and Jacks’ status as friends and rivals. “I don’t really think too much along those lines, but I’m sure if Jonny comes back, there will have to be some sort of movement.”I think it’s a double-edged sword. You know, there’s been times I’ve felt like I could have done anything and still not got in the team, but I feel like they’ve showed those lads loyalty for so long and that’s why they’ve got such good results out of them. So it’s good to know that’s where the management sit on that one.”The question is, if there’s only room for one of Salt or Jacks. Who gets the loyalty?The direct comparison between the two is easy to make. Both are cut from the same cricketing cloth, but as people they differ. Where Jacks has spoken publicly of his disappointment at not receiving a central contract or even a call to let him know, Salt was nonplussed at being asked: “I don’t feel like they needed to tell someone who didn’t have a contract they’ve not got a contract.”I didn’t really mind the whole stuff with the contracts because I still have that freedom to decide where I want to go and what I want to do. And there’s plenty of opportunities out there at the moment. So that was neither here nor there for me.”Nevertheless, the final ODI of the series marks an opportunity for Salt to stamp his authority not just on the opening stage of the innings but the match as a whole. And being back in Barbados, an island where he spent much of his childhood, makes the opportunity particularly special. Both from an emotional perspective of being back home, but also a pragmatic one where the surfaces on show are familiar to a lad whose cricketing journey began in these parts.”I love it,” Salt reflected on the chance to play in the country he once called home. “It’s a very special place for me. I love being here and playing here.”It’s not quite [just] swinging from early on. I love it when you put it like that. I feel like I have different things in my game which mean on wickets like this, I might get off to a flyer a little bit quicker like hitting on top of the bounce through the off side. Jacksy’s slightly more leg side than me.”It’s quite exciting where the series is at, one-all going into this game. I feel like we’ve not quite put a full game together yet and I think it would be good to do it here now we understand the conditions a little bit better.”

Eintracht Frankfurt are anticipating offers for €100m-rated Hugo Ekitike, amid interest from a number of Premier League clubs.

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Newcastle, Liverpool and United all interestedFrankfurt want to retain the player€100m-rated striker 22 goals last seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱GettyWHAT HAPPENED?

reports that Frankfurt are preparing to field offers from English clubs ahead of the new season. Newcastle, Liverpool and Manchester United are all believed to be admirers of the 23-year-old. Meanwhile, Chelsea's interest has likely cooled following their £60m ($81m) deal for Joao Pedro.

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Die Adler would like to hold onto their superstar striker, as they prepare for Champions League football in the 2025-26 season. The €100m (£86m/$117m) price tag may require chasing clubs to shift players off of their balance sheets before they can mount a serious test of Frankfurt's resolve.

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Ekitike enjoyed a fine season in 2024-25. The 23-year-old notched 22 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last term, coming to the fore after Frankfurt sold Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January.

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WHAT NEXT FOR EKITIKE?

It is a matter of time before Ekitike leaves Germany for one of Europe's top clubs, but Frankfurt are not under massive pressure to sell. With a Champions League campaign to prepare for, and no official bids being lodged, the young Frenchman could well still be at his current club come the start of the season.