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“I spoke with Zlatan on Tuesday. He said that he has not changed his mind regarding the national squad,” the managing director of the national squad, Lars Richt, said in a statement after the player dropped numerous hints of a possible return. “It’s a no,” Richt added. In an appearance on ABC television’s late night Jimmy Kimmel show on April 18, the new star of LA Galaxy teased fans that he may come out of retirement to play in Russia....

Icardi has been heavily linked with a move away from Inter in recent weeks, with Real Madrid credited with serious interest in the 25-year-old. Speculation intensified at the weekend after Icardi netted four times against Sampdoria, but Nara claims that she and her husband are intending to remain at Inter. “I cannot foresee the future, but I can say that we like the project of the Zhang family,” she told Gazzetta dello Sport ....

Icardi has not featured for Inter since a 1-0 win at Parma on February 9, with speculation over his future, a contract stand-off and conflicting fitness claims all playing a part in the ensuing saga which also saw him stripped of the captaincy. The 26-year-old trained before the 1-0 weekend loss at home to Lazio but was told to “stay away” by Spalletti following reports of a fresh dressing-room incident....

It will be a do-or-die game for the Sri Lankans as they brace themselves for a must-win game against a confident English side at The Oval today. England, on the other hand, will be eyeing a semifinal spot, as a win here will guarantee them a spot in the last four. England are fresh from a convincing 48-run win over Australia in their last match, and will be looking to take advantage of their winning momentum....

Players at the highest level usually thrive on a source of inspiration that could act as a perfect catalyst in moments of crisis. Some prefer reliving their best moments on the pitch all over again, while some take a cue from the loathing suffered during their moments of disappointments. Yet for Martin Guptill, it’s the pain and backdrop of unrelenting desperation that brings out his menacing best on the field....

Du Plessis, who was fined his entire fee for the match in Hobart, was cleared to play in the third test in Adelaide and scored a defiant century on Thursday’s opening day after walking to the wicket to a chorus of derision from the crowd. Cricket South Africa said in a statement on Thursday he would appeal the decision, which prompted the ICC to respond before the second day’s play in Adelaide....

In the crucial stages of the match while India were chasing, Australia banked on pace bowlers instead of spin as they were knocked out of the tournament. Young Australian spinner Adam Zampa was a revelation for his side throughout the tournament with his disciplined bowling. He also earned the Player of the Match award against Bangladesh and picked up 5 wickets in the tournament. But in that crunch match against India, the leg-spinner delivered only two overs at Mohali, where Australia’s hope of a maiden World T20 title were ended by a Virat Kohli masterclass....

Since the inception of a lucrative Indian Premier League, many ICC member countries have launched their own leagues in what is seen by some as a threat to five-day Test cricket and international cricket fixtures. The latest format showcased in the game is the ICC-sanctioned T10 (10-over-a-side) league held in Sharjah last year. Geoff Allardice, general manager of cricket for the International Cricket Council (ICC), said the matter would be discussed at the body’s board meeting in Singapore on October 20....

The working group in ICC formulates policies and then takes feedback of its stakeholders (member nations, sponsors). BCCI acting president CK Khanna, acting secretary Amitabh Choudhary, treasurer Aniruddh Chaudhry and CEO Rahul Johri are expected to be briefed about the ICC working group’s progress in the meeting. It is learnt that the discussions will be broadly based on challenges facing the game, especially how to keep Test cricket alive, the ways of crowd engagement and the rapidly growing popularity of T20s....

Captains play a big role in the game of cricket and in a huge event like this, captaincy can make a lot of difference. Only Eoin Morgan, Mashrafe Mortaza, and Jason Holder have led their side previously in World Cup. This will be the first World Cup as a captain for Virat Kohli and six other skippers. Without much ado, let’s rank the captains of all 10 teams in the ICC World Cup 2019....

The Three Lions regsitered a handsome victory over New Zealand in the first semi-final in Delhi. “We are real about things, (it’s) not going to be a normal game. In the semi-final, we played with a lot of expectations of being in the final and now I want my players to embrace it,” Morgan told reporters here at the pre-match media conference. “Tomorrow’s everything is going to be in a rush to start with, need to slow things down when needed....

The visitors had Kingslee Fernandes, Anthony de Souza and Gabriel Fernandes come into the lineup. Bengaluru started off at a frantic pace, taking the lead with just five minutes gone. Udanta was brought down and the hosts had a freekick, which was played short. Gill swung it into the box, and Daniel applied the finishing touches. Minutes later, Churchill had a chance to equalize as Bektur Talgat played Anthony through....

Why did Kolkata derby disappoint? On top of all this, they were coming off a scintillating 2016 AFC Cup campaign. The first three games - all home wins - only went on to reassert this aura as Albert Roca’s possession-based gameplay seemed to be bearing fruits. He was also experimenting with a three-man defence with Watson dropping back and Khabra and Ralte playing more as wing backs. Though it seemed to work at first, the first signs of cracks appeared in the away game against East Bengal FC - the first real test Roca’s side faced this season....

Under the tutelage of the experienced Trevor James Morgan, the Red and Gold brigade have created a team capable of beating anyone on a given day. Let’s have a look at the squad: Squad analysis In Ivan Bukenya, they have a physically commanding centre-back who can outmuscle almost every forward in the league. Wedson Anselme in attacking midfield is pivotal to the squad, in terms of picking out the correct pass and releasing players....

The hosts lined up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with 22-year-old Girik Mahesh Khosla, Ghanaian William Opoku Asiedu and Bhutan-born stalwart Chencho Gyeltshen forming the midfield; Lago Dogbo Bei operated as the lone striker up-front. As for the visitors, V Soundararajan put up a team which opted for a 4-4-1-1 formation with local lad Soosai Raj operating just behind France-born Jean Michael Joachim. The men in green had the perfect start to the night as they registered the opening goal in the fourth minute....

Sankarlal Chakraborty’s men shared the spoils with Bino George’s Gokulam Kerala FC in the season opener, despite getting a 1-0 lead in the first half. GKFC’s pressing football and Lalchhawnkima’s suicidal goal brought Bino George’s army back in the game to secure one point over the visitors. Now, the Maroon and Greens will be focusing to take hold of all three points against the club from Mizoram, on Saturday’s clash....

MUSCAT: It’s the harsh truth which all of us will go through someday or the other. Manandeep Singh who lost his grandfather some days back but preferred to stay back with the team played a stellar role in India’s victory against Lebanon. In a chat with www.the-aiff.com, Manandeep spoke at length about his personal loss, his graduation into the mainstream, Arthur Papas’ new style of play and much more.EXCERPTS:...

The German beat Valtteri Bottas to the win by less than a second after Mercedes appeared to have outsmarted Ferrari at the pit stops. After seeing the Scuderia give Vettel and team-mate Kimi Raikkonen the soft tyre, Mercedes opted for the longer-lasting medium compound. Vettel then had to manage his tyres to the finish to avoid making a second stop that would surely have cost him victory. Despite seeing Bottas grow ever larger in his mirrors over the closing laps, Vettel was able to keep the Finn at bay to claim his second win of the season in his 200th race start....

“I told you so”. This is what critics in favor of goal line technology will scream after the incident in the England-Ukraine Euro 2012 group D encounter. The Hungarian referee, yards away from the goal, had a split second to decide if John Terry had cleared the ball before it crossed the line. The wrong decision flattened Ukraine and they created very few chances thereafter in the match and bowed out of the competition after a strong start against Sweden....

Barkley arrived at Stamford Bridge in January 2018 but was restricted to only a handful of appearances in his first campaign due to a series of injuries. He has been in fine form this season, though, making 39 appearances across all competitions for Maurizio Sarri’s side. He demonstrated his progress on Monday, scoring twice in England’s 5-1 Euro 2020 qualifying win over Montenegro, and the 25-year-old attributes his new-found confidence to leaving his comfort zone in Merseyside....