Tag Futebol

Saeed Ahmed, the former Pakistan captain and allrounder, has died in Lahore at the age of 86 after a brief illness. Saeed, who played 41 Test matches between 1958 and 1973, captained the side briefly, for three drawn Test matches against England in 1969, replacing Hanif Mohammad. He scored 2991 Test runs, including five Test centuries, two of which came against India. A capable offspinner, he also took 22 Test wickets.Saeed was born in Jalandhar in 1937 in what was then British India – now a part of Indian Punjab. He made his debut at the age of 20 against West Indies in the famous drawn Test in Bridgetown, where Hanif Mohammad batted for 970 minutes to score 337. Saeed struck up a 154-run partnership with Mohammad for the third wicket, scoring 65 as West Indies bowled 319 overs before the game was ultimately called off.He quickly made a name for his grace and easy power, particularly when driving the ball, and demonstrated instantly that he belonged at the highest level. He finished his career with a batting average of 40.01, almost identical to his first-class average of 40.02. He later scored his first of five Test hundreds – 150 – in Georgetown against an attack that included Roy Gilchrist, Lance Gibbs and Garry Sobers, though West Indies won that Test by eight wickets. Pakistan won just one of the five Tests he scored a hundred in, though playing in the least prolific period of Pakistan’s Test history may have been a factor there.He was a staple in the Pakistan side for most of his career, though it ended ignominiously. After getting into a spat with Dennis Lillee on Pakistan’s 1972 tour of Australia, he ruled himself out of the third Test citing a back injury. The board believed he was faking it, and sent him home for discipline; he would never play for Pakistan again.”The PCB is saddened over the demise of one of our former Test captain and expresses deep condolences to the family of Saeed Ahmed,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said. “He served Pakistan with all his heart and the PCB honours his record and services for the Test team.”After retirement, Saeed stepped away from cricket, never working in the sport again. He lived by himself in Lahore for several years, living a reclusive life with few friends or family for company, while his deteriorating health required repeated hospital visits. He was taken to hospital at noon on Wednesday, and died there shortly after.He is survived by one son, two daughters, and brother Younis Ahmed, who played four Tests for Pakistan.

da luck： Fabrizio Romano says Arsenal are extremely keen on signing a £50 million player, following other reliable reports that talks have already been held with his representatives ahead of the summer transfer window.

Arsenal set for summer rebuild under Andrea Berta

da bet sport： The season is by no means over for Mikel Arteta and co, who have a golden opportunity to make history and win the club’s first ever Champions League title after sensationally knocking out Real Madrid in the quarter-finals.

Related Their new Ian Wright: Arsenal want to sign "one of the best CFs in Europe"

Arsenal are looking at signing a striker who could be their next Ian Wright in north London.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 22, 2025

Ligue 1 champions PSG await the Gunners in a mouthwatering semi-final clash, and it is truly a tie which will make or break Arsenal’s campaign.

However, another hot topic at the Emirates Stadium right now is new sporting director Andrea Berta’s looming summer rebuild ahead of next season. There are suggestions that Arsenal are looking to strengthen all areas of the squad, including between the sticks, in defence, midfield and further forward.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League games

Date

Crystal Palace (home)

Tonight

Bournemouth (home)

May 3rd

Liverpool (away)

May 11th

Newcastle United (home)

May 18th

Southampton (away)

May 25th

£300 million could even be spent doing so, according to GiveMeSport, amid Berta’s “insatiable” desire to build winning teams.

“Anyone who knows football knows Andrea is an impressive figure,” said co-chairman Josh Kroenke after Berta’s appointment.

“He has vast knowledge of the game, a great track record, a strong network and an insatiable desire to build winning teams. Andrea will be a great addition to our club. He understands our values and what we stand for, and we have no doubt he will help us push on and take the next steps in our bid to win major trophies.

“We undertook a thorough recruitment process, and we were hugely impressed with the level of all the other candidates, but it was Andrea’s experience and the success he has enjoyed that stood out.”

Defensively, it is believed Bournemouth starlet Dean Huijsen is emerging as a top target for Berta.

The reliable David Ornstein recently reported that Arsenal have held talks with Huijsen’s representatives, alongside the likes of Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham, with elite clubs taking note of the Spaniard’s £50 million release clause.

Arsenal "really" interested in signing Dean Huijsen

Following this development, another credible and trusted media source in Romano has shared another update on Berta’s pursuit of the former Juventus defender.

He reports to GiveMeSport that Arsenal are “really” interested in signing Huijsen this summer after his excellent debut campaign in the Premier League, but the competition remains fierce.

“From what I’m hearing, Arsenal are also interested. Newcastle dream of him, but I think for Newcastle, it is going to be very difficult to get the deal done now with Chelsea, Liverpool, and Arsenal. These three clubs are really interested, so I think he’s going to stay in the Premier League.”

Huijsen recently expressed his excitement over being linked with a move to Real Madrid, but right now, it is unclear whether Los Blancos view the “sensational” centre-back as a priority target.

علق حسام حسن، المدير الفني لمنتخب مصر، على اقتراب محمد صلاح من كسر رقمه القياسي كالهداف التاريخي للفراعنة.

وسجل محمد صلاح، هدفًا في فوز منتخب مصر على إثيوبيا في التصفيات الإفريقية المؤهلة إلى كأس العالم 2026.

طالع.. حسام حسن يوضح لمراسل “بطولات” لماذا لم يسدد محمد صلاح ركلة الجزاء الثانية أمام إثيوبيا

وقال حسام حسن، خلال المؤتمر الصحفي: “مصر دائمًا تنجب المواهب، أعتقد أن أهدافي مع منتخب مصر بلغت 82 أو 83، لكن فيفا قلل العدد”.

وأضاف: “عندما كنت ألعب قالوا إن الكابتن الشاذلي سجل 124 هدفًا، وبعدها قيل إنه سجل 176 هدفًا”.

ووصل صلاح، إلى 58 هدفًا مع منتخب مصر خلال مسيرته الدولية والتي شارك خلالها في 103 مباراة.

da esoccer bet： With the FA Cup quarter-finals taking place this weekend, four clubs will book their places at Wembley for the semi-finals.

da 888casino： Wembley has hosted the last four every year since 2008, with stadiums like Old Trafford and Villa Park standing in during the famous ground’s rebuild at the turn of the century.

But why is Wembley Stadium not saved for the competition’s finale?

Related FA Cup 2024/25: Cup final details, results, TV picks & more

Find all the latest and key FA Cup info here ahead of the weekend’s final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City.

Posts 1 ByRoss Kilvington May 12, 2025

The answer is a rather boring one: money. In fact, it was decided back in 2003 – during the new stadium’s construction – that semi-finals would be staged under the famous arch to help pay for the new ground.

Wembley first hosted the semi-finals in the early 1990s, including derbies between Arsenal & Tottenham Hotspur and Sheffield United & Sheffield Wednesday.

The last season before Wembley was knocked down (1999/00) also saw two semi-finals in the capital, with Aston Villa and Chelsea prevailing before the Blues repeated the trick in the final.

Now something of an annual tradition, Wembley hosts a pair of semi-finals across one weekend each season, though it is not without its opposition.

Firstly, football purists will argue that Wembley should be saved for the showpiece event of the final, while there are occasionally geographical factors to consider, particularly when two northern sides are paired together.

FA Cup semi-final appearances at Wembley Stadium

Team

Wembley semis

Last appearance

Chelsea

12

2024

Man City

9

2024

Man Utd

8

2024

Arsenal

7

2020

Tottenham

6

2018

Crystal Palace

3

2025

Sheff Utd

3

2023

Liverpool

3

2022

Everton

3

2016

Aston Villa

3

2015

Brighton

2

2023

Southampton

2

2021

Watford

2

2019

Wigan

2

2014

Bolton

2

2011

Portsmouth

2

2010

Nottingham Forest

1

2025

Coventry

1

2024

Leicester

1

2021

Wolves

1

2019

Reading

1

2015

Hull

1

2014

Millwall

1

2013

Stoke

1

2011

Barnsley

1

2008

Cardiff

1

2008

West Brom

1

2008

Newcastle

1

2000

Luton

1

1994

Oldham

1

1994

Sheff Wed

1

1993

This year’s draw meant that there would only be one London representative in the last four, with Crystal Palace taking that berth after seeing off Fulham in the only all-London quarter-final tie.

It seems unlikely things will change any time soon, given the semi-finals have been staged at Wembley for 18 seasons and counting, especially with the ground filling up with passionate supporters no matter who’s involved.

Related The 9 most successful teams in the FA Cup

The FA Cup has been won by some of the biggest teams in the country since its inception in the 19th century.

Posts ByRoss Kilvington Oct 30, 2024

The board launched a plan to boost participation and attendance among multicultural communities

Andrew McGlashan22-Dec-2023Cricket Australia has set a target of nearly doubling the number of players from South Asian backgrounds in the professional game by 2027 as part of an overall plan to boost participation and attendance among multicultural communities.The aim is to have 8% South Asian representation at first-class, state and W/BBL level by 2027, up from the current figure of 4.2%. They have also set the goals of doubling the number of people from South Asian backgrounds who attend matches in Australia each year from 100,000 to 200,000 and increasing the number of those registered to play from 70,000 to 100,000 by 2027.Last year’s men’s T20 World Cup, which saw more than 90,000 attend the India vs Pakistan match at the MCG, highlighted the opportunity for Cricket Australia to grow the game.Related

• Usman Khawaja to contest ICC armband charge, says it was for a bereavement

However, one of the big challenges has been converting a large following into a pathway for player talent, as well as broader representation in the running of the sport.Usman Khawaja, Alana King and Lisa Sthalekar have been key figures in putting the new Multicultural Action Plan together, which was launched at the MCG on Friday. While there has been specific focus on South Asian growth, the plan – and the funding that comes with it – covers all multicultural communities.”I was out of the Australian team and thought what can I do about this, what legacy do I want to leave, what can I actually do to make this game to be in a batter place,” Khawaja said. “The first thing I said is we have such great participation of South Asian communities and multicultural communities in Australia but we never see that reflected in the Australian cricket team, both male and female, especially the male team over the last 100 years.”For me, personally, I felt we needed to do things a little differently. Cricket Australia has always been great supporters of multiculturalism in Australia… but it hasn’t equated to more participation at the highest levels.”He drew on an example of when he was asked by someone how they could become a coach. “I said I wasn’t exactly sure, because unless you were a past player or had been in the system before it’s so hard to crack this system. The issue is that for a long time Cricket Australia has been a very white-dominated sport.”Khawaja, who was born in Pakistan before moving to Australia aged five, said that when he was growing up, he would struggle to relate to his team-mates and that coaches did not have an understanding of some of his experiences. But he stressed that sport had helped bring down barriers for him. He added that it was vital to have multicultural representation in all facets of the game including board level and CA staff.Usman Khawaja spoke about how having broader representation can alleviate stereotypes•Getty Images

“We couldn’t be stronger that we want to make every single cricket environment, whether that’s clubs, playing, coaching, administering, just the most inclusive places we possibly can,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley said. “The metrics [show] that we are not yet representative of the community we serve.”Khawaja further explained that having broader representation in the sport can help alleviate stereotypes, again talking from personal experience of when he was observing Ramadan during his time with New South Wales.”I was told I was lazy growing up,” he said. “There was a stereotype that subcontinent cricketers didn’t try hard enough. There wasn’t a way to break that down. All my coaches were white Australian, selectors were white Australian, they didn’t really understand me or my culture.”Doing Ramadan as a Muslim, at New South Wales no one had any idea what I was doing. From the naked eye, you think ‘Uzzie isn’t training hard enough, he’s not working hard enough’. It’s 6.30 in the arvo [afternoon] and I haven’t eaten or drunk all day and I’m cooked. But we are doing a fitness session and I’m still out there. Yes, I’m lagging behind but I’m still doing the work. So it’s those little things that you can break down if you have someone from subcontinental background.”

Sunday’s training session gave no possible answers to Bharat vs Kishan and how many spinners India will pick

Nagraj Gollapudi04-Jun-2023Two spinners and three fast bowlers? Or one spinner and four fast men including Shardul Thakur as bowling allrounder? Who should be wicketkeeper – the specialist KS Bharat or the X-factor player Ishan Kishan?These are among the key questions that have confronted India since they announced their squad for the WTC final. If you were at The Oval on Sunday, two days before the Test billed as the Ultimate Test, you would have struggled to come away with any hints as to what combination India are leaning towards.Two young men, good friends, both in their 20s, were in focus during India’s first training session in London after almost a week in Arundel where the squad assembled in batches, with players joining at different times while the IPL concluded.Related

Pressure on India to win an ICC title after ten-year wait? Not at all, says Dravid

Cummins happy to be 'underdone than overdone'; 'getting mentally ready' key for Rohit

Watson: Transition from IPL to WTC final in England is 'extreme'

WTC final FAQs: Dukes ball, reserve day, a first-of-its-kind Oval Test, and more

Ponting wants India to play Kishan and Suryakumar

Shubman Gill and Kishan share a close bond off the field, and are not shy to rib each other with friendly banter. Gill needled Kishan as soon as he noticed the left-hander attempting to sweep a few times, albeit not convincingly. Kishan acknowledged that it was “not my shot.”Kishan, who is yet to make his Test debut, had two long batting sessions lasting close to three-quarters of an hour overall, but didn’t practise his keeping. He also had a potential scare late in his second stint, taking a hit to his left forearm while trying to push at a delivery from left-arm quick Aniket Choudhary, one of India’s back-up bowlers. Kishan instantly dropped his bat and walked out to get his forearm iced and wrapped.It didn’t appear to be a serious injury, as Kishan carried two bats comfortably in the hand of his injured arm post-training. A couple of hours later he and Gill walked onto what could potentially be the match pitch for a quick inspection.Though he did not keep wickets, the ample batting time he got is an indicator that India are seriously considering Kishan. Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting said Kishan would feature in his India XI because the left-hander is an “X-factor player that you need when you might be pushing for a win in a Test match.” Ponting felt that job had previously been done by Rishabh Pant, who is recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash last December.Bharat, Kishan’s direct competitor, started the training session with a spell of wicketkeeping drills on one of the practice strips on the main square and then returned to bat. Bharat replaced Pant for the four-Test home series against Australia in February-March and showed signs of being a talent who remains a work-in-progress both behind and in front of the stumps.A major challenge for wicketkeepers in England is that the ball tends to wobble and dip after passing the stumps, so technique and positioning are key attributes while standing back to fast bowlers. Neither Bharat or Kishan have any international experience of keeping in England, though Bharat has kept wickets for India A in one match, against West Indies A in Beckenham in 2018.Mohammed Siraj is expected to start at The Oval, but Umesh Yadav could also feature if India play four quicks•ICC via Getty ImagesOverall, the Indians turned up at full strength on a sunny Sunday. While they had their sweatshirt hoodies on in the morning, they discarded them when noon approached and The Oval shone under a clear blue sky.Barring Ajinkya Rahane and the fast-bowling trio of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj and Umesh Yadav, the rest of the Indian squad got through batting sessions.Gill enjoyed his time in the sun. He has experience of long-format cricket in English conditions, having played two Tests there in 2021, including the previous WTC final in Southampton, as well as three County Championship games for Glamorgan in 2022, scoring 244 runs at an average of 61.00, his four innings including a 92 against Worcestershire and a century against Sussex. Incidentally, Gill batted at No. 3 in all four innings.With KL Rahul injured, Gill is set to open in the WTC final alongside Rohit Sharma. Gill arrives in England on the back of stellar form across all international formats in 2023 and in the IPL. Gill, though, will be mindful both of Australia’s bowling attack and the seamer-friendly conditions where the Dukes ball can surprise the best of batters. On Sunday, Gill spent considerable one-one-one time with batting coach Vikram Rathour.A good opening partnership was a catalyst in India playing the dominant hand in the first four Tests of the 2021-22 Test series in England, with both Rohit and Rahul scoring big runs. Both scored match-winning hundreds, Rahul in the second Test at Lord’s and Rohit in the fourth Test at The Oval.Any apprehension India may have felt about playing in June (The Oval has hosted Test matches since 1880 but never one in June) would have been eased by the forecast for the coming week, promising sunny weather with temperatures ranging from the late teens to the early 20s Celsius. While there was no confirmation about which strip will be used for the match, it will be a fresh pitch with the surface likely to be dry,All three Indian spinners bowled and batted on Sunday, suggesting both R Ashwin and Axar Patel were in contention for the second spinner’s slot if India pick two slow bowlers. But if they field four seamers, India ensured Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat and Umesh were ready alongside the lead new-ball pair of Shami and Siraj.Both Thakur and Unadkat bowled long spells and then had decent batting stints. Unadkat also received advice from head coach Rahul Dravid on his bat swing.Having watched more than three hours of the training the impression you would walk way with was: India are keeping all their options open, but ready.