Leeds seriously looking to sign £25m star after Meslier's Swansea mistake

Leeds United are now seriously interested in signing an “excellent” £25 million ace to replace Illan Meslier should they be promoted to the Premier League, according to a new report.

Farke remains confident Leeds' promotion will be sealed

It looked as though it was going to be another successful weekend for the Whites on Saturday afternoon, as they were closing in on another three points to move them a step closer to promotion. However, a mistake by goalkeeper Meslier was punished not once but twice, as his fumble allowed Harry Darling to equalise at 1-1 and then Zan Vipotnik’s shot in the 96th minute snuck under the Leeds goalkeeper.

It is not the first time that Meslier has cost his side all three points this season, but despite the fact the Whites have only won one of their last five matches, their worst form of this campaign, Daniel Farke remains confident that Leeds will still win promotion to the Premier League.

“We have gone many, many steps, and right now it’s the final step. That’s always the most difficult,” the boss said this weekend.

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This Leeds United star’s first team spot is now arguably up for grabs.

ByKelan Sarson Mar 31, 2025

“There’s never a guarantee of success, but we have been in this situation before. I know how tricky it sometimes is to lead from the front, but also what is necessary to bring it over the line, and we will try everything to make sure the lads have the best chance to make the final step. If you ask me right now, I’m 100% convinced that next season we will play in the Premier League.”

Leeds looking to replace Meslier with Southampton star Ramsdale

Given Farke is confident that his side will be a top-flight team next season, it may be no surprise to see plans are already being worked on for the summer, and a new goalkeeper seems to be high on the agenda. According to TEAMtalk, Leeds have now placed Southampton goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale on their transfer shortlist should promotion be sealed.

The report states that the Whites are now seriously looking to sign a new number one this summer, given the mistakes that Meslier has made this season, despite Farke’s public backing of the Frenchman. Meslier’s contract expires in 2026, so Leeds will have a decision to make on his long-term future, and this summer could be the only realistic chance to cash in and upgrade.

However, Leeds are not the only team interested in signing Ramsdale, as AFC Bournemouth are also keeping an eye on things and could make a move once the Saints are relegated.

Newcastle United are also fans of the goalkeeper and could move for him as they eye a long-term replacement for Nick Pope. The also adds that Ramsdale has a relegation clause in his contract, and any club wanting to sign him will have to offer him the guarantee of football, as he wants to compete for the England number one spot.

Apps

174

Goals conceded

262

Clean sheets

40

Leeds’ chances of signing Ramsdale, who cost the Saints £25 million in the summer, do rest on them securing promotion to the Premier League, as the Englishman is looking to remain in the top flight. Despite the fact that Southampton have been terrible in the Premier League this season, Ramsdale has impressed many, with former England goalkeeper Joe Hart labelling his performances as “absolutely excellent”.

Lionesses star Leah Williamson & model girlfriend Elle Smith enjoy sunshine, laughs & paddle boarding during romantic summer holiday in Majorca

Arsenal and England star Leah Williamson enjoyed sunshine, laughs and paddle boarding during a romantic holiday with girlfriend Elle Smith.

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  • England captain recharging before Euros
  • Soaked up sunshine in the Mediterranean
  • Looking to add to Champions League title
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  • WHAT HAPPENED?

    Lionesses captain Williamson is – after gruelling domestic, continental and international campaigns in 2024-25 – readying herself for a European Championship title defence on Swiss soil this summer.

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  • THE GOSSIP

    Before another bid for Euros glory gets underway, the 28-year-old has jetted off to Majorca with model partner Smith for some rest and relaxation. Williamson was able to unwind by the pool, while also padding out to sea.

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    Williamson and Smith had a private pool at their luxury apartment, while plenty of laughs were had when heading out in the evenings for some food. American journalist Smith has since headed to Hamburg.

  • Getty Images Sport

    WHAT NEXT FOR LEAH WILLIAMSON & ENGLAND?

    Williamson has been in trophy-winning mood of late, helping Arsenal to a memorable Champions League triumph, and will see England’s Euro 2025 campaign get underway against France on July 5.

خاص | أول قرار من الأهلي ضد اللاعبين بعد التعادل مع إنبي

كشف مصدر بـ النادي الأهلي، عن أول قرار تجاه اللاعبين بعد التعادل خلال مباراة اليوم أمام إنبي، ضمن منافسات الدوري المصري.

وتعادل الأهلي مع إنبي، إيجابيا بهدف لمثله، في إطار مباريات الجولة السادسة من عمر مباريات بطولة الدوري المصري.

طالع | أحمد حسن: الأهلي يفتقد الروح والشراسة.. وهناك شيء غير مفهوم!

ويحتل الأهلي المركز الخامس عشر في جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، برصيد 6 نقاط جمعها من الفوز بمواجهة وحيدة وهزيمة أمام بيراميدز والتعادل في 3 لقاءات.

وقال المصدر في تصريحات خاصة لـ بطولات: “العقوبات مستمرة على اللاعبين بعد التعادل مع إنبي بسبب سوء الأداء الفني”.

وأتم: “سيتم توقيع العقوبة من وليد صلاح الدين مدير الكرة على لاعبي الأهلي بخصم من راتبهم الشهري بسبب سوء الأداء”.

ومن المقرر أن يواصل الأهلي مبارياته في الدوري المصري بخوض لقاء قوي أمام سيراميكا كليوباترا، في إطار مواجهات الجولة السابعة من المسابقة المحلية. 

South Africa to host Sri Lanka and Pakistan men's teams during 2024-25 home summer

The women’s team will host England for three T20Is, three ODIs and a Test

Firdose Moonda03-May-2024

South Africa’s men’s team will play four home Tests in the 2024-25 summer•AFP/Getty Images

South Africa will host Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s men’s teams and England’s women’s team in the 2024-25 summer for a total of 17 international fixtures, including five Tests, between November and January. The men’s Test series form part of the World Test Championship and will be played in Durban and Gqeberha (Sri Lanka), and Centurion and Cape Town (Pakistan), which leaves the country’s biggest venue – the Wanderers in Johannesburg – without a Test for the second summer in succession.The Wanderers did not host either of the two Tests against India in the 2023-24 summer and with South Africa not due to host any Tests in the 2025-26 summer, the earliest the venue can hope for a Test fixture is 2026. Insiders told ESPNcricinfo that officials were given “no explanation” for why the venue has been snubbed, though it retains the annual Pink Day fixture – an ODI match to raise funds for breast cancer treatment.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The women’s Test will be played in Bloemfontein, which last hosted a Test seven years ago, when the men played Bangladesh in October 2017. Kingsmead and St George’s Park also last saw Test action against Bangladesh, in the 2021-22 season, and will be the venues for the Sri Lanka series. It was at these same two grounds that Sri Lanka won their first Test series against South Africa in 2019. The Sri Lanka series is red-ball only.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

That will be followed by a full tour from Pakistan, who will play three T20Is and three ODIs before the festive-season Tests. The Boxing Day Test will be held at SuperSport Park before the New Year’s Test at Newlands, which ends on January 7. The men’s team will then have no further home international assignments, with the SA20 due to start shortly afterwards and run into early February. The exact dates are yet to be confirmed and there is a potential overlap with an ODI tri-series in Pakistan before the Champions Trophy, pencilled in for mid-February.The women’s team will host England for three T20Is, three ODIs, including the Black Day ODI to raise awareness about gender-based violence, and a Test. They have one fixture in each white-ball format at a premier ground: a T20I in Centurion and an ODI in Durban. The Test will be the first women’s Test played in the country in 22 years, since South Africa played India in Paarl in 2002.

Pant to lead Capitals, play first half as batter in IPL 2024: Capitals co-owner

Rishabh Pant will start IPL 2024 as Delhi Capitals’ captain but will not keep wicket in the first half of the season, franchise co-owner Parth Jindal has said. In a chat with ESPNcricinfo, Jindal also said Capitals were expecting South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje to be fit to play from their opening game, against Punjab Kings on March 23.Jindal said the Capitals think-tank, led by the team director Sourav Ganguly and head coach Ricky Ponting, was confident about Pant starting the IPL, subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI which is imminent.”Rishabh is batting. He’s running. He has started his wicketkeeping. He is likely to be fully fit for the IPL,” Jindal said on Thursday. “I am expecting Rishabh to play IPL and he will lead from match one. First seven games we are going to play him only as a batter and depending on how his body reacts, we will take a call for the rest of the IPL.”Related

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  • Ponting: Pant is 'very confident' of playing entire IPL 2024

  • Rishabh Pant begins match-simulation exercises in Bengaluru

The IPL will mark Pant’s return to competitive cricket since the Test series in Bangladesh in December 2022. After his horrific car crash on December 30, 2022, Pant has worked hard to make a remarkable recovery post successful surgeries to three major knee ligaments in his right leg. Having told his doctors that he would shave at least six months off their prescribed time of recovery, Pant played practice matches in Bengaluru this week, which were organised by the National Cricket Academy.On Tuesday, Pant also posted a video on his Instagram doing some wicketkeeping and mobility drills, which have become part of his lower-body conditioning over the past six weeks. On Wednesday, he batted and fielded in a 20-over match, which comprised a series of match-simulation exercises. The game was overseen by the BCCI medical staff. There were no visible concerns. Pant is expected to play at least a few more such games before joining Capitals. Once the BCCI clearance comes, he will join the side for a preparatory camp in Visakhapatnam, where the team will also play two home matches.With the second half of WPL 2024 – comprising 11 games including the playoffs – set to be played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, the Capitals men’s team had to shift their home base for the early part of the IPL to ensure they didn’t start on tried pitches. In the 21-match IPL schedule released on Thursday, Capitals are scheduled to play two home and three away matches. Jindal confirmed the team would return to Delhi for their remaining five home games.

Anrich Nortje ‘good to go for first game’

Nortje, who has been out of action for a while because of injuries, is good to go and is also expected to join the camp in Visakhapatnam, Jindal said. Nortje had recovered from a groin injury to play ten matches for the side in the 2023 season before heading home for personal reasons. He was retained by the franchise ahead of the 2024 auction.While he played the inaugural season of Major League Cricket in the USA, he pulled out of the ODI series at home against Australia in September following a suspected stress fracture in the back and was eventually ruled out of the ODI World Cup as well. Doubts about his availability for IPL persisted after he did not play the SA20 either.Anrich Nortje played ten games in IPL 2023•Associated Press

“He’s fit,” Jindal said. “Right now, he is bowing at 80% intensity. Next week, he will bowl at 100%. He’s going to make his comeback in the IPL. He is going to join our camp and should be good to go for our first game.”Jindal also said Australia fast bowler Jhye Richardson is unlikely to be fit for the initial part of the tournament as he recovers from a side strain that had ruled him out of the latter half of the BBL as well as the home ODI series against West Indies. Richardson was bought by Capitals at the mini-auction in December for INR 5 crore (US$ 602,000 approx).”He’s touch and go but will definitely be available for some part of IPL,” Jindal said.

Harry Brook set for No. 6 role

Jindal was confident Capitals would make the playoffs mainly because Pant’s return provided the right balance to the team. He also said Tristan Stubbs and Mitchell Marsh made the team a well-rounded unit.”We feel very confident, the balance of the team is a lot better with Rishabh coming back in,” he said. “We have a very good squad and a lot of options with players like Tristan Stubbs, who had a phenomenal SA20 [with champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape], and Mitch Marsh becoming captain of Australia’s T20I team.”Jindal said he was also expecting big things from David Warner, an IPL legend, who is likely to feature for one last season at Capitals with the mega auction in 2025. Jindal also said he was looking forward to England power hitter Harry Brook playing a key role in the lower order.Another key reason behind Jindal’s optimism for this season is the recruitment of a fresh batch of uncapped Indian players who, he said, were scouted and recommended by Ganguly. Among the uncapped Indians bought by Capitals at the auction are Jharkhand wicketkeeper-batter Kumar Kushagra, Haryana allrounder Sumit Kumar and Madhya Pradesh batter Ricky Bhui (who is currently the leading run-scorer in Ranji Trophy).”We know our younger Indian players [better], we know which players to back in what positions a lot better than we did in the last season,” Jindal said. “A lot of credit goes to the systems and processes put in place by [Ganguly].”

Júnior Santos pode estrear pelo Botafogo na Copa do Brasil; entenda

MatériaMais Notícias

da doce: Júnior Santos retornou ao Botafogo no dia 31 de março e está próximo de estrear pela segunda vez. O atacante está inscrito na Copa do Brasil e depende apenas de Luís Castro para jogar na partida diante do Ypiranga.

O jogador acabou ficando de fora do jogo diante do Magallanes pela Sul-Americana por conta de um atraso no envio da documentação para Conmebol. Agora, ele está apto para jogar e pode ser uma das opções do setor ofensivo alvinegro em Erechim.

+Que tristeza! Demissão de Vítor Pereira do Flamengo rende enxurrada de memes na web

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBotafogoGustavo Sauer completa um ano de Botafogo: relembre os altos e baixosBotafogo10/04/2023BotafogoOrganizadas do Botafogo criticam preço de ingressos e armam protesto no Nilton SantosBotafogo10/04/2023BotafogoBotafogo encerra participação no Estadual: relembre jogos, confira números e veja artilheirosBotafogo10/04/2023

da bet7: +Júnior Santos de volta ao Botafogo: relembre os altos e baixos do atacante no clube

Júnior Santos era titular absoluto sob comando de Luís Castro no ano passado. O atacante acabou sendo transferido ao Fortaleza no começo desta temporada e disputou oito jogos pelo Leão. Por ter adquirido um sequência de partidas em 2023, está fisicamente bem para jogar no Glorioso.

+Ypiranga x Botafogo: onde assistir, prováveis escalações e desfalques para terceira fase da Copa do Brasil

O atleta vem treinando normalmente no Espaço Lonier e tem grandes chances de estrear.
Ypiranga e Botafogo se enfrentam nesta quarta-feira, às 21h30, no Colosso da Lagoa, pelo jogo de ida da terceira fase da Copa do Brasil.

Sancho 2.0: Man City lost "electric" gem for £0, now he's outscoring Foden

Manchester City have clearly been struggling this campaign to hit the same levels they have done in the previous four Premier League campaigns, currently sitting fifth with 48 points, a whopping 22 points away from first-place Liverpool.

Despite their poor form, Pep Guardiola’s side are still topping plenty of the league’s metrics, however.

Rico Lewis

They are averaging the most possession per game in the division with 60.8% and have the highest successful pass percentage with 89.9%. They also sit second for shots per game, averaging 16.1 shots per match, with only Liverpool averaging more with 17.

Clearly, City have identified their need to invest, spending big money in the January transfer window to bring Omar Marmoush, Abdukodir Khusanov, Vitor Reis and Nico Gonzalez to the club.

But, who has been underperforming this season, which has led to such heavy investment?

The biggest losers from Man City's awful season

One man who has underperformed since returning to play for Guardiola’s side this season is İlkay Gündoğan. The German has made 39 appearances for the Citizens so far, scoring two goals and providing three assists. It’s a far cry from that 2021/22 season where he was involved in 16 goals across all competitions.

18 of his appearances have come from the base of midfield, a byproduct of Rodri being missing through injury, which has led to an underwhelming return for the 34-year-old midfielder, not having the same effect on the ball for his side, whilst not solving their out-of-possession issues either.

Another key figure who was a huge part of Manchester City’s infamous treble campaign, but now finds himself lower in the pecking order, is Jack Grealish.

The 29-year-old has made 26 appearances this season, netting two goals, providing five assists and totaling 1,319 minutes played.

The English winger, who has struggled with a few injuries in the past two seasons, now finds himself behind the likes of Jeremy Doku, Savinho, Marmoush and even Phil Foden, who himself has had a very poor season thus far, underwhelming for both club and country.

The Englishman, who was criticised by Thomas Tuchel during the international break, has struggled to replicate the dazzling numbers of 2023/24 when he won the PFA Player of the Year award.

He has scored just ten times, down from the ridiculous 27-goal haul of last term. So, perhaps they may regret losing another academy star…

Better than Foden: Man City's lost "wonderkid"

Spending two years in the City academy system from 2018-2020 was a highly promising individual, a “wonderkid” in the words of scout Jacek Kulig.

That player was Jamie Gittens. Remarkably, he never played for City’s U21s but did feature in two U18 Premier League games. Then, in a puff of smoke, rather like Jadon Sancho, he headed for Borussia Dortmund.

Well, at BVB, it’s safe to say he’s starring. Gittens, who was in Lee Carsley’s latest England U21 made, has made 40 appearances for Dortmund so far this season, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in 2,535 minutes played.

Boasting “electric pace” in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson, the English winger is certainly starting to turn heads in Europe, with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United linked with the young winger.

So, how does he compare to that man Foden? Certainly favourably in the goalscoring department.

Jamie Gittens vs Phil Foden comparison

Stats (per 90 mins)

Gittens

Foden

Goals

0.39

0.34

Assists

0.11

0.17

xG

0.18

0.26

xAG

0.13

0.23

Progressive Carries

5.78

2.72

Progressive Passes

2.09

5.49

Shots Total

2.57

3.02

Key Passes

1.10

2.33

Shot-Creating Actions

3.80

4.67

Successful Take-Ons

3.84

0.93

Stats taken from FBref

When comparing Foden and Gittens’ underlying metrics this season, you can see how their playstyles differ, with the former being more creation heavy, looking to drop into pockets of space, play progressive passes and create for others, whilst the latter has a direct manner, looking to attack the box with carries and score goals.

Whilst Foden isn’t a natural winger, he has seen 18 of his 38 appearances come from wide areas, due to the likes of Kevin De Bruyne and now Marmoush, who can both play as that central attacking midfielder in close vicinity to Erling Haaland.

Borussia Dortmund's Jamie Bynoe-Gittens in action

On the other hand, Gittens would have provided City with something they have lacked in wide areas this season, and that’s goals, with both Doku and Savinho excelling in the creation department, as opposed to the direct, high-shot-volume playstyle of their former academy star.

Man City offloaded their own Bellingham for £0, now Man Utd want him

Man City could see yet another of their former academy graduates end up back in the Premier League

By
Robbie Walls

Mar 27, 2025

Tottenham stance on appointing "unique" Iraola alternative to replace Ange

da betobet: Fabrizio Romano has shared an update on Tottenham Hotspur and their managerial search, following another blow for Ange Postecoglou in the form of Spurs’ seventeenth Premier League defeat of the campaign against Wolves.

Ange Postecoglou comments after 4-2 Tottenham loss to Wolves

da pinnacle: A series of calamitous goals, thanks to errors from key players, cemented yet another Spurs loss in the top flight on Sunday, with Wolves running out 4-2 winners against the Lilywhites on another lacklustre afternoon for Postecoglou.

52-year-old spotted at Spurs after Levy talks as pundit tips appointment

The Lilywhites chairman has sat down with him recently.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Apr 12, 2025

You couldn’t have asked for worse preparation ahead of Tottenham’s vital Europa League quarter-final second leg against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday, a must-win game for Postecoglou after their 1-1 draw with the Bundesliga side last week.

Rayan Ait-Nouri, Djed Spence’s own goal, Jorgen Strand Larsen’s strike and a Matheus Cunha finish compounded a miserable day at Molineux for the north Londoners. Mathys Tel and Richarlison made the scoreline less embarrassing with consolation goals in their 4-2 defeat, but Postecoglou did his best to back the players following a series of high-profile errors.

“Obviously a disappointing result,” said Postecoglou after Tottenham’s defeat at Wolves.

“Funny game, because for the most part, I thought our football was decent considering all the changes we’ve made. For the most part we controlled large parts of it, were a threat going forward and didn’t give them too much. But then obviously we conceded some pretty poor goals and that made it awfully difficult to get an outcome today.

Tottenham’s next five Premier League fixtures

Date

Nottingham Forest (home)

April 21st

Liverpool (away)

April 27th

West Ham (away)

May 3rd

Crystal Palace (home)

May 10th

Aston Villa (away)

May 18th

“It’s not like the players are doing it on purpose, so you have an understanding that that’s the unfortunate things that sometimes happen in a game of football. Probably be more frustrated if it was something that we did from a tactical perspective or organisational perspective, but they’re individual errors, you know, the players don’t mean to do it and, especially Lucas and Romero, I mean they’re two fantastic footballers and what’s important now for both of them is that they recover and we focus on the next game.”

In the background, chairman Daniel Levy is reportedly contemplating the sacking of Postecoglou, with Spurs on course for their worst-ever Premier League season.

Tottenham stance on appointing Thiago Motta to replace Ange Postecoglou

According to recent reports, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola is Tottenham’s top managerial target after his very impressive campaign in the Cherries dugout, while both Thomas Frank (Brentford) and Marco Silva (Fulham) are also on their radar (The Athletic).

There’s also been recent murmurs of a potential Spurs move for Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, as well as former Juventus head coach Thiago Motta, who was recently sacked by the Serie A heavyweights.

The Italian failed to mount a successful title challenge, or show any signs of promise in terms of winning major silverware, prompting Juve to ruthlessly hand Motta his P45.

New Juventus manager Thiago Motta

The 42-year-old is now without a club, and is currently linked with a move to N17, but Romano has since told GiveMeSport that Tottenham have no plans to appoint Motta as things stand.

“I’m still hearing about Iraola and Silva as two concrete options,” said Romano.

“For Motta, no contacts at this stage.”

Despite his failed stint at Juve, Motta did attract praise as a tactician during his time in Turin.

“Thiago is unique and unrepeatable: he is not at Juve, Juve is at him,” said journalist Ivan Zazzaroni.

“Inside the notebook that he always carries with him and shows during press conferences, also to note down the questions and their authors, there must be a world of ideas that he scrupulously hides from the eyes of the laymen. Motta is undoubtedly the most stimulating and original coach in the championship.”

Mikey Moore to the rescue! Spurs star scores late penalty as England kick off Under-19 European Championship with Norway draw

Tottenham ace Mikey Moore converted from the spot to give England U-19s a share of the spoils in their European Championship opener against Norway.

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  • Three goals in frenetic first half
  • England dominated the ball, but Norway broke at pace
  • Mikey Moore penalty ties the game in 79th minute
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  • TELL ME MORE

    The game set into an entertaining and frenetic pattern from the off. The young Three Lions dominated possession, and were occasionally able to break down a steadfast low block from the Norwegians. When England gave up possession, Norway broke both accurately and at pace.

    England took the lead on the 11th minute, with Kadan Young striding through the Norway half before finding fellow winger Tom Watson open at the edge of the box. The Brighton youngster's low driven effort deflected past Daniel Gjerde Sætren and into the roof of the net.

    It took Norway just seven minutes to respond, as Hamburg winger Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit drove at the England defence, skipping past two defenders and ploughing past Tommy Setford at the near post.

    Both teams created decent chances for the remainder of the first 45. Norway in particular were unlucky not to take the lead when Setford produced a smart save from point-blank range, and Sondre Granaas struck the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.

    Granaas had his moment, on the strike of halftime, when he coolly volleyed home a perfectly-weighted ball from Røssing-Lelesiit.

    The pace slowed in the second half, as Norway seemed more content to soak up England's pressure without pushing for a third. Snatched opportunities from Watson, and captain Moore did little to trouble Gjerde Sætren, and England failed to capitalise on a number of dead-ball opportunities.

    Just as England looked to be running out of ideas, they received a lifeline. Norway failed to clear their lines, Shumaira Mhueka broke onto a loose ball on the box and was tripped by Mathias Øren. Moore blasted the spot kick home in the 79th minute.

    Norway will rue a missed opportunity in the final knockings, as a brilliant last-ditch tackle by Caleb Khorpa denied Jesper Reitan-Sunde a tap-in in the 89th minute. Worringly, Moore appeared to take a heavy fall over his right ankle in the final minutes of added on time.

  • Advertisement

  • DID YOU KNOW?

    The ease with which Norway broke on the England defence will be a cause for concern. The Three Lions did not concede a single goal during their six qualification games for the tournament.

  • THE MVP

    Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit: Unfortunately, a knock picked up in the first half prematurely called time on the winger's day, as he was pulled off the pitch in the 55th minute. He was clearly disappointed, and who could blame him? The Hamburg prospect had the measure of the England defence, displaying the ability to go down the line and cut in from his position on the left flank. Took his goal, and set up the second brilliantly.

  • THE BIG LOSER

    Mathias Øren: The Norwegian centre half had a solid day at the office until giving away the penalty. It appeared the youngster lost his head following the decision, receiving a booking for dissent and getting the hook shortly thereafter.

Dinesh Karthik retires from all representative cricket

Wicketkeeper-batter played 180 games for India and 256 games in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2024

Dinesh Karthik represented six teams at the IPL over the years•BCCI

Dinesh Karthik has called time on his playing career. The wicketkeeper-batter last played for India in the 2022 T20 World Cup and did put his hand up to play in the 2024 edition as well, but will now be focusing his efforts elsewhere. Karthik announced his decision on Saturday, his 39th birthday, bringing to a close a career that began in 2002-03.Over the last few years, however, Karthik has only been active in domestic cricket and the IPL circuit, where he’s been a fixture since the inaugural season in 2008. He signs off after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB’s) playoff game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad earlier this month. He made 11 off 13 and picked up a catch and a stumping.

ESPNcricinfo had reported prior to the start of IPL 2024 that it would be the last IPL season for Karthik, so the announcement was on the cards. He will leave the tournament as one of just seven players to have featured in every edition of the IPL so far, along with MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey.In what is an impressive statistic, Karthik missed just two matches in his 17 seasons. The first one was in his maiden season, when he was part of Delhi Daredevils (now Capitals), and the second was in IPL 2023 when Karthik sat out a league match against Sunrisers Hyderabad when he was part of RCB.Related

Dinesh Karthik named RCB batting coach and mentor

Dinesh Karthik, the survivor who never stood still

The latest stint with RCB was Karthik’s second with the team, after he had played a single season with them in 2015. He was their fourth highest run-getter with a tally of 326 from 13 innings at a strike rate of 187. He continued to show signs of evolution even though it was his final season.Overall, Karthik represented six IPL teams. Starting with Daredevils (2008-14), he moved to Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings – 2011), Mumbai Indians (2012-13), Gujarat Lions (2016-17), Kolkata Knight Riders (2018-21) and RCB (2015, 2022-present). Overall in 256 matches, Karthik has scored 4816 runs at an average of nearly 26, striking at over 135 with 22 half centuries. As a keeper, Karthik is second on list behind Dhoni in overall dismissals (172) as well as stumpings (36).An established captain in Tamil Nadu, his state in domestic cricket, Karthik has also led in the IPL – on six occasions as a stand-in skipper at Daredevils, and 37 times between 2018 and 2020 at KKR before he stepped down. Overall, his captaincy record reads: 21 wins, 21 losses and one tied match. He played 26 Tests, 94 ODIs and 60 T20Is for India, fronting up in various roles, like Test opener in England or a T20I finisher in Sri Lanka. He was athletic behind the stumps as well, a trait that was clear even on international debut at 19 years old.

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