Afghanistan will get plenty of practice, and scope to gather information on their Asia Cup opponents, when they play Pakistan and UAE in a T20I tournament starting in Sharjah on Friday. They’ve named virtually the same squad for both competitions, with only Naveen-ul-Haq missing from the tri-series.Abdollah Ahmadzai takes his place in the 17-member squad. The 22-year-old fast bowler, with 14 wickets from 10 T20s, is still waiting for his first international cap and has been named among the reserves for the Asia Cup. These games will be Afghanistan’s first white-ball matches since the Champions Trophy ended in February 2025.Mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar is in line to make his T20I debut in the UAE tri-series, as he joins a strong spin unit comprising captain Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad.Related
Pakistan, Afghanistan, UAE gear up for Asia Cup rehearsal
No Babar, Rizwan in Pakistan squad for Asia Cup
Afghanistan bring in Ghazanfar to strengthen spin department for Asia Cup
Junaid Siddique comes back as UAE ring in the changes for T20 tri-series
Afghanistan bring back former Ireland allrounder John Mooney as fielding coach
The tri-series will also mark the return of Ibrahim Zadran, with the opener not a part of Afghanistan’s last T20I assignment in Zimbabwe in December 2024. From that squad, left-arm spinner Nangeyalia Kharote has also been left out, although he is part of the reserves for the Asia Cup. Zadran returns having last played T20Is during the 2024 World Cup.The tri-series, which Afghanistan and Pakistan will kick off, has the three teams playing each other twice in round-robin format before the top two meet in the final on September 7. Should Afghanistan reach the final, they will only get a day’s rest before their first Asia Cup game, against Hong Kong, on September 9. UAE’s first game of the Asia Cup is on September 10 and Pakistan’s is on September 12.
Afghanistan squad for UAE tri-series
Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi
In the almost six years he’s been in charge, Mikel Arteta has helped to transform Arsenal.
He’s led the North Londoners from mid-table mediocrity to genuine Premier League and Champions League contenders.
The Spaniard’s tactical nous and standard-raising philosophy have undoubtedly played a massive part in this turnaround, but so has the club’s recruitment and promotion of youth players, like Bukayo Saka.
The Hale Ender has gone from promising prospect to the face of Arsenal and undoubtedly their most important attacker, although, based on recent reports, the club are looking to sign someone who is playing better than him at the moment.
Arsenal target superstar star attacker outperforming Saka
Since making his debut for Arsenal in a 2018 Europa League group stage match against Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava, Saka has gone on an incredible journey with the club.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Despite being moved around the pitch and then spending plenty of time at left-back in his early career, the Englishman has now become the club’s go-to right-winger and the first name on the teamsheet when fit.
In all, the 24-year-old has made 280 appearances for the Gunners, in which he’s racked up a sensational haul of 76 goals and 73 assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.87 games.
However, due in part to his injury, he has performed a little under par this season, and now it looks like the club are looking to sign someone who is outperforming him.
At least, that is according to a recent report from Spain, which claims Arsenal are still very interested in Michael Olise.
In fact, the report has revealed that the Gunners are now preparing an ambitious plan to sign the Bayern Munich star and are willing to break their transfer record to do so, preparing an offer of around €150m, which converts to around £132m.
That’s an outrageous sum of money to spend on a player, but given Olise’s ability and potential, it might just be worth it for Arsenal, especially as he’s outperforming Saka.
How Olise compares to Saka
So, the first thing to say is that it seems highly unlikely that Arsenal would sign Olise to outright replace Saka.
After all, the Hale Ender has become the face of the project and probably the most beloved player of the last 20 years among the fanbase.
Instead, the Frenchman could be looked at as someone to offer competition, or, as has been the case with Noni Madueke, someone who can interchange with the Englishman during games, almost making the idea of a starting position antiquated.
With that said, it’s worth looking at how the pair have stacked up against one another since the Bayern ace’s move to Germany.
Last season, his first in Baveria, saw the 23-year-old rack up a sensational tally of 20 goals and 23 assists in 55 appearances, totalling 3842 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.27 games, or every 89.34 minutes.
Olise vs Saka
24/25
Olise
Saka
Appearances
55
37
Minutes
3842′
2619′
Goals
20
12
Assists
23
14
Goal Involvements per Match
0.78
0.70
Minutes per Goal Involvements
89.34′
100.73
25/26
Olise
Saka
Appearances
20
17
Minutes
1583′
1211′
Goals
9
6
Assists
10
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.95
0.47
Minutes per Goal Involvements
83.31′
151.37′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
In contrast, Saka scored 12 goals and provided 14 assists in 37 appearances, totalling 2619 minutes, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.42 games, or every 100.73 minutes.
Okay, what about this season then?
Well, the former Crystal Palace star has really taken it up a notch, already scoring nine goals and providing ten assists in 20 appearances, totalling 1583 minutes.
That comes out to a staggering average of a goal involvement every 1.05 games, or every 83.31 minutes, and truly justifies analyst Filipe Sousa’s description of him being a “nightmare” for defenders.
For his efforts this season, the Gunners’ talismanic number seven has scored six goals and provided two assists in 17 appearances, totalling 1211 minutes.
That comes out to a somewhat underwhelming – for his lofty standards – of an average of a goal involvement every 2.12 games, or every 151.37 minutes.
Now, it should be said that he suffered another hamstring injury at the start of the campaign and is clearly still not at 100%, but even so, he would likely admit his output has been a little disappointing this season.
Ultimately, while it would cost an egregious sum of money, Arsenal should do what they can to sign Olise, as he could help get the best back out of Saka, and a team with the pair of them in it is a scary team indeed.
The new Rice: Berta enters race to sign £70m midfield "machine" for Arsenal
The international superstar could become Mikel Arteta’s next Declan Rice at Arsenal.
In an encouraging sign for Australia, Josh Hazlewood returned to the nets on Tuesday as he recovers from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening Ashes Test in Perth.Pat Cummins, meanwhile, was pictured bowling with a pink ball as he continues his push to return for the day-night Test at the Gabba following his back injury.The pair trained at Cricket Central in Sydney while New South Wales were playing their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.Related
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Hazlewood set to miss Brisbane, Cummins pushes for return
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Bartlett, Sandhu dismantle Victoria under Gabba lights
In what looked like clear evidence of immediate priorities, Hazlewood was bowling with a red ball. He is not expected to be available for the Gabba Test, so his comeback target will be Adelaide, which has reverted to a day Test this year.Speaking on Monday, Australia coach Andrew McDonald was confident that Hazlewood would be available later in the Ashes.”I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series,” he said. “We’ve got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series.”Cummins has been making good progress in ramping up his bowling in recent weeks and looked impressive in the nets in Perth ahead of the opening Test. The selectors will need to be fully confident that he can get through the workloads required for a Test, even if the early indications are that matches in this series may not go the distance.”It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation,” McDonald said. “The intensity was there, the ball speed was there. There’s a lot of positives, but now it’s just really building that resilience within the soft tissue and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.”The first three Tests of the series are well spaced out – the gap between the first and second now 11 days after the two-day finish in Perth – but the schedule does become more condensed from Adelaide onwards: there is a four-day gap to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the same to Sydney if those matches reach the fifth day.Pat Cummins has a go with the pink ball•Getty Images
With the day-night pink-ball element thrown into the mix for Brisbane, there is a good chance that it could be another short, sharp Test. In the current round of Sheffield Shield matches, ten wickets fell in the night session of the third day between Queensland and Victoria to hasten the contest to a result, although wickets hadn’t fallen at the same rate on the first two days.In that match, Xavier Bartlett put in an eye-catching performance with 4 for 35 in the second innings alongside a career-best 72 with the bat. Australia may not need further pace reinforcement during the Ashes, especially if Cummins and Hazlewood are available, but Bartlett, who has impressed in ODIs and T20Is, may have moved himself up the queue.Michael Neser was the spare pace bowler in Perth and the Gabba is his home ground. His two previous Tests have been with the pink ball in Adelaide: against England in 2021-22 and West Indies in 2022-23.In the build-up to the Ashes, the selectors also spoke of their hope that Jhye Richardson may become an option later in the series as he returns from the shoulder surgery he had earlier this year.He trained with the Test squad in Perth and then bowled 20 wicketless overs for the Cricket Australia XI against England Lions at Lilac Hill. He is expected to feature for Australia A against the Lions in Brisbane next week.”This game was a lot about physical preparation for me and making sure that we can get through,” Richardson told reporters after the CA XI outing. “I’m sure there would have been a few people seeing a bit of ice on it after the bowling but that’s basically just maintenance. The shoulder’s feeling really good and it’s feeling better and better each bowl.”It’s a decent hit out, the most overs I’ve bowled in a while and it’s all part of the process to building up to be ready for four and five-day cricket.”
Soumya Sarkar has made a comeback to the Bangladesh T20I squad for the series against Afghanistan after captain Litton Das was ruled out due to a side strain. Jaker Ali will lead the side in Litton’s absence, while the rest of the squad that played in the Asia Cup in the UAE was retained.Bangladesh’s team physio Bayjedul Islam did not specify a timeframe for Litton’s return. “He (Litton Das) had missed the last two matches of the Asia Cup with a side strain. An MRI scan has revealed a grade 1 strain on the left abdominal muscle,” Bayjedul said. “He is undergoing recovery and will not be available for the T20 series. The medical team will continue to manage his rehab and monitor his progress.”Sarkar, 32, returned to the side after injuries forced him out of the T20I series against UAE and Pakistan earlier this year. He last played a T20I in the West Indies in December 2024.Jaker led the side in Bangladesh’s last two Asia Cup matches against India and Pakistan but wasn’t able to thrive as a designated finisher; he has single-digit scores in his last three games.Bangladesh will play three T20Is against Afghanistan on October 2, 3 and 5 – their second T20I series in Sharjah. They had lost to the hosts UAE 2-1 in May and also lost a T20I against Afghanistan in 2022 at the venue.Bangladesh squad: Jaker Ali (capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Saif Hassan, Towhid Hridoy, Shamim Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Soumya Sarkar
The Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays conducted a trade of pitchers in between their doubleheader on Tuesday.
The Blue Jays got right-handed reliever Seranthony Dominguez from the Orioles, while Baltimore got right-handed pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown from Toronto, Sportsnet's Shi Davidi reported first. It was a quick journey for Dominguez to switch from the home locker room to the visitor's locker room.
Baltimore Banner's Danielle Allentuck documented the short wlak Dominguez took Tuesday afternoon to switch teams.
This trade comes after the two teams' first matchup of the day, in which the Orioles dominated and won 16-4. Blue Jays relievers gave up 12 of the 16 runs the Orioles scored, so this is definitely an area on their roster Toronto wanted to improve on.
Dominguez last pitched on Sunday in the Orioles' 5-1 win over the Rockies. He pitched one inning and gave up one hit and threw one strikeout in the ninth inning to help seal the win. In 43 game appearances and 41.2 innings pitched so far this season, Dominguez has posted a 3.24 ERA and 1.34 WHIP. He's thrown 54 strikeouts and has given up 32 hits and 15 earned runs.
Initially signed to play two red-ball and ten List A games, Khaleel flew back after just two County Championship matches citing personal reasons
ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2025Khaleel Ahmed, the India bowler, has ended his time with Essex after playing two first-class matches for them in the ongoing County Championship.The pacer had initially signed with the club for a two-month stint, which would’ve seen him playing six first-class matches – the remainder of Essex’s first-class season – as well as a maximum of ten possible List A games in the One-Day Cup.The club announced his signing in June, after he had impressed for India A with a spell of 4 for 70 during a red-ball game against the England Lions. He flew out to join the side for a stint that was supposed to last till late September and played in two matches, taking just four wickets at an average of 64.50.However, Essex released a press statement saying that Khaleel had returned home ahead of his remaining fixtures with the club. “While we are disappointed to see him leave,” a statement said, “we fully support Khaleel’s decision and are grateful for the contributions he made during his time with us.”Khaleel, who last played for India in 2019, has taken 15 wickets in 11 ODIs at an average of 31.00. On the other hand, he has been in action for his domestic side, Rajasthan, and was also picked for last year’s Duleep Trophy. Across 22 first-class matches, he has taken 60 wickets at an average of 30.13.He will also be in contention for a spot for the inter-zonal Duleep Trophy competition, which kickstarts India’s red-ball domestic season on August 28.
When Freddie Freeman takes the field on Friday night for Game 1 of the World Series, it will feel like he's playing in one of his homes away from home at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. While Freeman's job with the Dodgers in their quest to capture back-to-back championships will be front and center on his mind, playing baseball in Canada, in which he holds dual citizenship along with the United States, will be special for both he and his family.
"Yeah my dad is obviously going to head out there tomorrow as well," Freeman said Tuesday. "So it's going to be pretty special. And I'm not so sure the Canadian fans, Blue Jays fans, will be cheering for me this time around like it was in the World Baseball Classic the last couple of times. But it is special."
Freeman played for Canada in both the 2017 and 2023 World Baseball Classics, changing his representation to Canada through his citizenship from his parents. Freeman's return to Toronto will also be an emotional one, given that he'll be returning to the city where his mother grew up. She died after being diagnosed with melanoma when he was just 10 years old.
"Both my parents are born and raised in Canada, especially in the providence of Ontario—my mom from the Toronto area. My dad from Windsor," Freeman continued. "So, it is special. Everytime I go there, you just have this feeling inside that you feel just a little bit closer to my mom. So I'm looking forward to it."
And even though Freeman will be playing against the Blue Jays, he's still excited about what the team has accomplished thus far, given his Canadian roots.
"I mean, that’s special,’" Freeman said. "When you have a whole country that you know is behind one team, that’s pretty amazing. And then, obviously, what they’ve done. They’ve invested in their team, into that stadium, the visiting clubhouse, they’ve put a lot into the Toronto Blue Jays.
"So to just see the city come together, and get to experience so much jubilation that they had going to the World Series for the first time in 30-plus years, you know it’s an exciting time. And being from Canada, it’s pretty cool."
O comando de ataque é, nos últimos jogos, a maior dor de cabeça do Botafogo. A partir desta segunda-feira (10), o Glorioso contará com um reforço: o atacante Carlos Alberto, que estava emprestado ao RWD Molenbeek, está de volta ao clube.
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A permanência, ou não, do atleta no Fogão vai depender da vontade de Artur Jorge, que vai avaliar o jogador. Um novo empréstimo não está descartado.
Números de Carlos Alberto
Na Bélgica, Carlos Alberto fez 17 gols e marcou três gols, além de duas assistências. Antes disso, atuou em 33 oportunidades rolo Botafogo, marcando quatro gols e dando uma assistência.
Are Manchester City starting to build some serious momentum?
On Wednesday night, the Sky Blues demolished Borussia Dortmund 4-1 in the Champions League, with Phil Foden bagging a brace, Erling Braut Håland scoring his customary goals and then Rayan Cherki getting in on the act late on.
Back in the Premier League, Pep Guardiola’s team have won five of their last seven, including four in a row at the Etihad, rediscovering their best form ahead of Liverpool’s trip to the Etihad on Sunday.
If the serial champions are going to defeat the reigning champions in this weekend’s headliner, which “exceptional” star should Guardiola start in his forward line alongside Foden?
Is Phil Foden getting back to his best?
On Friday morning, Thomas Tuchel’s England squad was announced for next week’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia at Wembley and Albania in Tirana, with Phil Foden one of the noteworthy names included.
The 25-year-old has not featured in any of England’s last six matches, seeing just 179 minutes of international action, out of a possible 1,260, that is only 14%, since the Three Lions’ defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.
His return to the England squad is an indicator of Foden’s return to form at club level, with his double against Dortmund taking his tally to four goals for the season, having bagged only ten throughout the entirety of the previous campaign, not including the Club World Cup.
Following Wednesday night’s Champions League victory, Guardiola asserted that Foden is back, labelling him a “special player”, while Barney Ronay of the Guardian noted that he was the ‘best player on the pitch’, adding that he was ‘perky and precise all night’.
Thus, Foden’s recent performances mean he is a guaranteed starter against Liverpool, but who should come into the team alongside him, thereby forming part of the Citizens’ attacking quartet in support of Håland?
The exceptional star Pep Guardiola must start against Liverpool
In mid-week, it was Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho and Jérémy Doku who all started alongside Foden, but Guardiola surely must tinker with his lineup this weekend.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
That’s because, having recovered from a thigh injury, Rayan Cherki is starting to show glimpses of what he is capable of.
The Frenchman came off the bench to score his fourth goal for the Citizens on Wednesday, having previously netted against Al Ain, Wolves and Swansea.
When he arrived from Olympique Lyonnais for £34m in June, big things were expected of the 22-year-old, with Guardiola describing him as “exceptional”, and his statistics in Ligue 1 last season underlining why.
Goals
8
25th
Assists
11
1st
Goals – xG
+3
7th
Key passes
75
2nd
Big chances created
22
1st
Passes into area
77
1st
Shot-creating actions
146
1st
Goal-creating actions
24
2nd
Progressive carries
106
10th
Carries into area
91
2nd
Successful dribbles
48
13
Touches in attacking 3rd
826
3rd
Average rating
7.6
2nd*
*minimum 25 appearances.
As the table documents, Cherki was one of the outstanding players in France’s top-flight last season, leading Ligue 1 for assists as well as a whole host of other creative metrics, behind only Désiré Doué in terms of goal-creating actions.
This season, despite sitting out eight matches due to injury, Cherki has already started to produce in a Man City shirt, registering three goals and three assists as well as creating four big chances in the Premier League; only seven players have more across the entire division, despite the fact he’s featured in only 163 of a possible 900 minutes to date.
Two of his three assists came against Bournemouth last Sunday, both times setting Håland free to burst in behind to slot the ball beyond Đorđe Petrović.
Thus, this forthcoming Sunday, a similar game plan is surely required.
During their sequence of six defeats from seven games, Liverpool were very susceptible to players running in behind, with Virgil van Dijk not at his dominant best and Ibrahima Konaté largely looking all at sea throughout the entire campaign.
With that in mind, Guardiola will want to pick a team that can exploit this weakness, featuring Håland running in behind and Doku giving right-back Conor Bradley nightmares with his dribbling, pace and trickery.
In order to best supply these other attackers, he must find room for Cherki, who demonstrated against Bournemouth last weekend that he possesses the right skillset to unlock Man City’s other attackers.
In the possible absence of Rodri, Reijnders will be in the team to offer support to Nico González while, as already documented, Foden’s flurry of goals makes him undroppable.
This leaves Savinho, who is still yet to score in the Premier League or Champions League this season, meaning the Brazilian is the most likely candidate to make way for Cherki, who simply has to be included in the starting lineup if Man City are going to become the latest team to defeat Arne Slot’s Reds this season?
Man City "monster" is closest thing Pep's had to Messi & it's not Cherki
Pep Guardiola has found his new Lionel Messi at Manchester City in pure “monster” and it is not Rayan Cherki.
A disputa de maior campeão cearense é palmo a palmo. Com o título nos pênaltis neste domingo (06), o Ceará voltou a empatar a disputa com 46 títulos, além de ter interrompido uma sequência do rival, que vinha de cinco títulos seguidos. Veja todos os vencedores do campeonato cearense:
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