Sports
Who will win the World Cup? BBC pundits make their predictions
The World Cup starts in Al Khor’s Al-Bayt Stadium on Sunday and finishes at Lusail Iconic Stadium in Doha on 18 December.Who will win the World Cup? BBC pundits make their predictions Thirty-two teams will contest the tournament, which will be played out in 64 matches over 28 days, including hosts Qatar, holders France and five-time winners Brazil.Who will get their hands on the famous gold trophy this time? Who are the other main contenders? And how will England and Wales do?BBC Sport’s TV and radio football presenters and pundits predict what will happen over the next four weeks.
Who will win the World Cup?
Alan Shearer: Argentina. It will be a great way for Lionel Messi, the best player in the world, to go out. It could be a defining moment for him – he has probably been the greatest player we have ever seen, but the thing that is always chucked at him when comparisons are made between him and Diego Maradona is that he has never won the World Cup. If he was to win this one, that would pretty much be the end of that debate – and what a story it would be.
Micah Richards: It’s Brazil for me. I understand why there is a buzz about Argentina, but this is Neymar’s time to shine. He scored eight goals in qualifying and has taken his game to the next level this season. There is the weight of the nation on his shoulders and he has to deal with what Brazil expect from him, but he will be the star of the show.
Chris Sutton: France are the holders and have arguably got the best forward line with Karim Benzema and his Ballon d’Or, Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, even Antoine Griezmann too. Yes, they have got some injuries in midfield, but they have got two young stars in Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga of Real Madrid who are already absolutely top class. It’s not an exact science but when you think of France at World Cups, they are either all in or all out. This time? I’m saying they will be all in. If they click like they did in Russia, why not?
Alex Scott: I am going with Brazil. Their squad has a great blend of experience with exciting and in-form young players who could have great tournaments, like Vinicius Jr. Neymar is in great form too and, with every team having so little preparation time before the tournament to get key organisation right, it could come down to individual brilliance to settle some games.
Ashley Williams: Your team is always a little reliant on how much firepower you’ve got and Brazil have got a wealth of attacking options. It will be great for football if they win too. We are all fans of Brazil, aren’t we?
Fara Williams: My head is telling me that with the squad Brazil have, they will win it – the depth of their attackers is the best out of all the squads. But my heart is telling me differently. I’m going to predict an England v Brazil final… and we are bringing it home.
Jermaine Jenas: Everyone is always obsessed with the attacking side of things, but defensively Argentina look really solid and, off the back of winning a Copa America in 2021, they will have found a rhythm of what works for them. In the final they beat Brazil, who will be their biggest competitor in Qatar too, but I have a feeling Messi is going to get it done.
Karen Bardsley: Historically, it looks as though clean sheets and conceding the fewest goals is the key to winning World Cups. So which team has the most solid defensive unit, with a good goalkeeper? Then also their ability to manage moments in the tournament and how they will gather momentum in the group stages. My top two are Brazil and Argentina – and I would say Brazil will win because they are fully loaded in every position and defensively they are the strongest I have seen them in many, many years.
Rio Ferdinand: Brazil have got depth in their squad and experience too – as in, all the way through the spine of their team is experience of winning things.
Rob Green: They have some young exciting talents to go with that experience of winning. It’s Brazil for me.
Gabby Logan: I’m not going to be sentimental and say Messi will triumph but a South American team will win. Vinicius Jr will be a really important player and the World Cup winners will wear yellow shirts.
Danny Murphy: I can’t see past Brazil or Argentina. Both are full of quality and experience and will take some stopping. Maybe Argentina will do it this time, as it seems written in the stars that the greatest ever player will win the World Cup.
Danny Gabbidon: I fancy France. Overall they are a really well-balanced side with so much quality up front, and the biggest problem for manager Didier Deschamps is to find the best system and decide on his starting XI.
Jurgen Klinsmann:
With Argentina, the big driving force is Messi. All football fans know his situation and how this has to be his moment if he wants to win his first World Cup at the age of 35. He knows that too, and so do his team – so they will do everything possible to get that World Cup win. Brazil, though, have got so much quality in every position. They are a team I have watched a lot over the past couple of years and I have been very impressed – they are coming to Qatar to win the World Cup and I believe they will.
(BBC Sports)
The first truly heavyweight clash of this expanded T20 World Cup format comes freighted with both history and subplots. A rematch of the 2010 World T20 final at Kensington Oval, the match pits Jos Buttler’s defending champions – who are aiming to become the first team to retain the trophy – against the Australian winning machine, victors at the 2021 edition and current world title-holders in Test and ODI cricket. And that’s before you throw in the Ashes for afters.
Already there is added pressure on England, after the rain in Bridgetown led to a share of the points in their opener against Scotland (and that having conceded 90 runs from 10 overs without taking a wicket in a tepid bowling display). Lose to their oldest rivals and it will leave their Super 8 prospects open to being waylaid by the perils of net run-rate calculations, or worse.
The Scotland match was the third abandonment in five suffered by England, after a rain-affected home series against Pakistan, which has clearly hampered their readiness for this campaign after almost six months without playing T20 together. It does not take much for a side to click in this format – and England looked in decent shape when they did get on the field against Pakistan – but Buttler will be anxious for things to go their way on Saturday, if only to avoid further questions referencing the team’s disastrous ODI World Cup defence last year.
Australia, under the laidback leadership of Mitchell Marsh would love nothing more than to add to the English sense of jeopardy – having helped bundle them out of the tournament in India on the way to taking the crown. Their head to head record is less impressive in T20 however, with England having won six of the last seven completed encounters, as well as that 2010 final.
Despite a wobble with the bat, Australia avoided mishap against Oman earlier in the week, the experience of David Warner and Marcus Stoinis shining through in difficult batting conditions. Surfaces in the Caribbean – not to mention those games staged in the USA – have already had teams scratching their heads; rather than the “slug-fest” England had prepared for, following a high-scoring tour of the Caribbean in December, it looks as if boxing smart may be the way to go.
Speaking of Warner, this could be the last time he faces up against England in national colours – and another match-winning contribution would likely reduce the chances of them meeting again in the knockouts. On the other side of the card is Jofra Archer, fresh from an emotional maiden outing at Kensington Oval and ready to take on Australia for the first time in any format since 2020. Can Mark Wood fire up England’s campaign, as he did during last summer’s Ashes? Will Pat Cummins be back to harass the old enemy once again? Seconds out, it’s almost time to rumble.
Cummins is set to return after being rested for the Oman game, which saw Mitchell Starc leave the field with cramp. Starc is understood to be fine and could keep his place – which would likely see Nathan Ellis miss out. Marsh is still not fit to bowl, with Australia likely to continue with the allrounder combination of Stoinis and Maxwell to give them cover.
Australia (probable XI): David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (capt), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Josh Inglis (wk), Tim David, Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis/Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
The one change England may consider is Reece Topley coming in for Wood, with the expectation that there will be some rotation among the seamers through the course of the tournament.
England (probable XI): Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (capt & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley/Mark Wood
[Cricinfo]
Once is coincidence, twice is a clue, and three times is proof.
To paraphrase Agatha Christie, that is the narrative around South Africa’s meeting with Netherlands at this T20 World Cup.
The Dutch beat South Africa at the 2022 tournament and ended their semi-final hopes in a match where South Africa appeared to be sleep walking, and then beat them again at the 2023 ODI World Cup, where they exposed South Africa’s vulnerability in the chase. If they to do the treble, not only will Netherlands take the lead in Group D, but they will offer conclusive evidence of the threat they pose to Full Members, especially South Africa.
Of course, it will take some doing after South Africa’s opening performance against Sri Lanka, where they reduced their opposition to their lowest T20I total and chased it down in fairly straightforward fashion thanks to the most stable middle-order of their white-ball era. In Aiden Markram, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, South Africa have bankers and big-hitters and, for this match, they also have the advantage of experience. They’ve already played at Eisenhower Park, and have first-hand knowledge that run-scoring doesn’t come easily;Klassen said they are prepared to use their “cricket brains” and play “smarter cricket”.
But the conditions could be good news for Netherlands, who are not naturally a line-up of big hitters and build their innings on a foundation of turning ones into twos. In other words, they tend to take a slightly more conservative approach to batting, which may work well here, but they’ll be wary of the uneven bounce of the surface and will have to come up with plans to counterattack especially against South Africa’s seamers. Their own bowlers were exemplary in Dallas and will look to build on that performance against a line-up that will likely be more proactive than Nepal’s, but who they have managed to keep quiet not once, but twice in the past. Third time’s the charm, they say.
Anrich Nortje’s stunning return to form against Sri Lanka means South Africa may not have to tinker with the bowling combination, and Gerald Coetzee and Tabraiz Shamsi may have to wait their turns to get a game. The batting line-up should be unchanged, with no space for Ryan Rickelton yet.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markam, Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), David Miller, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Ottneil Baartman, Anrich Nortje
Conditions in New York may tempt Netherlands to include an extra seamer and they have Kyle Klein in their squad. But it could come at the expense of a shortened batting line-up and they may not want to risk that.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Vikramjit Singh, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards (capt, wk), Bas de Leede, Teja Nidamanuru, Logan van Beek, Tim Pringle, Paul van Meekeren, Vivian Kingma
[Cricinfo]
Nuwan Thushara’s last over brought Sri Lanka screaming back into the match,as he first bowled Rishad Hossain, and then nailed Taskin Ahmed in front of the stumps with a pinpoint swinging yorker. This left Bangladesh eight wickets down, with 12 runs still to get.
However, the experienced Mahmudullah was at the crease for Bangladesh, and despite some further nervy moments, pushed Bangladesh across the line off the last ball of the 19th over.
But this was a match chiefly decided by Bangladesh’s own outstanding bowling. Mustafizur Rahman was the best among them, using shorter lengths and his cutters efficiently, to claim figures of 3 for 17. Rishad Hossain’s three-for through the middle overs also kept Sri Lanka quiet.
Mustafizur was instrumental in Sri Lanka’s downward spiral through the middle overs, which culminated in a crash-and-burn end. Ultimately, their inability to find boundaries, or even rotate strike against good Bangladesh bowling resulted in their downfall. A score of 125 for 9 always seemed poor on a decent pitch, even if their bowlers made a match of it in the end.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 125 for 8 in 19 overs (Towhid Hridoy 40, Litton Das 36; Dhanajaya de Silva 1-11, Nuwan Thushara 4-18, Wanidu Hasaranga 2-32, Matheesha Pathirana 1-27) beat Sri Lanka124 for 9 in 20 overs (Pathum Nissanka 47, Dhananjaya de Silva 21; Tanzim Hasan Sakib 1-24, Taskin Ahmed 2-25, Mustafizur Rahman 3-17, Rishad Hossain 3-22) by two wickets
[Cricinfo]
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
