Sports
The secret to France’s World Cup success is simple: Don’t make mistakes
It is not a game they will remember, or that will be remembered by many at all. France-Morocco at Al-Bayt stadium on Wednesday night didn’t reach the heights and drama many had hoped, despite the wonderful atmosphere created by the fans in red and green.
It was entertaining, for sure, but that was about it. The French players won’t care though; it was a game that had to be won, regardless of how. It was a semifinal of a big tournament, and that they know how to deal with. They have won the last six they have played (1998, 2000, 2006, 2016, 2018, 2022) at the World Cup or the Euros. Basically, when France are in the last four, they always qualify for the final.
For the fourth time in the last seven World Cups, they will compete for the ultimate prize. That’s some achievement in itself. They have an incredible opportunity to go back-to-back as well.As keeper Hugo Lloris pointed out, his team “suffered” to get there. This is part of their DNA. This is what they do. They control games, which means at times they are put under pressure, but they always find a way to win. They are not blowing teams away, they are not spectacular, they are not sexy or fancy. But Les Bleus win. They are the most efficient and resilient side in the world and have been for four years.
Their adventure might end in tears as they watch Lionel Messi lift his first and last World Cup on Sunday night but you would not put it past them to cause another heartbreak, like with the heroic Moroccans on Wednesday. Denying Messi of a world crown would be cruel but that’s part of the game. France would have to play better than on Wednesday but then again, they still dismantled Morocco, the surprised package of this incredible tournament — something that Croatia, Belgium, Spain and Portugal could not do.
It was a game which France coach Didier Deschamps and his men didn’t do anything great but didn’t do anything wrong either. This is their mantra. They don’t make mistakes but they capitalise on others making some.For the second game in a row, after England in the quarterfinal, they didn’t play well but they managed to see it through. They were not under as much pressure as against England, but these two games show again what this team is about. Ruthlessness, killer instinct, mental strength, calm in the storm — call it what you want, the French have it.
Deschamps, who in 10 years at the helm has now reached a quarterfinal (2014), final (2016), won (2018), last 16 (2021), and now a finalist at least (2022) tells his players all the time: “It is all about winning.”
And he is right. You don’t have to play well. You will suffer and you will have to ride the tough times … but they all know exactly how to do it.
“It was not perfect. We struggled at times and we are tired but this is what it takes to reach another final,” Lloris told the media after France’s win on Wednesday.
Deschamps has created a monster. Even without Paul Pogba, N’Golo Kante, Karim Benzema, Presnel Kimpembe, Lucas Hernandez and Christopher Nkunku, Les Bleus don’t stray from their objective and their methods. They are cold-blooded assassins.
“Four years ago, after beating Belgium in the semifinal, I was crying in the dressing room,” explained Antoine Griezmann after the game. “This time, I was already focused on Sunday, recovering and preparing well for the final.”
This current squad contains only nine players from the winning one of 2018 (Lloris, Steve Mandanda, Alphonse Areola, Raphael Varane, Benjamin Pavard, Griezmann, Olivier Giroud, Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele) but they have transmitted their values and experience to the new generation. This 2022 squad of course resembles the 2018 one: they play and fight the same way. They defend and attack the same way.
“We are a team who knows how to suffer. They passed on the recipe,” defender Jules Kounde said after the game.
To win this World Cup and to write history as only the third team in history to win back-to-back editions (with Italy 1934-1938 and Brazil 1958-1962) they will have to play better against Argentina than they did against England and Morocco but then again, they have shown that when they need to step it up and accelerate, they can. Mbappe is the perfect example. He doesn’t shine during the whole 90 minutes and his absence of defensive work often disrupts the balance of the French team. But every time he touches the ball, something happens and he becomes dangerous again. Mbappe is the X-factor, but in the same mindset as the rest of the squad.
To twist Gary Lineker’s famous words about Germany always winning, we could, right now, claim that football is simple a game where 22 players chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the French are in the final.
(ESPN)
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
