Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard appear to be friends as well as teammates, having emerged through the Manchester United youth setup at the same time.

The pair both annoy the more old-school football fan to a similar degree due to their confident personas, on-pitch dancing and large social media presence with the strength of feeling exacerbated by their wages being paid by a currently underperforming club.

However, their footballing journeys to this point have been markedly different. Pogba, along with Ravel Morrison, was identified early on at United as a player with all the natural talent to make it to the top.

The Frenchman developed earlier and was more impatient, moving to Juventus aged just 19 in 2012, having demanded greater first-team opportunities.

How far will England get in Russia? Tell us now and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

He was justified in deciding to leave having watched Park ji-Sung and Rafael toil in central midfield in a 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn and his career went from strength to strength in Serie A with Juventus.

Yet, in the four years was Pogba away was winning four Serie As and making the 2015 Champions League final, Lingard was toiling away at United, forced to remain hungry and patient, trusting that he would come good and step off the carousel of loans – Leicester, Birmingham, Brighton and Derby – to become a regular for club and country.

It took until 2015/16, the year before Pogba returned to United as the most expensive player in the world, for Lingard to break into the team at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal, adding pace and vigour to a pedestrian team and scoring the winner in the FA Cup final.

Now valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, when England manager Gareth Southgate decides which key players should be rested for his side’s final Group G game against Belgium, Lingard should be viewed just as important as anyone, bar Harry Kane.

By contrast, Pogba has come into his second World Cup on the back of yet another season of constant debate over his best position and his worth to Jose Mourinho’s United side and underperformed for a disappointing France side.

A recent poll saw 73% of Les Bleus fans call for Pogba to be dropped. He has become a genuine global superstar, under intense scrutiny but he is failing to embrace that pressure on the pitch.

Lingard takes the joy he shows off the pitch onto the field as well and looks to be enjoying this World Cup as much as anyone, which could lead to further rewards upon his return to club football at United.

Pogba’s favoured position is on the left of a three-man midfield, and that is the exact role that Lingard switched to and shone in as England swept aside Panama 6-1, scoring the pick of the bunch with a curling first-half strike.

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It helps Lingard that England’s 3-1-4-2 is more flowing than United’s 4-3-3, but his mini-reinvention poses an interesting tactical dilemma for Mourinho.

Lingard is playing in Pogba’s favourite position and playing better than him in it. The Englishman could not be putting forward a stronger claim to take his good friend’s starting spot at Old Trafford.

Mourinho reportedly wants warriors, who have the personality to fight for everything, and judging Lingard and Pogba on that metric, there is only going to be one winner.

According to a report from Sport1, Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min could be on his way out of the Premier League club this summer. The South Korea international enjoyed a fine season in North London last term, and were Spurs to indeed sanction his departure this summer, they can wave goodbye to a possible title challenge this time round.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the 25-year-old has become an increasingly important member of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad in the last few years, not least last season in netting an impressive 18 goals and laying on 11 assists in 53 appearances for Tottenham.

Only Harry Kane (41) scored more goals for the North Londoners last time round to further underline the importance of Son to this Spurs squad, while his tally of 11 assists was only bettered by Dele Alli (13) and Christian Eriksen (17).

Thus, it’s evident that, while the likes of Kane, Alli, and Eriksen often get the plaudits, Son is equally as important to Pochettino’s side and as such will play a key part in inspiring the side to a Premier League title challenge next term.

Significantly, take Son out of the Tottenham side, and the replacements simply haven’t shown the level of form he has in recent times, with neither Erik Lamela nor Lucas Moura doing enough down the flanks, while Fernando Llorente certainly hasn’t proven his worth to be Kane’s deputy up top.

And losing Son, who can play in a more advanced central role, would further pile the pressure on Kane to get the goals for Pochettino’s side, at the same time taking a key cog of the attacking ranks out of the side.

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Arguably, the 25-year-old is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League at present such is the focus on messrs Kane, Alli, and Eriksen at Tottenham, but Son is just as important, and as such his departure would significantly weaken them heading into the 2018/19 season.

Ultimately, if Tottenham are serious about bridging the 23-point gap to champions Manchester City this term, and thus challenging for the title, not only do they need to make additions, but they absolutely have to retain their most prized assets – Son is in that category.

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Thus, the North Londoners can wave goodbye to a possible title assault if they do indeed sanction the £45 million-rated (as per Transfermarkt) star’s departure this summer.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Leonardo Bonucci is an experienced winner having won seven league titles in his career, and now he is being linked with a move to the Premier League.

According to Calciomercato, Manchester City are one of a handful of clubs that are interested in recruiting the veteran defender.

Pep Guardiola already has a strong team at his disposal, and not a huge amount needs to be changed following last season’s title triumph.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255859″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Man City’s opening fixtures for the 201819 Premier League season”]

However, it seems that the recent two-year European ban implemented on Milan by UEFA has led City to consider a swoop for Bonucci as he is now believed to be considering his future.

Calciomercato reports that along with City, the club’s arch rivals Manchester United, as well as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are tracking the defender.

Who do you think will win the World Cup? Let us know here and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

Guardiola are not in desperate need of a new centre-back, but there are concerns over injury prone Vincent Kompany.

Judging by the reaction on Twitter, though, City fans would rather the club did not make a move for the 31-year-old.

The South Africans will have to remind themselves what game they are playing on Wednesday. White clothes, red balls and attacking fields … that would be Test cricket, then

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion15-Dec-2009The South Africans will have to remind themselves what game they are playing on Wednesday. White clothes, red balls and attacking fields … that would be Test cricket, then. It is nine months since they beat Australia, at Cape Town, in their most recent five-day contest. Since then they have lived on a diet of one-day and Twenty20 action.Five of South Africa’s squad, including the captain Graeme Smith, haven’t even played first-class cricket since March, and the team as a whole prepared with a training camp in Potchefstroom rather than turning out for their franchises in a round of Supersport four-day matches. Despite the concerns about coming into the series short of meaningful practice, the coach Mickey Arthur felt the greater importance was to get his Test squad back together after such a long time apart, and for his part, Smith doesn’t believe the team will be caught cold.”I wouldn’t say under-cooked is the right word,” he said. “We’ve played enough cricket, had enough training and enough match time. It is more the long haul of a Test match, being able to handle pressure for long periods and sustain performances for long periods. I know it’s been a lengthy period since our last Test match, but our squad is a very mature one. It’s had a lot of success, and each guy knows what he needs to do to be successful. We’ve prepared really well – and it’s been a good, calm focus with intensity around our training sessions.”It’s always difficult to say where you are if you haven’t played a Test match for a long time. But I think we’re ready for tomorrow. It’s up to us to come out and make that first day count.”A situation that Smith will definitely have to confront is not having his usual five-man bowling attack. Although Jacques Kallis has been passed fit for batting duties after his fractured rib, he won’t be available with the ball which puts an added burden on the frontline bowlers, including Dale Steyn who has had recent hamstring trouble.”It’s obviously a luxury to have the five bowlers available,” said Smith. “I hope the four picked can do the job well and take the pressure off me. We have some quality bowlers who can produce the results, but we’re not going to have the luxury of Jacques [with the ball] so the responsibility shifts to all other places. Players know they’re going to have to take on a little bit more.”One bowler Smith knows will run in all day for him whatever the conditions is Makhaya Ntini, who will be celebrating his 100th cap. “It’s been a pleasure to be a part of his career and see the success he’s had – where he’s come from to where he is today,” Smith said. “He’s had his ups and downs but has always met them with 100% commitment. He’s a vibrant personality, even to the point sometimes where we have to put a muzzle on him. We wish him all the success in the next game and a lot more to come. He’s going to play a prominent role in the future, not only in this team but in South Africa.”Being greeted by a green pitch on the eve of the game may have given Smith cause to considering bolstering the pace attack in Kallis’s absence, but he said there was “a 99% chance” they would play the left-arm spinner Paul Harris. “That’s the way we’ve played our Test cricket over the last period of time, and I think we’ll stick to it,” he added. “The weather’s going to be a lot better tomorrow, and there’s still a lot of work to be done on the wicket this afternoon. I think it will change quite a bit, so we’ll assess it in the morning.”Smith is a far more mature captain than the one England first faced in 2003 when his attitude didn’t endear him to many of his opponents. Back in his younger days he would go down the route of making strong and provocative statements, but the older, wiser version instead opts for more subtle views about his rivals.”They’ve got a few challenges like the loss of an allrounder,” he said referring to Andrew Flintoff’s absence, and he has also suggested that England’s attack doesn’t look overly threatening with Steve Harmison left back home in Ashington.”And it wouldn’t be the build-up to a South Africa-England contest without mention of Kevin Pietersen. “We’d like to make it a major test for him,” Smith said. “That is our challenge as a team. We want to put all England batters under pressure, and he’s a key figure in that line-up. We’ve worked on a few interesting gameplans to him. Since his injury, he’s searching for a bit of confidence – and we hope we can keep him under that pressure he’s had on the tour so far.”

USACA has organised a training camp for December 18-21 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in which two coaches will be arriving from New Zealand to assist USA’s coaches

Peter Della Penna17-Dec-2009In the first positive gains from USA Cricket Association’s (USACA) partnership with New Zealand Cricket (NZC), USACA has organised a training camp for December 18-21 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in which two coaches will be arriving from New Zealand to assist USA’s coaches and help them with enhanced training methods.”Dipak Patel, the former New Zealand offspinner, who has coached our Under-19 team as well as some of the New Zealand first class guys will be going along with Hamish Barton who played first-class cricket in New Zealand, and who is the head of the New Zealand cricket coach education team and our coach education programme,” said Justin Vaughan, the NZC chief executive.”Hamish was previously not only a first-class cricketer but also spent some time in South America, was the national coach of Argentina, and has a good knowledge of a number of the United States players.”Barton, 33, played 17 first-class matches for Auckland and Canterbury before going on to be player-coach for Argentina. He also played against USA at the 2008 ICC Americas Division One tournament.”As well as his coaching expertise, he can bring a background of what you do in cricket and what an overall coach education programme looks like,” said Vaughan. “So we are not just talking about a situation where Hamish works with the Under-19s or with the national team, but instead he can start to add value to the overall structures of US cricket, in terms of their coach education programmes and trying to give some advice or sharing the knowledge that we have in terms of training our coaches. We can do that for the United States as well and that’s obviously one of the benefits that USACA can gain out of a partnership with a full member of the ICC.”Barton and Patel will be making their way to the US to help the Under-19 squad prepare for January’s Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand and helping the men prepare for their first assignment in February, the 2010 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in the UAE.The 15-man Under-19 squad along with five reserves will take part in the camp alongside 23 senior players who are in contention for a 14-man squad that will be picked in January to travel to the UAE and then on to Nepal for the WCL Division Five tournament. The Under-19 squad will also have some assistance from NZC when they arrive before the World Cup. Teams must be in Christchurch by January 9, but USACA is looking to send the team a week early so they can get acclimatised and receive additional training.”I believe they’re arriving on the second or third of January,” said Vaughan. “They’ll have an additional week and will train at the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre. I imagine Dipak and Hamish will be working with the team during that preparation phase. They will have already established relationships in the camp that will be held later this week, but they will be working with them in January as well. We’ll get them competitive games, whether they’re against New Zealand teams or against our Under-19 side who are in New Zealand preparing prior to the World Cup, so that they’re as well prepared as they can be.”The High Performance Centre, located at Lincoln University in Christchurch, will offer the USA Under-19 team the chance to utilise facilities that are virtually unavailable in America.”It won’t be an easy tournament for the United States,” said Vaughan. “We’re obviously getting involved now. It’s certainly late in the picture but this is a start of what we feel is a long term partnership so we’ll be doing what we can to optimise USA’s chances of a good performance in the tournament.”

Auckland slipped to their second consecutive defeat, against Canterbury at Colin Maiden Park, despite a quickfire half-century from Ravi Bopara

Cricinfo staff04-Jan-2010
Scorecard
Rob Nicol grabbed two wickets and scored a half-century•Getty Images

Auckland slipped to their second consecutive defeat, against Canterbury at Colin Maiden Park, despite a quickfire half-century from Ravi Bopara. The Canterbury bowlers bowled economically, grabbing the first five wickets for 76 as the Auckland batsmen struggled to consolidate on starts. However, Bopara rescued them, adding 64 with Anaru Kitchen, and struck three fours and two sixes on his way to an unbeaten 55 to lift the team to 144. Rob Nicol was the pick of the Canterbury bowlers, taking 2 for 19 in four oversThe effort, though, proved inadequate, as opener Nicol starred with the bat, too, anchoring the Canterbury innings with a 35-ball 52, and Johann Myburgh held his nerve to score a run-a-ball 37 to guide his team to a five-wicket win with just one ball to spare. Canterbury lost their fifth wicket off the first ball of the final over but the pair of Myburgh and Kruger van Wyk, who struck a six in his three-ball nine, sealed Auckland’s fate.

There was little joy for Bangladesh as they suffered major humiliation at the hands of New Zealand in the series opener at Seddon Park

Andrew Fernando03-Feb-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

How they were outBrendon McCullum’s aggression ensured an early finish as New Zealand completed the second-shortest successful chase in Twenty20 history•Getty Images

An abysmal all-round display from Bangladesh meant that New Zealand romped to a ten-wicket victory in just 8.2 overs in the tour opening Twenty20 match at Seddon Park. A mediocre bowling performance was not helped by an error-ridden fielding effort by the tourists, who dropped straightforward chances from each of the New Zealand openers. The match was, however, already lost by the visiting batsmen, who crashed to an embarrassing 78 after putting themselves in on what seemed to be a good batting surface.Daniel Vettori and spin partner Nathan McCullum completely foxed the Bangladesh middle order, snaring 5 wickets for 21 runs between them. Man of the match Vettori picked 3 for 6 and was close to unplayable, utilising the bounce and turn of the Hamilton wicket to brilliant effect.Daryl Tuffey ended with two wickets thanks to a tight line and length both in his opening spell and against the tail. Jacob Oram and James Franklin shared three wickets between them in the middle overs.Tamim Iqbal started off well, smashing Tim Southee over midwicket and straight down the ground in the second over, but was caught down the leg side, off a short ball that grazed his gloves, for 14. Aftab Ahmed, in his first Bangladesh appearance since April 2008, attempted to continue the momentum with a series of wild slogs to the leg side but managed to connect only once, lifting James Franklin over fine leg for six before being outdone by a yorker two balls later.The New Zealand spinners then came into play, making an instant impact on the match. Vettori had Mohammad Ashraful caught at deep point, attempting a lofted cover drive, before trapping Mushfiqur Rahim in front two balls later. Nathan McCullum had Shakib Al Hasan playing on to a straighter one, leaving Bangladesh in tatters at 42 for 5 in the eighth over. Both spinners were tough to get away and applied telling pressure, even as Bangladesh wickets continued to fall at an alarming rate. Mahmudullah fell to McCullum in his final over before Vettori had Shahadat Hossain stumped, playing down the wrong line.The tail provided some short-lived resistance, with Raqibul Hasan slogging his way to 18 from 13 deliveries, the top score for Bangladesh, but the home side’s pacemen were on hand to smartly polish off the tail with two overs to spare.New Zealand’s openers, Brendon McCullum and debutant Peter Ingram, started slowly, but accelerated once McCullum hit his straps, hammering 56 from 27 deliveries in an effortless innings that included two audacious scoops over the keeper’s head. Sloppy fielding and lacklustre bowling played their part in the touring side’s early demise, with the bowlers serving up several rank long-hops and the fielders conceding too many avoidable runs to create any semblance of pressure on the batsmen.Bangladesh will hope to recover from this humiliating defeat in time for the first ODI in Napier on Friday. However, the tour opener does provide an ominous sign for what is likely to be a lop-sided series unless the tourists raise their game drastically.

Tamil Nadu and Bengal marched into the finals of the Vijay Hazare Trophy to set up a replay of last year’s title clash

Cricinfo staff27-Feb-2010
Scorecard
Abhinav Mukund kept piling on the runs•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Tamil Nadu’s formidable batting unit clicked again to set up a thrashing of Madhya Pradesh in the semi-finals at the Madhavrao Scindia Cricket ground. It was Abhinav Mukund who made a century this time, supported by half-centuries from opener S Anirudha and S Badrinath. The other major contribution was an all-round effort from R Sathish, blazing a 17-ball 39 and then bagging four wickets to bury MP’s chances.After choosing to bat, Tamil Nadu’s openers piled on a 177-run stand before Anirudha fell at the end of the 32nd over. With the foundation in place, Tamil Nadu stepped up the pace, with Badrinath slapping eight fours and a six to slam a 40-ball 58. Abhinav, meanwhile, progressed to his third List A century, making a steady 130. Medium-pacer Amarjeet Singh removed both off consecutive deliveries in the 44th over to reduce Tamil Nadu to 276 for 3. Even then, there was no respite for MP, with Sathish and K Vasudevadas ransacking 72 runs in the final six overs to set a massive target of 349.MP lost opener Jalaj Saxena early but kept fighting through a brisk 72-run association between Naman Ojha and Monish Mishra. However, a double-strike from medium-pacer Yo Mahesh, removing both set batsmen in the space of the three deliveries in the 14th over took the momentum out of the chase, and MP never recovered. It didn’t help that none of their batsmen reached even 50, and they were bowled out in the 44th over, 134 runs short.
Scorecard
Manoj Tiwary’s patient half-century steered Bengal past Karnataka and into the finals, setting up a replay of last year’s title clash. His effort came after a solid platform laid by the openers, Shreevats Goswami and Arindam Das, who put up 118 runs, which meant even a late wobble didn’t hurt Bengal. The game had been billed as a clash between Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, but neither of the former India captains had much of an impact on the outcome.Karnataka’s top-order batsmen flopped after they were sent in, and it was only a battling 93-run partnership between CM Gautam and S Aravind that lifted them from the depths of 130 for 8 to a middling score. The experiment to play Vinay Kumar at No. 3 worked to an extent, his 43 was the highest score among Karnataka’s top six. Dravid stuck around for 48 deliveries to compile 29 before he was caught behind off debutant offspinner Soumya Pakre. That dismissal came in the middle of a collapse that started with Vinay’s exit – Karnataka losing five wickets for 29 runs. It was then that Gautam combined with Aravind, who had made only 15 runs in his career before today’s unbeaten 38, to revive Karnataka.Bengal’s chase had its shakiest period when four wickets went down for 24 runs after the openers had put on a big stand. Tiwary and Wriddhiman Saha, though, put Bengal back on top with a 74-run association, and the target was overhauled with an over to spare.

Northamptonshire have secured Virender Sehwag to head their Twenty20 challenge this summer

Cricinfo staff12-Mar-2010Northamptonshire have secured Virender Sehwag to head their Twenty20 challenge during the coming season. It’s a major coup for the county who were beaten in the semi-finals in last year’s competition.Sehwag, 31, is currently ranked as the world’s leading Test batsman. He has established himself as one of the most destructive players in the game but curiously, given his reputation, Sehwag’s Twenty20 international record is a relatively modest average of 24.07 although his strike-rate is 153.43.Having played county cricket for Leicestershire in 2003, Sehwag has experience of English conditions and Mark Tagg, the Northamptonshire chief executive, believes Sehwag’s signing could lift Northamptonshire to the top of the domestic game.”This is absolutely fantastic news for the club and shows everyone that we want to continue our year on year improvement,” he said. “Hopefully this shows our fans we are serious in our ambitions to become the best club in the country.”Sehwag is still awaiting clearance from the BCCI but said: “I am looking forward to the T20 campaign and I am delighted to have joined the county.”He is the latest big-name signing for the Twenty20 tournament with counties going around the world for star attractions. Tillakaratne Dilshan has joined Sussex, Shahid Afridi and Abdul Razzaq are with Hampshire, Herschelle Gibbs is heading to Yorkshire and Cameron White is due with Somerset.

Plays of the day from the IPL game between Chennai Super Kings and Kings XI Punjab in Chennai

Siddarth Ravindran at the MA Chidambaram Stadium22-Mar-2010Ramesh Powar had the better of Matthew Hayden and his Mongoose•Associated Press

Where’s your regular bat?
In the absence of regular captain, MS Dhoni, there’s no doubt over who the
Chennai crowd’s favourite player is. They were screaming ‘Hayden, Hayden’
when he emerged for the pre-match warm-ups. When he walked out to bat, he
was greeted with similar chants, mixed with a few cries of ‘Mongoose,
mongoose’. They didn’t have to wait long to see the much-discussed bat; in
the second over Hayden signalled for it when he had a free-hit. To the
fans’ disappointment, he didn’t connect with a big swipe. Worse followed
in the Super Over, when the Mongoose’s larger ‘sweet spot’ proved of
no use, as Hayden was bowled first ball.The Chennai ripple
Fans at the IPL are generally a boisterous bunch, happy to roar their
approval even at a no-particular-reason bugle, and enthusiastic in
counting down the end of time-outs. The MC at the MA Chidambaram Stadium,
though, had a hard time getting a Mexican wave going. Around the 12th over
of the Punjab innings, he implored the spectators in stand D to stand up
and wave to no effect. At his repeated cajoling, a few fans desultorily
got to their feet, prompting desperate cries of ‘Pass it on, pass it on,’
from the MC, but the wave was still-born. Halfway through the chase,
however, at no one’s prompting, a Mexican wave started rolling around the
stadium as the home team seemed headed for a straightforward win.How about that one?
In the ninth over of the chase Ramesh Powar was convinced he had Hayden
lbw, though the massive appeal was turned down by the umpire because the
ball pitched outside leg. Off the very next delivery, he tricked a
charging Hayden by pitching the ball a little shorter, and the ball
crashed into off stump. Before launching into his celebrations though,
Powar made a tongue-in-cheek appeal to ask the umpire whether that was
good enough to be adjudged out.A botched celebration
While Chennai looked to be coasting towards victory for much of the chase,
it started to get a little tense towards the end. Parthiv Patel’s square-driven
four on the first ball off the 18th over provided some relief for the home
team, but he was stumped off Piyush Chawla on the next delivery. Punjab
were back in the game, and Chawla got set for his trademark send-off – get
down on one knee and scream while forcefully punching the air with a
clenched fist. However, as he bent down to start his celebration, his foot
slipped and he ended up on his backside.Multi-skilled players?
Bowlers are becoming increasing adept with their footwork. Over the past
month, both Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard ran out Zimbabwean batsmen by
kicking the ball onto the stumps with their left foot during their
follow-through. While the West Indian allrounders needed angled shots to
hit the target, Juan Theron had a far simpler goalmouth tap-in; with three
stumps to aim at, his right-footed the ball onto the wicket to send back
Suresh Raina.Second-time lucky
Chennai have been one of the better fielding outfits in the IPL, and apart
from Manpreet Gony’s drop, Raina’s team was sharp in the field again, with
the captain showing the way. In the 19th over, Raina just missed a direct
hit from cover to run-out Yuvraj Singh but made amends by knocking down
the stumps from a similar position in the final over to dismiss Theron for
a golden duck.On the ball
Hayden and Parthiv had played steadily for the first three overs,
after which the Australian decided to open up. He launched a Powar
delivery towards long-off but didn’t hit it as well as he would have
liked. The fielder on the boundary, Mohammad Kaif, was so focused on
taking the catch that he lost track of where the rope was, and ended up
tripping over it and fell over as he back-pedalled. The ball
cleared the boundary.