Ticket sales announced for 2026 T20 World Cup

Tickets for the 2026 T20 World Cup will go on sale at 18.45 IST and Sri Lanka time (13.15 GMT) on December 11, with the tournament slated to begin on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.Prices for phase one of the ticket sales start at INR 100 (USD 1.1) at some venues in India and LRK 1000 (USD 3.2), the ICC said on Thursday. The dates for phase two of the ticket sales will be announced soon. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.cricketworldcup.com.”Phase I of ticket sales is an important milestone in our journey towards delivering the most accessible and global ICC event ever staged,” ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta said. “Our vision for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 is clear: every fan, regardless of background, geography or financial means, should have the chance to access an in-stadia experience of world-class marquee cricket.”With tickets starting from just INR 100 and LKR1000, we are putting affordability at the centre of our strategy. This is about opening the gates wide and inviting millions to be part of a global celebration of cricket, not as spectators from afar, but as active participants in the energy, emotion and magic that only a stadium can offer.”The 2026 T20 World Cup will be contested by 20 teams and comprises 55 matches. The games start at 11am (0530 GMT), 3pm (0930 GMT) and 7pm IST (1330 GMT). The format for the tournament is the same as the previous edition in 2024, where the teams were divided into five groups of four each.The first-round groups are as follows:
Group A: India, Pakistan, USA, Netherlands, Namibia
Group B: Sri Lanka, Australia, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Oman
Group C: England, West Indies, Bangladesh, Nepal, Italy
Group D: New Zealand, South Africa, Afghanistan, Canada, UAE
The top two teams from each of the groups progress to a Super Eight phase, where they will be further divided into two groups of four each.The Super Eight groups are as follows, assuming these teams qualify from the first round; if another team qualifies, they will take the place of the team from their group that failed to make it:
Super Eight Group 1: X1 (India), X2 (Australia), X3 (West Indies), X4 (South Africa)
Super Eight Group 2: Y1 (England), Y2 (New Zealand), Y3 (Pakistan), Y4 (Sri Lanka)
Each team will play the other three in their Super Eight group, with the top two from each group qualifying for the semi-finals. The two semi-finals are in Kolkata – or Colombo if Pakistan qualify – on March 4, and Mumbai on March 5. The final of the tournament will be played in Ahmedabad on March 8 – if Pakistan qualify, it will be held in Colombo..

Amazonas x Flamengo: onde assistir ao vivo, escalações e horário do jogo pela Copa do Brasil

MatériaMais Notícias

Amazonas e Flamengo se enfrentam nesta quarta-feira (22), pelo segundo jogo da terceira fase da Copa do Brasil. A bola vai rolar a partir das 21h30 (de Brasília), na Arena da Amazônia, em Manaus, com transmissão do Sportv e Premiere (clique aqui para assinar o Premiere por 30 dias grátis!).

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol InternacionalTime da Premier League tem interesse em jogador do FlamengoFutebol Internacional22/05/2024NotíciasZebra? Aposte R$100 e fature R$710 para vitória simples do Amazonas sobre o Flamengo na Copa do BrasilNotícias22/05/2024Futebol NacionalBrasileirão sem rebaixamento não partiu de clubes do RSFutebol Nacional22/05/2024

Confira todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto entre Amazonas e Flamengo (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).

✅ FICHA TÉCNICA
AMAZONAS X FLAMENGO
SEGUNDO JOGO DA TERCEIRA FASE – COPA DO BRASIL
🗓️ Data e horário: quarta-feira, 22 de maio de 2024, às 21h30 (de Brasília);
📍 Local: Arena da Amazônia, em Manaus (AM);
📺 Onde assistir: Sportv e Premiere;
🟨 Árbitro: Ramon Abatti Abel (FIFA-SC);
🚩 Assistentes: Daniel Paulo Ziolli (SP) e Gizeli Casaril (SC);
🖥️ VAR: Gilberto Rodrigues Castro Junior (PE).

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➡️ Aposte R$100 no Lance! Betting e garanta R$288 se o Flamengo vencer o Amazonas nos dois tempos pela Copa do Brasil

⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES:

AMAZONAS (Técnico: Adílson Baptista)
Marcão; Patric, Miranda, Diogo Silva e Fabiano; Xavier, Wendell e Rafael Tavares; Matheus Serafim, Jô e Ênio.

FLAMENGO (Técnico: Tite)
Matheus Cunha, Varela, Fabrício Bruno, Léo Ortiz e Ayrton Lucas; Allan, De la Cruz, Arrascaeta e Gerson; Everton Cebolinha e Pedro.

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Bavuma to return as South Africa captain for India Tests

Bedingham makes way in the only batting change from South Africa’s squad that drew 1-1 in Pakistan

Firdose Moonda27-Oct-2025Temba Bavuma will be back to lead South Africa’s Test side in their two-match series against India next month after recovering from a calf strain. Bavuma missed the start of their World Test Championship title defence against Pakistan after sustaining the injury in England in September.He will not play in any of the white-ball matches that start in Pakistan this week but will be in a South African A side to play India A in a first-class match in Bengaluru before joining the Test squad.Bavuma’s inclusion is the only batting change from South Africa’s squad that drew 1-1 in Pakistan and comes at the expense of middle-order batter David Bedingham, who did not play either of the matches.Related

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Rabada: South Africa 'a young team that wants to do the dirty work'

Bedingham has played 15 Tests for South Africa and scored one hundred and four fifties, but before his 82 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo he had gone 12 innings without a fifty. With Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis and Zubayr Hamza in the squad, there is no room for Bedingham.”The guys that did duty in Pakistan in the Test matches have shown what they’re capable of, and a case can be made for all of them to be re-selected. The reason why they got selected ahead of David was because I feel that in these conditions they’ll be more effective,” Shukri Conrad, South Africa head coach, said on Bedingham. “It doesn’t mean that it’s the end of the road for David. It wasn’t so long ago that he was one of our star performers at Lord’s so really horses-for-courses. For what we’re potentially going to face, I believe the guys that we got are ahead of David in that respect.”You leave a player out and it’s never easy, especially if they’ve done as well as they have done. But again, I’ve got to take the emotion out of all of it. We’ve made some tough decisions along the way so every time you make a decision like that, it’s particularly tough, but you’ve got to take the emotion out of it.”You basically look at the raw facts and say, ‘right, what do we believe is going to be effective on these surfaces? And who best to stack up against said opposition on those surfaces,’ you know? And look, in eight months’ time, however long, when we play a Test match back home again, I’m sure David will be in that line-up. But purely for Pakistan and India, what we’re expecting, the guys that we’ve selected, we believe, are better equipped.”On Hamza’s selection for the India Tests, Conrad said that he’s a “really good player of spin, it’s as simple as that.” Hamza had recently scored a century for South Africa A against New Zealand A in Potchefstroom last month.”He [Hamza] was close to playing in Pakistan when we considered balance of side and he is the next batter up,” Conrad said. “In these conditions, I must continually add that, in these conditions, we’ve always said that everything we do is conditions-based and condition-specific.”South Africa have stuck with three specialist spinners as all of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy performed well in Pakistan. Offspinner Prenelan Subrayen, who played in the first Test while Maharaj was recovering from a groin strain, has not been included.ESPNcricinfo LtdKagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen make up the pace pack, with Lungi Ngidi not included after also missing out on the Pakistan tour.The two-match series starts in Kolkata on November 14 before the second Test in Guwahati from November 22. South Africa will also play three ODIs and five T20Is on the tour.South Africa Squad for India Tests
Temba Bavuma (capt), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Dewald Brevis, Zubayr Hamza, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Simon Harmer.

Allison leads Essex march with safety in sight

Essex 325 for 5 (Allison 98, Pepper 54*) vs WarwickshireCharlie Allison fell two runs shy of a century in an effective batting display by Essex on the second day of their Rothesay County Championship match with Warwickshire at Edgbaston.Advancing towards the draw that would secure their Division One status, Essex closed on 325 for 5 with Allison’s 98 off 175 balls heading an impressive collective effort. No batter scored fewer than 25 while Michael Pepper made 54 not out (94), Dean Elgar 48 (111) and Matt Critchley 47 (64).After a washout on the first day and, judging by the weather forecast, very little play likely on the third, this match appears nailed on for a draw which would send both teams into next week’s final games safely clear of the bottom two.In their last home match of the season, Warwickshire chose to bowl and were unlucky not to take more than one wicket in the morning session. Olly Hannon-Dalby in particular maintained high pressure, conceding just three runs from his first seven overs, but the ball frequently beat the bat rather than taking the edge.Elgar and Paul Walter added 41 in 14 overs before the latter was lured into driving at a wide ball from Nathan Gilchrist and edged to wicketkeeper Alex Davies.Elgar moved diligently to 48 in 144 minutes then perished in similar fashion to his opening partner. The left-hander edged Gilchrist to second slip where Rob Yates accepted his 15th Championship catch of the season.When Tom Westley drove around an Ethan Bamber yorker, Essex were 111 for 3 but Allison and Critchley ensured there was no collapse with a measured partnership of 98 in 25 overs. Critchley was closing in on his 33rd first-class half-century when he nicked an excellent ball from Michael Booth to Davies.Allison found another resolute partner in Pepper. Both scored Championship centuries against Warwickshire at Chelmsford in July and this time they added 77 in 20 overs.Allison, having spent quite some time in the 90s, then attacked the wrong ball from Bamber and Rob Yates accepted his 16th championship catch of the season. That proved to be the only wicket with the new ball.Again, Warwickshire’s seamers bowled well without much luck but Pepper completed his half-century in the day’s penultimate over and Essex can be well-satisfied with a strong day’s work by their batters.Without Shane Snater (calf injury) and Sam Cook, who sustained a broken thumb during the Hundred, Essex are giving a first class debut to seamer Charlie Bennett.

موعد مباراة المغرب القادمة في كأس العالم للناشئين بعد الفوز على أمريكا

تأهل منتخب المغرب تحت 17 عامًا، إلى دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا، عقب الفوز على منتخب الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية. 

وواجه منتخب المغرب تحت 17 عامًا، نظيره أمريكا في تمام الساعة السادسة إلا ربع مساء بتوقيت القاهرة على ملعب إسباير زون، في دور الـ 32 من بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا. 

طالع.. المغرب يطيح بـ أمريكا ويتأهل إلى دور الـ16 من كأس العالم للناشئين

وتمكن منتخب المغرب تحت 17 عامًا من تحقيق الفوز على أمريكا، بركلات الترجيح بنتيجة 4/3، عقب انتهاء الوقت الأصلي بالتعادل الإيجابي بهدف لكل فريق.

وسجل جود تيري، لاعب منتخب أمريكا الهدف في الدقيقة 21 من صناعة زميله كافان سوليفان، بينما سجل عبد الله وزان هدف التعادل في الدقيقة 89.

وسيواجه منتخب المغرب تحت 17 عامًا، نظيره مالي، في مباراته المقبلة في دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا، في الدوحة.  موعد مباراة المغرب ومالي في كأس العالم للناشئين 

ومن المقرر أن يواجه منتخب المغرب تحت 17 عامًا نظيره منتخب مالي، في دور الـ16 من بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا، يوم 18 من شهر نوفمبر الجاري، على ملعب إسباير زون. 

Move over Spence: Spurs must unleash "one of the best talents England have"

Tottenham Hotspur boast a strong connection with the English national team. Harry Kane, one of the Lilywhites’ greatest players of all time, is the captain and record scorer for the men’s team, after all.

But it’s a bond which runs far deeper than through just one person. In fact, no side in history has supplied more ammunition for the Three Lions than Spurs, with 81 first-team players having worn the white shirt on the international stage across the years.

Most England Players Provided by Club (all time)

Club

Total Apps

Players

Tottenham

1052

81

Aston Villa

481

79

Corinthian FC

254

76

Liverpool

1214

75

Arsenal

980

74

Data via England Football Online

And Thomas Frank’s current crop of Tottenham talents continue to shine for the home nation, with Djed Spence the latest to earn his flowers for the side.

Djed Spence's Three Lions performance

Spence has earned rave reviews for his recent England performance, starring from left-back as Thomas Tuchel’s team defeated Wales 3-0 in a friendly.

Storming up and down the left flank, the 25-year-old continued to strengthen what has been a significant revival over the past year or so, having beforehand looked apt to drift away from Tottenham contention and shelved in a dusty file.

But this couldn’t be further from Spence’s truth, having started five Premier League matches already this term after proving invaluable for Ange Postecoglou’s struggling side in 2024/25.

As per FBref, the versatile defender ranks among the top 4% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons and the top 15% for progressive passes per 90, emphasising his technical and athletic qualities.

Spence is a testament to hard work and a never-say-die attitude, but he’s not the biggest English talent at Frank’s disposal.

Indeed, there’s a rising star down N17 who has the skills to become a mainstay for his country.

Spurs have an even bigger English talent

The man in question is Archie Gray, who Tottenham fought tooth and nail to prise away from Brentford and sign for about £30m in July 2024. He left his boyhood club Leeds United in the Championship, having won the second tier’s Young Player of the Year award. He was 18 years old.

It certainly wasn’t all sunshines and rainbows for Tottenham last term, but the young Gray played admirably across the campaign, especially since he, a natural midfielder, was required to fill in at centre-half on more than a few occasions, featuring 46 times for the seniors across the year.

And, of course, he and his teammates were rewarded for their commitment and ability to weather harsh storms by triumphing in the Europa League, beating Manchester United in the final.

Though, since Frank’s arrival, Gray has taken a step back, which is a positive thing. He is still a teenager and has much to learn. His potential was recognised last year, for sure.

However, having last started in the Premier League on the opening day of the season, playing just over 70 minutes, the ball-playing, tough-tackling talent will hope for further opportunities under Frank’s wing. When he gets them, in a more stable system, he might just skyrocket to the upper level of the Spurs squad.

Hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson as being “one of the best talents England have”, Gray might not have hit his prime yet, but he’s only 19, and he has already showcased remarkable potential on the biggest stage.

In six years, he will reach Spence’s current age of 25, and it’s frightening to consider how good he might be at that point.

Biggest star since Kane: Spurs are brewing "one of England's best talents"

Tottenham Hotspur already have their next biggest England star on Thomas Frank’s books.

1

By
Ethan Lamb

Oct 11, 2025

Khawaja has Ashes backing, but Labuschagne's spot uncertain

Usman Khawaja has been backed to be part of the Ashes later this year but Marnus Labuschagne’s spot is becoming increasingly uncertain with Sam Konstas firming for a Test recall in West Indies following Australia’s World Test Championship (WTC) final defeat at Lord’s.There is a chance that Steven Smith’s finger injury could provide an opening for Labuschagne to cling onto his spot, after he earned a show of faith at Lord’s partly because he had been ever-present in the WTC cycle, but the point has been reached where even that may not save him. The selectors will decide in the next 48 hours whether batting reinforcements need to be added to the squad once there is further clarity over Smith’s prognosis, but regardless it’s difficult to see a scenario where 19-year-old Konstas doesn’t return at the top of the order.Related

  • Australia's batting issues: questions surround Khawaja, Labuschagne, Konstas and Green

  • Latest collapse turns up heat on Australia's top order

  • Smith avoids surgery, faces race to be fit for West Indies Tests

“It was a big discussion leading into this Test match and I was on the record a couple of weeks ago talking about the need to bed down that opening combination,” head coach Andrew McDonald said. “We’ve had a bit of musical chairs there so it might be the time.”Labuschagne was moved up to open alongside Khawaja at Lord’s, the first time he had done the role in Test cricket, largely to accommodate the returning Cameron Green at No. 3 and came away with scores of 17 and 22 to leave him with an average of 27.82 for the WTC cycle.”He’s a big part of the future of the team,” McDonald said. “Anyone that averages 45, 46 in Test cricket at that age is important. We’ve got older players there that are closer to the end than the start. We’ve got some younger players that are coming in.”If he can get his game in good order for the next four or five years, he can underpin that batting order. But at the moment, he’d be disappointed with the returns. He’s missed out on big scores. But we’re confident that he could return to his best and hence why we keep picking him. And at what point do we stop picking him?”I think most players across their journey get dropped at some point in time. I think he had a positive week here where he worked on the right things and had a great prep. There’s no harder worker than Marnus. Now it’s really just about the returns. And at the moment, as I said, he’d be disappointed.”Although Khawaja scored a career-best 232 against Sri Lanka three Tests ago, his twin dismissals to Kagiso Rabada at Lord’s have returned the spotlight onto him as it continues the problems he has had against pace bowling, particularly from around the wicket. However, he seems likely to be given the same run afford to David Warner when his position was called into question during the latter of stages of his career.”He’s on contract, he’s an important player,” McDonald said. “He gives us stability at his best at the top. And we like to look at our players at their best.”No doubt, a couple of failures here and people then start to talk about maybe it’s the end. I don’t see an end date with the way he’s training, the way he’s preparing, the way he’s moving. He went back to Shield cricket, got 100 last [season]. So I think he’s got plenty of runs left in him. It’ll come down to his inner drive and the way he prepares.”It was a bit the same with Davey as well. The way he moved, we saw some positives in that. We knew that the runs were around the corner. We feel as though Usman’s got a big part to play.”Josh Inglis, who scored a century on Test debut, could be in the mix for spinning conditions•Getty Images

Josh Inglis, who is the reserve wicketkeeper and the other spare batter in the current squad, would be another option to refresh the line-up, but McDonald indicated he would come into the thinking more in spinning conditions. He also confirmed they would consider Travis Head as an opener again if confronted by a significantly spin-friendly surface, although it’s unlikely pitches will be that extreme. He added there would need to be a balancing act between looking towards the Ashes and playing the conditions presented in West Indies, where Australia haven’t played a Test since 2015.”I’d like to think that we’re being flexible around our options in the batting order,” he said. “Other people are judging that and saying that’s unsettling. I think we’ve got a group that understands when we’re home it looks a certain way, when we’re away it can potentially shift.”Amid the scrutiny on the batting, McDonald did not believe the top order was the only area of the team that had fallen short at Lord’s. “I know you guys want to talk about the batting line-up and where Marnus fits and all of that,” he said. “But we’re looking into all three facets of the game where we need to keep improving to stay ahead of the opposition. I think that the bowling had some areas where we let the tempo of the game shift on day three.””We’re not a perfect team, we haven’t been across the journey. We’ve found ways to win and unfortunately this time we couldn’t conjure that up. We also lost 5 for [20] in the first innings as well. You put those seven wickets that we lost in the second innings and that’s 12 for not many runs. I think we are better than that.”But as we sit here right now, you got to say that South Africa were better in this Test match. We’ve got to look at the improvements that we need to make. There’s no doubt about that.”

Bigger bargain than Burn: Newcastle star is cementing himself as a "legend"

St James’ Park will soon be packed to the rafters as Newcastle United return to Champions League action.

Eddie Howe’s Magpies competed in Europe’s main competition during the 2023/24 season, and – for the most part – didn’t disgrace themselves on the big stage, despite facing off against AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund, and Paris St. Germain.

On home turf, the Toon even amazingly downed the French giants 4-1, with the likes of Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, and many more first-teamers who are still in Howe’s plans to this day lining up for that famous tie.

Bruno Guimaraes also found himself in the middle of the park for Newcastle on that unforgettable night, with Dan Burn shining in the backline, with a hope now that the duo, and others, can star again when Barcelona come to town tomorrow night.

The stars when Newcastle thumped PSG

With Alexander Isak no longer in Howe’s camp, Newcastle need a leader more now than ever, with Guimaraes often leading from the front as a shining example.

After all, away from scoring against Liverpool this season while donning the captain’s armband, the “passionate” South American – as he has been labelled previously by Howe – has also managed to average a sensational 7.5 ball recoveries per league clash, on top of winning 5.5 duels on average, as per Sofascore.

Therefore, with the pressure ramped up tomorrow against Hansi Flick’s visitors, Howe will hope he can rely on his dependable number 39 to shine again as both a skilful but fiery presence centrally.

When casting minds back to that famous night against PSG, Guimaraes was definitely a well-rounded performer with an assist picked up, alongside winning five aerial duels to keep the French titans at bay.

That assist allowed for hometown hero Burn to steal the limelight, with his vital header gifting the Toon a much-needed two-goal cushion.

While Burn will no doubt get the nod to start again versus Barca, he might not be the only valiant defender Howe relies on under the St James’ Park floodlights.

One of his defensive teammates now aims to be as defensively stern as the lofty 33-year-old to guide his side to another momentous scalp.

The "unsung hero" who could be this season's Burn

The Magpies will fancy their chances ahead of this one-off clash with Flick and Co., despite a slow start back in domestic action.

Heading into their showdown with PSG two years back, Newcastle had just about edged past Burnley 2-0 in the bread and butter of the league, with the Toon now diving headfirst back into the Champions League this time around after a similarly cagey 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

While some of the attacking play saw chances be wasted, the defensive showing against the Old Gold will have pleased Howe, with Fabian Schar continuing his rock-solid start to the season by collecting a clean sheet against Vitor Pereira’s men.

Away from just this slim win, the Toon’s “unsung hero” – as he was once labelled by journalist Jordan Cronin – has also helped his side pick up another two shutouts in the league so far by bettering Guimaraes’ duels won count at 5.8 duels won per game, with the Swiss enforcer now tasked with the tough job of trying to nullify Robert Lewandowski.

Schar’s UCL record

Stat

Schar

Games played

19

Wins

5

Draws

5

Losses

9

Goals scored

1

Assists

2

Clean sheets

4

Sourced by Transfermarkt

He might well be able to rise to this hard occasion when assessing his previous numbers in the Champions League with both Newcastle and his former employers in FC Basel, with Schar – who was signed in the Mike Ashley era for just £3m – picking up an impressive goal and two assists from his 19 encounters in the hotly contested competition.

One of those efforts even came about during the Magpies’ win over PSG as his stunning long-range effort beat Gianluigi Donnarumma, and with memorable clean sheets also coming his way in the tournament versus Liverpool and Chelsea, he could be the main star for Howe’s men as they try to topple Barca.

Dubbed a “true legend of the club” by one Newcastle content creator earlier this year, it could be that Schar is remembered as the poster boy for another unbelievable night in Europe, in the same way Burn is fondly looked back on to this day for his out-of-the-ordinary showing against PSG.

Burn, signed for just £13m from Brighton, remains such an astute capture for the PIF regime, although it’s hard to look past the £3m spent on Schar as even bigger Magpies bargain.

He earns 2x more than Anderson: PIF must sell "disappointing" Newcastle dud

It may soon be time to cash in on this Newcastle star.

By
Angus Sinclair

Sep 17, 2025

Maxwell makes way for Stoinis as PBKS bowl in 14-overs-a-side game

The toss was delayed by close to two hours due to a persistent drizzle

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2025Toss Punjab Kings chose to bowl vs Royal Challengers BengaluruAfter rain kept the players waiting for two-plus hours, Punjab Kings (PBKS) won the toss and unsurprisingly, chose to bowl against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). The game has been reduced to a 14-overs-a-side affair with three bowlers being allotted a maximum of four overs and one bowler being allotted a maximum of two.Shreyas Iyer, PBKS’ captain, said that this being a rain-interrupted game with the overs being reduced was the reason behind his decision. The visitors made one big change: Glenn Maxwell, who has had a lean season so far, made way for Marcus Stoinis. Harpreet Brar also came in for the visitors.Rajat Patidar, RCB’s captain, said that they have to be smart in adapting to the situation and conditions. When asked what he made of the conditions, he said it might be “a bit sticky, but the surface looks pretty hard and good to put up a total.”RCB XI: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Rajat Patidar (capt), 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Josh Hazlewood, 10 Yash Dayal, 11 Suyash SharmaImpact players list: Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Jacob Bethell, Swapnil SinghPBKS XI: 1 Priyansh Arya, 2 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 3 Shashank Singh, 4 Nehal Wadhera, 5 Josh Inglis (wk), 6 Marcus Stoinis, 7 Marco Jansen, 8 Harpreet Brar, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Xavier Bartlett, 11 Arshdeep SinghImpact players list: Prabhsimran Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Glenn Maxwell, Suryansh Shedge, Pravin Dubey

'Man Utd have let the women's team down' – Marc Skinner's side don't have depth to compete with Chelsea in WSL and Champions League after disappointing summer transfer window

Since reforming its women's team seven years ago, Manchester United have been working towards having weeks like this. On Friday night, they face champions Chelsea in a huge clash at the top of the Women's Super League. Then, five days later, they host Valerenga in their first-ever game in the Women's Champions League proper. So much work has been done to get the Red Devils to this point, where they are in Europe's premier competition and battling for the top domestic honours, and yet, it just doesn't feel like they are ready for the challenge ahead.

Over the course of the next three months, United will face some huge fixtures and extremely demanding weeks. The middle of November stands out, when Paris Saint-Germain's trip to Old Trafford is followed four days later by the first Manchester derby of the season. Just for good measure, United will then travel to Germany to face two-time Champions League winners Wolfsburg three days after that.

But it's not just the games with the big names that are important. All of these two-game weeks are vital if United want to progress in Europe and challenge in the WSL, with them needing to bring their top level every few days in order to get the results needed to do so. It's a schedule that only a well-built squad can manage and, unfortunately, it's hard to say that United have that at this moment.

  • Getty Images

    'Man Utd have let the women's team down'

    Last week, when the Red Devils travelled to Merseyside to take on Liverpool, they had just five players on their bench, one of whom was a goalkeeper. It wasn't a one-off, either. Through the early weeks of the new season, United's list of substitutes has been bereft of experience, with there only one occasion on which they've been able to name more than four senior outfield players to their bench. In the early rounds of Champions League qualifying, they had to make do with just two.

    "I think Man Utd have let the women's team down this year," Carla Ward, the Ireland manager, said while on punditry for for the clash with Liverpool. "There's an opportunity to bring more bodies in. They're in the Champions League, they're playing across all competitions. That's such a small bench. It's a thin bench."

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    A touch of bad luck

    A key issue has been injuries. United have been hit with a lot of small niggles and knocks through the early weeks of the new campaign, meaning 10 senior players have already spent time on the sidelines, at various points. That's significantly more than any other side in the WSL and especially more than their rivals for the top spots.

    However, those situations have only served to highlight the lack of depth in this United squad, particularly as they prepare to make their debut in the Women's Champions League proper.

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    Lagging behind rivals

    Let's take Chelsea as an example for comparison. It's not an entirely fair one, it must be said, because the Blues have one of the biggest squads in all of Europe and that is why they have been one of the continent's premier clubs over the last five years, as well as the dominant force in England. But, in other ways, it is also a good yardstick, given this is the team that has set the bar for everyone else to reach in the WSL.

    On Sunday, Chelsea travelled to West Ham without Lauren James, Lucy Bronze, Naomi Girma, Mayra Ramirez, Niamh Charles and Kadeisha Buchanan. Yet, their bench was still full, with eight of the nine players senior internationals. Mara Alber, the talented 20-year-old German signed from Hoffenheim this summer, was the only exception.

    United, meanwhile, had five names missing at the weekend and yet, that reduced their bench to one of five names, including a goalkeeper. Both of these teams will face off on Friday and then be in Champions League action in midweek. Both have ambitions of fighting on four fronts. Yet, only one feels set-up to do so.

    Even Manchester City, who are not in Europe this year, were able to name a nine-player strong bench for their clash with London City Lionesses last Sunday, despite missing all of Lauren Hemp, Kerolin, Iman Beney and Lily Murphy. Seven were senior players in City's first team and five of them were senior internationals.

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    Disappointing summer

    United boss Marc Skinner has had his fair share of criticism since taking charge of the team back in 2021. Some of it has been justified, some of it has not. This, though, is not his doing. Throughout the summer, Skinner made it clear that he felt he needed more recruits, especially if his team made it through Champions League qualifying. "We then have to maintain two high level games per week," he noted, a few days before the transfer window shut. "We're probably going to need a couple more senior players to make sure that we have that balance week in, week out."

    Skinner's belief was that they needed another two players, particularly in the forward areas. However, the only business United did before the window closed saw them let Grace Clinton go while adding Jess Park, thus not improving the depth of the squad. That it came with Clinton saying "the future of the club and I aren't on the same page" in her farewell message will have left fans disappointed with the club, while Skinner's comments that they weren't able to compete with the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and London City Lionesses, who all surpassed the £1 million mark with transfer fees in the summer, will have surely been disheartening too, given the stature of a club like Man Utd.