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Arsene Wenger has hit back at Jurgen Klopp’s fierce criticism of FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup, defending the expanded 32-team tournament as a resounding success. The former Arsenal boss, now FIFA’s global football development chief, hailed the competition’s positive reception ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster final between Chelsea and PSG in New Jersey.

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• Wenger defends Club World Cup despite Klopp's harsh criticism
• Says clubs and fans fully support expanded global tournament
• FIFA to improve conditions ahead of 2026 World Cup in the US

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Klopp recently described the expanded Club World Cup as “the worst idea ever invented.” In response, Wenger firmly disagreed, backing the competition and highlighting the positive reception it has received. The Frenchman made his comments at a FIFA Technical Study Group briefing in New York ahead of the Club World Cup final.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wenger believes the tournament has been a success, both in terms of fan turnout and club participation. The Club World Cup also serves as a testing ground for conditions expected at the 2026 World Cup in North America. FIFA has already identified ways to improve staging and player performance under extreme weather.

• WHAT WENGER SAID

  Speaking at a FIFA Technical Study Group briefing, Wenger said: “Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and I don't share Jurgen Klopp's view at all. I feel that a Club World Cup, a real Club World Cup, was needed. If you make an inquiry today with all the clubs that were here at this competition, I'm basically sure that we have 100% of answers of people who want to do this again. So that's basically the best answer.

  “The decisive question is, do the fans like it? Attendance projections were low, but in reality, they were much higher. The answer is there.

  “The heat in some games was a problem. We tried to combat that with cooling breaks and watering the pitches during breaks. We learned a lot on that front. Certainly, next year, there will be more roofed stadiums as we have to follow the TV schedule. We are learning to be better equipped to deal with these conditions.

  “We had problems in Orlando, but the quality of natural grass pitches was generally good. The best surface was in Philadelphia — we want that as a benchmark.”

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The Club World Cup final will take place between two European champions as the Champions League winners take on the Europa Conference League winners. Paris Saint-Germain take on Chelsea on July 13 at MetLife Stadium. FIFA will now review the feedback, including logistical and environmental factors, before the next iteration. Wenger’s comments suggest covered stadiums and improved infrastructure are on the horizon for the 2026 World Cup.

Mark Nicholas, the incoming president of MCC, has called for 50-over cricket to be played exclusively at World Cups, in a bid to preserve the ODI format from what he describes as the “supernatural” power of T20.Nicholas, who succeeded Stephen Fry this weekend as president of cricket’s oldest and most prestigious members’ club, added that his views echoed those of MCC’s World Cricket Committee, which met in July to call for ODI cricket to be “significantly reduced” outside of World Cup years.”We believe strongly that ODIs should be World Cups only,” Nicholas told ESPNcricinfo. “We think it’s difficult bilaterally now to justify them. They’re not filling grounds in a lot of countries. And there is a power at the moment to T20 cricket that is almost supernatural.”It’s more than just ticket sales. It’s the amount of people that want to own franchises, the amount of countries that want to run tournaments, it’s the amount of players that want to be in a market all around the world.”In a free market, the most money wins. And that’s just the end-game. The players can see that bubbling away and they want to be a part of it. So, it is an extraordinary power that T20 has, and I think scheduling 50-over cricket alongside it just continues the story of the death knell of the ODI game.”Nicholas concedes that his comments, on the eve of the 2023 World Cup, are unlikely to hold much sway with the ICC unless they can be crafted into a properly structured proposal, but he believes that the issue could be one of the ways in which MCC makes better use of the “soft power” that the club is still capable of wielding, even if its days of direct involvement in the sport’s administration are long gone.Mark Nicholas, the incoming president of MCC, pictured ringing the five-minute bell during a Test at Lord’s•Getty Images

“How much more relevant can MCC be?” Nicholas added. “Is there a danger we’re losing our relevance in global cricket thinking? Can we use our World Cricket Committee better? Can we use our massive list of Honorary Life members, [which has] the outstanding players of the modern era and the era before on it.”The problem at the moment is that the ICC see us a bit of a threat,” he said. “When we put our head above the parapet, they’re like ‘whoa, settle down, we run the game’. So we need to integrate better with ICC, we need to understand each other better. We need to develop thinking that comes together.”Nicholas’ tenure as president comes at a tricky juncture for the club, particularly in the wake of the recent Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC) report, which castigated MCC for its elitist tendencies; accusing Lord’s of being a place “predominantly for men”, and calling for an end to its hosting of the traditional Eton-Harrow and Oxford-Cambridge matches to make way for more women’s and state-school cricket at the venue.However, as the founder of Chance to Shine, the charity that has introduced cricket to more than 6 million state-school children in the 18 years since it was established in 2005, Nicholas comes to his MCC role with a proven track record for community engagement, and hopes that his year as president – which coincides with the MCC Foundation being granted a further £1 million to double its number of community hubs from 77 to 150 – can help to highlight the club’s enduring relevance to the grassroots game.Related

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“I’ve always felt that MCC could do a better job with the development game and could make more of a point of supporting kids who aren’t as lucky as lots of us who have been to a private school,” Nicholas said. “There is an element of the club that might be elitist but a lot of members involved in the grassroots of the game just get on with their business. I feel that that we’re quite a long way down the road in many of the areas that the ICEC report hammered us for.”But it’s difficult. The bricks and mortar of the club matter too. If you sell out the first two days of a Test here, you can’t then give tickets to 500 kids, because there’s nowhere to sit. We sell out our matches … so do The Oval and Old Trafford too, but MCC always get blamed because of the tag. So, I would love to work away at the tag.”On the specifics of the Eton-Harrow fixture, which will continue to be played at Lord’s for a further five years after an uneasy compromise was agreed with the membership earlier this year, Nicholas predicts that the schools themselves will probably end up making the decision to move the fixture away from Lord’s, where it has been staged since 1805.”You’ve got to remember that tradition has mattered, but it’s not so relevant now,” he said. “The founding fathers of this club came from those schools and wanted to play their matches here. It was a cool thing to do. It’s a different world now. So don’t blame the past.”My guess is that the game will move away from here, probably that the two headmasters won’t want the publicity around it, because attitudes are changing. The world is changing so fast at the moment that it might not suit them to have this issue rear its head all the time. I hope the club can embrace the idea that, in time, common sense will bring change, and crack on in the meantime with really useful things.”We will never solve the problem of ‘what are you?’ Are we a private members’ club, or are we a cricket ground that wants to lead the international game? We’re both. It’s just what it is. So we must sustain both, and we must be the best we can be at both. We need our membership to be as one, united, believing in this place, and actually believing in a lot of the traditions of the club which is a togetherness and a community in the love of the game.”

Celtic provided the perfect response to their 3-2 defeat to their rivals before the international break with a 3-0 win over Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday.

The Hoops had allowed their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to be cut down to 13 points by losing to Rangers, but immediately bounced back with a convincing win over the Jam Tarts.

Daizen Maeda took his tally for the season to 30 goals in all competitions for the Bhoys with his two strikes against Hearts, whilst Jota added another goal to his collection since his return to Parkhead in the January transfer window.

Whilst many will focus on the attacking talent that was on display, as Jota and Maeda stole the headlines with their goals, the presence of Callum McGregor in the middle of the park was equally as important.

Why Callum McGregor's performance was important for Celtic

The retired Scotland international missed the 3-2 defeat to Rangers before the break through injury and returned to show the Hoops what they missed with a sublime display in midfield.

Celtic’s captain lined up alongside Reo Hatate and Arne Engels in the midfield three against Hearts on Saturday and stood out as the star performer in that area of the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, McGregor outperformed his positional peers in the match with his exceptional use of the ball and his reliability defensively.

This illustrates why his display was so important for Brendan Rodgers against Hearts because it highlights the quality he brings in and out of possession.

The left-footed star provides a metronomic presence at the base of the midfield for Celtic with his ability to complete passes efficiently under pressure, completing 94% of his passes overall in the division this season.

McGregor, who completes 73 passes per game on average, can control games for the Hoops by dictating the tempo of matches with his passing quality, whilst also frustrating opposition teams because of his press resistance on the ball, forcing them to drop back deeper.

This is part of the reason why Celtic struggled without their captain when they faced Rangers at Parkhead before the break, as Engels is not best suited to that role as the number six.

Why Arne Engels struggled against Rangers

The former Augsburg star started at the base of the midfield, with Luke McCowan and Hatate in the number eight positions, and struggled against the Gers.

Engels is usually tasked with playing as one of the more advanced midfielders, looking to score and create goals, but had to step up in a deeper role against Rangers because of his captain’s injury.

As you can see in the table above, the Belgium international failed to live up to the standards that the skipper has set for that position in or out of possession, losing the ball far too frequently and offering little protection to the back four.

The 21-year-old starlet should not be expected to be as effective in that role, though, because he is an attack-minded player who has a future as a number eight for Celtic, rather than as a deep-lying conductor of play.

Engels has racked up ten goals and 12 assists in all competitions for the Scottish giants this term, which shows that he has excelled at his natural game – scoring and creating goals.

The former Bundesliga whiz is not the long-term successor to McGregor, because that is not his natural game, and that is why he struggled in the game against Rangers before the break.

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Rodgers, though, may have already unearthed his next version of the Celtic captain by bringing 19-year-old academy starlet Jude Bonnar into the first-team group.

Why Jude Bonnar could be the next Callum McGregor

The teenage dynamo has been in the matchday squad on five occasions in all competitions since the start of February, and got ten minutes off the bench in a 5-1 win over Aberdeen in the Premiership.

That ten-minute cameo, in which the Scotland U21 international completed all four of his attempted passes, was his first-team debut for the Hoops and the manager spoke to his suitability for the team after the match.

Rodgers told the Daily Record: “He’s got a good profile and fits how we want to play. So that is a nice little taster for him.”

This suggests that the Northern Irish boss sees potential in Bonnar and believes that the teenage talent has the technical skills and know-how to suit the way that his team lines up, with a number six and two eights in a midfield three.

The B team star, whose ability was described as “unbelievable” by former coach Alan McGrillen, spoke to Celtic TV after the game and admitted that he looks up to McGregor as a role model, because of how he acts on and off the pitch every day.

Bonnar has already shown a tiny glimpse of his metronomic qualities, completing 100% of his passes in his cameo against Aberdeen, and Rodgers could look to help him develop and refine that ability to mould him into the new version of McGregor in the future.

The Scottish youngster has also shown the potential to offer a goal threat, as the captain has with eight goals in 28 league matches this term, with a return of ten goals in 46 B team games.

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This is only the start of the road for Bonnar, though, and there is plenty more time left for him to progress as a player and forge his own way in the game, hopefully at Celtic.

The very early signs, however, are that the potential is there for him to develop into McGregor 2.0 for Rodgers as a composed and controlling midfield star who can also provide a goal threat.

England are hopeful that Moeen Ali’s spinning finger has healed sufficiently for him to play a full part in the third Ashes Test at Headingley, which starts on Thursday.Moeen split the skin on the top knuckle of his spinning finger during the first Test at Edgbaston, his first red-ball appearance in 21 months after Jack Leach’s lower-back stress fracture prompted England to send him an SOS call. He returned figures of 3 for 204 in 47 overs.His omission for the second Test at Lord’s owed in part to a green pitch at a venue that rarely suits spinner, but Ben Stokes admitted: “It would have been a completely different conversation if Mo hadn’t had his finger issue that he did last week.”Related

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Along with Rehan Ahmed, who was added to the squad for the second Test as cover, Moeen bowled on a practice strip on the edge of the square on each of the first three days of the Test, watched closely by England’s spin-bowling coach Jeetan Patel. “It’s the best I’ve ever seen him bowl,” Patel said.”Fingers crossed that in the next couple of days, he gets to rest it and he gets to Headingley and he’s ready to go,” Patel said. “It was pretty disgusting at the end of the Test… we’ve tried to look after it as much as we can. It’s looking in really good shape; it’s healed really, really well.”Moeen’s injury owed to the prouder seam on the red Dukes ball than the white Kookaburra used in limited-overs cricket, as well as the sharp spike in his workload. “Mo hasn’t bowled 30 overs [in a day] in a while and that was always going to be part of the risk of bringing him in,” Patel said.”But we knew that and he knew that – and he still said yes, and we still asked him. Is there a way to look after your fingers? Just bowl. It’s probably the only way to do it: bowl regularly. He bowls four overs a game so he’s probably not used to it and he hasn’t bowled with a Dukes for two years.”Another England bowler, Olly Stone, lasted only three balls on his comeback from injury on Friday night before walking off the field. “Hopefully he is OK and will be fine for our last match on Sunday,” Shaheen Shah Afridi, his Nottinghamshire team-mate, said.

Nasser Al-Khelaifi has sent a message to former Paris Saint-Germain superstars, after Les Parisiens' long-awaited Champions League glory.

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• PSG attain long-awaited Champions League glory
• Al-Khelaifi sends a message to former PSG stars
• Talks about the new direction of PSG under Enrique

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Ligue 1 giants have regularly received criticism regarding their struggles in Europe, despite their mammoth spending since 2011, when Qatari businessman Al-Khelaifi took over the club. However, on Saturday evening in Munich, Paris Saint-Germain achieved the title that had long evaded their grasp, as Luis Enrique led his side to Les Parisiens' first-ever Champions League title with a 5-0 hammering of Inter in the final.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Champions League glory came to Paris Saint-Germain's doorstep after the departures of megastars such as Messi, Neymar and Mbappe. Nonetheless, Al-Khelaifi has now thanked all the legendary players of the game to have previously played for Les Parisiens for playing their part in leading the club in the right direction.

• WHAT AL-KHELAIFI SAID

  Speaking to talkSPORT's Jim White, Al-Khelaifi was questioned whether this is the direction he wanted to lead PSG towards in terms of recruiting more youth instead of outright superstars. The Qatari businessman said: "Yes. Before I answer your question Jim, I think yes I told you this, and I'm so proud of our team. But also, I'd like to thank all the players honestly, the first players that we signed, Javier Pastore was in our project, our ex-captain Thiago Silva, Zlatan [Ibrahimovic], [Edinson] Cavani, Thiago Motta. All of them, honestly, [Angel] Di Maria, all those players… And, I will say something really important, even Neymar, Messi, Kylian, what they also did for the club, never going to forget. They were part of the success, because what's really important to pass on the stage and to have this history, and arriving today…

  "Yes, we changed our strategy after all that we did, what we did wrong. I'm not sure that we did it all right but what I'm sure, it was really important for us to continue these stages. To come in this phase with young, talented players. Today, Jim, we have stars. You saw yesterday that the best player in the UEFA [Champions League] is [Ousmane] Dembele. The best young player in UEFA is Desire Doue. Seven of the starting XI in the [best Champions League] team [are], from Paris. What does that mean? It means we have fantastic star players. But the stars play for the team, and not the team playing for the stars, and this is the difference today.

  "We have young, hungry players that want to die for the jersey, they want to kill themselves, they want to give everything for the club and for the team, and for the fans.2

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  WHAT NEXT FOR PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN?

  There won't be a lot of rest for Luis Enrique and his players as Paris Saint-Germain are set to play in the Club World Cup later this month in the United States, and the European champions will go into the tournament as one of the outright favourites to win the competition.

David Moyes is pushing Everton to sign a “quality” £30m-rated player as a replacement for Jarrad Branthwaite should he leave in the summer, according to a reliable reporter.

Everton news and updates

After snatching a last-minute equaliser against Liverpool in the final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Moyes went on to confirm that the Toffees had suffered a blow, as Iliman Ndiaye is facing weeks on the sidelines after going off injured in tears against the Reds.

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“Iliman has got a medial [knee] ligament injury. It’s not looking great at the moment. We’re probably not sure how long it’s going to be. We’ll get a bit more on that, but it’s certainly going to be a few weeks.”

That would have been devastating news for Everton, but in their first game without the attacker, they managed to pick up three points away at Crystal Palace.

Away from injury news, it’s been reported that Moyes could be looking to bring Tom Fellows to Everton in the summer, as he wants to add a talented youngster to his side in the off-season. Fellows is reportedly keen on the move to Everton, though West Brom are reportedly after £20m for their academy product.

Moyes pushing Everton to sign £30m ace

Fellows is not the only player on Moyes’ radar, as according to reporter Alan Nixon (as relayed by Football League World), Everton are interested in signing Maxime Esteve from Burnley as a replacement for Branthwaite should he depart.

Nixon stated that Everton’s interest in the Burnley defender comes as the Toffees prepare for the potential departure of Branthwaite, who could leave for around £60m in the summer.

Moyes has identified Esteve as an adequate replacement, which could come as a source of frustration for Burnley, as he’s been key to them being one of the standout sides in the Championship.

The 22-year-old joined the Clarets on loan in February last year before joining on a permanent basis in the summer. The centre-back, who could cost Everton as much as £30m in the summer, has started all 33 Championship games to date.

The Toffees’ chances of signing the defender could be increased if Burnley fail to seal promotion to the Premier League.

Apps

33

Clean sheets

24

Interceptions per game

0.9

Tackles per game

1.0

Balls recovered per 90

3.6

Clearances per 90

4.2

Passing accuracy per game

62.4 (91%)

Esteve, who has been labelled a “quality” centre-back by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is a left-footer like Branthwaite and is the same age as the Everton defender, making him an ideal like-for-like replacement.

However, as Everton had to with Branthwaite, they may have to be patient with Esteve, as he’s only got 16 appearances to his name in the top flight, and it will be a different environment going from Burnley in the Championship to Everton in England’s biggest league.

علق تركي آل الشيخ رئيس هيئة الترفيه بالمملكة العربية السعودية، على انضمام أحمد سيد زيزو إلى صفوف الأهلي خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الجارية، والظهور في إعلان أحد الأفلام السينمائية.

وكان الأهلي قد أعلن اليوم الجمعة عن إتمام التعاقد مع أحمد سيد زيزو في صفقة انتقال حر بعد انتهاء عقده مع الزمالك.

طالع.. خاص | زيزو في طريقه إلى أمريكا للانضمام إلى الأهلي في كأس العالم للأندية

ونشر تركي آل الشيخ عبر صفحته الرسمية على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “فيس بوك”: “زيزو مش في الفيلم.. زيزو في الأهلي”.

ويستعد زيزو للانضمام إلى صفوف معسكر الأهلي بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية استعدادًا لبطولة كأس العالم للأندية.

ومن المقرر أن تنطلق بطولة كأس العالم للأندية خلال الفترة من 14 يونيو حتى 13 يوليو بمشاركة 32 فريقًا لأول مرة في التاريخ، بمشاركة الأهلي كممثل للكرة المصرية.

ويتواجد الأهلي في المجموعة الأولى ضمن منافسات كأس العالم للأندية، رفقة أندية إنتر ميامي الأمريكي، وبورتو البرتغالي، وبالميراس البرازيلي.

Sydney Sixers 6 for 163 (Gardner 53) beat Sydney Thunder 7 for 148 (Haynes 37, Cheatle 3-21, Gardner 3-22)Table-topping Sydney Sixers trumped crosstown rivals Sydney Thunder by 15 runs in the relocated Sydney Smash thanks to an outstanding allround display from Ash Gardner.Gardner hit a vital 53 off 37 balls to rescue the Sixers from 2 for 7 after they elected to bat first. Suzie Bates and Ellyse Perry fell in Sam Bates’ opening over and Sixers were again wobble on 5 for 94 when Gardner’s innings ended in the 14th over.However, Sixers’ batting depth came to the fore as Nicole Bolton (28) and Maitlan Brown (29 not out) added 56 for the sixth wicketCaptain Rachael Haynes and No. 5 Chloe Tryon (32) attempted to push Thunder towards an unlikely win, but it was all Gardner. The 25-year-old opened the bowling to finish with figures of 3 for 25 to be the clear player of the match. She also claimed a terrific catch running in off the boundary to remove Sammy-Jo Johnson.Thunder were hampered by an injury to England wicketkeeper-batter Amy Jones late in their fielding innings, where she aggravated a previous back and couldn’t complete her stint behind the stumps, meaning she was unable to be part of the chaseLauren Cheatle also picked up three wickets for Sixers as the star-studded group went a game-and-a-half clear on top of the ladder.For Thunder, Hannah Darlington had returned for his first game of the season after a knee injury and claimed the wicket of Alyssa Healy in what was her first full outing since the end of January.This game had originally been scheduled for Blacktown Oval before being moved due to concerns over the pitch, facilities and crowd.Sixers will battle Scorchers in Perth on Saturday in a blockbuster top-of-the-table clash.