Reported Arsenal target Emil Forsberg struggled to make much of an impact for Sweden in their 1-0 win against South Korea in their opening 2018 World Cup group game on Monday, and Gunners fans don’t want their club to sign the 26-year-old attacker.

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Swedish media outlet Expressen reported last month that the north London outfit were keen to bring the £47m-rated winger to the Emirates Stadium, even though he endured a difficult 2017/18 campaign with RB Leipzig where he scored five goals and provided a further four assists in 33 appearances in all competitions.

Forsberg did little to help his cause to gain a move to the Premier League with his performance against a poor South Korea side, as he struggled to bring much of a threat in the final third to suggest that he couldn’t challenge the likes of Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan in north London.

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Arsenal supporters, who want their club to sign a 22-year-old centre-back following a brilliant World Cup display, were quick to have their say on his latest display via social media, and while one said “it would be like having two Ozil’s”, another said “I would rather pay £70m and try and get Anthony Martial”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Football fans tend to keep a close eye on their club’s players whenever a major tournament rolls around.

Southampton do not have a huge amount of members competing at the World Cup in Russia, but one of theirs was in action on Sunday.

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Jan Bednerak, who is valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, was named as part of a back three for Poland in their must-win Group H clash against Colombia.

It was a disappointing night for the Southampton player as he was seemingly required to be a ball-playing defender, which does not fit in with his traditional attributes.

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Overall, it was a match to forget for the nation as they were dumped out of the tournament in a 3-0 defeat.

Bednerak joined the Saints from Poznan in 2017 and last season made eight appearances in all competitions for the first team.

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The 22-year-old featured five times in the Premier League and even scored a goal, but he is yet to cement a regular spot in the first XI.

It remains to be seen whether he will get more chances under manager Mark Hughes, but the fans have been having their say on his international outing for Poland.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, fringe Rangers player Jordan Rossiter has re-iterated his desire to make a big impression at Ibrox, hoping to thrive under new manager Steven Gerrard.

What’s the story?

Rossiter and Gerrard know all about each other of course having both spent time at Liverpool, but the 21-year-old is up against it to be considered a big part of the new Light Blues boss’ first team squad next season, having made just 11 appearances in his two seasons in Glasgow.

Injuries have blighted his spell at the club but he remains determined to put those issues behind him.

As quoted by The Scottish Sun, the former Reds man said:

This is a massive summer for me because everyone knows my injury record hasn’t been great in my first two seasons.

My aim is to get through pre-season, stay fit, take part in all the games I am selected for and I think if that happens then fingers crossed I should be okay.

Everyone knows the manager has played at the highest level of football. It is perfect for the club at the moment.

I learned a lot when I was training with him at Liverpool and I want to learn as much off and on the pitch with him as my manager.

Can Rossiter be inspired by his Liverpool hero and finally reach his potential at Ibrox?

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Make or break

There’s definitely the impression that this upcoming season is one that will define not just Rossiter’s Rangers future, but his entire footballing career.

He is still very young at 21 years of age, but with the amount of injuries that have hampered his progress, there are really question marks about his ability to play regularly, never mind play to a high standard.

The arrival of Gerrard gives him fresh motivation and desire to find fitness and a place in the team.

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If he doesn’t do it this term, will he ever?

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Mohammad Yousuf believes that rain saved his young team from defeat on the final day of a closely-fought Test series against New Zealand

Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009A combination of resilience for two days and rain on the last enabled Pakistan to escape with a draw in the third Test in Napier. Chasing 208 in a minimum of 43 overs, New Zealand’s openers, BJ Watling and Tim McIntosh, added 90 in 19 overs before it began to rain and play was abandoned. Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan captain, was a relieved man and admitted the rain had helped Pakistan avoid defeat and secure a 1-1 draw in the series.”We were lucky. Allah helped us because of rain, otherwise it would be difficult to defend 208 on this track,” he said. “In the first innings we made 223 on this track which was very less. After that we saved the game, I think it is a good performance.”On a beautiful batting surface, Pakistan imploded in the first innings and were reduced to playing catch-up once New Zealand secured a lead of 248. The visitors put up a resolute batting effort in the second innings where six of the top seven batsmen went past fifty, a performance that pleased Yousuf.Looking back at the closely fought series, Yousuf said that the teams were similarly matched but that New Zealand had home advantage. According to him, Pakistan cricket would suffer unless they had a better balance between home and away games. “If we play some games in Pakistan, it will help our youngsters and seniors as well. It is very difficult to play away series all the time with the conditions against us”, he said.Yousuf was concerned about the inexperience in his batting line-up, but believed that the performances of Umar Akmal and Danish Kaneria were good signs for the upcoming tour of Australia. “I am worried about our batting because of lack of experience,” he said. “This game, we threw away our wickets in the second innings. The bowlers did not get our wickets. They worked hard, but we threw away the wickets.”Umar Akmal batted so well through the series. Danish Kaneria bowled well in the last two Tests. On this track, he took seven wickets, I think it’s the best bowling I’ve seen in a long time because there was no help for spinners.”Yousuf did not want to play up his side’s chances in Australia, but expected his side to play competitive cricket, irrespective of the result.

Despite a meagre number of Tests scheduled in 2010, the Indian captain is confident that his side can hold on to the No. 1 spot in Tests for a long time

Cricinfo staff27-Dec-2009India’s captain MS Dhoni is confident that his side can hold on to the No. 1 spot in Tests for a long time, even though they are scheduled to play only two Tests – against Bangladesh in January – in the next 11 months.A proposal to include two Tests during South Africa’s visit in February is under consideration by the two boards, and India are also slated to host New Zealand in October next year for a three-Test series according to the Future Tours Programme (FTP), which has been widely criticised by some teams for the disparity in series distribution.Dhoni though, was confident that they will play more than four Test matches next year. “Quite a few Test matches are proposed and I don’t think that we will play only four Tests next year. We will play more than that.”India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 24 runs in the third Test in Mumbai earlier this month, thereby winning the three-Test series 2-0 and jumping from No. 3 to No.1 on the Test ladder for first time since the rankings came into place in May 2001.On receiving the Test Championship mace from ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat in Delhi, Dhoni said, “It is a special feeling to receive this mace. I am taking this on behalf of the team and the BCCI. Being an Indian, it is a proud moment. We have really worked hard as a team in the last 14 months to get to this position. We want to remain here longer and everything depends on our performance.””I’m proud to be leading a team that has displayed a penchant for translating potential into performance. Our ascent to No. 1 commenced several years ago. The efforts put in by our seniors in making the Indian cricket team a force to be reckoned with, will never be forgotten. They inspired us to follow in their footsteps.”Our priority in the months to follow will be to prove that we are as capable of staying at the top as we are at reaching it.”Lorgat said he would be happy if the South African and Indian Cricket Boards can work out on having the two Tests in February. “Under the FTP, two countries will have to work out their bilateral series in four or six years time,” he said. “It is up to them when to visit each other considering their interest. I would be happy if the proposal for inclusion of the two Tests in February is through. India deserved to be a Test No. 1 side.”He said the ICC expected its member boards to behave responsibly and strike a balance among the three formats of the game. “We would want to see an appropriate balance of Test, one-day and Twenty20 cricket,” Lorgat said. “We have our guidelines, but the specific scheduling rests with the member boards and we would like them to be responsible enough and strike the right balance.”

New Zealand Under-19 coach Chris Kuggeleijn hopes home advantage will give them the edge in the Under-19 World Cup beginning on Friday

Cricinfo staff13-Jan-2010New Zealand Under-19 coach Chris Kuggeleijn hopes home advantage will give them the edge in the Under-19 World Cup beginning on Friday. New Zealand had finished third in the previous edition in Malaysia in 2008, but this time their form has been patchy – they lost a home series 1-2 to 2004 and 2006 champions Pakistan, while they lost to Bangladesh and beat England in their warm-up games.”We got a few things right (against England) but we’ve just got to string it together,” Kuggeleijn told . “We’ve got to think how can we turn that around after such a bad performance the day before … but if we play to our potential and get things right, then we’ll go pretty close.”The contracted first-class players in the current New Zealand squad – Corey Anderson, Harry Boam and Doug Bracewell – would be crucial in ensuring success, according to Kuggeleijn. It will also be the second under-19 World Cup for Anderson, Boam, and Michael Bracewell, who were part of the side in 2008.”They’ll be key figures for us with their performances on the field and within the group,” said Kuggeleijn. “A guy like Corey, he’s a fine talent and really clean striker of the ball who can take the game away from an opponent.”Kuggeliejn reckoned Pakistan and India were the two favourites – the two teams have won the three last three editions between them – but said Bangladesh were also a good outside bet. Reflecting on their loss to Bangladesh in the warm-up match Kuggeleijn said, “They look very well prepared, a very organised team. They go hard early with the bat and play with a lot of intent, and we just couldn’t pull them back.”The hosts have been placed in Group C of the tournament alongside Canada, Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, and kick off their campaign against Canada at Lincoln 3 on January 16.

South Africa’s batsmen, led by a typically sublime Jacques Kallis, got in a good day of batting practice ahead of the Test series, on the second and final day of the tour game in Nagpur

Cricinfo staff03-Feb-2010
Scorecard
With the prospects of a result out of the picture, the South African batsmen ensured that they got their eye in, leading up to sterner tests in the Test series•Associated Press

They may have got just two days of warm-up cricket, but the South Africans made the most of it in Nagpur. All their major batsmen got a decent hit, and none of them looked in obvious discomfort in adjusting to the conditions. Jacques Kallis got his tour off to a rollicking start, scoring a fifty in about 40 minutes and drawing the few spectators into generous applause as he walked off, unbeaten, to give the rest of the batsmen a look-in.Kallis acknowledged the cheers with a semi-raise of the bat, but there were no half measures in his batting. Before him, Ashwell Prince, Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla took time to settle in. Prince and Amla started off in extremely cautious fashion. Defence, defence, defence first and attack later seemed to be the order of the day, and all three got good scores by going through the routine. Prince looked the least comfortable of the lot, but was never in trouble.Kallis had none of the inhibitions that the top three had, in opening up against a friendly bowling attack. The best quality of his batting – judging the length earlier than most other batsmen do – was on ample display. It was as if he read the length from the bowlers’ minds. When the spinners, R Ashwin and Piyush Chawla, bowled full, he danced down the track and went either straight down the ground or inside out. He didn’t mind the slog-sweep either. The quicker men – Abhimanyu Mithun, R Vinay Kumar, Manpreet Gony and Umesh Yadav – didn’t escape the square-drive, the cut, and the pull. He came in to bat minutes before lunch, and 34 minutes after the interval he had brought up his fifty with a lovely straight lofted six, his third, off Chawla. The next ball he cut away for four, bringing up 50 runs in boundaries alone.Thereafter Kallis tried to change the length and manufacture strokes by walking down the track to fast bowlers, but was beaten on a couple of occasions, attempting pull shots. Satisfied with his day’s work, he walked off, letting his team-mates have their only hit in the middle before the Test that begins on Saturday.Amla, who indulged in his favourite flicks, cover-drives and square-cuts, after a circumspect start, was the next man to retire not out. By then, though, he had overtaken Kallis’ score, and the South Africans had reached 236 for 2. That brought AB de Villiers and JP Duminy to the middle when the spinners were on. It was ideal practice for them as most of the times during the Test series, they will be expected to walk in with spinners in operation. By the same token, the top order got a hit against the quick men, followed by some spin.Chawla, who had missed most of the first session because of fever, and had then been on the wrong side of Kallis, came back well to dismiss de Villiers and Duminy on either side of tea, after they had both looked solid in scoring 27 and 39 respectively. Chawla went on to dismiss Johan Botha and Wayne Parnell in quick succession before Dale Steyn provided further entertainment to the 50-odd people at the ground, who had originally come to see local boy Yadav bowl.Steyn tucked into Ashwin’s innocuous offspin, hitting four sixes, three of them in one over. Going for the fifth, he was caught at long-on by Vinay, and a satisfied Smith chose to declare the innings closed at eight down. Steyn proceeded to hug Vinay and Manish Pandey, both his Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mates, and the South Africans thanked their opponents for a good practice match. Parthiv Patel hung around with Mark Boucher, gleaning some wicketkeeping tips. It was followed by a loud and raucous football match among the South Africans. Their faces were of men who were content with having made as much use as possible of a short warm-up match leading into a tough Test series.