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Cristiano Ronaldo claims to not be overly fussed about winning the World Cup, with his GOAT status already secure, but former Premier League rival Clinton Morrison has exclusively told GOAL that the Portuguese is lying and will want to match Lionel Messi. CR7 will get another shot at savouring glory in 2026, as part of his ongoing efforts to reach 1,000 career goals.

• Will Ronaldo match Messi with World Cup win?

  As captain of his country, Ronaldo has enjoyed a European Championship triumph and two UEFA Nations League wins. He has also collected major honours at club level with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.

  The evergreen 40-year-old has, however, failed to capture the most prestigious of trophies. Ronaldo insists that he does not need to emulate Messi on that front in order to cement his legacy – with his fellow all-time great having landed that prize with Argentina in 2022.

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  Ronaldo World Cup claim: Doesn't need win to cement legacy

  While Ronaldo is playing down his claims to World Cup immortality, ex-Crystal Palace and Birmingham City striker Morrison believes success in that competition will be weighing on the mind of a man who has achieved just about everything else.

  Ahead of Portugal’s trip to Dublin on Thursday, former Republic of Ireland international Morrison – speaking in association with , the home of new casino sites – told GOAL when asked about Ronaldo’s bold World Cup claim: “He will be fussed, Ronaldo will be fussed! Ronaldo wants to win everything. That is why he is one of the GOATs with Messi and why they are always battling each other and we have the debate about who is the best. Ronaldo wants to be the best and Messi wants to be the best. They are two players that we will probably never see again in this era that have been fantastic.

  “Everyone wants to win the World Cup. Every individual growing up, you want to win the World Cup – that’s what you dream of when watching it on the TV growing up. He will want to win the World Cup.

  “Maybe it was a tongue-in-cheek answer. Cristiano Ronaldo is a fantastic player and it would probably complete everything that he has done in the game if he did go on to win the World Cup. It will be difficult for Portugal because there are a lot of top teams, but he has a great chance because they have a lot of top players. Obviously Ronaldo wants to win that. Whether he wins it or doesn't win it, he will still go down as one of the best players ever to play the game.”

• Goal target: Ronaldo closing in on 1,000 career strikes

  Ronaldo has made 225 appearances for Portugal, finding the target on 143 occasions. He is fast closing in 1,000 total goals for club and country – with remarkable individual standards being maintained at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr – and Morrison admits we are unlikely to see such numbers again.

  The former frontman said of those mind-boggling individual figures: “We are never going to see it again, it’s ridiculous! The numbers and the amount of goals that he has scored are insane! I can’t believe it. You look at it and say ‘1,000 goals’. It’s ridiculous. It’s hard to score 50 goals, let alone 1,000 goals!

  “Huge credit must go to him for the hard work that he puts in off the pitch as well as on the pitch. He keeps himself in great condition. To still be going now at his age and keep yourself in great shape, it’s testament to him. That’s why he’s one of the GOATs and will go down as one of the best ever.

  “If you are a youngster and wanting to be a professional footballer, you have to look up to someone like Cristiano Ronaldo. He’s been there, seen it, done it. One of the best I have ever played against – I managed to play against him when he was at Man United and he was awesome. Awesome condition and was a winner. You can see that he was always going to be a born winner.”

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  Retirement date: Will Ronaldo play on beyond the age of 42?

  Ronaldo has committed to a new two-year contract with Al-Nassr that will take him through to the summer of 2027. He has conceded that retirement is not too far off, but no date has been set for when he will hang up his record-shattering boots and plenty are tipping the legendary forward to play on beyond the age of 42.

Celtic are currently searching for their long-term successor to Brendan Rodgers after the manager tendered his resignation at Parkhead at the start of last week.

The Northern Irish head coach left the Glasgow giants after successive losses to Dundee and Hearts in the Scottish Premiership, which left them eight points adrift of Hearts in first place.

Rodgers won four trophies and only lost 20 of his 123 games in charge during his second spell, which shows that it was far from a disastrous return to the club.

However, he clearly felt that the time was right for a change, and Martin O’Neill has been brought in to be the interim manager until a successor can be found.

The experienced manager has overseen wins over Falkirk in the Premiership and Rangers in the semi-final of the League Cup at Hampden Park in his first two matches in the dugout.

It remains to be seen how long O’Neill will be in interim charge, though, as one pundit has told the club to swoop for a former Premier League winner.

Celtic told to swoop for Premier League-winning manager

Speaking on The Warm Up, former Celtic central defender Charlie Mulgrew has told the Scottish giants to go and persuade Jurgen Klopp to make the move to Parkhead.

Mulgrew stated: “I would go all out and get Jurgen Klopp in the door.”

After laughs from Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith, the former Hoops man added: “Why not? £7million a year. Give him it. Jurgen Klopp in the door. What’s your argument against it? I know it’s unrealistic, right.

“But could Dermot Desmond go, ‘Do you know what? We’re going to bounce back after Rodgers here and we’re going to go big.”

Klopp is currently the Head of Global Soccer for Red Bull GmbH, which means that he is not managing a club at this moment in time, but he is in a job and would need to be tempted to leave it.

There has been no suggestion, beyond Mulgrew’s comments, that Celtic are considering a move for the German manager, or that he is interested in returning to management in the short term.

As you can see in the table above, the former Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool head coach has had an illustrious career, winning plenty of high-profile titles and trophies, which is why he would be a huge coup for the Hoops.

However, for the aforementioned reasons, a move for Klopp does not seem to be very realistic, which is why the club should be looking to find their own version of the 58-year-old tactician.

Klopp once described his own style of play as “heavy metal” because of how intense he likes his teams to make games, and there is one reported Celtic managerial target who could deploy a similar philosophy.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

It was recently reported that Dermot Desmond and the board have Bodo/Glimt head coach Kjetil Knutsen on their radar as a possible replacement for Rodgers and, more immediately, O’Neill.

The 57-year-old manager is seemingly one of the names on the club’s shortlist, and they could unearth their answer to Klopp by bringing him to Parkhead in the coming days or weeks.

Why Celtic should appoint Kjetil Knutsen

Parking results and trophies aside for a moment, Knutsen would be Celtic’s answer to Klopp because he also plays an extreme brand of football with his teams, which is why Desmond should swoop to appoint him.

Former captain Bodo/Glimt Ulrik Saltnes described his playing style as “kamikaze”, due to the intense forward-thinking nature of the performances and style of play.

Like Klopp, Knutsen typically deploys a base 4-3-3 formation, per Transfermarkt, and looks to play aggressive and intense “kamikaze” football to dominate opponents and score plenty of goals.

The statistics in the table above show that he has successfully coached his team to score plenty of goals throughout his time in charge of Bodo/Glimt, with their 103 goals in 30 league matches in the 2020 campaign a particularly eye-catching achievement.

Knutsen may not have won the Premier League, the Bundesliga, or the Champions League in his managerial career, as Klopp has, but he has had plenty of success with Bodo/Glimt in the Eliteserien.

As you can see in the table above, he has won the league in four of the last five seasons, whilst his team are currently one point off first place with three matches left to go in the current campaign.

On top of his domestic success with the Norwegian outfit, Knutsen also led Bodo/Glimt to the semi-finals of the Europa League last season, whilst Rodgers never even reached the last 16 of the Europa League or Champions League at Celtic.

The Norwegian tactician also reached the quarter-finals of the Conference League in the 2021/22 campaign, and has won 39 of his 78 European games in charge of his side in total, per Transfermarkt.

O’Neill, who is in interim charge, has not reached past the group stage in a European competition as a manager since he reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup with Celtic in the 2003/04 season.

He'd revive Reo Hatate: "Insanely talented coach" is keen on the Celtic job

This manager who is interested in the Celtic job could revive Reo Hatate at Parkhead.

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By
Dan Emery

Nov 4, 2025

Therefore, Knutsen could come in as an upgrade on both Rodgers and O’Neill in terms of what he can achieve on the continent, whilst also having the potential to deliver domestic success and a Klopp-esque style of play, if Desmond swoops to appoint him.

MLB fans hoping to learn which players were selected to the 2025 All-Star Game were met with a suprise Sunday afternoon.

ESPN's MLB All-Star selection show aired almost10 minutes later than expected thanks to a cornhole tournament on the network's airwaves.

The Camping World Pro Tour's Pro Doubles Final featured a spirited matchup in which Tony Smith and Mark Richards topped Cheyenne Bubenheim and Jordan Power. It was scintillating action all the way until the end. And in all likelihood it supremely annoyed a whole lot of people.

Below is what viewers tuning in for the selection show saw:

Look, I'm not trying to tell them their business or anything, but maybe that wasn't ESPN's best programming decision.

In the end, the rosters were unveiled and all was well, but not before a doubles cornhole tournament got its moment in the sun.

His match-winning 92 trumps centuries by James Bracey, Ben Charlesworth

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025Hampshire 315 for 5 (Middleton 92, Gubbins 76, Orr 52, Albert 52) beat Gloucestershire 313 for 7 (Bracey 104, Charlesworth 104, Barker 3-52) by five wickets Fletcha Middleton scored a match-winning half-century as Hampshire beat Gloucestershire by five wickets at Bristol’s Seat Unique Stadium to secure a quarter-final berth in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.The Winchester-born batter top-scored with 92 from 95 balls, struck six fours and two sixes and staged a crucial third-wicket partnership of 115 with Toby Albert, who made 52, as the visitors reached a victory target of 314 with eight balls to spare.The country’s leading scorer in the 50-over competition this season with 658 at an average of 131.6, captain Nick Gubbins made 76 from 60 deliveries, accrued 12 fours and staged a superb opening stand of 112 in 11.2 overs with Ali Orr, who contributed a quickfire 52 from 35 balls to set up Hampshire’s successful run chase.Put in to bat on a flat track, Gloucestershire posted 313 for 7 in a match reduced by rain to 49 overs a side, James Bracey and Ben Charlesworth both scoring 104. Bracey’s innings spanned 85 balls, included 12 fours and three sixes and took his tally for the campaign to 572 at an average of 71.5.He dominated stands of 81 and 118 with Ollie Price and Charlesworth for the second and third wickets respectively. Charlesworth proved equally destructive, facing 83 deliveries, with eight fours and four sixes and staging an alliance of 90 for the fourth wicket with Jack Taylor.But Hampshire withstood the pressure and Keith Barker, making his first appearance since completing a 12-month ban for a drug offence, returned figures of 3 for 52 from 10 overs to prevent Gloucestershire from posting a really big total.Victory secured Hampshire a second-place finish behind Worcestershire in Group A and a home quarter-final tie against Warwickshire on Thursday, while Gloucestershire will face a West Country showdown against Somerset at Taunton on the same day.Hampshire won the toss, elected to bowl and put Gloucestershire under pressure with the new ball, Eddie Jack producing a brilliant delivery to bowl Cameron Bancroft in the first over. Price was then fortunate to survive on nought, slicing Barker to point where Middleton spilled a straightforward chance.Bracey and Price overcame a testing examination and a short break for rain to post a 50 partnership from 58 balls. Acceleration followed when Bracey twice cut Jack for four and then pulled him for six as Gloucestershire posted 52 for 1 in the powerplay.Price succumbed to an ugly dismissal, bowled by a high full toss from slow left armer Andrew Neal, initially standing his ground in the expectation of no-ball being called before departing for a 31-ball 36.But there was no stopping the indomitable Bracey, who went to his fourth 50 in eight innings from 47 balls. He found an able ally in Charlesworth and these two put Hampshire spinners Felix Organ and Neal under sustained pressure during the middle overs, raising 50 from 41 balls in just 21 minutes as Gloucestershire advanced to 141 for 2 after 25 overs.Bracey’s second 50 occupied just 35 balls, the 28-year-old going to his fifth List-A hundred from 82 deliveries. Warming to his task, Charlesworth plundered 18 off an over from teenager Manny Lumsden to push the rate above six an over for the first time and the 100 partnership arrived via 86 balls as the third wicket pair put the visitors under the pump.Hampshire desperately needed a breakthrough and the returning Barker obliged, persuading Bracey to hit to Ben Mayes at deep mid-wicket in the 33rd over.Charlesworth picked up the pace thereafter, scoring a run-a-ball half century. In dominant form, the left hander went to his first List-A hundred in fine style, hoisting Barker high over midwicket for six to eclipse his previous highest score of 99 not out, made against Hampshire at Bristol in 2021.Having dominated an aggressive stand of 90 for the fourth wicket with Jack Taylor, Charlesworth hit Barker to long-off with the score 290 for 4 in the 45th.Despite not being at his fluent best, Taylor raised 38 from 42 balls. But he was bowled by Neal, after which the home side managed a mearge 17 runs off the last 20 deliveries as Hampshire seamers Jack and Lumsden kept things tight at the death.A lingering impression that Gloucestershire might have fallen short began to take hold when Hampshire openers Gubbins and Orr staged a chanceless 50 partnership in just 5.2 overs, new ball spearhead Josh Shaw going for 39 in three overs as the visitors seized the initiative. The pair raised 97 from the powerplay, registering 13 fours and two sixes between them and forcing the home side to resort to spin after only seven overs.Gubbins and Orr both went to 50 from 31 balls as Gloucestershire’s bowlers continued to allow them to cut and pull with impunity. Progress was smooth until Orr, attempting to sweep Price, top-edged to Shaw at short third and departing for 52. Middleton arrived at the crease with a further 202 required at 5.4 an over.Gloucestershire hardly helped their cause by missing an opportunity to dismiss Gubbins on 59, Graeme van Buuren putting down a sharp chance off his own bowling to allow the competition’s top scorer a life. The home side’s disappointment was compounded when Middleton hit the ground running, scoring at a run a ball and lifting Price effortlessly over long-on for six as the second-wicket partnership realised 48 in quick time.When Gubbins attempted to reverse sweep van Buuren, offered a catch behind and departed for 76 with the score 160 for 2 in the 21st, Hampshire still needed 154 to win and Gloucestershire supporters were afforded a glimmer of hope. But Middleton helped settle any nerves, posting a chanceless half-century from 54 balls as Hampshire advanced to 183 for 2 at halfway.Gloucestershire lacked a cutting edge with the ball and Middleton and Albert were able to move comfortably through the gears in a partnership which served to ease Hampshire’s path. With victory within sight, Albert opened his shoulders, pulling Jack Taylor for six to bring up an assured 50. He was dismissed lbw by Matt Taylor soon afterwards, while Middleton was brilliantly caught by Tommy Boorman on the deep backward point boundary off the bowling of Shaw as Gloucestershire refused to lie down.Ben Brown was then bowled by Matt Taylor with 23 still needed from 24 balls, but Mayes and Organ remained calm under pressure to see the job through.

Abhimanyu Easwaran, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna all made compelling cases for selection

Vishal Dikshit26-Oct-202411:45

‘Bold move to pick two youngsters in Reddy and Harshit’

Abhimanyu Easwaran

The 29-year-old opening bat from Bengal has been part of India’s Test squads in the recent past after grinding it out in domestic cricket for over a decade. Abhimanyu Easwaran has the body of work to instil confidence in the team management – and himself – if he needs to open in the absence of Rohit Sharma in Perth or Adelaide early on in the five-match series. An old-school batter, Abhimanyu is already in Australia for two India A games and would have played 100 first-class games by the time the Test series starts.Abhimanyu Easwaran has scored a century in each of his last four first-class games•Hindustan Times via Getty ImagesHe has over 7600 first-class runs while averaging nearly 50, and his recent form probably helped him pip the likes of B Sai Sudharsan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Devdutt Padikkal for the reserve opener’s slot. Abhimanyu has scored a century in each of his last four first-class games, against a variety of bowling attacks at that, starting with 157* and 116 in the Duleep Trophy followed by 191 against Mumbai in the Irani Cup before starting the Ranji Trophy season with a second-innings 127* against Uttar Pradesh. India will hope he can continue this streak into the ‘A’ series while facing the likes of Scott Boland, Michael Neser and Todd Murphy, Test cricketers all of them.

Washington Sundar

Back in the Test circuit after over three years, Washington Sundar proved in Pune that he deserved to brought into the Test XI from the Ranji Trophy.His stifling offbreaks, delivered from close to the stumps, fetched him seven wickets – of which six were bowled or lbw – in the first innings before he picked up another four in similar fashion in the second. It’ll be a surprise if he plays a Test in Australia ahead of Ravindra Jadeja or R Ashwin, but if either of them is unavailable, Washington will fit right in – and his batting will help him push his case.2:32

Will India play a spin-bowling allrounder at No. 8 in Australia?

He came into the Pune Test against New Zealand on the back of a 152 for Tamil Nadu from No. 3 – even if on a flat deck against an inexperienced and injury-hit Delhi attack – but his classy 62 at the Gabba on India’s previous tour of Australia and his unbeaten half-centuries against England at home in early 2021 are proof that he can do it against better bowling too.His height could fetch him extra bounce on the Australian tracks and his previous experience of playing there in 2021 bodes well for him, if India need an offspin-bowling allrounder.

Nitish Kumar Reddy

One of the key players for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in their run to the IPL 2024 final earlier this year, the seam-bowling allrounder earned a T20I debut earlier this month against Bangladesh. Just 21, Nitish Kumar Reddy’s batting exploits in the middle order have been on show for a while now, first while rescuing SRH with blazing knocks in the IPL and then the 74 off 34 in the second T20I against Bangladesh, where he also picked up two wickets while opening the bowling.1:04

Will Nitish Kumar Reddy get into the playing XI?

His performances in the Duleep Trophy before the India debut didn’t inspire much confidence, though. Reddy bagged two ducks in five innings with a high score of 40 not out and picked up only two wickets across 48 overs.However, he has the ability to swing the ball both ways in the mid-130s, as he has shown for Andhra in the domestic circuit with a fairly new ball, being their top wicket-taker in the last Ranji Trophy season with 25 wickets at 18.76. That tally featured a five-for against Mumbai, including the wickets of Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer, and the India team management will hope he gets some overs under his belt in the ‘A’ series before the Tests.Called “awesome” by his SRH captain Pat Cummins, Reddy’s inclusion for Australia shows the faith the selectors have shown in a young allrounder over the established Shardul Thakur, who is back playing domestic cricket after an injury layoff and had contributed with seven wickets and a valuable knock of 67 in Brisbane in 2021.

Prasidh Krishna

Prasidh Krishna is also returning from injury but he got himself a Test berth, unlike Thakur, after proving his fitness with four first-class games at the start of this domestic season. Even though he returned unimpressive numbers in his two Tests in South Africa in 2023-24, leaking runs at more than 4.60 an over in his 28 overs for just two wickets, it’s his height that works in his favour. He can draw extra bounce, is accurate, and bowls with the sort of pace that India are hoping will come handy in Australia, especially if they need to change the combination – because of workload or injuries – in a long series.2:13

Manjrekar: Surprised Prasidh and not Dayal was selected

Prasidh is also with the India A squad for the two first-class games to be played in Mackay and Melbourne, and India will want him to stay fit. And also find some form. Since his comeback in September, he has picked up just seven wickets in as many innings across the Duleep Trophy, the Irani Cup and the eight overs he bowled in a Ranji Trophy game for Karnataka.

Harshit Rana

The least experienced of the 21 players – including the reserves – picked for the tour with just nine first-class matches, Harshit Rana is a tall and bustling fast bowler from Delhi who made his IPL debut, for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), before his senior domestic debut. Rana, too, featured in the Duleep Trophy at the start of the season and collected two four-fors while opening the bowling. He was KKR’s best fast bowler – with 19 wickets and an economy rate of 9.08 – in their victorious IPL 2024 campaign and would have been closely watched by Gautam Gambhir and Abhishek Nayar, who have both moved from the KKR dressing room to India’s.Harshit Rana is inexperienced, but has a lot of qualities that make him an exciting prospect•AFP/Getty ImagesWhile it was his variations and death-overs exploits that shone through in the IPL, Rana has also proven himself with the red ball in a fledgling career, and at times given the ball a good bash down the order. He bagged 21 wickets in five Ranji Trophy games in 2022-23, smashed an unbeaten 122 off 86 balls in the Duleep Trophy next year, and then toured South Africa with the India A side in 2023-24.Despite the lack of experience, it’s his promise that got 22-year-old a Test spot ahead of Mukesh Kumar and Navdeep Saini, who are in the reserves. He was called up for the T20Is against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh but is yet to make his international debut.Rana was part of the India Test squad for the New Zealand series initially as a reserve, before turning out for Delhi in the third round of the Ranji Trophy where he started with three early wickets against Assam on Saturday morning.