Author: RevSportz Comment

RevSportz Comment It’s 278km due north, as the crow flies, from the Queens Park Oval in Port of Spain to the Daren Sammy Stadium in Arnos Vale in St Lucia. A generation ago, in a rain-affected match in Trinidad’s capital, Bangladesh served notice that they could be cricket’s new force by knocking India out of the 2007 World Cup. But 17 years later, it was Afghanistan in the spotlight, with a thrilling win over Bangladesh that eliminated Australia and sent them into the ICC T20 World Cup semi-finals. There was a certain pathos in seeing Shakib Al Hasan dismissed first…

RevSportz Comment While he continues to have a legion of admirers, there are many, even within the confines of the Lord’s Long Room, who consider that Mike Brearley was exceedingly lucky to have played 39 Tests and 25 ODIs for England. Brearley averaged less than 23 in Tests, and his ODI strike-rate was 45.53. It’s safe to say that if not for his ‘degree in people’, which allowed him to lead in all but eight of those Tests, someone of such modest ability wouldn’t have played for England more than half a decade. But if the Brearley phenomenon can be…

RevSportz Comment Cristiano Ronaldo has already played more games at the Euros than anyone else (21) and is way out in front in the goal-scoring charts (14). On Saturday night, he added another record to his collection, with an eighth Euro assist — moving him alongside Karol Poborsky — as Portugal showed off their title credentials with a 3-0 trouncing of Turkey. Turkey will wonder what might have been had they taken an early lead. Kaan Ayhan’s delightful long pass had sent Zeki Celik free down the right and his low cross into the six-yard box was exactly the sort…

RevSportz Comment “We’re in the environment of winning on the biggest possible stage and if I don’t hit the level that’s needed, then we have to accept what comes our way,” said Gareth Southgate after England’s 1-1 draw with Denmark in Frankfurt. “We have to find the best way to solve that. Of course we need the fans. But I have to say they’ve been brilliant. What I would say is these boys are not lacking effort at the moment. It’s not a case that they’re not trying. If anything, at the moment, we care too much.” He was referring…

Four days after the Copa America kicks off, with Atlanta facing Canada in Atlanta, Lionel Messi will turn 37. When, then, is he still playing, especially after the ultimate goal of ending Argentina’s decades of World Cup pain was achieved at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar in December 2022? Messi’s club career was over three years ago, the day he left Barcelona. Neither Messi himself or anyone else in his vast entourage will insult millions of fans by pretending that subsequent stints at Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Miami matter even half as much. The answer perhaps lies in the Albiceleste…

RevSportz Comment After nearly a decade of big-tournament no-shows, German football is on the march again. The experienced Ilkay Gundogan and Jamal Musiala, one of the prominent faces of a new generation, were to the fore as they eased to a 2-0 win over Hungary, that guaranteed a place in the round of 16. If they can avoid defeat against Switzerland in their final group game, they will top the group as well. Hungary, who came to this tournament with such high hopes, are unlikely to make further progress after another desperately disappointing showing. The defending for both goals was…

RevSportz Comment It is the debate that continues to divide Portuguese football fandom down the middle. Does Cristiano Ronaldo still merit a place in the starting XI for his country, or is it once again time to take the sort of unpopular decisions Fernando Santos did during the 2022 FIFA World Cup? Having been benched for the knockout games in Qatar, where Portugal made a quarterfinal exit, many thought Ronaldo’s international career was over. But once Roberto Martinez took over as coach, one of the first things he did was fly to Riyadh and meet Ronaldo. The upshot of that…

RevSportz Comment French hopes of a first Euro title since 2000, when Didier Deschamps, the current coach, captained the side, suffered a potentially sickening blow when Kylian Mbappe’s nose made contact with Kevin Danso’s shoulder as they both contested a penalty-box header with the clock ticking down. With a match against the Netherlands looming on Friday, Mbappe’s participation is crucial for a French side that were well shackled for much of the game by Ralf Rangnick’s superbly drilled Austrian team. It was no coincidence that it was Mbappe’s pace and sleight of feet that provided the only goal. A drop…

RevSportz Comment It’s the nature of the media these days to hype footballers to the skies, and for fans to happily drink that Kool-Aid. A reasoned analysis of a player’s quality is sadly all too rare, with only a few individuals like Roy Keane and Graeme Souness capable of saying it as it is. So, when Souness, who captained Liverpool to the European Cup in 1984, says this, you perk up and listen. “He [Bellingham] is a giant,” Souness told talkSPORT recently. “He has unbelievable technique, he can find a pass, he is an absolute superstar in the making. “He…

Christian Eriksen knows how lucky he is. His goal against Slovenia in Denmark’s Euro 2024 opener in Stuttgart came three years and five days after he collapsed on the pitch at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen. It was his 22nd match back in Danish colours, and the sixth international goal in a new avatar. The awareness to ghost into space as Denmark took a quick throw-in was typical Eriksen, as was the impeccable technique with which he half-volleyed the ball past Jan Oblak, one of the world’s best goalkeepers. Eriksen may have become a peripheral figure at Manchester United, often…