2022 BetVictor English Open

 

The 2022 BetVictor English Open, organized by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by BetVictor, is the seventh ranking tournament of the 2022-2023 snooker season and is the third tournament of the illustrious Home Nations Series. It took place after the Northern Ireland Open and the Scottish Open, and the Welsh Open is the tournament which is set to take place next. The English Open took place from the 12th of December to the 18th of December 2022 in the Brentwood Centre in Brentwood, England. The big guns for the tournament include world's number one Ronnie O'Sullivan, Judd Trump, Mark Williams, John Higgins, Neil Robertson, Mark Selby, and the newly crowned Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson. The winner of the tournament received £80,000 out of a total prize pool of £427,000.  

The 2022-2023 season has been one which has been filled with surprises as the heavyweights of the game are yet to register ranking title wins. The Rocket Ronnie O'Sullivan has two tournament victories in the season but they were non-ranking titles in the form of the Hong Kong Masters and the Champion of Champions. The thunder from down under, Neil Robertson as also had non-ranking title success in the form of the World Mixed Doubles with his partner in the event, Mink Nutcharut. The winner of the Northern Ireland Open and UK championship, Mark Allen leads the table for this season where as Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson rises to 5th is the list. To ensure their entry into the Player's Championship, to maintain their world ranking, and to get some momentum for the rest of the season, the snooker greats had to step up. 

The qualifiers for the tournament took place from 25th October to 30th October 2022 in the Morningside Arena of Leicester, where as the games involving the top sixteen ranked players took place in Brentwood at the time of the tournament. Controversy kicked off the tournament as Chinese national Yan Bingtao was suspended from professional snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association (WPBSA) due to an ongoing match-fixing investigation. 

It was a milestone tournament for the Welsh potting machine Mark Williams who recorded the tournament's highest break, a magical 147 maximum against Neil Robertson in the quarter final's fourth frame. This is his third maximum break of his professional career and he also became the oldest player to make a professional maximum break at the age of 47 years and 270 days. The defending champion Robertson was defeated by Mark Selby by 4 frames to 6 in the semi-final. Selby recorded his first win against the Australian in over two years and it was the first time he reached the final of a ranking event since World Championship in 2021. In the final, Selby met Belgian Luca Brecel who is ranked number eleven in the world. Luca managed 2 century breaks in the final including a break of 122. Selby's highest break was of 90 but he managed seven 50+ breaks that were enough for him to secure a 9-6 victory over the Belgian. Mark Selby's victory made him the very first player to ever win the English Open twice, and just the second individual, after Judd Trump, to be triumphant in a total of four Home Nation tournaments and it has allowed him to improve his ranking and become second in the World Snooker rankings.        

Indiana Pacers Top Cavs (135-126) As Buddy Hield Hit 11 3s

 

Bennedict Mathurin had 23 points, Nesmith had 22, and Myles Turner had 14 to help Indiana stop a five-game losing streak over the Cavaliers.

Tyrese Haliburton scored 29 points and Buddy Hield added 25 as the Indiana Pacers defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 135-126 on Thursday night. Hield, who leads the NBA in 3-pointers, was 5 for 6 while Haliburton was 6 for 8. The Pacers made 19 of 31 attempts from beyond the arc.

Indiana fell behind by seven points in the fourth quarter before recovering. With only 4:26 remaining, Hield fed Nesmith for the game winning slam, giving the Pacers a 120-119 advantage. On the next possession, Haliburton executed a three-point play, and the Pacers never trailed again. 

Their coach, J.B. Bickerstaff, whose team ranks first in the league in fewest points allowed per game at 105.5, urged them to focus on defense because that is what the game was all about. They choose to play Indiana Pacers basketball because that is their strength

Benedict Mathurin had 23 points and Myles Turner had 14 as Indiana snapped a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers, who had lost three straight. All Star guard, Donovan Mitchell led a balanced Cleveland offence with seven double-digit scorers with 28 points. Mitchell hit five of the Cavaliers' 12 three-point attempts. Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen both had 19 points for Cleveland, and All-Star guard Darius Garland finished with 18 points and eight assists.

The 3-point onslaught started only three seconds in, when the opening tip was batted directly to Hield, who pivoted and swished the fastest 3-pointer recorded since play-by-play began in 1996-97. The Pacers shot 9 of 15 from beyond the arc in the first half, while the cavaliers shot only 7 of 14. At Halftime, cavaliers lead 68-64.

Donovan Mitchell scored 18 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-112 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. With 3:41 remaining, Mitchell hit his seventh 3-pointer of the game, putting Cleveland up 112-110.

Indiana had taken its highest lead of the game, 103-90, earlier in the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer by Aaron Nesmith. The Cavaliers outscored the Pacers 35-18 in the fourth quarter, preventing Indiana from making a field goal in the last 5:42. Cleveland advanced to 13-2 at Rocket Mortgage Field House, tied for the best home record in the NBA with Memphis.

 

The 28-9 game-winning run came after a scuffle between Mitchell and Pacers youngster Benedict Mathurin, who both clutched the ball after a whistle. After a foul was called on Mitchell, their arms remained entwined for over 30 seconds, but no words were said.

Hield was nearly perfect from outside the arc in Thursday's win, scoring 15 of 25 points from beyond the arc while at the same time contributing elsewhere. Throughout the month of December, the Oklahoma product has been blistering hot from three, averaging 4.2 made three point per game at a 52.5 percent clip over 15 appearances.

T20 World Cup 2022 Summary

 

The T20 world cup is always a extremely anticipated event, globe had been waiting for this event as the pandemic was there no such events were hosted by any countries. ICC men’s T20 world cup was hosted by Australia being the defender of 2018 world cup, the world cup was held from 16 October till 13 November 2022. Due to Covid-19 this word cup was postponed from 2020 to 2022.

There was a total of 16 teams participating in this world cup which included Australia being the Host, these 11 teams were the top team from the previous 2021 ICC men’s T20 world cup, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, England, India, Namibia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and the 4 other teams were from the Global Qualifier A and B, Ireland and United Arab Emirates were from Qualifier A which was held from 18 to 24 February 2022 in Oman, Netherlands and Zimbabwe were from Qualifier B which was held from 11 to 17 July 2022 in Zimbabwe.

ICC revealed the names of empires and referees on 3^rd October 2022 for the group matches who were from 8 different countries, Referees and empires for the Semi-finals were revealed on 7^th November 2022.

Venues: This tournament was held in 7 different grounds of Australia which were in different cities. Adelaide Oval ground which is in Adelaide city has a capacity of 55,317 people.

The Gabba ground in Brisbane city which has a capacity of 42,000 people.

Kardinia Park gorund which is in Geelong city that has a capacity of 26,000 people.

Bellerive Oval ground which is located in Hobart and has a capacity of 20,000 people.

Perth stadium in Perth having 61,266 peoples capacity.

Melbourne Cricket ground in Melbourne city having the highest capacity of people which consists of 100,024.

Sydney cricket ground which is in Sydney having capacity of 48,601 people.

The prize money for this tournament winner is massive $1.6 million. Runners-up are also having half the amount of the winners which is $800,000. Total amount to be distributed among the teams will be $5.6 million.

 

First Round Group A had 4 teams Namibia, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, and United Arab Emirates from which Sri Lanka having NRR 0.677 and Netherlands having NRR -0.162 qualified to super 12.

Group B of first round also had 4 teams Scotland, West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe from which Zimbabwe having NRR 0.200 and Ireland having NRR 0.105 qualified to super 12.

Group 1 including Afghanistan, Australia, England, New Zealand, Ireland and Sri Lanka. Group 2 consisting Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Netherlands and Zimbabwe.

From Group 1 New Zealand was on top of the table and on second was England which qualified to knockout stage.

From Group 2 India was on the top of the table and Pakistan on second which also qualified to knockout stage.

At the last of this tournament the semi-finals were held between New Zealand and Pakistan, New Zealand giving a target of 152 which was chased by Pakistan with only 3 wickets.

Second semi-final was held between India and England, India gave target of 168 but it was chased easily by England with their openers in 16 over’s.

The Final has held on 13^th November 2022 in Melbourne Cricket ground between Pakistan and England. There were a total of 80,462 audiences in the ground. The match was very engaging as it was giving 1992 world cup feelings having the same teams in final and the same ground but at the England Won the Final by 5 wickets.  

Farewell Rei Pele, the Legend of Football.

In a game of football today, whatever you see, Pele has already done it. The 82-year old legend of the most beautiful sport in the world and a three-time world cup winner departed from the world on Thursday while fighting a long battle with cancer.

The world expressed its sorrow and condolences at his death, while FIFA, the governing body of world football lowered all the flags as sign of respect for the Brazilian hero. Many footballers posted their thoughts to pay tribute as well, which include Lionel Messi the GOAT, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe, Mohamed Salah, Neymar Jr, etc. Many football leagues around the world also indicated to show respect for Pele and pay their tribute by either the players wearing black armbands, a moment of silence before the game or holding a minute of applause before kick-off.

Other sportsperson also expressed their feelings on Pele’s death. The great Indian cricketer, Sachin Tendulker said that Pele’s death was a great loss to the whole world of sports, not just football.

Pele’s birthname was Edson Arantes do Nascimento, but he got his nickname (Pele) in school. He started his career by playing for a minor league club in Sao Paulo, and was not accepted by the major clubs in the city of Sao Paulo. He later joined the Santos FC as a left forward and won nine league championships. He also won the Libertadores Cup and the International Club Cup. Pele’s international career started in 1957, when he made his debut at the age of 16. He scored in his both debuts, international and club. After Pele won his first world cup in 1958, Pele was announced as a national treasure by the Brazilian government. As he became a national hero, people started calling him “Perola Negra” which means “Black Pearl”.

Apart from his greatest contributions for the world’s greatest sport, Pele also influenced in stopping a civil war. His team was touring Nigeria while it was in the middle of a catastrophic civil war. The war stopped for 48 hours so that both sides in the conflict could witness a game of football and the great player, Pele. The match was drawn 2-2, Pele scoring both goals for his side. There are although many versions of this story, where some people say the fighting only stopped for the game, some claim that fighting had been paused for one night before, and some say that gunshots could be heard outside the stadium during the game.

In 1969, the fans paid Pele a tribute after his 1000^th professional goal was recognized. Pele was not even 30 years old when he achieved this milestone. There is still a debate going on about the total number of goals netted by the Brazilian, whereas Pele himself claimes the number of his goals to be 1283.

Pele also held office as a minister of sports for Brazil in 1995, but later in 1998 he resigned. Pele was also criticized for his conservative views.

Pele was being treated at the Albert Einstein Hospital, where he died fighting cancer at the age of 82, due to multiple organ failure. Farewell, legend.

Max Verstappen: The #1 Formula 1 Driver

 

For the very first time in his career, Max Verstappen began the formula 1 campaign as the world champion. The Red Bull driver had the best car in the circuit as he looked to defend his title and had an entire grid of fierce rivals who were looking to take the world championship title away from him. 

His win in 2021 was not controversy free as many F1 fans believed that he did not deserve the title and he had wrongfully overtaken Mercedes driver Sir Lewis Hamilton. However, Verstappen was entirely blameless as the director of the race Michael Masi had incorrectly allowed the Dutch driver to overtake Hamilton on the final lap of the race. Despite his innocence, he continually had to deal with these claims throughout the season. 

The dawn of the new season proved to be a difficult one for Verstappen as he not only had to fend of the controversy of last season, but also look to continue his long-term battle with Mercedes. This presented an opportunity for other drivers and one which Ferrari associated Charles Leclerc took as he got the first pole position of the campaign. The fight for the pole position was between Verstappen and Leclerc as the Dutch chased the Monacan for almost the entire race and he fell short in the last few laps.

During the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Verstappen battled against Leclerc again and due to safety car, the Red Bull driver managed to take the lead and would eventually go on to seal his first victory of the season. The biggest distance in terms of points (46 point lead) Leclerc would manage over Verstappen was established during the Australian Grand Prix where the Dutch driver would face fuel system problems that took him out of the race. Max would go on to lose two pole positions to the two Ferraris (Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz) in Miami. However, he managed to have nerves of steel as he managed to win the rest of the races and he took him the Miami Grand Prix. The Spanish Grand Prix saw Verstappen win again as he battled against his team mate and fellow Red Bull driver Sergio Perez. Many fans felt that Perez let Verstappen win due to team orders, but it was obvious that Max was the fastest on that day. 

The Monaco Grand Prix determined to be frustrating for the 2021 world champion as he managed to finish third and his team-mate Perez took home the victory for Red Bull. There were reports that Verstappen was suspicious of Perez's win. He put these reports to bed when he won his fifth grand prix in Baku as he won with 20 seconds between him and Perez after both Ferraris self-destructed in the early parts of the race. The races before and after the summer break helped fortify Verstappen's championship defense and were also a couple of his most dominant performances of the season.

However, his most dominant victory of his career came in the Belgian Grand Prix where power unit penalty led Verstappen to go to the back of the grid regardless of where he qualified. His pole finish got converted to 14th place at the start of the final race. Max being Max saw him take the lead from 14th place just in 14 laps, which is quite incredible. He was on an entire different wavelength as compared to his competition during that event.

During the Japanese Grand Prix, Verstappen put in another world class performance and was almost untouchable on the Suzuka Circuit. The closest to him on that day was Charles Leclerc but even he could not come close as the Dutch driver won by almost 30 seconds on a race that was cut short due to rain. Leclerc was hit with a post-race penalty which, after a great deal of confusion, saw Verstappen's lead in the championship table become invincible. This saw him become the world champion once again and he had retained his title. The championship victory would not let him ease up on the competition as he looked to break Sebastian Vettel and Michael Schumacher's record of most wins in a season. He equaled that record with his 13th win of the season in the United States Grand Prix. He went on to set a new record with his 14th win in the Mexican Grand Prix. The final round of the season during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Verstappen was victorious and he took the checkered flag to a show of pyrotechnics. 

The end of the final event not only signaled the end of the 2022 season, but also cemented Max Verstappen's successful championship defense which is considered one of the most dominant and unabating runs that a formula 1 driver has ever produced. The way he won the 2021 championship sparked a lot of debate and speculation; but, the Red Bull driver's 2022 championship run has left no debate or question of any kind. Max Verstappen owned 2022, was the most deserving of the title, and was the best driver during the entire season. 

HBL PSL 8th Edition

 

The eighth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) is scheduled to take place from February 9th 2023 to March 19th 2023. The tournament will take place in Karachi, Multan, Rawalpindi, and Lahore. The draft for the PSL 8 took place on the 15th of December 2022.

Previously, it was implied by former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman, Mr. Ramiz Raja that the draft would be replaced by an auction as is done for the Indian Premier League (IPL). However, the draft format was retained. The reigning and defending champions Lahore Qalandars were awarded the first pick of the draft. All the teams in the tournament were given the right to one wildcard pick and were also given the right-to-match card which enabled the teams to repurchase a single player that they had released on the day of the draft and this was done by paying a fee as per the category of the pick. The categories and respective fees (in US dollars) are:

• Platinum (130,000-170,000)
• Diamond (60,000-80,000)
• Gold (40,000-50,000)
• Silver (25,000)
• Emerging (7,500)

The major shake-up that came from the draft was the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team, Babar Azam, being traded to Peshawar Zalmi, along with a supplementary pick, from Karachi Kings. The Kings got the veteran Shoaib Malik and exciting young talent Haider Ali in return. The list for the retained players for each team was unveiled on the 11th of November 2022 and each team in the franchise were allowed a maximum of eight players to be retained from the previous campaign. All of the teams, with the exception of Peshawar Zalmi, utilized the allocated retention quota. For the draft, an upwards of 490 foreign players were registered, the highest this number has ever been. Players to be drafted in the emerging category must be less than 23 years of age as of the first day of 2023 and could have participated in less than 10 matches from any of the previous campaigns and would not be a part of their national squads. The complete squads for PSL 8 are as follows:

Lahore Qalandars:

The reigning and defending champions scouted some new talents as per their Player Development Programme.

• Platinum Category: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman and Rashid Khan (Afghanistan). 
• Diamond Category: Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), Hussain Talat, and David Wiese (Namibia).
• Gold Category: Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), and Liam Dawson (England). 
• Sliver Category: Kamran Ghulam, Dilbar Hussain, Mirza Tahir Baig, Ahmed Daniyal, and Harry Brook (England).
• Emerging  Category: Zaman Khan, and Shawaiz Irfan.
• Supplementary Category: Jalat Khan, and Jordan Cox (England).

Islamabad United:

The record two-time champions managed to cultivate a strong squad and are real contenders for the Qalandar's crown.

• Platinum Category: Shadab Khan, Alex Hales (England), and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan).
• Diamond Category: Asif Ali (Brand Ambassador), Muhammad Wasim, and Fazalhaq Farooqi (Afghanistan).
• Gold Category: Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, and Hassan Ali.
• Silver Category: Colin Munro (Mentor), Paul Stirling (Ireland), Abrar Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood,  and Rumman Raees. 
• Emerging Category: Zeeshan Zameer, and Hassan Nawaz.
• Supplementary Category: Mubasir Khan, and Moeen Ali (England).

Karachi Kings:

The kings picked a squad that is comprised of players that have a real affinity for T20i's.

• Platinum Category: Haider Ali, Matthew Wade (Australia), and Imran Tahir (South Africa).
• Diamond Category: Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, James Vince (England), and James Fuller (New Zealand).
• Gold Category: Andrew Tye (Australia).
• Silver Category: Aamer Yamin, Mir Hamza, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir, and Muhammad Akhlaq. 
• Emerging Category: Qasim Akram, and Irfan Khan.
• Supplementary Category: Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa), and Mohammad Umar.

Multan Sultans:

Although the sultans let go of Imran Tahir and Sohaib Maqsood, they still have a squad that can continue on from where they left off in the previous seasons.

• Platinum Category: Muhammad Rizwan, David Miller (South Africa), and Josh Little (Ireland).
• Diamond Category: Khushdil Shah, Shan Masood, and Rilee Rossouw (South Africa).
• Gold Category: Shahnawaz Dahani (Brand Ambassador), Tim David (Australia), and Akeal Hossain (West Indies).
• Silver Category: Usama Mir, Usman Khan, Sameen Gul, Anwar Ali, and Muhammad Sarwar.
• Emerging Category: Abbas Afridi, and Ihsanullah.
• Supplementary Category: Arafat Minhas, and Adil Rashid (England).

Peshawar Zalmi:

Zalmi took a new approach and put their faith in the captain of the Pakistan Cricket Team, and in aggressive players who are proven match-winners.

• Platinum Category: Babar Azam, Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), and Rovman Powell (West Indies).
• Diamond Category: Wahab Riaz, Sherfan Rutherford (West Indies), and Mujeeb ur Rahman (Afghanistan).
• Gold Category: Muhammad Haris, Danish Aziz, and Arshad Iqbal.
• Silver Category: Aamer Jamal (Brand Ambassador), Salman Irshad, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Saim Ayub, and Usman Qadir.
• Emerging Category: Sufiyan Muqeem, and Haseebullah Khan.
• Supplementary Category: Jimmy Neesham (New Zealand).

Quetta Gladiators:

The gladiators have a very strong team with the addition of some new talented and excited youngsters.

• Platinum Category: Muhammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, and Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka).
• Diamond Category: Iftikhar Ahmed, Jason Roy (England), and Odean Smith (West Indies).
• Gold Category: Mohammad Hasnain (Brand Ambassador), Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Ahsan Ali.
• Silver Category: Umar Akmal (Mentor), Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan), Will Smeed (England), Umaid Asif, and Muhammad Zahid.
• Emerging Category: Abdul Bangalzai, and Aimal Khan.
• Supplementary Category: Martin Guptill (New Zealand), and Omair Yousuf. 

Malaysia wins Sultan Azlan Shah Hockey Tournament 2022 and Pakistan takes Third position.

 

Sultan Azlan Shah cup was held in Malaysia from 1 November to 10 November 2022. Total 6 teams were playing this tournament. Teams participating in this tournament were the same from last year Pakistan, Egypt, Japan, Malaysia, South Africa and South Korea.

Malaysia were the winners of this tournament beating South Korea 3-2, and the runners up were South Korea, Pakistan being placed in third position. In this tournament there were total 18 matches played and 72 goals being scored in this tournament keeping an average of 4 goals per match.

Razie Rahim Malaysian Player was the top scorer of this Tournament scoring 6 goals.

Malaysia won the tournament for the first time in 39 years. ShelloSilverius scored the first goal in 14^th minute of the match for Malaysia but after a minute an equalizer was scored by Jang Jong-Hyun through a penalty corner goal, at the 44^th minute penalty was given to Malaysia which was taken by Razie Abdul Rahim who calmly scored it. It was a tense match between these 2 teams, Malaysia was not giving any chance to South Korea to score for another equalizer and Malaysia having a score up but was still craving for another goal and they breached the defense of South Korea and at the 47^th minute AminuddinMohd Zain scored a goal.

At this time the score was 3-1 and time was running short, South Korea were under pressure and at the 57^th minute Jeon Byungjin South Korea player scored a penalty corner goal and then after some time the match ended 3-2 resulting in Malaysia being the winner of this tournament. The tournament was held in Azlan Shah Stadium.

Umpires for the final match were Haroon Rashid from Pakistan and Raghu Parsand from India.

Pakistan beat Japan and takes third position in tournament. In 2011 Pakistan won a silver medal and after a decade Pakistan finish in the top 3 and earned its first medal in the championship. In the ninth minute FukuraKentaro scored a goal for Japan. In the eleventh minute the goal was equalized by Abdul Hanan Shahid.

At the 19^th minute Afraz Ahmad very easily not being under pressure scored a goal that led to 2-1, and Roman scored his first goal at 27^th minute 3-1.

After Yuma Nagai cut Pakistan’s lead to one in the 30^th minute, Rooman scored his second four minutes later to struggle to take the green shirts comfortable.
In the final quarter,

Japan made a great comeback as Nagai scored another into the basket in the 49^th minute before Pakistan’s Abdul Rana fired his team home.
It should be mentioned here that the team led by Umer-Bhutta finished fourth in the round robin phase of the tournament with six teams.

 

1.     Malaysia

2.     South Korea

3.     Pakistan

4.     Japan

5.     Egypt

6.     South Africa

 

 

 

 

No consolation for Morocco after world cup dream crumbled

The Atlas Lions had a great run in the FIFA world cup Qatar 2022, and they deserve huge credit for it, yet they couldn’t transform their dream into reality despite creating history and new records. With star players like Achraf Hakimi and Hakim Ziyech, their tremendous performance in the group stages made them favourites to win at least a bronze medal if not the winner’s trophy. A couple of other players also came in the spotlight like Azzedine Ounahi and Sofyan Amrabat who made a crucial tackle on the famous Kylian Mbappe in the semi-final against France. Morocco’s goalkeeper, Yassine Bounou who is known as Bono, also came out as a hero in the world cup.

All the support Morocco drew

Morocco became the first African nation and the second Muslim nation, after Turkey, to play in a FIFA world cup semi-final. They developed a strong fanbase who were rooting for them which included the Muslim countries and the nearly the whole African continent. They even got some fans to support them against their countries’ teams just by playing good football against the best teams. They defeated Belgium, The Red Devils in the group stage, and Peter Drury’s poetic commentary on their win gave goosebumps to the football world.

Head coach and playing strategy

Morocco’s head coach Walid Regragui, who joined them just three months before the big tournament knew exactly what he was doing. Despite facing derogatory remarks and being called an ‘avocado head’ due to his bald appearance, he did wonders for his team far beyond any of his critics would have ever imagined. He made his team finish the group stages on top of the table while having Belgium and Croatia in the group, that also without conceding a goal apart from an own goal scored.

Regragui owns his solid defensive style of play and called it a clever tactic in an interview once, because a strong defence wins you big games. They had a low percentage of ball possession in majority of their games but to follow Regragui’s tactics, they only looked for chances to execute counter attacks instead of forcing multiple attacks and it turned out quite great for them.

World cup dream shattered

In the semi-final against Les Bleus, we saw a change in the tactics and playing style by the Atlas Lions keeping more ball possession and searching for attacking chances. However, Theo Hernandez of the defending champions France gave them an early lead by scoring an exceptional volley which was the first of the four goals Morocco conceded in tournament. The game ended 2-0 with France proceeding through to the final once again, where they will face The Magic Man, Lionel Messi’s Argentina.

They faced the runner ups of the last world cup, Croatia in the consolation prize decider, and lost 2-1 to them, failing to win the bronze medal.

Morocco had a great support behind them from all over the world rooting for their win, but they had already made enough history and it wasn’t written in their books to win the FIFA world cup. A sad ending to an intense effort and a great run.

Fifa World Cup: France vs Morocco - Semifinal (Highlights)

 

Morocco's goal of competing in the World Cup has come to an end, but France's prospects of winning consecutive titles are still alive. France advanced to the final on Sunday after defeating upstart Morocco 2-0 on Wednesday. A goal was scored in each half. Argentina will now face the French in the cup match on Sunday. Morocco and Croatia will square off on Saturday in the contest for third place.

In the fifth minute, Theo Hernandez put his team ahead with a close-range shot, and Randal Kolo Muani put an end to it in the 79th minute after Kylian Mbappe's shot was deflected in. A valiant effort was made by Morocco to even the score.

 

France held the lead due to the early goal, but Morocco had control of the ball and had numerous solid chances to draw the game. Jawad El Yamiq's bicycle kick in the first half struck the goalpost. The competition's favourite team, Morocco, can still place third.

They made history by becoming the first African team to reach the semifinals. The Ballon d'Or-winning striker Karim Benzema was one of numerous pre-tournament ailments that France overcome in order to play in the crucial match.

Morocco did NOT go down without a fight

Such a story! With victories over Belgium, Spain, and Portugal, Morocco will, at the very least, finish fourth overall and represent their country, the Arab world, and all of Africa. Although they do have Achraf Hakimi, who has been exceptional, they do not have nearly as many fantastic players as the big dogs.

 After coming out of international retirement, Hakim Ziyech delivered unforgettable moments, while Sofyan Amrabat's strong middle play may have led to a substantial transfer from Fiorentina in January.

Unquestionably, this was the most unexpected World Cup run we had seen in a very, very long time.

 They didn't concede a goal in their first five games, and the one goal they did concede was an own goal. The unlucky deflections that resulted in both of the goals they gave up to France were mostly beyond of their hands. They triumphed in their group and won over the hearts of many soccer supporters all across the world.

During this tournament, they significantly hampered nations like France, Spain, and Portugal.

Morocco has shown once more that dreams can come true no matter how talented, big, or old your country is. Compared to before the competition, the sport is doing better.

Our take: France did not play too well

Contrary to what the final score might suggest, France didn't dominate this contest. Don't get me wrong, they deserved to win, but Morocco dominated possession with 61% of the ball and came within a few vital passes of scoring. Morocco attempted eight shots inside the box, but only one of them found the target as the winners successfully closed down when necessary.

There were 13 shots on France's defence, but despite some nice build-up play, there weren't many times when it looked like Morocco would really score. France ultimately did more than enough in a challenging match between two strong sides, despite having little access to the ball.

 After a couple of exceptionally difficult trials, they will be sore going into the final, but they will refuel with the knowledge that they have a chance to become the first team to win the World Cup twice since Brazil in 1962.

Fifa World Cup: Argentina vs Croatia Semifinal (Highlights)

Highlights from Argentina vs. Croatia's FIFA World Cup 2022 football game, live from Lusail Stadium, are shown below:

In the first semifinal of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Argentina overcame Croatia 3-0 on Wednesday at the Lusail Stadium courtesy to two goals from Julian Alvarez and one from Lionel Messi (IST). Following this triumph, the Lionel Messi-led team will play either France or Morocco in the tournament's championship match. Argentina has made six total appearances in World Cup finals, including two in the last eight years. Croatia, who finished second last year, was eliminated as a result of the loss and will now play the winner of the second semi-final in the third-place play-off. (Matchcentre)

Messi with a deciding penalty

For the first thirty minutes of the game, Croatia dominated.  After Ivan Perisic failed to stop Emiliano Martinez from crossing the line, the counter was launched, the players ran down the field, and Julian Alvarez found himself one-on one with Croatia's goalkeeper, Dominik Livakovic. A collision was precipitated when Livakovic abruptly pulled off the road and into Alvarez's lane.  As he reached for the ball, Livakovic contested the player. Alvarez was contacted, but he was unable to make touch with the ball. Foul. An advisory to the goalkeeper Argentina receives a penalty.

No one else but Lionel Messi advanced and fired an incredible strike. World record breaking news of the record breaking news. The game had shifted in Argentina's favour at that point.

Alvarez scores solo

Five minutes later, Alvarez shown his tenacity once more. A stunning sprint that began on his own goal line, was so quick that he had to run alone in a straight line after picking up a pass from Messi in the Argentine half. Despite having to overcome three defenders, nobody could touch him.

He had two lucky bounces as he reached the penalty area and toed the ball past Livakovic to double Argentina's lead. In the first half, Argentina only seemed to have two crucial kicks, yet those kicks were enough to end the game.

Alvarez is again set up by Messi magic.

As the second half got underway, Argentina took control and carried on where the first had left off. In the 73rd minute, Messi collected the ball on the left side while being contested by Josko Gvardiol. He then performed another of his trademark runs by dancing with amazing speed and accuracy towards the penalty area. Gvardiol had no control.

Messi turned and danced close to the goal line to pass it to Alvarez for the goal.

From possibly the best player to ever play this game, a more enduring performance.

Modric led battling Croatia

Croatia did not make things easy for Messi's team, however. As he always does, Luka Modric set an excellent example and was in charge of the midfield. They worked very hard and occasionally created opportunities, but they lacked the abilities to take advantage of those rare occasions when they did arise. However, they won't start packing their bags just yet. Croatia will be back in action at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday for the third-place playoff.

On Sunday at 15:30 GMT, Argentina will return to Lusail's Iconic Stadium to accept their destiny.

Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk - 2023?

On the 3rd of December, Tyson Fury took on Derek Chisora in a voluntary title defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight championship. The fight took place at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London where Fury successfully defended his title after referee stoppage in the 10th round. After the victory, the gypsy king confronted the current WBO, IBF, and IBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.

The fight between the two heavyweights has long been speculated and now there is hope as to when it will take place. According to the president of the World Boxing Council Mauricio Suleiman, there is a “perfect time” to have a title unification bout between the two heavyweights provided that they can see eye to eye imminently on the terms of the clash. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk both have exhibited their want for the clash and Mauricio Suleiman has communicated to the fighters that the WBC will be more than content to support the unification fight. The condition that the WBC has put forward is that there has to be a mandatory contender for the unified championships and will be determined after a final eliminator clash between former champions Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz Jr.

Currently, the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk’s International Boxing Federation (IBF) title is Filip Hrgovic. There is much speculation that Hrgovic’s rank of number one contender will hinder the proposed unification fight with Tyson Fury. However, Suleiman has pleaded with the necessary governing bodies that Usyk should face Fury with all the titles up for grabs. He has displayed his desire for the four boxing organizations will accept to authorize one of the biggest undisputed fights in boxing history and would stick to the authorization decision. The process of mandatory challengers is a rather complex one and is one which varies from organization to organization as each one has their own set of rules and agendas. The importance of the fight between Usyk and Fury has been deemed to be greater than the confines of the four organizations as per Mauricio Suleiman who is doing everything in order to ensure it finally takes place. Egis Klimas, the manager of the Usyk, has revealed that the negotiations for the unification fight had begun before Tyson Fury’s fight win Derek Chisora and the fight is all but agreed with a possible date and location settled. The Ukrainian has made it clear that he wants to fight Fury as soon as possible and does not want the fight with the Croatian Hrgovic to disrupt it.

However, Tyson Fury seems to have a contingency plan if the fight with Usyk does not take place as he said he would be open to fight British Heavyweight Joe Joyce who has been putting on incredible performance after performance that have moved him close to championship contention. Joyce was also present during the confrontation between Usyk and Fury and seemed to be quite vocal throughout. The WBC president said that the organization would not stand in the way of the all British title fight in the scenario of the Usyk fight not taking place.

The probability of the long awaited fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury is at an all time high and if it takes place, it would be one of the most historic and spectacular fights in modern boxing history.