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This season has started about as poorly as it could have for West Ham United.

As things stand, the East Londoners are stuck in the Premier League relegation zone, and while Nuno Espírito Santo earned a point in his first game, he’s overseen three losses since.

However, there is a chance for the Hammers to steady the ship at home to Newcastle United this weekend, in a game that’ll see Lucas Paqueta take one of his closest friends in Bruno Guimaraes.

West Ham would love a player of his quality in their side, and while that is a pipe dream, they might have the next best thing.

Paqueta & Guimarães' relationship

Speaking ahead of the game, Paqueta did the usual of telling the West Ham website that the team are “all ready for a big battle,” but he also went on to explain his relationship with Guimarães.

Chalkboard

He revealed that the two of them are “like brothers” and that, thanks to their time on and off the pitch together, they are “best friends.”

It’s not all that surprising that the pair are so close, as on top of representing Brazil, they also spent time playing for Lyon.

In fact, between the 20/21 and 21/22 seasons, the duo made 42 appearances for the French side, in which they combined for one goal, but maintained a healthy average of 2.00 points per game.

On the international front, the duo have played 24 matches with both of them on the pitch, in which they’ve combined for two goals.

However, with 13 wins, six draws and five losses in those games, they’ve only averaged 1.88 points together.

You can only imagine how much better West Ham would be if Bruno were starting just behind Paqueta.

However, while that is a dream, the club might have found their own version of the Toon star who could end up forming a similar relationship with Paqueta.

Paqueta's new Guimarães

While there are some talented midfielders in West Ham’s squad, like Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa, it’s Mateus Fernandes who could end up being Paqueta’s new Guimarães.

Now, while he isn’t Brazilian, there are a few reasons why he fits the bill, with the first being that, like the Newcastle star, he is more than comfortable playing in central midfield.

Therefore, while he can play in the ten, he’d be just as happy to sit that bit deeper and allow the Hammers’ Brazilian maestro to remain as the most attacking midfielder.

However, the most concrete reason why the “exceptional” former Southampton star, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, could become the new Guimarães is that he was one of the most similar players to him last season.

Yes, according to FBref, the Toon ace was the ninth most similar midfielder to the Irons’ summer signing in the entire Premier League last season.

Non-Penalty Expected Goals

0.12

0.12

Shots

1.30

1.24

Shots on Target

0.43

0.36

Expected Assists

0.11

0.15

Crosses into the Penalty Area

0.19

0.17

Switches

0.31

0.39

Shots Blocked

0.25

0.28

Interceptions

0.87

0.80

Aerial Duels Won

0.46

0.50

To gain a better understanding of how such a conclusion was reached, it’s worth examining some of the underlying numbers that led to the pair ranking so closely.

In this instance, these include specific attacking metrics, such as non-penalty expected goals, shots, shots on target, crosses into the penalty area, switches, and more, all per 90 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, given that they are both central midfielders, they also rank closely for more defensive metrics, such as interceptions, aerial duels won, and shots blocked per 90.

Now, with all that said, it would be foolish to expect the former Saints ace to match the performances of the Newcastle star, but the fact that they are so similar, and he’s six years younger, is certainly encouraging.

Ultimately, it may take some time for them to build a proper understanding, but so long as Nuno plays them both, there is every chance Paqueta could develop a similar understanding with Fernandes that he has with Guimarães.

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ByEmilio Galantini Oct 31, 2025

The former Australia batter relives the adventure of a lifetime, on and off the field

Vishal Dikshit28-Oct-2025It’s not too long now before the champions of Women’s World Cup 2025 will take home an unprecedented USD 4.48 million. Rewind to 1997, the second time the tournament was held in India, when Australia became the champions for the fourth time. When they returned home with the trophy, Lisa Keightley came back with food bills she had footed worth nearly AUD 2,500.The 1997 World Cup existed in a world that barely intersected with the five-star hotels and top-notch facilities that international players now expect in India. The BCCI was yet to take Indian women’s cricket under its wing, and the ICC was yet to take over the organisation of Women’s World Cups.Keightley, a top-order batter who was 26 at the time, had never ventured out of Australia and New Zealand when she was called-up for her maiden World Cup with the experience of just 14 ODIs.Related

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“It was just exciting, it was new, it was hustle and bustle,” Keightley says of her first India impressions, speaking to ESPNcricinfo. “It was just very different from Australia, and when we catch up with the players I played with in that ’97 World Cup, some of our funniest stories and experiences are what we had on that tour.”Over the course of the tournament, Australia voyaged almost all across India, playing their league games in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Nagpur and Lucknow.”Our accommodation was really poor. I remember people getting sick and it was definitely a lot different than it is now,” Keightley says. “I remember my first accommodation when we got off the plane. I went into my room, I went to turn the shower on, and the shower taps were cemented and they didn’t move. I think the bath taps worked but the water was brown and then I went to turn on the telly and it just didn’t work. And the beds had looked like they’d been there for a very long time.”But I suppose it brings a group together. We definitely didn’t let that stop us from wanting to win the World Cup and, I suppose, sticking together as a group and enjoying each other’s company. I think that was a trip where you could say that drew us together.”Keightley was among the less-experienced members of the side and she sat out Australia’s first two games. She was, however, among the best-prepared players, even for some of the off-field eventualities. She carried an extra bag to India stuffed only with food items from back home, but she probably hadn’t accounted for her team-mates, who soon began lining up outside her room. They soon gave her a new nickname.The victorious Australia squad pose with the World Cup trophy•Craig Prentis/Getty Images”I was called the Tuckshop, which in Australia is a place where you go and get sweets,” she says. “So my little bag was full of sweets and lollies and chips and all the stuff that we felt we wouldn’t get in India. And people used to barter with me because I had such a big array of options, they were getting sick of theirs. So they’d say, ‘I’ll give you a muesli bar if you give me whatever.'”Navigating the streets of India might have been a challenge, but negotiating with her team-mates came naturally to Keightley.”Usually, I got a lot more than what they got. So I could get two and three of theirs and it was quite harsh. And I’d just give them like a packet of chewing gum or they would choose what they wanted. And then I had the choice of saying, ‘well, okay, one’s not going to cut it for a packet of chewing gum. I would like two muesli bars and a packet of chips’, or something like that.”I had this caramel-coated popcorn that was very popular. And that was just so different from anything we get in India. So that went for a high price. I usually got a few good things for the popcorn.”Keightley made her maiden World Cup appearance when Australia got to Hyderabad, where they bundled Pakistan out for 27, still among the lowest totals in women’s ODIs. With some spare time in hand before heading to Mumbai for their next fixture, Keightley, Mel Jones and wicketkeeper Julia Price thought it was a good time to go shopping before leaving Hyderabad. They journeyed to the old city, famous for its jewellery.”So we had put our luggage in the hotel, jumped in tuk-tuks, went to this strip where you could buy gold. And when we went to leave, we had no idea of what our hotel name was!” Keightley laughs. “And we had to go to a police station, then they helped us find where we were staying. Then they took us home in the police car.”In Mumbai, Denmark suffered the ignominy of watching Australia amass 412 for 3, only the second ODI total that had breached the 400 mark, with captain Belinda Clark scoring a record 229* and becoming the first double-centurion in women’s ODIs. Keightley played second fiddle, scoring 60 in a first-wicket stand of 168 with Clark. Denmark were rolled over for just 49, losing by a gargantuan 363 runs.Belinda Clark scored a double-century against Denmark and 52 in the final•Getty Images”I remember it was really hot,” Keightley says. “And Belinda was one of the fittest players going around in the Australian team. So to score that many runs was amazing. I do remember there was a tree on the ground in one of the corners and the boundary came in and around the tree. Yeah, she makes my small little 60 look insignificant, doesn’t she?”We just took a picture of the scoreboard. And congratulated Belinda and took a lot of photos. And that was probably about all we did, really. I don’t think we realised at the time that it was the record until the game finished. And then we thought, ‘oh, we better take a picture of the scoreboard and have something to remember it by.'”Australia were on a hot streak. They bundled England for 95 in Nagpur, hammered Netherlands by 115 runs in Lucknow, and were set to take on India in the semi-finals. All this while they sustained on ” bread, Vegemite, and eggs.” They almost left Jones and Price behind in a plane before realising they were sleeping in the last row and also survived a bomb threat on a flight before getting the all-clear with no bomb found in the luggage.They made it to Delhi for their semi-final on Christmas Eve, and the accommodation, once again, left something to be desired.”We lived in where they played the Delhi Open (an ATP tennis tournament), they had rooms around the tennis court,” Keightley said. “And someone was cooking from the kitchen, and across the road, there was the Hyatt. I do know I came back from that tour with an expensive food bill, because we all started to get a bit sick, so we’d go and eat in the five-star hotel wherever we were.”So I came back with a AUD 2000-2,500 food bill, but we did all take different options in food.”Keightley paid all of that out of her own pocket. She was working at the time with Cricket New South Wales, her home state, who granted her paid leave to play the World Cup.”I was one of the lucky ones,” she says. “Not everyone had that opportunity. I just went home and paid my bill and got on with life. It was just the way we did it back then. Usually, you didn’t get allowances. And if you did, it was very, very small and it didn’t cover too much. So usually we would finish the tour with an expensive bill.”A game in Delhi in winter usually means plenty of fog and bad light, and the semi-final was reduced to 32 overs a side.”We ended up playing the semi-final in an army barracks where there was a ground,” Keightley says of the Harbax Singh Stadium that was then the home ground of the Services team in men’s domestic cricket. “And we had no crowd because of a late change in venue. And I remember it being very, very close.”A large number of women and girls thronged Eden Gardens for the 1997 World Cup final•Craig Prentis/Getty ImagesIndia fell short by 19 runs and Australia were off to Kolkata to play the final against New Zealand at Eden Gardens, which could cradle nearly 100,000 people at the time. And there was something to celebrate off the field too.”We loved the final because we went to a five-star hotel and were there for about seven days, for five days or so before the final,” Keightley says. “And it was amazing compared to what we had been staying in. And we loved it because we had time and we went shopping and we went to the market. Obviously, we trained as well. And then it was probably the first time we got to play in one of the main stadiums in India. And the change rooms had fans and the toilets were nicer than we had.”And when we got there, we heard that they were going to try and do a record of the most females watching cricket in a ground. So they shipped in all these schoolgirls to watch the game. And you could not hear a thing. It was so loud. And we had never experienced anything like it.”I suppose it’s very similar to the WPL when you play RCB. That’s what it felt like for us. You had to yell. So, it was our first experience of, ‘wow, this is what the men would experience every time they play against India and Australia.’ We definitely enjoyed that.”It turned out to be a record crowd, ranging between 60,000 and 70,000, among them a 15-year-old ball girl named Jhulan Goswami. Watching the likes of Clark and speedster Cathryn Fitzpatrick kindled in Goswami the dream of taking up the sport as a profession and fast bowling as a passion.Australia kept New Zealand to 164 and took home the trophy with a five-wicket win, along with memories, anecdotes and experiences of a lifetime. Who wanted a million dollars?

There is also a battle of wristspinners to look out for

Shashank Kishore and Danyal Rasool13-Sep-20251:12

Chopra: Varun and Kuldeep’s eight overs are key

The superstars face off

When Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Shubman Gill with 100,000 people watching in Ahmedabad at the 2023 World Cup, he felt “you could’ve heard a fly buzzing, such was the silence.”Gill, now India’s all-format superstar, is touted to be a captain-in-waiting across formats, having slipped almost effortlessly into the role in Test cricket.Related

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After two difficult years battling back injuries, form slumps, and seeing T20I captaincy come and go, Afridi seems to have rediscovered the menace that once made him Pakistan’s most feared quick: the late in-swing, the skiddy pace, the ability to rip out top orders, like he famously did when Pakistan beat India at the 2021 T20 World Cup on these shores.The two, no strangers to stare downs or sharp words stretching back to their Under-19 World Cup days, will cross paths again on Sunday, for the first time in T20Is.

The battle of the wristspinners

In any other team, Kuldeep Yadav would be an all-format player. In India, though, he has had to make peace with being a white-ball specialist. His four-wicket haul against UAE, after spending the entire summer on the sidelines in England, may have been a neat little prelude.Kuldeep knows this stage well. No one can forget that ball to Babar Azam at the 2019 World Cup, bowling him through the gate and leaving even the late Shane Warne guffawing in admiration.Abrar Ahmed gives Shubman Gill a send-off at the Champions Trophy•Associated PressAlongside him is Varun Chakravarthy, whose career arc could fill a Tamil blockbuster. The ex-architect and film hopeful was dropped soon after India’s early exit at the 2021 T20 World Cup. He wondered if he would ever wear India colours again. But since the last T20 World Cup, which he didn’t even make, no bowler has taken more T20I wickets than Varun’s 32.Pakistan have their own mystery spinners. Sufiyan Muqeem, the left-arm wristspinner, came through the ‘A’ system, has been one of their brightest prospects and is the first Pakistani, at No. 10, in the above list. He is quicker through the air than Kuldeep, more in the mould of Noor Ahmad.Muqeem was instrumental in Pakistan’s win over India at the 2023 Emerging Asia Cup and now has a chance to do it on the big stage. He isn’t a regular yet, but one dazzling ball or spell, like Abrar Ahmed’s ripper that breached Gill’s defence at the Champions Trophy earlier this year, could change that.Varun-and-Kuldeep versus Muqeem-and-Abrar is a fascinating subplot.It will not be easy for Mohammad Haris to take on Jasprit Bumrah•Getty Images

Bumrah against Haris – facts or feelings?

Mohammad Haris, like Sam Konstas, is not better at his craft than Jasprit Bumrah is at his. But the Australian rode his luck in an astonishing Test innings on debut against Bumrah, reverse-scooping him twice for a six and smashing 18 in the most expensive over of the fast bowler’s Test career and Haris could do something similar here in the T20 format.Like Konstas, Haris too will be facing Bumrah for the first time and, like Konstas, he too has a penchant for high-risk shot-making. In just his second T20I, Haris reinvigorated Pakistan’s flagging T20I World Cup campaign in 2022. He took on South Africa’s elite pace bowlers, smashing Kagiso Rabada for 17 in an 11-ball knock that produced 28.Scoring only 54 runs in 11 innings before Friday’s Asia Cup game against Oman demonstrates how that approach fails more often than not. However, Haris’ conventional technique is nowhere near good enough to take on a bowler of Bumrah’s quality. So expect him to try to lash, thrash, paddle and scoop his way to a cameo, because that is all Pakistan need from him, just like they did at the SCG three years ago. But if facts and logic have their way, it might not come off.Can Hasan Nawaz tackle elite spinners?•Associated Press

Hasan Nawaz vs India’s spin elite

Hasan Nawaz has emerged as Pakistan’s bludgeon outside of the powerplay. Having tinkered around with his batting position, Pakistan have begun using him when the field spreads out, where his 2025 T20 strike of 174.09 is below only Dewald Brevis and Tim David’s.Notably though, Hasan’s strike rate drops down to 150 against spin, as opposed to 173.48 against pace. He takes on each kind of bowling – he has his 17 T20I sixes against each – so the quality of spin appears to be making a difference.Against Afghanistan in the recent tri-series, he scored 33 in as many balls across three innings, with Noor and Rashid Khan taking turns to dismiss him. India’s spin trio of Axar Patel, Varun and Kuldeep is very much in the same elite mould, and adept at asphyxiating an innings through those middle overs.We’re likely to see spin come on as soon as Hasan comes to the crease, and whether he can prove himself against that colossal challenge may be a hinge point for this contest.

Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has adamantly denied that his team have "fallen apart" despite a recent string of disappointing results, culminating in a 2-2 draw against Elche. While admitting that they "can't be happy" with their latest setback, Alonso insisted that the connection between his coaching staff and the players is "improving" and that the team spirit remains good.

Real Madrid held to dramatic draw by Elche

Madrid endured another frustrating evening as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Elche on Sunday. Despite dominating possession and creating numerous chances, Los Blancos found themselves trailing twice in the match. Aleix Febas opened the scoring for Elche in the 53rd minute, only for Dean Huijsen to equalise for Real Madrid in the 78th minute.

However, Elche regained the lead through Alvaro Rodriguez just six minutes later, threatening to inflict a shock defeat on the Spanish league leaders. It took an 87th-minute equaliser from Jude Bellingham to rescue a point for Real Madrid, ensuring they avoided a second league defeat of the season. The result leaves Real Madrid still at the top of the La Liga table with 32 points from 13 matches, but their lead over rivals Barcelona has been cut to just one point.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportAlonso insists team spirit is good despite recent setbacks

Following the match, Alonso addressed the media and faced questions about his team's recent form, which has seen them draw their last two league games. When asked if the team had crashed, Alonso was defiant in his response.

"We haven't fallen apart," Alonso insisted. "We're still competing; the context of each match is different. The result is what matters, and we're aware of that and self-critical. The spirit is good; we have to respond to adversity. This is Real Madrid. We live with criticism; we want to improve."

Despite his positive outlook on the team's spirit, Alonso acknowledged the disappointment of the result. "After a good run, we've had several results we didn't want. We know what we want; we have to keep pushing forward. We're not happy; we always want to win. We can't be. There are many games left, so we need to focus on the next one by analyzing what we did today."

Player-coach connection is 'improving'

Another key topic addressed by Alonso was the relationship between his coaching staff and the players. Amidst the recent dip in form, there have been questions about the connection within the squad. However, Alonso maintained that the relationship is strengthening over time.

"The connection is improving; we have more time and interact more, we know each other better," Alonso stated. "We're all in the same boat, we celebrate victories. We suffer if we don't win. The connection is good. We need to turn this situation around, starting with Athens."

The Madrid manager also clarified the situation regarding Vinicius Jr, who has seen reduced playing time recently and started on the bench against Elche. Alonso assured that he has open communication with the Brazilian winger and that Vinicius understands his current role.

"No, we had discussed it. We talk about it often," Alonso explained. "He understands; he knew the role he could play. We've done it before, like in Getafe. Today we're not happy, but everyone is eager to get back on track."

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AFPWhat next for Real Madrid?

Madrid will need to quickly put this disappointing result behind them as they turn their attention back to the Champions League. They face Olympiacos in Athens on Wednesday, where they will be looking to secure a victory to boost their morale and solidify their position in the group stage. Following their European commitment, they will return to La Liga action next Monday with a home fixture against Girona, who are 18th in the table. Alonso and his players will be aiming for a return to winning ways in both competitions to silence the critics and get their season back on track.

تحدد معلقو مباراة منتخب مصر الثاني أمام الكويت، التي تقام بينهما الثلاثاء، في مستهل مشوار المنتخبين ببطولة كأس العرب 2025.

ويشارك منتخب مصر في بطولة كأس العرب، بقيادة جهاز فني يضم حلمي طولان مدير فني ومعه أحمد حسن مديرًا للمنتخب وعصام الحضري مدربًا للحراس، وذلك بقرار من اتحاد الكرة المصري.

ويلعب منتخب مصر ضد الكويت، في إطار منافسات الجولة الأولى من عمر مواجهات دور المجموعات من بطولة كأس العرب بقطر.

ويتواجد منتخب مصر في المجموعة الثالثة من بطولة كأس العرب، بجانب كل من الأردن والكويت والإمارات.

طالع | أحمد عاطف لـ “بطولات”: جهاز المنتخب أجرى فحوصات لإثبات إصابتي دون علمي

وتقام مباراة مصر والكويت، يوم الثلاثاء الموافق 2 ديسمبر 2025، في تمام الساعة 4:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.

وتنقل مباراة مصر والكويت، عبر قناني بي إن سبورت المفتوحة على النايل سات والكأس 1 المفتوحة أيضًا. معلقين مباراة مصر والكويت في كأس العرب

قناة بي إن سبورت: حفيظ دراجي.

قناة الكأس: خالد الحدي ومنتصر الازهري.

وتقام بطولة كأس العرب، في قطر، إذ تنطلق في الأول من ديسمبر وتستمر حتى 18 من الشهر نفسه بمشاركة 16 منتخبًا.

The wicketkeeper-batter hit 125 off 107 balls for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Nov-2025

Cricket Australia XI 341 (Blackford 86, Wyllie 71, Harvey 52, Potts 3-49) and 235 for 2 (Inglis 125*, Harvey 58) beat England Lions 299 (Gay 78, Maladay 3-47, Sinfield 3-87) and 273 (Kellaway 59, Anderson 3-42) by eight wicketsAmid intrigue over what Australia may do with their batting order for the rest of the Ashes, Josh Inglis hammered a rapid century for a Cricket Australia XI against England Lions to signal that he would be option should the selectors opt for significant change.Travis Head’s remarkable century in Perth after being elevated to open due to Usman Khawaja’s back spasms has prompted talk about whether that should be a permanent move which would likely spell the end of Khawaja’s career and create a vacancy in the middle order.Related