Mauricio Pochettino insists Kylian Mbappe is not a difficult player to coach and believes the Paris Saint-Germain and France forward will learn to "manage himself" as he matures.

Pochettino spent 18 months working with Mbappe before leaving the Parc des Princes in July, leading the Parisian giants to the Ligue 1 title and the Coupe de France.  

However, much of Pochettino's time at PSG was marred by reports of rifts between high-profile players, while some claiming the club gave Mbappe excessive influence over their strategy when he rejected a move to Real Madrid to sign a new three-year contract in May.

Asked whether managing Mbappe had been challenging, Pochettino told the BBC: "He's 23 and already won the World Cup, he's an amazing talent. 

"The problem is sometimes you need to manage yourself because we are talking about a top three, top five best player in the world.

"It's not easy for him to manage himself because he's not mature enough, he's still a child. 

"But I think he's doing well. Sometimes people talk too much, but I don't think it's like this."

The prolific Mbappe scored a sublime double in France's 3-0 World Cup round of 16 win over Poland on Sunday and is leading the race for the Golden Boot with five goals.

Mbappe recorded 60 goal contributions in 46 appearances under Pochettino last season (39 goals, 21 assists) – more than any other player in Europe's top five leagues.

England's bold declaration on the fourth day of their first Test with Pakistan shows how Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are "pioneers", says Paul Collingwood.

The captain and head coach's aggressive approach to red-ball cricket has been rewarded with rapid runs during their encounter in Rawalpindi, as they look to win in their first long-form visit since 2005.

Having bowled out their hosts for 579, to earn a first-innings lead of 78, a rampant 264-7 followed by an early declaration at tea set Pakistan an achievable 343 in pursuit.

England reduced their opponents to 80-2 at the close of play, heading into the last day, but their swing-for-the-fences approach continues to delight many, including assistant coach Collingwood.

"Sometimes I think it's crazy – crazy in a good way," Collingwood said. "I know I would never have come up with some of the ideas Ben and Baz [McCullum] come up with, but it's great to see. It's going against convention.

"When it comes off, it's genius. If it doesn't come off, so be it. The bigger picture of what Baz McCullum and Ben Stokes are doing is for Test cricket to be entertaining.

"It feels like they have been pioneers in the way they go about playing the game. You've got two guys willing to risk everything to make sure that this game survives.

"It's great to watch. If you play the game in the right way and put yourself in the right position to win the Test match, there's no shame in losing a cricket match.

"If Pakistan knock the runs off tomorrow, they deserve the win. It's very well-balanced. It's up to us to come out tomorrow with plenty of energy, and if we get a couple of early wickets, we're right ahead of the game."

Stokes, who succeeded Joe Root as skipper earlier this year, has forged a thrilling partnership with former New Zealand captain McCullum since he took the reins.

Their run rate of 6.73 per over in Rawalpindi is the fastest ever set by a Test team batting twice in a match.

Rohit Sharma bemoaned India's shortcomings with the bat after they suffered a stunning one-wicket defeat to Bangladesh in the first ODI of the series on Sunday.

Mehidy Hasan was the Tigers' hero, putting on 51 for the last wicket with Mustafizur Rahman to secure a highly unlikely victory at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

India looked certain to take a 1-0 lead after taking five wickets for only eight runs, putting Bangladesh on the ropes at 136-9 in pursuit of 187 to win.

Mehidy came to the rescue, making an unbeaten 38 with support from Mustafizur (10 not out) to get his side home with four overs to spare, the pair defying the odds by combining for Bangladesh's second-highest 10th-wicket stand.

The tourists had also collapsed, slumping from 152-4 to 186 all out, KL Rahul sparing them huge embarrassment by making 73.

India captain Rohit warned they must learn to handle the pressure after a stunning end to the start of a three-match series.

The opening batter said: "We did not bat well. We bowled pretty well and kept them under pressure until the end. They held their nerves in the back end.

"If you look back at how we bowled, of course the last few overs, we would have liked to get a wicket. We kept taking wickets all through. It wasn't enough runs. Another 30-40 runs would have made a difference.

"With KL and Washy [Washington Sundar, who made 19], we could have got there. Unfortunately, we lost wickets in the middle, and it is not easy to come back. The pitch was a bit challenging, the odd ball was turning.

"You have to understand how to play. There are no excuses, we are used to such types of conditions. We need to look at how to bat against their spinners in these conditions. The genes are there, these guys grew up playing in such conditions.

"It is all about handling pressure. Once you do, it gives you confidence. It is important to learn how to handle those pressure situations. Hopefully, we change things around in the next game."

Olivier Giroud scores goals, and this is what he has done across his career.

On Sunday, Giroud proved his timeless finishing qualities again when he overtook the great Thierry Henry to become France's all-time record goalscorer.

His first-half strike against Poland made it 52 goals in the shirt of Les Bleus, writing himself into the history books as France continued their defence of the World Cup in Qatar.

It is not something that many would have predicted years ago, with Giroud respected to a point, but never really being mentioned in the same breath as some of France's other attacking talent.

Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and even Antoine Griezmann often steal the headlines where the national team is concerned.

Giroud is considered to be a less glamorous name, which is quite the dichotomy considering there is a strong argument the Milan striker has the most impressive hair in world football.

The numbers do not lie, though, and the 36-year-old now stands alone atop the scoring charts for the world champions. Above Henry, Platini, Griezmann, Trezeguet, and so on.

After making a name for himself when leading Montpellier in their shock Ligue 1 title win in 2011-12, scoring 21 goals in 36 games, he made the move to Arsenal.

Giroud's time in the Premier League had ups and downs, but he still notched 105 goals for the Gunners in his five and a half seasons there, before moving across London to Chelsea and scoring another 39 in three and a half years at Stamford Bridge.

After heading to Serie A and Milan, there were still those left unconvinced by Giroud, though he has continued to score in Italy as he hit 11 in 29 league games in his debut season, helping the Rossoneri to win their first Scudetto since 2010-11.

He has another nine in 19 games in all competitions at club level this season, and has carried that form into the World Cup.

When the injured Benzema was confirmed to be out of Qatar 2022, there was panic among France fans as this year's Ballon d'Or winner would not be there to help them defend their title from Russia 2018.

However, Benzema also wasn't there in Russia. Giroud was.

His presence up front may not have brought Giroud any goals in that tournament, or even any shots on target – somewhat remarkably from 546 minutes on the pitch – but he more than played his part.

Giroud was a perfect foil for the teenage Mbappe, who thrived working off the big man's hold-up play, as did Griezmann as France went on to lift the World Cup for the second time, with Giroud creating seven chances from open play and recording one assist.

This time, though, Giroud seems more focused on being the main man in front of goal, and he is already putting himself in the discussion for the Golden Boot, with the record-breaking strike being his third in Qatar.

He may never be in the running for the Ballon d'Or, and is unlikely to be on many people's lists when selecting the all-time best French players.

But with the 52nd goal coming in his 117th game at international level, there is no denying that Giroud scores goals, and as of now, more than anyone else in France's history.

Olivier Giroud etched his name into the France history books as he became Les Bleus' all-time top scorer after netting against Poland at the World Cup.

The Milan striker equalled Thierry Henry's 51-goal record with a brace in a 4-1 win over Australia in his nation's World Cup opener, leaving him one shy of the outright benchmark.

That made Giroud, aged 36 years and 53 days, the second-oldest player to score a double at the World Cup, after Roger Milla, who did so in 1990 for Cameroon aged 38.

Giroud claimed the record outright with the opening goal in the round-of-16 clash against Poland, latching onto Kylian Mbappe's pass to fire Les Bleus ahead.

The former Chelsea and Arsenal striker would likely have not started for Didier Deschamps' side if it had not been for pre-tournament injuries to Karim Benzema and Christopher Nkunku.

Instead, Giroud and Kylian Mbappe have been tasked with carrying the attacking burden as France aim to defend their World Cup crown.

South Korea coach Paulo Bento hopes Neymar is fit to play his team in their World Cup last-16 clash with Brazil, even if he concedes it would better for them if he was absent.

The Taeguk Warriors caused something of a shock by reaching the first knockout round of the tournament at the expense of Uruguay, with South Korea scoring a dramatic winner against Portugal on matchday three.

Brazil await in the last 16 and there remains some doubt over the fitness of talisman Neymar, who injured his ankle in the Selecao's first match of the tournament.

Neymar's involvement will be determined in training on Sunday, and Bento hopes he is ultimately passed fit.

"It would be hypocritical if I said that it's better to play against Neymar than without him, but to be fair, I always prefer the best players to be on the field. If not, we hope it's not because of injury, that's for sure," he said.

"It will be up to the coach, Tite, to decide whether he's in the starting line-up if he's fit to play, and we'll design the best strategy to play against a great national team that is full of balance and adding more and more talented players."

Nevertheless, Bento clearly feels South Korea's chances of causing an upset have not been helped by FIFA.

The Portuguese coach vented his frustration at the governing body scheduling games just 72 hours apart, particularly given the emotional exhaustion from their turnaround against Portugal.

"Unfortunately, we don't have much time to train, because 72 hours is too little, I doubt any team can do that," he added.

"After physical tiredness, and the emotional fatigue, we let the players rest [on Saturday] and only trained this morning, and of course that's a burden for the team.

"We have an additional burden compared to Brazil because they changed their line-up in the last game.

"They did something we couldn't do in the last game and honestly speaking, I was watching the 2018 World Cup and after the group stage, I do not remember seeing games played after 72 hours. The spaces between games was longer.

"In my opinion it's not fair to play every 72 hours, it's something inhuman, it's something FIFA intends to create less conditions for those who already have less conditions, but we need to accept it if it's FIFA's decision.

"It's difficult to play very a great team such as Brazil, who in my opinion they are the favourites, and if we add this burden, our task will be very difficult."

But as irritated as Bento was by FIFA's decisions, he certainly is not worried about motivation.

"I'm a realist. I conveyed we have a tough task ahead of us, but we have to try," he said. "If they needed me to motivate them for a last-16 game at the World Cup, they'd be in a bad spot.

"What they showed already shows they are motivated. I get more motivation from them than they get from me."

Brazil head coach Tite recalled how he was "shaking" when he first met Pele, as he wished the three-time World Cup winner good health.

Pele was hospitalised on Tuesday, though his daughter said a day later there was "no surprise or emergency" pertaining to his condition, with Pele also describing it as a "monthly visit".

It was later reported, though not officially confirmed, that the 82-year-old had been moved to palliative care as he was no longer responding to chemotherapy treatment.

The hospital treating Brazil's record scorer described his condition as "stable", while Pele issued a statement to say he remained "strong, with a lot of hope".

Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Selecao's World Cup round-of-16 tie against South Korea, Tite shared a memory of meeting Pele for the first time.

"He's probably the only person where I was shaking when I greeted him," he said. 

"Speaking from the bottom of my heart, it was a very emotional moment for me... I didn't even know what was going on... Someone said, 'go and hug Pele'.

"I stopped, started shaking, hands sweating, heartbeat racing. I said, 'wow, I'm going to have opportunity to greet Pele.' He is the person who represents the human aspect.

"Health, Pele, health. That's all I can give you. It's a difficult moment."

The Santos great underwent surgery to remove a tumour from his colon last year, and has been in and out of hospital since.

Kylian Mbappe, Harry Kane and Vinicius Junior are among those to have sent messages of support from the World Cup in Qatar, while former Brazil international and Tite's assistant, Cesar Sampaio, also added his well-wishes.

Sampaio – who began his career at Santos, albeit several years after Pele had retired – recalled having the opportunity to play with him.

"I also had the blessing of meeting Pele," he said. "When I was at Santos, I had the chance to play with him, it was something even more than what Tite said, to be able to be with him on the pitch was so difficult because of what he represents.

"Regardless of your religion, we ask you please send him a prayer and positive vibes. He influenced my development as a man and a human being."

Zlatko Dalic stressed that staying disciplined will be crucial if Croatia are to defeat Japan and reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

Croatia, runners-up in Group F behind Morocco, face Japan on Monday in the last 16.

Japan were the shock victors of Group E in Qatar, having claimed 2-1 victories over Germany and Spain either side of a 1-0 loss to Costa Rica.

Runners-up to France in 2018, Croatia have only lost two of their eight knockout stage games at the World Cup (W4 D2), while Japan have never progressed beyond the last 16.

Hajime Moriyasu's team have shown their quality against top sides, however, and Dalic knows his team must stay regimented if they are to avoid an upset.

"Spain might have thought it was going to be easier, but Japan are a team that do not quit, as they showed against Germany as well," Dalic told reporters.

"At some point, when Costa Rica were leading against Germany, Spain were out of the tournament, so they couldn't allow themselves to lose. Japan deserved to win.

"Before the group stage, if we could choose an opponent in the next round, some people may have said Japan, but after seeing them beat Germany and Spain, they are anything but an easier opponent.

"If you are first in a group with Germany and Spain, it shows your quality and that you are playing at a really high level. What I would say about the Japanese team is that they never quit. They conceded goals at the beginning of the match both against Germany and Spain, but they came back.

"They had a lot of faith in themselves, and that is a great virtue of the Japan national team. For us, it will be key that we are also disciplined and patient. We cannot make mistakes, because Japan has the quality to punish those mistakes. We need to be good at falling back if we lose the ball."

Croatia might have progressed from a group that also included Belgium and Canada, but failed to score in two of their matches – they had only drawn a blank in two of 13 matches at the tournament in the 2006, 2014 and 2018 editions combined.

Dalic's side like to control possession, but that could play into Japan's hands. They averaged just 32.3 per cent of the ball across their three group stage games. Indeed, their two wins over Spain and Germany came with 17.7 per cent and 26.1 per cent possession respectively, while the one match they lost came when they had more of the ball against Costa Rica (56.8 per cent).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Japan – Ritsu Doan

Three of Japan's four goals scored have been scored by substitutes. Ritsu Doan has netted two of these. 

Only three players have ever scored at least three goals as a substitute at a single World Cup – Andre Schurrle in 2014 (three), Roger Milla in 1990 (four), and Laszlo Kiss in 1982 (three).

Croatia – Ivan Perisic

Mateo Kovacic, Marcelo Brozovic and Luka Modric run the midfield for Croatia, but their attack is not quite as world-class.

That being said, in Ivan Perisic they have a wide player more than capable of chipping in. The 33-year-old has scored nine goals at major tournaments, which is a joint record for Croatia along with Davor Suker.

Perisic has also set up seven goals at either the Euros or the World Cup, a national record, and no Croatia player has had more shots so far in Qatar than his tally of five.

PREDICTION

This will be the third World Cup meeting between Japan and Croatia, with Japan winless and goalless in the previous two – a 1-0 defeat in 1998 and a goalless draw in 2006, both in the group stage. 

Opta's model says the odds are against Japan, who are given a 26 per cent chance of progressing to the last eight. Croatia are the favourites (46.1 per cent).

Do not be surprised to see this one go to extra-time, though – the draw is ranked at a 27.9 per cent chance.

Home favourite Thriston Lawrence fought back to win the South African Open Championship despite surrendering a five-shot lead with two holes remaining in Sunday's final round.

Lawrence began Sunday with a two-shot advantage at 18-under-par, with Clement Sordet hot on his heels after carding consecutive rounds of 66.

The South African looked to be cruising after moving five shots clear of the Frenchman on the 10th hole, but had to wait until the penultimate hole to secure the win after a series of slip-ups.

Sordet drew level with his rival before dropping a shot by missing a short putt on the 17th, allowing Lawrence to seal the title despite missing the green off the tee in a tense finish.

Lawrence's relief was clear when he spoke after the win, saying: "It's not over until the fat lady sings and I got a little conservative over the closing stretch and it cost me. I managed to hang in there. 

"It's what you strive for and play for every day. Being a kid you dream of this moment. I'm just so pleased, words can't describe it."

The victory represents Lawrence's third on the European Tour, with the 26-year-old having followed up 2021's Joburg Open win by claiming the Omega European Masters title in August.

Jens Fahrbring finished one shot behind Sordet in third, with Matti Schmid three shots further back in fourth. 

Criticism of Louis van Gaal as a "conservative coach" is unfair, according to Arsene Wenger, who believes the Netherlands boss will "gamble" when required.

Van Gaal has led the Oranje to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in his third stint in the job, beating the United States 3-1 on Saturday.

The Netherlands also reached the semi-finals under the former Ajax and Barcelona coach in 2014, before missing out on qualification for Russia 2018 in his absence.

Wenger, leading FIFA's technical study group, therefore believes Van Gaal deserves more leeway as his style of play in this tournament is scrutinised.

After finishing top of Group A, Van Gaal told journalists to go home if the Netherlands' football was "terribly boring", as the accusation had been.

"I would not classify Louis van Gaal as a conservative coach," Wenger said on Sunday. "I believe he has done remarkable work in his life and have a big respect for what he has delivered.

"He is a bit more cautious until now in the game. I agree with you because Dutch football, I have to give them credit, historically, they've always been attacking.

"In this competition, the numbers of possession is a bit less. That's it.

"I don't know if he plays deliberately conservatively or whether he does that to be more efficient. But at the moment, it works for him.

"And I wouldn't judge the potential for the Dutch until now. I think he knows. Van Gaal has huge experience.

"And I was thinking last night this guy, he comes back and he's in the quarter-final again. He's in the last eight with Holland, and before he came back, Holland had struggled.

"So, he has something special to carry the belief of a team, always to find the places in the tournament, and I have a huge respect for that.

"Let's see how he develops his capabilities as well to go for a gamble. If the game is tied later on in the match, I'm convinced [he will]."

Mehidy Hasan was the hero as Bangladesh claimed a famous one-wicket victory over India in a dramatic first ODI at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The tourists were all out for only 186 at the start of a three-match series, KL Rahul top scoring with 73 from 70 balls in Mirpur on Sunday, Shakib Al Hasan taking 5-36 and Ebadot Hossain 4-47.

Bangladesh looked to have blown their chance to take a 1-0 lead when they lost five wickets for just eight runs, slumping to 136-9.

But Mehidy came to the rescue, dominating an unbroken 10th-wicket stand of 51 with Mustafizur Rahman with a brilliant 38 not out to give the Tigers the most unlikely of victories and spark jubilant scenes in Dhaka.

Shakib had earlier played a huge role, dismissing Rohit Sharma (27) and Virat Kohli (nine) in the 11th over after Shikhar Dhawan fell cheaply.

Rahul, coming in at number five, and Shreyas Iyer (24) put on 60 for the fifth wicket before India lost four wickets for as many runs, Shakib and Ebadot doing the damage.

There were four sixes from Rahul, taking over as wicketkeeper-batter with Rishabh Pant ruled out, in an excellent knock that looked to be decisive as the Tigers capitulated in the run chase.

Stand-in captain Litton Das top scored with 41 after Deepak Chahar removed Najmul Hossain Shanto with the first ball of Bangladesh's innings, and Shakib made 29.

Mohammed Siraj took 3-32 and debutant Kuldeep Sen 2-37 as the Tigers wilted, but Mehidy was dropped by Rahul on 15 and made him pay, sealing a sensational victory with four overs to spare with great support from Mustafizur (10no)

Shakib and Ebadot tear through India

Shakib gave yet another demonstration of how he has risen to the top of the ODI and T20I all-rounder rankings, claiming his fourth five-wicket haul in the 50-over format.

He claimed the huge scalps of Rohit and Kohli in the 11th over, bowling his spin with great guile. Ebadot was the pick of the pacemen in his second ODI, sparking a collapse by dismissing Washington Sundar and also claiming the scalp of Rahul.

Magical Mehidy completes great escape

The crowd had been silenced and Bangladesh were on the ropes at 136-9 when Siraj trapped Hasan Mahmud leg before.

Step forward Mehidy, who struck two sixes and another four boundaries in a brilliant 72-ball knock after coming in at number eight, showing nerves of steel as he kept the strike and Mustafizur also remained calm under pressure in the Tigers' second-highest 10th-wicket ODI stand. 

Bangladesh have now won 12 of their past 14 ODIs, ending a run of five consecutive losses to India in this format.

Lionel Messi was liberated by winning last year's Copa America and is relishing his leading role in Argentina's World Cup bid, according to former team-mate Sergio Aguero.

Messi scored his ninth World Cup goal – and his first in a knockout tie – as Argentina claimed a 2-1 victory over Australia on Saturday, teeing up a quarter-final meeting with the Netherlands.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner's strike, a trademark left-footed finish after cutting inside from the right, also saw him surpass Diego Maradona's tally of eight World Cup goals for Argentina. Only Gabriel Batistuta (10) now has more for the country.

Messi highlighted his "beautiful" bond with Argentina's supporters after the win, but Aguero believes that is a recent development, one which came about as a result of the Albiceleste ending a 28-year wait to win the Copa America last July.

"Leo is going to do everything possible to achieve the goal that we all want," the former Argentina international told ESPN. 

"Leo is happy and content. The Copa America changed his life, it gave him life. After the Copa America, he was happy again in the national team, like when we were in the under-20s.

"He lived with criticism and lost finals for a long time. The Copa America was liberating for him."

Prior to Argentina's triumph over hosts Brazil last year, Messi had suffered the ignominy of losing four major international finals, failing to help his team over the line at the 2014 World Cup or the 2007, 2015 and 2016 editions of the Copa America.

Recalling that victory in Rio de Janeiro, Aguero said Brazil – who could meet Argentina in the World Cup semi-finals – would not relish a rematch.

"If we made it to the quarter-finals, let me be excited," Aguero said. "Do you think that Brazil wants to meet Argentina in the semi-finals? 

"Brazil has just lost the Copa America final, I think they don't want that match."