Erling Haaland wishes he was able to play in the World Cup in Qatar, and has named Brazil and England among the teams he thinks could win it.
Haaland will not be present as Norway failed to qualify, finishing third in their group behind the Netherlands and Turkey, so the Manchester City striker will have some time off before domestic football in England resumes in late December.
The 22-year-old has scored 23 goals in 18 games in all competitions for City since joining from Borussia Dortmund earlier in the year, and says he will not overdo his training during the enforced break.
"I wished I played in the World Cup of course, but that's the reality now [that] I don't do [that], but I will relax my body and my mind a lot and then I will train," Haaland told Sky Sports.
"What I will train on? Nothing special I think, it's been going quite well my first months at City, so I don't need to do so many changes to be honest.
"It's about preparing myself for the next half of the season and be ready when the next game kicks in after the break."
When asked who he believes will win the World Cup, Haaland said: "I think the favourites should be Brazil, Argentina, France, and maybe England. I cannot only say one because there are so many good teams."
Haaland was only able to play in six of Norway's World Cup qualifiers, but he scored five goals before adding another six in six games in the Nations League, and the striker wants his country to qualify for future major tournaments.
"The biggest thing we can do is to get to either a World Cup or a Euros," he said. "That of course is my goal with the national team to do. We know it's difficult, but hopefully in the future one day I'll be able to play there."
The Los Angeles Rams' Super Bowl title defence has become significantly more difficult with star wide receiver Cooper Kupp heading to injured reserve.
Coach Sean McVay told reporters on Tuesday that the 2021 AP Offensive Player of the Year will undergo tightrope surgery for his high-ankle sprain.
The recovery time is expected to be about five to six weeks, meaning it is possible Kupp could return for one of the Rams’ final few games.
It is also possible, however, the Rams ultimately decide to shut him down for the rest of the season if they are out of the playoff picture.
The Rams fell to 3-6 after Sunday’s 27-17 home loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
Kupp was injured against the Cardinals when he jumped in an attempt to make a catch and his right ankle was rolled over by a defender upon landing.
He has been one of the few bright spots in the Rams offence, ranking second in the NFL in receptions (75) and fifth in both receiving yards (812) and receiving touchdowns (6).
"Obviously you never ever replace a player like Cooper Kupp, but we've got to figure out the best way to accentuate the skill sets of the guys that will be playing," McVay said.
In 2021, Kupp became just the fifth player in the Super Bowl era to lead the NFL in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
He played a crucial role in the Rams’ run to the Super Bowl, catching 33 passes for 478 yards and six touchdowns in four playoff contests, including eight receptions for 92 yards and a pair of TDs in the title game.
Although he is enjoying another stellar season, the Rams rank 29th in scoring (16.4 points per game) and 31st in total yards (282.7 per game).
Allen Robinson and Van Jefferson will likely see larger roles in the offence in Kupp’s absence.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane will be out for up to three weeks with a toe injury.
Bane did the damage to his right big toe during a 114-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at FedExForum last Friday.
The Grizzlies on Tuesday revealed Bane will be sidelined for at least a fortnight.
A statement released by the franchise said: "After further evaluation, it was determined that Memphis Grizzlies guard Desmond Bane suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his right big toe during the November 11 game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Bane will be re-evaluated in 2-3 weeks."
Bane is averaging a career-high 24.7 points, 4.8 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game for Memphis in an impressive season to date.
The Grizzlies are fourth in the Western Conference at 9-5 ahead of a meeting with the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi has named Brazil, France and England as his favourites to claim World Cup glory in Qatar.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner will feature at his fifth World Cup this year, when he will look to help Argentina to their first triumph at the tournament since 1986.
Messi was named Player of the Tournament when Argentina reached the World Cup final in 2014, but the Paris Saint-Germain star believes other teams head to Qatar in a better position than the Albiceleste.
"Whenever we talk about candidates, we always talk about the same teams," Messi told South American football federation CONMEBOL.
"If I have to put some above others, I think Brazil, France and England are a little bit above the rest.
"But the World Cup is so difficult and so complicated that anything can happen."
All six of Messi's World Cup goals to date have been scored in the group stages, and he has failed to net in 756 minutes of action in the knockout rounds of the tournament.
However, Messi was in inspired form as Argentina finished as runners-up to Germany eight years ago, contributing to 63 per cent of his team's goals in Brazil (5/8, with four goals and one assist).
He believes Lionel Scaloni's team can grow into the tournament this time around.
"We are very excited. We have a very nice group that is very eager, but we think about going little by little," Messi said.
"We hope to start the World Cup in the best way to face everything that comes after. The more you play and the more time you spend on the pitch, the more you get to know each other."
Argentina begin their Group C campaign against Saudi Arabia next Tuesday before facing Poland and Mexico.
Rafael Nadal is not certain he will return to his very best form and full fitness in 2023 – but he has no doubt he will give it his very best shot.
The veteran Spaniard went down 6-3 6-4 to Felix Auger-Aliassime on Tuesday at the ATP Finals, his second defeat in the round-robin group stage and a fourth consecutive loss overall.
This season began in stunning style for Nadal as he won the Australian Open and followed that with a 14th French Open title, taking his tally of grand slams to 22 - a record haul for a male singles player.
However, Nadal has a serious ongoing foot problem, and the 36-year-old had to withdraw from Wimbledon prior to a semi-final against Nick Kyrgios after suffering a torn abdomen.
Injuries have prevented him playing a full season, and he was clearly not at his best against Auger-Aliassime, who has Nadal's uncle, Toni Nadal, on his coaching team.
Asked whether he will take an optimistic or doubtful approach into next season, Nadal said: "You can be both ways. You can be optimistic and have doubts. Why not?
"For me the doubts, as I said plenty of times, are very good in this world. People who don't have doubts, it is probably because they are too arrogant, from my point of view.
"If you are not optimistic or positive, it's impossible that things are going to go the proper way. That's my point of view and that's my approach."
He will hope to make a strong start to the new campaign in Australia, and will put in the work to give himself every chance of showing up in shape to win again.
"I just need to recover all these positive feelings and all this confidence and all this strong mentality that I need to be at the level that I want to be," Nadal said.
"And I don't know if I'm going to reach that level again. But what I don't have any doubt about is that I'm going to die for it."
He will round off his round-robin campaign against Casper Ruud in Turin on Thursday, facing the young Norwegian he crushed in the French Open final.
Once he returns to his Mallorca home, Nadal can look at what lies ahead.
"What can happen in Australia? I don't know. It's a month and a half away," Nadal said.
"What can I do to give myself a positive chance to have a good season next year? As always, be humble enough to accept that I have a challenge in front, that the last six months have been very difficult for me.
"I need to work more and I need to recover things that I lost because I was not able to practice the proper way, I was not able to compete the proper way.
"What I have to do now is come back, work hard, stay positive every single day, accept the challenge, accept that I am going to need to suffer a little bit more."
Sunrisers Hyderabad have released captain Kane Williamson on the back of a poor 2022 Indian Premier League season.
The New Zealand skipper scored just 216 runs from 13 innings at an average of 19.64 in the IPL this year.
Sunrisers on Tuesday announced that Williamson has not been retained by the franchise, who finished eighth last season.
Nicholas Pooran and Sean Abbott are among the other players who have not been kept on by Hyderabad.
It was also the end of an era for Mumbai Indians, with Kieron Pollard calling time on his IPL playing days and taking over as the franchise's batting coach.
Kolkata Knight Riders will have to do without Pat Cummins, Alex Hales and Sam Billings after the overseas trio opted out of the 2023 tournament.
Dwayne Bravo and Chris Jordan were among the players on the Chennai Super Kings' list of released players, while Jason Holder will not feature for Lucknow Super Giants.
Black Caps duo Daryl Mitchell and Jimmy Neesham will not return to Rajasthan Royals, while the same goes for South Africa batter Rassie Van Der Dussen.
Neymar is primed to lead Brazil to World Cup glory in Qatar, according to former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Mohamed Sissoko.
The 30-year-old Neymar has had a strong start to the campaign with PSG, recording 26 goal involvements (15 goals, 11 assists) in 20 games so far, and Sissoko believes he has shown the motivation to carry that form into the World Cup, which begins on Sunday.
Speaking to Stats Perform, Sissoko predicted the Selecao to win the tournament, citing Neymar as one of the chief reasons why.
"[I think] Brazil [will win], because they have a strong team and good spirit and I think they have a big chance of winning this World Cup," he said.
"I know [Neymar is] going to be on fire this year because when you're on holiday and you decide to come back one week before you start, it is because you have good motivation. It is because you have the World Cup, so he wants to show all the Brazilian people he's a big player and he wants to bring back the World Cup to Brazil."
Sissoko, who also played for Liverpool and Juventus among others before retiring in 2019, picked out three more players he thinks will thrive at the World Cup, including two more Brazilians.
"[Aurelien] Tchouameni [of France] is a very good player," Sissoko said. "Vinicius [Junior] is going to be on fire, also Raphinha from Barcelona. I think they have good motivation to do something very good at the World Cup."
Sissoko featured for Mali as an international player, and he pointed to Morocco as one of the African teams to look out for in Qatar.
Morocco will be in Group F with Belgium, Croatia and Canada, and they recently hired French-born Walid Regragui as head coach.
"They have a good team. Not one of the best," Sissoko said. "But I think this new manager, I know him very [well]. He knows French culture, and also Moroccan culture. So I think Morocco has a good team to go far."
Five African teams will take part in Qatar, with Morocco joined by Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana and Tunisia, and Sissoko hopes they can make an impression, even if lifting the trophy might be beyond them.
"I don't know [if an African team can win the World Cup] because of big talent and big teams like Brazil, Argentina, England, and France. It is not easy to compete with them at this moment, but I think they have the quality to go to the quarter-finals," he said.
"For me, Senegal is in progress... Senegal I think is the team with more progress because they bring a lot of foreign players. You know they have good players like [Kalidou] Koulibaly, like [Sadio] Mane, and now they're starting to bring in a young player like [Ismail] Jakobs from Monaco.
"This is very important to have a strong team, a strong group. So I think Senegal also have the power to go to the quarter-finals."
Ferrari have denied reports they are preparing to replace team principal Mattia Binotto with Alfa Romeo's Frederic Vasseur.
The Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper claims the Italian team have decided to end Binotto's spell at the helm after four seasons.
Binotto, 53, has overseen a period where Ferrari have often struggled against the might of the Mercedes and Red Bull teams.
Charles Leclerc sits second in the drivers' championship this season, level on points with Sergio Perez but a long way behind Max Verstappen, who has clinched the title.
As a team, Ferrari sit second ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. They are narrowly ahead of Mercedes but a huge 195 points adrift of Red Bull.
Leclerc finished fourth in Sunday's Brazilian Grand Prix, with Ferrari team-mate Carlos Sainz taking third place.
Ferrari said in a team statement on Tuesday: "In relation to speculation in certain media regarding Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto's position, Ferrari states that these rumours are totally without foundation."
Vasseur, 54, is team principal of the Alfa Romeo team, with the famous marque having returned to Formula One in 2018 in a tie-up with Sauber. Alfa Romeo plans to end its association with Sauber at the end of 2023.
Kimi Raikkonen was Ferrari's last drivers' champion in 2007, while the team last won the constructors' championship in 2008.
Sadio Mane will miss Senegal's "first games" of the World Cup due to injury, a Senegalese Football Federation official revealed on Tuesday.
The Bayern Munich forward's place at Qatar 2022 looked to be in jeopardy after he suffered a fibula injury this month, but he was included in Aliou Cisse's 26-man squad.
However, Mane will not feature in Senegal's clash against the Netherlands next Monday and Senegalese Football Federation board member Abdoulaye Sow revealed that will not be the only Group A match he will miss.
Senegal will face hosts Qatar next Thursday before taking on Ecuador in their final group match on November 29.
Sow stated: "Senegal will have to cope without its best player for the start of the tournament and not whine too much.
"We will have to rely on playing the first games without Sadio and win without Sadio because we have 25 players apart from Sadio.
"No one would have wanted it, but that's what's happened to us."
Mane starred as Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations this year and he has made an impressive start to his Bayern career following his move from Liverpool.
The 30-year-old's injury will prevent his from coming up against his former Reds team-mate Virgil van Dijk next week.
West Indies ODI and T20I captain Nicholas Pooran and former West Indies captains Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard were among several West Indians to be released by their Indian Premier League (IPL) franchises on Tuesday’s deadline day to retain and release players.
While Pooran, Pollard, who announced his IPL retirement earlier on Tuesday, and Super Kings' Dwayne Bravo were the most high-profile West Indians not retained, there were several other younger players from the Caribbean who were released by their teams.
Along with Pooran, Sunrisers Hyderabad let go of Romario Shepherd, Lucknow Super Giants released Jason Holder and Evin Lewis, Mumbai released Fabian Allen, Royal Challengers Bangalore let go of Sherfane Rutherford, Punjab released Odean Smith and Gujarat Titans did not retain Dominic Drakes.
On the flip side, several West Indians were retained by their franchises.
Obed McCoy and Shimron Hetmyer were retained by the Rajasthan Royals, Alzarri Joseph was retained by defending champions the Gujarat Titans, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine will once again suit up for the Kolkata Knight Riders, Kyle Mayers was retained by Lucknow Super Giants and Rovman Powell was retained by the Delhi Capitals.
The released players will get their chance to be snapped up by another franchise at the IPL player auction which will be held on December 23 in Kochi.
Rafael Nadal lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime for the first time as his poor run of results continued at the ATP Finals in Turin, where he looks set for a group-stage exit.
In the Green Group, Auger-Aliassime ran out a 6-3 6-4 winner over the 22-time grand slam champion, whose uncle Toni Nadal is on his opponent's coaching team.
Nadal came to Italy with a chance to snatch the year-end number one ranking from Carlos Alcaraz but needed to win this tournament, and defeats to Taylor Fritz and now Auger-Aliassime have almost quashed that prospect.
On Tuesday, the 36-year-old suffered a fourth successive singles defeat, which began with a US Open last-16 exit to Frances Tiafoe and was followed at the Paris Masters by a loss to Tommy Paul.
Auger-Aliassime was beaten in his opening match by Casper Ruud, but he came from 40-0 behind to break for a 5-3 lead in the opener of this contest, before serving out for the set comfortably enough. A break early in the second set put him on course to wrap up the match, with Nadal struggling to make an impact.
This was just a third meeting between Nadal and Auger-Aliassime on the ATP Tour, with Nadal winning both previous contests, including an epic five-set contest in the French Open fourth round in May.
The result this time, however, means Nadal has lost consecutive matches in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals for the first time since 2011. With a 0-2 record, his only remaining hope of progress hinged on Ruud losing to Fritz later on Tuesday, which would offer Nadal a slim hope going into his final Green Group match against Ruud.
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Auger-Aliassime - 15/2
Nadal - 1/4
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Auger-Aliassime - 32/2
Nadal - 13/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Auger-Aliassime - 2/4
Nadal - 0/5
Kieron Pollard has ended his Indian Premier League playing career but will remain with Mumbai Indians in the role of batting coach.
Pollard has featured in 13 IPL seasons for Mumbai, winning the tournament five times and also lifting the Champions League trophy twice.
The former West Indies captain on Tuesday announced he has played his last game for the Indians, but will turn out for the MI Emirates in the UAE T20 League.
All-rounder Pollard is Mumbai's second-highest run-scorer with 3,915 and has struck the most sixes for the franchise, clearing the rope 22 times.
The 35-year--old stated: "It hasn't been the easiest decision to make as I will keep playing for a few more years, but I understand that this incredible franchise which has achieved so much needs to transition and if I'm no longer to play for MI then I cannot see myself playing against MI either.
"Once an MI always an MI. I am immensely proud, honoured and blessed to have represented the biggest and most successful team in the IPL for the past 13 seasons.
"Most sincerely, I express my deep appreciation to Mukesh, Nita and Akash Ambani [Mumbai's owners] for their tremendous love, support and respect I have always felt and for the confidence they placed in me. I recall our first encounter when they welcomed me with open arms saying, “We are family”.
"Those were not just mere words, but demonstrated by their every action throughout my time with Mumbai Indians."
The Golden State Warriors have a chance to reaffirm themselves as the heavyweights in the Western Conference on Wednesday when the defending NBA champions visit the Phoenix Suns.
Steve Kerr's team have endured a difficult start to their bid to win back-to-back titles, going 6-8 across their opening 14 games.
But they produced one of their best performances of the season on Monday, crushing the San Antonio Spurs 132-95.
A meeting with the Suns, seen as one of the primary challengers to Golden State in the West going into the season, my provide a more accurate indication of whether the Warriors have turned things around.
Phoenix lost a thriller with the Miami Heat on Monday, losing 113-112 on the road to drop to 8-5 but had little issue knocking off the Warriors in their first meeting this season on October 25, prevailing 134-105.
Veteran point guard Chris Paul has missed the last three games with a heel problem, and it remains to be seen if he will be healthy to play against the Warriors.
However, even without Paul the Suns possess one of the most talented rosters in the league, and with Devin Booker continuing his outstanding form from last season, they are well-equipped to trouble a Warriors team that has yet to win on the road this campaign.
PIVOTAL PERFORMERS
Phoenix Suns - Devin Booker
Through 13 games, Booker has the highest offensive rating of his career (117.2) while his effective field goal percentage of 53.5 is his best since the 2019-20 season (54.4).
His 26.5 points per game rank 11th in the NBA, and his ability to maintain that efficiency will be key against a Warriors team whose problems have predominantly been on defense.
Golden State Warriors - Jordan Poole
Poole scored 36 points after being inserted into the starting lineup as Klay Thompson was rested against San Antonio, making a compelling argument for becoming a permanent fixture in the Warriors' starting five.
Kerr is not ready to make the that move, but, after the spark he gave Golden State last time out, Poole could play a more prominent role in a game that may yet be a preview of the Western Conference Finals if the Warriors can get back on track.
KEY BATTLE - Can Warriors find a winning bench combination?
The main issue with the Warriors does not concern their starting five, but their youthful bench.
Indeed, the Warriors' bench has an average plus-minus of minus 4.9, the worst in the NBA, their issues in that regard exemplified by Golden State sending former second overall pick James Wiseman to the G-League.
By contrast, the Suns' bench ranks sixth in the league with an average plus-minus of plus-1.5. If the Warriors cannot find a way to narrow that gap, it could be another difficult night for the champions.
HEAD TO HEAD
The Warriors and Suns split the season series in 2021-22, each winning once at home and once on the road. Recent history favours the Suns, though, with the Warriors having lost five of their last seven against Phoenix on the road, including the blowout defeat in Arizona last month.
West Indies great Kieron Pollard has announced his retirement from the Indian Premier League after 13 years and five titles with the Mumbai Indians.
Pollard, who made the announcement in a statement on Instagram on Tuesday, made the decision after failing to see himself in MI's scheme of things going forward as the franchise enters a transition phase.
The all-rounder added that his loyalty towards the franchise is such that he cannot envision himself representing any other team in the IPL.
With that said, it is not the end of the road for Pollard with the Mumbai Indians as the former West Indies captain has agreed to take over as the team's batting coach.
Only a handful of players in IPL have featured in 100 or more games for a single franchise. Pollard stands second on the list of most appearances for a single club having featured in 189 IPL matches for Mumbai Indians. Virat Kohli sits atop with his record tally for Royal Challengers Bangalore while others on the list feature Sunil Narine (Kolkata Knight Riders from 2011), Jasprit Bumrah (Mumbai Indians from 2013) and Lasith Malinga (who had two stints at Mumbai). In those 189 games, he scored 3412 runs, laced with 16 fifties and picked up 69 wickets, becoming one of the most prolific all-rounders the league ever witnessed.
Pollard’s full statement: “It hasn't been the easiest decision to make as I intend to keep playing for a few more years, but following discussions with Mumbai Indians I have decided to call time on my IPL career. I understand that this incredible franchise which has achieved so much needs to transition and if I'm no longer to play for MI then I cannot see myself playing against MI either, 'Once an MI always an MI'.
This is not an emotional goodbye to MI however as I have agreed to take up the role of batting coach in the IPL as well as play with MI Emirates. This next chapter of my career is genuinely exciting and allows me to transition myself too from playing to coaching,
I am immensely proud, honoured and blessed to have represented the biggest and most successful team in the IPL for the past 13 seasons. It was always an aspiration to play for this fantastic team and although I will miss the buzz of the IPL you get as a player, I take comfort in knowing that I have been fortunate enough to have played with some of the best players in the world in front of our passionate fans. I have always felt and appreciated their unconditional support both on and off the field. Together, we won the Champions League in 2011 and 2013 and the IPL in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2020,
I must give big thanks to the Coaches, Managers and other backroom support staff we have had at Mumbai Indians and who I now join. We would not have achieved the success over the years without their continuing hard work, dedication and commitment to creating the best environment and I look forward to emulating their successful approach. In particular, I would like to pay special tribute to my good friend Robin Singh for his sound advice and guidance over the years and whose very shoes I now fill.
Most sincerely, I express my deep appreciation to Mukesh, Nita and Akash Ambani for their tremendous love, support and respect I have always felt and for the confidence they placed in me. I recall our first encounter when they welcomed me with open arms saying "We are family". Those were not just mere words, but demonstrated by their every action throughout my time with Mumbai Indians.”
Lastly, I would like to say a special thank you to my friends and family especially my wife, Jenna and my three beautiful children for all the love, support and the many sacrifices they have made over the years and will continue to make to allow me to fulfil my childhood dream of playing cricket at the highest levels for such a long time.
Today, I make this step with hope and excitement towards the future knowing that I will be playing a role in an institution, whose values align so closely to mine, where "We are family"
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