Pakistan captain Babar Azam urged his side to relish the moment after reaching their first T20 World Cup final in 13 years with victory over New Zealand.
A wonderful opening stand of 105 from the skipper and Mohammad Rizwan (57) guided them to a seven-wicket victory over the Black Caps in the first semi-final in Sydney, as they successfully chased down 153.
It sends Pakistan into the tournament's showpiece game for the first time since 2009, when they defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets at Lord's to lift the trophy for the first and only time in their history.
Having sneaked into the semi-finals thanks to a shock South Africa collapse against the Netherlands in Group 2, Babar's side could now go all the way - and he says they will celebrate their achievement justly.
"We will enjoy this moment, but at the same time we will focus on the final," Babar said after scoring 53 from 42 balls.
"The way the team performed in the last three matches [has been incredible]. Thanks to the crowd, it feels like we are playing at home.
"We had a really good start with the first six overs, we knew our spinners could then come on later. We were happy to chase around 150.
"Then we had a plan before the chase to attack the first six overs, so we could get the momentum. We knew later on the other players could chip in.
"We don't know who we've got yet, so we will be watching tomorrow, but we have got a few days to get together and discuss that game."
Pakistan will await either India or England, who meet on Thursday in the second semi-final in Adelaide.
Erling Haaland may struggle to score as many goals over the rest of the season as opponents figure him out, says former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha.
The Norway international has enjoyed a blistering start to life at the Etihad Stadium, with 23 goals across all competitions since arriving from Borussia Dortmund.
That includes 18 in the Premier League alone, putting him firmly on course to smash the competition's record single-season tally of 34 with not even half the campaign gone.
But while Onuoha, who played for City between 2004 and 2012, thinks it likely he could rack up an all-time feat, he warns the Leeds-born attacker will likely face sterner opposition following the mid-season break.
"It's very possible," he told Stats Perform. "But I think it gets harder the more time that passes in terms of being in the league, because people know how you operate.
"They know they have to have get a better idea of how to stop you, because City with a six-foot four striker is a different look for most teams that played against them for the last six or seven years under [Pep] Guardiola.
"It's possible if he stays available and City stay dominant. But football is very difficult, especially in the second half of [a] season, where you start to run out of time.
"The moment you start running out of time, the desperation kicks in, and things which maybe would have been easier in the first half of the season [are] a bit more difficult."
Onuoha feels Haaland has shown he can cope with the pressure amid a lightning start, firing City into the thick of another title race, though the ex-defender also praised Arsenal amid their own surprise charge
"There's going to be so many more eyes on him because he [is] one of the biggest players in world football, not necessarily the Premier League," he added. "He's a talent who's going to bring eyeballs. He's been exceptional.
"But I have to give credit to Arsenal, I think Arsenal has been incredible. They've dropped five points up to this moment. And in those games, they've looked really good.
"It's very entertaining. Whatever we see now, there's no guarantee this is how it will finish. I think that's what makes it so special."
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has quelled suggestions that Karim Benzema is unavailable for club action in order to keep him fit for the World Cup.
The France international is set to represent the defending champions in Qatar but enters the tournament with a lack of minutes, having last appeared domestically against Elche on October 19.
Those fitness issues will once again keep Benzema absent from Thursday's trip to Cadiz, the final game before Qatar 2022, where Madrid are looking to bounce back after a surprise defeat to Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Benzema's recent absence has not resulted in any concerns that he could be missing for France, leading to suggestions that he may just be being rested to ensure he does not get injured ahead of the tournament.
But Ancelotti denied that was the case.
"It has bothered me that he has not been able to help us with his quality - he has tried but he has not been able to come back from this small thing, so he is not available," Ancelotti said in Wednesday's press conference.
"I don't have to say anything to anyone. The first disappointed person is Karim, who arrives at the World Cup without the necessary minutes to be in good condition.
"To think that he has been rested, I do not believe it, it is silly. He has not stopped; he has trained alone, but the feelings he had were not good.
"It means he arrives at the World Cup with few minutes in his legs."
Asked whether Benzema ever felt his World Cup involvement was in doubt, Ancelotti added: "No, apart from that big injury against Celtic, it's been two small things."
Madrid's defeat last time out leaves the defending LaLiga champions five points adrift of leaders Barcelona, albeit with a game in hand, and Ancelotti highlighted a drop in intensity as the reason for his side's decline.
He added: "If you lower intensity against teams that do not play in Europe, such as Rayo, they can be at a higher level than the rest.
"It's less noticeable when you're playing against teams that do play in Europe."
Pakistan's opening batters returned to form at the ideal moment as they propelled their side into the T20 World Cup final at New Zealand's expense.
Set a competitive target of 153 at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Wednesday, Pakistan claimed a seven-wicket triumph to tee up a meeting with England or sub-continental rivals India.
Their victory owed much to the work of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam, who scored 57 and 53 respectively, with both openers finding form just when Pakistan needed them most.
Kane Williamson's 46 and an unbeaten 53 from Daryl Mitchell ensured New Zealand – runners-up to Australia in the United Arab Emirates last year – were in with a chance, as they reached 152-4 in their 20 overs, with Shaheen Shah Afridi (2-24) the pick of Pakistan's bowlers.
Matters might have been much different had Devon Conway taken the chance to send Babar packing with the first ball Pakistan's captain faced, only to drop the catch.
Babar took full advantage, and it was the 13th over – with Pakistan having reached 105 – before he fell to Trent Boult (2-33), though Rizwan chipped his way to a half-century.
Boult claimed another vital wicket when Rizwan picked out Glenn Phillips in the deep, though the damage was already done - the stage set for Mohammad Haris (30) to lash Lockie Ferguson for two boundaries, the second of which was a huge six that put Pakistan well ahead of the required run rate.
Haris clipped to Finn Allen at the end of the penultimate over, yet Shan Masood had no nerves in the first ball of the final over as he sent Pakistan into their first World Cup final since 2007, when they were beaten by India.
Captain's knock from Babar
Pakistan looked to be staring down the barrel of an early exit from the tournament last weekend, but South Africa's shock defeat to the Netherlands handed them a chance. Now, they will go for glory in the tournament's showpiece match.
While Rizwan had started to find his form again in the later Group 2 matches, Babar had accumulated only 39 runs across the tournament prior to Wednesday, but he delivered when it mattered this time out, hitting seven fours in his 42-ball knock.
Fielding lets New Zealand down
What might have been for the Black Caps, who will have to lick their wounds again after also coming so close in 2021.
They put down three great opportunities throughout Pakistan's innings, including Ish Sodhi's late drop of Haris. New Zealand have now lost three of their T20 World Cup semi-finals, while they have lost five of their last six meetings with Pakistan in the format.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric is set to compete in his fourth World Cup finals, having been named in Croatia's squad for the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Zlatko Dalic's side – beaten by France in the final of the 2018 edition in Russia – begin their campaign on November 23 against Morocco, then tackling Canada and Belgium in Group F, standing as favourites to advance as group winners.
Croatia boast an experienced squad, with captain Modric included alongside Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic, Inter's Marcelo Brozovic and Tottenham's Ivan Perisic, though key players from the 2018 campaign such as Ivan Rakitic and Danijel Subasic have bowed out of international football, while Mario Mandzukic has retired altogether and will instead be on Dalic's bench as an assistant coach.
Bayern Munich defender Josip Stanisic and RB Leipzig's highly rated Josko Gvardiol have been selected alongside experienced duo Domagoj Vida and Dejan Lovren, but there is no place for Southampton's Duje Caleta-Car, who has been capped 23 times by Croatia and was named in Dalic's preliminary selection.
Wolfsburg forward Josip Brekalo, who has represented his country 33 times, is another high-profile name to miss out. Mislav Orsic, the Dinamo Zagreb forward who has impressed in the Champions League and Europa League in recent seasons, has made the cut.
Speaking about his selection, Dalic said: "These are the players that my staff and I believe in. There will be no pressure, we will take it one game at a time.
"The first match for us is the most important and all our focus is on Morocco. We are optimistic but need to be realistic. It is a big deal for Croatia to be at the World Cup, we will take it step by step and do the best we can."
Croatia will also face Canada and Belgium in Group F in Qatar.
Croatia squad: Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivica Ivusic (Osijek), Ivo Grbic (Atletico Madrid); Domagoj Vida (AEK Athens), Dejan Lovren (Zenit), Borna Barisic (Rangers), Josip Juranovic (Celtic), Josko Gvardiol (RB Leipzig), Borna Sosa (Stuttgart), Josip Stanisic (Bayern Munich), Martin Erlic (Sassuolo), Josip Sutalo (Dinamo Zagreb); Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Mateo Kovacic (Chelsea), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter), Mario Pasalic (Atalanta), Nikola Vlasic (Torino), Lovro Majer (Rennes), Kristijan Jakic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Luka Sucic (Salzburg), Ivan Perisic (Tottenham); Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Bruno Petkovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Mislav Orsic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ante Budimir (Osasuna), Marko Livaja (Hajduk Split).
EA Sports has used FIFA 23 to predict the outcome of the 2022 World Cup, with Argentina backed to beat Brazil in an all-South American final.
The tournament gets underway on November 20 and Brazil and reigning Copa America champions Argentina will have high hopes, as they look to end a 20-year dominant streak by European nations.
Argentina, defeated by Germany in the 2014 final, are predicted by FIFA 23 to end that streak.
Lionel Messi is also forecasted to win the Golden Boot with a return of seven goals in eight matches.
Interestingly, EA Sports has correctly picked the winners from each of the last three World Cup finals and are looking to make it four on the spin – while they also predicted the outcome for the team of the tournament.
Victors Argentina unsurprisingly dominate, with Emiliano Martinez, Marcos Acuna, Leandro Paredes, and Rodrigo de Paul joining Messi in the side for this year's competition, according to the video game.
Defeated finalists Brazil have Marquinhos, Vinicius Junior and Richarlison in the XI, with the team completed by France duo Kylian Mbappe and Raphael Varane, as well as Portugal's Joao Cancelo.
Xavi has revealed he was planning to call on Gerard Pique from the bench, had the retiring defender not seen red at half-time in Barcelona's clash with Osasuna.
Pique's glittering career ended on a low note on Tuesday, with the 35-year-old receiving his marching orders from referee Jesus Gil Manzano without even leaving the bench.
With Barca 1-0 down and a man down at half-time, having seen star striker Robert Lewandowski sent off, substitute Pique was shown a red card for dissent during the interval.
After an emotional send-off at Camp Nou at the weekend, an eighth LaLiga dismissal brought an end to his career.
Xavi was hoping to rely on his former team-mate, but instead had to struggle through with a makeshift backline after Andreas Christensen went off midway through the second half, with youngster Chadi Riad coming on as a late substitute.
"I was going to use Gerard," Xavi said at his post-match press conference.
"We knew that Chad was going to come in, Andreas was struggling with an injury. Eric [García] had some discomfort in the warm-up, and we were forced to not have him start.
"We did think about bringing in Gerard, but he was sent off at half-time when things got tense."
Even with their defensive issues and numerical disadvantage, Barca came away with a 2-1 win that saw them move five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga, with Raphinha netting a late winner.
"We felt that wasn’t just, we felt they were against us and that’s why we reacted so strongly," Xavi said.
"We celebrated this win as if everything was against us. The goal we conceded was a foul, then Lewandowski was sent off.
"All the decisions by the referee went against us and we thought we grabbed a win in a game we might tie."
Cristian Volpato's decision on his international allegiance is a personal one that "should not be sped up", Roma head coach Jose Mourinho has said.
With the 18-year-old scoring two goals and contributing one assist in just 106 minutes of Serie A football for Roma, a fierce battle for Volpato's services at international level has emerged.
Born in New South Wales, Volpato is also eligible to represent Italy and has featured at youth level for the European side.
Australia had hoped the lure of World Cup football, with the Socceroos tackling France, Tunisia and Denmark in Group D in Qatar, would persuade Volpato to select his country of birth – with European champions Italy not qualifying for the tournament.
However, Volpato rejected the call-up, not wishing to rush into a decision, and Mourinho believes it was the right call.
"I think it is a personal decision and the club has not been involved. As a coach, for example, I would refuse to call up a player, even a young one, in a situation like that," he said in a press conference.
"What I understand is that he is at the beginning of his career and that he's growing with Roma by getting more minutes in consecutive matches.
"It's not like last year where he played just one game against Verona and then he didn't play again, I think he has now played four games in a row.
"He is in a development phase where I think he has to focus on building his future and not on certain decisions where maybe someone else wants to accelerate a process that should not be sped up."
Volpato used social media on Wednesday to issue a comment on the matter.
"I've seen lots of speculation about decisions I have supposedly taken at international level: the truth is I am just at the start of my professional career and I am totally focused on continuing that process at Roma," he posted on Instagram.
"Making any sort of rushed decision about my international future at this early stage risks being extremely premature.
"There will be plenty of time for me to make the decision that feels right for me, but right now I know my focus needs to be continuing to work hard each and every day in order to continue improving as a player."
Jeff Saturday has never coached above the high school level, and the new Indianapolis Colts head coach is trusting assistant quarterback coach Parks Frazier to be his offensive playcaller.
First reported by NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, Frazier, 30, has never performed the role of playcaller before at any level, rising through the ranks with the Colts after playing quarterback at Murray State University.
He graduated with a degree in computer science and is considered one of the leaders among the staff in the areas of technology in data.
It continues a meteoric rise for Frazier, who was former head coach Frank Reich's assistant in the 2018 and 2019 seasons, before being promoted to quality control coach in 2020, and promoted again to assistant quarterback coach in 2021. Reich was also the officiant at Frazier's wedding.
Head coach Saturday reportedly spent Monday interviewing members of the staff for the role of offensive playcaller, and after considering quarterback coach Scott Milanovich, opted to instead appoint Milanovich's assistant.
Another factor that was said to play into the decision was that Frazier has worked closely with young quarterback Sam Ehlinger since he was drafted last year, and with Ehlinger set to start the remainder of the season, their chemistry was viewed as a plus.
New York Mets general manager Billy Eppler hopes, and believes, ace pitcher Jacob deGrom will choose to re-sign with the team after opting to enter free agency.
DeGrom, 34, signed a five-year, $137.5million extension with the Mets back in 2019, which included an option to void the final two years of the deal to enter free agency early.
After starting 32 games in the year he signed that deal, deGrom has battled a string of serious injuries, only starting a combined 38 games across the past three seasons.
At his age, with his injury history, he is likely looking at his last massive payday, so it should be no red flag for the Mets that he decided to opt out and cash-in for what will likely be a higher salary with extra years on top.
Eppler told the media on Tuesday that he is optimistic about his club's chances of bringing back the former Rookie of the Year and back-to-back Cy Young Award winner in 2018 and 2019.
"We had another conversation, or a couple of conversations actually leading up to the decision date," he said. "We just kind of made a pact to stay in touch.
"I think there's a good deal of interest there on his part, so that was articulated a number of times through the season and reiterated in our most recent conversation."
The Mets struck the first big deal of the offseason when they agreed to a five-year, $102m extension for closer Edwin Diaz the day free agency opened, making him the highest-paid relief pitcher in history.
SNY's Andy Martino is reporting the two teams most aggressively looking to lure deGrom out of New York are the Atlanta Braves and the Texas Rangers, and he adds that if either of those teams decide to pay a top-of-the-market price on a deal spanning at least four years, the Mets would be hesitant to match it.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta said he will pick "a very competitive team" for his side's EFL Cup fixture against Brighton on Wednesday.
The Gunners are enjoying a spectacular start to the Premier League season, with 11 wins, one draw and one loss from their opening 13 games.
Their success has translated to European competition as well, boasting five wins from their six Europa League group stage matches to sit atop Group A.
With a congested schedule and the World Cup right around the corner, Arteta could be forgiven for using the EFL Cup as a chance to rotate his squad and give his big names some rest, but he told the media that winning is the priority.
"It is a different competition, but the purpose is the same," he said. "To play as good as we can, win the game and go into the next round.
"You know there are no second chances and we’ll take it very seriously. We’re going to pick a very competitive team.
"I think everyone deserves chances, and we’ll make some changes with judgement in relation to the load of the players, but we’ll play to win.
"The ones that haven’t played want to have their chance, and feel that they are contributing to the team. The positive thing is that everybody has played games and everyone has been important.
"We have two games to go, and the focus has to be there because we know that afterwards we have a big break."
While he claims it will be business as usual against Brighton, Arteta pointed out that heavy rotation of his squad has been their new normal this season, and he sees it as an advantage.
"I think we had a really good pre-season and we put the boys in a really good condition to face this fixture congestion," he said. "They have responded extremely well, especially the way we play which is really intense.
"I think we are the team in Europe who has rotated the most, and obviously that has its benefits as well. When you are winning, the energy is better and the mood is better, but the preparation is a bit easier, so overall I think they have coped with it really well.
"When they have been used, they have performed really well. For periods in games in the Premier League and when they have started games in the Europa League and the Premier League, I think they have been really consistent.
"It’s a joy of a group to work with because they’re really at it every day."
Phoenix Suns sharpshooter Cameron Johnson underwent successful surgery to repair the meniscus in his right knee on Tuesday, and is expected to be sidelined for at least one month.
Johnson, 26, was the Suns' first-round pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and after being used primarily off the bench in his first three seasons, the three-point specialist broke into the starting lineup full-time this season.
He took Jae Crowder's starting role in doing so, leading to a relatively messy break-up between Crowder and the Suns, as he is now away from the team awaiting a trade and according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, Johnson's injury situation is not impacting that decision.
Johnson started the season averaging a career-high 13 points per game, and he leads the Suns in three-point makes per game (2.8) while shooting a career-high 43.1 per cent from long range.
In the game before he suffered his injury, Johnson led the Suns with 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting in a 116-107 win against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
After not coming to an agreement for a contract extension in the offseason, Johnson will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season, meaning the Suns will have the option to match any offer he receives from other interested teams.
The Las Vegas Raiders have released former first-round draft pick Johnathan Abram after failing to find a suitable trade for the safety before the deadline.
Abram, 26, was taken 27th overall in the 2019 NFL Draft, but his professional career got off to a rough start when he tore his rotator cuff in his first regular season game, cutting his rookie season short after one half.
He played and started in 13 games in his second season, recording two interceptions and six pass breakups, before tallying a career-high 116 tackles as he started 14 games in his third season.
Eyebrows were raised about his future in Las Vegas after his fifth-year option was declined by the team, and the writing was on the wall when he lost his starting role in Week 8 to 31-year-old veteran Duron Harmon.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, of the 121 players who have logged at least 1000 coverage snaps since 2019, Abram has allowed the second-highest completion percentage as a nearest defender.
With his release, Abram is now the fourth of the Raiders' six first-round draft picks under former general manager Mike Mayock to not make it through their rookie contract.
The Los Angeles Angels have no plans to trade two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani this offseason, general manager Perry Minasian told reporters Monday.
Ohtani is entering his final season of team control before he becomes a free agent next offseason. The Angels agreed to pay Ohtani $30million in 2023 to avoid arbitration, but speculation has persisted that Los Angeles is at a crossroads with the Japanese-born star.
"Because he's obviously such a good player, we're not moving him. Ohtani is not getting moved," Minasian said at the GM meetings in Las Vegas. "He'll be here to start the season.
"I know there's been rumors and all types of things, but he will be part of the club. We love the player and I think the goal is for him to be here for a long time."
Minasian said that the Angels’ potential impending ownership change would not affect the club’s willingness to offer Ohtani a contract that is sure to be enormous.
"At the end of the day it's ownership's call," Minasian said about a potential deal with Ohtani. "But I make the recommendations and I think everybody's on the same page. Easy player not to move."
Ohtani, 28, was named one of the three finalists for the American League MVP Monday after winning the award in 2021. He hit .273 this season with 34 home runs and 95 RBI. As a pitcher, he finished with a 15-9 record and 2.33 ERA while making a career-high 28 starts.
The Angels have missed the playoffs every season since Ohtani joined the team in 2018 and have made just one postseason appearance since his co-star, Mike Trout, made his debut in 2011.
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