Lionel Scaloni will consider making changes to Argentina's squad ahead of their World Cup campaign getting under way should players not prove their fitness.
Argentina head coach Scaloni named his 26-man travelling part for Qatar 2022 on Sunday ahead of his side's opening Group C fixture against Saudi Arabia on November 22.
Paulo Dybala made the cut after recently returning from injury for club side Roma, though he played no part in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates.
Teams can make injury-enforced changes to their squad from a list of 55 players previously submitted until the day before their opening game, something Scaloni is open to.
"We have some little problems and still have some days to decide the list," he told TyC Sports. "We can make changes, hopefully not, but there is the possibility.
"There are several players who today have been left out of the side because they were either not fit to play or there was a risk of injury.
"I can't guarantee that these players are fine. In principle, they are, but you have to be cautious. That's why we have been careful with the minutes."
Argentina had no trouble extending their unbeaten run to 36 matches with their five-star showing against the UAE, with Angel Di Maria and Lionel Messi playing big parts.
Di Maria scored twice and assisted one for Messi, who had earlier played in Julian Alvarez for the opener, before substitute Joaquin Correa added a fifth in the second period.
"We played with a World Cup mentality today," said midfielder Rodrigo de Paul. "I think this was a good test but we played well and also kept a clean sheet.
"If we want our opening [World Cup] match to go well, we have to arrive with this same mentality. We expressed ourselves well and continually want to improve."
Reigning South American champions Argentina follow up their opener against Saudi Arabia with game against Mexico and Poland.
Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria played starring roles as Argentina eased to a 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in their final outing ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni's men had no trouble in extending their unbeaten run to 36 matches heading into the tournament thanks to a commanding victory in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Di Maria scored twice and assisted one for Messi, who had earlier played in Julian Alvarez for the opener, as Argentina raced into a four-goal half-time lead.
Substitute Joaquin Correa scored the only goal of a disrupted second half as the reigning South American champions signed off for Qatar in style.
Messi was played clean through on goal but unselfishly squared for Alvarez to squeeze past Khalid Eisa as Argentina made their early dominance count with 17 minutes played.
Di Maria opened his account with a crisp volley that went in off the far post and then showed brilliant footwork to get away from his man, round the goalkeeper and add his second.
The UAE, who finished behind Iran and South Korea in qualifying to miss out on a place in Qatar, were further behind before half-time when Messi fired past Eisa after being played in by Di Maria.
Despite making four changes at the break, with Di Maria making way, Argentina continued to dominate and Correa slotted home a fifth on the hour despite being under pressure.
Caio Canedo went closest to pulling one back for the UAE with a shot that was cleared off the line late on, but La Albiceleste saw out a fifth clean sheet in a row.
Brandon King scored a half-century and Raymon Reifer claimed three wickets as the West Indies won their warm-up match against the United Arab Emirates at Junction Stadium by 17 runs on Sunday night.
It was not an easy win for the Caribbean men who would have suffered jitters when medium pacer Junaid Siddique took career-best figures of 5-13 to restrict West Indies to 152-9 from their 20 overs.
The West Indies owed their eventual match-winning score to a 95-run fourth wicket partnership between King and Captain Nicholas Pooran that spared the Caribbean men blushes after UAE won the toss and decided to bowl.
It seemed the right decision as the West Indies were struggling at 22-3 inside the Powerplay.
The dismissal of Evin Lewis (2), Johnson Charles (1) and Sharmarh Brooks (4) brought King and Pooran together in the fifth over and together they dragged the West Indies into a position of relative strength.
The West Indies captain hit five fours in his 31-ball 46 before he was bowled by Zahoor Khan, who had earlier dismissed Brooks. It was then 117-4 in the 15th over.
The loss of Pooran’s wicket saw the West Indies slip to 122-7 as Siddique, who had earlier removed Charles, scythed through the middle order with three wickets in four balls claiming Reifer for one, King for 64 and Akeal Hosein without scoring.
King's runs came from 45 balls and included seven fours and two sixes.
Siddique picked up his fifth wicket in the 18th over when he bowled Odean Smith for five.
Alzarri Joseph helped the West Indies past 150 with 15 well-needed runs from 11 balls before being the last man out, leaving Rovman Powell unbeaten on seven and Obed McCoy on four at the end.
Khan ended with 2-24.
Needing 153 for victory, UAE were 19-1 at the end of three when McCoy dismissed Chirag Suri for nine.
Muhammad Waseem and Vriityia Avarind took the score to 50 in the eighth when Reifer dismissed the latter for nine and CP Rizwan for one in the space of four balls as UAE slipped to 52-3 in the ninth.
The UAE ran into further trouble three balls later when Evin Lewis ran out Aayan Afzal Khan for a duck.
Waseem and Basil Hameed inched the score along to 66 by the 13th over when Reifer claimed his third after dismissing Hameed for five. It was soon 82 for 6 in the 16th when Odean Smith dismissed Kashif Daud for seven.
With nothing to lose UAE went for broke smashing 53 from the final 26 balls.
Waseem brought up his 50 with a six from the last ball of the 17th over bowled by McCoy that yielded 16 runs. The pair also took 15 from the 19th bowled by Alzarri Joseph, whose last ball was smashed for six by Zawar Farid, who ended unbeaten on 29 from the 14 balls he faced.
Waseem’s heroic unbeaten 69 came from 52 balls and included four fours and three sixes as UAE closed on 135-6.
Reifer took 3-13 while Odean Smith had figures of 1-20 from his four overs. McCoy gave up 49 runs from his four overs.
Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Nicholas Pooran are the latest big names from the Caribbean to sign up for the UAE's International League T20 (ILT20).
They join the likes of Andre Fletcher, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Fabian Allen, Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Raymon Reifer, Sherfane Rutherford, Ravi Rampaul, Kennar Lewis and Dominic Drakes as West Indians participating in the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Other big names participating include England's Moeen Ali and Alex Hales as well as Sri Lankan leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga.
The ILT20 is set to begin in January next year in the UAE and is competing with South Africa's T20 League for players. There will be six franchises consisting of 18 players each.
The 2023 edition of the ILT20 will have 34 matches. All the teams will play each other twice, before four playoffs, including the final, spread across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
Ajdin Hrustic's late deflected strike sealed a 2-1 victory over the United Arab Emirates that put Australia one win away from the World Cup.
The Socceroos could not muster a shot on target in the first half of a do-or-die play-off at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium and they were indebted to Mat Ryan for twice denying Harib Abdalla Suhail at his near post.
Australia got into their stride after break and were in front when Jackson Irvine turned in Martin Boyle's cross from close range with 53 minutes gone.
The UAE were level four minutes later when Caio Canedo fired into the roof of the net from six yards out with his left foot after Suhail's cross caused panic in the Socceroos defence.
Craig Goodwin missed a great chance to put Graham Arnold's side back in front, but the decisive moment came six minutes from time as Hrustic let fly with a powerful left-foot strike that hit Ali Salmeen and gave goalkeeper Khalid Eisa no chance.
Australia will face Peru in an intercontinental play-off at the same venue next Monday, with the winner sealing their place in the showpiece in Qatar. The UAE's wait for a first World Cup appearance since 1990 goes on.
Stafanie Taylor’s Tornadoes Women claimed the inaugural FairBreak Invitational T20 title with an emphatic eight-wicket win over Falcons Women at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Saturday.
Tornadoes Women captain Sophie Devine called right at the toss and asked the Falcons to bat first before the Tornadoes had the Falcons reeling at 59-4 in the 10th over.
An unbeaten 92-run fifth wicket partnership between South African Marizanne Kapp (67 not out) and Hong Kong’s Mariko Hill (30 not out) then propelled the Falcons to a respectable 151-4 off their 20 overs.
Thailand’s Chanida Sutthiruang led the bowling for the Tornadoes with 2-19 from three overs.
The Tornadoes completed the chase without stress as captain Sophie Devine (51) and Sterre Kalis (44) shared in an opening partnership of 76 before Stafanie Taylor (34 not out) and South African Sune Luus (18 not out) steered them to 152-2 with five balls to spare.
West Indies Women all-rounder, Hayley Matthews, produced a fine display to help the Warriors Women secure a 54-run win over Deandra Dottin’s Barmy Army Women in the FairBreak Invitational T20 tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Thursday.
Matthews first struck a well-played 52 off 35 balls to help the Warriors post 156-6 off their 20 overs after the Barmy Army won the toss and elected to field first.
She wasn’t the star of the day with the bat, however, as South African Mignon Du Preez shone with an excellent 75 not out off 54 balls including six fours and three sixes.
Dottin took 1-11 off two overs for the Barmy Army before leaving the field with a slight injury.
Matthews then returned to pick up 2-3 off three overs to combine with Sri Lanka’s Udeshika Prabodhani (2-17 off two overs) and restrict Barmy Army Women to 102-8 off their 20 overs.
Pakistanis Fatima Sana (34) and Rumana Ahmed (26 not out) were the top scorers for the Barmy Army Women.
Warriors Women finish their tournament with one win from five games, while the Barmy Army Women will now move on to the semi-finals alongside Spirit Women, Tornadoes Women and Falcons Women.
A solid all-round effort from captain Stafanie Taylor propelled Tornadoes Women to a 13-run victory over Warriors Women in the FairBreak Invitational T20 Tournament at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in the UAE on Friday.
Dutchwoman Steere Kalis (58), New Zealand captain Sophie Devine (48) and Taylor (31 not out) combined to help Tornadoes post 152-3 off their 20 overs after Warriors won the toss and elected to field first.
West Indies vice-captain Hayley Matthews was the pick of the Warriors bowlers with 2-33 from her four overs.
The Warriors chase was very top-heavy as openers Georgia Redmayne from Australia (48), Matthews (21) and captain Sindhu Sriharsha from the USA (35) were the only significant contributors as they eventually stumbled to 139-6 off their 20 overs, losing by 13 runs.
Malaysian captain Winifried Durasingam bowled beautifully to pick up a crucial 3-24 from her four overs while captain Taylor chipped in with 1-18 off three overs.
Deandra Dottin’s 80 not out proved to be insufficient to prevent her Barmy Army Women from going down by eight wickets to Falcons Women in the FairBreak Invitational T20 Tournament, at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, in the UAE on Friday.
The hard-hitting West Indian’s innings came off just 59 balls and included 12 fours and two sixes.
Dottin, alongside England captain Heather Knight (20) and South Africa’s Laura Wolvaardt (17), helped Barmy Army Women get to 152-3 off their 20 overs.
The Falcons then needed only 17.3 overs to get to 156-2 thanks to 76 not out off 49 balls from captain Danni Wyatt.
Sri Lanka’s Chamari Athapaththu and West Indian Britney Cooper were the next best scorers with 41 and 32 not out, respectively.
The 2022 FairBreak Invitational is taking place in Dubai and is an ICC-sanctioned tournament. The inaugural edition of the competition organized by Cricket Hong Kong will comprise six teams that will have players from across the globe.
The first match was played on May 4 while May 9 and May 13 will be rest days. Both the semi-finals are slated to be played on May 14, while the third-place playoff and the final will be held on May 15.
There will be six teams that will be taking part in the inaugural season and there will be ninety players from 36 countries who will feature in the competition. Among these, 40 come from ICC full members and 50 from associate members.
Stafanie Taylor, Hayley Matthews, Deandra Dottin, Britney Cooper, Shemaine Campbelle, and Shamilia Connell are the West Indians participating.
West Indies white-ball vice-captain Nicholas Pooran and explosive opener Evin Lewis have paid tribute to retired all-rounder Dwayne Bravo and soon-to-be-retired, who have both played in their last ICC T20 World Cup tournament.
The 38-year-old Bravo announced his retirement from international cricket last Thursday after the West Indies lost to Sri Lanka by 20 runs effectively ending their world cup campaign.
"I think the time has come," Bravo said. "I've had a very good career. To represent the West Indies for 18 years, had some ups and downs, but as I look back at it I'm very grateful to represent the region and the Caribbean people for so long.”
Gayle, meanwhile, is holding off talk of retirement for the time being as he has hopes of donning West Indies colours at least once more before he calls time on his record-breaking career.
"It's been a phenomenal career. I didn't announce any retirement but they actually give me one game in Jamaica to go in front of my home crowd, then I can say 'hey guys, thank you so much. Let's see. If not, I'll announce it a long time and then I'll be joining DJ Bravo in the backend and say thanks to each and everyone but I can't say that as yet," Gayle said prior to the West Indies’ eight-wicket loss to Australia on Saturday.
Notwithstanding Gayle’s comments, there can be no doubting the fact that his days in international cricket are numbered, a reality that prompted Pooran to pay tribute to both players, who have inspired him.
“Personally, I've witnessed (ed) two gentlemen who have left it all out on the cricket field, from being super excited to reach home fast from school to see @chrisgayle333 smash it all over the park and then see @djbravo47 defend basically less to nothing in a last over and then do his dance celebrations, to then playing with them in their last world cup game, that was something special,” Pooran posted in Instagram on Saturday.
“Seeing you guys walk away today put tears to my eyes but very pleasing at the same time knowing you guys have achieved so much in your careers. So from me to you guys, thank you for my childhood and all the best in whatever you do in the future!”
Meanwhile, Lewis, who opened with Gayle for the West Indies on several occasions, wished the two departing well.
“Words can’t describe. I’m a person of few words but it’s been an honour watching you guys on TV then sharing the same dressing room. Go well champs @djbravo47 @chrisgayle333,” said the power-hitting Trinidadian.
Pooran, perhaps the man to lead the West Indies into a new era, apologized for the team’s poor performances in the world cup and promised that even as two of the game’s greats ride into the sunset of their careers, the West Indies has the talent bounce back stronger than before.
“To our fans all over the world and back home, we know we have disappointed you guys, but let's not forget what we have accomplished in the last nine years winning two titles. It has been a wonderful era, but we will rise again,” he said.
The Club World Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates in early 2022, FIFA has confirmed.
The annual tournament featuring the champions of six global confederations, along with the hosts' national champions, was originally scheduled for Japan in 2021.
The Japan Football Association (JFA) were preparing to stage the competition for the first time in five years, but a rise in coronavirus cases in the country led to questions as to whether hosting would be profitable.
The JFA subsequently pulled out following discussions with FIFA in September, with president Gianni Infantino announcing on Wednesday that the UAE - who have staged the tournament four times before - will instead play host to the tournament.
The exact dates of the rearranged Club World Cup are still to be announced, though FIFA indicated the competition will be staged in 2022, with Champions League winners Chelsea set to feature.
Thomas Tuchel's Blues will face Egyptian side Al Ahly and New Zealand's Auckland City, who are part of a 10-team roster for FIFA's showpiece club event.
FIFA, in 2020, had already selected Japan as host for the seven-club event after an expanded 24-team tournament - originally scheduled for China in June 2021 - was delayed due to coronavirus issues.
In-form T20 batsman Sherfane Rutherford has returned home to his native Guyana from the IPL following the death of his father, the Sunrisers Hyderabad Indian Premier League franchise announced on Thursday.
Orin Rutherford, 58, died Thursday, after testing positive for the Covid-19 virus on September 5. He was being treated at the Intensive Care Unit of the Infectious Diseases Hospital in Liliendaal Hospital in Georgetown. He was reportedly unvaccinated.
"The SRH family conveys its heartfelt condolences to Sherfane Rutherford and his family on the passing away of his father. Sherfane will be leaving the IPL bio-bubble to be with his family in this difficult hour," SRH posted on Twitter.
Following a successful season with newly-crowned Caribbean Premier League champions St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Rutherford was looking forward to his maiden season with SRH.
It always feels good to come to a new franchise. It’s always good coming to something new. I look to learn, gather as much information as I can to work on my game and in the best way I can to help the team,” he said shortly after his arrival in India.
Rutherford, who almost inexplicably missed on being selected to represent the West Indies at next month’s ICC T20 World Cup, was called up by SRH to replace England’s Jonny Bairstow.
He last played in the IPL for Delhi Capitals in 2019.
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