Messi’s brace helps Inter secure victory and the record of consecutive 15-match winning streak!
Lionel Messi extended his record scoring streak in Major League Soccer with two more goals in a 2-1 victory for host Inter Miami over Nashville SC on Saturday night in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Messi’s brace helped Inter Miami (11-3-5, 38 points) snap a club-record of unbeaten streak of 15 matches across all competitions for Nashville (12-5-5, 41 points), which lost for the first time since April 19 at Seattle. Messi scored two or more goals for the fifth consecutive time in an MLS match — a league record. Inter Miami improved to 4-0-1 in its last five matches with Nashville while also winning its fifth consecutive MLS match overall. Miami has won three in a row since Paris Saint.-Germain eliminated it in the round of 16 of the FIFA Club World Cup on June 29. Messi capitalised on a major mistake by Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis to score the eventual decisive goal in the 62nd minute on Saturday. Willis chested a ball and tried to clear it out of his zone, but kicked it right in Messi’s direction. Messi intercepted it with his left foot, then worked the ball around Willis and fired it home to put Miami ahead for good. The goal came 13 minutes after Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar tied the game at 1 with a perfectly timed header off a pinpoint cross from distance by Andy Najar. It was Mukhtar’s 10th goal of the season. Patrick Yazbek also had an assist. Messi’s first goal came in the 17th minute on another spectacular free-kick goal. Messi fired a ball precisely through a gap in the wall set up by Nashville’s defenders, and it found the mark just out of the reach of a diving Willis. Messi’s 16 goals are tied for the most in the league with Nashville’s Sam Surridge, who was kept off the scoresheet on Saturday. Messi has 23 goal contributions in MLS games this season and has 22 goals across all competitions.
Mourning Pedro does not want to participate in the quarterfinal!
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed on Thursday that forward Pedro Neto will decide whether to play in Friday’s Club World Cup quarterfinal against Palmeiras, as the Portuguese international mourns the tragic death of his close friend and teammate Diego Jota. Jota, a Liverpool forward, and his brother were killed in a car accident in northwestern Spain on Thursday morning when their Lamborghini veered off the road and caught fire. Neto, deeply affected by the loss, was excused from training but chose to remain with the squad in Philadelphia. “It’s a difficult moment. You feel helpless,” Maresca said in a press conference. “Pedro is more than sad, and we are all here to support him. Any decision he makes—whether to play or not—is the right one, and we will back him fully.” Neto’s potential absence adds a layer of uncertainty for Chelsea, which is preparing to face a Palmeiras side featuring 18-year-old winger Estevao Willian, a player set to join the Blues after the tournament. Estevao was signed last year for an initial 34 million Euros, with add-ons potentially bringing the deal to 67 million, according to British media.
Shubman Gill Reflects on Batting Depth, Missed Opportunity, and Bowling Consistency
In a recent press interaction, Indian skipper Shubman Gill opened up about the challenges faced by the team, especially the lack of depth in the lower order batting. “It’s been one of the things that we always talk about, especially without batting depth, our lower order sometimes isn’t able to contribute as much as other teams,” Gill said during the post-match presentation. Speaking about his impressive 147-run knock in the first innings against England, Gill admitted there was potential to score even more, particularly if a solid partnership had been built with Rishabh Pant. “I was batting on 147, and the way I got out, maybe I could have scored 50 more with a partnership with Rishabh. But having said that, you can also look at the other side — if you get a good ball and get out, that’s fine.” Gill also emphasized the added responsibility that falls on the top-order batters due to the weaker lower order. “Once you’re set, and you know the team doesn’t have that much depth in the batting order, maybe the top order could take a little more responsibility and take the game completely away from the opposition. When your last five or six don’t contribute much, it becomes easier for the opposition to come back into the game.” On the bowling front, Gill reflected on the importance of consistency, especially against an aggressive England batting lineup. “The important thing is how consistently you bowl in one area. Against a team like England, they can hit both good and loose balls. So it becomes difficult to maintain consistency, especially when the ball and wicket conditions don’t match. The key is to keep hitting the right areas consistently.”
Ronaldo drops tears of joy after winning the Nations League for Portugal!
Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo shed tears of joy as they won their second Nations League title on Sunday, insisting that winning trophies with his country is more than the club honours. Ronaldo’s 138th international goal in the second half took the final to penalties after a 2-2 draw with Spain with the substituted 40-year-old forward looking on from the sidelines as Portugal netted all five spot kicks to claim the title. The triumph, which left the five-time Champions League winner in tears, was Ronaldo’s third on the international stage, accompanying his 2016 European Championship and 2019 Nations League winners’ medals. “What a joy,” Ronaldo told Sport TV. “First of all for this generation, which deserved a title of this magnitude, for our families. My children, my wife, my brother, and my friends came here. “Winning for Portugal is always special. I have many titles with clubs, but nothing is better than winning for Portugal. It’s tears. It’s duty done and a lot of joy. “When you talk about Portugal it is always a special feeling. Being captain of this generation is a source of pride. Winning a title is always the pinnacle in a national team.” Ronaldo’s future remains uncertain. He said last week he did not plan to play at the Club World Cup in the United States, which starts later this month, despite being courted by clubs taking part in the 32-team tournament. The Al-Nassr forward said he had several offers from other teams to play in the U.S., while his side’s sporting director, Fernando Hierro said last month they were negotiating with Ronaldo over a contract extension but faced competition from clubs eager to sign the five-times Ballon d’Or winner.
End of the road for Mohammed Shami after the snub?
Is it going to become an end of the road for Mohammed Shami in Test cricket after being snubbed in the 18-member Indian squad for the forthcoming five-Test series against England? Shami’s exclusion from the team seems to have drawn attention especially as India will be without a pacer in English condition who is a present-day master in reverse swing. Shami last played a Test match in 2023, featuring in India’s World Test Championship Final loss to Australia at the Oval. Shami has since undergone surgery and returned to the national team with the ODIs, but his form and fitness have been unconvincing. He has been part of India’s last three Test tours of England, in 2014, 2018 and 2021. However, his performance with ball in England are not great, averaging 40 with 42 wickets in 14 matches. He picked 16 in 5 Tests in 2018. “He’s had a little bit of a setback over the past week, got some MRIs done. Wasn’t going to be able to play five Tests. Don’t think his workload is where he needs to be. Medical guys told them he’ll be ruled out. We were hoping he’ll play some part, but if he’s not fit, we’d rather pick guys fit and available rather than waiting,” Ajit Agarkar said in his press conference. Shami was dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad midway through IPL 2025. Agarkar confirms the veteran has faced a fresh injury. The BCCI already had concerns regarding his workload, with doubts about his ability to bowl. With seaming conditions in England, pacers will be required to bowl longer spells, and his fitness to last in a 5-day was unknown. The exclusion seems to have given a signal to Shami that it would be not possible for him to return to the national squad as Gautam Gambhir has expressed that he likes to rely on the new generation of pacers, with Arshdeep Singh, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna filling in for Shami. Since making his debut in 2013, Shami has featured in 64 Tests picking up 229 wickets. At 34, a comeback to the Test team seems unlikely for the veteran pacer. The Bengal pacer was hopeful of featuring in the Indian team for the England tour. But at the same time, he admitted that he needed to increase his workload. “I’m trying my best, doing hard work, performing strength exercises, attending practice sessions regularly, delivering maximum numbers of balls in the nets, and managing my workload as much as possible. The workload needs to be increased for red-ball cricket,” Shami said speaking to TOI.
AIFF to ask Churchill Brothers to return the trophy; Churchill Alemao says they will not!
Churchill Brothers does not want to return the I-League trophy to the All India Football Federation (AIFF) even though the AIFF has decided to write an email to the Goan club to return it! The AIFF handed over the trophy to the Goan club in a function on Sunday evening in Goa despite the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) order not to declare Churchill Brothers as the winner of I-League 2025 following an appeal from Inter Kashi. Deputy General Secretary of the All India Football federation M Satyanarayanan stated, “We got to know about the CAS order by 4:45 PM only on Sunday and by that time we had handed over the trophy. We are consulting our legal department and will shortly write to Churchill to return the trophy.” Churchill Alemao, the club’s founder president when asked about the issue commented while speaking over the phone, “We won the I-League this season playing on the field, not playing off the field. So, having earned the highest point we have become champions. We deserve it. AIFF handed over the trophy yesterday in a function. Now, the news are there that they will ask us to return the trophy! Is not it a joke?” Alemao added, “First of all I do not know whether we have received any such email yet. Secondly, nobody can take the trophy back from us even if we receive such mails.” Alemao also added, “We were victimized in different ways in the I-League this season. The key purpose was to stop us from entering into the ISL. But finally, we overcame all the conspiracies and other hurdles and won the League.” Meanwhile, Edmund Lalrindika, the Mizoram striker who had a consistent show with Inter Kashi in the I-League is likely to join Kerala Blasters to participate in the ISL next season.
