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Yan Couto had to be stretchered off following a horror tackle from an Essen player in the first round of DFB-Pokal, but there's good news for Borussia Dortmund.

Couto on the end of a horrible challenge on MondayHad to be stretchered off the field  Optimism regarding the condition of his kneeFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Borussia Dortmund breathed a sigh of relief following a worrying moment in their narrow 1–0 DFB-Pokal victory over Rot-Weiss Essen. In stoppage time, Essen’s Kelsey Owusu caught Couto on the knee with an outstretched leg, leaving the Brazilian full-back writhing in pain and forcing him to be stretchered off the pitch. The challenge sparked immediate concern on the Dortmund bench, raising fears of a serious injury. 

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However, there was positive news for Die Schwarzgelben on Tuesday. According to , medical tests have confirmed that Couto escaped any ligament damage and has only suffered a painful knee contusion. With a bit of luck and a smooth recovery, the 23-year-old could be in contention for Saturday’s Bundesliga opener against St. Pauli. 

DID YOU KNOW?

Dortmund’s defensive concerns may ease ahead of the Bundesliga opener. Julian Ryerson is expected to return from a calf injury, and Couto could also be fit. While central options remain limited due to injuries to the likes of Niklas Sule and Nico Schlotterbeck, youngster Filippo Mane impressed in the DFB-Pokal first round and is likely to start against St. Pauli.  

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR BORUSSIA DORTMUND?

Niko Kovac's troops will play two Bundesliga games this month, before the international break. On Saturday, they will face St. Pauli, before locking horns with Union Berlin on August 31.      

Jadon Sancho has shared a surprising picture of himself sitting with several other out-of-favour Manchester United players.

Sancho in United's 'bomb squad'Future uncertainShares snap with teammatesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Sancho and teammates Antony, Tyrell Malacia, and Lisandro Martinez were full of smiles in the photo, posted on Instagram, despite the fact that their respective futures at Old Trafford appear to hang in the balance. The 25-year-old's caption read 'My brothers!' suggesting a tight bond has been developed amongst United's so-called 'bomb squad'.

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Sancho's potential move to Roma has stalled in recent days, with the Serie A side reported to have given up their pursuit and instead turned their attention to Chelsea youngster Tyrique George. With other interested parties like Besiktas also looking increasingly unlikely destinations, his future seems unclear.

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The stockpiling of players by top clubs has accelerated in recent years, and Manchester United isn't the only Premier League side with a 'bomb squad' of talented but unwanted players. Perhaps the most notorious of all is Chelsea, with Enzo Maresca recently declaring "I don't pay attention to the ones that are training and need to leave."

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WHAT NEXT FOR SANCHO?

With Roma supposedly out of the frame, Sancho's options are limited. Right now, his best bet could be a rumoured transfer to the MLS — this is after the former BVB star is said to have loved spending time in numerous US cities whilst staying with his superstar rapper girlfriend Saweetie.

The seven-a-side tournament, which will offer a $5 million prize pot, is bringing its second edition to the United States

World Sevens Football announces United States editionWill play tournament in Florida from December 5-7Seven-a-side format includes $5 million prizeWHAT HAPPENED?

Women's Sevens football has lined up its second edition, and will come to the United States in December, the competition organizers announced Tuesday.

The next edition will take place Dec. 5-7, 2025, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, at Beyond Bancard Field – home of USL Super League side Fort Lauderdale United FC.

The first iteration of the seven a side tournament was held in Portugal in May, and drew a series of high-profile clubs from across the world. Bayern Munich were crowned champions. The competition offers a $5M total prize pot, with $2M going to the winners, and the rest shared among the participating clubs based on performance.

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This edition will be "bigger and better" than the original tournament, organizers promised. The inaugural competition featured eight European clubs, all of which sent some of their best talents to participate in the two day event.

There is no confirmation yet on which teams will play, and clubs from outside of Europe have been considered as potential participants. Former USWNT stars Tobin Heath and Kelley O'Hara are among those involved in the planning of the competition after a successful first iteration. 

WHAT ADRIAN JACOB SAID

Adrian Jacob, head of W7s and former executive for Chelsea FC women, promised that the second version of the tournament will only improve on the first.

"We thought it was really successful," he said. This one is going to be bigger and better. We're going to take what we did from the last one, we're going to bring it to the Americas. And we are really, really excited."

Jacob also pointed out that the United States was the logical next step for the tournament, saying "We want to reach all different corners of the world with World Sevens. Once we had one in Europe, it was always going to be in North America, or Central America, or in the Americas, with all the different clubs there.

"You know, football isn't concentrated on Europe. The fan base is everywhere, and the way we can elevate the game is globally. There's so much we can do. And obviously, with everything that's going on in the States, in the Americas, women's football is growing hugely, absolutely everywhere."

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Getty Images SportWHAT KELLEY O'HARA SAID

O'Hara, who registered 160 caps for the USWNT, pointed out that the differentiation of the tournament could be key in its success.

"We want a place where players can enjoy themselves, have fun, but we want it to be good football. We want it to be competitive," she said. "So that went into the thinking of the clubs that we brought in and how we set it up. Obviously there's a very big prize purse on the line, and that contributes to players taking it seriously and wanting to win.

"And the reality is, you have top link teams and clubs from around the world like that's bragging rights. People are going in and they're having a good time. They're enjoying themselves. They're, you know, a little bit looser ahead of the games."

Manchester United star Matheus Cunha has broken his silence on the injury blow that forced him to withdraw from the latest Brazil squad. Cunha has featured in Ruben Amorim's starting lineup in all of the four matches United have played so far this season, however, the summer signing was taken off early last time out against Burnley after suffering a muscle issue.

Cunha breaks silence on injury blowWithdrew from Brazil squadPicked up issue against BurnleyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Amorim was forced to replace Cunha just after the half-hour mark during the Burnley clash as the Brazilian forward limped off injured. He subsequently withdrew from the Selecao squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, as he decided to rest for the next two weeks to recover quickly. 

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It has been suggested that Cunha could be facing a long spell out, but the 26-year-old has now attempted to allay those fears in a post to his followers on social media.

WHAT CUNHA SAID

Taking to Instagram, Cunha shared a series of photographs to showcase his time at Old Trafford so far and wrote in the caption: "What an incredible environment, it’s great to be here. I’ll be back soon, always with joy and gratitude. Thanks for all the messages."

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The Red Devils will hope that their star signing recovers quickly during the international break and returns to the field as early as possible. Amorim's side will be back in action on September 14 as they face rivals Manchester City in a crucial Premier League derby clash.

The Sounders’ forward was spotted in the stands during the Mariners' recent home game and posed for photos with the Mariners' beloved mascot

Musovski receives special recognition on stadium videoboardMoose performed personalized soccer-themed antics for Sounders forwardSeattle Sounders face LAFC next in MLSGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED

During a recent Seattle Mariners home game at T-Mobile Park, Seattle Sounders forward Danny Musovski was in attendance enjoying a baseball game during a break in the MLS schedule. Midway through the contest, Musovski was highlighted on the stadium's videoboard as a special guest, drawing cheers from the baseball crowd familiar with the city's soccer team. Not only that, Musovski was also brought on the field before the game and joined the Mariners' mascot Moose for photos.

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Seattle has established itself as one of America's premier sports cities, with passionate fan bases supporting teams across multiple leagues. Rather than competing for attention, the city's teams have embraced opportunities to cross-promote and celebrate each other. This strategy has proven particularly effective in Seattle, where the Sounders and Mariners share proximity in the downtown sports district, along with the Seahawks (NFL), Kraken (NHL), and Storm (WNBA).

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The Seattle Sounders are on a good run of form as the club is unbeaten in its last four MLS games, a run that includes their recent 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo. It has moved the Sounders into fifth place on the Western Conference table with 19 points, with them 8 points behind conference leaders Vancouver Whitecaps (27). They go on the road next to face LAFC on May 14 before then visiting Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers on May 17.

England captain backs Archer to build on promising comeback after SA ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2023Jos Buttler, England’s white-ball captain, has admitted to “frustrations” that his team’s preparation for the defence of their 50-over World Cup title has been hampered by scheduling clashes ahead of this month’s tour of Bangladesh.However, Buttler insists there will be no consequences for those players who have made themselves unavailable for the tour – among them Alex Hales, Sam Billings and David Willey – given that the opportunities currently presenting themselves on the franchise circuit are too good to turn down for those players who are not centrally contracted to the ECB.”It’s quite a unique situation,” Buttler said in the wake of England’s 2-1 series loss to South Africa in Kimberley. “It’s the time we are in. The way the games are scheduled, I can sort of understand it both ways. As an England captain, on one side you wish that everyone would see playing for England as the main thing and grab any opportunity available.”But there are bigger things in play as well. The discrepancy between what people can earn playing for England and not playing for England is quite large, so that’s a factor that must be considered. For each individual that will be a different decision made at different times of their careers.Related

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England are behind on their World Cup studies – but there's still plenty of time to cram

“In this day and age, you’ve got to try to work with it as best you can and if people make themselves unavailable, they know they’re giving someone else a chance. But I certainly don’t want to be in a position where you rule people out and say they’ll never play for England again, or anything like that.”The squad for the Bangladesh tour includes two uncapped players in Tom Abell and Rehan Ahmed, with England having already selected 37 players across 33 ODIs since the 2019 World Cup victory – five more than they used in nearly three times as many matches (98) in the previous World Cup cycle from 2015 to 2019.With the IPL looming in April, plus a five-Test Ashes series in June and July that will be the preoccupation for a number of England’s leading multi-format players – including Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow – England will not be able to field their first-choice World Cup XI until at least the series against Ireland and New Zealand in September.Buttler, however, remains phlegmatic about the current situation, and confident that the players who have put their names forward for Bangladesh will use the chance to advance their own World Cup claims.”Wherever people are playing, we want to pick our best available team, especially for World Cups and big ICC events, so we are open minded,” he said. “It’s quite complicated, and there are some frustrations at certain points but I completely understand people’s positions and it’s an individual decision at the end of the day.”One man who has made himself available for the Bangladesh tour is Jofra Archer, who capped his return to England colours after a near-two-year absence with career-best figures of 6 for 40 in the third ODI.Jofra Archer was back in the wickets for England in Kimberley•AFPArcher’s return to action has been a gradual process, with an initial outing for England Lions in Abu Dhabi last year followed by a run of five appearances for MI Cape Town in the SA20, prior to his two ODI outings in Bloemfontein and Kimberley.”He wants to play,” Buttler said. “When he’s come back and he’s fit, and there’s cricket available, it doesn’t seem to make sense to hold him back. He obviously needs to build his overs, and his resilience, to being able to bowl 10 overs a game and of course for English cricket looking ahead you want to see him playing Test cricket as well where he will be able to bowl spell after spell.”Archer could return to action for Cape Town this week, and is scheduled to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL from April. Having touched speeds of up to 92mph in his England return last week, he has expressed his desire to be part of England’s Ashes plans come the English season.”He certainly needs to be playing cricket,” Buttler added. “You are always going to try to look after him and we will be guided by the medical team. But he has been sat on the sidelines for a long time and so if he’s fit and available it makes sense for him to be playing.”We all know the levels he can perform at, so to see him get back to that kind of level so quickly is incredibly impressive. It’s such a treat as a captain to have him there to throw the ball to.”He really wants the big moments, it’s something that he always stands up. Jofra wants the ball there and it’s just a great thing as a captain to have someone there like that. The more and more cricket he plays, the better he’s going to get.”

Former Manchester United star Ben Foster has ripped Alejandro Garnacho, and urged the Red Devils to 'ship him out' this summer.

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Garnacho fell out with Amorim at Man UtdFormer Red Devil Foster rips into the winger Urges Man Utd to sign 'good and honest' players Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Garnacho has been expected to leave United this summer after his fallout with boss Ruben Amorim near the end of the season, after the Argentine winger was left on the bench for the Red Devils' Europa League final against Tottenham Hotspur. The Portuguese coach is reportedly displeased with the 20-year-old and even told him to 'pray' that he can find a new club for himself.

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Former United goalkeeper Foster has now doubled down on the issues with Garnacho's attitude, as he ripped the Argentine for his 'haircut obsessions' and urged the 20-time Premier League champions to sign 'good and honest' players.

Getty Images SportWHAT FOSTER SAID

Speaking to talkSPORT, Foster said: 'I think for Man United it's best to ship [him] out. If I was the manager, I'd be a little bit similar to Amorim in the case of I just want team players. I want a bunch of lads who are good, honest, hard-working team players. And I don't get that vibe from Garnacho, I don't get that vibe from a few of the players.

'You look at the full-time whistle after the Europa League game. You have Brennan Johnson doing an interview. He looks like he hasn't had a haircut for about three months, [hair] horrible all over the place, but his interview was incredible. You could tell he's a real nice lad, he's hard working, he does everything for the team. Then you look at Garnacho. Fresh trim a day ago, dyed blonde, ready for the final.

'The full-time whistle goes, he's sat on the pitch sulking by himself, not trying to get behind the other lads, picking them up, saying 'well done we got this far'. And I think that there is the big contrast. I just want good lads, honest, hard-working lads.

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WHAT NEXT FOR GARNACHO?

United are set to sign Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo this summer and are expected to make a few more signings over the next months. As such, it can be expected that Garnacho will not be a part of the squad heading into next season.

Season to begin on December 7 and conclude on January 24 to fit in with Australia’s home Tests

Alex Malcolm05-Jul-2023The BBL is set for one of the earliest starts and earliest finishes in competition history with the 13th edition of the tournament set to run from December 7 to January 24 and could allow overseas players to stay for the majority of the season, after issues with retaining talent last year.Australia’s men’s home international schedule is the main reason why the tournament will start so early in December and finish on a Wednesday in late January, four days before the school holidays end on January 28.Australia play their first Test of the home summer against Pakistan in Perth from December 14 to 18. The BBL starts with seven primetime games in seven days from December 7 to December 13 but will pause completely for the Perth Test before recommencing on December 19.Australia are also scheduled to play a day-night Test against West Indies in Brisbane starting on January 25. The BBL opted to move the season forward to avoid the finals clashing with that match.Related

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A benefit of the earlier season means that overseas players may be able to participate in more of the tournament. Last season, which was the first after the BBL had introduced an overseas draft, began on December 13 and ran until February 4.But with the South Africa T20 and ILT20 starting on January 11 and 14 respectively last year, and offering far larger salaries to overseas players, the BBL saw a mass exodus of their marquee overseas draft signings mid-season. Faf du Plessis played just seven games for Perth Scorchers and Rashid Khan played just eight for Adelaide Strikers before heading to South Africa. Trent Boult played eight games for Melbourne Stars while Andre Russell played four for Melbourne Renegades before departing for the ILT20 in the UAE. Even Australian Chris Lynn missed the last three games of Strikers season to go to the UAE. Strikers lost their last three matches without both Rashid and Lynn to miss the finals.Faf du Plessis only played seven games in the BBL last season•Getty ImagesDates for the 2023 SA T20 and the ILT20 have yet to be released and the BBL has not moved the season forward specifically to avoid clashing with those leagues. But the head of the BBL, Alistair Dobson, hoped an earlier start and finish to the tournament could mean overseas players can stay for the majority of the season.”We are optimistic again of getting the biggest name players from around the world playing,” Dobson said. “We’re in discussions at the moment with a number of agents given nominations for the draft are open. And early indications are that players are really keen to play again. I think starting a week earlier than we perhaps normally would is a great opportunity for players to come and play most if not all of the BBL season again. Early discussions with agents and players are pretty positive.”A date for the BBL draft is set to be finalised in the coming weeks but it is likely to be held in late August as it was last year and it will be combined with the WBBL overseas draft that is set to take place for the first time.The draft rules, order, and player contract bands are set to be very similar to last year, although there will be some minor modifications to the platinum player salaries depending on how many matches they are available for. A platinum player will earn AUD$420,000, up from AUD$340,000 last year, although that could be reduced to AUD$360,000 if they play less than eight games. The gold band moves to AUD$300,000, silver AUD$200,000 and bronze AUD$100,000.The BBL salary cap has increased to AUD$3 million from 1.9 million as part of Cricket Australia’s new five-year MoU with the Australia Cricketers’ Association.The BBL season has also been reduced in length a year earlier than expected following CA’s new broadcast rights agreement with existing partners Channel Seven and Foxtel.The old agreement is due to expire at the end of 2023-24 and was supposed to include a 56-game home-and-away BBL season (14 games for each team) and a five-team, five-game finals series. But the new deal has been brought forward a year to revert to a 40-game regular season (10 for each team) with just four teams playing finals, which is the same structure as the 2017-18 season.The new structure means that not every team will get to play each other twice. Dobson confirmed that there was no specific formula to work out which teams would play each other twice, with the exception of scheduling two Melbourne and Sydney derbies each.”We deliberately didn’t set any parameters or guidelines around it,” Dobson said. “Given some of the unique considerations this year around venue availability and the shape of the season, we left ourselves with as much freedom as possible to make sure we got the biggest games and the best games in the right slots. We’ll see how this unfolds and how it plays out over the season and whether going forward there are some more guidelines we put around that or whether we just see how it shapes up each season.”It’s been a number of years since we’ve had to have a schedule where not everyone plays each other twice. It was something that we looked at closely in terms of when we got to those final few matchups who played who. But often it wrote itself.”The BBL will have an issue around the finals series with Adelaide Oval and the Gabba unavailable due to the Tests between Australia and West Indies. The BBL is working with both Strikers and Brisbane Heat on alternative venues if they are to host a final.There are only five doubleheaders and no tripleheaders in the schedule. There is also no game on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but neither have been ruled out as options in the future.

Highlights from the final round of Ranji Trophy season

Shashank Kishore19-Feb-2024From 32 teams, eight of them are left standing as the final round of the Ranji Trophy 2023-24 helped lock in the knockouts line-up. Here are the highlights.TN’s first knockout appearance in six seasonsThey began the season with a crushing away loss to Gujarat and then saw their chances of securing full points against Tripura go up in smoke thanks to the weather. But from having a solitary point after two rounds, Tamil Nadu have been an unstoppable force, securing four wins in their remaining five games to top Group B.Their latest win, against Punjab, may have yet not been enough to seal the top spot had Karnataka won their final group fixture against Chandigarh; Karnataka took the first-innings honours to finish second in the pool. For Tamil Nadu, this will be their first knockout appearance since the Ranji Trophy 2016-17, where they lost to Mumbai in the semi-final.Related

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Their fourth win was set up by B Indrajith and Vijay Shankar who struck centuries in a massive first-innings score of 435, before the left-arm spinning duo of S Ajith Ram and Sai Kishore wheeled away to picked up 15 wickets between them. Set a mere 71, Tamil Nadu got there in just seven overs to secure a nine-wicket win.Punjab’s fight in the second innings was led by Nehal Wadhera, who made a quickfire 107-ball 109 in an otherwise forgettable batting display. Overall, their season of promise – they won the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20s – ended with a solitary win that had them finish sixth in the group.Veterans Tiwary, Fazal walk into retirementHe un-retired after announcing his decision to walk away from all forms of cricket at the end of Ranji Trophy 2022-23 to be able to realise a long-standing dream of winning the coveted title. There seemed some merit in his decision, too; Bengal had come within sniffing distance twice in the last three years (2019-20 and 2022-23), only to be pipped by Saurashtra. But there was no fairy-tale ending for one of Indian domestic cricket’s great war horses, Manoj Tiwary, as Bengal endured a disappointing end to a campaign that never took off; finishing third, behind eventual qualifiers Mumbai and Andhra in Group B.The gulf between them and Andhra was seven points, which Bengal would have perhaps felt they lost after two of their seven games were severely weather-affected. They, however, signed off on a winning note after handing Bihar defeat by an innings and 204 runs, with fast bowler Mukesh Kumar picking up six wickets.Tiwary, who led Bengal all season, made 30 in his final innings, thereby ending a first-class career in which he made 10,195 runs across 148 matches with 30 hundreds and an impressive average of 47.86. He was fittingly felicitated by the Cricket Association of Bengal in a ceremony on Sunday evening at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.Manoj Tiwary was carried off the field by his team-mates•PTI Unlike Tiwary, Faiz Fazal bows out with two Ranji Trophy crowns he led Vidarbha to back-to-back in 2017-18 and 2018-19. His final innings in first-class cricket on Sunday ended in a first-ball duck, but Vidarbha managed to secure a 115-run win over Haryana in a winner-takes-all contest in Nagpur. Fazal finishes with 9184 runs in 138 first-class matches with 24 hundred and an average of 41.The win helped Vidarbha top Group A, with Saurashtra, the defending champions, finishing a close second following their convincing two-day win over Manipur in Rajkot, with Cheteshwar Pujara hitting his third hundred of the season and Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the left-arm spinner, picking up his second straight match haul of ten wickets.Thakur back in business as Mumbai march onShardul Thakur’s match haul of 10 for 52 helped Mumbai record their fifth win of the season, as Assam were handed a thrashing inside two days. Assam lasted all of 65.1 overs in both innings combined. This was only Thakur’s second first-class outing since playing the Centurion Test in December. Thakur aside, Shivam Dube continued to have a sensational 2024. He hit a counter-attacking unbeaten 121 that lifted Mumbai from a previous 110 for 5 in the first innings. This was Dube’s second first-class hundred of the season.Quarterfinal line-ups

Vidarbha vs Karnataka

Mumbai vs Baroda

Tamil Nadu vs Saurashtra

Madhya Pradesh vs Andhra

Delhi end on a highThree senior players walked away expressing annoyance and hurt at DDCA’s dysfunctional system. The selection panel chief was forced to resign two games in, following a poor start. Yash Dhull, their young captain, was sacked one game in and the threat of relegation loomed halfway into the season. Yet, despite all the off-field rumblings, Delhi managed to hold their own in the back end of the season to finish with three wins, all coming in their last four games, to end third in the pool.Their win in the final round, against Odisha, was led by Dhull’s first-innings 112, his fifth first-class century, that helped open up a slender 11-run lead before Odisha collapsed in the second innings for 133. Eventually, a target of 123 proved too little to defend as Delhi won by seven wickets with Ayush Badoni and Dhull seeing them home. Railways pull off record heist Railways pulled off the highest successful chase in Ranji history to end their campaign on a high. The win was all the more special because they conceded a first-innings lead to Tripura that seemed decisive at the time.Railways were bundled out for 105 in response to Tripura’s 149, and then found themselves chasing a mammoth 378 for victory. At 31 for 3, Railways were in deep trouble before Mohammad Saif and Pratham Singh revived their chase with a fourth-innings stand of 175.Saif fell for 106, but Pratham batted on to remain unbeaten on 169. He was ably supported by Upendra Yadav, the captain, who played his part in the match-winning partnership by making 27 not out.In pulling off a sensational win, Railways surpassed Saurashtra’s record for the previous highest chase (372 against Uttar Pradesh in 2018-19). The win wasn’t enough to secure a knockouts berth for Railways as all of Karnataka, TN and Gujarat finished with more points than them in a tight table that was decided on the final day of matches.

New Arsenal signing Noni Madueke has reportedly been reclassified as a homegrown player following his move from Chelsea.

Madueke leaves Chelsea for ArsenalWinger reclassified as homegrown playerRequest submitted last seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to , a request was made before the end of last season to change Madueke from a non-homegrown player to a homegrown one. The Premier League has reportedly updated Madueke's status, meaning he won't need to be counted as one of the 17 non-homegrown players Arsenal can name in their 25-man Premier League squad.

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Madueke swapped Chelsea for Arsenal earlier this month for a fee worth up to £52 million ($69.9m). Despite widespread criticism among Arsenal's fans over the move, team-mate Declan Rice and manager Mikel Arteta have backed the 23-year-old to be a success at the Gunners. And this registration change is a boost as it may allow the north London team to sign another player to fill up their 17-man non-homegrown player roster.

DID YOU KNOW?

The report adds, however, that UEFA rules on homegrown players differ from the Premier League. The Gunners must submit two squad lists to UEFA: List A (main squad) and List B (players born on or after January 1, 2004). Those in List B must have been eligible to play for Arsenal, who are playing in this season's Champions League, for two years without cessation since turning 15.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

Madueke, who cannot be named as one of the eight locally trained players for UEFA competitions due to his time spent at PSV Eindhoven, will link up with his new team soon but is currently enjoying a break after his Club World Cup exploits with Chelsea this summer.