'Do we need Kohli & Rohit?': Ashwin's blunt take on 2027 World Cup plans

Ravichandran Ashwin questions the timing of speculation about Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli's ODI futures. He believes selectors should have communicated any transition plans much earlier. Ashwin stated that the experienced duo's presence is still needed for upcoming tours. Honest communication is essential when managing senior players' careers. Such discussions are surfacing late, with the next World Cup approaching.

When Lionel Scaloni was appointed Argentina’s full-time manager in 2018, one of the fiercest critics of the decision was the late, great Diego Maradona. palladian.co.za

“Scaloni is a good lad, but he can’t even direct traffic,” said Maradona. “How can we hand the Argentina national team to Scaloni? Are we all crazy? With all the people who’ve come before him, who’ve been through battles, who’ve had their teeth knocked out and their heads split open… and you appoint Scaloni? And Scaloni says, ‘I’m ready.’ But I’ve never even seen you score a goal for Argentina.”

When Maradona spoke, Argentinians usually listened. It would have been easy for someone like Scaloni to be crushed by such criticism. Instead, he took it in his stride, recognising that he lacked top-level coaching experience and assembling a backroom staff that would help him navigate the challenges ahead.

Two of those he brought in had been his team-mates in Argentina’s Under-20 World Cup-winning side under José Pékerman in Malaysia in 1997. Pablo Aimar was the star of that team alongside Juan Roman Riquelme, while Walter Samuel was already developing into one of the finest defenders of his generation. Scaloni also added Roberto Ayala, the legendary centre-back who earned 116 caps for La Albiceleste across the 1990s and 2000s.

It is this quartet that has taken Argentine football to unprecedented heights. They now stand just 90 minutes away from a remarkable fourth successive major international title.

Scaloni himself played only one World Cup match, against Mexico in the Round of 16 in 2006. It is no surprise that Pékerman was Argentina’s coach at the time. Much of Scaloni’s coaching staff were heavily influenced by Pékerman, whose ability to nurture young talent and build cohesive youth teams left a lasting impression.

The other major influence on Scaloni’s coaching journey was Javier Irureta at Deportivo La Coruña. Scaloni spent more than seven-and-a-half years there and was part of the side that won La Liga for the first time in 1999-2000 before lifting the Copa del Rey two seasons later, beating Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. Deportivo also reached the UEFA Champions League semi-finals in 2003-04, famously overturning a 4-1 first-leg deficit to eliminate AC Milan 5-4 on aggregate.

Scaloni was not always a first-choice starter, but when he was on the bench he spent long periods in conversation with Irureta. Their discussions were not always about tactics. More often, the young Scaloni wanted to understand how to manage different personalities within a dressing room.

Those lessons have proved invaluable over the last eight years, as Argentine football has gone from strength to strength. From being dismissed as someone who could not even manage traffic, Scaloni has built a record of 76 and only nine losses from 103 matches and overseen a World Cup campaign in which Argentina have scored 19 goals, including 11 after the 75th minute. That resilience is no accident. It is the product of a dressing-room culture that Scaloni has carefully cultivated and the complete faith the players have in their coaching staff.

It is easy to describe this team as “Messi and the rest”, but doing so ignores the evidence, particularly from the shambolic World Cup campaign in Russia in 2018. Without intervention from the likes of Aimar, Messi might well have lost his appetite for international football, and we may never have witnessed the extraordinary performances that followed in Qatar and now in the United States.

If Barcelona showcased the finest version of Messi, the club footballer, it is equally true that only under Scaloni has Messi, the international footballer, truly flourished.

Maradona is no longer here to defend his opinions, nor does he need to. Scaloni, for one, would never have held those comments against him. Even at the time, he acknowledged that he understood where the criticism came from.

What can be said now, however, is that victory on Sunday would place Scaloni on a pedestal of his own, ahead of even the legendary César Luis Menotti and Carlos Bilardo.

As Messi himself said: “We have a very good coaching staff that leaves nothing to chance. This group is very intelligent; they know how to read the moments of each game. Scaloni said it – we know how to suffer when we have to suffer and have the ball when we have to have it.”

Millions of fans will hope that ecstasy rather than suffering is the overriding emotion after Sunday night.

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The post From ‘Can’t Direct Traffic’ to the Brink of Immortality: Scaloni’s Extraordinary Argentina Journey appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.

New York [US], July 18 (ANI): The iconic picture of a young Lionel Messi with baby Lamine Yamal has caught even the Argentinan superstar by surprise. Lionel Messi reflected on the widely shared photograph calling its existence “insane" as the two prepare to face each other in the 2026 FIFA World Cup final.

Speaking in a video shared by DSports and quoted by Planeta do Futebol on X, Messi said it was remarkable to see how a photograph taken when Yamal was just a baby has gained new significance ahead of football’s biggest match.

“The truth is that the existence of this photo is insane, because we took it when he was just a baby, and now we’re both competing in a World Cup final. All of this is insane!" Messi said.

For those unversed, almost 18 years back, Messi shared a memorable moment with Spain star Yamal, nearly before the pair emerged as potential rivals on the biggest stage of international football.

Messi took part in a charity photoshoot organised by Catalan newspaper Diario Sport in 2008 while then playing for Barcelona. During the shoot at the club’s iconic Camp Nou stadium, the then-20-year-old Argentine posed with a baby Yamal, who was sitting in a small plastic bathtub alongside his mother, Sheila Ebana.

At the time, neither could have imagined that Yamal would grow into one of Spain’s brightest footballing talents, with the possibility of facing Messi in a FIFA World Cup final almost two decades later.

The iconic photoshoot was captured by freelance photographer Joan Monfort.

Ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, UNICEF shared the now-iconic photograph of Argentina captain Messi with a baby Yamal, highlighting the remarkable journey of the two football stars from a charity photoshoot nearly two decades ago to becoming global ambassadors for children.

In a post on X, UNICEF wrote, “Yes, those photos you’ve seen are real. More than 18 years ago, a baby named Lamine Yamal and his mom Sheila met Lionel Messi at a UNICEF fundraising photoshoot."

UNICEF added that while both have gone on to inspire millions with their performances on the football field, they are also united by their work away from the sport."

Today, their achievements on the pitch inspire millions. Off the pitch, both Messi and Lamine Yamal use their voices and platforms as UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors to support and advocate for children around the world," the post read.

UNICEF added that its shared mission with the two footballers is to ensure “that every child survives, thrives, and fulfils their potential," concluding, “We are proud to have them on our team."

Defending champions Argentina and European champions Spain are set to face off in the FIFA World Cup 2026 final, setting the stage for a highly anticipated clash between great Messi and teenage sensation Yamal.

Spain secured their place in the title clash with a 2-0 win over France, while Argentina produced a comeback to defeat England 2-1 after trailing 1-0, with a stoppage-time winner sealing their passage to the final.

Messi heads into the championship match at the top of the Golden Boot standings, edging France captain Kylian Mbappe after registering two assists in Argentina’s semi-final victory over England. (ANI)

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The BCCI on Friday rubbished speculation about Rohit Sharma's future, stating he will continue to play for India after the series-deciding third and final ODI against England at Lord's on Sunday.

Speculation has been rife that the Lord's ODI on Sunday could be Rohit's last international match, but BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia dismissed any such suggestion.

"There are lot of speculations going on in media about Rohit Sharma's future. I want to firmly assert that there has been no such discussion that Rohit will be playing his last match at Lord's on Sunday," Saikia told PTI in an exclusive interaction.

"Rohit is a regular member of the Indian ODI team and he will continue to represent the country as long as he is in the scheme of things. In other words, Lord's ODI wont be his last match."

Despite Rohit's publicly stated desire to play until the 2027 ODI World Cup, his modest returns in the first two matches of the series -- scores of 11 and 26 -- have fuelled the debate.

The three-match ODI series is tied 1-1

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The White House has defended Argentina players' right to display the controversial Falklands banner after their World Cup semi-final win over England, citing First Amendment protections during a FIFA Task Force briefing. The comments come as FIFA continues reviewing the incident under its disciplinary rules, with potential sanctions still under consideration ahead of Sunday's World Cup final against Spain.