Could this finally be Arsenal’s year? Certainly, Mikel Arteta’s side have started the season strongly, imperious in defence and well-oiled across the park.

In the Premier League and out on the continent too, the Gunners are proving their mettle, and with 13 points from 15 possible in recent league clashes, there’s plenty of reason to be optimistic about what is to come in north London.

Arteta has already earned his flowers as one of Europe’s finest tacticians, and though he is still searching for silverware after winning the FA Cup shortly into his reign five years ago, the Spaniard’s genius cannot be understated, having fashioned the Emirates back into a superpower.

Now, the onus is on crowning this exciting era with silverware. Arsenal, after all, boast one of the finest, most complete squads in the country, and the acquisition of Viktor Gyokeres seems to have filled the long-standing hole at number nine.

He’s had his criticisms, these first few months back in England, but the Sweden international is undoubtedly a top-class striker.

Viktor Gyokeres' start at Arsenal

Long and frustrating was Arsenal’s search for an elite centre-forward. But they have snagged their man, ending the long wait this summer when securing Gyokeres’ signature, signing him from Sporting Lisbon for £63m.

The 27-year-old once failed to cut the mustard at Brighton & Hove Albion, but he was a star for Coventry City in the Championship and he scored 97 goals across 102 matches in two years with Sporting, winning the Liga Portugal title both terms.

He’s been something of a mixed bag for Arsenal so far this term, having gone four matches without a goal in the league after netting three from four to start the campaign off; however, his brace against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this week emphasised his ability in the final third, a physical, commanding focal point.

Early on, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville remarked that Gyokeres would be a handful for many Premier League defences this season, but that he might struggle against the cream of the Premier League crop.

Gyokeres is good enough to score goals against any opponent, but there’s a ring of truth to this, for sure. He lacks the technical fluency of, say, Kai Havertz, who in turn does not boast the same kind of goalscoring sharpness as the summer recruit.

Arteta has options up top, but all this has got us thinking of what-could-have-been down at the Emirates, with Arsenal letting one of the finest strikers in world football slip away before he had even come close to breaking through the surface on the professional stage.

The former Arsenal prospect who's now better than Gyokeres

When you think of England captain and striking superstar Harry Kane, you think quite quickly of Tottenham Hotspur. Kane is, after all, Spurs’ club-record goalscorer.

But, the not-quite-so-little-known fact of his days being schooled with Arsenal, having been reared as a youngster among the bottom floors of the Hale End academy before being released and finding a new home with the Lilywhites.

The rest is history. Outscored only by Alan Shearer in the Premier League and miles ahead as the Three Lions’ top scorer in history, Kane is one of the greatest forwards of his generation, now leading the line at Bayern Munich after many years of service in his homeland.

It’s futile to look at all the up-and-coming prospects and keep all within your grasp as a professional football club. Furthermore, it’s easy to use hindsight to criticise the departure of one who grows into a “world-class striker”, as Kane has been hailed by statistician Statman Dave, among many more.

But it’s a rueful one all the same, especially considering who the striker ended up with, where he made his name.

Kane’s is a narrative that tells itself. Long without silverware at Tottenham, he nonetheless forged incredible individual success, scoring so many goals for club and country.

But the move to Bayern Munich has been a fruitful one. Now he has tasted silverware. Now his stock is rising higher still. After a prolific debut campaign in Bavaria, the 32-year-old has taken his game up another notch, and defences across the continent simply can’t cope.

Top Scorers – Top 5 Leagues (25/26)

Player

Apps

Goals

Harry Kane

7

12

Erling Haaland

8

11

Kylian Mbappe

9

10

Joaquin Panichelli

8

7

Antoine Semenyo

8

6

Mason Greenwood

8

6

Julian Alvarez

9

6

Data via Transfermarkt

Arsenal showed through the summer signing of Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace that they are willing to welcome former Hale End talents back to the club. However, Kane’s connection to Tottenham may preclude him from making that move, should he come back to the Premier League in the next few years.

Should that hypothetical scenario be realised, though, there’s no question that Kane would prove an upgrade on Gyokeres, taking the #14 shirt from the Swede. Not just a deadly, unstoppable goalscorer, the veteran is one of the finest technicians around, able to drop deep and influence play with a wide range of passes.

As per FBref, he actually ranks among the top 7% of strikers across Europe for shot-creating actions and the top 6% for progressive passes per 90.

Arteta has yet to realise the crowning achievement that many anticipate is coming, building, toward a crescendo. With Gyokeres completing the attacking set, Arsenal have the tools to get the job done.

But with Kane leading the line, there’s no telling how high Arteta’s side might reach.

Related Bergkamp 2.0: Arsenal's "magic" star can turn Gyokeres into the new Henry

Could Arsenal’s “magic player” alongside Viktor Gyökeres replicate the club’s best-ever attacking partnership of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp?

Posts ByBen Gray Oct 25, 2025

Sunderland’s season might well have hit a bump in the road at Old Trafford on Saturday, but the Premier League newcomers won’t feel completely derailed by the 2-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

After all, the Black Cats are still sitting in an encouraging ninth position in the early standings, with an expectation that they can bounce back immediately from the defeat at the Theatre of Dreams when Vitor Pereira’s winless Wolverhampton Wanderers next come to Wearside.

Regis Le Bris should very much be commended for this top start to the season, as well, with the Frenchman actually up for the honour of September’s Manager of the Month accolade.

He is joined by Granit Xhaka and Robin Roefs in being recognised for their efforts over the last month with the Mackems pair up for Player of the Month.

In an alternate reality, the current make-up of the Black Cats team could look disjointed and messy after a hectic off-season that saw signings aplenty join the building, but also saw Jobe Bellingham disappointingly up and leave for the glamour of Borussia Dortmund.

Fortunately, even without him, they’ve been right as rain in 2025/26 to date.

How Jobe Bellingham is faring at Dortmund

Amazingly, despite garnering much hype at the Stadium of Light, the ex-Sunderland boy wonder never pulled on the famous red and white stripes of the Black Cats in the Premier League.

Instead, the 20-year-old’s final chapter on Wearside fell in the Championship as Le Bris and Co. sealed promotion, with journalist Josh Bunting even hailing the England U21 international as “sensational” when strutting his stuff at the promotion chasers.

While he did begin his footballing education at Birmingham City, it’s fair to say Bellingham very much honed his craft at Sunderland, with the standout number seven managing to mature at a rapid pace, after being handed the first-team reins initially by Tony Mowbray.

A bumper tally of 11 goals and four assists from 90 Sunderland clashes would eventually alert the Bundesliga giants of Dortmund to his services, with the Black and Yellow forking out a substantial £27.8m to land the exciting midfielder.

It hasn’t all gone to plan for Bellingham on German soil so far, though, with just two Bundesliga starts coming his way this season.

In fact, his spell in Germany has been a little controversial thus far with his father, Mark, reportedly unhappy with his son’s playing time, directing anger at manager Niko Kovac.

However, it still goes without saying that the 20-year-old was a stunning success story on Sunderland’s end, with the youngster once just a wide-eyed teenager but now a Champions League figure for Kovac’s side.

So, where could the next Bellingham come from?

Sunderland's biggest talent since Bellingham

Just one glance at those who have previously donned the number ten shirt at Sunderland gives you a quick indication as to why it’s a cherished number.

Kevin Phillips wore that exact number when he bagged 30 goals for the Black Cats during one single top-flight season, while Jordan Henderson also briefly pulled it on, too, before the might of Liverpool came knocking.

While it is, of course, early days into his Sunderland development, Timur Tuterov might well be in line to also pull on that much-talked-about number very soon.

It’s a bold call, indeed, but the Ukrainian is displaying a Phillips-like potency for the U21s this season, as one of his efforts – which saw Tuterov score a fine solo effort – seeing him nominated for Sunderland’s goal of the month competition for September.

Indeed, from just four Premier League 2 contests so far this campaign, the Ukraine U21 international has managed to bag a blistering five strikes in just four games, with back-to-back braces falling into his lap against West Ham and Burnley.

It’s rather evident to see why academy manager Robin Nicholls once described him as “an exciting prospect.”

LW

12

5 + 2

CF

5

1 + 1

RW

3

1 + 0

LM

2

1 + 0

AM

1

2 + 0

RM

1

0

Should he continue scoring goals at that rate of knots, then Tuterov could also be the biggest talent Sunderland has managed to produce since turning Bellingham into a Dortmund superstar, with the 20-year-old also an adaptable presence, much like the Englishman.

With Le Bris also well-known for getting plenty out of youngsters at his disposal, with Chris Rigg turned into a first-team starter last season, it does feel as if Tuterov could be the next shouted-about name ready to leave an impression on the senior ranks.

Patience will have to be exercised here, but Sunderland’s glittering track record does seem to suggest that Tuterov could be the next gem ready to pull on the number 10 jersey, living up to Bellingham’s insane hype in the process.

Forget Isidor: "Awesome" Sunderland man could be a £30m star in the making

New signing impresses at Sunderland, ensuring he could be the next big-money departure from the Stadium of Light…

ByWill Miller Oct 3, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

O veterano arqueiro Fábio não para de quebrar recordes. E aos 43 anos, o camisa 1 do Fluminense vai atingir a marca de 99 jogos pela Copa Libertadores, diante do Internacional, no Beira-Rio, nesta quarta-feira (4), às 21h30 (de Brasília), pela semifinal do torneio continental.

RelacionadasFluminenseFernando Diniz chega a 100 jogos na segunda passagem pelo Fluminense; veja feitos do treinadorFluminense04/10/2023FluminenseConfira cinco motivos para acreditar na classificação do Fluminense à final da LibertadoresFluminense04/10/2023FluminenseEx-jogador de Fluminense e Inter, Bobô relembra final da Copa do Brasil de 1992 e diz para quem vai torcerFluminense04/10/2023

+Garanta a sua vaga no curso que formou craques como Pet, Dante e Léo Moura! Cupom: LANCE1000

Ou seja, se o Fluminense avançar para a grande decisão, o goleiro completará seu centésimo jogo no torneio exatamente na final, uma marca histórica para ele. Será o jogo mais importante de história tricolor em 15 anos. Em 2008, a equipe chegou na final continental, mas acabou derrotada pela LDU-EQU, em pleno Maracanã.

Fábio também se tornará o primeiro jogador brasileiro a chegar aos 100 jogos na Libertadores. Hoje, ele é o terceiro atleta com mais partidas no ranking geral. Ele só perde para os paraguaios Ever Almeida, que também era goleiro, e soma 113 jogos, e Sérgio Aquino, meia, que atuou em 107 partidas. A tendência é que como Fábio tem contrato até dezembro de 2025, ele se torne o primeiro.

Vale lembrar que Aquino se aposentou em 2021, enquanto Almeida começou a jogar nos anos 1970 e parou em 1992. Dos brasileiros, o mais próximo de Fábio é Rogério Ceni, também já aposentado desde 2015, com 90 jogos. Em atividade, o goleiro Weverton, do Palmeiras, soma 83 jogos. Ele pode finalizar a competição deste ano com 85, caso o Alviverde chegue na final.

+Internacional x Fluminense: onde assistir, horário e escalações do jogo pela Libertadores

Para chegar a grande decisão, a missão Tricolor Carioca não será fácil. Após o empate por 2 a 2 na partida de ida no Maracanã, na última quarta-feira (27), o Flu se classifica para a grande final do torneio com qualquer vitória no Sul do país. Novo empate leva a disputa para os pênaltis. Qualquer vitória simples do Inter classifica o Colorado.

Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson is among those to have paid homage to Pep Guardiola as Manchester City's head coach prepares to join the exclusive '1,000 Club'. The highly-decorated Catalan will join that group, alongside some illustrious figures such as Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger, when reaching four figures in the managerial department.

• Guardiola's coaching career

  Guardiola began his career in the dugout at Barcelona, being promoted from their B team into the top job at Camp Nou in 2008. He oversaw a remarkable era of success there, with the likes of Lionel Messi, Xavi and Andres Iniesta helping the Blaugrana to La Liga and Champions League triumphs.

  After four years in the most demanding of roles, Guardiola’s next port of call came in Germany as he took the reins at Bayern Munich. More domestic trophy triumphs were enjoyed there, with a stint at the Allianz Arena brought to a close after three years.

  In the summer of 2016, Guardiola agreed to fill a Premier League opening in Manchester. He has guided City to 18 honours, including six top-flight titles and a Champions League crown which formed part of a historic Treble in 2022-23. His contract has been extended through to 2027, which will take him beyond a decade of loyal service at the Etihad Stadium.

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• Guardiola proud of achievement

  Guardiola is already assured of a place among the managerial greats, with that standing set to be enhanced when reaching 1,000 games in the dugout. Said milestone will be hit when City play host to old adversaries Liverpool on Sunday.

  Guardiola has told the of the LMA: "Being a member of the League Managers Association is very important to me so I am really, really honoured to join the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club. I am humbled to be inducted into such an esteemed club that includes Sir Alex Ferguson and many managerial peers that I have enjoyed competing against over the years. I am so proud to be reaching 1,000 games as a manager which has always been a special ambition for me.

  "I would like to pay tribute to my family and friends for their support over the years as well as my players, staff and colleagues at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City who have helped me to reach this special landmark."

• Getty/GOAL
  

  Reaction from Man Utd legend Ferguson

  Former United boss Ferguson, who delivered 13 Premier League titles to Old Trafford during his reign, said of Guardiola: "Pep! I am absolutely delighted to welcome you to join the prestigious LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club. Your deep love and passion for the game has always been so evident and you should be very proud of the indelible impact you continue to have across the global game.

  "Reaching 1,000 matches and achieving such longevity in football is a landmark that can never be underestimated and, to continue to deliver league, Champions League and domestic cup titles in three of Europe’s most competitive leagues is outstanding. I look forward to celebrating with you at an LMA gala dinner to formally induct you into the LMA Hall of Fame 1,000 Club."

  LMA Chief Executive Richard Bevan OBE added: "Pep has dedicated his entire career to achieving excellence, driven by an unmatched will to win and a world-renowned style. His achievements and success in Spain, Germany, and England are unprecedented, and his influence continues to shape the game for future generations.

  "Pep’s achievements rank among the most remarkable in football history, and on behalf of the entire League Managers Association, I offer my sincerest congratulations to him on reaching such a prestigious milestone."

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• 1,000 Club: Other names on the list

  Guardiola is set to become the 39th manager in the modern era of English football to reach 1,000 games as a coach. Alongside Ferguson, Mourinho and Wenger, other names on that star-studded list include Brian Clough, Carlo Ancelotti, Sir Matt Busby, Roy Hodgson, Jurgen Klopp, Sir Bobby Robson, David Moyes and Neil Warnock.

This will be Aaron’s first coaching stint, having retired from all forms of cricket in January this year

Shashank Kishore14-Jul-2025Varun Aaron, the former India fast bowler, has joined Sunrisers Hyderabad as bowling coach ahead of IPL 2026. Aaron replaces New Zealand left-arm seamer James Franklin in the role.This is the first time Aaron, 35, will be working in a coaching capacity, having retired from all forms of cricket in January this year. He joins the support staff group currently headed by Daniel Vettori.Since the middle of 2024, Aaron has been working with trainees at the MRF Pace Academy in Chennai as a consultant. It’s an institution that played a massive role in his rise as a fast bowling talent who burst through the ranks in 2010-11 with Jharkhand.Aaron’s own career was stop-start due to multiple stress fractures. He played nine Tests and nine ODIs in all, the last of those coming in November 2015, a Test against South Africa in Bengaluru.Aaron’s Test career is best remembered for the ball he bowled to Stuart Broad during the England tour of 2014. Aaron’s bouncer hit Broad on the face, leaving him with a broken nose that required surgery, and two black eyes after he top-edged the ball into the grille of his helmet.He represented Delhi Daredevils, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Rajasthan Royals, Kolkata Knight Riders, Kings XI Punjab and Gujarat Titans during his IPL career. In 52 matches, he picked up 44 wickets at an economy of 8.93. Aaron’s most recent stint as a player was in 2022, when he was part of GT’s title-winning run.Since retirement, Aaron has also been involved in the game as an analyst, including with ESPNcricinfo.

Lunch England took a huge step towards a series-clinching win just before lunch on the fifth day in Manchester when Jofra Archer finally dislodged Shubman Gill after 87 overs of resistance.When Gill walked out to face a hat-trick ball in the first over of India’s second innings, his team trailed by 311 runs and looked certain to lose within four days. But a doughty, defiant century – the fourth in his first series as India captain – kept the match and the series alive, trimming the deficit to under 100 and slowly wearing England’s bowlers down.Gill was given a life early on the fifth day when Ollie Pope failed to hold onto a stinging chance at short cover, and was hit on the glove and helmet as Ben Stokes broke through the pain barrier to bowl an eight-over spell from the James Anderson End. Stokes did not bowl on the fourth day due to cramp and grimaced after every ball due to a shoulder niggle.But he was the man that gave England their first breakthrough, pinning KL Rahul on the back pad to trap him lbw and break a partnership worth 188 with Gill. Stokes exploited the variable bounce on offer throughout his spell, with some balls shooting through low and others – like the brute that struck Gill – leaping unexpectedly.Chris Woakes took the new ball alongside Archer and occasionally beat the bat, with Gill surviving an incredibly tight leave soon after a celebratory yelp on reaching three figures. But he played away from his body to a back-of-a-length ball from Archer shortly before lunch, and edged through to Jamie Smith to make England clear favourites.

Half-century from Conway, and all-round display from Ravindra, also helped NZ top the table

Firdose Moonda18-Jul-2025

New Zealand took the lead in the Zimbabwe T20I tri-series points table after a second successive win, this time over the hosts. After New Zealand’s bowling attack kept Zimbabwe to 120, the lowest first-innings total of the tournament so far, their batters polished off the required runs inside 14 overs, which helped their net run rate balloon to 1.919.Zimbabwe remain without a point, and with much work to do to avoid being knocked out of their own competition. They need to win both of their next two games, against South Africa and New Zealand, to progress to the final, and will need a major improvement in their batting to get there.Although Zimbabwe played more aggressively than in their opening match – according to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, 27.5% of their shots were attacking in this innings compared with 20.83% in their previous game, against South Africa – they hit the same number of fours (11), two fewer sixes (one in this innings, three on Monday), and scored lesser runs overall on Friday than against South Africa.Zimbabwe’s highest partnership against New Zealand was the opening stand of 37, which could not stand up to New Zealand’s two half-century stands. After the loss of Tim Seifert in the second over of the chase, Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra put on 59 off 44 balls before Conway and Daryl Mitchell combined for 58 off 32 deliveries to ease New Zealand to a win.Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra put on 59 for the second wicket•Zimbabwe Cricket

New Zealand will also be satisfied with the performance of their bowling attack. Matt Henry followed up his 3 for 34 against South Africa with 3 for 26 against Zimbabwe, and used the short ball to good effect. On a surface that turned substantially, New Zealand’s spinners Mitchell Santner, Michael Bracewell and Ravindra claimed a wicket each, and conceded just 43 runs in nine overs collectively.Zimbabwe had no one to match either that wicket-taking or that economy. Blessing Muzarabani took a wicket, and conceded only at 6.75 runs an over. But that was good as it got for Zimbabwe. Their decision to leave out a spinner in Wellington Masakadza for seamer Tinotenda Maposa will also cause questions over their team balance.Madhevere’s intent (almost) pays offWessly Madhevere flicked the first ball off his pads and past Seifert to start Zimbabwe off with a boundary. Three balls later, he used his wrists to whip Henry behind square for four more. Zimbabwe had 11 runs from the opening over, more than double they scored against South Africa – and all of them belonged to Madheve. He came into this match under pressure – with only one score over 20 in his last 11 innings – and showed that he was willing to take things on, even if he didn’t always get it right.In the second over, Madhevere advanced towards Jacob Duffy, swung hard but missed, and then tried to scoop. Together with Brian Bennett, Madhevere got Zimbabwe to 36 runs from the first five overs, and then with Clive Madande to 61 for 2 at the halfway stage. But his ambition got the better of him when he backed away and was too late on a shot off Adam Milne to be bowled for 36. At least, it was his highest score in 14 innings since his 43 against India a year ago.Wessly Madhevere’s ambition got the better of him•Zimbabwe Cricket

NZ scythe through the middle orderMadhevere’s dismissal came 14 balls after Madande was deceived in flight from Ravindra, and stumped in the middle of a collapse of 5 for 37 that put the breaks on Zimbabwe. Ryan Burl struck two fours before he tried to reverse sweep against Bracewell and was caught at backward point. Sikandar Raza played across the line, and got a leading edge off Santner to be caught at extra cover. Tashinga Musekiwa tried to pull a short ball from Henry but top edged, and was well caught by Duffy at fine leg.Zimbabwe were 98 for 6 in the 17th over, and lost the middle order in the space of 43 balls. They scored just 21 runs off the last three overs, and could not finish with any kind of flourish.Ngarava, Muzarabani start wellAfter reducing South Africa to 17 for 2 earlier this week, Richard Ngarava could have had a wicket with his first ball against New Zealand. He went on a back of a length, and got an outside edge off Seifert, but the chance fell short of Burl at slip. Four balls later, Conway, on 1 at the time, reached out for a wider delivery, and edged to short third but Blessing Muzarabani fluffed the chance.Muzarabani made up for that when he removed Seifert with his first ball, albeit not his best one. He went short and wide outside off, and Seifert hit in the air to Musekiwa at cover. Ngarava was not quite as lucky, though. In his next over, Ravindra was beaten by a ball that moved away late, and then Ngarava thought he had Conway out caught behind but the umpire was unmoved.File photo: Blessing Muzarabani made up for dropping Devon Conway by bagging Tim Seifert•AFP/Getty Images

Muzarabani got Conway to miscue a pull, and then hit the ball in the air towards mid-off. But both chances landed safely. New Zealand were 19 for 1 after four overs, and had only hit one boundary until then, which showed Zimbabwe’s ability to put them under pressure. But a hat-trick of boundaries from Ravindra off Trevor Gwandu meant Zimbabwe could not keep them there.Conway gets comfortable… eventuallyWhile Ravindra settled in the powerplay, Conway’s stay at the crease was streaky. He top-edged Muzarabani for his first boundary, and Maposa for his second. Maposa almost dismissed Conway off another top edge when he rushed Conway into a pull, but the chance fell short of fine leg. Immediately after that, Conway was nearly down on his haunches, and appeared to be struggling with his health.But later in the over, he sliced Maposa over backward point. Still, he was nearly run-out two overs later when Mitchell called him through for a quick single, and he was not in the frame when the throw came in at the striker’s end. It was only when Conway smashed Ngarava over the deep-midwicket boundary for six that he looked like he was in control. He went on to send Raza over long-on for a second six, and brought up his fifty off 34 balls. It was Conway’s highest score in six T20I innings dating back to last year’s T20 World Cup, and his second half-century in his last 15 T20I innings.

In the strange, paranormal world known as hitting, in which lucky socks or a borrowed bat are believed to carry superpowers, there is one five-letter unwelcome interloper who might as well be known as He Who Will Not be Named. Hitters do not even like to use the word “slump,” no less acknowledge such an enemy exists, such are its negative forces.

“I’m not in a slump,” premier hardball sensei Yogi Berra once said. “I just ain’t hitting.”

At its worst, though, a slump is unmistakable, even if it is unspeakable. For Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees, it has grown as large as the man itself. It cannot be ignored.

One of the great sluggers of this generation cannot get out of his own way. He is taking strikes and swinging at balls. He is late on fastballs and early on breaking pitches. He has struck out 19 times in 11 games this postseason while batting .150.

Game 2 of the World Series on Saturday was a new low. Judge struck out swinging three times on pitches out of the zone, only the 16th time he had done so in his career. The Yankees again could not survive without some positive energy from their captain, losing 4–2 to the Los Angeles Dodgers to fall in the series two games to none.

Judge never did speak the word “slump” after the game, as he parried different versions of the question: He didn’t have to speak it. Accountable as he was, Judge gave away one of the root causes of his slump by how many times he used the same two words, with emphasis added:

“I’ve definitely got to step up. I got to do my job.”

“Especially with Gleyber [Torres] and what Juan [Soto] did at the top of the lineup, I've got to back them up.”

“They're going to keep getting on base. I've got to drive them in or move them over.”

“My boys are going to keep picking me up, but I’ve got to step up and pick them up, too.”

“It’s plain and simple. I got to start swinging at strikes.”

“Got to.” It’s the telltale admission of a hitter pressing. Judge knows how important he is to the Yankees. He knows at age 32 that he has waited his professional career to have this opportunity of playing in the World Series. And worse, he knows this October slump spans years. He is stringing together a legacy of empty postseason at-bats that is only getting harder to turn around.

In 55 postseason games, Judge is a career .199 hitter who is striking out 34% of his plate appearances, which is pretty much the regular season career of Mike Zunino. Judge has whiffed 85 times—12 more than anybody else in postseason history through 55 games (next closest is Cody Bellinger, 73).

The New York Yankees pulled ahead in their ALDS series with the Kansas City Royals via a 3-2 victory on Wednesday evening. Giancarlo Stanton played hero for the pinstripes with a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, but Jazz Chisholm played villain. Again.

The third baseman has relished the spotlight that comes with playing for the Yankees since being acquired by the pinstripes midseason. That did not change when the postseason began, and Chisholm cranked things up a notch by taking a shot across the bow at the Royals after losing Game 2, bluntly stating he felt they were lucky to have won the game.

While Chisholm indicated they were comments of a competitor who believes his team should win every game rather than an undercutting of KC's skill, he was still greeted with a healthy chorus of boos when he trotted onto the field at Kauffman Stadium for Game 3. Chisholm leaned into it during the victory and had the perfect reaction to the jeering afterwards.

"I ain’t ever seen anybody boo a bum," Chisholm said to reporters.

A pretty strong comeback.

The Yankees will have a shot to put the Royals away and advance to the ALCS on Thursday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:08 p.m. ET.

يستضيف منتخب البرتغال، بقيادة المدرب روبرتو مارتينيز، خصمه أرمينيا عصر الأحد، في إطار التصفيات المؤهلة إلى بطولة كأس العالم نسخة 2025.

ويخوض منتخب البرتغال مباراته الأخيرة في إطار تصفيات قارة أوروبا المؤهلة إلى كأس العالم، النسخة المقبلة، ضد منتخب أرمينيا على ملعب “دراجاو”.

ويحتل منتخب البرتغال صدارة المجموعة السادسة برصيد 10 نقطة، في حين أن أرمينيا لديها 3 نقاط في المركز الرابع والأخير.

ولم يتأهل منتخب البرتغال بعد إلى نهائيات كأس العالم، حيث يحتاج إلى تحقيق الفوز ضد أرمينيا من أجل التأهل المباشر، بغض النظر عن نتيجة مباراة المجر وأيرلندا في التوقيت نفسه، وإلا سيحتاج إلى الاعتماد على غيره.

وسيفتقد منتخب البرتغال خدمات القائد كريستيانو رونالدو بعدما تحصل على بطاقة حمراء، يوم الخميس الماضي، في مباراتهم ضد أيرلندا، حيث فازت الأخيرة بهدفين دون رد. موعد مباراة البرتغال وأرمينيا اليوم في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة 4 عصرًا بتوقيت القاهرة، 5 بتوقيت السعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة البرتغال وأرمينيا اليوم في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026

تُذاع المباراة عبر قناة beIN SPORTS 1. معلق مباراة البرتغال وأرمينيا اليوم في تصفيات كأس العالم 2026

سيعلق نوفل باشي على أحداث مباراة اليوم.

ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث مباريات اليوم لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا.