انطلقت مباريات الجولة السادسة عشر لبطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “البريميرليج”، مساء السبت، وخاض فريق ليفربول مواجهة، وكذلك تشيلسي.
والتقى ليفربول وبرايتون على ملعب “آنفيلد”، فيما واجه تشيلسي خصمه إيفرتون، على ملعب “ستامفورد بريدج”.
وحقق ليفربول الفوز على برايتون بهدفين دون مقابل، سجلهما هوجو إيكتيكي، وتغلب تشيلسي على إيفرتون بهدفين نظيفين، كما تغلب آرسنال على خصمه ولفرهامبتون بهدفين مقابل هدف.
وشهدت هذه الجولة من الدوري الإنجليزي، فوز مانشستر سيتي على كريستال بالاس بثلاثية نظيفة، وتغلب أستون فيلا على وست هام بثلاثية لهدفين، مساء الأحد، كما يلتقي مانشستر يونايتد مع بورنموث يوم الإثنين. جدول ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي
1. آرسنال، 36 نقطة.
2. مانشستر سيتي، 34 نقطة.
3. أستون فيلا، 33 نقطة.
4. تشيلسي، 28 نقطة.
5. كريستال بالاس، 26 نقطة.
6. ليفربول، 26 نقطة.
7، سندرلاند، 26 نقطة.
8. مانشستر يونايتد، 25 نقطة.
9، إيفرتون، 24 نقطة.
10، برايتون، 23 نقطة.
11، توتنهام، 22 نقطة.
12، نيوكاسل، 22 نقطة.
13، فولهام، 20 نقطة.
14، برينتفورد، 20 نقطة.
15. بورنموث، 20 نقطة.
16، نوتينجهام، 18 نقطة.
17، ليدز، 16 نقطة.
18، وست هام، 13 نقطة.
19، بيرنلي، 10 نقاط.
20، ولفرهامبتون، نقطتان.
ويمكنك متابعة ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي محدث لحظة بلحظة من خلال الرابط.
O Vasco perdeu para o Bragantino no Brasileirão e os torcedores cornetaram o goleiro Léo Jardim. Os torcedores elegeram o jogador como o vilão da partida. A enquete foi realizada no canal do WhatsApp do Lance! Vasco.
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➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco
Segundo os vascaínos, Léo Jardim foi pior em campo, com 86% dos votos (1,8 mil votos). Por outro lado, Vegetti foi quem os torcedores pouparam as críticas, com 90% dos votos (2,5 mil votos).
Além das enquetes e muita interação, os vascaínos podem acompanhar muito conteúdo e informação no canal do Lance! Vasco no WhatsApp.
Como faço para participar? Clique aqui para entrar no canal Lance! Vasco no WhatsApp, a casa dos vascaínos.
كشفت تقارير صحفية إنجليزية أن نادي ليفربول ينتظر رد الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم، فيفا، قبل اتخاذ أي قرار نهائي فيما يخص مشاركة النجم محمد صلاح في بطولة كأس أمم إفريقيا.
وتستضيف المغرب نهائيات كأس أمم إفريقيا في الفترة بين 21 ديسمبر 2025 و18 يناير 2026.
وذكرت شبكة “thisisanfield” الإنجليزية أن هناك حالة من الترقب داخل أروقة ليفربول فيما يخص قرار الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم بشأن الموعد الإلزامي لإطلاق سراح اللاعبين المشاركين في كأس أمم إفريقيا، قبل اتخاذ قرار بشأن محمد صلاح.
وتضمن المشاركة في دور المجموعات وحدها غياب محمد صلاح عن صفوف ليفربول، عن ثلاث مباريات على الأقل، ولكن من المرجح أن تمتد فترة غيابه.
وسيخوض منتخب مصر مباراة ودية ضد نيجيريا يوم 7 ديسمبر المقبل، حيث يأمل الاعتماد على الثنائي محمد صلاح وعمر مرموش في ذلك اللقاء الذي يعني بدء المعسكر التدريبي في وقت مبكر من الشهر المذكور.
اقرأ أيضًا.. كوناتي يوجه رسالة مهمة إلى جماهير ليفربول: سنتجاوز المحنة
وأوضحت أنه رغم رغبة حسام حسن، فإن ليفربول وكذلك مانشستر سيتي ينتظران ردًا من فيفا حول الموعد الإلزامي للتخلي عن خدمات محمد صلاح ومرموش لصالح منتخب مصر، والذي من المتوقع أن يكون قبل أسبوعين من انطلاق البطولة.
وأفادت أن ذلك يعني أن الموعد النهائي هو 8 ديسمبر، وفي حال تطبيق هذا، فإن محمد صلاح سيغيب عن مباراتي ليفربول ضد إنتر ميلان في دوري أبطال أوروبا، 9 ديسمبر، وبرايتون 13 ديسمبر في الدوري الإنجليزي، بخلاف المباريات الأخرى في فترة البطولة الإفريقية.
وسيسافر منتخب مصر إلى المغرب في 17 ديسمبر قبل مواجهة زيمبابوي (22 ديسمبر)، وجنوب أفريقيا (26 ديسمبر)، وأنجولا (29 ديسمبر) في المجموعة الثانية.
وإذا طٌلب من محمد صلاح مغادرة ليفربول والسفر مبكرًا، وفي حال وصول منتخب مصر إلى المباراة النهائية أو تحديد المركز الثالث، فإنه قد يغيب عن 9 مباريات رفقة كتيبة آرني سلوت.
وشرحت الشبكة الأمر على النحو التالي:
أقرب موعد محتمل لمغادرة محمد صلاح صفوف ليفربول: 8 ديسمبر.
ليفربول وإنتر ميلان خارج ملعبه، دوري أبطال أوروبا: 9 ديسمبر.
ليفربول وبرايتون على ملعبه، الدوري الإنجليزي: 13 ديسمبر.
الموعد المتوقع سابقًا لرحيل محمد صلاح عن ليفربول (حال عدم إجباره على المغادرة مبكرًا): 14 ديسمبر.
ليفربول وتوتنهام خارج ملعبه، الدوري الإنجليزي: 20 ديسمبر.
ليفربول وولفرهامبتون على ملعبه، الدوري الإنجليزي: 27 ديسمبر.
نهاية دور المجموعات في كأس أمم إفريقيا: 29 ديسمبر.
ليفربول وليدز يونايتد على ملعبه، الدوري الإنجليزي: 1 يناير.
دور الـ16 من كأس أمم إفريقيا: 3/5/4 يناير.
ليفربول وفولهام خارج ملعبه، الدوري الإنجليزي: 4 يناير.
ليفربول وآرسنال خارج ملعبه، الدوري الإجليزي: 8 يناير.
دور ربع نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا: 9/10 يناير.
دور نصف نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا: 14 يناير.
ليفربول وآرسنل على ملعبه، الدوري الإنجليزي، 17 يناير.
مباراة تحديد المركز الثالث في كأس أمم إفريقيا: 17 يناير.
نهائي كأس أمم إفريقيا: 18 يناير.
ليفربول ومارسيليا خارج ملعبه، دوري أبطال أوروبا، 21 يناير.
O atacante Thiago Galhardo é o novo reforço do Goiás para a disputa da Série B. O jogador, que pediu para deixar o Fortaleza, deve ser anunciado pelo Esmeraldino nas próximas horas. As informações foram divulgadas pelos jornalistas César Luis Merlo e André Hernan.
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Após o ataque ao ônibus do Leão do Pici em Recife, realizado pela torcida do Sport antes do duelo das equipes pela Copa do Nordeste, Galhardo pediu dispensa do clube por uma semana para tratar da saúde mental. Na ocasião, o transporte da delegação da equipe foi alvejado por bombas, e jogadores e membros da comissão técnica do Tricolor saíram feridos do ataque.
No Fortaleza desde julho de 2022, o atacante disputou 100 jogos com a camisa do clube e anotou 27 gols no período. Na atual temporada, participou de 11 partidas e foi às redes em três oportunidades.
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Formado nas categorias de base do Bangu, Galhardo estreou como profissional em 2010. Nas carreira, o jogador acumula passagens por diversos clubes do futebol brasileiro, como Botafogo, Internacional, Coritiba e Vasco. Fora do país, atuou pelo Celta de Vigo, da Espanha, e Albirex Niigata, do Japão.
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Brasileirão Série BFortalezaFutebol NacionalGoiásThiago Galhardo
It is an excellent time to be an Arsenal fan at the moment.
Mikel Arteta’s side still have a long way to go, but after another practically perfect weekend, they remain atop the Premier League table, now six points clear of Manchester City and seven clear of Liverpool.
Moreover, while the North Londoners could still improve in some areas, such as scoring from open play, they currently look the best they have been in a very long time.
Arsenal’s recent form
Competition
Opponent
Result
EPL
C. Palace
1-0 (W)
UCL
Atlético
4-0 (W)
EPL
Fulham
1-0 (W)
EPL
West Ham
2-0 (W)
UCL
Olympicacos
2-0 (W)
As if that isn’t enough, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to deny that more than a handful of Arteta’s players now rank among the very best in the league, including one who is becoming even more influential than Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice.
Arteta's Arsenal leaders
During the final years of Arsène Wenger’s reign, and even under Unai Emery and early in Arteta’s time at the club, it wasn’t uncommon to hear fans and pundits alike lambast Arsenal for a lack of leaders in the team.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
However, over the last few years, such accusations have become far less prevalent, so much so, in fact, that to say such a thing today would be considered by many to be patently incorrect.
Arteta has helped turn the Gunners from a soft side that opposition teams loved playing against into a monstrous side that few, if any, teams look forward to playing.
From front to back, there are now leaders and mentality monsters all over.
For example, while he had a poor season last year, Martin Odegaard has been the club captain since the summer of 2022 and has been Norway’s captain for even longer.
Often alongside him, Declan Rice was the captain of West Ham United before his move, has now captained England on occasion and is often seen as the most vocal and ‘old-school’ leader in the squad.
Even Saka, who is still just 24 years old, has become a real leader in recent years, wearing the armband in Odegaard’s absence and keeping the side’s attack competitive when his fellow forwards have underwhelmed.
With all that said, there is another star of this Arsenal team who is not just becoming one of the most influential players at the Emirates, but within the entire league.
Arsenal's most influential player
When it comes to other leaders in this Arsenal team, it is becoming increasingly difficult to overlook the utterly superb Gabriel Magalhaes.
The Brazilian international first joined the team in the summer of 2020 for a fee of around £27m, and for the first couple of years, was seen as something of a liability at times.
However, over the last few years, the former LOSC Lille gem has managed to rid his game of the silly mistakes that were holding him back and transformed into one of the very best centre-backs in the Premier League, if not the world.
That might sound somewhat hyperbolic, but the facts suggest otherwise: since the 23/24 season, the Gunners have had the best defence in the Premier League, and over those campaigns, the 27-year-old has made 36, 28, and nine appearances, respectively.
Moreover, as things stand, the North Londoners have conceded just three goals across all competitions this year, one of which was Dominik Szoboszlai’s outrageous free-kick at Anfield.
So, there is a very real chance that the Sao Paulo-born titan could play a crucial role in breaking Chelsea’s record of conceding just 15 goals in a Premier League season this year.
Finally, while the 6 foot 3 wall’s most important job is keeping other teams from scoring, he has also become a serious threat in the opposition’s box over the years, and has been a massive reason why the Gunners are now the best set-piece team in the world.
For example, since moving to the Emirates, the towering “colossus,” as dubbed by Arsenal writer Adam Keys, has scored 22 goals and provided seven assists in 223 games, and as things stand, is now the 100th top scorer in the club’s history.
Ultimately, when you take into account his incredible defending, outrageous goalscoring threat and sensational leadership qualities, it’s impossible to disagree with Jamie Carragher’s claim that he’s “the most influential player in the Premier League right now.”
Forget Eze: Arsenal's 8/10 star is becoming Arteta's most important player
Arsenal extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a win over Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Fanning, Bancroft and Cartwright all made half-centuries in WA’s 298 for 9 before the quicks cleaned up SA for 232, with Harvey making 76 in the losing chase
AAP24-Sep-2025
Joel Paris starred with the ball taking 5 for 42•Getty Images
Western Australia opener Sam Fanning has top-scored before teammate Joel Paris claimed five wickets in a 66-run one-day win against South Australia in Adelaide.Fanning’s 75 from 91 balls and half-centuries from Cameron Bancroft (63) and Hilton Cartwright (55) steered WA to 298 for 9 from 50 overs on Wednesday.SA were bowled out for 232 from 44.3 overs in reply at Karen Rolton Oval with the left-arm seamer Paris taking a career best 5 for 42 to claim player of the match honours.SA’s defence of the Dean Jones Trophy is in early strife with consecutive losses, while WA banked their first win from two outings. WA, led by Paris and 19-year-old quick Albert Esterhuysen (3-42), who was on debut, prevailed after weathering an early onslaught from SA’s Mackenzie Harvey (76 from 65 balls).The aggressive opener struck 11 fours and one six after the early loss of his partner Jake Fraser-McGurk, who smacked three fours but was dismissed for 14 from 10 balls.SA’s top order failed to fire with second-gamer Harry Manenti (39 from 49 balls), Jake Lehmann (33 from 42) and acting captain Jason Sangha (18 from 24) unable to cash in on promising starts.Cameron Bancroft and Sam Fanning posted half-centuries•Getty Images
Earlier, WA openers Fanning and Joel Curtis made a brisk start with an 86-run partnership in less than 13 overs. The stand was broken when Curtis (44 from 33 balls) edged to wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen from the bowling of Manenti (1-51).Fanning and Bancroft combined for a 92-run partnership, taking the visitors to a position of power at 174 for 1 in the 29th over.But the dismissal of Fanning, who struck three sixes and four fours from 91 balls, allowed SA to stifle momentum as WA lost 4 for 49 in the next 10 overs. Sam Whiteman, Ashton Turner and Ashton Agar all fell cheaply.And when Bancroft was out lbw to legspinner Lloyd Pope, WA were 223 for 5 in the 38th over and could only muster 75 more runs from the next dozen overs.Pope finished with 2 for 51 from 10 overs, Hanno Jacobs took 2 for 61 from nine on debut for SA while pacer Jordan Buckingham was the pick of the bowlers with a miserly 2 for 33 from 10 overs.
Danny Röhl has made an encouraging start to life as Rangers manager, but there is still plenty of work to do.
Last Sunday’s 3-0 drubbing of Dundee makes it three Premiership victories out of three for the German, likely to maintain that perfect record when bottom-of-the-table Livingston visit Ibrox after the international break.
However, the Gers remain rock bottom of the Europa League table without a point to their name, beaten by both Sturm Graz and Roma under Röhl, while also dumped out of the League Cup in the semi-finals by Celtic, albeit Thelo Aasgaard’s red card at Hampden did not help their cause.
So, having inherited a complete mess, Röhl is still figuring out which plays he can rely on as well as who he wants to build around for the future.
Jack Butland, James Tavernier, John Souttar and Nicolas Raskin have quickly established themselves as key figures, with the new manager showing faith in expensive new striker Youssef Chermiti too.
However, other players are not seeing as much game time as they may have anticipated, so is one summer signing in danger of becoming the club’s latest Óscar Cortés?
Óscar Cortés: Rangers transfer bust
One of Rangers’ 14 summer signings, officially at least, Cortés was one, albeit he’d been with the club since 1 February 2024 on loan.
Despite making little impact in Glasgow, the Colombian’s move from Lens was made permanent for £4.5m, due to a pre-agreed obligation to buy.
At the time of his arrival, Rangers supporters were very excited, considering Cortés had starred at the 2023 U20 World Cup, scoring four goals and registering two assists for Colombia, awarded the tournament’s Bronze Ball.
Scout António Mango thereby labelled him an “insane talent”, while the Rangers Journal forecast that he would “provide pace, power and… goal contributions” to Rangers’ forward line, which certainly has not been the case thus far.
In just 21 appearances to date, 764 minutes, he has scored only one goal for the Gers, missing 58 matches entirely, the majority of which have been due to injury.
Thus, he was sent out on loan to Sporting Gijón on deadline day, but is yet to do very much in the Segunda División either, as his market value continues to diminish at a rapid rate.
So now, which current Rangers forward could follow a similar path if he continues to be under-utilised by Röhl?
Rangers star becoming Cortés repeat
They say that first impressions are the most important, and Oliver Antman certainly made a good one at Rangers.
The Finnish forward joined from Go Ahead Eagles for a reported fee of £3.5m, thrown straight into Champions League qualifying action.
Less than 24 hours after landing in Glasgow, Antman put in a man of the match performance as Rangers demolished Viktoria Plzeň 3-0, providing two assists and playing a starring role in, by some distance, the club’s best performance of the ill-fated Russell Martin era.
Considering the forward’s performances in the Netherlands last season, his signature was viewed as a major coup, as the table below documents.
Oliver Antman Eredivisie stats 24/25
Stats
Antman
Eredivisie rank
Goals
6
38th
Assists
15
1st
Expected assists
9.1
1st
Big chances created
16
1st
Shots
54
22nd
Key passes
50
10th
Big chances missed
11
7th
Goal-creating actions
19
4th
Progressive carries
96
10th
Stats via FBref & SofaScore
As the table documents, Antman was one of the most creative players in the Eredivisie last season, racking up 15 assists as well as ranking first for expected assists and big chances created.
This is made all the more impressive by the fact he was not playing for one of the Netherlands’ traditional powerhouses, his Go Ahead Eagles team ending up seventh, albeit they did win the KNVB Beker for the very first time, defeating AZ Alkmaar on penalties, with Antman starting the final victory at De Kuip.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout was certainly impressed, labelling him “creative” while, upon his arrival, sporting director Kevin Thelwell described him as an “exciting talent” who boasts “great technical ability”.
However, following that promising start to life at Rangers, Antman has not lived up to expectations, registering just a solitary assist since his blistering debut, yet to score for his new club.
Furthermore, since starting Röhl’s first match as manager against Brann, Antman has been an unused substitute on three occasions, coming off the bench against Celtic and Dundee, but making very little impact.
In the German’s 3-4-3 formation too, there is one fewer attacking position up for grabs, very much currently behind Chermiti, Danilo, Djeidi Gassama, Mikey Moore, all of whom have scored in recent matches, and others in the pecking order.
Antman is clearly a quality player, he’s already shown glimpses of this in a Rangers jersey, and unlike Cortés, availability is not a huge barrier to him featuring in matches.
Nevertheless, the Finn is seemingly currently not in Röhl’s plans, so a January loan is very much not out of the question, and he is in danger of becoming the latest big-money signing to disappear out of Ibrox without a trace.
Ferguson 2.0: Rangers' "best player" is now more important than Tavernier
Rangers’ “best player” who is reminiscent of Barry Ferguson has emerged under Danny Röhl and it is not captain James Tavernier.
أعلنت إحدى الجهات الإعلامية المصرية عن حصولها على حقوق بث مباريات بطولة كأس العرب 2025، وذلك قبل انطلاق النسخة الجديدة التي تشهد مشاركة واسعة من المنتخبات العربية وتترقبها الجماهير بشغف كبير.
ويخوض منتخب مصر منافسات البطولة تحت قيادة جهاز فني يضم حلمي طولان مديرًا فنيًا، وأحمد حسن مديرًا للمنتخب، وعصام الحضري مدربًا لحراس المرمى، وذلك وفقًا لقرار اتحاد الكرة المصري بتشكيل الجهاز الفني للفراعنة في البطولة.
ويستهل منتخب مصر مشواره في كأس العرب بمواجهة الكويت في الجولة الأولى من دور المجموعات، ضمن منافسات المجموعة الثالثة التي تضم أيضًا الأردن والإمارات، في مجموعة قوية ينتظر أن تشهد صراعًا كبيرًا على بطاقتي التأهل.
ويخوض الفراعنة اللقاء الأول أمام منتخب الكويت، ثم يلتقون الإمارات في الجولة الثانية، على أن يكون الختام بمواجهة الأردن، التي قد تلعب دورًا حاسمًا في تحديد المتأهلين إلى الدور التالي.
طالع أيضًا | “ساعدوني كثيرًا”.. حلمي طولان يشيد بثنائي منتخب مصر قبل كأس العرب القناة المجانية الناقلة لمباريات كأس العرب 2025
كشف الإعلامي إبراهيم فايق عن نقل منافسات بطولة كأس العرب بشكل حصري داخل مصر عبر شاشة MBC MASR 2، مشيرًا إلى استعداد القناة لتقديم تغطية موسعة من داخل الملاعب، مع استوديو تحليلي قوي ومشاركة نخبة من المعلقين العرب. موعد مباراة مصر والكويت في كأس العرب
تقام مباراة مصر والكويت يوم الثلاثاء الموافق 2 ديسمبر 2025، في تمام الساعة 4:30 مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة.
ويُمكنكم متابعة أحداث المباريات لحظة بلحظة من مركز المباريات من هنـــا
O Flamengo divulgou, na noite deste domingo (14), o estado de saúde de Matías Viña, após choque de cabeça sofrido pelo jogador na partida contra o Atlético-GO. Segundo o clube carioca, o lateral-esquerdo não teve lesão cerebral constatada nos exames realizados.
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➡️ Tudo sobre o Mengão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Flamengo
Viña deixou o gramado aos 30 minutos do segundo tempo, após dividida pelo alto com o zagueiro Adriano Martins. Os jogadores se chocaram de cabeça e precisaram ser substituídos imediatamente. Seguindo o novo protocolo de concussão estabelecido pela Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF), ambos foram encaminhados para o hospital.
Como não houve lesão cerebral detectada, Matías Viña foi liberado para retornar com a delegação do Flamengo para o Rio de Janeiro. O lateral-esquerdo seguirá em observação pelo Departamento Médico Rubro-Negro nos próximos dias.
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Em campo, O Flamengo venceu o Atlético-GO por 2 a 1 neste domingo (14), no Estádio Serra Dourada, na estreia dos times no Brasileirão 2024. Agora, o Rubro-Negro Carioca volta a campo na quarta-feira (17), às 21h30, diante do São Paulo, no Maracanã, pela segunda rodada da competição.
South Africa captain says they had prepared for left-arm spin and was confident of a strong comeback
S Sudarshanan03-Oct-20251:56
Wolvaardt: We’re much better than 69 all out
South Africa’s collapse in their Women’s World Cup opener against England was down to “one of those days where the top order and the middle order failed on the same day”, according to their captain Laura Wolvaardt. Sent in to bat in Guwahati, South Africa were bowled out for 69, their third-lowest total in women’s ODIs, and lost by ten wickets.Wolvaardt insisted they were “much better than 69 all out” and backed her side to bounce back.”I think our prep has been good, I don’t think there were too many demons in the pitch,” she said after the match. “It was just one of those days where everyone went out early and that happens in cricket sometimes. It was not a pitch that we were super foreign to. We spent a lot of time in these conditions in the last couple of months, so definitely wouldn’t put it on the wicket.Related
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“We are much, much better than 69 all out. As a group, we just need to put it behind us as quickly as we can and move forward, because if we’re going to take that into the next game, it’s going to be a very long tournament for us.”South Africa knew what to expect from England, who had two kinds of left-arm spinners, with Sophie Ecclestone’s release point being much higher than that of Linsey Smith.Marizanne Kapp became Linsey Smith’s third victim•Getty Images
On the eve of the match, South Africa’s batting coach Baakier Abrahams oversaw Wolvaardt’s preparation against left-arm spin closely. He specifically asked the net bowlers to change angles and bowl from wide of the crease as well. The focus was on her footwork and shot selection, and Abrahams reminded her of the forward defence with a straight bat. At one point, he praised her shot selection to a particular ball but pointed out that her head was falling over. Towards the end of her stint that lasted nearly 45 minutes, he nodded in approval.On Friday, though, it took Smith only two balls to dismiss Wolvaardt, who chipped a return catch. Smith then used inswing to beat the inside edges of both Tazmin Brits and Marizanne Kapp and hit the stumps. South Africa were four down just 31 balls into the game and couldn’t recover.”You can’t really fault our preparation. Yesterday, personally, I was super specific in my training,” Wolvaardt said. “I had someone bowl like Lauren Bell would and I had the left-armer [bowling] at me. I had already planned which guard I would take and what my options were and what my strong options were. To have that soft dismissal today was very disappointing with all the preparation that we had put in. We’ve been very well-informed by all of our coaches. It’s just one of those days where we played the wrong line for the ball swinging in.”While batting has been South Africa’s stronger suit heading into this World Cup, the defeat put their Nos. 3 to 6 in the spotlight. In ODIs since the start of 2023, South Africa have been one of the top batting teams. That is largely due to Wolvaardt and Brits, the most prolific pair in this period. In the same time frame, their Nos. 3 to 6 average 28.08, the worst among all eight teams at this World Cup. That is down to Kapp not playing all games, plus some players moving up and down the order.”Our middle order has actually been better this year than they have ever been,” Wolvaardt said. “I think the likes of Sune [Luus], Marizanne, Chloe [Tryon], [Annerie] Dercksen, who didn’t play today, have really been scoring a lot of runs throughout the past few series. I don’t think that we have any trouble in our middle order at the moment. It’s just one of those days where both top order and middle order didn’t fire.”In South Africa’s last ODI before the World Cup, they were dismissed for 115 with Pakistan left-arm spinner Nashra Sandhu taking 6 for 26. Not all of South Africa’s frontline players played that game, since they had already won the series. Wolvaardt didn’t read much into the similarities between that performance and this one against England.”Those were two quite different spinners. Smith was very good with her swing and her drift today, whereas Sandhu in that game got a lot of turn over the wicket. So very different conditions. In that Pakistan game, we probably didn’t adapt well to a turning wicket, probably a lot more turn than what we were used to, very out of our comfort zone conditions-wise, whereas today, it was just a total collapse. We just didn’t apply ourselves well enough with the bat.”South Africa’s second game in the World Cup is against New Zealand in Indore on October 6.