Everything you need to know about the state of play in the CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifiers, including fixtures, results, table and TV details.

The build-up to the 2026 World Cup is going in South America, with the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign ongoing. Home of legendary players such as Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona and Pele, South America is renowned as a place that produces some of the most accomplished footballers in the world.

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The qualification process will see reigning world champions Argentina collide with eternal rivals Brazil, who themselves are the record-holders for most World Cup titles. The likes of Uruguay and Colombia will also be expected to impress, with no shortage of competition among the 10 nations.

Here, GOAL brings you everything you need to know about the state of play in the CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifiers, including fixtures, results, table and TV details.

• Getty
  

  South America World Cup 2026 qualifying table standings

  Pos.	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Pts
  1	Argentina (Q)	17	12	2	3	+22	38
  2	Brazil (Q)	17	8	7	2	+8	28
  3	Uruguay (Q)	17	7	6	4	+10	27
  4	Ecuador (Q)	17	7	8	2	+8	26
  5	Colombia (Q)	17	6	7	4	+7	25
  6	Paraguay (Q)	17	6	7	4	+3	25
  7	Venezuela	17	4	6	7	-7	18
  8	Bolivia	17	5	2	10	-19	17
  9	Peru (E)	17	2	6	9	-14	12
  10	Chile (E)	17	2	4	11	-18	10

  Last updated: September 5,

  South American World Cup qualification involves 10 teams and each team plays the other teams twice, meaning there are 18 matchdays.

  The top six teams qualify for the World Cup and the team which finishes in seventh place advances to the inter-confederation play-offs.

  South American World Cup qualifying cycles last a number of years. Matchday one began on September 7, 2023, and the final matchday is scheduled for September 2025. 

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• Getty
  

  South America World Cup 2026 qualifying fixtures & results

  The fixtures and results for the CONMEBOL World Cup 2026 qualifying can be seen below. Note that not all fixtures have been finalised, so dates and venues may vary.

  Date	Match	Venue
  Sep 7, 2023	Paraguay 0-0 Peru	Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este
  Sep 7, 2023	Colombia 1-0 Venezuela	Estadio Metropolitano, Barranquilla
  Sep 7, 2023	Argentina 1-0 Ecuador	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
  Sep 8, 2023	Uruguay 3-1 Chile	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Sep 8, 2023	Brazil 5-1 Bolivia	Mangueirao, Belem
  Sep 12, 2023	Bolivia 0-3 Argentina	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
  Sep 12, 2023	Ecuador 2-1 Uruguay	La Casa Blanca, Quito
  Sep 12, 2023	Venezuela 1-0 Paraguay	Estadio Monumental, Maturin
  Sep 12, 2023	Chile 0-0 Colombia	Estadio Monumental, Santiago
  Sep 12, 2023	Peru 0-1 Brazil	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Oct 12, 2023	Bolivia 1-2 Ecuador	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
  Oct 12, 2023	Colombia 2-2 Uruguay	Estadio Metropolitano, Barranquilla
  Oct 12, 2023	Brazil 1-1 Venezuela	Arena Pantanal, Cuiaba
  Oct 12, 2023	Argentina 1-0 Paraguay	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
  Oct 12, 2023	Chile 2-0 Peru	Estadio Monumental, Santiago
  Oct 17, 2023	Venezuela 3-0 Chile	Estadio Monumental, Maturin
  Oct 17, 2023	Paraguay 1-0 Bolivia	Estadio Antonio Aranda, Ciudad del Este
  Oct 17, 2023	Ecuador 0-0 Colombia	Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
  Oct 17, 2023	Uruguay 2-0 Brazil	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Oct 17, 2023	Peru 0-2 Argentina	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Nov 16, 2023	Bolivia 2-0 Peru	Estadio Hernando Siles, La Paz
  Nov 16, 2023	Venezuela 0-0 Ecuador	Estadio Monumental, Maturín
  Nov 16, 2023	Colombia 2-1 Brazil	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
  Nov 16, 2023	Argentina 0-2 Uruguay	La Bombonera, Buenos Aires
  Nov 16, 2023	Chile 0-0 Paraguay	Estadio Monumental David Arellano, Santiago
  Nov 21, 2023	Paraguay 0-1 Colombia	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
  Nov 21, 2023	Uruguay 3-0 Bolivia	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Nov 21, 2023	Ecuador 1-0 Chile	Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
  Nov 21, 2023	Brazil 0-1 Argentina	Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro
  Nov 21, 2023	Peru 1-1 Venezuela	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Sep 5, 2024	Uruguay 0-0 Paraguay	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Sep 5, 2024	Peru 1-1 Colombia	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Sep 6, 2024	Brazil 1-0 Ecuador	Estádio Couto Pereira, Curitiba
  Sep 6, 2024	Bolivia 4-0 Venezuela	Estadio Municipal de El Alto, El Alto
  Sep 6, 2024	Argentina 3-0 Chile	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
  Sep 10, 2024	Colombia 2-1 Argentina	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
  Sep 10, 2024	Venezuela 0-0 Uruguay	Estadio Monumental, Maturín
  Sep 10, 2024	Paraguay 1-0 Brazil	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
  Sep 10, 2024	Chile 1-2 Bolivia	Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago
  Sep 10, 2024	Ecuador 1-0 Peru	Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
  Oct 11, 2024	Peru 1-0 Uruguay	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Oct 10, 2024	Venezuela 1-1 Argentina	Estadio Monumental, Maturín
  Oct 10, 2024	Bolivia 1-0 Colombia	Estadio Municipal de El Alto, El Alto
  Oct 10, 2024	Chile 1-2 Brazil	Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago
  Oct 10, 2024	Ecuador 0-0 Paraguay	Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
  Oct 15, 2024	Uruguay 0-0 Ecuador	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Oct 15, 2024	Colombia 4-0 Chile	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
  Oct 15, 2024	Brazil 4-0 Peru	Arena BRB Mané Garrincha
  Oct 15, 2024	Paraguay 2-1 Venezuela	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
  Oct 15, 2024	Argentina 6-0 Bolivia	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
  Nov 14, 2024	Venezuela 1-1 Brazil	Estadio Monumental, Maturin
  Nov 14, 2024	Paraguay 2-1 Argentina	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asuncion
  Nov 14, 2024	Ecuador 4-0 Bolivia	Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil
  Nov 15, 2024	Uruguay 3-2 Colombia	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Nov 15, 2024	Peru 0-0 Chile	Estadio Monumental, Lima
  Nov 19, 2024	Colombia 0-1 Ecuador	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Melendez, Barranquilla
  Nov 19, 2024	Brazil 1-1 Uruguay	Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
  Nov 19, 2024	Bolivia 2-2 Paraguay	Estadio Municipal de El Alto, El Alto
  Nov 19 2024	Argentina 1-0 Peru	La Bombonera, Buenos Aires
  Nov 19, 2024	Chile 4-2 Venezuela	Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago
  Mar 20, 2025	Paraguay 1-0 Chile	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
  Mar 20, 2025	Brazil 2-1 Colombia	Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília
  Mar 20, 2025	Peru 3-1 Bolivia	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Mar 21, 2025	Ecuador 2-1 Venezuela	Estadio Rodrigo Paz Delgado, Quito
  Mar 21, 2025	Uruguay 0-1 Argentina	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Mar 25, 2025	Bolivia 0-0 Uruguay	Estadio Municipal de El Alto, El Alto
  Mar 25, 2025	Colombia 2-2 Paraguay	Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla
  Mar 25, 2025	Venezuela 1-0 Peru	Estadio Monumental, Maturín
  Mar 25, 2025	Argentina 4-1 Brazil	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
  Mar 25, 2025	Chile 0-0 Ecuador	Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago
  Jun 5, 2025	Ecuador 0-0 Brazil	Estadio Monumental, Guayaquil
  Jun 5, 2025	Paraguay 2-0 Uruguay	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción
  Jun 5, 2025	Chile 0-1 Argentina	Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos, Santiago
  Jun 6, 2025	Colombia 0-0 Peru	Estadio Metropolitano, Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
  Jun 6, 2025	Venezuela 2-0 Bolivia	Estadio Monumental de Maturín, Venezuela
  Jun 10, 2025	Bolivia 2-0 Chile	Estadio Monumental de Maturín
  Jun 10, 2025	Uruguay 2-0 Venezuela	Centenario, Montevideo
  Jun 10, 2025	Argentina 1-1 Colombia	Estadio Mâs Monumental
  Jun 10, 2025	Brazil 1-0 Paraguay	Corinthians Arena
  Jun 10, 2025	Peru 0-0 Ecuador	Estadio Nacional de Lima
  Sep 4, 2025	Uruguay 3-0 Peru	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo
  Sep 4, 2025	Colombia 3-0 Bolivia	Estadio Roberto Melendez, Barranquilla
  Sep 4, 2025	Brazil 3-0 Chile	Maracana, Rio de Janeiro
  Sep 4, 2025	Paraguay 0-0 Ecuador	Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asuncion
  Sep 4, 2025	Argentina 3-0 Venezuela	Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires
  Sep 9, 2025	Peru vs Paraguay	Estadio Nacional, Lima
  Sep 9, 2025	Venezuela vs Colombia	Estadio Monumental, Maturin
  Sep 9, 2025	Bolivia vs Brazil	Estadio El Alto, El Alto
  Sep 9, 2025	Chile vs Uruguay	Estadio Julio Martinez Pradanos, Santiago
  Sep 9, 2025	Ecuador vs Argentina	Estadio Monumental Isidro Romero Carbo, Guayaquil

• How to watch South America World Cup qualifiers

  Country	Broadcaster
  United States	Vix, Telemundo, Fubo, Fanatiz, Universo
  United Kingdom	CONMEBOL TV

  United States

  In the United States, broadcast deals for CONMEBOL qualifiers are shared between Telemundo, Universo, Fubo, Vix and Fanatiz.

  Read more about how to watch CONMBEOL World Cup qualifiers here.

  You can see which soccer games are on TV in the U.S. here.

  Start a Fanatiz subscription todayFind the best deals

  United Kingdom

  In the United Kingdom, a selection of games can be watched live through the pay-per-view streaming service, CONMEBOL TV.

  See here for GOAL's guide to football on TV in the UK.

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• South America World Cup 2026 qualifying top scorers

  Rank	Player	Team	Goals
  1	Lionel Messi	Argentina	8
  2	Luis Diaz	Colombia	7
  3	Miguel Terceros	Bolivia	5
  =4	Raphinha	Brazil	5
  =4	Salomon Rondon	Venezuela	5
  =4	Enner Valencia	Ecuador	5
  =4	Darwin Nunez	Uruguay	5

MatériaMais Notícias

Flamengo e Fluminense se enfrentam neste domingo, valendo o título do Campeonato Carioca. O Rubro-Negro defende a vantagem de dois gols, construída no primeiro jogo, enquanto o Tricolor tenta sacramentar a virada épica. Para isso, as equipes depositam confiança em seus principais artilheiros, Pedro e Cano, que também têm disputa pessoal em andamento.

Os dois marcaram em todos os confrontos diretos contra rivais que disputaram na temporada, e o Fla-Flu deste fim de semana será uma espécie de tira-teima para ver quem é o “Rei dos Clássicos” em 2023. O LANCE! destrincha o duelo entre os artilheiros.

+Flamengo tem novidades nos relacionados para final do Carioca; Vítor Pereira esboça escalação

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CANO: ARTILHARIA MANTÉM ESPERANÇA ACESA

Os caminhos ofensivos do Fluminense em 2023 passam por Germán Cano. Em grande fase, o camisa 14 é artilheiro do Campeonato Carioca, com 14 gols, e até o momento balançou as redes 16 vezes em 14 partidas (média de 1,14 por jogo). Números que aumentam a expectativa tricolor para a decisão: a equipe precisa de uma vitória por três ou mais gols para ficar com o título.

Além de tentar conduzir o Tricolor das Laranjeiras ao bicampeonato carioca, o argentino chega ao Maraca sedento por uma redenção. No jogo de ida, o atacante passou em branco e viu a equipe amargar a derrota por 2 a 0 para o Flamengo.

+Para conquistar Carioca, Fluminense terá de repetir feito que não alcança há nove anos em mata-mata

Conhecido por ser um jogador que precisa de poucos toques na bola para balançar a rede, Cano vai à luta neste domingo (9) para ser essencial em mais um clássico. Na atual edição do Carioca, o atacante anotou três gols em clássicos. Dois deles ajudaram o Fluminense a bater o Vasco por 2 a 0 (o segundo em finalização do meio de campo).

O outro foi em um Fla-Flu com clima de decisão: o camisa 14 fez o gol que abriu caminho para a virada por 2 a 1, que levou o título da Taça Guanabara para as Laranjeiras. A próxima disputa de título ganha contornos mais épicos, mas Germán Cano está ciente de que o momento é de se desdobrar para superar a marcação rubro-negra.

PEDRO: REVERÊNCIA E PROTAGONISMO

Ao lado de Ayrton Lucas, Pedro é o grande destaque do Flamengo em 2023. O artilheiro iniciou a temporada de maneira avassaladora e tem média de um gol por partida no período, além de ter distribuído três assistências. O melhor momento, inclusive, foi durante o Mundial de Clubes, quando o camisa 9 terminou como máximo goleador ao balançar as redes quatro vezes.

Em clássicos, Pedro marcou em praticamente todas as partidas. Os únicos compromissos nos quais não balançou as redes foram diante de Vasco e Fluminense, ainda pela Taça Guanabara. Na ocasião, Everton Cebolinha fez o gol rubro-negro no período. De lá para cá, o centroavante enfrentou cruz-maltinos e tricolores em três oportunidades e marcou quatro gols.

+Flamengo tem novidades nos relacionados para final do Carioca; Vítor Pereira esboça escalação

Vale destacar que Pedro não foi relacionado para o duelo contra o Botafogo, em Brasília. No total, o atacante entrou em campo para disputar cinco clássicos pelo Flamengo em 2023, fez quatro gols e e distribuiu uma assistência. A média é de uma participação por confronto direto.

continua após a publicidade

Flamengo e Fluminense se enfrentam às 18h (de Brasília), no Maracanã. Os ingressos para a decisão estão esgotados. A promessa de casa cheia para prestigiar a quarta decisão consecutiva de Carioca entre as equipes. Pedro e Cano devem ser titulares por seus respectivos times.

Whether or not South Africa specifically asked for slower surfaces, they got one at Kingsmead, and their left-arm spinner played the holding role perfectly to keep Australia’s aggressive line-up in check

Firdose Moonda in Durban01-Mar-2018The fire and the fury will have to wait. The fastidiousness of Keshav Maharaj moved the series out of first gear but not quite into the fast lane on the opening day. Much like pitches were the theme of the India series, pace will be the topic of this one, especially when there is a lack of it.Whether or not South Africa specifically asked for slow(er) pitches, they have got one at Kingsmead, and the early evidence suggests it can be a way to keep Australia’s aggressive line-up in check. That was the feature of today’s play. It involved very few fireworks, but it was about tension and teasers, cat and mouse, hide and seek, and we are nowhere near finding anything yet.What we know is that South Africa will need their spinner much more than they usually do, and so too, probably, will Australia. The hosts’ team composition of seven specialist batsmen forces them to go in a bowler short, with immediately extends Maharaj’s workload. Aiden Markram and Theunis de Bruyn offer a few overs, but with only three frontline seamers, Maharaj knew from the outset that he would be needed to bowl “lots and lots” of overs, as captain Faf du Plessis said at the toss. And he did.Maharaj was brought on as early as the 11th over and delivered an opening spell of seven overs. Then he came back halfway through the second session and bowled through to tea in a spell of ten overs. After tea, he came on for six overs and was brought back the over before play was called off for bad light, and would have probably gone through until the second new ball, which is four overs away.But the quantity was not as important as the quality, and from his first ball Maharaj showed he could be a threat. That ball gripped and turned and struck David Warner on the back pad, and the naked eye suggested it was going on to clip leg stump. South Africa, having squandered one review on Morne Morkel’s insistence in the first over, used another, and replays showed it was missing by some distance, much to the disbelief of even some Australians. “Usman [Khawaja, the non-striker] told me he thought it was out as well,” Maharaj joked afterwards. “But Hawkeye proved everyone wrong.”Maharaj’s opening spell included a surprising amount of turn, more than he, who plays his domestic cricket at the Dolphins franchise based at this venue, has encountered before. He thought it may have had something to do with the “stickiness in the wicket” caused by overnight sweating under covers in heavy humidity.The spin didn’t bring any early rewards and it was Vernon Philander who changed the complexion of the morning session with the wicket of David Warner off the final ball before lunch. After that, it was time for Maharaj to play a bigger role, and he did it admirably because, as the day went on and the pitch flattened out, Australia could have got away but didn’t. With Maharaj holding an end up for most of the second session, South Africa only conceded 75 runs in the 29 overs they bowled in the second session and brought Australia’s scoring rate down from 3.5 runs an over to just over 3. Maharaj allowed the seamers to stay fresh and helped facilitate reverse-swing, which was particularly noticeable during Kagiso Rabada’s post-lunch spell.”I thought he controlled it well from one end, especially when the ball was going reverse,” Warner said of Maharaj’s performance. “We know that when the ball is shifting you’ve always got to speak to the spinners that they are holding the ball the right way and keeping one side dry… and obviously that didn’t affect the way that he bowled. It can affect some spinners. I thought he held up one end very well and they slowed our scoring down with the fast bowlers at the other end.”Getty ImagesMaharaj was particularly effective in keeping Steven Smith quiet. Smith reached 46 off 60 balls and was dismissed for 56 off 114 – his last 10 runs took 54 balls, of which 20 were delivered by Maharaj. The Australian captain was dismissed trying to cut a shorter ball but Maharaj explained there was no mystery to his ability to take wickets, only discipline.”You don’t go out trying for wickets. Kingsmead is a wicket where if you stop the scoring something will happen,” he said. “I don’t have many variations so I have to rely on consistency to outsmart the batsmen.”But there is some magic in the way Maharaj does things. He got Shaun Marsh with a ball that drifted and bounced to take the outside edge and Maharaj started to experiment with flight as the day wore on. He doesn’t do anything extravagant but he doesn’t need to.In the end, Maharaj turned in the third-best performance, since readmission, by a South African spinner in the first innings at Kingsmead. He also bowled the second-most overs, after Imran Tahir’s 28 on the first day of a Test against Sri Lanka in 2011.Nathan Lyon would have regarded all this with great interest, not least because visiting spinners have fared better here in the first innings than local ones. Lyon will also have the advantage of bowling last and with the general feeling that spin will play a big role in the match, if not the whole series, fire and fury really will have to wait, while fastidiousness enjoys its rewards.

Australia allrounder Cameron Green has shown encouraging signs in his recovery from a broken finger as he makes a late bid to be fit for the opening Test against India in Nagpur, although it remains highly unlikely that he will be able to bowl.Green got the all-clear to resume training shortly before leaving for the tour and has now begun batting and bowling with a hard ball in the nets. The concern for the management will still be the build-up of his workloads after a month out of action, but before leaving Sydney head coach Andrew McDonald indicated he would be considered as a specialist batter.Related

• Who partners Nathan Lyon? Can injury-hit Australia accommodate Cameron Green?

• Tireless, incisive Cummins a big threat even on spinning pitches

• Australia aware of reverse-swing threat amid spin talk

• 'Last time we got served a green top' – Smith defends abandoning tour game in India

• India vs Australia this century: one classic after the other

“He’s made some significant steps forward in the last couple of days, probably to my surprise, so there’s still an outside chance that everything going well he might be on the team sheet,” McDonald told reporters in Alur on Saturday. “I wouldn’t say he was in discomfort with his bowling, one of the deliveries jarred the bottom of the bat and that can create discomfort for anyone but there’s a little bit of awareness around that finger.”However, with Green still only a very slim chance of being an option with the ball in the first Test, which begins on February 9, it continues to raise the question as to how Australia will balance their side. Against South Africa at the SCG last month, Ashton Agar was recalled to partner Nathan Lyon and while there has been the assumption two frontline spinners will play in Nagpur, captain Pat Cummins was well aware of the potent force Australia’s quicks can be even while they are missing the injured Mitchell Starc.”I wouldn’t say it [two spinners] is a given, it’s very conditions dependent so particularly this first Test, once we get to Nagpur we’ll see,” Cummins said. “I think sometimes talking about a couple of spinners you forget how good a lot of our fast bowlers have been in all conditions. Even some of the SCG wickets, there hasn’t been a lot in them for quick bowlers but the quick bowlers have found a way.”We’ve got plenty of bowling options here – fingerspin, wristspin, left-arm, Starcy when he comes back – so we’ll obviously pick the bowlers we think can take 20 wickets, how we are going to split that up we aren’t 100% sure yet.”If Australia do go with two frontline spinners, Cummins was open to the uncapped offspinner Todd Murphy partnering Lyon, although Australia also have Travis Head’s bowling to call on. Legspinner Mitchell Swepson is the other option in the squad.”It’s a chance. That’s something we’ll have to balance up if we want to go with two spinners,” he said. “Do we want variation, or just two offspinners? So there’s no reason why we can’t go that way. Travis Head is in the side as well and bowls really good offspin. We’ve got plenty of variety to choose from.”On the batting front, McDonald believes that David Warner will be motivated to overturn a mediocre record in India despite speaking of his fatigue after a busy home summer shortly before departing for the trip.”He’s really looking forward to the challenge of India and it’s been well documented that he hasn’t had the series that he would’ve liked here, and it’s always challenging,” McDonald said. “But the way that he’s applying himself in his downtime to really landing on a method to take on the Indian spinners, also the quicks, and to have a successful tour…I think you’ll see him fully invigorated, fully invested and fully recharged for the challenge ahead.”Australia will have another full training session in Bengaluru on Sunday before traveling to Nagpur on Monday.

Giants fee-fi-fo floundered to 23 for 7 and then 64 all out after Mooney had to retire hurt

S Sudarshanan04-Mar-20236:29

‘Harmanpreet and Mumbai Indians gave the crowds something to cheer about’

Despite all the glitzy build-up, what the inaugural Women’s Premier League needed to truly blast-off was an I’m her performance. And it came from Harmanpreet Kaur.In many ways the Mumbai Indians captain’s 30-ball 65 could well be for the WPL what Brendon McCullum’s 158 was to the IPL.It was as if Harmanpreet wanted to vent the ire of that run-out that turned the Women’s T20 World Cup 2023 semi-final in Australia’s favour. Gujarat Giants had filled all four of their overseas quota with Australians. And that was reason enough.Related

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Harmanpreet found herself in the middle in the ninth over, with Mumbai at 69 for 2. She saw a set batter in Nat Sciver-Brunt depart after a 54-run partnership with Hayley Matthews, who was also dismissed in the next over to leave Mumbai at 77 for 3. After her Player-of-the-Series performance in the T20 World Cup, Ashleigh Gardner had yet again left a mark.But Harmanpreet didn’t care. She just attacked the ball, like she has been doing for a long, long time for India. A fortunate outside edge in a attempted drive got her going before she timed a Sneh Rana ball through extra cover.But that was merely the prelude. The 12th over showcased Harmanpreet at her Harmanbest. And obviously it was filled with sweep shots – one through backward square leg and another through forward square leg. Georgia Wareham, the bowler, could do little to stop the runs. Even Gardner felt the full force – and range – of Harmanpreet’s sweep, one ball hit powerfully through midwicket, the next paddled deftly past short fine.By now, Harmanpreet was in overdrive. She hit seven fours off successive balls to bring up a 22-ball half-century, the first in the WPL. The famous bat-swing was on show. The confidence perhaps never left. Glimpses of her T20I hundred, ODI knock, or more recently the unbeaten 143 were all on show. Sweeps, check. Pulls, check. Slices and scythes, check. Courtesy her hitting and Amelia Kerr’s able support, Mumbai were able to score 46 between overs 14 and 16 that gave them a launchpad.And all this despite having little practice in the lead up.”Practice (I couldn’t get time to practice)!” she said about her training ahesd of the knock. “There was very little time and I had a lot of commitments as a player and a captain.”But the key for the “over-thinker” in Harmanpreet was to calm herself and bring clarity in her thoughts and get herself “in the zone”.”When I am calmer and be in the moment, it helps in giving clarity,” she said. “Being in that zone isn’t easy but when I am calm it gives me clarity. To be in that zone isn’t easy but I have to keep talking to myself and be in the present. When I am in that zone I am clearer in picking my areas and things become easy for me, and today was that day when I was relaxed”.All of Mumbai rose to applaud Harmanpreet when she finally fell, slicing one to short third off Rana in the 17th over, bringing the curtain down on an 89-run stand with Kerr off just 42 balls. Kerr then stepped up to lead the attack on the Giants as Mumbai added 41 off the next three overs to finish on 207 for 5. Their total of 207 for 5 was the joint-second highest across all major Women’s T20 leagues (WBBL, Kia Super League, The Hundred, Women’s CPL, T20 Challenge and now the WPL) behind Sydney Sixers’ 242 for 4 against Melbourne Stars in 2017-18.Much like that starry night in 2008, the opposition on the receiving end of a truly astonishing T20 innings just couldn’t cope. It didn’t help that their captain and top-scorer at the T20 World Cup final, Beth Mooney, retired hurt after seemingly injuring her knee before the first over of the chase was even done. Giants were 8 for 3 by the end of the fourth over. Then 23 for 7 by the eighth over. And finally bowled out in the 16th to lose by 143 runs.Matthews’ fireworks complement HarmanpreetIf Harmanpreet’s knock was the fire, Matthews’ quick start at the top was the spark Mumbai needed to announce themselves in the WPL. Matthews’ hard-hitting truly set them on their way to begin with a win. She played a pick-up shot off seamer Mansi Joshi’s first ball over deep square leg, before slicing one past backward point for four. She then drove left-arm spinner Tanuja Kanwar through covers to finish the powerplay on 22 out of Mumbai’s 44.Matthews then showed why she is rated highly with a display of hitting three sixes in the space of seven balls. She first flicked a full ball over long leg off seamer Annabel Sutherland before just pressing forward and lofting her over cow corner a couple of deliveries later. In the next over, she once again cleared her front leg, used her reach to hit Wareham well over long-on.Matthews then used the depth of her crease to slap Gardner through cover-point before the latter got the better of her for a 31-ball 47.Giants were never in the hunt in their 206-run chase especially after captain Beth Mooney hobbled off the field in the first over due to possibly jarring her knee. Sciver-Brunt then had Harleen Deol skying one to deep third off her first ball via a leading edge before castling S Meghana. In the interim, fast bowler Issy Wong’s pace undid Gardner for a first-ball duck as Giants lost three wickets in 15 balls.Bengal’s left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque then ran through the middle order to crush any hopes Giants would have had of a resurgence. Only Dayalan Hemalatha, with 29 not out, and Monica Patel finished in double digits for them.Turning pointMumbai had just started to find the next gear with Harmanpreet and Kerr in the middle and were 124 for 3 after 13 overs. But Monica’s second over truly helped them gain full control. She bowled full and outside off from around the stumps, which Kerr drove through cover-point. A single later, Harmanpreet tore the left-arm seamer’s bowling apart.Harmanpreet first drove her through cover-point, and when Monica switched to over the wicket, she pummeled her through square leg. Monica then went full and outside off only to be driven through covers. The last of fours in that over was perhaps the best of it all – Harmanpreet opened the face of her bat ever so slightly to drive it square through covers. A total of 21 were scored in that over.

Manchester United are unlikely to part ways with manager Ruben Amorim even if the club lose the Europa League final against Tottenham.

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• Man Utd's stance on Amorim revealed
• Red Devils face Spurs in Europa League final
• United next face Chelsea in the Premier League

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Red Devils have endured a nightmare journey in the 2024-25 campaign as they have lost 17 matches in the Premier League and are 16th on the points table, their worst league position since the 1973-74 season. Amorim, who replaced Erik ten Hag in November, failed to uplift the team's performance domestically as they also faced elimination from the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup after losing against Fulham and Tottenham, respectively.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  In the Europa League, however, the Red Devils have shown consistency and have beaten some quality opposition like Lyon and Athletic Club to reach the final of the competition, where they will face fellow English club Tottenham. reports that irrespective of United's result in the final, the club will continue with the Portuguese coach as they believe the manager should get at least the summer transfer window to sign new players that suit his system.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  After the club's latest defeat against West Ham in the league, Amorim had sent out a message to minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe as he said: "We need to be really strong in the summer, we need to be brave."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Before the all-important Europa League final next week, United are scheduled to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Friday.

The transfer door has been shut for both AC Milan and Juventus after striker Lorenzo Lucca committed his future to Udinese.

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Lucca wants to honour his contract with UdineseForward idolises Zlatan IbrahimovicIsn't yet interested in joining one of Serie A's big gunsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

In a recent conversation with Italian journalist, Carlo Garganese on , Lorenzo Lucca expressed his commitment to Udinese and shared that he is still under contract with the club. This comes as a huge blow to several Italian clubs who were interested in signing him.

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Lucca has been impressive for Udinese this season, scoring thirteen goals and providing two assists in 35 games. The Italy international's goals have come at some of the more crucial stages for the club. This caught the attention of several major Serie A clubs, who began scouting the player and expressed interest in making an offer. During the interview, the Udinese striker shared that Ibrahimovic is his idol and put the transfer rumours to bed, emphasising that he's still under contract with Udinese.

WHAT LORENZO LUCCA SAID

During a podcast with Garganese, Lucca said: “For me, it has always been Ibrahimovic, ever since I was a kid. I always watched videos of him, the plays he made, his goals. He was always my idol.”

He added: “I think that every lad who starts playing football wants to play for the national team and for a top team. But right now, I am only thinking about Udinese, I am under contract with them. They believed in me from the beginning when no other club was looking to sign me. I am happy to have this relationship with this club that is really extraordinary."

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR LORENZO LUCCA?

Lucca's contract with the Udine club runs till 30 June 2028. However, given the uncertainty that surrounds the transfer market, nothing is concrete. Udinese's season concludes on 26 May 2025, as they face Fiorentina in their final game of the campaign.

Mukesh Kumar and Atit Sheth dismantled MP’s middle order before Saurabh Kumar and Pulkit Narang ran through the tail

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Mar-2023

Mukesh Kumar and Atit Sheth dismantled Madhya Pradesh’s middle order before Saurabh Kumar and Pulkit Narang ran through the tail to help Rest of India complete a 238-run win and lift the Irani Cup just before lunch on the final day in Gwalior. Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored 213 and 144 across the game, was named the Player of the Match.Even though Navdeep Saini took just one wicket, he was the one who started MP’s slump. Himanshu Mantri resumed his innings on 51 but Saini had him caught behind with the third ball of the day. Mantri, however, expressed his disappointment with the decision, had a chat with the umpires and took a while before dragging himself to the pavilion.Yash Dubey, fresh off a first-innings century, started positively with a couple of fours but had his off stump cartwheeled by Mukesh. Aman Solanki joined Harsh Gawli, who was looking solid, and the two put up a 49-run stand for the fifth wicket. Solanki punished the odd overpitched deliveries, and the tiring pacers were removed from the attack. Then he hit Saurabh and Sheth for three boundaries in the space of five balls but a couple of overs later, Sheth knocked him over. In his next over, Sheth nicked off Saransh Jain to make it 151 for 6.Gawli and Ankit Kushwah took the side to 188 before Narang trapped Gawli lbw with an offbreak that turned viciously and kept low. MP lost their last four wickets, all to Narang and Saurabh, in 19 balls for just ten runs to end the proceedings.

Sophie Ecclestone hit the winning six against Mumbai Indians•BCCI

On a hot Saturday afternoon at the DY Patil Stadium, draped in blue and nearly three-quarters full, Mumbai Indians finally suffered their first defeat in the Women’s Premier League after five consecutive wins. They are already in the playoffs and are favourites to finish first in the league and go straight through to the final, but the other contenders now know that Harmanpreet Kaur’s team can be beaten.The two crucial points in the race for the playoffs did not come easy for UP Warriorz, even though laft-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone’s outstanding spell of 3 for 15 helped dismiss Mumbai for only 127 on a slow pitch that offered turn, their lowest score batting first. They needed Ecclestone’s batting skills too, as she launched Issy Wong over the straight boundary to seal a tough chase with three balls to spare.

Ecclestone out-spins Ishaque

At one point during Ecclestone’s spell, the broadcasters showed a split screen comparing her load-up and action with Mumbai’s left-arm spinner Saika Ishaque. While Ecclestone is considerably taller than Ishaque, on the day it was her bowling speed that made the difference.The pitch, baked under the hot sun, was aiding slow, spin bowling. Ecclestone, all of 23 years old, is a veteran at extracting assistance when conditions even remotely aid spin. Her first wicket was England team-mate Nat Sciver-Brunt, who went back to a straight ball and played across the line and was trapped lbw.Hayley Matthews is used to playing on slow surfaces at home in the West Indies and looked at ease on this pitch. She scored 35 off 29 balls before Ecclestone got one to grip, and Matthews top-edged her heave across the line and was caught behind by Alyssa Healy. She picked up her third wicket with a delivery that dipped under Amanjot Kaur’s bat to have her stumped. Ecclestone conceded only one boundary in four overs, when Kiran Navgire dropped Wong running in from long-off.Mumbai’s Ishaque, who Ecclestone drew level with at the top of the WPL wicket charts with 12 scalps, had an unsuccessful game in contrast. She finished wicketless for a second match in a row, and her lack of success against UP was because she darted the ball in rather quickly. Two of her faster deliveries – at 89 kph and 90 kph – were hit four boundaries by Tahlia McGrath during a crucial phase of the chase.Yastika Bhatia was bowled for 7•BCCI

Mumbai’s batting depth finally gets tested

Only once had Mumbai lost more than five wickets in their first five games. Their top and middle-order batters – Matthews, Harmanpreet and Amelia Kerr – had contributed so regularly that their strength after No. 6 had rarely been put to the test.In their previous game against Gujarat Giants, Mumbai were nearly in trouble when Wong was out for a first-ball duck, but Harmanpreet ensured they crossed 150. Harmanpreet was key against UP too, as Mumbai lost Yastika Bhatia, Sciver-Brunt and Kerr cheaply. After a steady start, she looked to accelerate against spin, clearing her front foot to slog legspinner Parshavi Chopra through midwicket and dabbing and slicing for boundaries behind point off Chopra and Rajeshwari Gayakwad. But her aggressive approach did not succeed against Deepti Sharma’s offspin and Mumbai’s lower order was exposed in the 14th over.They lost their last five wickets in 40 balls for just 49 runs, and most of those runs were scored by Wong, who smashed 32 off just 19 deliveries. Amanjot Kaur, Dhara Gujjar and Humaira Kazi bat in the top and middle order for their state teams while allrounder Jintimani Kalita is only 19 years old. The inexperience and lack of power down the order hurt Mumbai.

McGrath and Harris counter-attack

Warriorz slipped to 27 for 3 in 6.1 overs, and Mumbai suddenly looked good to defend their score of 127. Faced with doing a repair job without letting the asking rate rise too much, two Australians McGrath and Grace Harris joined forces with the match in the balance. They were the only Warriorz batters to score at more than a run a ball, and their 44-run stand in 5.4 overs brought their team back into the chase.McGrath was dropped first ball when the wicketkeeper Bhatia failed to hold on to a regulation catch off Wong, thereafter both batters feasted on the pace of Sciver-Brunt, Wong and Amanjot. Spin was clearly the order of the day – Warriorz used only two overs of seam – and Mumbai’s tactics of backing their seamers backfire, with Wong going at more than nine an over while Amanjot’s only over cost 11.McGrath and Harris were eventually both dismissed by Kerr’s legspin, and Warriorz needed Deepti and Ecclestone to steer them to victory in the final over.

Ireland fall well short in the second T20I, with four run-outs hurting their batting effort in a big way

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2023

Hayley Matthews was at it again, leading West Indies with the bat after chipping in with the ball, to take them to a comfortable eight-wicket win over Ireland in the second of three T20Is in Gros Islet to sew up the series.Like in the first game, where she was Player of the Match for her 3 for 22 and 42-ball 37, which took West Indies to a last-ball win, Matthews was Player of the Match again here. She first returned 1 for 24 to help restrict Ireland to a modest 113 for 7, and then scored 50 in 39 balls, with nine fours, to put West Indies in sight of victory before being dismissed.Chinelle Henry’s 12-ball 22 and Shabika Gajnabi’s unbeaten 29-ball 17 finished the job for West Indies in 16.4 overs, very different to how tense it got in the first game, where West Indies were chasing an almost identical target, of 113.”I think we’re pretty happy with the result,” Matthews was quoted as saying by Cricket West Indies after the match. “Coming into this tour, we wanted to be able to take home both series [West Indies won the ODIs 2-0], so just very happy that we were able to go out there and win convincingly today and secure the T20I series.”We had more intent going out today and we noticed early on that the wicket was a bit better on today and we went out with the intent to chase down the runs quicker. What really helped us today was the fielding, the catches and run-outs we were able to take, kudos to the overall team for the bowling performance they put on and the fielders for backing them up.”Indeed, more than Matthews or any of the other West Indies bowlers – Shamilia Connell and Cherry-Ann Fraser took one wicket each, too – it was the run-outs that stymied Ireland after they had opted to bat. The first wicket, that of Gaby Lewis, was to a run-out, and the collapse from 77 for 3 in the 16th over to 113 for 7 by the end featured three more run-outs.Amy Hunter, the opener, was the best of their batters on the day, scoring 33 in 35 balls with four fours, while Laura Delany chipped in with a 35-ball 20 and there were cameos at the end from Eimear Richardson (16 in 15 balls), Rebecca Stokell (15 in 11) and Arlene Kelly (13 in nine).Matthews lost her opening partner Rashada Williams (16 in 20) off the first ball of the seventh over after a 40-run stand, which put them on the road to victory. And after Matthews fell, Henry and Gajnabi took West Indies home with lots to spare.The tour-ending third T20I will be played on July 8, also in Gros Islet.