Spain defender Aymeric Laporte believes referees should do more to control Argentina’s physical style of play ahead of Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final, saying too many have been allowed to pass unpunished in recent matches. Speaking to Spanish newspaper Marca, Laporte said he has no problem with offensive football as long as authorities consistently enforce the laws.

Spain will face Lionel Messi’s Argentina in the World Cup final after defeating France 2-0 in the semi-finals, while the defending champions defeated England 2-1 to book their place in the title match. As the countdown to the final accelerates, Laporte admitted Spain are wary of Argentina’s combative attitude but insisted the responsibility rests with the referee.

“I have no problem with aggression if it’s within football and the referee does his job,” Laporte told Marca.

“It’s true that in recent matches we have seen things that have surprised us, especially involving Argentina. They are a team that give up a lot on challenges and I don’t think that should be allowed, especially in such big competitions.”

The former Manchester City defender argued that repeatedly allowing heavy challenges could affect the rhythm of the game and lead to flare-ups unnecessary conflict between players.

“Those actions can upset you and make you angry. I think it’s part of the referee’s job to control those situations. If one or two players are allowed to do that, the match becomes chaotic,” he said.

Laporte compared Argentina’s style to Spain’s own approach, and described Luis de la Fuente’s side as Relies on discipline rather than intimidation.

“Since the beginning of the tournament we have been a very fair team. We are not one of those players who try to hurt opponents or commit fouls carelessly. We have to stay true to that, but a lot depends on the referee. There has to be someone who controls those actions so that it is football and nothing else.”

half mission

Laporte also revealed that Spain deliberately kept the celebrations low-key after eliminating France because the team believes the work is not finished yet.

He said, “When we beat France, we celebrated in the dressing room, but it was not crazy because our aim is not to beat France but to win the tournament. Only completing half the mission is not enough for us.”

The centre-back said Spain have maintained the same mentality throughout the competition, despite entering the tournament with lower expectations than some of the favourites.

“A lot of people didn’t believe in us from the beginning, but we believed in ourselves. Anything other than winning would be a disappointment for us.”

praise messi

Laporte also had warm words for Argentina captain Lionel Messi, calling the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner one of football’s all-time greats, while expressing hope that Spain will have a fairy-tale ending.

“He’s been a legend since we were kids. We’ve all seen videos of Leo. He’s an incredible footballer and we’ve all enjoyed watching him over the years. But now I hope it’s not for him. I hope it’s for us.”

Spain is attempting to win its second World Cup title, while Argentina are aiming to successfully defend the title they won in Qatar four years ago.

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India Today Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai joins football experts Karim Bencherifa, Ranjit Bajaj, Siddhant Ani and host Nikhil Naz for an exclusive FIFA World Cup Final preview. Can Lionel Messi inspire Argentina to glory, or will Spain’s young star complete his fairy tale? The panel discusses all this in this roundtable session.

Former Pakistan batsman Basit Ali has warned that any attempt to push Rohit Sharma towards retirement could have ramifications beyond the Indian captain, suggesting that Virat Kohli may also decide to call time on his career.

Speculation has intensified regarding Rohit’s future. Ahead of India’s final ODI against England at Lord’s, reports suggest that the 39-year-old may be considering his future in the format.

Basit argued that Rohit should remain as long as his performances justify his place in the team and cautioned against evaluating him based only on recent results. The former Pakistan cricketer went a step further and claimed that the pressure on Rohit could also affect Kohli’s future plans.

“If he continues to perform, he should continue to play. Right now, if you want to judge him only on the basis of his performance in the two matches in England or the likes and dislikes of Gautam Gambhir, you should also keep Virat Kohli in mind,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Basit said, “If it is Rohit’s turn today, next time it could be Virat’s. Looking at the way Virat has retired from Test cricket, there is a possibility that both of them may announce their retirement at Lord’s. If too much pressure is put, I think such a decision may have to be taken, which would be a big mistake, because the cricket world still wants to see Virat playing.”

Spotlight on future of Rohit, Kohli

Rohit’s future has become a major discussion topic After scores of 11 and 26 in the opening two ODIs against England. Despite the scrutiny, India’s team management has publicly supported the experienced opener, with batting coach Sitanshu Kotak insisting that Rohit is “too good” a player to be affected by outside noise.

Questions regarding Kohli’s future have also increased since the former India captain retired from Test cricket in May 2025. The 37-year-old, however, remains a key member of the ODI team and played a key role in India’s Champions Trophy win earlier this year.

Basit believes that leaving out the senior players could rob fans of the opportunity to celebrate two modern greats on their own terms. The former Pakistan batsman also stressed that a player of Rohit’s stature deserves a farewell in front of home supporters rather than a foreign crowd.

He said, “Let’s see what happens in the match the day after tomorrow. But if this turns out to be his last game, he has really been a great ambassador. I wish this was not his last match. And if you have to bid farewell to someone, let him bid farewell to his people.”

While Rohit struggled for runs in the series, Kohli did well in Cardiff, scoring 65 runs with eight fours in 66 balls, although his efforts ultimately went in vain as India lost by four wickets. While all eyes are on Rohit before the Lord’s ODI, India will also be keen to win the series.

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England’s Joe Root plays (ANI photo)

Joe Root presented a masterclass in ODI batting by scoring an unbeaten 99 runs off 133 balls in the second ODI, setting the stage for England’s successful target of 234 runs against India. At a time when wickets were falling all around him, the veteran stood firm, and played a composed innings with nine fours to guide England to victory with the calmness and assurance that has defined his one-day career.Root’s innings was highly praised by former India captain and head coach Anil Kumble, who compared the England legend’s importance to his team with that of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for India.“Joe Root is to England what Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are to India. Root is the only England batsman who still plays with the old-school ODI mentality. The other batsmen were aggressive from the start, but Root took his time, took over the innings and brought calmness while chasing the target,” Kumble told GeoHotstar. “His ability to rotate the strike and find the gaps makes him incredibly reliable. You know he’s not going to play a risky shot at the wrong time. That kind of game awareness is invaluable,” he said. Kumble also highlighted the similarities between Root, Kohli and Rohit and said the trio’s success is linked to their ability to score consistently while taking minimal risks.He said, “What makes Root, Kohli and Rohit so successful is that their run-scoring looks effortless. They don’t premeditate. They react to the ball. They play low-risk, high-reward cricket rather than high-risk, high-reward cricket. When you have that kind of class, grace and mentality, it makes life easier for the whole team.”

Root chased the target with ease

India lost their strong position after being asked to bat first at the Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. Despite a solid 114-run partnership between Virat Kohli (65) and Shreyas Iyer (66) that took the visitors to 180/3, a dramatic middle-order collapse resulted in them losing their last seven wickets for 53 runs and being bowled out for 233. Jofra Archer (3/47) and Gus Atkinson (3/50) performed brilliantly with the ball, while Jasprit Bumrah’s unbeaten 20 helped India cross the 230-run mark.England’s chase of the target got off to a very bad start as Jasprit Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett on the very first ball of the innings, before Prasidh Krishna took the hosts’ score to 8/2. However, Joe Root chased down the target with a brilliant 99 off 133 balls*, receiving valuable support from Will Jacks (30), Sam Curran (26) and Gus Atkinson (23)*. Atkinson hit the winning four to seal the win by four wickets, leaving Root one run short of his century.The result left the three-match ODI series tied at 1-1, with the decider to be played at Lord’s on July 19.

“For me the 50-over World Cup is the real World Cup. We grew up watching it. Plus, it was happening in front of our fans in India. We played very well leading up to that final.”

Emerging from a painful, silent slumber after the heartbreaking 2023 World Cup final defeat, Rohit Sharma revealed how deeply the 50-over format is woven into his cricketing soul. Missing out on a place in India’s historic 2011 team – a miss that would define his career – Rohit spent the next decade transforming himself into a modern ODI titan. When he finally got his chance to lead the country on home soil, he played with fierce, selfless anger, but fell just one heartbreaking step short of the final prize. He wanted another chance at salvation.

However, it looks like that dream has come to a hard stop. The selectors have reportedly decided that The 39-year-old veteran is not in their plans For the 2027 ODI World Cup.

What happened next is a textbook weekend of Indian cricket chaos – a messy cocktail of conflicting public statements, leaked selection secrets, and a great batsman caught in the crossfire.

Is Rohit Sharma retiring?

This explosive news came in the middle of the second ODI against England and the timing could not have been more strange. Just a few days ago, at the start of the three-match series, ODI captain Shubman Gill had presented a united, respectful front to the media.

“Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been the backbone of the Indian batting line-up for the last decade and they remain an integral part of the team,” Gill said confidently. “The experience and skills they bring are obviously very valuable.”

Yet, while the captain was promoting a seamless transition, Indian cricket board sources were painting a very different reality behind closed doors. The senior selection committee along with head coach Gautam Gambhir had reportedly met Rohit last week and told him the bitter truth: They are ready to “move on” and hand over the reins to the next generation, especially players like Yashasvi Jaiswal who were waiting in the wings.

“The selectors have informed Rohit that he is not included in their plans after the England tour,” a board source told The Indian Express. “He wanted to continue, especially after working on his fitness. The selectors have left the ball in Sharma’s court.”

For a player of Rohit’s stature, who has already walked away from T20Is after the 2024 World Cup and quietly retired from Tests, the lack of clarity is a hard pill to swallow. The captain says one thing; The board leaks another one. And the resulting mental beating is painfully visible where it matters most: in the middle.

Rohit badly out of rhythm

Throughout his illustrious career, Rohit’s biggest superpower has been his absolute clarity of thought. Whether he was leading an innings or tearing apart the bowling attack with the first ball, he always looked like a man in complete control of his destiny.

Not in this series.

In both ODI matches against England Rohit has looked like a shadow of his usual selfStruggling for rhythm and working hard for runs. The second ODI presented a stark, almost tragic indictment of their current leadership. He looked completely unnatural against the short ball – the same delivery he has ruthlessly sent into the stands for over a decade.

Watching from the commentary box, former India cricketer Deep Dasgupta noted a worrying change in Rohit’s demeanor.

“I just thought mentally it felt like there was no clarity,” Dasgupta said on the live broadcast. “The hallmark of his batting has always been clarity of thought… but somehow I just felt he wanted to change gears, but couldn’t. Those nine dot balls put him under a bit of pressure, and then that clarity wasn’t there.”

Whether Rohit’s struggles are linked to everything happening off the field is impossible to prove. But it is difficult to imagine any player performing with complete freedom when his captain publicly calls him “integral” while reports suggest that the selectors have already decided his international future.

Will Rohit lose without a fight?

However, Rohit Sharma is not a man who goes down without a fight. If reports are to be believed, during a conversation with top BCCI officials on the sidelines of the tour, he has already expressed his deep displeasure over this decision. Having lost the ODI captaincy to Gill last year, Rohit clearly feels he still has enough fuel left to earn a spot as a pure batsman.

The emotional burden of the situation came to the fore in a surprising scene during the second ODI. Rohit was seen sitting in the dugout with his old teammates Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. There was no smile. It was not a light joke. Just three pillars of the modern Indian era looking blankly towards the plain, well aware that the ground beneath them is slipping away.

Disorganized changes in Indian cricket are nothing new, but this one seems particularly troubling. With selectors keen to inject youth, the captain delivering mixed public messages, and a proud former captain refusing to slow down, fans are bound for a turbulent, uncomfortable weekend.

Maybe the selectors are right. At the age of 39, every great career eventually reaches its end. But there should be clarity in a career like Rohit’s. Instead, Indian cricket has produced another weekend of mixed messages, where the captain says one thing, the selectors believe something else, and the players themselves are unwilling to accept that this is the end. Hitman wants his final chapter. The selectors have probably already closed the book.

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India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak supported Rohit Sharma Despite the opener’s poor return in the ongoing ODI series against England, he said there is no pressure on a player like him and he can play a different innings in the series decider at Lord’s.Rohit’s struggles were visible in the second ODI in Cardiff on Thursday, where England won by four wickets to level the three-match series 1-1. The openers never looked settled, scoring just 10 runs off 18 balls by the end of the powerplay, as India reached 61/1. He eventually scored 26 runs from 47 balls before being dismissed attempting a sweep against Will Jacques. Rohit’s performance in ODIs this year has not been good. In eight matches, he has scored only one half-century and his average is 30.12. Speculation has intensified over whether the selectors could drop the former Indian skipper ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup, with Kotka asked after the Cardiff defeat if Rohit’s place could be examined after Sunday’s final ODI.Kotak said after the match, “I don’t think a big player like Rohit can feel the pressure.”“He’s too good a player to feel that way. Yes, he hasn’t scored in two games. I don’t think it makes any difference. But even today it felt like he was going to get a good innings but that’s OK.” [that he didn’t get a big score]”While Rohit was finding it difficult to move forward, the captain Shubman Gill Made a fast start before being dismissed after scoring 31 runs off 30 balls. Virat Kohli He made a positive start, hitting three fours in his first 11 balls, as the England bowlers struggled with their lengths early on on a pitch that offered little variable bounce.Also read: Rohit Sharma not automatically selected after Lord’s ODIKotak dismissed suggestions that Rohit was struggling and said the opener could make a comeback in the final ODI at Lord’s.“On one [given] Today, I have seen a lot of batsmen, they don’t get the pace they are looking for and that can happen,” Kotak said.“You can see [a] Completely different innings of Rohit Sharma at Lord’s. I wouldn’t use the word struggle, but maybe the shot he usually plays above, which tends to have a double bounce, maybe he felt it was not comfortable.“Shubman got a fast start, then Virat got a fast start, but he [Rohit] Maybe the balls did not come in his slot.“You can definitely see completely different innings from a player like Rohit and I have seen that happen with many batsmen. So it is not just Rohit. I wouldn’t use the word that he was struggling.”India looked headed for a big score after reaching 178/3, with Kohli making 65 Shreyas Iyer scored the highest 66 runs. However, the innings lost momentum after Kohli’s dismissal as India slipped to 193/7 before ending on 233.England achieved the target with four wickets remaining and leveled the three-match ODI series 1-1. The decisive match will be played at Lord’s on Sunday.

Brief Scores: England (235/6 in 44.1 overs) beat India (233/4 in 44 overs) by four wickets in Cardiff to level the three-match ODI series 1-1.

Joe Root was out after scoring an unbeaten 99, but England cruised to a four-wicket win over India in the second ODI at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff on Thursday as the hosts leveled the three-match series 1-1.

After England’s pace attack bowled out India for 233 runs in 44 overs, Root played another measured innings to guide the hosts to victory with 20 balls to spare. He became the first England batsman to finish an ODI innings unbeaten on 99 and only the 17th player overall to be stranded on that score.

India vs England, 2nd ODI: highlight | Achievement:

More importantly for England, Root made sure of the three-match series leading up to the decider at Lord’s on Sunday.

Harry Brook’s decision to bowl first proved decisive as England’s fast bowlers did not allow India to hold on for long. Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson took three wickets each, while Saqib Mahmood took two, as the hosts shared nine of the 10 wickets that fell. India had two batsmen score half-centuries and looked well set for a strong total, before another familiar collapse left them on a total that always looked within England’s reach.

Shubman Gill set the initial pace by playing a quick inning of 31 runs in 30 balls, but at the other end, Rohit Sharma’s difficult phase continued in this format. The former skipper struggled to rotate the strike, being tied down for long periods by England’s disciplined bowling and eventually making 26 off 47 balls before attempting to sweep Jos Buttler off Will Jacks. It was another innings in which Rohit never looked settled, allowing Gill to do most of the early scoring before Virat Kohli arrived at the crease.

However, Kohli looked far more confident than in recent weeks. He drove fluently down the off side, was quick to catch any overpitched ball and handled Archer’s pace with aplomb during a fine innings of 65 from 66 balls. At the other end, Shreyas Iyer scored 66 runs in 71 balls and once again showed why he has become India’s most reliable middle-order batsman in this format. England tested him consistently with the short ball, but he responded with authority, pulling Archer for six to complete another half-century.

Their partnership put India back in control after the fall of early wickets and at 179 for four, the visitors looked set for a total of over 250. However, England took back the initiative through Archer. The fast bowler extracted extra bounce from a back-of-the-length delivery to edge Kohli and that breakthrough led to a collapse that India could not stop.

Washington Sundar took two, Axar Patel took one and Shivam Dubey was out for zero, leaving England’s lower middle order in tatters. India lost four wickets for just 15 runs in 26 balls, destroying the platform built by Kohli and Iyer. Bumrah’s unbeaten 20 took the total to 233, but it already looked 30 or 40 runs short of what India looked capable of posting by the innings break.

Archer took 3 for 47, Atkinson took 3 for 50 and Mahmood took 2 for 52 as England’s fast bowlers chased down the target with another disciplined performance.

India’s defense could not have got off to a better start. Bumrah dismissed Ben Duckett with the first ball of the innings, hitting an outside edge which Ishan Kishan accepted comfortably behind the stumps, before Prasidh Krishna dismissed Jacob Bethel with a maiden over to reduce England’s score to 11 for two.

However, those early successes brought Root to the crease sooner than England expected. The former skipper handled the pressure without changing his approach, first rebuilding with Harry Brook and then forging crucial partnerships with Will Jacks and Sam Curran. He never let the asking rate become an issue, constantly rotated the strike and capitalized on it whenever India made a mistake.

Root’s innings was not built on a barrage of boundaries. Nine fours punctuated an otherwise patient innings, with most of his runs coming through quick running and intelligent placement between the wickets. Every partnership achieved the target and every quiet phase was followed by another phase of accumulation, leaving India searching for wickets that never came.

Gus Atkinson eventually settled the match by hitting a six off Bumrah, completing the chase with 20 balls remaining and Root remaining unbeaten on 99 runs. The missed century was a statistical oddity rather than the story of the evening as England responded impressively to their defeat in the series opener and headed to Lord’s for Sunday’s decider.

For India, Kohli’s return to form and another assured innings from Iyer were encouraging signs, but Rohit’s continued struggles and Kohli’s collapse after his dismissal once again exposed the weakness of the batting order. In contrast, England were performing well with the ball and were composed in their chase, with Root once again providing the calm mind around which the innings revolved.

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