As the FIFA World Cup 2026 reaches the semi-final stage, legendary German goalkeeper Oliver Kahn picked France as the strongest contender for the FIFA World Cup trophy, calling the Les Blues "the most complete side". France are set to take on Spain in the FIFA World Cup 2026 first semi-final on July 15 at the Dallas stadium. The two teams will face each other for the second time in the final stages of the World Cup after the round of 16 won by Les Bleus (3-1) in 2006. Kahn gave France a slight edge while acknowledging how closely matched the remaining teams are. "If I had to pick one team based purely on what we've seen so far, I would probably say France. They look the most complete side in terms of balance, depth and their ability to win games in different ways. But the margins between these four teams are extremely small, and any one of them is capable of lifting the World Cup," Kahn said on Zee5. Previewing the last four, Kahn described Spain vs France a...
Steve Smith has regained his mojo in Test cricket, with the Australia batter smashing his 36th century in the format on Day 1 of the 1st Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. During the same knock, Smith, who is leading Australia in the absence of regular skipper Pat Cummins, became only the fourth Australian to breach the landmark of 10,000 Tests runs. Former India batter Aakash Chopra has lauded Smith, who now stands at 10,140 runs at an average of 56.33 in 115 Tests.
Chopra pointed out that Smith now has five more Test centuries then Virat Kohli, despite the latter playing five more innings.
"Smith has scored a century (against Sri Lanka). He has struck his 35th century in just 205 innings. (Joe) Root has scored 36 hundreds but he has played 278 innings. So if you look at it in terms of the strike rate, the number of innings he takes to score a century, then Steve Smith is ahead of Joe Root," said Chopra on his Youtube channel.
Chopra also highlighted that Kohli now has the worst average, in comparison to his Fab 4 contemporaries -- Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson.
"If I see Virat Kohli here, he has played 210 innings, which means he has played five more innings than Steve Smith and has five centuries fewer than him. So Virat Kohli, unfortunately, now has the worst strike rate because he has scored only three centuries in the last five years," Chopra added.
Meanwhile, Kohli endured a tough 2024. In 10 Tests last year, he scored just 417 runs at an average of 24.52 with just one century and fifty, to conclude a disappointing year.
He has been facing a massive decline in his Test performances that dates back to the start of 2020. In 39 Test matches since the start of 2020, Virat has scored just 2,028 runs at an average of 30.72, with just three centuries and nine fifties to show. His best score is 186.
(With ANI Inputs)
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