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In the world of football, Inter Miami head coach Tata Martino opened up on Lionel Messi’s return to the side after he sustained an ankle injury during the Copa America 2024 final. The head coach confirmed that Lionel Messi’s recovery from ankle injury is going well, and he will feature in at least one of the nine remaining regular season matches. The Dutch GP saw several action unfold on Saturday, however Lando Norris finished at pole with Verstappen escaping the top spot by a narrow margin.
Read below to learn details about these top stories and other happenings in the sporting world in the last 24 hours.
Football
Lionel Messi to make Inter Miami return before season ends, confirms Martino
Argentine football superstar Lionel Messi is set to make his Inter Miami return before the 2024 season of the Major League Soccer (MLS) comes to a close. The head coach of Inter Miami, Tata Martino, confirmed that Lionel Messi’s recovery from ankle injury is going well, and he will feature in at least one of the nine remaining regular season matches for the American club.
Erling Haaland can match Messi, Ronaldo in terms of scoring goals: Pep Guardiola
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is confident that Erling Haaland can join the ranks of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi as one of the greatest strikers in the game, thanks to his remarkable scoring numbers. Pep's comments come after Haaland's hat-trick against Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Saturday, August 24. "The numbers with Erling are unbelievable. I think he can sit at the table, in terms of scoring goals, with Cristiano [Ronaldo] and Messi, that's for sure," Guardiola said.
Ashley Cole named assistant coach of England men’s football team
On Friday, August 23, England great Ashley Cole got appointed as the assistant coach of the men’s football team alongside interim manager Lee Carsley, who replaced Gareth Southgate earlier. The English Football Association (FA) made the announcement, which would mean that he will be preparing the players for their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches next month.
Some major results in football are as under:
English Premier League
Brighton 2:1 Man Utd
Crystal Palace 0:2 West Ham United
Fulham 2:1 Leicester City
Man City 4:1 Ipswich Town
Southampton 0:1 Nottingham Forest
Tottenham Hotspur 4:0 Everton
Aston Villa 0:2 Arsenal
Tennis
Carlos Alcaraz rubbishes injury concerns after twisting ankle during practice
Carlos Alcaraz, who will be eying his fifth major title at the US Open 2024, opened up on his injury concerns after he had twisted his ankle in a practice game against Francisco Cerundulo on August 24. “I think it is ok. I just stopped my practice just for precaution. I didn’t feel comfortable enough to keep practicing,” he said as quoted by ESPN.
WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz performs CR7’s ‘Suiii’ after scoring freekick
The former world no. 1 and reigning Wimbledon champion, Carlos Alcaraz was seen bringing in his inner Cristiano Ronaldo during one of the entertainment programs ahead of US Open 2024. The Spaniard kicked a big tennis ball into the net on the other side and soon after netting the ball, he celebrated with a Ronaldo’s trademark ‘Suiii’, video of which is going viral.
Formula One
Lando Norris takes commanding Dutch GP pole; Lewis Hamilton to start at 12th
Lando Norris reminded Max Verstappen of his world championship credentials by taking a brilliant pole position for the Dutch Grand Prix. The British driver, who trails Verstappen by 78 points in the standings with 10 rounds still to go, saw off his rival by 0.356sec to silence the 100,000 spectators hoping to see the Dutchman start the Zandvoort race from the front.
Kevin Magnussen to start F1 Dutch GP from pit lane after component changes
Kevin Magnussen will start the Dutch Grand Prix from the pit lane after making two changes to his Haas car under parc ferme conditions. The FIA’s technical delegate’s report shows that the Dane has opted for a new energy store on his car, which is “the third (3) of the two (2) new energy stores allowed” over the course of the season.
WATCH: Motorcycle stuntman suffers horrific accident during Dutch GP
Ahead of FP 3 at the Dutch Grand Prix, horrific scenes unfolded when a motorcycle stuntman suffered a terrible fall. One of the stuntmen while landing a trick, lost control of his bike and crashed into the down ramp. The rider meanwhile, let go of his handlebars mid-flip in a controlled stunt but failed to grab in time and eventually flew over his bike, suffering a horrible fall.
Basketball
WATCH: Maya Moore’s number “23” jersey retired by Minnesota Lynx
On Saturday, August 24, Maya Moore’s iconic number “23” jersey in WNBA was officially retired by the Minnesota Lynx in an emotional ceremony at the Target Center in front of thousands of fans. The grand moment involving one of the greatest women’s basketball players in history happened after the Minnesota Lynx defeated the Indiana Fever 90-80 in their WNBA contest.
Others
India secures first-ever Asian Games 2026 quota in surfing
India secured their first-ever quota in Asian Games 2026. On the back of Kishore Kumar’s stellar performance, the country secured its first-ever quota in surfing for the upcoming Games, which are scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan. Although Kumar missed his place in the final but helped both men and women’s team secure qualifications.
North Korea to punish Olympics TT duo for ‘grinning’ on podium: Reports
Days after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games concluded, North Korea have put their table tennis players, Kim Kum-yong and Ri Jong-sik under scrutiny. According to The Daily NK, the North Korean duo are under investigation for their behaviour during the Paris Olympics 2024 medal ceremony as they were spotted "grinning" alongside gold medal winners, China and bronze medallist, South Korea.
