Kane breaks Tunisian hearts

Returning England captain Ben Stokes said on Monday he hopes a reused pitch for the second Test against Pakistan in Multan will play into the tourists' hands rather than the spin-heavy hosts.

Desperate to level the three-match series after an innings and 47-run defeat on Friday, Pakistan named three spinners in four changes from the first Test.

In a rare move, Pakistan -- who have now gone winless in 11 home Tests since February 2021 -- decided to use the same flat surface on which England piled up 823-7 declared in reply to their 556 all out.

"If you look at the way that the first Test played out, if another wicket like that was produced, maybe that gives us more of an advantage," said Stokes, back in the side after missing the first Test with a hamstring injury.

Despite the first-innings run-fest -- with Harry Brook smashing 317 and Joe Root making 262 -- England bowled out Pakistan for 220 in their second innings to secure a remarkable victory.

England left out seamers Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes to bring in Matthew Potts and Stokes, but kept the same spinners in Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.

"You'd like to think it might be a bit more in favour of the spin, so if it does spin more, or if it does reverse more, there's more options there for both teams," added Stokes.

The all-rounder, who may not yet be fit to bowl, said he has never seen such a strategy before.

"It could be a tactic but I've never seen a pitch before used in back-to-back games. And I've never seen fans that big standing as umpires," he said, referring to two big industrial fans at both ends being used to dry the pitch.

Since Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum took over in May 2022, England have played aggressive cricket, with only one draw.

"I think if we went 1-0 down at home, we would probably be going to our groundsman at the second Test saying 'can we have a bit more of this, bit more of that' to use our home advantage in our favour.

"With me being captain and Baz being coach, that's how we both view cricket, that there should be a winner."

Pakistan's assistant coach Azhar Mahmood believes the pitch will help his team.

"The strategy behind the used pitch is to take 20 wickets," said Mahmood.

"We want to get 20 England wickets and going with spinners will help us dominate."

Zahid Mahmood, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali make up Pakistan's spin trio, with Aamer Jamal the only frontline pace bowler.

Mahmood defended the decision to leave out struggling star batter Babar Azam.

"There is no question that Babar Azam is our best batter," said Mahmood of Azam, who is without a half-century in 18 innings.

"He is not dropped, we have given him rest considering the coming hectic cricket schedule and we thought it would be best for him to come refreshed for the three away tours coming."

Didier Deschamps proclaimed France’s second World Cup triumph was “just as beautiful” as their first after leading them to glory again 20 years on, but Croatia defender Dejan Lovren said that Deschamps' team "did not play football."

"I'm disappointed because we lost the game, we played much, much better football than them, but on the other hand I'm proud of this team and what we have achieved," Lovren said.

"We played beautiful football again. France were one of the favourites to win the World Cup and they did it. I think we were better. They did it another way. They didn't play football, they waited for their chances and they scored. They had their own tactic and you need to respect that. They played the tournament like that, every game, but when you look at all the countries behind us, we're second.” he added.

"There's nothing to talk about now. It's difficult to describe. Maybe after a week or two, a couple of months... right now, it's difficult. Some moments I feel sad, some moments I'm happy. Overall, I'm proud."

Ivan Perisic conceded the first-half penalty after referee Nestor Pitana penalised him for handball following a VAR review.

"I was sure he would not give the pen," said the Liverpool centre-back. "From my point of view, he [Perisic] could not react.

"It was a critical moment, we came back at 1-1, and then this penalty and then 3-1, 4-1, but even then we didn't stop playing football, we still believed, we gave everything, and this is why people are proud now in Croatia."

Didier Deschamps' side had claimed a 1-0 over Belgium in the semifinals with a defensive masterclass which left Belgium star Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois deeply unimpressed with what he felt were overly cagey tactics by France in the semi-final, and now Lovren also felt the frustration of coming up against Deschamps's style. Not always the most entertaining, however, in the end, French squad just had too much talent at its disposal to get the job done.

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution to "redouble" action against Islamic State, following last week's deadly attacks in Paris.

The French-drafted document urges UN members to "take all necessary measures" in the fight against IS.

IS said it carried out the Paris attacks, in which 130 people died.

Also READ: 'That's for Paris' killings

It also claimed deadly bombings in Lebanon this month, while an IS-linked group said it downed a Russian passenger plane in October.

The UN resolution 2249 also condemns recent attacks in Sousse, Tunisia, and Ankara, Turkey.

It came as the Belgian authorities raised the terror alert to the highest level in the capital Brussels, warning of an "imminent threat".

Some of the Paris attackers had lived in Brussels. The only survivor of the group, Salah Abdeslam, is still on the run and is thought to have gone back there.

The Belgian authorities also announced that a suspect had been charged with involvement in the attacks, bringing the number of people charged there to three.

The UN Security Council called on member states to "eradicate the safe haven" IS and other militant groups had established over parts of Iraq and Syria.

The document also stresses that nations should "redouble and co-ordinate their efforts to prevent and suppress terrorist attacks".

READ more: World to stand united against IS!

However, it does not invoke the UN's Chapter VII, which gives specific legal authorisation for the use of force.

France and Russia have argued that military action is already justifiable because of the right of countries to self-defence.

Earlier, French officials said the cousin of the presumed ringleader of the 13 November attacks in Paris did not blow herself up in Wednesday's police raid in Saint-Denis as previously thought.

In an exclusive interview with the BBC, a member of the police assault team involved in the raid said Hasna Ait Boulahcen, 26, was "trying to say she was not linked to the terrorists, that she had nothing to do with them and wanted to surrender".

But he said that due to prior intelligence, "we knew that she was trying to manipulate us".

Officials said the suicide bomber was a man, who - alongside with alleged ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud - was also killed.

In a separate development, French prosecutors said that a second suicide bomber from the Stade de France attack passed through Greece on his way to France.

The prosecutors had previously said one of the other attackers had come on the same route, via the Greek island of Leros. The men may have been posing as Syrian refugees.

Hundreds of people were wounded in the near-simultaneous attacks on Paris bars and restaurants, a concert hall and sports stadium.

Islamic State (IS) said it was behind the attacks - the worst in Europe since the 2004 Madrid bombings.

IS is a notoriously violent Islamist group which controls large parts of Syria and Iraq. It has declared its territory a caliphate - a state governed in accordance with Islamic law - under its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

IS demands allegiance from all Muslims, rejects national borders and seeks to expand its territory. It follows its own extreme version of Sunni Islam and regards non-believers as deserving of death.

IS projects a powerful image, partly through propaganda and sheer brutality, and is the world's richest insurgent group. It has about 30,000 fighters but is facing dail

Euro Championship 2024 has entered the final stretch, with four teams—Netherlands, France, Spain and England—remaining in the fight for continental supremacy.

The battle for the Golden Boot – a prize reserved for the highest scorer of the tournament – has also heated up with many in contention to win the prize.

At the moment, four players have scored the highest three goals in the competition -- Netherlands's Cody Gakpo, Georgia's Georges Mikautadze, Germany's Jamal Musiala and Slovakia's Ivan Schranz.

In the case of a tie, the player with the highest number of assists and least number of playing minutes is awarded the Golden Boot in Euros. By that calculation, Georgia's Mikautadze is leading the race at the moment, whose heroics helped his nation reach the knockout stage in their maiden Euro appearance.

However, Gakpo will get an opportunity to overtake him in the semifinal against England on July 11.

England forwards Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham are also breathing down their necks with two goals apiece.

French superstar Kylian Mbappe only has one goal to his name so far, however, still has a realistic chance to insert himself in the top-scorer's race.

Here is a look at how the race for the Golden Boot has shaped up so far:

Georges Mikautadze, Georgia (3 goals)

The Metz forward scored a goal each in all of his side's group games against Turkey, Czech Republic and Portugal, also adding an assist in the 2-0 win over Lusos.

Cody Gakpo, Netherlands (3 goals)

The Liverpool forward netted in the 2-1 win over Poland in the Oranje's opening game, before adding to his tally in the 2-3 loss to Austria in the group stage.

Gakpo then scored and assisted for Netherlands against Romania in the Round of 16 and helped the team book a quarterfinal berth.

Dani Olmo, Spain (2 goals)

Olmo assisted Ferran Torres in the only goal against Albania, before scoring against Georgia in the 4-1 win during the group stage. He then scored and assisted in the 2-1 victory over Germany in the quarter-finals.

Jude Bellingham, England (2 goals)

The Real Madrid star stepped up to the occasion to score in the Serbia win for England. He then scored a crucial injury-time goal against Slovakia in the Round-of-16.

Fabian Ruiz, Spain (2 goals)

Fabian Ruiz was involved in the first two goals of Spain's 3-0 drubbing of Croatia, with the Paris Saint-Germain man assisting the first and scoring the second. He then scored and assisted in the Round-of-16 to help Spain beat Georgia 4-1.

Harry Kane, England (2 goals)

Harry Kane opened his account in the second group game. He added to his tally with his second goal in the Round-of-16 win over Slovakia.

Donyell Malen, Netherlands (2 goals)

Borussia Dortmund's Donyell Malen produced the goods when his team needed him to do it in the Round-of-16. He scored two goals in the last few minutes against Romania to seal a comfortable 3-0 win.

Kylian Mbappe, France (1 goal)

After enforcing an own goal by Maximilian Wober in the 1-0 win over Austria, the masked Real Madrid-bound forward scored off the spot in the 1-1 draw with Poland.

Alvaro Morata, Spain (1 goal)

The Atletico Madrid forward scored his seventh overall goal at the Euros, as he bagged Spain's second goal against Croatia in their opening group game.

Former England defender and football pundit Gary Neville branded the referee's decision to award England a penalty in the first-half of their Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands as an 'absolute disgrace' on Thursday. 

The Dutch took the lead in just seven minutes with Savi Simons scoring a magnificent long-range goal after robbing the ball off England's Declan Rice. However, England responded quickly, with Harry Kane forcing a save from Bart Verbruggen and moments later sent a volley over the bar, and was caught by Denzel Dumfries on the follow-through.

It seemed totally innocuous but German referee Felix Zwayer was summoned to review the images and gave a penalty.

Kane, whose missed spot-kick against France cost England dear in the 2022 World Cup, made no mistake, slotting low into the corner as England drew level.

On ITV, former England defender Neville called the decision a "disgrace" while Roy Keane said Kane helped influence the VAR's decision by staying down in the box.

Neville clashed with fellow pundit Ian Wright, who was adamant it was a penalty. But Neville was incredulous as Wright called Dumfries challenge "reckless".

"Look, as a defender I think it's an absolute disgrace," former England right-back Neville exclaimed on ITV. "I think it's an absolutely disgraceful decision. 

"It's natural to block the shot, it's not a penalty, nowhere near a penalty.

"We're all going mad, we don't know what a penalty is. We've conditioned ourselves in the game to think that's a penalty. Honestly, that is not a penalty. I think in the box, there's a bit of licence to go in and block the shot."

"When you look at the way penalties are given now, it was reckless," Wright said. "That's why it was given. Anywhere else on the pitch, that's a foul."

Neville countered: "That is not a penalty. I think in the box, there's a bit of licence to go in and block the shot."

England took the game home 2-1 as Ollie Watkins struck a stunning injury-time winner to set up a Euro 2024 final showdown with Spain in Berlin.