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Kenya all-rounder Collins Obuya, who played a starring role in their dream ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2003 campaign, has retired.

Obuya, 42, who had made his international debut back in 2001 against the West Indies, called it a day after featuring in his side's 106-run defeat against Uganda in the third-place play-off of the African Games. A prolific performer to the last, he was Kenya's leading run-getter in the tournament, with 184 runs from five innings.

"I have decided to retire from the game after 23 years. It's been a big honour playing for Kenya," Obuya stated after the game.

"I want to thank everyone, my teammates and my family who have been there for me in good times and hard times. It has been a lovely career for me, to have been able to play that long. I am very proud of my career, but it's time to concentrate on my coaching back home and do what good I can for cricket."

Though Obuya contributed primarily with the willow in the later stages of his career, his leg-spin was an important weapon in the arsenal of the Kenyan side in his younger days. This showed at its best in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, where his 5/24 helped the African side upend a much stronger Sri Lanka team. With wickets of Aravinda de Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, and Mahela Jayawardene in the game, he helped Kenya to a 53-run win.

Crucial points from this win helped Kenya reach the Super Six stage of the tournament, and eventually the semi-finals, becoming the only non-Test playing nation to have achieved the feat.

Obuya's best ODI knock came against Australia in the 2011World Cup, an unbeaten 98 that unfortunately ended up in a losing cause. Following Kenya's dismal 2011 World Cup campaign, Obuya replaced Jimmy Kamande as their captain. He resigned two years later in 2013 after the team failed to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2014.

With 2044 ODI runs, Obuya is one of the four Kenya players to have scored over 2000 runs in the format, before they were stripped of ODI status. And his 1794 T20I runs are the most by any Kenya batter. He also picked up 60 international wickets.

His brothers Kennedy Obuya and David Obuya also played at the international level for Kenya.

Tonight's upcoming match between Argentina and Mexico brings to mind iconic moments of football as played by the Argentine team. For fans of the team, these five books can be a portal to favourite moments in football history. 

ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES: HOW ARGENTINIAN SOCCER DEFINED A NATION AND CHANGED THE GAME FOREVER
Jonathan Wilson
Bold Type Books, 2016 

Argentina has produced a world-class football player in every generation, from the likes of Di Stefano and Maradona to Lionel Messi. This can be attributed to the fact that the country and its people embody the spirit of the game. In Angels with Dirty Faces, Jonathan Wilson explores the history of Argentinian football: the society's incorporation of the British game, the energetic playing style under Juan Perón's leadership, the ferocious tactic of anti-football, and the development of all time greats. 

MASCULINITIES: FOOTBALL, POLO AND THE TANGO IN ARGENTINA
Eduardo P. Archetti
Routledge, 1999

Eduardo P. Archetti's book explores the intricate relationship between masculinity and nationalism in Argentina. Within the topic, the author discusses the history of Argentine football: from the imperial game to the hybridity in football and the creation of the Criollo style. With quotes from legendary Argentine players who shaped the origin of the sport in the country, such as Jorge Brown, the second chapter of the first part titled "Male Hybrids in the World of Football", has been known to keep fans of Argentine football hooked till the very end. 

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7 books to get you pumped up for football World Cup season

SOCCER TALK: LIFE UNDER THE SPELL OF THE ROUND BALL
Paul Gardner
Masters Pr., 1999

Paul Gardner, one of the world's foremost football writers, collects 30 years of his writing on the sport. He goes back in this book to the World Cup of 1978 held in Argentina during a time of curfews and repressive generals. Gardner covers such historic games, alongside collegiate and Olympic football, coaching tactics and rules of referees, and profiles of iconic sportsmen including Maradona. 

MARADONA: THE BOY. THE REBEL. THE GOD
Guillem Balagué
Orion, 2021 

One of the greatest footballers of all time, Maradona's international career with Argentina included 34 goals spanning across 91 caps, including four FIFA World Cups. Maradona's presence on the pitch, which was electrified by his dominating passing and dribbling skills, led his team to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico. 

With interviews and first-hand anecdotes, Guillem Balagué's in depth biography offers a psychological and sociological approach to the sportsman. In a journey across South America, Europe and Asia, Guillem Balagué asks what factors lead to such adoration from the public and resulted in such a controversial personality. 

PASSION OF THE PEOPLE? Football in South America
Tony Mason
Verso Books, 1995 

Tony Mason starts the book with football's rise amongst the rapidly urbanising Montevideo, São Paolo, Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires. He discusses how the game had popularity from the very beginning, and explores how British commercials and military interests as well as immigrants from Italy, Spain and Portugal shaped the continent's fanaticism for the sport. 

From Uruguay's win in the Olympic football tournament in 1924 to Argentina's journey to the World Cup final of 1990, international footballing success has brought fame and honour for these countries abroad.On the other hand, Mason portrays how dictators used football to indoctrinate the masses to remain politically numb. In his conclusion, he asks whether South America's love for football is an inflated fantasy or is it really the "passion of the people."

Paul Pogba wanted his own star and 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe wanted to make an everlasting impression on his World Cup debut. Their wishes were granted as France lifted the World Cup with a 4-2 win against Croatia in the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow yesterday.

Both Pogba and Mbappe actually settled the fate of the final even before it had progressed to the last quarter, scoring the third and fourth goals respectively in the space of six minutes after the break. Mbappe won the best young player award, an achievement that matched the feat of great Brazilian striker Pele.

For Croatia captain Luka Modric the golden ball was there to proudly aloft. He raised it up amidst thunderous applause from the stands; it was not necessarily only Croatian voices that cheered. But his stony face only portrayed the visage of a heartbroken man who watched from a distance amidst pouring rain as France danced with that glittering piece of glory.

France are deserving winners. True, they were under pressure in the first half and they may have been a bit lucky to win a penalty. But they showed the quality of true champions and mercilessly hit their opponents on the break, which Croatia failed to negotiate.

It was a story of two contrasting halves. Croatia were on the ascendency in the first 45 minutes while it France asserted control after the break. When Argentine referee Nestor Pitana blew the final whistle, the most powerful image was Les Bleus coach Didier Deschamps being toasted by his young charges. Deschamps truly built the bridge after 20 years. He won it in 1998, France's first-ever World Cup triumph. And after the disappointment in the Euro final two years ago when they lost to Portugal, the France legend guaranteed another moment of national pride.

The Luzhniki final saw the first three goals scored every 10 minutes after Mario Mandzukic headed the ball into his own net off an Antoine Griezmann free kick from outside the left-hand box in the 28th minute. Incidentally, it was France's first shot on target, a floater deep into the far post where Croatia's hero of the semifinal against England soared above everybody. It was a header from a class striker that rattled the top left-hand corner, but unfortunately though the Juventus forward was oblivious that he was defending his own goal.

France were lucky to take the lead against the run of play, with Croatia not only starting brightly but also dictating possession. The pall possession ratio of 68-32 in Croatia's favour was reflected in the stands, where the red-and-white stripes overwhelmingly dominated the blues.

Croatia got the deserved equaliser in the 28th minute with Ivan Perisic firing in a scorching left-footer. It was originated from another dead-ball situation after Perisic won a free kick about 35 yards from the French goal. Modric lobbed an intelligent ball wide where Sime Vrsaljko headed it across the penalty area. It dropped for Perisic, who made a little space before unleashing an unstoppable diagonal drive into the bottom right-hand corner.

The third goal came after a lot of deliberation and the referee had to take the assistance of VAR, which ruled Perisic had handled the ball in the forbidden zone. Griezmann was again the initiator with a corner from the same corner flag. N'golo Kante headed it at the near post which struck the stretched hand of Perisic, though unintentionally. Griezmann stepped up to convert the penalty, sending Danijel Subasic the other way.

France went into the lemon break with a fortuitous 2-1 lead. But they returned only to bury the game beyond doubt with Pogba and Mbappe finding the net in the space of six minutes and that too after a pitch invasion by members of Pussy Riot that stopped the final for a few minutes.

Pogba increased the lead in the 59th minute from a rebound after his first attempt was blocked. It was then the turn of Mbappe to become only the second youngest player after Pele to score a goal in the final. The 19-year-old France prodigy drove a spectacular low shot after a little shimmy on the top of the box.

Hugo Lloris's blunder in the 69th minute allowed Croatia to make it 4-2. The France captain unnecessarily waited with the ball before Mandzukic closed in on him and poked the ball into the net as the goalkeeper was trying to cut across him. But that goal served only as a consolation for Croatia, who turned up in their maiden final with great expectations but once against came unstuck against a team they lost 2-0 to in the semifinal 20 years ago.

From aspirations of making it to their maiden semifinal to barely qualifying for the 2025 Champions Trophy with an eighth-placed finish, Bangladesh's World Cup dream has fluctuated as wildly as its tumultuous state of affairs. 

If looked closely, at the core of the fiasco, two entities could be found -- skipper Shakib Al Hasan and his enabler, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

At 36, Shakib just wanted to play in what he said was going to be his World Cup swansong. He had clearly mentioned in a much-talked-about interview that he had no intention of leading the Tigers in the mega event and was only made to do so at the behest of the BCB.

So, questions could be raised as to why BCB -- a board that always claims to prioritise long-term planning over anything else -- would send a team to the World Cup under someone who was reluctant to lead in the first place?

Is it because there were no other suitable candidates to take the helm? If so, then that contradicts the long-stated claims of a rich pipeline and the depth of the national team's pool of players.

While that is a part played by the country's cricketing governing body in the Tigers' recent slump, Shakib and the team management including head coach Chandika Hathurusingha only furthered the downward spiral. 

Hathurusingha could be inquired about how the bunch of players that had seen Bangladesh do decently in ODIs just months ago had lost their mojo and balance in the most crucial time while Shakib would have to justify his off-field antics more than his underwhelming on-field performances.

Despite being forcibly burdened with the captaincy, expectations on Shakib were still very high, especially after his superhuman effort in the same tournament four years ago. 

Dealing with such pressure and cancelling out the outside noise has never been an issue for a champion cricketer like Shakib. In fact, followers of Bangladesh cricket know how he had made a pattern of covering up his off-field misdoings with immediate brilliance with the willow and the ball.

But this time, things proved to be different. After being part of the chaotic process of team selection for the World Cup that saw Tamim Iqbal being left out at the last minute, Shakib only managed to drum up more controversy and almost no superhuman act on the field to cover it up. 

Shakib's trip to Dhaka for a few solo practice sessions with his mentor midway through the World Cup was followed by the Tigers hitting the nadir of their already abysmal campaign -- an 87-run thumping at the hands of associate member, the Netherlands, in a game where Shakib made five with the bat and scalped just a solitary wicket. 

Also, for the first time in a long while, Shakib even looked to have let the pressure get to him when he struggled for eight deliveries before finally opening his account in the game against Pakistan. 

Shakib's World Cup campaign ended with a player-of-the-match performance against Sri Lanka, but his overall 2023 World Cup figures of 186 runs at 26.57 average and nine wickets may be an outcome befitting the visible shift of focus Shakib's career has seen in the last few years.   

Since coming out of his ICC-sanctioned ban for failing to report corrupt approaches in 2020, Shakib has anything but stayed away from controversies. From having affiliations with betting sites, kicking stumps, arguing with on-field umpires, returning to the country for personal reasons in the middle of the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka to inaugurating jewellery shop of a fugitive criminal -- Shakib could not have made it more apparent about his priorities and reluctance to fall into line.  

Maybe Shakib had things clear in his mind long before his reflection on the matter came to the fore when he said in that interview, "Would that [captaining Bangladesh in this World Cup] add any value to my career at this stage?" 

Perhaps Shakib knew all along what he was taking the team into and only tried to deflect the blame in case things went south when he admitted to not being willing to be in the leadership role ahead of the World Cup. 

Shakib is used to evading the true repercussions of his antics, mostly by riding on the BCB's reluctance to do anything about those. It might not be any different for Shakib this time too but the same can not be said of Bangladesh cricket which will have to suffer the real consequences of always accommodating a reluctant performer.  

Coach Fernando Diniz will no longer be in charge of the Brazil national team, said the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) on Friday.

Diniz, who was appointed on an interim basis, had a one-year contract but led Brazil for six games in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round, with three defeats, one draw and two wins. He combined his work with Fluminense, the club with which he won the Copa Libertadores last year.

"The CBF thanks Fernando Diniz for the work he has done, for all his dedication and seriousness, and for the challenge of renewing the Brazilian national team during his tenure. We wish Fernando Diniz the best of luck," the sports governing body said in a statement.

President Ednaldo Rodrigues spoke to Fluminense president Mario Bittencourt on Thursday about the decision to hire a permanent coach to prepare the team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Sao Paulo coach Dorival Junior is being considered for the job, two sources told Reuters.

"Diniz's departure is due to the national team's results, which were not as expected," said one of the sources. Brazil is in sixth place in the South American World Cup qualifying standings.

The CBF was looking to Carlo Ancelotti to take over this year, but the Italian preferred to renew his contract with Real Madrid. Now, Rodrigues' favorite to lead the team is Dorival, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"Ednaldo has already opened talks with the president of Sao Paulo, Julio Casares, to express his interest in Dorival Jr," said the second source.

"He explained that he was in a hurry and wanted Dorival soon because of the start of the season. Julio said he was going to talk to Dorival and that the situation would be resolved by Monday."

The decision came a day after Rodrigues returned to the helm of the CBF, thanks to a decision by Minister Gilmar Mendes, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), after being removed in early December by the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice.