SHORT CORNER

Mbappe is Time magazine's  'Future of Soccer'

Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe's rapid rise to global fame has earned the teenaged World Cup winner an appearance on the cover of Time magazine's international edition, to appear on Friday.

Time said Mbappe was a global superstar who "is the future of soccer."

Mbappe made headlines in September 2017 when he moved from Ligue 1 side Monaco to Paris Saint-Germain for a staggering 180 million euros ($207 million).

But the 19-year-old's stock skyrocketed during this year's World Cup, where a series of phenomenal displays drew compliments from Brazil legend Pele on his way to helping France end their 20-year wait to win another World Cup trophy.

Djokovic wants tennis 'Super World Cup'

Novak Djokovic wants to see a tennis "Super World Cup" and strongly suggested that he will join Alexander Zverev in skipping the new Davis Cup finals.

"I just feel like the date of the Davis Cup is really bad, especially for the top players," said Djokovic, echoing the strong sentiments of Zverev a day earlier.

Kylian Mbappe. Photo: Collected from time.com

"Between the two, I will prioritise the World Team Cup because that's a competition of ATP.

"Or hopefully we can make it to the point where we can have one big 'Super World Cup', if you want to call it (that), or whatever it is, because that's the best thing for our sport.

Ballack 'surprised' Loew kept his job

Michael Ballack believes Germany coach Joachim Loew should have lost his job in the wake of their woeful World Cup performance in Russia.

Germany's Nations League clash with the Netherlands on Saturday in Amsterdam will be Loew's 168th international since taking charge in 2006, but Ballack says his 12-year reign should already be over.

"I was surprised, as well as many other people, that he kept his job," Ballack, who made 98 appearances for Germany, told Deutsche Welle.

For a long time, he worked with the team and sometimes you should say that things don't work anymore," added Ballack on Loew's 12-year tenure.