Neymar not fazed by goal drought
BRASILIA: Brazil superstar Neymar said on Thursday that he was not concerned about having gone nine matches without scoring, as he prepares to spearhead the host country’s challenge at the Confederations Cup. The 21-year-old, who recently agreed to join Barcelona, will be the main attraction when Brazil kick off the competition against Japan on Saturday, but he says he will be purely focused on helping the team. “Regardless of whether or not I score goals, which doesn’t mean anything, I’m proud to be with the Brazilian squad,” he said during a press conference. “I can’t behave for the national team as if I was with Santos, where everyone knew me. Here, they still need to get to know me. “We’re still looking for our best team and I’ll be competing in one of the most important competitions of my career. I’ll improve myself at each training session, every day.” On Saturday, Neymar will once again sport the mythical number 10 shirt once worn by his feted Santos and Brazil predecessor Pele, but he said he felt no added pressure. “I think that the number has no importance, but the Brazil shirt? Yes.” (Agencies)
‘Pak players mentally disturbed’
KARACHI: Continuing his attack on the country’s cricket set-up, Pakistan’s former fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has described most of the members in the national team as “mentally disturbed”. “Most of the players do not perform on the field, why? Because they’re mentally disturbed. They have a lot fears; take those fears away, that is the coach’s job, it is not to teach the game,” Akhtar said. He said that Pakistan cricket is currently going through its “darkest era”. In a scathing attack, in the aftermath of the side’s disappointing performance at the Champions Trophy, Akhtar blamed poor coaching for the side’s batting woes. He said the Pakistan team needs a new coach, who can “unite the players in the dressing room”. “I think this is the darkest era of our cricket and I think if we need to take positives from the Champions Trophy we should learn from South Africa who survived isolation in the apartheid era and have emerged as a top team in the world,” he said. (PTI)
Mickelson clings to US Open lead
ARDMORE: England’s Luke Donald missed a chance to match Phil Mickelson for the clubhouse lead on Friday in the first round of the storm-hit US Open by missing a four-foot par putt on the 18th hole. Donald, seeking his first major title, reached four-under par after 13 holes by making birdies on his last three holes before darkness fell Thursday, when two thunderstorms stopped play at Merion for about four hours and 15 minutes. But when the round resumed Friday morning, Donald faced the toughest five holes on the layout in cold conditions with wind from the north rather than the south as it had on Thursday and he took bogeys at the par-4 16th and 18th. “I misread both putts,” Donald said. “I thought they were slightly right to left and they broke well left. I thought I had that one at 18.” That left the 35-year-old former world number one on two-under par 68, one behind US left-hander Mickelson and one in front of Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts as the round neared an end and round two loomed quickly. “Those last five holes are very tough,” Donald said. (Agencies)