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Treinador campeão do mundo com a Argentina em 1978, César Luis Menotti faleceu no último domingo (6). A divulgação da morte do veterano de 85 anos foi feita pela Associação de Futebol da Argentina (AFA).

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Embora não tenha tido um grande destaque como jogador, El Flaco, como era conhecido, teve uma passagem rápida pelo Brasil, tendo vestido a camisa da Juventus-SP. No entanto, o profissional tornou-se referência como técnico.

O primeiro grande trabalho do treinador foi com o Huracán, onde permaneceu entre 1971 e 1974. Nesse período, o comandante conseguiu tirar o clube de 45 anos sem conquistar um título nacional e venceu o Campeonato Argentino em 1973. Inclusive, esse foi o último troféu na elite do país.

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Devido ao grande trabalho com o El Globo, Menotti foi promovido a comandante da Argentina em 1975 visando a Copa do Mundo de 1978. E em casa, a lenda foi responsável pela primeira conquista da Albiceleste no maior torneio de futebol. E no ano seguinte, venceu o Mundial Sub-20 com os hermanos.

Referência em seu país, o treinador foi contratado pelo Barcelona, onde conquistou uma Copa do Rei, uma Copa da Liga Espanhola e uma Supercopa da Espanha. Após o período na Catalunha, o profissional passou por Peñarol, Boca Juniors, Atlético de Madrid, mas sem o mesmo sucesso em relação ao início de sua carreira.

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RELAÇÃO COM MARADONA

Maior ídolo do futebol na Argentina, Maradona recebeu sua primeira oportunidade com a camisa da Albiceleste sob comando de Menotti. Juntos, os dois conquistaram a Copa do Mundo Sub-20, além de terem trabalhado juntos no Barcelona.

No entanto, a relação dos dois foi um pouco estremecida pelo fato do técnico não ter convocado o camisa 10 para o Mundial de 1978. Ainda assim, o Dios cravou que El Flaco foi o melhor treinador com quem trabalhou na carreira em uma entrevista dada em 1996.

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Argentina

أدلى روبرتو مارتينيز مدرب منتخب البرتغال برأيه في قرعة كأس العالم 2026، حيث وقع مع منتخبات كولومبيا وأوزبكستان وأحد المنتخبات المتأهلة من جمهورية الكونغو الديمقراطية وجامايكا وكاليدونيا الجديدة.

وقال مارتينيز في تصريحات نشرتها “Zamin” عن قرعة كأس العالم: “أظهرت لنا القرعة بوضوح الاتجاه الذي يجب أن نسلكه، من المهم جداً أن نقيم المباراة الأولى في 17 يونيو، هذا سيجعل عملية الاستعداد أكثر واقعية وتخطيط، المباراة الأولى ستكون ضد الفائز من التصفيات، اسم الخصم غير معروف حالياً، لكننا سنستعد لأي سيناريو”.

وأضاف عن منتخبي كولومبيا وأوزبكستان: “هما منافسان يستحقان الاحترام ويتمتعان بديناميكية عالية، وقد استعدا بجدية للبطولة، نحترمهما ونعتبرهما خصمين قويين”.

أقرأ أيضاً.. طريق البرتغال حتى نهائي كأس العالم 2026.. هل يصطدم بـ مصر والأرجنتين؟

وواصل: “فريق أوزيبيو عام 1966 هو مرجعنا، لقد فزنا ببطولة أوروبا ودوري الأمم الأوروبية والآن أعتقد أنه من المهم جداً أن نتمكن من النضال من أجل الحلم الذي نحلم به جميعاً، أن نفعل شيئاً لم نفعله من قبل”.

وسئل روبرتو مارتينيز عن طول مسيرة كريستيانو رونالدو: “أعتقد أن السر يتمثل في أنه يعمل كل يوم كما لو كان آخر يوم في مسيرته، إنه لا يستسلم أبداً، إنه قدوة لنا جميعاً وقائدنا ومرجعنا ومهم جداً لنا”.

Welcome to 'Ask Jimmy,' where SI Media writer Jimmy Traina will answer one question about a burning topic from the sports media world.

A balls and strikes challenge system is finally coming to Major League Baseball. After being used for several years in the minor leagues, the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System will be featured in the big leagues beginning next season. Each team will get two challenges per game when it comes to balls and strikes, which will be retained if successful.

This is nothing but a positive for the sport. You can’t have games decided on missed calls by the home plate umpire and this is a way to fix that.

The only downside is that I wish teams were allotted more than two challenges per game from the start. I’d give teams four or five challenges per game. Even if you think home plate umpires do a great job, they’re still going to miss a handful of calls in each game. Why not implement a system in order to rectify that?

If your argument against the ABS challenge system is that it will slow down the game, think again. 

Baseball has done a great job of speeding up the game by instituting the pitch clock. The challenge system won’t have a significant effect on the length of games.

Via MLB: In 288 games with the ABS Challenge System during Spring Training 2025, there were an average of 4.1 challenges per game. Those challenges took an average of 13.8 seconds. 

Adding on a minute to each game to get important calls correct is a no-brainer. 

Baseball already has instant replay, so adding another layer to have balls and strikes challenged seems like a natural progression. 

Think about how history would have changed if ABS was around in 1998 when the Yankees got this gift from the home plate umpire.

You just can’t miss a call like that in a World Series game.

The only downside in my view is that this will limit the number of player explosions when a home plate umpire gets a call wrong. Now, instead of throwing their helmet or slamming their bats, a batter will simply tap his head to call for replay. 

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has issued an injury update on star player Cole Palmer ahead of their top-of-the-table clash with Arsenal. The England international has had an injury-hit season so far, with the playmaker missing a big chunk of the season from a persistent groin issue. Most recently, he has been sidelined with a fractured toe but Palmer is now on the cusp of being back fit for the Blues.

• Palmer's luck is out

  Chelsea fans were chomping at the bit to see what Palmer could do this season, especially after starring in their Club World Cup final win over Paris Saint-Germain this summer. But a groin problem has limited him to just four appearances in all competitions this term, and just when he looked like he would be fit and ready again, he fractured his toe. In late September, Maresca admitted he was wary of rushing the 23-year-old back to action.

  "We need to protect Cole for sure, 100%. Not only Cole in my personal view because as I said now because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop, we need to manage and protect different players," the Italian said at the time." The solution with Cole, I don’t know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it’s also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It’s an injury that someday you can be better. It’s not that you have pain and tomorrow disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That’s why we need to manage day by day."

  But sure enough, he had to be withdrawn early from their defeat at Manchester United just over a month ago due to this same injury.

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  Chelsea hit with Palmer boost

  The former Manchester City man did not feature in Chelsea's 3-0 thrashing of Barcelona in the Champions League in midweek, with Maresca trying not to get Blues fans' hopes up about him before the contest.

  "Yes, Cole is wearing a [protective] boot. We don’t know when he will be back but for sure it will be soon. He’s already on the pitch, he’s already touching the ball, and the feeling [for him] is good," said the ex-Leicester City boss. "At the moment, we are only looking at tomorrow’s game. It’s a Champions League game against Barcelona, that is our focus, and then we will look ahead to Arsenal. I don’t think he will be available for these two games, but he is doing well."

  But on Friday, he confirmed Palmer is ready to face Arsenal.

  He told reporters: "He is available for both [to start and to play]. [His return will elevate the squad] A lot. As you said, he's probably our best player. We are happy he is back. We need to give him time to make sure he's 100 per cent fit. He has done fantastically in the past, and there is no doubt he will do fantastically in the future."

• Huge Arsenal test

  Arsenal are on a roll right now. They are six points clear at the top of the Premier League, have outclassed Europe's most in-form team in Bayern Munich, and are the side to beat right now. That, and more, is why Maresca is very respectful of their upcoming opponents.

  He said, via Football London: "They defend fantastically. Any team struggles to score goals against them, even to create chances. They have weapons when they attack. They are top in the Champions League and top in the Premier League. It's another big game. We finished the Barcelona one, and we won, it's a good feeling. If it's bigger than the last one, I don't know. For me, they are all important games. For sure, beating Barcelona and if we are able to beat Arsenal, it's a nice feeling, it's three points. We try to defend in the best way we can. They score goals in set-pieces against every team. They score goals against any team, they have a system in place that works very well and we will try to do our best to prepare in the best way."

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  What comes next for Palmer and Chelsea?

  It remains to be seen if Chelsea will play Palmer from the start against Arsenal, or if he will be brought off the bench. A win would take the Blues to within three points of Mikel Arteta's side, massively boosting their own title chances. But a defeat on their own patch would make the Gunners even stronger favourites to finally win their first league title since 2004. After this contest, Chelsea travel to lowly Leeds United on December 3, followed by a trip to Bournemouth three days later.

Kostas Tsimikas is keen to make a return to Merseyside when his season-long loan with Serie A side Roma comes to end, saying he’s a “Greek Scouser and always will be”. Tsimikas has had to battle for his place at Roma, but with Liverpool’s defensive frailties, he believes he can still make an impact at Anfield.

Greek star struggles in Eternal City

Tsimikas has made six appearances in Serie A and four in the Europa League, but has struggled to cement a regular place in the team and has fallen down the pecking order behind Angelino and other defenders. Roma only agreed to a straight loan deal with no obligation to buy, a decision the club is reportedly happy about given his limited impact and inconsistent performances. Operating primarily as a left wing-back in manager Gian Piero Gasperini's 3-4-3 formation, Tsimikas has struggled to nail down the left-back slot. Notably, during a Europa League match against Lille in October it was his crucial early error which led to the only goal of the game, and Tsimikas was substituted at half-time, with Italian media labeling his performance a "nightmare".

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTsimikas: 'I was the Greek Scouser'

Tsimikas told : "I miss the city. I lived there for five years. I love everything in Liverpool. They have a special part of my heart. The people are very kind, some of the kindest I’ve ever met in football. They’d always try to support the team, in good, in bad, they would always do their best to try to help you. I want everything for this club, because from day one, I was fully committed there. I was the Greek Scouser and I always will be, I’ll keep it for my whole life."

And when pressed on whether he’d like to return to Anfield, Tsimikas added: "You never know. The most important thing for me is to be healthy, to train hard, to play more games. Next year is a different story for me. I want to be successful, I want to win things. Only God knows what will happen in the next year."

Three years, three very different managers

Tsimikas joined Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp’s final year and then spent a season under Arne Slot before joining Roma under Gasperini, three managers with very different football ideals. But Tsimikas says he’s trying to learn something different from each one of them. He said: “I think Gasperini is more direct. Slot was more detailed about the game plan, whereas Gasperini is a lot more physical as well. At the moment, for me, it’s about getting used to the playing style, and it’s a little tougher for me. But I have to try to give my best every time the coach gives me the opportunity to play. The team comes first, and I want to be a big part of that, hopefully celebrating at the end of the season with a trophy.” 

He added: "I remember going to Denmark (to play for Esbjerg). I was just a kid. Everything was dark because I went at Christmas time. It was the first time I left Greece. And it made me more physical, it made me into a man."

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Getty Images SportWest Ham test facing struggling Reds

The Greece international will be keeping a keen eye on Liverpool’s match with West Ham today and the line-up chosen by beleaguered Reds boss Slot, who is under pressure to ring the changes, particularly in defence. The Anfield side’s defence has been leaky this season, with a number of basic errors from defenders contributing to their demise on a regular basis, the recent 4-1 defeat by PSV Eindhoven was marked by a blatant handball from captain Virgil van Dijk to concede a penalty and Ibrahima Konate allowed the ball to bounce past him for PSV’s third goal.

Manchester United have now reportedly been offered the chance to sign an England midfielder for just £26m when the January transfer window arrives.

Man Utd seeking midfield reinforcements

In the summer, it was Ruben Amorim’s frontline that took the focus as INEOS welcomed Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko in an impressive window. Now, when 2026 arrives, it looks as though Sir Jim Ratcliffe is set to turn his attention towards Man United’s midfield.

Those at Old Trafford were eyeing a move for Carlos Baleba at the end of the summer window, before Brighton & Hove Albion priced them out of a move. Months on, it seems as though the midfielder has fallen down Man United’s shortlist of targets, with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson now taking centre-stage.

The 23-year-old is quickly becoming the most sought-after player in the Premier League, but he’s not the only option on United’s list of targets in the middle of the park.

They’ve also reportedly been told that they can now sign Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid at a bargain price in January. The former Chelsea man could be on his way back to the Premier League as he looks to earn his way back into Thomas Tuchel’s England squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Man Utd now offered bargain Conor Gallagher deal

According to Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Man United have now been told that they can sign Gallagher for just €30m (£26m) when 2026 arrives. The England international has become surplus to requirements at Atletico Madrid and he’s now ready to leave the club in pursuit of consistent game time.

Dubbed “intense” by Simeone, Gallagher could provide the legs in United’s midfield that Casemiro is otherwise unable to provide these days. The 25-year-old is a true midfield workhorse, who also has a knack for popping up with goals when needed.

Although United’s big target is Anderson, they’d be doing their top four prospects no harm by welcoming Gallagher in the January transfer window, especially at just £26m.

Man Utd eye move for £80m star who Man City would "love" to buy in January

The Red Devils could be in a direct fight with their Premier League rivals to land his signature.

BySean Markus Clifford Nov 29, 2025

Whether INEOS will be willing to act as early as the winter window remains to be seen, however. They may yet put all of their funds towards winning what is looking likely to be a hectic race for Anderson next summer.

INEOS can fund Elliot Anderson move by offloading Man Utd's "best player"

Tottenham are looking to get back to winning ways against Fulham tonight with Thomas Frank handed a key selection decision ahead of the Premier League clash.

Tottenham face Fulham after back-to-back defeats

Spurs face a crucial test when Fulham visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Frank desperate for a response following Wednesday’s devastating 5-3 Champions League defeat to PSG.

The Parc des Princes encounter saw Spurs’ unbeaten European run spectacularly ended despite twice taking the lead, with Vitinha’s sensational hat-trick ultimately proving the difference.

The result leaves Tottenham fifteenth in the Champions League standings, significantly increasing pressure on Frank to arrest their recent slide.

The Lilywhites have won just one of their last five games in all competitions, a 4-0 rout of Danish minnows FC Copenhagen, with London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal recently putting them to the sword.

25/26 Premier League

Spurs

League rank

xG

11.0

17th

Non-penalty xG

11.0

16th

Progressive passes

413

12th

Shots

110

19th

Shots on target

40

15th

Average shot distance

15.6 yards

17th

Stats via FBref

Dominic Solanke’s continued absence through injury compounds Tottenham’s attacking concerns. The striker has been out since undergoing ankle surgery earlier in the season, managing just 47 minutes of football all campaign.

His unavailability places enormous responsibility on Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison to provide a consistent goalscoring threat, though Frank has suggested that the former will be given the nod against Fulham after his breathtaking PSG performance.

The Frenchman donned a mask for his fractured jaw, scoring a brace and providing an assist against his parent club, with Frank confirming that Kolo Muani is fit enough to start this evening.

However, one man who won’t be taking part is star defender Cristian Romero.

Tottenham "liability" left Thomas Frank "raging"

The Argentine endured an evening to forget away to PSG, with talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook branding him a “liability” that would have left Frank “raging”.

Romero is set to miss tonight’s clash with Fulham through suspension, meaning that Kevin Danso is more than likely set to partner Micky van de Ven at the heart of Frank’s defence.

This could be enough to get the job done against a Fulham side who are firm candidates for relegation after a lacklustre start to 2025/2026, but Frank will be wary that Marco Silva’s men have won two of their last three Premier League games.

Even after Romero’s disasterclass at PSG, the 27-year-old remains a key figurehead for Spurs and partners van de Ven to devastating effect at times.

Ange Postecoglou always had a much better time as Spurs boss when both men were available to play his high line, but Danso has proved that he can do a solid job when called upon.

He put on a dominant performance in his first innings of the season while Kurtis Patterson also made an excellent century

AAP29-Oct-2025Steven Smith issued an ominous warning to England ahead of the Ashes, slamming 118 for New South Wales in his first game of cricket in more than two months.Fresh off a six-week stint in New York where he didn’t pick up a bat, Smith looked in imperious touch as he helped NSW to 349 for 5 in the Sheffield Shield against Queensland.Related

• Australia's top order: What are the selectors' options?

• What does Pat Cummins' absence mean for Australia?

• Webster falls cheaply as Perry takes five

After the opening day’s play at the Gabba was washed out through rain, Kurtis Patterson also hit 122 while youngster Will Salzmann impressed with 65 while opening.The only sour point for NSW was Sam Konstas being bowled middle stump for 10, leaving a ball from left-armer Hayden Kerr that angled straight into his wickets.Konstas is now essentially no chance of retaining his spot as Australia’s opener, and could benefit from a summer out of the spotlight in the Shield.But there is no question mark over Smith’s form heading into the first Test in Perth on November 21, where he will captain Australia in place of the injured Pat Cummins.Smith played out 21 dot balls to start his innings on Wednesday, but from the moment he on-drove Sam Skelly to the boundary to get off the mark, the right-hander looked on.A flurry of drives and pull shots followed, with the 36-year-old treating the Gabba as his playground and looking every bit at his best three weeks out from the first Test.Sam Konstas was bowled by Hayden Kerr•Getty Images

Some 86 of his runs came in boundaries, including a big six down the ground of Mitchell Swepson when he charged the legspinner and took him on.Three boundaries came in three balls at one stage off quick James Bazley, with the first two crunches through the covers and the last a classic straight drive.Once renowned for being a cricket nuffy who perhaps trained too much, Smith insisted last week he now needed only two hits in the nets to prepare for a summer.And by the time he drove Tom Straker to bring up his century off 158 balls on Wednesday, the proof of that was clear and England had been put on notice.Smith was eventually well caught by Matt Renshaw at gully, but by then he looked well placed to set himself up for a big Ashes summer.Arguably Australia’s best-performing batter in Ashes history aside from Don Bradman, Smith has hit 12 career centuries against England and averages 56.01.His runs on Wednesday came as England’s ODI side collapsed on Wednesday across the Tasman, all out for 175 in a five-wicket defeat to New Zealand.Smith’s century also overshadowed the superb innings of Patterson. The former Test batter found form following a lean start to the Shield season, after his late-career revival last summer was one of the best stories of Australian cricket.Patterson cover-drove superbly and hit 14 boundaries in total, before being caught behind trying to drive Marnus Labuschagne late in the day.For NSW to win this match they will likely need to score big and only bat once, while Queensland’s hopes are effectively gone through Smith and Patterson’s 202-run third-wicket stand.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank is under “serious” pressure as a result of his comments following the 4-1 defeat against Arsenal in the North London derby.

Tottenham were the underdogs heading to the Emirates Stadium, and a defeat was always going to be the most likely outcome, but Frank was left unhappy with the overall performance, so much so that he issued an apology to fans after the match.

The Dane said: “Very difficult afternoon. Bad performance. It’s extremely painful to stand here after that game. We can only apologise to the fans for not performing better. I was very confident we could be competitive today. We weren’t.”

The 52-year-old also tried to put things into perspective by reminding fans that Spurs are still a work in progress, having amassed just 38 points in the Premier League during the 2024-25 campaign.

However, it would be fair to say those comments haven’t gone down too well, with an insider now claiming the manager is playing a risky game by speaking out like that in the press…

Frank under serious pressure after post-Arsenal comments

Football Insider’s well-connected Mick Brown told the outlet: “At some stage, he has got to take some accountability and he can’t keep avoiding the issues and pushing the blame on to what happened last season. That’s happened now, it’s done, and the focus should be on what they’re doing now.”

Brown also added: “The thing is, that’s only going to add to the pressure on him, and he won’t want to alienate the fans because when that happens things can only get worse.

“Obviously, after a game like that, serious questions are going to be asked but I still think there’s time for him to turn things around, he just needs to focus on the here and now.”

As Spurs are currently sitting just three points off the top four, Frank should be given more time to put things right, but things undoubtedly have to improve, off the back of what Jamie O’Hara branded a “disgusting” defeat.

It was not the first time the north Londoners have seriously struggled to create chances this season either, recording an xG of just 0.05, the fourth-lowest since records began in the Premier League, against Chelsea earlier this month.

After the trip to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, Tottenham will be looking to pick up just their second home league win of the season against Fulham on Saturday, with Frank hopefully implementing a much more expansive style of play.

Tottenham players disagree with Spurs hierarchy on Thomas Frank's future

Breetzke reiterated that he belongs and Stubbs put a lean patch behind him to show he’s still got it

Firdose Moonda04-Sep-2025Where has Matthew Breetzke been all this time, you may wonder, as you watch him hit his way to half-century after half-century in ODIs? It’s five fifty-plus scores now from as many games, scored in three different countries and three different batting positions and has surely secured his spot as a certain starter from now on?The answer to the first question is, “around”. He was a pupil at Grey High School in Gqeberha (one Graeme Pollock is an alumnus), made his provincial debut as a teenager eight years ago and was the leading run-scorer in the first-class competition three summers ago. He was called up to the T20I side in late 2023, had three average performances and could not claim to have done enough to replace incumbents like Quinton de Kock or Reeza Hendricks. It was only really season 2 of the SA20, where Breetzke finished as the third-highest run-scorer and his team, Durban’s Super Giants, made the final, that showed Breetzke was serious. Very, very seriousAdjectives used to describe him include “fierce” from his DSG captain Keshav Maharaj and “intense,” by South Africa’s batting coach Ashwell Prince. Those words may also provide the answer to the second question.Related

• England blown to bits-and-pieces as part-timers' bowling strategy backfires

• Breetzke takes inspiration from Northants to make ODI record

• Miller 'within the mix' in South Africa's ODI plans despite missing England series

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With de Kock and Heinrich Klaasen both retired, South Africa need a player who can be both unafraid and entirely focused on big-hitting in the way they were. Breetzke, in what we’ve seen of him on the international stage so far, is exactly that.Breetzke is a powerful hitter and backs himself to clear the ropes both square of the wicket and down the ground and both were on display at Lord’s. The first of his first two shots in real anger was when he kneeled into a Jacob Bethell ball and thumped it through square leg for four. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, almost two-thirds of Breetzke’s international runs have come square of the wicket and a shot like that showed why. And after Breetzke had reached his fifty, he sent Will Jacks over his head and out of the ground for six with a shot that combined power, placement and panache.Those qualities also describe the start Breetzke has had to the international game. In eight months, in between missing out on the Champions Trophy and suffering a hamstring tweak, he has also made history. Breetzke holds the highest score by any player on ODI debut, he is the only player to score five consecutive fifty-plus scores after their first five ODIs and the player with the most number of runs at the five-match mark.Matthew Breetzke has crossed fifty in all of his five ODIs so far•AFP/Getty ImagesIn the same eight months, Tristan Stubbs, who Breetzke shared a 147-run fourth-wicket stand with in the second ODI against England, had been in the midst of a massive slump. Across all formats, international and domestic (including the IPL), Stubbs had one score over fifty in 23 innings before Thursday. That came on the back of a poor SA20, where Stubbs scored 232 runs at an average of 29.00, which was a come-down from a summer in which Stubbs raised his bat to his first two Test hundreds.What had happened to the player who struck at close to 200 in IPL 2024? And the “big, strong, strapping” batter Shukri Conrad initially named as his new Test No.3 but then dropped lower down the order in favour of Wiaan Mulder? Stubbs didn’t quite seem to know where he fitted in and, worse, where his off stump was. He was most often dismissed when he stepped outside off, trying to force something early on in his innings.Before this series, Prince explained that Stubbs might be struggling with making the switch from white-ball aggressor to Test-match stabiliser and then back again, which is hardly surprising considering he has been up and down both line-ups.”Sometimes you can get a little bit clouded in terms of your approach and how to go,” Prince said. “When you’re dipping in between formats and you have different approaches, sometimes you’re in a white-ball series where you want to play a more natural game and maybe your mindset is not as free as you would like it to be. I think Tristan is probably in that space at the moment.”Tristan Stubbs activated white-ball mode after getting well set•AFP/Getty ImagesFor their part, the coaching staff were trying to encourage Stubbs to “be more positive”, according to Prince, but it was the opposite that worked for him at Lord’s.Stubbs was at the crease with South Africa 93 for 3 after 18 overs, which was a solid but not spectacular start. Test-match mode activated. He scored two runs off his first seven balls, 22 runs off 34 balls and no boundaries off the first 47 balls he faced. He learnt from Breetzke’s blueprint after he scored four off his first 17 balls, all singles, before he was offered width from Carse and cashed in.Where Breetzke took on Bethell early, Stubbs waited until Jacks was given a second spell. White-ball mode activated. Stubbs brought out his first sweep and nailed it. Then, again, for six. And then again with the reverse. In three balls Stubbs went from 33 to 47 and was on the brink of a half-century. He got there off 55 balls in the 39th over, with enough time to show off his finishing skills until he was run out when Dewald Brevis initially wanted the run and then turned back, leaving Stubbs stranded. His reaction was to repeatedly smash his bat onto the turf in frustration before making a slow walk back.By the time Stubbs was dismissed, Breetzke was already back in the dressing-room, beaten by a Jofra Archer yorker that thudded into his pad. Breetzke reviewed, in hope and was walking before the decision was confirmed to finish with a third score in the 80s and oh-so-close to another century.In the end, neither Breetzke nor Stubbs got exactly what they wanted from this match. However, both may have got what they needed. Breetzke showed he belongs and Stubbs that he still has it. And those are important things as South Africa build to 2027.