Aston Villa enjoyed a rather productive January transfer window. First of all, they managed to sell Jaden Philogene to Ipswich Town for £20m, making a profit on the youngster.

Secondly, they signed two attacking players who could make a big difference between now and the end of the season.

Donyell Malen joined from Borussia Dortmund a few weeks ago, while Marcus Rashford moved to Villa Park on loan from Manchester United, with a £40m buy option inserted into the deal.

Unai Emery’s side are chasing a place in the top four of the Premier League table. Signing Rashford could be an inspired one with regard to that ambition.

Why Aston Villa signed Marcus Rashford

Since Ruben Amorim took charge of Manchester United, Rashford featured just four times under the Portuguese manager, scoring three goals.

It became clear that the Englishman wasn’t going to play a part in Amorim’s system going forward and a move away from Old Trafford could be the best thing to happen to him.

Despite a relatively quiet season by his standards, Rashford has still created four big chances, averages one key pass and has scored four goals in the top flight. That said, despite the fact he’s not been fit and firing this term, this is still a player who has scored 87 Premier League goals.

At Villa, Emery will likely give him more consistent game time and if he hits top form, it could be a wise signing indeed.

The manager may already have a player at the club who is worth way more than Rashford, however.

Aston Villa talent is worth even more than Marcus Rashford

Someone who has been superb during the 2024/25 campaign is another English talent in Morgan Rogers.

The second half of the 2023/24 season saw Rogers begin to make his mark at Villa, scoring three goals and registering an assist in just 11 Premier League games since his move from Middlesbrough.

It was evident Emery had a prodigious talent on his hands, but even he might have been shocked at just how well the Englishman has performed throughout 2024/25.

Rogers’ statistics this season
Metric	Champions League	Premier League
Goals	3	6
Assists	1	4
Big chances created	3	8
Successful dribbles per game	3.3	1.8
Key passes per game	1.6	1.3
Via Sofascore

In August, U23 scout Antonio Mango waxed lyrical about the winger, saying that he was “terrific” and “brave”, someone who has “all you characteristics you want in a young footballer.”

That’s certainly been true of Rogers in 2024/25. With ten goals and five assists already, including a stunning hat-trick against Celtic in the Champions League, the former Boro star has emerged as a key player under Emery. No doubt about that.

Compared to his peers in the top flight, the starlet even ranks in the top 7% for goals per shot on target and in the top 11% for through balls per 90, yet more evidence of his effectiveness in the final third.

These incredible performances over the previous 12 months have seen his market value soar.

Indeed, according to the CIES Football Observatory, Rogers is now currently valued at a staggering £74m, which is a staggering rise, especially considering the Villa Park side paid just £15m to sign him last year.

This also means he is worth nearly double that of Rashford if going by the buy clause in his loan deal, indicating that Emery has hit the jackpot on the 22-year-old sensation.

Aston Villa's most expensive sales of all time

A look at Aston Villa’s record departures.

By
Charlie Smith

Oct 3, 2025

Manchester United are now battling Liverpool for the signature of a rising star, who could be brought in to replace a first-team player this summer, according to a report.

Man Utd struggling defensively

It would be fair to say Man United have struggled at both ends of the pitch this season, with Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund struggling to deliver in attack, while there have also been some very poor defensive performances.

The Red Devils have conceded three goals at home against the likes of Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion, and their frailties were on show once again in the 2-2 draw against Everton at the weekend, with Harry Maguire receiving criticism.

There has been doubt over Maguire for quite some time, with the Englishman being stripped of the captaincy during the Erik ten Hag era, and there are now indications Ruben Amorim is looking to bring in a replacement this summer.

Man Utd "hopeful" about signing "astonishing" £50m forward; talks advancing

The Red Devils are now negotiating a summer move for an exciting young forward.

ByDominic Lund Feb 25, 2025

According to a report from Caught Offside, United held off on signing a centre-back in the January transfer window, at which point Maguire was in good form, but they are now ready to battle it out for the signature of Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite this summer.

Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur are also named as potential suitors for Branthwaite, with some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs queuing up to get a deal done, while Real Madrid have also been linked.

However, the centre-back will not come cheap, as the report reveals he will cost in excess of £70m, and Everton are determined to keep hold of him, with the plan being to extend his contract until 2030.

"Colossal" Branthwaite performing well for Everton

The Toffees have been in resurgent form since David Moyes returned to Goodison Park, and the 22-year-old has continued to play a key role, starting every Premier League game under his new manager.

The Englishman has also averaged a 7.06 SofaScore match rating in the league this season, ranking him among the best performers in the Everton squad, while also eclipsing Maguire’s average of 6.86.

In the 2-2 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday, the Carlisle-born centre-back was rated as the best-performing defender on the pitch, winning seven of the eight duels he contested, indicating he could be a real upgrade on the Red Devils’ current options.

Maguire is by no means a bad player, ranking highly across some key defensive metrics over the past year, placing in the 97th percentile for interceptions, and the 93rd percentile for aerials won.

However, if Amorim is to turn United back into contenders near the top of the table, it is clear he will need to improve his defence this summer, and Branthwaite, who has been lauded as “colossal”, is showing signs he could be a fantastic long-term addition to the squad.

After just three matches together in 2-1 defeat to West Indies, head coach is encouraged by his charges’ fight

Cameron Ponsonby10-Dec-2023

Matthew Mott is urging patience with his new-look side•Getty Images

Matthew Mott has called for patience with England’s new-era white-ball team as a work in progress, stressing that they’ve only had three opportunities to play together.England succumbed to a four-wicket defeat in Barbados to lose their first series following a difficult World Cup campaign 2-1.A group which featured just four players to have played more than 10 ODIs, found themselves in strong positions in all three matches against a West Indies side going through a similar reboot having failed to qualify for the World Cup.However, a late-innings onslaught from Shai Hope and Romario Shepherd in the opening match saw England slip to a four-wicket defeat in Antigua, before losing by the same margin at the Kensington Oval after a top-order collapse gave England a total of just 188 to defend in a rain-reduced game.Related

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New-look England still working out the kinks

“We haven’t put a complete game together and that’s the frustration,” Mott, England’s head coach, said immediately after the defeat. “We put ourselves in a chance to win all three games and come away with a series loss, so that’s not ideal.”But there are definitely some really good signs there that there’s a group of players who love playing with each other. They’re some really good mates in there and I think it’ll really take the game forward.”In line for particular praise were Rehan Ahmed and Sam Curran. Rehan, described by Mott as a “revelation”, has been tasked with filling the almighty shoes of Adil Rashid and took five wickets across the series at an average of 23.40 and an economy of 4.33. On the other hand, Curran had a mixed series. In the opening ODI, he showed his class with the bat to save England’s innings from the perilous position of 239 for 7, before conceding the worst ever figures of an England player in ODIs as he was taken for 0 for 98.”Sam’s definitely a player that we really want to invest in,” Mott said, with Curran proving his qualities with the ball in the second match where his triple-strike in the powerplay put England ahead of the game. “He’s got a lot of qualities that we like and he’s got the game to really play well.”A point of pride for Mott was the fight England showed to almost steal an unlikely victory from the final ODI. Suffering from the natural disadvantage of bowling second in a rain-affected match, England were faced with greasy conditions that made it harder for their spinners to grip the ball and easier for the West Indies batters to play seam. But thanks to a Will Jacks-inspired performance with the ball, England reduced West Indies to 135 for 6, with 53 runs still required for victory.”I thought today we showed a lot of character and spirit to fight all day,” Mott said. “You don’t want to make excuses, but to hang in there as a team and show the fight that they did, throwing themselves around and nearly snatching one was something that we’re looking for.”After three months of almost exclusive ODI focus, England’s attention now turns to T20s, with the five-match series against West Indies starting on Tuesday in Barbados.”We’ve played really good T20 cricket over a period of time. It’s always good when you lose a series to change the format,” Mott said, also confirming that Jos Buttler will return to opening the batting after spending the New Zealand series in September lower down the order. “You move on pretty quickly. It’s only a couple of days, it won’t be that different. Obviously you’ve got a few new players coming in with experience. But it’s much of a muchness really.”There are five changes to England’s personnel in the Caribbean, with Chris Woakes, Rashid, Moeen Ali, Reece Topley and Tymal Mills joining the squad for the T20 leg. Ollie Pope, Zak Crawley, Matthew Potts, Tom Hartley and Brydon Carse will head home.”It’s probably easier transitioning back,” Mott said. “T20 is, particularly for the batting group, pretty clear, you go out and take the game on, there’s not a lot of dead balls. And from the bowling group, you’re trying to hit your variations as much as you can and deny them hitting opportunities. So I think we’ll be fine. We’ve got a couple of days to work on it and looking forward to it.”Also joining the England set-up is Andrew Flintoff, who will continue the first team mentoring role he took up in the summer as part of his first steps back into the public eye following his serious car crash whilst filming Top Gear.Flintoff, whose role is now paid, was part of the backroom staff for both the New Zealand white-ball series and the home ODIs against Ireland before he flew to Abu Dhabi along with Graeme Swann as part of the England Lions’ red-ball training camp. It has been a high-profile return to coaching for Flintoff, who has also been hired as Northern Superchargers head coach for the 2024 edition of The Hundred.

Klinsmann emphasized that Pochettino needs time to familiarize himself with US soccer landscape to get the best out of team

• Klinsmann acknowledges Pochettino needs adjustment period
• Says that US Soccer is a complicated landscape to navigate
• Believes Argentine can inspire necessary drive before 2026

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT HAPPENED

  USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino has faced some criticism after the team dropped two matches in the recent CONCACAF Nation's League, but Jürgen Klinsmann believes the Argentine will find success with the U.S. squad ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

  The former USMNT head coach, who held the role between 2011 and 2016, said Pochettino needs time to adjust.

  “I think it’s a difficult learning curve for Mauricio and his entire staff,” Klinsmann said on . “Because obviously the landscape in the United States is so, so different to anything you find in Europe or what he would have found in South America or Argentina. So what he’s growing through is just learning by day, every day he gets more information, he gets more knowledge about his players, he gets more knowledge about how soccer really functions in this country.

  “He will take it all in and then kind of focus the closer we get to the World Cup, he’ll focus more and more on what’s important and that’s basically his relationship with all the players and his team in order to create a very special energy and drive towards the World Cup.”

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• WHAT JURGEN KLINSMANN SAID

  Klinsmann said that Pochettino has a "special team" with players featuring at the highest levels of the sport.

  “He knows he has a special team, he knows he has players now that are able to compete at the highest level because they play for Champions League teams in Europe, which is unbelievable really, where our players are today," Klinsmann said. "It is now kind of day by day learning and understanding, you know, the political landscape and all the parts of it, there are so many different parts floating around US Soccer."

  “In the beginning, it’s very difficult to comprehend, but once you get closer to a tournament, all that matters is his relationship with the players and the people that work close with the national team. To give them the belief and the drive and all those little pieces of knowledge that he has undoubtably because he’s a very successful coach, in the hope, for all of us, to make it a very successful World Cup for the U.S. national team.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Following the USMNT's fourth-place finish at the CONCACAF Nations League, some former U.S. players have been critical of the team's approach and preparation.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT’S NEXT?

  The USMNT will regroup ahead of the 2025 Gold Cup, which begins on June 14, with a pair of friendlies before that.

A fine 112 not out from Ben Foakes, and half-centuries by Dom Sibley, Jamie Smith and Cameron Steel propelled title favourites Surrey to 339 for 4 after day one of their important LV= Insurance County Championship match against Warwickshire at the Kia Oval.Division One leaders and 2022 winners Surrey are aiming for back-to-back championship triumphs, and lead Essex and Hampshire by 17 and 48 points respectively with three rounds to go for the top three. Warwickshire, with an extra game in hand in fourth place, trailed Surrey by 56 points at the start of a match they must win to maintain any interest in the title race.But the champions proved more than a match for the Warwickshire attack with Foakes and Steel combining to add an unbroken 152 in 42 overs for the fifth wicket after Smith had waltzed to 60 from 72 balls in a stand worth 99 with Sibley, who put together a more prosaic 65 in almost four hours of dedicated crease occupation.Steel also played well for his unbeaten 69, from 115 balls and including 10 fours, and importantly repelling with Foakes the second new ball in the final hour to underline Surrey’s opening day dominance. Foakes has so far faced 181 balls, hitting 18 fours.Put in on a well-grassed surface, Surrey lost Rory Burns and Ryan Patel in the first 12 overs as they stumbled initially to 31 for two. Burns, on 11, edged Chris Rushworth’s ever-steady fast-medium low to third slip and Patel managed only a couple of pleasing drives before falling for 9 when Barnard angled one through his defences from around the wicket.Smith, though, immediately began to take on the Warwickshire seamers, skipping a couple of short steps down the pitch to unfurl one magnificent straight driven four off Barnard and, two balls later, hitting the same bowler to the extra cover ropes with a real flourish.On 25, Smith was fortunate to get an inside edge that saved him from being stumped when he advanced at Danny Briggs’ left arm spin and aimed an ugly hack, but otherwise he continued to bat with power and class.Henry Brookes’ first three overs cost 25 as Smith and Sibley both cashed in on some wayward deliveries as the fast bowler struggled for rhythm, and lunch was reached with Surrey having recovered in some style to 111 for two.Smith completed a 52-ball fifty in the first over after the interval, punching Olly Hannon-Dalby through the covers off the back foot for three, but Warwickshire sensed they were back in the fight when Barnard beat Smith with a ball angled in and beating an attempted whip past mid on to pluck out off stump after deflecting off his pads.Sibley was then joined by Foakes in an untroubled alliance of 57 in 16 overs before, wastefully, he drove Briggs straight to mid on, called his partner for a sharp single and was, correctly, sent back. Foakes, who had actually done well to avoid the ball, did not move as Hannon-Dalby picked up and threw to the keeper’s end with Sibley run out by yards.By tea Steel had helped Foakes steer Surrey to 224 for four and, in the day’s last session, the pair kept the scoreboard ticking steadily. Steel hit one memorable extra cover four off Will Rhodes’ medium pace and Foakes, who had completed his half-century on the stroke of tea, punched Rhodes between mid on and the bowlers’ stumps for one of the 16 boundaries in his third championship hundred of the season.

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has his eyes on both Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes and Real Sociedad ace Martin Zubimendi, according to reports, but he could also look to bring in another highly-rated player with the duo.

Berta targeting Bruno Guimaraes and Martin Zubimendi for Arsenal

Earlier this week, journalist Eduardo Burgos broke news that Berta personally wants both Guimaraes and Zubimendi, not either or, to come in and bolster Mikel Arteta’s midfield ahead of next season.

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While Arsenal are struggling to finalise a deal for Zubimendi right now, with advanced talks stalling (CaughtOffside), they haven’t completely given up the chase either, and it is believed that the Gunners could strike a deal for Guimaraes for around £59 million if Newcastle fail to qualify for the Champions League.

News of Berta plotting moves for both midfielders was then backed up by reports closer to home, with GiveMeSport’s Ben Jacobs sharing that Guimaraes has been put forward by Arsenal’s new transfer chief as a serious option.

Arsenal’s interest in the Brazil international with Zubimendi appears pretty concrete at this stage, which comes as good news considering Thomas Partey and Jorginho are set to leave when their contracts expire this summer.

Chelsea (home)

March 16th

Fulham (home)

April 1st

Everton (away)

April 5th

Brentford (home)

April 12th

Ipswich Town (away)

April 20th

Jacobs, sharing a further update on the club’s plans for what could be a record-breaking summer under Berta, says another Newcastle United star Alexander Isak remains firmly on their radar.

Arsenal may sign Alexander Isak with Guimaraes and Zubimendi

The £120,000-per-week striker has dazzled as one of the English top flight’s standout forwards this season, and despite the potential cost involved in their mooted double-swoop for Zubimendi and Guimaraes, it is believed Berta may also try to sign Isak for Arsenal alongside the pair.

“So Zubimendi is very much the Edu target, but Berta is going to be looking at Bruno Guimaraes,” said Jacobs to GiveMeSport.

“And my understanding is that Arsenal may try for both Zubimendi and Guimaraes, plus Isak or [Benjamin] Sesko.”

The Swede has scored 22 goals in just 32 appearances across all competitions, so Arsenal are well aware of his quality, but a deal for him could be too much to ask. Newcastle value their man at around £150 million, so the Gunners would need to smash their transfer record to even hope of prising Isak away from St. James’ Park.

Arteta personally wants Isak, according to other reports, but Sesko may be a much more realistic target considering the release clause in his contract.

Newcastle United fans will already be excited about the upcoming Carabao Cup final, despite Eddie Howe’s men going through a bumpy patch of form as of late.

A choppy February saw the Magpies lose three Premier League contests to lose ground on the race for a top-four finish, whilst March was also kicked off in grim fashion with an FA Cup exit at the hands of Brighton and Hove Albion.

Still, there is that silver lining of a Wembley final, but Howe will be without the ever-improving and England hopeful Lewis Hall for this showdown versus the Reds in yet another blow to Newcastle’s ever-thinning confidence.

The latest on Lewis Hall's injury situation

Hall did not feature in that clash against the Seagulls, instead replaced by Tino Livramento on the left as Kieran Trippier featured from the right.

Sadly, the club’s worst fears have now been confirmed with it now being revealed that the ex-Chelsea youngster will be out for the rest of the campaign due to a foot injury, which was coincidentally picked up against Liverpool at the back-end of last month.

This will be a kick in the teeth for Newcastle with Hall a consistent bright spark for the Toon from the left-back spot this season, leading to four assists being picked up in all competitions.

Moreover, this could result in the Toon having to rely on Matt Targett in games to come, with a lack of other options at Howe’s disposal away from the reserve defender.

However, as Newcastle’s successful track record with youngsters is evident in the current make-up of the senior side – with William Osula and Lewis Miley given opportunities routinely – it could be time for the Magpies manager to bump up an exciting starlet to add depth to Hall’s depleted position.

Newcastle's next rising star could profit from Hall's injury

There a number of top talents in the Newcastle U21 ranks just waiting for a senior shot, with 19-year-old striker Ben Parkinson up to seven strikes this season in Premier League 2, alongside his midfield teammate Alfie Harrison helping himself to a stellar five assists.

Undoubtedly they will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Toon sensation Lewis Miley and former Magpie Elliott Anderson in rising to the top of the game.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

But, away from the standout forward areas, there is a left-back in the U21 camp who could soon be fast-tracked to the senior side, with Dylan Charlton perhaps now the chosen starlet.

After all, Charlton is already known to Howe when the Magpies boss gave the teenager some minutes in a post-season friendly versus Tottenham Hotspur back in May 2024, with the 18-year-old, ironically, replacing Hall on that day out in Melbourne.

Completing all eight of his passes from his 13-minute cameo, Charlton will hope his further progression in the U21 ranks this season stands him in even more good stead for a senior chance soon, especially with the former Chelsea man now occupying the St James’ Park treatment room.

24/25

14

0

1

23/24

27

1

0

22/23

26

0

2

21/22

6

0

0

Much like Hall, Charlton has shown throughout his time on the youth pitches at Newcastle that he has an eye for an assist from the full-back spot, with three picked up from 75 appearances lining up for the U18s and U21s.

His patience to keep performing competently in youth sides could now pay off, with Howe unafraid to gift academy products senior chances too, considering Miley became the club’s youngest-ever Premier League debutant under his regime.

Further, Hall is only 20 years of age himself, meaning a route into the first team isn’t out of the question for the Gateshead-born defender whatsoever, as the St James’ Park masses crave another homegrown gem.

88 goals since leaving Newcastle: Toon flop is now on par with Gordon

This former Newcastle United attacker would get first team opportunities if he was back on Tyneside.

ByKelan Sarson Mar 4, 2025

Wharton fifty drives hosts but low-key feel to contest after ECB points deduction

ECB Reporters Network03-Sep-2023Derbyshire all-rounder Anuj Dal impressed with five for 72 during a hard-fought opening day of their LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Yorkshire at Scarborough.Dal’s 20 overs of medium pace limited Yorkshire to 297 after they had been inserted in a low-key Division Two affair.While Yorkshire are bottom of Division Two and definitely out of the promotion race, Derbyshire are just about still alive. But it would take something remarkable to secure a top-two finish given they are 52 points adrift with four games remaining.Dal’s third career five-wicket haul – his second in the Championship this season – stood out during a day which saw a number of Yorkshire batters fail to make the most of encouraging starts on a pitch not as pacy as is usual at North Marine Road.James Wharton top-scored with a middle-order 58, but Fin Bean and Jonny Tattersall both fell in the forties. Derbyshire then reached close at 47 for one from 17 overs.For large parts, the cricket meandered in front of a subdued crowd in the Scarborough sunshine, interspersed by regular wickets for 27-year-old Dal.Yorkshire’s openers Bean and Adam Lyth confidently shared 59 inside 20 overs.But both left-handers were lbw stuck on the crease to Dal either side of lunch. Lyth fell for 32 and then Bean for 41.When the latter fell six balls into the afternoon, Yorkshire were 98 for three after 30 overs. Home captain, and last year’s prolific Derbyshire overseas player, Shan Masood had also been caught behind cutting at Sam Conners for eight just before lunch.After an opening half-century stand, Derbyshire did well to limit Yorkshire.Their fourth success came when the battle of the Georges was won by tall quick Scrimshaw, getting Hill feathering behind for 11 at 129 for four in the 41st over.For Yorkshire, this final month was always going to be about signs of progress ahead of next year’s promotion push after July’s 48-point deduction sunk them to the bottom of Division Two. So for someone such as 22-year-old Wharton to contribute will encourage significantly.He has reached fifty in all formats this year – his breakthrough campaign – including a blistering Vitality Blast 111 against Worcestershire in June.The pace of this innings was vastly different, but there were signs of dominance as he and Tattersall shared 71 for the fifth wicket through the afternoon.Wharton hammered a pull through midwicket off Conners and shimmied down the pitch to work off-spinner Alex Thomson wide of mid-on for four more.The latter took him to his second Championship fifty, off 102 balls. By that time, Yorkshire were closing in on 200. But when they reached that mark, Wharton fell as he edged a drive at Dal behind in the 61st.That was the first of two identical dismissals in successive Dal overs.When Matthew Revis was caught behind aiming an expansive drive like Wharton had, Yorkshire were 204 for six in the 63rd. Dal’s fifth wicket came in the first over of the evening having earlier removed Bean in the opening over of the afternoon. This time, Tattersall fell caught behind driving for 45, leaving Yorkshire 213 for seven in the 65th.Mitch Wagstaff took a stunner of a gully catch head high to help Scrimshaw remove Dom Bess shortly afterwards before Jordan Thompson and Matthew Fisher both hit sixes over long-on off Thomson’s spin to push Yorkshire up towards 300.The hosts narrowly missed out on that, but Fisher hit six leg-side fours in eight balls he faced from Scrimshaw, including four in an over, en-route to 37 not out off 22 balls.Thompson made 32 before miscuing a catch off Thomson. Scrimshaw then wrapped up the innings by getting Ben Coad caught behind.Coad then struck early in Derbyshire’s reply, but the departure of Harry Came was due to Tattersall’s brilliance behind the stumps as he completed a one-handed diving catch down leg – nought for one in the third over.Left-handed Wagstaff then confidently ensured there were no further dramas, closing with an unbeaten 32.

“After the final, it was very hard to get back and start moving on, which is why I decided that I need to go somewhere and just get my mind out of this”

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Dec-2023Losing the ODI World Cup final to Australia hit India captain Rohit Sharma so hard that “it was very hard to get back and start moving on”. Speaking to fans helped him heal, he said in a social-media video on Wednesday.Twenty-four days after the final in Ahmedabad, which India lost after winning all ten of their games in the run-up to the title clash, Rohit put out the message on Instagram, saying, “I had no idea how to come back from this. The first few days I didn’t know what to do. You know, my family, my friends, kept me going, kept things pretty light around me, which was quite helpful.”It wasn’t easy to digest, but life moves on. You have to move on in life. But, honestly, it was tough. It was not so easy to just move on.Related

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“I have always grown up watching 50-over World Cup, and to me that was the ultimate prize. We have worked all these years for that World Cup… and it is disappointing, right? If you don’t get through it, and you don’t get what you want, what you’ve been looking for all this while, what you were dreaming of, you get disappointed, and you get frustrated as well at times.”Australia, now six-time ODI World Cup champions, had lost their first two games at the World Cup – one of them to India – before getting on a hot streak that culminated with them winning the trophy. In the final, on a pitch later rated “average” by the ICC where Australia brought their most ruthless game to the table, India put up a below-par 240, which was chased down with seven overs in hand for a six-wicket win.”I thought we did everything we could from our side. If someone will ask me, what went wrong… because we won ten games, and in that ten games, yes, we made mistakes, but that mistake happens in every game that you play. You cannot have a perfect game. You can have a near-perfect game. But you cannot have a perfect game,” Rohit said. “If I look on the other side of it, I’m really proud of the team as well. Because how we played was simply outstanding. You don’t get to perform like that every World Cup. And I am pretty sure I am, at least, how we played up until that final, it would have given people a lot of joy, a lot of pride watching the team play.”Rohit said that he had to get away from it all after the World Cup final to wrap his head around what had happened. And that his interactions with people he met helped him “heal”.