Antonio Valencia has joined Ecuador top-flight side LDU Quito after leaving Manchester United.

The 33-year-old has returned to his homeland after a 10-year spell at Old Trafford ended this summer. Valencia served as club captain last season.

#CastaDeCampeón pic.twitter.com/zlN5p6iEo3

— LDU Oficial (@LDU_Oficial) June 28, 2019

He played nearly 350 games after arriving from Wigan in 2009 but was restricted to just nine appearances last season after struggling with injury.

He made three appearances at the Copa America but could not prevent Ecuador finishing bottom of Group C behind Uruguay, Chile and Japan.

He has returned to Ecuador 14 years after leaving El Nacional for Villarreal in 2005. In a decade at United, Valencia won two Premier League titles, the FA Cup, two League Cups and the Europa League.

AC Milan's exclusion from the Europa League for the 2019-20 season has been upheld, the Court of Arbitration (CAS) has ruled.

The Rossoneri finished the previous campaign in fifth place, missing out on a Champions League finish to their city neighbours Inter by one point.

- Top European league honours 2018-19

But despite qualifying for the Europa League, they will not play in the competition next season after being found guilty of failing to adhere to UEFA's financial fair play (FFP) regulations.

"AC Milan is excluded from participating in the UEFA Club Competitions of the sporting season 2019-2020 as a consequence of the breach of its FFP break-even obligations during the 2015-2016-2017 and the 2016-2017-2018 monitoring periods," a CAS statement read.

In response, Milan have said they have "no other choice but to accept the sanctions." The statement also pointed to the fact the owners inherited a club in July 2018 which had "substantial accumulated losses."

Milan were initially excluded from competing in the Europa League last season, but were allowed back in following a successful appeal.

This ruling is the latest low point for the seven-time European champions, who have not competed in the Champions League since 2014.

Milan will be replaced in the Europa League by Torino, who finished the previous campaign in seventh place.

Roma, who finished sixth last season will now qualify directly to the group stage. Coppa Italia winners Lazio are Serie A's other participants in the competition.

Manchester United are set to step up their attempts to overhaul their midfield following the imminent signing of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes and Newcastle's Sean Longstaff among their top targets, sources have told ESPN FC.

With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer signing Daniel James earlier this summer and closing in on a £50 million deal for Wan-Bissaka, attention will now turn to United's midfield.

- When does the transfer window close?
- Check out all the completed transfers

Ander Herrera, who is leaving on a free transfer, is expected to be unveiled as a Paris Saint-Germain player next week after his contract at Old Trafford officially expires on Sunday.

Solskjaer has targeted Fernandes, Longstaff, Saul Niguez and Youri Tielemans with the expectation that at least one new midfielder will arrive before the start of the season.

Sources have told ESPN FC there have been informal meetings with Fernandes' agent Miguel Pinho in London, although talks covered a range of topics.

Privately, Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool have distanced themselves from a move for the Sporting Lisbon man, who scored 31 goals in 50 games last season. The Portugal international, 24, would likely cost around £65m.

Longstaff, 21, fits Solskjaer's profile of young British players he can develop, much like Wan-Bissaka and James, and would likely command a fee of around £25m. Newcastle, according to sources, have not yet been approached with a formal offer.

- Premier League fixtures 2019-20 in full
- Who has qualified for Europe from the Premier League?
- When does the transfer window close?
- All completed Premier League transfers

Meanwhile, United are set to stick to the £80m price tag slapped on striker Romelu Lukaku. Inter Milan are keen to sign the Belgian with sources telling ESPN FC they are ready to propose an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy.

Solskjaer, however, is not actively looking to sell and the 26-year-old, who has scored 42 goals in two seasons at the club, is in the Norwegian's plans for the new campaign.

Lukaku, who fears he has slipped behind Marcus Rashford in the pecking order, has indicated he would be open to a move to Serie A but United will demand a hefty fee who a player who cost £75m two years ago.

Big Picture

Afghanistan came with a promise to upset at least two teams in this World Cup but they have spent their campaign dogged by one issue after another, on and off the field, and are winless in seven games. They are rooted to the bottom of the table, with the high point of their campaign the game against India, where they came within two blows of a historic victory. However, they slipped back into old ways in the game against Bangladesh, in which they fell short by 62 runs. They will now play for pride against Pakistan, a neighbouring country with which the rivalry is more intense than just a cricketing one.

The Pakistan camp, in the meantime, has suddenly found its best form, buoyed after inflicting a first defeat upon New Zealand. Their World Cup dreams are well and truly alive, and comparisons to the 1992 World Cup campaign have now reached fever pitch. All of that will fade, however, if Pakistan fail to beat Afghanistan and Bangladesh, two sides who did not play the 1992 version of this competition. There are still lots of ifs and buts but for now the proposition is simple - Pakistan needs to win their remaining two games to have a realistic chance of a place in the semi-finals.

Afghanistan on the other hand are living a dream in playing the World Cup a second time - a decade earlier, that would have been hardly within the realms of probability. Their bowling has given them a belief and confidence enough to pose a threat to any batting line-up, but the batting hasn't quite lived up to that standard. Even when they did get close to inflicting an upset or two, the absence of a finishing touch was notable. However, they should remember they beat Pakistan in a warm-up game in Bristol before the start of the tournament, and coach Phil Simmons will be assuring them they can repeat the feat in the World Cup proper.

Form guide

Afghanistan LLLLL (Last five completed matches, most recent first)
Pakistan WWLLW

In the spotlight

Pakistan have already offloaded Shoaib Malik and brought in Haris Sohail. The move proved vital in making the middle order work and gave much needed stability to the batting line-up. The spotlight remains on another senior hand: with Mohammad Hafeez stuttering and unable to capitalise on his decent start, he will feel the pressure. He fell to part-time spinners in three of Pakistan's last four games, playing poor shots, requiring his team-mates to bail the side out.

Rashid Khan has been off-colour, despite his high billing. The legspinner has averaged 78.5 with four wickets in six bowling innings so far. In his ODI career, he averages under 18 and he was meant to be a key campaigner for Afghanistan this tournament. But ever since the assault he suffered against England, conceding more runs than any bowler ever has at a World Cup, he appears to have lost confidence. At Leeds, the conditions seem unfavourable for spinners, as they average 45.7 with an economy of 5.4 in the last five completed ODIs at the venue. Can Rashid overcome?

Team news

Pakistan wouldn't want to break up their winning combination, so an unchanged team is expected.

Pakistan (probable): 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Fakhar Zaman, 3 Babar Azam, 4 Mohammad Hafeez, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Sarfaraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Wahab Riaz, 11 Shaheen Afridi

Afghanistan have tried almost every possible combination, with 16 players used. One change here and there in the batting or bowling hasn't made a significant difference; they dropped Aftab Alam to recall Dawat Zardan in the last game against Bangladesh, but the bowler conceded 64 in nine overs for one wicket. Samiullah Shinwari in place of Hazratullah Zazai made a difference, as the batsman scored a useful 49 at No. 6 to offer much needed resistance. They are most likely to take on Pakistan unchanged from their previous outing in Southampton.

Afghanistan (probable): 1 Gulbadin Naib (capt), 2 Rahmat Shah, 3 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 4 Asghar Afghan, 5 Samiullah Shinwari, 6 Mohammad Nabi, 7 Najibullah Zadran, 8 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 9 Rashid Khan, 10 Dawlat Zadran, 11 Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Strategy punts

• Najibullah Zadran averaged 51.5 runs per dismissal and struck his runs at 101 per 100 balls since 2018. It wasn't, therefore, a surprise to see him score heavily in the first two innings (51 against Australia and 43 against Sri Lanka) despite batting at No. 7. Him coming up higher in the order could offer stability but he seemingly fell prey to mismanagement, being pushing down in the order to play at Nos. 7 and 8 when the game is all but over. He was also dropped from one game. He is more than a slogger, averaging 57.7 in overs 11-40. His strike rate since 2018 against pace is 98.8 and against spinners, its 101. Time for a promotion?

• Mohammad Hafeez's demotion from No. 4 to 6 may create a difference if Haris Sohail is promoted to No. 4 to bat alongside Babar Azam. Besides, Hafeez is effective as an improvisor and, since 2017, averages 64.67 with a strike rate of 137.5 between overs 41-50. Pakistan need an assured presence in the death overs to push their total beyond par to complement their bowlers, so the switch could be a win-win.

Pitch and conditions

It's expected to be the hottest day of the year, with the temperature exceeding 30 C. The pitch is expected to be slow, but recent games here have had fast bowlers achieve success, which should play into Pakistan's hands.

Stats and trivia

• Pakistan and Afghanistan have played each other three times, with Afghanistan yet to win

• Pakistan's win percentage at Leeds is 44.4%, having won four and lost five matches

• Mohammad Hafeez needs 63 runs for 500 runs in World Cups

• Samiullah Shinwari needs five wickets for 50 wickets in ODIs

South Africa 206 for 1 (du Plessis 96*, Amla 80*) beat Sri Lanka 203 (Avishka 30, Pretorius 3 for 25, Morris 3 for 46) by nine wickets
As it happened

How England must wish this was the match report for their meeting with Sri Lanka in Leeds. South Africa, already out of semi-final calculations, restricted Sri Lanka to mediocrity with the bat and then formed a single definitive partnership to run down the target with 11.4 overs to spare at a sun-drenched Chester-le-Street.

There was ruefulness as well as proficiency about the 175-run union between the captain Faf du Plessis and the senior pro Hashim Amla, for their class and composure served not only to leave Sri Lanka with only the merest chances of semi-final qualification but also demonstrated that with South Africa will go an awful lot of quality out of this World Cup.

WATCH on Hotstar - Sri Lanka's fall of wickets (India only)

At the same time Sri Lanka's many limitations were re-exposed, once the threat of Lasith Malinga had been neutralised. He had fewer runs to play with due to a superb spell from the recalled Dwaine Pretorius, with patchy support from Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris and Imran Tahir, but even so was countered with a combination of positive intent and solid defence that will leave Eoin Morgan's men wondering how they had managed to fall short.

For Sri Lanka, qualification would now require two wins from their remaining games plus a collective collapse from England, Pakistan and Bangladesh ahead of them. For South Africa, there will only be regret that a display of this sort could not have been conjured earlier on when it truly mattered.

It would be easy to suggest that Rabada's first-ball dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne, who seemed not to pick up a rising, cramping delivery that he flinched at and fended off the glove to an exultant du Plessis in the slips, set the tone for the day. But that would be to undersell how well South Africa pulled things back from the subsequent stand of 67 between Kusal Perera and the highly promising Avishka Fernando.

WATCH on Hotstar: Faf du Plessis' fluent 96* (India only)

Together they made the most of some loose bowling with ebullient strokeplay, allowing Sri Lanka to place a third entry into the 10 most productive Powerplays of the tournament. South Africa appeared for a moment to be facing a chase well in excess of 300, before Pretorius set out on the spell of medium-fast seam, disciplined in the best traditions of Craig Matthews among others, that was to define the match.

Pretorius did not start well, and had gone for three boundaries in seven balls when Avishka flicked him insouciantly over straight midwicket to the boundary. But Avishka's desire to carry on at a rising rate was to cost him, when he tried to go down the ground and succeeded only in skying to du Plessis at mid-off. From that ball to the finish of his spell, Pretorius' figures read 7.2-2-8-3, underlining his success in choking up the remainder of the Sri Lankan innings.

The defeat of Kusal, cramped for room and dragging onto the stumps, was vital in pushing Angelo Mathews and Kusal Mendis into their shells, and both were to perish when they attempted, at last to break out. Take out the pair of 30s for Kusal and Avishka, in fact, and the rest of the innings was tepid stuff. Sixty-seven for 2 from the first 10 overs gave way to a mere 136 for 8 from the remaining 39.3 until Sri Lanka were bowled out.

WATCH on Hotstar: Highlights of Sri Lanka's thumping win over South Africa (US only)

Over the course of those overs Rabada and Morris did well to pull back from early expense, while Tahir bowled tidily without giving Chester-le-Street the chance to glimpse one of his vaudevillian wicket celebrations. The only spin victim, Dhananjaya de Silva, premeditating a reverse sweep so poorly as to be comical, fell to JP Duminy. Like Tahir, he is set to make his exit from the South African side at the conclusion of the tournament.

Commencing their chase in brilliant sunshine, South Africa were able to capitalise on Malinga's search for wickets, as Amla was able to pierce the field on both sides of the wicket. Quinton de Kock looked similarly fluent, but his stay was ended by one of those wondrous Malinga wobblers, this time a yorker that swerved from off to leg just too late for the left-hander to adjust, and causing the leg bail to be flicked off.

Exultant as Malinga was, he was unable to suppress Amla, and at the other end du Plessis hit through the line of the ball with burgeoning confidence. Their comfort was aided by a surface notably easier for batting than the Headingley pitch on which Sri Lanka had cornered England, and there was also the lack of tension in the limbs from a team that had already been eliminated. Nonetheless, the busy nature of South Africa's approach should be taken note of, given there will doubtless be more nervy chases to come in this tournament.

Amla passed fifty first, followed by du Plessis, and of the bowlers only the legbreaks of Jeevan Mendis caused any real discomfort. On 68, Amla was given lbw on the sweep, and du Plessis encouraged a review. Upon seeing one replay, Amla was happy enough to walk off, but turned on his heels when ball-tracking showed the ball had pitched marginally outside leg stump before turning back. Amla offered a gentle chuckle and resumed; victory arrived soon thereafter. Too late, but no less than South Africa deserved this day.

Like ointment on an angry rash, Jos Buttler seemed to calm England nerves at Edgbaston on Friday.

The gentle voice, the ready smile, the warm words, all were in marked contrast to Jonny Bairstow's bristling performance the previous day.

While Bairstow painted the picture of a team besieged by anxiety and paranoia, Buttler's was one of a side which was focused yet relaxed. And while Bairstow appeared concerned about pitches, pundits and pressure, Buttler gave an impression of a man who was phlegmatic about pretty much everything.

Worried about the surfaces, Jos? "Whatever conditions we encounter, we have to turn up and adapt on the day," he replied.

"We wouldn't have been able to win the number of games we have, home and away, if we weren't adaptable. That's a skill of this team, to adapt and still play a way we want to do" Jos Buttler doesn't think England are flat-track bullies

Feel the nation is against you, Jos? "Walking down the street, people wish you well," he said. "Guys hang out of vans to wish you good luck. It seems everyone has been really behind the team and wanting us to do well."

Pressure starting to tell, Jos? "You talk about pressure," he said with a smile. "But pressure is a privilege sometimes. We're in a very privileged position to be in this situation."

He's right, of course. England know that if they win their next four matches, they will be World Cup winners. Yes, they have to beat the team which is now rated the best in the world. But it is a chance to show how good they are on the biggest stage of all. It is the stuff they dreamed of when playing in parks and gardens as boys. It's exactly the situation in which every top sportsperson should want to be.

It would have been wrong to presume Bairstow's comments reflected the general mood of the team. In person, Bairstow is hugely likeable: modest; approachable; engaging. But, in an interview situation, he can seem prickly and chippy. He is, after all, the man who roared at everyone and no-one following his century as a Test No. 3 in Colombo. The man who seems to need to invent adversaries so he can prove them wrong. The man whose childhood involved tragedy that has, no doubt, had an influence on making him the man he is. Those who know him largely laughed off his comments on Thursday with a sigh of 'That's Jonny', though Michael Vaughan criticised a "negative, pathetic mindset".

Bairstow was not the only one in the England set-up appalled by Kevin Pietersen's suggestion, made on Twitter, that Eoin Morgan was backing away from Mitchell Starc in trepidation. But while others dismissed them with a rueful shrug about Pietersen's habit of burning every bridge that might be crossed, Bairstow felt the need to defend a captain who is deeply respected in the England dressing room. It was clumsily done and ultimately unhelpful. But it was probably well intentioned.

Still, it is important that England remain in their bubble. They need to block out the distraction and the detractors and recover the positive mindset that helped them enjoy such success. They need to adapt to conditions as they encounter them and not resent or resist that challenge. And they need to remember they are the only team in the world to play every format of the game in front of full house crowds. Never for a moment should they doubt the support they receive.

Buttler did have one minor quibble with the media representation of this England team. He felt the characterisation of them as flat-track bullies was both harsh and simplistic. And he probably has a point.

"That's something which maybe we haven't been given enough credit for," he said. "When you have flat pitches and records are broken, it's a very obvious thing to say this is the way the team plays.

"But we wouldn't have been able to win the number of games we have, home and away, if we weren't adaptable. That's a skill of this team, to adapt and still play a way we want to do. Going to Sri Lanka last winter... not many teams win there. We've faced stronger teams but we overcame conditions."

There was ertainly no sign of any great tension at England training on Friday. Even though the boss - Ashley Giles, the managing director of the men's teams - arrived to survey the scene, he seemed only to urge relaxation and enjoyment. There were backslaps and smiles and a long game of football before the more serious training began. You would never have guessed they were a team on the brink of elimination at an agonisingly early stage. And that, no doubt, is a good sign.

There were other encouraging developments for England at training on Friday too. For a start, Jason Roy batted for some time without any sign of discomfort. While it is hard to believe he is 100% fit, England do look set to pick him so long as they can be confident his hamstring problem will not reoccur. James Vince, whose star has fallen sharply in recent days, may have played his final international match. Whether fair or not, his performances in this tournament have done his Ashes chances no good.

And while Jofra Archer did not bowl, he did take part in fielding practice, football and shuttle runs. He must still be considered a doubt, but he still has a chance of playing. Adil Rashid bowled in the nets, too, and looks set to play.

Most of all, though, there was the sunshine. It was 25 degrees for a while on Friday and will be 30 on Saturday. This new pitch, left uncovered throughout the day, will grow harder and faster and is not expected to turn by those who work and play here most often. It may well be the sort of surface we expected to see much more of ahead of the tournament. The sort where a score of 350 is tough to defend. The sort upon which England have enjoyed a lot of success.

Whether you really want to play a side containing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on a fine batting pitch is debatable. But England have won nine international matches in succession at this ground. They are back in conditions where they are comfortable and dangerous. Yes, they have made life far tougher for themselves than might have been the case. But their tournament isn't over just yet.

Permutations, permutations… somebody spare us from permutations. Who knows, England might go a long way to doing just that on Sunday, by losing against India and placing their World Cup fate firmly into the hands of the teams around them. But for now, with the sun shining over a pristine Lord's, and the New Zealand flag flying proudly over the home dressing room, Kane Williamson isn't about to be tempted into stressing.

Of course, it's not entirely obvious what could tempt Williamson into such a course of action.

Certainly, last week's scoreline of 7 for 2 with both openers gone for golden ducks wasn't enough to rattle his cage - his silken-touched retort, 148 from 154 balls against West Indies, rather proved that point.

And certainly not the situation that greeted him on the last occasion that Australia and New Zealand met in the group stages of the World Cup - that cage-fight of a contest in Auckland in 2015, when Williamson responded to the loss of four wickets for seven runs in ten balls by planting the front foot forward against Pat Cummins and stroking him over long-on to seal an epic one-wicket win.

"When the time comes and the round-robin's finished, if you can hang your hat on that, then at the end of the day, you can either walk away and end up in a semi-final, or know that you've done that and it hasn't quite happened"

So, trying to suggest that New Zealand's skipper should be overly bothered by a first defeat of the tournament - against a resurgent Pakistan at Edgbaston on Wednesday - was something of an exercise in futility. Even if that setback genuinely has put the squeeze, just a teensy bit, on his team's final two games of the group stage.

In short [deep breath…] if England can find their chill at any time between now and the end of the weekend, and overcome India, and if Pakistan can avoid losing to Afghanistan, the one side that can match them in the hot-and-cold air-blowing stakes… then New Zealand's fate may yet be ripped from their own hands.

For that to happen, they would need to go on to lose to England in Chester-le-Street, and for Pakistan to keep up their own rampant streak in their final game against Bangladesh. And even that match could yet come down to a battle of net run-rates if Shakib Al Hasan can crown his own stunning campaign by inspiring Bangladesh to a knee-trembler of a victory over India in their penultimate fixture...

If… if… if. It's what the tournament wanted, and needed. The sun shining, the tongues wagging, the stakes rising. But… nah! Williamson and his team will not be drawn in like that.

"It kind of is what it is, really," he said. "You come to tournaments and sides beat each other and they climb the ladder, and that's what everybody sort of desires to do, and who remains is kind of the ones that go through. But, at the end the day, you're trying to play the best cricket that you can to try and put yourself in one of those top four positions."

Williamson was sitting deep within the bowels of the MCC's real tennis court - a strangely appropriate setting for such an anachronistically fabulous batsman - and he spoke with the clarity and lack of fluster with which he compiles his best innings. All angles and pointed placement, and next to no recourse to raw power.

There are, doubtless, times when it gets grating to be so consistently talked down in the tournament narrative - as if ploughing a very steady path towards an eighth semi-final in 12 World Cups (a tally that no team, not even Australia, will have exceeded) is in any way underwhelming.

But there are clearly also times when that relative anonymity is a blessing. Who, at various stages of this campaign, would have wished to be in charge of Sri Lanka or Pakistan's fates, for instance, let alone an England campaign that, to judge by Jonny Bairstow's feud with Michael Vaughan, is in danger of borrowing the apocalyptic Brexit stylings of @Coldwar_Steve … all shipwrecks and squabbles as the dream dies before their eyes.

Nope, Williamson seems perfectly content with the hand that he has been dealt. A solidly placed side that, in coming through some taut contests against Bangladesh and South Africa, has been arguably been tested more robustly than either India or Australia, the only teams above them in the table. Another subtly different challenge awaits on a used pitch at Lord's and the hottest day of the year - but in spite of the temptation to play legspinner Ish Sodhi, New Zealand look every bit as likely to name an unchanged team for the seventh match in a row.

And, within his measured responses to an admittedly low-key grilling, Williamson gave an insight into exactly why New Zealand are sitting pretty when so many of their likeliest rivals are in such advance states of funk.

"At a World Cup, perhaps teams adopt slightly different plans when we're playing different opposition day-in and day-out on different surfaces," he said. "[But] the most important thing is adapting to the conditions. Sometimes I think we've seen in the last few games, that looking to blast teams out, perhaps with the use of seam movement and these sorts of things, it hasn't quite been there, and it's been about playing the long game a little bit.

"We haven't played at Lord's yet, and we'll just have to assess those conditions."

If that was meant as a dig at England after the failure of their gung-ho approach on this same pitch last week, then it was delivered with such deftness that it barely made a sound off the bat.

"There's so many games of cricket, so many different things can happen," he added. "We know in this sport the variables and uncontrollables we can come up against on any given day, and perhaps some sides might be more suited to certain conditions than others on a certain day, and that's just the nature of the beast.

"England are still in a strong position, as are a few other sides. The focus for all of those sides is to keep trying to apply what they know holds themselves in the strongest position with the sort of cricket they want to play, which is equally different to one another.

"When the time comes and the round-robin's finished, if you can hang your hat on that, then at the end of the day, you can either walk away and end up in a semi-final, or know that you've done that and it hasn't quite happened."

Or, more likely, you'll find that - over the course of nine group-stage fixtures - the fact that you've done more right than wrong will get rewarded in the final analysis. And those who have either not been good enough, or have relied on bluster and preconception at times of duress (or both), will be found out.

So, what if it's the Australians tomorrow, was Williamson's message. We're pootling along just fine. How about the rest of you?

For only the second time in the tournament, South Africa's top order produced serious runs, and their bowlers knocked an opposition over cheaply, all in the same game. There's an obvious criticism here: Of course they are playing well. There was no pressure on them in this game.

Captain Faf du Plessis couldn't quite put his finger on why it took so long to claim a second win. But he did suggest that had South Africa had an easier schedule of matches in the first 10 days of the tournament, perhaps they would have had a different World Cup. Two of their first three matches were against England and India respectively, which means they were always likely to have accrued at least two defeats at that stage.

WATCH on Hotstar: Faf du Plessis' fluent 96* (India only)

But what if they had played Sri Lanka before they were already ruled out of the semi-finals? Of the last 10 matches between these sides, South Africa have won eight ODIs, losing only two dead rubbers in Sri Lanka last year.

"I think it is crucial, especially for a team like us in tournaments like these, that you need to start well," du Plessis said. "If you start well, your confidence in your team will grow and then from there, anything is possible. But to start the way we did, I mean you come here already with an expectation of needing to do well and then you go zero from three, and that expectation becomes a weight on your shoulders. That is a heavy burden to carry.

"That first week was was really tough for us. But that's the sport we play."

The Man-of-the-Match in the nine-wicket thumping of Sri Lanka was Dwaine Pretorius, who took three wickets and delivered what is till date the tournament's most economical 10 over analysis, conceding only 25 runs. It was Pretorius' second game of the tournament - he had not featured since the opener on May 30 - and beyond his inclusion, du Plessis couldn't work out what his team had done differently.

"I can't give you the answer why it [more success] hasn't happened before. Dwaine didn't play the previous games, so maybe in English conditions he worked really well today. Our thinking on this wicket was the slower the bowler, the harder it is to face, so it worked out perfectly that he was the guy that was going to be successful.

WATCH on Hotstar: Highlights of Sri Lanka's thumping win over South Africa (US only)

"And then with the bat, I have been saying it a lot, the guys have been batting well but only for short periods. And that's the basics of batting once again: if you get in, someone has to bat through the innings. Then it becomes easier. So, it's just probably doing the basics better today than we've done in the tournament."

Despite the margin of victory, though, it is very nearly a futile result for South Africa. Perhaps the only thing gained, is avoiding the indignity of finishing last in the league stage.

"It feels hollow," du Plessis said. "It's great winning, but it is very, very bittersweet because you know that we've let a lot of people down, and that was never the plan. So we will get together and we will enjoy the performance.

"But I think when you go back, there will still be that hollow feeling of things that could have been in this tournament."

Ten former elite players, including United States national team icons Michelle Akers and Brandi Chastain, have signed on to take part in a first-of-its kind study on the long-term effects of head impacts in high-level women's soccer.

Akers, who suffers from chronic migraines, and Chastain -- who in 2016 became one of the first professional women athletes to pledge to donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation for study upon her death -- appeared on "CBS This Morning" on Thursday to announce their involvement in the landmark study, which will begin later this year.

"This is the first time they're looking at female soccer players, female brains and it's important to have this conversation," Akers told ESPN.com by phone Friday morning. "This needs to be looked at equally for women and men, and until now, it hasn't been."

Dubbed SHINE -- Soccer, Head Impacts and Neurological Effects -- the study will look at former players over 40 who played a minimum of five years of organized soccer, with at least two of those years coming after high school and at least one year at the pro level or on a national or Olympic team. It will be led by Boston University professor of neurology Dr. Robert Stern, clinical research director for BU's Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) center, and will be funded by the Concussion Legacy Foundation and the National Institute on Aging.

But the study was spearheaded by Akers, a member of the 1991 and 1999 Women's World Cup championship teams and one of only two women to score five goals in a single World Cup match.

Two years ago, Akers said that despite her migraines and memory lapses, she'd never made a connection between heading "around 50 balls a game" and her symptoms, until she watched a documentary on retired English Premier League striker Alan Shearer titled, "Dementia, Football and Me."

"It made sense," Akers told ESPN.com. "I had never thought about CTE in the soccer world. I knew what was said about NFL players, but when I saw that documentary, I saw the connection to soccer. I thought, what are we doing about it? What's going on around the world? I figured if this was happening to English professional players, then FIFA must be doing studies. There must be studies going on in the U.S. But when I started looking around, I found nothing."

Akers said her persistent research eventually led her to Dr. Stern at Boston University and Chris Nowinski at the Concussion Legacy Foundation. "We got on a call together and Dr. Stern said, 'We need to do a study on female soccer players,'" Akers said. "So, we set this whole thing in motion."

Akers said she reached out to about 20 former teammates at the beginning of the current World Cup, and as of Friday, 10 players had signed on to participate in the study, including Cindy Parlow Cone, a former USWNT midfielder and Portland Thorns head coach.

"The response has been extremely positive," Akers said. "Since the CBS interview ran yesterday, I've had a couple high-profile players reach out and ask, 'How do I sign up?' I've had people reach out saying they've had concussions, that they're concerned for themselves and are so glad the research is going on. They see this study as progress in equality for women."

Akers said that though she is uncertain if her migraines are the result of her playing career, aging or her genetics, she believes what is most important is to have an open conversation and begin to do the research that will provide athletes like herself with answers.

"It's a subjective experience, so it's difficult to determine if [the headaches and memory lapses] are Michelle being an airhead or overwhelmed and tired, or is this a post-concussion thing or CTE?" said Akers, who recently joined Chastain in pledging to donate her brain posthumously to the Concussion Legacy Foundation.

"That's what we're exploring and why we want to provide support for others. I wish I knew this information when I was younger. I headed the ball so much. I practiced heading the ball. Had I known, I never would have done that. Heading the ball is risky. It does damage to your brain. Should we take heading out of soccer? I don't know. That's why we need research."

Akers said that while she will cheer from the comfort of her couch as the U.S. women take on France on Friday night, she admits that she watches games differently now.

"The Shearer documentary changed how I watch soccer," Akers said. "I watch Carli Lloyd score on some beautiful header and I think, 'That was a beautiful goal.' Then my mind wanders down a different road and I think, 'But what is the risk?'"