DONGGUAN, China -- The United States has been ousted from medal contention by France at the FIBA World Cup, failing to capture gold at a major international tournament for the first time since the 2006 world championships.

Evan Fournier scored 22 points, Rudy Gobert added 21 points and 16 rebounds, and France beat Team USA 89-79 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, rallying from a seven-point fourth-quarter deficit to pull off the upset.

The U.S. had won 58 consecutive tournament games in FIBA and Olympic competition with NBA players, starting with the bronze-medal game at the 2006 world championships and continuing through every FIBA Americas, World Cup and Olympics event since. The U.S. was bidding to become the first nation to win three consecutive World Cups, after winning three straight Olympic golds in that span.

The best the Americans can do now in China is finish fifth. They're going home with a berth in the 2020 Olympics secured, but no medal.

"We came here to win gold," Gobert said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy. A lot of people counted us out, but we got the win."

Gobert said beating the Americans wasn't the goal -- winning gold is.

"It doesn't mean anything if you don't win in the end," Gobert said.

Donovan Mitchell scored 29 points for the U.S., all of them coming in the first three quarters. The Americans came up scoreless on six consecutive possessions down the stretch, a drought that allowed the French to take control of a back-and-forth game.

"I know that people are going to focus on who we didn't have, but how about we focus on who we do have?'' Mitchell said. "Our season ended, and we came out ready to work with Coach Pop and all his coaches. It's not about who's not here. I've been saying that for a while.''

Nando De Colo scored 18 for France.

France was up 10 early in the second half. The U.S. went on a 31-14 run over the next 10 minutes to go up by seven. Then the French responded with a 15-2 run over the next five minutes, going up 82-76 on a long jumper by Frank Ntilikina with 2:05 left.

Mitchell had a chance to get the U.S. within two with about a minute left, driving against Gobert -- but the France center read what his Utah Jazz teammate was going to do perfectly, swatting the try away.

France had been 0-9 against the U.S. in major international play, most of those outcomes one-sided affairs. But the last meeting between the nations was only a 100-97 U.S. win at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics three years ago, and France returned three players -- Gobert, De Colo and Nicolas Batum -- who played in that game.

No U.S. player who played that afternoon in Rio is on this year's World Cup team.

"Doesn't matter who is on the team, and I couldn't be more proud of these 12 guys who sacrificed their summer to come here, having never played with each other before,'' coach Gregg Popovich said. "They put themselves in the arena and competed, and they deserve credit for that, just like France deserves credit for winning. It's not about, 'Well, the United States didn't have their other guys.'

"There's no such thing as other guys. These are the guys that were here, and they did a great job, and I'm very proud of them.''

France outrebounded the U.S. 21-12 in the first half, Gobert found his way to the line 10 times in the game's first 20 minutes and the Americans went into the break trailing 45-39. The U.S. had trailed for 8:25 in their first five games combined -- but trailed for 11:24 in the first half alone on Wednesday.

Fournier's layup with 7:33 left in the third gave France a 53-43 lead, and that's when Mitchell got going.

He had 14 points in the third quarter alone, and his dunk with 2:40 left pulled the U.S. into a 60-60 tie. Marcus Smart made three free throws after getting fouled by Gobert to put the U.S. back on top, and the Americans took a 66-63 lead into the fourth.

But they couldn't finish it off.

TIP-INS

France:

• Gobert played the first 12:26. The longest he went before getting his first break in a Jazz game last season was 11:30.

• Ntilikina scored 11 for France.

Team USA:

• Smart scored 11 and Kemba Walker had 10 for the U.S.

• Before Mitchell's offensive outburst Wednesday, the previous single-game scoring high for any U.S. player at this World Cup was Jaylen Brown's 20-point game against Japan in the opening group round.

• Jayson Tatum (sprained left ankle) missed his fourth consecutive game.

UP NEXT

France: Faces Argentina in semifinals at Beijing on Friday.

Team USA: Faces Serbia in consolation round at Dongguan on Thursday.

DONGGUAN, China -- The setting, style and colors are all foreign, but the nature of the FIBA basketball game often falls into the same rhythms as NCAA tournament games.

It's single elimination, the games are 40 minutes, the five-foul disqualification amplifies the role of officiating, and there's an unmistakable play-for-country aesthetic that resembles the play-for-college approach.

Team USA was thrashing around Wednesday against France in an 89-79 loss in the FIBA World Cup quarterfinals. The Americans were playing unorthodox lineups to try to deal with the best player on the floor, who was on the other team. They were undersized at almost every position and forced to substitute to try to win possessions with energy instead of execution. When they got badly behind, they relied on hero ball, hoping percentages wouldn't correct.

Suddenly there was a clarity to it all. Team USA looked like a low seed trying with all its might to upset a top seed in March, not the most powerful basketball nation in the world trying to win gold in summer.

Rudy Gobert was too big for them, France's ball movement and pick-and-rolls often just a little too good, and Gregg Popovich was deploying strategies that looked more fitting for a No. 8 seed trying to plug holes under pressure than a No. 1 seed handling its business.

France looked like the better team, more or less, for a majority of the game. There were moments of pride, such as when Donovan Mitchell scored 14 points in the third quarter with an awe-inspiring show of skill and will. But he was like Loyola going up against Michigan in the Final Four.

"I think it's a disrespectful notion to even bring something like [the stars who withdrew] up," Popovich said with an edge when he was asked about all the dropouts. "That's disrespectful to France and whoever else is in this tournament. France beat us. It doesn't matter who was on the team."

That's true. Gobert described the victory as "something I've dreamed about since I was a child" and that it "will be a moment we all talk about for the rest of our lives." Gobert's saying that was showing respect for the team he just vanquished with 21 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks.

For the Americans to receive respect in such a situation, they must give it. And to a man, they did.

"Of course people are going say it was a big upset because of who we are and what this team has done in the past over the years," said Kemba Walker, an All-Star who was largely outplayed by Frank Ntilikina, a perceived lottery bust whom the New York Knicks have tried to trade for months on end. "They just played well, guys played well, they made shots, they executed all night, and they came out with a huge win."

This game was not a tragedy like the loss to Greece was in 2006. It was not a product of focus issues or trust issues or lack of preparation.

This team was totally invested and worked the process, spending the past 40 days trying to assemble some cohesion and piece together a style of play that would hold up under pressure.

Their attempts were admirable and possibly even doable had everything aligned just right. But that is the reality of a Cinderella, not a champion. That's just the truth.

They didn't have enough offensive firepower, and it showed up when they went six straight possessions without scoring in the fourth quarter.

They didn't have enough big scorers, so late in the game both Mitchell and Walker were stifled at the rim. They didn't have star big men, which left them almost out of luck against Turkey and left Popovich to deploy smoke and mirrors to deal with Gobert -- trying smaller and smaller lineups that left guards like Joe Harris wrestling with Gobert for position.

And they didn't have enough depth, so losing Jayson Tatum, a vital offensively talented player with great size, couldn't be overcome.

All of these warning signs were there. They didn't have to be fatal, but they probably were going to be.

"It's tough for us. Everyone is hurting right now for sure," Harris said. "We wanted to come out here and compete for a gold medal, but we don't have anything to necessarily hang our heads about. We still played our asses off."

What's left is a clarion call. It had been 13 years since Team USA didn't win a gold medal, and the importance and the honor has slipped. America's top players have to consider their plans for next summer. The only thing this group did accomplish was locking down a spot in the Tokyo Olympics. They will go there without top billing because they will not be world champs.

Like in 2008, when the Redeem Team was on a mission to restore the country's place in the world, urgency just arrived. And this time it's not because of the losing team's failure but of an uncomfortable reality. To win, America needs more of its best.

"If [stars] didn't want to come here, that's on them. They didn't want to play? They didn't want to play," said Mitchell, who had 29 points but none in the fourth quarter. "I know how I feel, I know how those guys feel, that's where my head's at. We have 12 guys who came here to compete for America, just like every other country. It sucks that some of our country people don't feel that way about it, but we don't care. We wanted to compete and we did."

Independent doctors will be at all Premiership games from this season to help enforce concussion protocol.

They will assist club doctors with head injury assessments and have the final say on whether a player can continue.

The system has been in place for some time in international rugby and will now be at Premiership Rugby Cup and home European matches.

It has been funded by the 12 English top-flight clubs and Newcastle, who are also a Premiership shareholder.

"This new initiative continues the evolution of our player welfare strategy," said Matt Cross, Premiership Rugby's research and development manager.

"Our clubs are at the forefront of the latest player welfare initiatives and with us, will continue to drive world-class standards in the care of our players."

The latest audit - for the 2017-18 season - showed the number of concussions suffered by players in Premiership rugby games fell, although the average length of absence was higher than before.

However concussion remained the most commonly reported injury that season with 140.

The independent doctor will be responsible for decisions regarding blood and head injury replacements, overseeing assessments and collaborating with club equivalents.

The new Premiership campaign begins on Friday, 18 October when Bristol Bears host local rivals Bath.

TOLEDO, Ohio – April showers bring May flowers.

April showers also brought Michael Self a victory lane celebration as he was the beneficiary of a cloudburst just one lap past halfway in the ARCA Menards Series annual April visit to Salem Speedway.

It was Self’s second win of the season, and his second career series short track victory, following a win in the season’s second race at Five Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida. The back-to-back wins put Self on a trajectory that landed him atop the series championship standings.

Although he holds a 70-point advantage over his Venturini Motorsports teammate Christian Eckes with three races to go, Self isn’t in the mood to talk about points. All he’s focused on is his next visit to victory lane.

It’s a place Self has gotten used to in 2019.

In addition to his wins at Five Flags and Salem, Self has also won at Michigan International Speedway and on the dirt at the Springfield Mile. He’ll be going for a season-high fifth win of the year and a season sweep in Saturday night’s Kentuckiana Ford Dealers Fall Classic 200.

“I like going to Salem,” Self said. “Of all the short tracks we go to Salem is one of my favorites. I am looking forward to going back there. We had a great car in the spring. Even if it hadn’t rained, we were going to be hard to beat. Shannon (Rursch) and the team gave me a great car and Venturini Motorsports has had a lot of success there in the past. Between myself, Christian, and Chandler we’ve won the last three races there. I know they’re my teammates but those are the guys we’re going to be racing for the win.”

Self transitioned into the ARCA Menards Series after achieving success in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series West. Self won eight times on a variety of circuits, including road courses, one-mile tracks, and true short tracks. When he made the move into the ARCA Menards Series, Self found superspeedway racing to be his forte. He won the season finale at Kansas in 2017, and followed it with a win in the 2018 season opener at Daytona. His third win at Chicagoland last summer only fortified his reputation as the series’ best big track racer.

“I love the style of racing on the big tracks,” Self said. “I like the speed, I like the way you work the air. It really seems to fit my style the best and I have had a lot of success on the bigger tracks.”

But Self’s short track skills, honed back in his K&N Pro Series days, have come to the forefront this season. Not only does he lead the series’ overall standings, he’s also leading the Sioux Chief Short Track Challenge standings with two races remaining. In nine short track races this season, Self has eight top five finishes and three wins. His average start is 4.6 and his average finish is 4.3.

His impressive runs on short tracks, combined with his continued strength on the superspeedways, has made him a championship contender. Despite leading the standings since the sixth race of the season at Toledo, the battle for the championship isn’t a topic he wants to talk about.

“I am superstitious about it,” he said. “It’s all people ask me. I want to focus on winning races and running the best we can every week. If we are in victory lane then we’ve done all we can do and the points situation will take care of itself.”

Growing up in Massachusetts in the late 1980s and early '90s, there weren't as many opportunities for girls hockey, so Katie Guay played with the boys until ninth grade. She always tucked her hair under her helmet. "I did it so when I was going into the boards, I wasn't as easy of a target," says Guay, now 36.

After graduating from Brown University in 2005, Guay began a post-hockey career in officiating. Now when she's on the ice -- in stripes -- she keeps her ponytail visible, poking out from behind her helmet. That includes this past week when Guay was one of four women to call NHL prospect tournaments; it was first NHL-affiliated event that women have ever officiated.

"People do notice," says Guay, who was in Anaheim where the Avalanche, Kings, Sharks, Ducks, Golden Knights and Coyotes all sent their top prospects. "The hope is our skill won't differentiate us from the guys out there. At the end of the day, you want to go unnoticed, and hopefully the ponytail doesn't change people's perception of our performance."

Guay points to her own personal paradox: officials, inherently, like to be anonymous. If people don't notice them, that means they're doing their job well. But Guay is also proud of who she is and what she has achieved. She hopes her presence on the ice could inspire the next generation of women to try officiating when their playing careers are over.

"It's just been an issue of exposure," says Kelley Cooke, who refereed for the prospect tournament hosted by the Predators in Nashville. "Women didn't really think of officiating as an option. I didn't [when I was playing]. If you don't see women out there, you wouldn't really think about it."

The NHL is committed to maintaining a talented pool of potential officials, and that has meant expanding recruiting efforts.

"We need great people in hockey, great athletes from hockey, to get into officiating," says Stephen Walkom, the NHL's director of officiating. "If they happen to be women, that's great. We just need the right people."

The NBA and NFL both have female officials in their rotations. The MLB is close, with umpire Jen Pawol becoming the first female to work a spring training game in 2018. The NHL isn't quite there yet, but could be soon.

"Maybe we just haven't attracted the women athletes with great skating skill sets to try it, that's the reason," Walkom says. "It's just a matter of getting the great women athletes out there and trying it and loving to do it. I don't think you can put a timeline on it. But when the right person comes along, and they develop into a top prospect and work in the minor leagues and conquer each league along the way, then we'll have a woman officiating in the NHL. That will happen, it's just a matter of time."

Walkom, a former NHL official himself, has led two big recruiting efforts for officials in his time with the league. The first came after the 2004-05 lockout. "We were getting lots of complaints, at all levels, about what's going on and what we can do to improve the pool of officials," Walkom says. He began reaching out to a lot of Division 1 and CIS schools, asking coaches if any of their graduating players would have interest in trying the profession.

Coming out of the next lockout, in 2013, the NHL implemented a series of rules that made the game much faster. Walkom knew he would have to groom a new generation of officials that could keep up. The biggest criteria for a modern official are hockey IQ, strong skating and athleticism. (Consider, most NHL official work about three games a week; current referee Dan O'Rourke told me in 2018 that he burns about 1,000 calories in a game.) Naturally, former players are excellent candidates.

"I really believe that some of the best officials in the world, male or female, are sitting on benches right now across North America and Europe playing hockey," Walkom says. "One day, should they want to give back to the game in a way that appeals to them, officiating could be a place for them in the game."

Walkom is constantly recruiting and looking for the right talent; he even put in a pitch to Kendall Coyne Schofield after she amazed in her fastest skating demo at the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend.

The NHL created the Exposure Combine for Officiating in 2014, which is held annually in Buffalo. Walkom's staff runs the event and they invite officials of all levels (including ones trying it for the first time) to run through a series of on- and off-ice drills -- similar testing the NHL puts its officials through.

In its first year, there was one female participant. The next few years, there were two. This past year, 11 women attended. Walkom's staff identified four standouts -- along with Gauy and Cooke are Kirsten Walsh and Kendall Hanley, both linesmen -- and assigned them to NHL prospect tournaments so they could get reps at a high level. All four played college hockey.

"It's been a great experience," Cooke says. "Here this weekend guys are out there to prove themselves and earn a spot [on the NHL roster], so the compete level is through the roof."

Walkom says that everyone who goes through the Exposure Combine enters the NHL's prospective pool database. "They'll be people we'll be keeping an eye on, and watching their development," Walkom says.

Cooke says over the past five years there has been a "drastic change" in the amount of women interested in officiating. "When I played in college [at Princeton from 2009-13] there really weren't many women doing my games," she says.

Last year, Cooke and Guay teamed up as part of the first all-female crew to work at the NCAA Women's Frozen Four. "Exposure is growing," Guay says. "The path is being created as we speak."

This coincides with an overall growth in women's hockey. Girls hockey is one of the fastest-growing sports in America. According to USA Hockey, there were a record 82,808 registered female hockey players in 2018-19, with increases across all age levels including a remarkable jump of nearly 8% in year-over-year registration at the 9- to 10-year-old range. Walkom, who has two daughters that play hockey, says the talent level has grown significantly

All four of the women got into officiating because they said after graduating college there weren't many professional opportunities, and they wanted to stay involved in the game.

Hanley graduated from SUNY Oswego in 2009 and got an internship at the Dallas zoo. She happened to be at a rink playing in a pickup game when she met another woman who was an official. "At that time I was wondering, 'What am I going to do with my life?'" Hanley says. "I had just finished playing at a high level and I didn't know what to do with myself. I'm so used to being in a team environment, a competitive environment and training every day, and I just listened to her when she told me what this was all about. I fell in love with it. It's kind of like playing. It's challenging and you want to get better at it every day."

Welsh graduated from Robert Morris University this past spring. She planned to stay in Pittsburgh and began looking for jobs in the oil industry. She landed upon officiating because of Walkom's recruiting. Walkom lives in Pittsburgh and called RMU assistant coach Logan Bittle asking if there were any talented ex-players who might be interested. "If I took a job in oil, it's not a bad route, but I would be starting from scratch," Welsh says. "In hockey, I have 20 years of experience, skating and hockey knowledge."

Welsh is the only of the four women who had no prior experience officiating. At the Exposure Combine, she had to be taught the basic things such as how to drop the puck and where she should be positioned. She thinks she will try pursuing a career in officiating.

"I don't want to be chosen because I'm female, I want to be chosen because I can officiate," she says. "In officiating, you don't need the size and strength to compete with the men. You need to learn how to conduct yourself professionally, and know all the rules, and once you can handle that, I don't know why there wouldn't be an NHL female official really soon. Why not, you know? There's a lot of amazing candidates."

Hanley, too, feels like the NHL is close.

"Being at these events, you can tell the NHL and other leagues are opening up and allowing opportunities for the best officials -- whether they are men or women," Hanley says. "Obviously the NHL will look for the best officials. If that happens to be a woman, I have no doubt they'll make that decision when they find that female and give her that opportunity. And I will absolutely be on a flight, or do anything I can to get to the arena, be part of that experience, and cheer her on."

As the 2019-20 NHL season nears, let's look at the prospect systems for all 31 teams. We rank every pool and identify each franchise's top 10 prospects, a potential breakout candidate for this season and those who might make an NHL-level impact in the next year.

I've broken down prospects for each club into three categories, noted in parentheses in the team prospect rankings:

• A prospects have a high likelihood of becoming NHL high-impact players (i.e. a top-six forward, top-four defenseman or long-term starting goaltender)

• B prospects have a higher likelihood of becoming NHL regulars and contributors.

• C prospects showcase the upside to make the NHL, but either need more development time or are more likely to fill out depth roles.

Systems are most often graded on the backs of their top three or four prospects, but I also place a good deal of value on the depth of systems. While there is often fluidity in these organizational rankings, with players graduating quickly and changing the face of the system sometimes dramatically on a year-to-year basis, this is how the NHL prospect pools stack up as we gear up for the 2019-20 season.

Note: To maintain prospect eligibility, a player must still have rookie status when they enter the NHL. Players who appeared in 26 or more NHL regular-season games last season are not eligible, nor are players with at least 50 career NHL contests. Players are only considered for prospect status if they are 25 or younger.

Jump to a team:
ANA | ARI | BOS | BUF | CGY | CAR | CHI
COL | CBJ | DAL | DET | EDM | FLA
LA | MIN | MTL | NSH | NJ | NYI
NYR | OTT | PHI | PIT | SJ | STL
TB | TOR | VAN | VGS | WSH | WPG

1. New York Rangers

Rehabbed, refurbished, re-tooled ... whatever you want to call it. The Rangers spent a lot on acquiring draft picks and prospects, and this season should provide an even greater glimpse into the fruits of those labors. It starts, obviously, with Kaapo Kakko, but top Russians Vitali Kravtsov and Igor Shesterkin have made the jump to North America, as has promising defenseman Yegor Rykov.

Meanwhile, one of the top collegiate defensemen in the country last season, Adam Fox, joined the team via trade, and 2018 first-rounder K'Andre Miller could very well be one of the best defenders in the NCAA this year. The one area the Rangers still need some organizational help at is center, but this is definitely the top prospect system in the NHL.

Breakout candidate for 2019-20: Nils Lundkvist, D, Lulea (SHL)
Potential NHL impact in 2019-20: Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Adam Fox, Yegor Rykov

2. Los Angeles Kings

You are looking at one of the best and deepest prospect pools in the entire NHL. It's hard to pick out 10 prospects worth highlighting for most of these teams, but I have a list of eight more players who got edged out for spots here. The Kings seem to have just about every position covered by a handful of prospects with NHL upside.

The top end of this system has elite-level skaters in Alex Turcotte and Rasmus Kupari who can bring speed to the lineup in a few years. Arthur Kaliyev is an elite goal scorer, and Tobias Bjornfot is a potential top-four defenseman. Rob Blake, Mike Futa and the scouting staff have done a very nice job of overhauling a system that was drained amid the Stanley Cup-chasing (and winning) years.

Breakout candidate for 2019-20: Samuel Fagemo, LW, Frolunda (SHL)
Potential NHL impact in 2019-20: Carl Grundstrom, Kale Clague

3. Colorado Avalanche

BEDMINSTER, N.J. – The man charged with breaking into singer Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island mansion is accused of causing more than $20,000 damage to President Donald Trump’s New Jersey golf course.

The Somerset County prosecutor says an employee at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster observed a spinning vehicle “doing donuts” on the 11th hole on Sept. 3. A vehicle was spotted again on Sept. 8 making circular patterns on the 13th hole.

A partial license plate number led police Tuesday to charge 26-year-old Richard McEwan of Milford with criminal mischief.

McEwan was not wearing shoes when he was arrested in Swift’s beachfront mansion last month.

Police said he told them he was taught to take his shoes off when entering someone’s home to be polite.

A phone number listed for him has been disconnected.

Trump National Bedminster hosted the 2017 U.S. Women's Open and is scheduled to host the 2022 PGA Championship.

Alisson's rehabilitation from a calf injury has entered the next phase with the Liverpool goalkeeper doing outside drills during the international break.

The Brazil international has been sidelined since the Premier League opener against Norwich City, but stepped up his recovery at Melwood over the past week.

The 26-year-old has done extra strength work in the gym, but more promisingly, has been able to work on Melwood's pitches to sharpen his footwork, catching and passing.

Liverpool refuse to put a timescale on Alisson's return as they do not want to rush him back, but goalkeeping coach John Achterberg is happy with his progress.

"Ali has been working with Dave [Rydings] in the gym a lot to improve the strength and try to keep the fitness levels up," he told the club's official website.

"In the last few days he has been out on the pitch to do some catching and footwork, as well as small passing drills.

"He has made steady progress, but it is difficult to say how long it will take or how it will progress.

"It needs time and we cannot look too far ahead, so we take each day as it comes, see how he feels, and then make progress from that."

Alisson's deputy Adrian has also been at Melwood during the international break to undertake extra sessions.

The 32-year-old was recruited on a free transfer by Liverpool to replace Simon Mignolet this summer, but was rushed into action just four days after signing without having the time to settle in and get to grips with the club's physical and tactical demands.

"It is really difficult for anyone to replace Ali, especially when you've not had a chance to settle and pick everything up," Achterberg said.

"He had to be straight in after maybe four or five sessions. Then we had two more sessions, played the Super Cup final and then he got the injury, so there was not a lot of time to do extra training.

"Coming to Liverpool, there are high expectations but he has dealt with them really well. He has stayed calm and relaxed and shown a positive, confident manner, which helps the team a lot.

"We thought it would be beneficial to do some more sessions to keep it going, really.

"We did some decent workouts with him. Distribution, crosses, speed and reactions, power -- we worked a little bit on everything just to help him and keep him fit and ready.

"He also had a few days off, but not the full week. We kept it ticking over to make sure he is ready to go again."

Liverpool return to action on Saturday as they look to make it five wins from five in the Premier League with the visit of Newcastle United.

Patrice Evra has returned to Manchester United in a youth coaching capacity while he undertakes his UEFA coaching badges.

The former France international spent eight years at Old Trafford from 2006 to 2014, where he won the Premier League on three occasions as well as the Champions League and is now back to share his experience and knowledge with the young players from United's academy.

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Evra, 38, is helping under-18 coach Neil Ryan on the training pitch with a very talented squad which include two French players -- new signing Hannibal Mejbri and forward Noam Emeran.

He had his first day at the club's training ground in Carrington on Tuesday.

Evra courted controversy towards the end of his career. He saw his contract with Marseille terminated after he kicked one of his own fans before a Europa League match away at Guimaraes in November 2017.

He then spent six months at West Ham before announcing his retirement. Since then, he has been a prominent figure on social media.

However, his ambition was always to come back to United, a place he calls home, and be involved with the academy while doing his coaching badges. He is looking to become a first team manager in the near future.

Evra courted further controversy in March when he celebrated United's dramatic victory over Paris Saint-Germain, and was later recorded using anti-gay language in relation to the Ligue 1 side.

India head coach Ravi Shastri wants to turn his team's consistency into the kind of celebrated golden legacy of the great West Indies and Australia sides of the past.

Shastri has just overseen a clean sweep in the Caribbean, where a ruthless India blanked West Indies in all three formats. "This kind of consistency I have not seen any time," Shastri, who was recently given an extension in the job until the 2021 T20 World Cup, told Gulf News. "This team has an opportunity to do great things. We have a legacy like the West Indies did in the eighties and Australia did at the turn of the century. This team, too, has an opportunity to leave that kind of legacy, and they are already doing it."

India's overseas performances have improved significantly in recent years and under Shastri they have won series in West Indies, Sri Lanka and Australia, the latter a historic 2-1 triumph earlier this year. India have been No. 1 in the ICC's Test rankings since October 2016, and were favourites at the recent ODI World Cup, alongside hosts England. Their campaign, however, was ended by a semi-final loss to New Zealand, following a top-order collapse. That was a second successive semi-final exit for India, currently the world's second-ranked ODI side.

In T20Is, India are fourth in the ICC rankings. They won seven straight T20I series, including the four-team Nidahas Trophy, between November 2017 to November 2018, a streak that included away wins in South Africa (2-1), Ireland (2-0) and England (2-1), but they lost series in New Zealand and at home against Australia. "Look at how we have performed in T20, one-dayers and Tests and even in the big ICC tournaments, it is unbelievable," Shastri said. "People used to say earlier that we only perform at home and we don't do anything abroad. Now they are saying the opposite as wherever they are going they are performing."

Shastri also rubbished recent reports of differences between Kohli and Rohit, Shastri said India India would not have performed the way they have if there was a rift between the two, neither would the pair have scored as freely as they have in recent series.

"Listen, I have been around the dressing room for the last five years. I have seen how the boys have played and how they have complemented the team and know their work ethics. I feel it is absolute nonsense (reports of a rift). I have been there with them and I know the way they play. If that was the case why would Rohit get five hundreds in the World Cup? Why would Virat do what he is doing? How would they have partnerships together?

"In a side when you have 15 players there will always be times when there will be opinions that will be different. That is what is needed. I don't want everyone toeing the same line. You have got to have discussions and someone might then think of a fresh strategy, which has to be encouraged. So you have to give the guys the opportunity to express themselves and then decide what is best. Sometimes it might be the junior-most player in the team who may come up with a strategy which we hadn't even thought of and we need to bring that to the table. So these should not be seen as a conflict."