Ajax Amsterdam's teenaged captain Matthijs de Ligt described their semifinal exit from the Champions League as a "nightmare" after the Dutch side were undone by Lucas Moura's 96th minute strike for Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

"It's a nightmare, like a dream that went bad," the 19-year-old told Dutch television shortly after the 3-2 home loss saw Tottenham Hotspur through to the final against Liverpool in Madrid on June 1. Spurs won on the away goals rule.

Ajax let slip a 2-0 half-time lead, and 3-0 aggregate advantage, as Spurs came storming back in the second half.

"We played well in the first half, we had it all our way," he added.

"We didn't keep up the same pressure in the second half.

"We gave silly goals away. We were so close to the final ... and then the ball goes in. Unbelievable."

Moura squeezed in a shot six minutes into stoppage time to complete his hat trick and a stunning comeback for the Premier League side.

"We were so close, we had so deserved it, but that last second...," Ajax manager Erik ten Hag said before trailing off.

"I told the players in the break that it wasn't over yet, you could tell by the attitude of the Tottenham players. They still believed in it.

"I can't blame anyone. We have had an incredible Champions League season and have grown a lot as a team. It is difficult to process."

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his players as "heroes" after their dramatic 3-2 win at Ajax Amsterdam secured the London club's first ever Champions League final appearance.

"Still difficult to talk. The emotion is amazing, thank you to football," an emotional Pochettino told BT Sport following Wednesday's match. "My players are heroes -- in the last year I was telling everyone this group are heroes. The second half they were amazing. Thank you football -- this type of emotion without football is no possible. Thank you to everyone who has believed in us. To describe this in words is difficult."

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Lucas Moura struck a hat trick -- including a last-gasp goal in the 96th minute -- to stun Ajax, who had led the first leg 1-0 on aggregate and were knocked out on away goals.

"We were talking before the game that when you work and when you feel the love it's not stress it's passion of the team," Pochettino said. "We showed we love the sport and football. Today was amazing. It was a joy to watch this kind of game.

"It's difficult to compete at this level. I am so grateful to be a coach. To be in football and to live this type of football.

"They are all heroes but [Lucas Moura] was a superhero. From the first to last one -- the tough moment to live in the five years before."

Moura called the win the "best moment in my life -- in my career.

"Impossible to explain what I'm feeling,"the Brazilian told BT Sport. "I'm very happy and very proud of my teammates. Always believe in this moment. We gave everything on the pitch and deserved this moment -- we are family. Impossible to explain. Big gift from God I'd like to share with teammates, friends and family."

Spurs midfielder and former Ajax player Christian Eriksen called the win a "ridiculous game."

"We were really far down, we tried to fight back, we were just lucky," the Dane told BT Sport. "I feel sorry for Ajax, they played a very good game against us, today we mostly created more chance, football they played better, it is a relief, we have been fighting for this, it is a dream to be in the final.

"We felt like we weren't able to look ourselves in the mirror if we were to go down three or four nil. We had to fight, we scored early to get some momentum, put them under pressure. We are lucky the ball falls in the right direction, Luca had a wonderful game, we are relieved."

After Liverpool fought back from a 3-0 first-leg defeat to beat Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate on Tuesday, the final will be an all-English affair.

Spurs defender Danny Rose said that he had taken inspiration from the Merseysiders.

"We saw Liverpool last night. It goes to show it's not over until it's over. Disappointed with the first leg, how we started and we started like that tonight. But after the break we came out," Rose said.

"The gaffer mentioned Liverpool's display at the hotel before the match -- the gaffer doesn't mind us losing but we have to lose the right way."

There was one major tactical shift that did play a crucial role in the victory, however. At halftime Pochettino took out midfielder Victor Wanyama and replaced him with Spanish forward Fernando Llorente.

Llorente, whose main asset is his height and strength in the air, placed himself on Ajax defender Daley Blind and that upset the solidity of the Dutch defence.

The Spaniard's presence caused confusion and created instability which Moura was able to exploit to the full.

With a big man as a focal point for the attack, Tottenham were able to take a more direct approach -- with crosses from deep and in the latter stages, hopeful punts into the box.

Llorente would not have been on the field had Spurs' first choice striker Harry Kane been fit but the injured England captain was in the dressing room at the break and he said the focus was purely on effort.

"At half time we said it is 45 minutes to give everything... the lads dug deep, showed passion, showed character, showed heart and that is what it's all about," said Kane.

"Over the two legs we didn't play as well as we would have liked but we found a way to win," he added.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

AMSTERDAM -- So Tottenham continue to be football's nearly men, all the way to the Champions League final in Madrid, after completing the competition's most dramatic fightback in 24 hours.

Liverpool one night, Tottenham the next. The Premier League is the gift that keeps giving in the Champions League, and debate will now rage as to which club mounted the most incredible comeback to reach next month's final in Madrid.

A 4-0 home win against Barcelona to win 4-3 on aggregate takes some beating, but Spurs certainly matched Liverpool's feat for drama by leaving Ajax's brave young team floored with three second-half goals in Amsterdam -- all three from Brazilian forward Lucas Moura -- with the last coming in the dying seconds of stoppage time to secure a 3-2 win on the night.

It reduced Mauricio Pochettino to tears, with the Spurs manager struggling to describe the feeling of guiding the club to their first ever Champions League final.

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"It is difficult with words to describe my emotion," he said. "It is one of the most important nights in my life. Thank you to football. My players are heroes; in the last year I was telling everyone this group are heroes.

"To go to the Champions League final is nothing short of a miracle."

Erik ten Hag's Ajax players were also in tears, but they were devastated, throwing themselves to the floor after Moura netted the winner. Tears flowed on the pitch while beer was thrown in the stands by stunned supporters -- this report has been written on a laptop doused twice by flying Heineken -- who had been seconds away from booking their dream trip to the Spanish capital.

But Spurs have made a habit of nearly going out of the Champions League this season before pulling themselves back from the brink. Four times this term, Pochettino's team have nearly been knocked out of the Champions League. Against PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan and Barcelona in the group stage, they were minutes from elimination until being saved by a late goal on each occasion. And against Manchester City in the quarterfinal second leg last month, Spurs were as good as out, with Pep Guardiola racing down the touchline to celebrate Raheem Sterling's stoppage-time winner, until VAR threw the Londoners an incredible, dramatic lifeline by cancelling it out to send them into the semifinals.

But trailing 2-0 on the night to this vibrant, fearless Ajax, and 3-0 on aggregate, Moura's second-half hat trick sealed a remarkable fightback that earned a victory on the away goals rule. Nearly out? You bet, but this team never knows when it is beaten, and the North London club are now on a collision course with Liverpool, another side who will believe their name is on the trophy, when they meet in Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on June 1.

Spurs arrived in the Dutch capital with a challenge ahead of them, following last week's 1-0 first-leg defeat in London, but it was by no means insurmountable. Yet Pochettino and his players watched the drama unfold at Anfield and defender Danny Rose admitted after this game that Liverpool's win provide crucial inspiration.

"We saw Liverpool last night and it goes to show that it's not over until it's over," Rose said. "And [Pochettino] mentioned Liverpool's display at the hotel before the match."

But Pochettino's words seemed to barely register as Spurs started terribly, falling behind 2-0 inside 36 minutes following Matthijs de Ligt's fourth-minute header and Hakim Ziyech's left-footed strike.

Spurs now had to score three to turn the tie around and they could not turn to the talismanic qualities of leading goal scorer Harry Kane, who was nursing an ankle injury in the stands. Instead, Pochettino threw on striker Fernando Llorente in place of midfielder Victor Wanyama and the Spaniard turned the game, with his physical presence unsettling De Ligt and Daley Blind.

Spurs also had Dele Alli, who rose to the occasion after a disappointing season to drive Spurs on. The England midfielder's break forward was the key to Moura's first goal, on 55 minutes, which gave Tottenham hope. Four minutes later, hope became belief when Moura did it again, scoring after he displayed trickery and coolness amid chaos in the penalty area with a left-footed shot that was placed into the corner of the net.

Ajax, so impressive in beating Real Madrid and Juventus to reach this stage, now looked exactly what they are: a young team lacking nous and experience at the highest level. They took too many risks going forward and played too much football at the back. It was pure football, in the Ajax way, but this was a Champions League semifinal and it was not the time or place for novices.

Yet Spurs saw chances go begging and they struggled to take advantage. Thoughts turned to what Liverpool would do to this Ajax team, and it would not be pretty for the Dutch outfit -- they would be torn apart by a ruthless attacking machine.

Spurs are not quite that, and their record in semifinals under Pochettino -- three defeats in four prior to this tie -- highlighted their own shortcomings. And their inability to finish Ajax off almost led to their downfall, with Ziyech hitting the post on 79 minutes. When Jan Vertonghen was denied by the crossbar and a goal-line clearance on 87 minutes, it was surely a sign that Tottenham's game was up.

But they continued to push, and Ajax foolishly chased another goal rather than killing off the game, and it seemed inevitable that Pochettino's team would get one last chance. And so it proved, deep into stoppage time, when Moura punished a Blind slip and latched onto Alli's pass before scoring from 18 yards.

What a night, what a week. And when Spurs meet Liverpool in the final on June 1, more madness surely awaits.

South Africa allrounder Chris Morris will join Hampshire for this year's Vitality Blast.

The 32-year-old Morris was this week called into South Africa's World Cup squad as a replacement for fast bowler Anrich Nortje, who was ruled out of the tournament because of a fractured thumb.

Morris will join Hampshire at the end of his World Cup commitments and will be available for the entire Blast season.

A fierce right-arm seamer and destructive middle-order hitter, Morris has made 63 appearances so far for his national side since his debut in a T20I against New Zealand in 2012. He averages 20.50 with the ball in T20Is with a strike rate of 130.39 with the bat.

Playing domestically for the Titans, Morris has also featured in several franchise competitions around the world, including the IPL and CPL, and he played for Surrey in the 2016 Blast.

"I'm really looking forward to joining Hampshire for the Vitality Blast," Morris said. "It's an exciting tournament and it's an exciting summer coming up - I can't wait to get there and play at the Ageas Bowl and express what I can do."

Hampshire director of cricket, Giles White said: "We were delighted when Chris agreed early on to join us for the season. He's a dynamic batsman in the middle-order and a handful with the ball both up front and at the death, so he's a great fit for us and hopefully he'll make a big difference this summer."

Hampshire begin their quest to reach an eighth T20 finals day in 10 years on July 19 when they host Sussex.

Delhi Capitals captain Shreyas Iyer has said the last two overs of their chase in the IPL eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad were "like hell". In that time, Capitals saw a straightforward equation of 12 runs from 12 balls come down to two needed off the last two with three wickets also falling in between.

Capitals were 151 for 5, chasing a target of 163, but lost Sherfane Rutherford, Rishabh Pant and Amit Mishra in the next ten balls, before Keemo Paul pulled Khaleel Ahmed for the winning boundary off the penultimate delivery. Capitals will now meet Chennai Super Kings in the second qualifier to decide who goes through to the final against Mumbai Indians.

"I can't express my emotions," Iyer said at the presentation ceremony, after Capitals had won their first ever IPL playoff or knockout match. "It was such a pressure situation. I was just sitting with my teammates and it felt as if I've been sitting with them for years! Those last two overs it was like hell, to be honest.

"I could see the happiness in everyone's faces, and it was an amazing feeling to see them coming out and expressing themselves. Obviously the joy we're going to share after victory is going to be really good. And yes, hoping for another one against Chennai. We're definitely not going to be intimidated by any team. Looking forward to the next game."

The chase for Capitals was set up by Prithvi Shaw's 56 off 38 at the top of the order, before Rishabh Pant blasted 49 off 21 to take them to the brink of victory. Iyer said he didn't interfere with the instincts of both young batsmen, preferring to let them express themselves.

"I personally feel they are the sort of batsmen you can't [try to] control," Iyer said. "You just have to leave them on their own and not say anything to them. Because if you say anything, it will play in their minds. When you stop a batsman like Rishabh or Prithvi, if you stop their flow, definitely they are not going to perform up to your expectation. Such situations if they go with their flow, they can win you matches, and it was really amazing to see both of them chipping in today and taking our team through."

Pant had blasted Basil Thampi for 22 runs in the 18th over, changing the complexion of the match and ensuring Capitals could get over the line despite their late collapse from 151 for 5 to 161 for 8. Pant himself was out in the 19th over, leaving Capitals five to get from seven balls.

"If you are set inside on a wicket like this you need to finish the match for the team. I took it very close, but in the end I couldn't finish the match. Next time I'll try to finish it for my team," Pant, the Player of the Match, said. "I just try to be positive every time I go in. If your mindset is negative, it's difficult to play your shots. Especially in T20 when you're set, and you need some 40 runs in four overs, you have to have a big over. That's what I did today. I didn't try to hit the ball too hard, I just took my time and in the end, I was just trying to time the ball and it went all my way today."

The pitch at the ACA stadium in Visakhapatnam was sticky, with the ball not coming on to the bat and scoring becoming more difficult after the Powerplay. Sunrisers got off to a good start after being put in, with Martin Guptill hitting a 19-ball 36, but Capitals pulled things back.

"The start they got was really good on this track. It was really tough to control Martin Guptill," Iyer said. "The way he carried on with this flow in the Powerplay, I think they got an above-par score. We controlled in between, especially Mishy bhai (Amit Mishra) with that amazing spell, coming up and giving 15-odd runs I guess (1 for 16 in four overs). He was exceptionally good. The other bowlers came and chipped in with good economic bowling. Overall, really happy with the efforts of our bowlers. It was a good wicket to bat against the seamers, but 160 was a good total to defend on this wicket."

It was only four overs, but the evidence was compelling: there is simply no way Jofra Archer can be left out of England's World Cup squad. And realistically, the final word of the preceding sentence should be 'team".

Indeed, so compelling was the evidence that even the last resistance to Archer's inclusion - the England bowlers whose position he threatens - appear to have been won over. Liam Plunkett, who bowled pretty nicely himself, admitted Archer was "a class act" whose inclusion would make England "a better team". At this stage, any other view would be flat-earthist.

Yes, conditions were helpful. Yes, we must be careful before coming to conclusions on limited evidence. But the pace, the control and the skill exhibited by Archer in those first four overs - his average pace was 90.47 mph - rendered further debate about whether he should be included superfluous. The question now is simply who he replaces in that 15-man squad.

If has generally been Archer's pace that has gained most attention in his career to date. And it is quite an asset. The fact that he can generate speeds of 93.2 mph - his highest here - with apparent ease will give England a weapon they have long required on flat pitches and without the benefit of a Dukes ball. The prospect of him in tandem with Mark Wood is mouthwatering.

But his bowling is about far more than pace. Here he showed the skill to move the white ball sharply off the pitch, the control to start his spell with successive maidens and not conceding a run off the bat until his 19th delivery. Three times in the first over, he beat the edge of Iman-ul-Haq's bat with the batsmen pretty much blameless as he was drawn into playing at good length balls on off stump.

Archer's delivery point, close to the stumps, tends to demand a stroke, but Imam was left groping at air as the ball zipped away from him. In his second over the edge off Fakhar Zaman's bat flew to slip so sharply that Joe Root was struck on the chest before he could complete the catch.

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None of England's other seamers gained anything like the same movement or generated anything like the same pace. Nicely enough though Chris Woakes, Ben Stokes and Plunkett bowled, they looked pedestrian by comparison.

Might it have been relevant that Archer was bowling with a different ball to Woakes, his new-ball partner? And from the other end? Possibly. But when Plunkett replaced Archer in the attack, he was unable to replicate the pace or movement, either. He gained a wicket with a cutter on a good length that invited the drive, left the batsman just slightly and took the edge, but there was no comparison. Not since Stuart Broad's early days has an England bowler promised so much. He has to force someone out of the World Cup squad. And he probably has to force someone out of the Ashes squad, too. This was irrefutable.

Quite who will make way in the World Cup squad remains unclear. While Plunkett's career may be in gentle decline, he provided another reminder here that he remains an awkward proposition for batsmen and retains the habit of picking up wickets. Tom Curran and David Willey have fine attributes, too, while Trevor Bayliss has previously stated that he would prefer a third spinner in the squad - the position occupied by Joe Denly at present - instead of "overstocking" with seamers.

It was intriguing to see Joe Root introduced into the attack for the 15th over, though. It was the time when Moeen Ali, who missed this game with a rib injury, might have expected to be introduced and perhaps suggested that England are considering the possibility of using Root as the reserve off-spinner if necessary. He was cut for one boundary when he dropped short but otherwise conceded only singles. The rain denied Denly a chance to show what he can do and prevented England from furthering their knowledge of his value with the ball at this level.

But they have surely seen enough of Archer now. They know he can utilise the new ball; they know - as he showed in Dublin - that he can trouble batsmen in the middle overs and the evidence of his T20 career suggests he should also prove valuable at the death. And, as he has settled into this England environment, so the language has changed from his team-mates. Where once he seemed to be perceived as an outside threat, now he is acknowledged as a special talent within the group.

"With him in your squad, you're going to be a better team," Plunkett said afterwards. "He's obviously a class act. He showed that today. He's bowled really nicely with pace and smashed good areas. It looks easy for him. He ambles in, bowls 93 mph and makes it look effortless. It's something you don't see day in, day out."

While Plunkett is clearly one of those whose position is threatened by Archer, he accepts that the arrival of such a talent - and such competition for places - is good for England.

"Whoever performs best should be in the squad," he said. "And if it wasn't Jofra it would be someone else - maybe Jake Ball - knocking on the door. There will always be someone there. And if they come in and bowl well, they deserve to be there.

"It's going to be disappointing for someone, but it's elite sport. We are playing cricket for England, not park cricket. We are here to do a job and we all want to win. The best squad will get picked."

GRAPEVINE, Texas -- Dallas Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said the team is "off and running" in contract talks with quarterback Dak Prescott and Amari Cooper, and Jones also mentioned the desire to sign Ezekiel Elliott to an extension.

The talks have been mostly preliminary so far without much back and forth, but the Cowboys have made it known that they want to keep all three for the long term.

Jones said he will have a word of caution for Prescott, Cooper and Elliott, just as he did for DeMarcus Lawrence before the two-time Pro Bowl defensive end signed a five-year, $105 million deal last month.

"As I told DeMarcus Lawrence, and I'll tell all three of these guys: I'd love for you to max out and give you exactly what you want, because y'all have worked hard and you deserve to have a big contract. But if we want to put together the type of team we want to have with the Cowboys ..." Jones said Wednesday at the team's annual sponsor's golf tournament at Cowboys Golf Club.

"That's not their job. It's not their job to manage the cap; I understand that. But it is my job and [owner Jerry Jones'] job, so they will understand why we're negotiating hard to make the very best deal we can. Because the money, if we can talk them into not maxing out -- doing well, but not maxed -- then that allows us to have other good football players around them."

Prescott and Cooper are in the final year of their contracts. Prescott, a fourth-round pick in 2016, is set to make a little more than $2 million in 2019. Cooper is set to make $13.9 million on the fifth-year option of his deal.

Contract extensions for both players figure to be at or near the top of the players at their position, with Prescott looking at roughly $30 million per season and Cooper anywhere from $16 million to $18 million.

Two weeks ago, the Cowboys picked up the 2020 option on Elliott's contract at $9.09 million.

"Zeke, as we all know, he's such an important player to this organization," Stephen Jones said. "He's a guy that we want to have here long term. The only reason you say, 'Well, maybe he's not at the front, front [of the list],' is because he's got this year, then he's got another year at his tender.

"These things can take time. But Zeke's every bit as important, and then you start going down the line, whether it's a Byron Jones, a La'el Collins, and these guys coming up, Jaylon Smith. I mean these are all players that we'll need to address at some point in time, and they're all players that we've drafted, that we've developed, that we think are the right kind of guys that play our defense, play our offense the way we want to play. Certainly guys we want to keep. It's a great problem to have because we do have good young football players, but it's also a challenge."

Jones hopes the players can see the bigger picture of what it means to play for the Cowboys now and for their futures, alluding to ex-players who have moved into television careers -- Troy Aikman, Tony Romo, Michael Irvin, Deion Sanders, Daryl Johnston and Darren Woodson.

"You look at the TV booths, and you look at what these players do off the field," Jones said. "If we can put Super Bowl rings on these guys, then they'll be legends around this area for many, many, many years to come. What they give up a little bit in their contract, they should be able to invest in being a Cowboy and making our teams better.

"Now, we've got to go get the job done as an organization, which means winning Super Bowls and doing great things on the field."