Real Madrid players have been talking to Neymar to persuade the Paris Saint-Germain star to join them at the Bernabeu, sources have told ESPN FC.
PSG sporting director Leonardo has confirmed that his club would sell the Brazil forward for the right price this summer, and officials at both Madrid and Barcelona are trying to negotiate a deal.
Meanwhile, anti-Neymar banners were flown during the Ligue 1 champions' 3-0 win over Nimes at the weekend, demonstrating some fans' lack of patience with the player.
A return to Barca appeared to be Neymar's most likely move earlier in the summer, but Madrid are increasingly confident they can take advantage of a strained relationship between the Barca and PSG hierarchies, following the 27-year-old's controversial switch to Paris two summers ago.
Barca defender Gerard Pique last week called on his former teammate to publicly speak out and push through his "complicated" return to the Camp Nou, with the Blaugrana board unable to match PSG's asking price and hoping to make a player-swap deal instead.
It is also unlikely Madrid can match the world record €222 million fee paid by PSG two years ago, having been unable to find the £180m that Manchester United wanted for Paul Pogba before the Premier League transfer window shut last week.
Sources say that Madrid are now "going hard" to try and sign Neymar before Spain's summer market closes on Sept. 2, and squad members have also been calling Neymar directly to tell him that he would be welcome at the Bernabeu.
Neymar is a long-time target of Madrid president Florentino Perez, who has tried on numerous occasions to sign the highly marketable star, both before and after he joined Barca from Santos back in 2013.
Zinedine Zidane would like to move on highly paid Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez before the window shuts, but Madrid have yet to receive sufficient bids for either player.
After Madrid's final preseason game at Roma on Sunday, Zidane was asked if he would like Neymar in his team next season. He said: "We are here with the team we have, the players we have.
"We just think about that. Next week our league begins and our minds are just thinking about Saturday."
The MLS secondary transfer window slammed shut last Wednesday, ending a brief and intense barrage of moves as clubs worked to solidify their rosters for the stretch run of the season. The Galaxy finally got their man, Cristian Pavon, LAFC added a young star in Brian Fernandez, and a handful of teams feverishly worked the trade market in a bid to get better.
What does it all mean? It's too early to tell. The impact the new players will have is yet to be seen, though there are several clubs expected to shake up their XIs with playoffs (and playoff seeding) on the line.
The best remain the best. LAFC didn't play a perfect defensive game against the Red Bulls but the attack is so good it didn't matter. With his goal in the win, Carlos Vela remained on pace to break the MLS single-season goal-scoring record.
A keeper gaffe and... whatever you call what Jack Elliot did... helped the Union to a second consecutive win against Houston Dynamo. This was an important one, since it kept Philadelphia atop the Eastern Conference in front of hard-charging Atlanta United. Gotta win those home games.
Josef Martinez's adductor seems to be fine in the win over New York City. The same can't be said for his hair, which seems to be a strange chrome color now. Maybe it's a message about the defending champions hunting silverware? Atlanta has to be considered an MLS Cup contender and they'll play for the Open Cup title later this month.
You can't lose to Colorado and not slip in the rankings. Again, the Quakes lost a game not because they played poorly, but because they didn't finish their chances. Matias Almeyda's effort-heavy system was always going to be pushed to its limits in the altitude of Commerce City.
Just in case we all forgot that Minnesota United played (and won) a massive Open Cup semifinal in midweek and didn't put everything they had into a trip to FC Dallas, the team's game recap press release made sure to remind us: HEAVILY ROTATED MNUFC FALLS 5-3 TO DALLAS. In case you missed it, the Loons were HEAVILY ROTATED.
The Revs played a wild game full of twists and turns and VAR and penalty kicks and goalmouth scrambles against the Sounders and left Seattle with a single point. Disappointed or not, the Revs showed that they have the quality and the fight to be very dangerous when October comes around.
Dome Torrent's team didn't rise to the moment in Atlanta and the NYCFC coach said as much after the game. "What is the reason you play different against Atlanta? You have to be brave in Atlanta. If you want to play here you have to be brave. If you are scared here, forget about it. Stay in New York. You have to play."
The Timbers put a lesser team in the Whitecaps to the sword at home, something that hasn't come easily to them since Providence Park reopened. That's a good first step on the way -- they hope -- to making all their upcoming home games count towards a playoff spot.
The Sounders moved into second place in the West with a point against New England, but that won't make the sting of points dropped at home hurt any less. The way those points got dropped -- via a penalty kick given because the ball jumped up and hit Jordy Delem's hand -- was excruciating.
The Red Bulls gave it a shot out in LA, but the quality of LAFC was too much for the visitors to handle at Banc of California Stadium. Glimpses of the vintage (read: Jesse Marsch) era Red Bulls emerged in the loss, but it could only delay the inevitable.
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Dallas prevail over Minnesota in 8-goal mayhem
Minnesota's Mason Toye saw red at the end of a frantic 5-3 win for FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium. To watch MLS, sign up to ESPN+.
Paxton Pomykal had a hat trick of assists, Brandon Servania scored his first two MLS goals off the bench, and the Hoops bounced back multiple times to secure a win over Minnesota United in Frisco. FC Dallas put six shots on goal in the game and only failed to score with one of them.
In normal circumstances, the focus would be on RSL's win against Sporting Kansas City and what it might mean for the playoff push. With news that the club fired Mike Petke on Sunday night, the circumstances have changed dramatically. Freddy Juarez, this is your squad now.
That's not the way it was supposed to go for the Galaxy on the road in DC. United didn't have Wayne Rooney and benched Luciano Acosta and still managed to do a smash-and-grab job on Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Co. Cristian Pavon's debut was a mixed bag on bad turf.
One point in Toronto is better than no points, especially coming off of the emotional loss to Atlanta midweek in the Open Cup semis. The Lions are hovering -- not clearly a playoff team, but not clearly an also-ran -- and it may take the full balance of the regular season to suss out where they'll end up.
A throwback to the "Benny Ball" of yore earned the Black and Red a 2-1 win over the Galaxy at Audi Field on Sunday. Wayne Rooney was ill after flitting back-and-forth across the Atlantic and Luciano Acosta was rooted on the bench. It's hard to see DCU making a deep playoff run without those players.
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D.C. United overpower Zlatan's LA Galaxy
D.C. United moved up to third in the Eastern Conference with a 2-1 win over Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy. To watch more MLS sign up to ESPN+.
The Fire have themselves a winning streak and a three-game unbeaten run thanks to a goal from Bastian Schweinsteiger that lifted them over the Impact on Saturday. It was Schweinsteiger's first goal of the year -- a tally that not only won the game but pushed Chicago to within three points of a playoff spot in the East.
Sporting has lost more games at home than it has won, which tells you just about all you need to know about how this season has gone for Peter Vermes and his team. The narrowing window for Sporting to climb back into the playoff picture narrowed further with a loss to RSL on Saturday.
Just when it looked like the Rapids' ascension under Conor Casey was crashing back to earth, Colorado goes back-to-back with wins over playoff-contending teams. Saturday's victory over San Jose probably doesn't do much for their playoff chances, but it renews the recent good feelings.
Gyasi Zardes, at point blank range, had a chance to win the first MLS edition of the "Hell Is Real" derby in the closing seconds. He blazed over an open net and the points were shared.
It's hard not to see Saturday's draw with Orlando as a missed opportunity for the Reds. At home against a team battling with them for a playoff spot, all Toronto could manage was a single point. For a team that was once the league's elite team, the mediocrity is calcifying quickly.
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Toronto salvage draw late vs. Orlando
Patrick Mullins finally found the net for Toronto to force a 1-1 draw with Orlando City at BMO Field. To watch MLS, sign up to ESPN+.
Remi Garde left some big names on the bench in Chicago, a move that might come back to haunt him and the Impact as their grip on the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference begins to slip. Both of the clubs chasing the Impact have played one fewer game than Montreal.
Recently acquired striker Christian Ramirez scored on his Dynamo debut in Philadelphia, a positive sign for a team need of goals. But the Dynamo's rapidly sinking stone means the playoffs are getting further and further away with each passing week. It was a rough week with two losses in the span of four days.
Last week the 'Caps won a game against the worst team in the league. This week, they lost a game to a team decidedly better than that. The bright spot in Portland was 19-year old homegrown signing Theo Blair's stunning first MLS tally. It's all about the future in B.C.
Saturday was big for FC Cincinnati: It was head coach coach Ron Jans' debut, representing a new start to life in MLS for FCC. It was the first game against their built-in, in-state rival Columbus and the chance to claim Ohio MLS supremacy. In that light, the 2-2 draw was disappointing and encouraging all at once.
The ECB has confirmed two more coaching appointments for The Hundred, with Gary Kirsten and Matthew Mott taking charge of the Cardiff-based men's and women's teams respectively.
Kirsten, the former South Africa opener, coached India to World Cup victory in 2011 and then oversaw South Africa's rise to the No. 1 Test ranking. He has had extensive experience in the world of franchise T20, working with Bangalore Royal Challengers in the IPL and Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash.
"To be involved in English and Welsh cricket from a coaching perspective is something that I have never done," Kirsten said. "It's great to be given that opportunity and to come to Cardiff.
"This is a new format that I am sure will grow and grow. The real win is that it will grab the attention of families and expose the game of cricket to as many environments and communities as possible."
Mott knows Cardiff well from his time in charge of Glamorgan between 2011 and 2013. He has previously coached in the Sheffield Shield, and took charge of the Australia women's team in 2015, leading them to the title at last year's T20 World Cup, and overseeing their successful recent defence of the Ashes in the UK.
"Cardiff is a special place for me and my family and that was a big part in my decision to return," Mott said.
"I've got no doubt The Hundred will be a success for the women's game. I've got a young son who is a Sydney Sixers fan and he doesn't see gender - he just sees the team. The Hundred will provide that sort of platform in England and Wales and I can't speak highly enough of what that can mean for the game."
Real Madrid players have been talking to Neymar to persuade the Paris Saint-Germain star to join them at the Bernabeu, sources have told ESPN FC.
PSG sporting director Leonardo has confirmed that his club would sell the Brazil forward for the right price this summer, and officials at both Madrid and Barcelona are trying to negotiate a deal.
Meanwhile, anti-Neymar banners were flown during the Ligue 1 champions' 3-0 win over Nimes at the weekend, demonstrating some fans' lack of patience with the player.
A return to Barca appeared to be Neymar's most likely move earlier in the summer, but Madrid are increasingly confident they can take advantage of a strained relationship between the Barca and PSG hierarchies, following the 27-year-old's controversial switch to Paris two summers ago.
Barca defender Gerard Pique last week called on his former teammate to publicly speak out and push through his "complicated" return to the Camp Nou, with the Blaugrana board unable to match PSG's asking price and hoping to make a player-swap deal instead.
It is also unlikely Madrid can match the world record €222 million fee paid by PSG two years ago, having been unable to find the £180m that Manchester United wanted for Paul Pogba before the Premier League transfer window shut last week.
Sources say that Madrid are now "going hard" to try and sign Neymar before Spain's summer market closes on Sept. 2, and squad members have also been calling Neymar directly to tell him that he would be welcome at the Bernabeu.
Neymar is a long-time target of Madrid president Florentino Perez, who has tried on numerous occasions to sign the highly marketable star, both before and after he joined Barca from Santos back in 2013.
Zinedine Zidane would like to move on highly paid Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez before the window shuts, but Madrid have yet to receive sufficient bids for either player.
After Madrid's final preseason game at Roma on Sunday, Zidane was asked if he would like Neymar in his team next season. He said: "We are here with the team we have, the players we have.
"We just think about that. Next week our league begins and our minds are just thinking about Saturday."
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's new contract makes him a free agent after the 2019 season, and it comes at the same time he and wife Gisele Bundchen are attempting to sell their Massachusetts home, which Brady addressed on Monday morning.
"You shouldn't read into anything. I think it takes a long time to sell a house. My house is a little bit of an expensive one, so it doesn't fly off the shelf in a couple weeks," Brady said in his first appearance of the season on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show."
"I think I'm at a point in my life where there's a lot of considerations that go into playing. I have a very busy professional life, I have a very busy personal life. Any decision that's made has to consider everything. I'm certainly at a place where I've been in the same place for a long time, and I love playing for the Patriots. I have such a great relationship with Mr. [Robert] Kraft, Coach [Bill] Belichick and our team. We'll just worry about that when that happens. This isn't the time to worry about it."
Brady, who said he loves building houses and would consider a career as an architectural designer after his playing career, fielded several questions about his football future in the radio interview, including if he has allowed himself to consider the possibility of not finishing his career as a Patriot. He repeated multiple times that his focus is on 2019 and controlling the things he can control.
"I think I'm in a great mental, emotional place to approach the season," Brady said on the program. "There is no point in worrying about things like that. There are so many hypotheticals -- this and that -- and if you spend time all your time and energy on those things, you [lose] track of what's most important, which is what's happening right now. This is where I want to be. This is the team I want to be a part of, and leading. I'm really excited about doing that. There's really not much to read into it than that."
As part of Brady's new contract, the Patriots agreed not to place the franchise tag on him after the season. Brady, who repeated in the interview that he hopes to play until he's 45, was asked why that was important to him in the contract.
"Those are some personal feelings, and there's a lot of personal conversations I've had that really aren't for other people's knowledge," he said on the program. "I think what this is about is this season and dealing with this year. Beyond this year, whether it's signing five more years, or signing a franchise tag, or not playing, none of those things needed to be decided this year. I'm just focused on this season and being in the right mental, emotional frame of mind to go out there and perform at the highest level.
"Like I said, I have such a great relationship with the team. I've had 20 years of success with Mr. Kraft and Jonathan [Kraft], and with Coach Belichick, with the whole organization. All the coaches. They know how I feel about them. We've just done some great things. We're going to try to go do it again this year. It takes a lot to get from now to March, and I don't want to overlook the big challenge that we're facing. I don't want my mind convoluted with thoughts that are premature, and ones that I'm worried about beyond what the current situation is -- which is us trying to go achieve what we all hope we can achieve. That's where my focus is and that's what I'm excited about. So let's go baby! Put me in, Coach. I'm ready to go play."
Brady, 42, was asked if he'd be open to continuing contract negotiations during the season, and he said he didn't want to address any hypothetical situations because his focus was on the present.
"I've been experimenting with a couple different ones, and I don't really love the one that I'm in, but I don't really have much of a choice," Brady said Monday on the "The Greg Hill Show" on sports radio WEEI. "So I'm just trying to do the best I can to work with it."
Brady's old helmet, the Riddell VSR-4, was among those prohibited by the NFL this year, as part of a joint venture with the players' association to help improve player safety.
"You get used to the same helmet for a long period of time. My last helmet, I wore it the last four Super Bowls, so it was a pretty great helmet for me. I hated to put it on the shelf," he said on the radio program. "It's kind of what I'm dealing with."
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy noted that NFL policy states that helmets have to be certified by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) and that it doesn't clear equipment that is older than 10 years.
McCarthy explained that players can't practice or play in games until they wear an approved helmet.
Rich Paul, founder and CEO of Klutch Sports Group, said that while it's "flattering" that the NCAA's new agent provisions are being called the "Rich Paul Rule," he's more concerned about the greater impact the new criteria will have.
Colloquially dubbed the "Rich Paul Rule," the memo, obtained by ESPN, outlines new criteria for agents interested in representing players testing the NBA draft waters: a bachelor's degree, NBPA certification for at least three consecutive years, professional liability insurance and completion of an in-person exam taken in early November at the NCAA office in Indianapolis.
"The harmful consequences of this decision will ricochet onto others who are trying to break in," Paul said in an op-ed for The Athletic. "NCAA executives are once again preventing young people from less prestigious backgrounds, and often people of color, from working in the system they continue to control. In this case, the people being locked out are kids who aspire to be an agent and work in the NBA and do not have the resources, opportunity, or desire to get a four-year degree.
"I actually support requiring three years of experience before representing a kid testing the market. I can even get behind passing a test. However, requiring a four-year degree accomplishes only one thing -- systematically excluding those who come from a world where college is unrealistic.
"Does anyone really believe a four-year degree is what separates an ethical person from a con artist?"
Last year, Paul began representing Darius Bazley after the No. 13 prospect in the Class of 2018 decommitted from Syracuse. The plan had been for Bazley to play in the G League, but instead, under Paul's direction, he landed a $1 million internship at New Balance and spent the year training for the NBA draft.
"To be honest, I have no idea whether the NCAA adopted the new rule specifically because of my work with Darius Bazley, as people have speculated, or if it is because they know there are more and more people like me fighting for their chance and challenging this antiquated system," Paul said.
Paul said he's worried the new stipulations will present a road block for people like himself, who come from more challenging backgrounds, to get to his level of success in the field.
"When I travel back to neighborhoods like the inner city of Greater Cleveland where I'm from, young black kids tell me that they see my career as another path for them out of their troubled surroundings," Paul said. "They want to grow up to do what I do. That inspires me."
In the op-ed, Paul offered suggestions to how the NCAA could still reach its stated goals while being less exclusionary with its policies.
"Why [doesn't the NCAA] partner with universities on a one-year program for agents who don't meet their requirements but want to learn the business? Or work with existing agents who play by the rules to help mentor those who are trying to 'break in,'" Paul suggested.
He ended his op-ed with his own take on a hashtag popularized by friend and client James: "#MoreThanAnAgent."
The San Francisco Giants announced Sunday during a pregame ceremony honoring the 1989 National League championship team that Will Clark's No. 22 will be retired next year.
Clark, now a special assistant with the team, was joined on the field for the announcement by several other former Giants from the team that lost to the Oakland Athletics in the '89 World Series.
"To be forever linked with the greatest who have ever played this sport here in San Francisco, it's absolutely amazing,'' Clark told the crowd.
Clark will become just the second former Giants player to have his number retired without being in the Hall of Fame. Barry Bonds is the other.
"To know I'm going to be out on that wall with Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, Barry Bonds ... is absolutely unbelievable.
"It's something I'll never forget. This is my hall of fame. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Clark told the crowd.
Clark was a five-time All-Star in his eight seasons with the Giants and finished second in NL MVP voting in 1989. The former first baseman also won a Gold Glove in 1991. He hit .299 with 176 home runs and 709 RBIs in 1,160 games for San Francisco. He retired from baseball in 2000 with a career batting average of .303 in 15 seasons.
Sensationally the winner at the Grand Finals last December in Incheon, Japan’s Tomokazu Harimoto heads the men’s singles seeding in Panagyurishte. Presently on the standings, he is named at no.5 (506 points); he not may quite be mathematically certain of a place in the Grand Finals but a good performance, justify his status and he will be virtually home and dry.
He is listed ahead of Germany’s Dimitrij Ovtcharov; the Japanese duo of Koki Niwa and Jun Mizutani being the next in line. All three are somewhat on the brink, Dimitrij Ovtcharov, the winner in Panagyurishte in 2017, stands at no.15 (200 points), being behind Jun Mizutani, listed at no.12 (264 points) but ahead of Koki Niwa at no.18 (174 points).
Korea Republic’s Lee Sangsu is the no.5 seed followed by England’s Liam Pitchford, a player aiming to find the form of last year when, in the opening round, he beat China’s redoubtable Ma Long; Hong Kong’s Wong Chun Ting and Vladimir Samsonov of Belarus complete the top eight names.
Borderline
All have some work to do if they are to compete in the Grand Finals. Wong Chun Ting is on the borderline, he is named on the standings at no.16 (198 points), being ahead of Lee Sangsu at no.19 (166 points) and Liam Pitchford at no.22 (124 points). They are in striking distance of qualification; for Vladimir Samsonov, he needs to turn back the clock back to 1997 when he won at the second ever Grand Finals in Hong Kong. On the standings he is named at no.38 (56 points).
It is a similar situation for the one further player on duty in Panagyurishte, who has secured the men’s singles title at the Grand Finals. Chinese Taipei’s Chuang Chih-Yuan, who won the 2002 version in Stockholm, is listed at no.28 (74 points); in Bulgaria he is the no.15 seed. It will take a major effort from the now 38 year old, who has now slipped to no.36 on the men’s world rankings.
A place in the Grand Finals is long shot for both Chuang Chih-Yuan and Vladimir Samsonsov; less so for Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik, the no.9 seed in Panagyurishte; on the standings he is named at no.20 (138 points). Furthermore, Jeoung Youngsik is very much a player in form; one month ago he beat China’s Fan Zhendong on home soil at the quarter-final stage of the men’s singles event at the ITTF World Tour Shinan Korea Open.
Twice the champion
Good performances and chances enhanced, it is the same in the women’s singles, Japan’s Kasumi Ishikawa the winner in Bulgaria in both 2015 and 2017, is the top seed, followed by colleagues Mima Ito and Miu Hirano. Presently on the women’s singles standings, Mima Ito is at no.6 (681 points), Miu Hirano one place below (429 points). Kasumi Ishikawa, who won at the Grand Finals in 2014 in Bangkok, is at no.10 (372 points).
Further down the list and looking very much an outside candidate for a place in the Grand Finals is the Korea Republic’s Suh Hyowon; the no.4 seed in Panagyurishte, she is presently at no.24 (114 points), alongside Austria’s Sofia Polcanova and two places behind Romania’s Bernadette Szocs (122 points). In Bulgaria, Sofia Polcanova is the no.10 seed, Bernadette Szocs, the no.9 seed.
Undoubtedly the two European players are in contention for Grand Final places but more in contention are the players who complete the top eight names in the women’s singles event. China’s He Zhuojia is the no.5 seed, next on the list is the Japanese duo of Saki Shibata and Hitomi Sato followed by Korea Republic’s Jeon Jihee. Presently on the standings, Hitomi Sato is named at no.14 (232 points), He Zhuojia, the runner up last December at the Incheon Grand Finals at no.15 (182 points). She is pursued by Jeon Jihee, at no.17 (172 points) and Saki Sibata at no.19 (147 points).
Most certainly, all could claim places in the 2019 Grand Finals as could China’s Chen Xingtong, the no.11 seed in Bulgaria; on the standings she is named at no.13 (239 points).
Enhance cause
Likewise, in the men’s doubles event, Hong Kong’s Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting alongside Korea Republic’s Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu, the respective top two seeded pairs could do their cause for a place in the Grand Finals no harm at all. On the men’s doubles listings Jeoung Youngsik and Lee Sangsu occupy the no.2 spot (550 points), two places ahead of Ho Kwan Kit and Wong Chun Ting (413 points).
Next on the seeding in Bulgaria is the pair that defies logic. Chen Chien-An and Chuang Chih-Yuan are together again; in 2013 they won the men’s singles title at the Liebherr World Championships, as a pair they have never reached an ITTF World Tour men’s doubles final! On the current standings they are named at no.12 (119 points).
Top seeded spot for Korea Republic
The second seeded spot for the Korea Republic in the men’s doubles event, in the women’s doubles it is the top spot. Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun head the list ahead of Japanese teenagers Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki. Both pairs have eyes on the Grand Finals, Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki occupy the no.6 spot (238 points); Jeon Jihee and Yang Haeun stand at no.9 (150 points).
Also on duty in Panagyurishte and in contention for a Grand Finals place is the European combination of Slovakia’s Barbora Balazova and the Czech Republic’s Hana Matelova, the no.3 seeds, as well as the Chinese Taipei pairing of Chen Szu-Yu and Cheng Hsien-Tzu, the no.6 seeds. On the Standings, Chen Szu-Yu and Cheng Hsien-Tzu appear at no.8 (164 points), Barbora Balazova and Hana Matelova at no.11 (139 points).
Notably, Miyuu Kihara and Miyu Nagasaki, alongside Chen Szu-Yu and Cheng Hsien-Tzu, Barbora Balazova and Hana Matelova, are the top three pairs that have to date completed the minimal four appearances to compete in the Grand Finals.
On the brink
Meanwhile in the mixed doubles, Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee head the seeding, followed by Austria’s Stefan Fegerl and Sofia Polcanova; next in line is the combination of Tomokazu Harimoto and Kasumi Ishikawa.
Lee Sangsu and Jeon Jihee are on the brink of a place in the Grand Finals, they occupy the no.8 spot (164 points); lower down the order, somewhat outsiders for qualification, Stefan Fegerl and Sofia Polcanova are listed at no.14 (107 points). They are named five places ahead of Romania’s Ovidiu Ionescu and Bernadette Szocs (70 points), the no.6 seeds.
However, the pair to note is that of Jun Mizutani and Mima Ito, the runners up earlier this year in Australia; they are the no.7 seeds in Panagyurishte and could well do their ambitions for a place in the Grand Finals no harm whatsoever, on the standings they are at no.6 (200 points).
Following the conclusion of play at the 2019 Asarel Bulgaria Open, just four tournaments – Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Austria – remain on this year’s calendar.
For just over 24 hours, Wales were ranked unofficially the best side in the world following Australia's 47-26 victory over New Zealand in the Rugby Championship on Saturday.
But Warren Gatland's men failed to make it an official crowning after losing 33-19 to England at Twickenham in Sunday's World Cup warm-up game.
This means the All Blacks stay top of the official World Rugby rankings when they are published on Monday and continue their 10-year dominance.
Former England scrum-half Matt Dawson said he felt that number one tag had weighed on Wales at Twickenham.
Wales certainly demonstrated they still have some work to do to be considered the world's best side as they produced a disjointed performance.
Gatland insists, though, that being number one only matters after the Rugby World Cup final on 2 November in Japan.
"I think some people mentioned it [being ranked number one] yesterday," said Gatland.
"It's a nice accolade but the biggest prize is a couple of months away in Japan. Whoever wins the World Cup is the number one in the world. Everyone's writing off the All Blacks, but you do at your peril."
Fully loaded
The first of four pre-season matches produced an injury concern, with fly-half Gareth Anscombe limping off in the first half.
Cue cries from people asking why Wales were playing so many warm-up games before the World Cup.
There will be no let up, with Gatland saying he intends to name a "fully loaded" side for the return fixture against England in Cardiff next Saturday.
That will not please people who want Wales' top stars safeguarded.
They had already lost British and Irish Lions back-rower Taulupe Faletau (collarbone) to a training ground accident while Cardiff Blues scrum-half Tomos Williams will also have a scan on a shoulder problem.
Wales have a bit more time to name their squad - they unveil their 31-man party at the beginning of September while England name theirs on 12 August.
"I wouldn't want to be naming my squad on Monday, I can tell you that," said Gatland.
"We've got a few more games together and a few more weeks of training."
England coach Eddie Jones had his own agenda after the game, suggesting Wales could have had two players sent off during the match for high tackles.
Jones refused to identify which incidents and perpetrators he was referring to, his outburst coming after the controversial red card issued to New Zealand second-row Scott Barrett in the defeat by Australia on Saturday.
Controversies aside, England ended Wales' 14-match unbeaten run, stretching over 18 months, with a powerful performance.
This was despite Wales having the favourites tag after being at full strength against a second-string English side.
Gatland was disappointed with the defeat but acknowledged that in the long run it is what happens in Japan that matters. After all, no importance will be placed on the score of a pre-season warm-up game in August. Even it is England v Wales.
"It's disappointing, but it's not something that we'll dwell on," said Gatland.
"It's all about what happens in the middle of September, it's what we are building for.
"It's a warm-up game for the World Cup. Any loss is disappointing but it's not competition phase.
"You have to take that opportunity, look at the negatives but also the positives.
"It's about what we take out of today, the things to work on and address."
Bright sparks
There were bright sparks with a brilliant Gareth Davies try that Gareth Edwards would have been proud of, while George North and Jonathan Davies looked dangerous in attack.
But a slow start cost Gatland's side dear, as the Wales defence was too passive initially and handling errors were committed when chances were created.
Lineout mistakes and scrum weaknesses were also concerning as England's tight forwards strangled Wales in the second half.
These are all matters to be addressed before England visit Cardiff.
"We went into the Six Nations with a strategy against England and we implemented that well and were effective," added Gatland.
"Today we played differently and tried to work things out. England did what they're good at.
"Their scrum was excellent, they drove the lineouts well and they were direct in the way they played.
"We've got some things to tidy up on to negate that. They've scored a try from our errors.
"We need to be more accurate in attack. We addressed a few things and I thought we were a lot better in the second half.
"We think those things are pretty fixable. To stop them getting momentum at driven line-outs is something we'll work on along with the scrum.
"Overall it looked like a pre-season game for us and we will definitely be better next week."
Wales know they will have to be.
There is no need to panic quite yet but a return to winning ways against Wales' greatest rivals next weekend will help regain that World Cup momentum which can contribute to the overall prize of being ranked number one in the world - when it matters.
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