Alexis Sanchez shrugged off an ankle injury and continued his resurgent form at the Copa America as the Chile striker fired his side to a 2-1 victory over Ecuador on Friday which took the holders into the quarter-finals of the competition.

Chile took the lead in the eighth minute when Jose Fuenzalida volleyed into the net but Ecuador were awarded a penalty when goalkeeper Gabriel Arias clattered Jhegson Mendez, allowing Enner Valencia to level from the spot in the 26th.

Sanchez, who had ended a barren five-month spell by scoring in Monday's 4-0 win against Japan, put Chile ahead early in the second half, expertly guiding a bouncing cross into the net with one touch.

Ecuador, who were hammered 4-0 by Uruguay in their opening game, rarely threatened again and saw defender Gabriel Achilier receive a straight red card in stoppage time for a rash tackle on Arturo Vidal, who had to be taken off.

Sanchez later revealed he had been playing with an ankle injury sustained in the first half.

"After a cross I rolled my ankle but I put a bandage on it, I took a pill for the pain and I came out again," he told reporters.

"I think I have a sprain, I was playing with pain but I hope it's not too serious."

Chile coach Reinaldo Rueda praised Sanchez for playing on, adding that the ankle was not the same one he injured in May.

"He was evaluated by the doctors at halftime who said he could continue, although he put lots of ice on it at halftime. He made a huge effort in the second half," he said.

"We'll evaluate it again but we hope it isn't serious."

Chile, Copa champions in 2015 and 2016, lead Group C on six points. Uruguay are second on four with Japan third on one and Ecuador bottom with no points.

Ecuador still have an outside chance of sneaking into the quarter-finals as one of the two best ranked third-place finishers but they must win their game against Japan on Monday and hope other results go their way.

Their coach, Hernan Dario Gomez, gave the briefest of post-match news conferences, saying he was not in the mood to take questions and gave a short assessment of the game before leaving.

Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Dutch defender Mike van Beijnen, the son of Frenkie de Jong's agent Ali Dursun.

Van Beijnen, 20, has signed a two-year deal and will link up with Barca B for preseason. He has a release clause that has been fixed at €100 million.

- When does the 2019-20 La Liga season start?

He has previously represented NAC Breda, PSV Eindhoven and Willem II, where he played alongside De Jong at youth level.

Barca beat Paris Saint-Germain to the signing of Ajax's De Jong in January following negotiations with Van Beijnen's father.

Netherlands midfielder De Jong will be officially presented at the start of July after Barca and Ajax agreed an initial fee of €75m.

Meanwhile, Barca have announced that they will play a preseason friendly against Europa League runners-up Arsenal at the Camp Nou on Aug. 4.

The match for the annual Joan Gamper trophy is traditionally Barca's final game before the new season, but this year's fixture takes place between tours to Japan and the United States.

Barca play Europa League winners Chelsea in Tokyo on July 23 before meeting former captain Andres Iniesta's Vissel Kobe on July 27.

After returning to Barcelona to face Arsenal, they then have two games against Napoli in the inaugural La Liga-Serie A Cup in Miami on Aug. 7 and Michigan on Aug. 10.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

CLEVELAND -- U.S. men's national team manager Gregg Berhalter stressed that his team needs to be patient in order to defeat Trinidad & Tobago in its Gold Cup group stage match on Saturday.

T&T has historically been a team that sat back and used their speed to hit teams on the break, but manager Dennis Lawrence and midfielder Kevan George both spoke during their press conference about possessing the ball better than they did against Panama, with George even going so far as to say T&T was a "possession-based team."

But Berhalter is anticipating that the Soca Warriors will play to their traditional strengths.

- Carlisle: Gold Cup title, not revenge, is USMNT's goal
- CONCACAF Gold Cup: All you need to know
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

"What we see is a team that likes to play on the counterattack," he said about T&T. "They are very good in low-block defending. They're very good at defensive set pieces. They are a big, physical team when they're defending in the penalty box, and they stay organized in mostly a 4-5-1 low block defending, and are difficult to breakdown.

"I haven't seen the possession so much, I think there are stretches in games when they can possess the ball, but I don't think that's their hallmark. They have good players, they're experienced players in the squad, a lot of the same guys that have been playing, but they know each other pretty well. Again, it's going to be a good challenge for our group [Saturday]."

Given that Berhalter is anticipating an approach from the Soca Warriors that emphasizes sitting back in defense, he is stressing speed of play in breaking the opposition down.

"I think it's speed of ball movement, getting behind the back line, trying to put balls between the backline and the goalkeeper, really putting pressure on the defense," he said. "It's a combination of things, but you definitely need speed in what you're doing. When you let them get set and you're not moving them around, it's very easy to defend. We need to move them around and try to create some chances. For us, and it's something I've stressed to the group is being patient, just being patient in the game. It's a 90-minute soccer game, and I think that's a key message to our group."

One question heading into the match is the status of midfielder Weston McKennie and forward Jozy Altidore. Berhalter sounded a bit cautious about McKennie's availability in light of a hamstring injury he sustained in the 4-0 win against Guyana.

"Weston has been receiving treatment, and he was able to train today in some capacity, so I think the outlook looks pretty good," he said. "We'll have to see and keep monitoring him."

As for Altidore, who has also been dealing with a hamstring injury, Berhalter said he is keen to get the striker back on the field.

"Jozy has been doing a good job," said Berhalter. "He's been training hard, and hope to be able to use him soon. What happened in the last game, it became difficult to use him because of the substitution pattern, and then the injury to Weston. We couldn't use him that game. Jozy is a guy we believe in, Jozy is a guy we think can help this team, and we want him to get him involved as soon as possible."

The match marks the first time that the two sides met in a World Cup qualifier back in 2017, a 2-1 win for the Soca Warriors that knocked the U.S. out of the World Cup. T&T manager Lawrence isn't putting any focus on the match.

"The US didn't go to the World Cup and neither did Trinidad & Tobago," he said. "So at the end of it, it was a football game that we managed to win. We know we're in a different tournament. It's a totally different ball game for us, so we've got absolutely no interest in that aspect of it. For us it's about trying to progress and stay alive in the tournament that is important for our country."

Berhalter was also full of praise for the U.S. women's national team, who will take on Spain in a round-of-16 match on Monday.

"I am watching the women's games, and I think they've been doing a great job," he said. "It's a very dynamic attack. I like how intent they are on getting forward, playing forward, a lot of forward momentum in their game. It's been fun to watch. I'm really excited to see the game against Spain, and I'm wishing them really good luck and we're following them closely."

In 2007, Martin Tomszak went to a soccer game, and it changed his life.

He joined the Chicago Fire traveling supporters' group for a match in Toronto. "I think there's a sense of having your back against the wall when you're at another opponent's venue and the camaraderie that comes along with that," he says. "Having 200 or 300 away fans in a Toronto venue was something special. I fell in love immediately." On the bus back home, he bought Fire season tickets and is now the vice-chairperson of Section 8, the team's independent supporters' group.

Last week, Tomszak went on another trip, driving five hours and 300 miles south to St. Louis, where the Fire were starting their 2019 U.S. Open Cup campaign against USL side Saint Louis FC. The MLS club has won the domestic cup four times, and places a high priority on competing for it each season. First-teamers including Dax McCarty, Djordje Mihailovic, Nemanja Nikolic and Nicolas Gaitan played against a team whose entire value on transfermarkt.com is less than the salary of World Cup winner and Chicago Fire center-back Bastian Schweinsteiger -- who missed the Open Cup match.

On paper, the match was a walkover. In reality, a listless Fire squad fell 2-1, bounced out of the Open Cup in their first game. Tensions boiled over after the match, with Mihailovic getting into it with a supporter, then apologizing later.

"They lost in a way that it wasn't even close," Tomszak says. "You would have thought that the roles were reversed with the way that they played. You see a lack of playing style. You see a lack of tactical identity. It's super frustrating to me to be a supporter right now."

It's been a long fall for one of MLS' most successful early franchises. The Fire, with alumni including DaMarcus Beasley, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride, Piotr Nowak and Eric Wynalda, reached the playoffs 11 times in their first 12 seasons. The team won the MLS Cup under Bob Bradley in their debut season of 1998 and the Supporters' Shield in 2003, in addition to the four aforementioned Open Cup titles.

But they've made the postseason just twice since 2009 -- losing two knockout-round games by a total score of 6-1 -- and today are tied for eighth in the Eastern Conference standings. The most recent Open Cup failure served as another low point. "There haven't been any signs of change in the team or the club to move up from this state of decline for like the past 10 years," Nicole Hack, Section 8 chair, says. "It's extremely frustrating. It's disheartening."

Chicago is a great sports city, and the Fire are increasingly irrelevant. It's an issue that management understands and is trying to solve. "We have a talented team. We have a team that I think is pleasing to the eye, a team that I think is an exciting team, a dangerous team," Nelson Rodriguez, the team's president and general manager, says. "But for our fans and for ourselves, we are summarily frustrated because we just haven't been able to get the results that we expect, that we demand, yet."

- The questions facing all 24 MLS teams in the second half of 2019
- MLS releases list of league's top earners
- Carlisle: Sizing up the MLS MVP Race

The results aren't there. The investment, however, is. The Fire are third in total compensation, having splashed cash to get Schweinsteiger. "That was a good moment in the last few years," Hack says. "But having a player like him on our team and having a Golden Boot winner, and still not being able to make the playoffs is not encouraging for people who want to attend matches."

The depth is there, too. Tomszak believes it's a top-four or -five team in the Eastern Conference on paper, while former Fire general manager Peter Wilt says "this is the deepest Fire team I can remember since I was there myself." Rodriguez likes the roster as well. "If we had two more wins, would we even be having this conversation?" he says. "If we have two more wins, we have 24 points. We're tied with Red Bull[s]. We're three points out of second place with games in hand."

But, of course, they are not. Head coach Veljko Paunovic rotates players frequently and has struggled to instill any sense of continuity from game to game.

There's also the issue of the stadium situation. In 2006, the Fire moved to what's now SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, a suburb of Chicago. The soccer-specific stadium made sense at the time, but it's a relic of an older version of MLS. The team is trying to get out of the lease so it can move back to downtown Chicago. Rodriguez is "optimistic" that they'll be able to finalize a deal.

The plan to inject life by returning to downtown Chicago might work. It also might not.

"I think that moving back to the city could be good," Hack says. "That said, if the team doesn't improve on the pitch or make some big signings that come back to the city's culture, [it could be a problem]. Soldier Field is an NFL stadium. It's huge. We're getting 8,000 people at games right now (official average per-game attendance 10,635 in 2019). I can't imagine that would be the atmosphere that the club is hoping to get by moving."

But in MLS, fortunes can turn quickly. Last summer, billionaire entrepreneur Joe Mansueto purchased a 49% stake in the team. Supporters hope that the injection of capital will help spur change, encouraging majority owner Andrew Hauptman to spend more -- or sell his remaining share to Mansueto.

"Without a doubt, this mediocrity and this rot and the hiring of this wrong personnel for over a decade comes from one place: Andrew Hauptman still being the majority owner of this franchise," Tomszak says. "Andrew Hauptman runs a holding company. At the end of the day, a holding company comes in and buys low and sells high."

Rodriguez understands that something needs to change as well. The Fire have three Designated Players on the books this season, but none next year. This was intentional, a way to provide maximum flexibility in a year when a new collective bargaining agreement starts. The team has a solid core, still-dedicated fans and management that knows what they need to do. Squint, and the Fire are close to something.

Because ultimately, the solution is simple: Win. "The fact is that we need to win more games to justify our work," Rodriguez says.

For the diehards, however, goodwill is growing thin. After the Open Cup loss, Nate Thompson, Section 8's director of fundraising, tweeted what many who love the team were thinking: "Three capped USMNT players, a golden boot winner, a La Liga #10 and we're losing to a USL side. You don't need a rebrand, you don't need a crest change. You need a heart. Don't expect your city to care if you don't. @ChicagoFire #cf97"

After a one-week break, MLS is back in action with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy traveling to Cincinnati, FC Dallas hosting Toronto FC and Portland looking to begin a climb up the table at home against Houston.

Zlatan looking to take Cincy by storm

MLS matches during international tournaments always make for an interesting challenge for teams, and the LA Galaxy are no different. The likes of midfielder Jonathan dos Santos and forward Uriel Antuna are busy with Mexico in the Gold Cup but have no fear: Zlatan is here.

- CONCACAF Gold Cup: All you need to know
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

The short rest will have done the Swedish striker some good, but with so many key pieces missing because of international duty or injury, one has to wonder exactly who will be helping Ibrahimovic up top.

To boot, there was the 4-0 U.S. Open Cup loss in Portland on Wednesday, meaning there are sure to be some heavy legs after playing in the pacific northwest and then having to travel across the country to play FC Cincinnati on Saturday (7:30 ET, ESPN+).

It may well be time for Efrain Alvarez to see the field for longer stretches. The 16-year-old took the league by storm at the start of the season but has mostly been either stuck on the bench or away on international duty with Mexico. He showed zero rust in notching a pair of goals last week in the cup win over Orange County but was not as effective on Wednesday, going 90 minutes in the loss. Still, it would be great fun to see how well the 37-year-old Ibrahimovic and young pup Alvarez work together.

As for Cincinnati, their defense had been dreadful ahead of the break, and without top defender Kendall Waston, Saturday could be a long day.

FC Dallas's U-20 trio back for Toronto clash

FC Dallas find themselves in a very curious position. While many of the teams in MLS are hurriedly filling the gaps during the Gold Cup, FC Dallas will be able to put out a starting XI that's nearly full strength when they host Toronto FC on Saturday (8:00 ET, ESPN+).

The Texan side took their big international hit during the recent Under-20 World Cup when Paxton Pomykal, Edwin Cerrillo and Brandon Servania were all away with the U.S. U-20 team. That trio is back from Poland where the U.S. reached the quarterfinals and will surely be eager to get back to MLS action.

Of the three, it was no surprise that Pomykal was the standout, and now with a World Cup under his belt, he'll be looking to back that up in the second half of the season.

On the flip side is Toronto FC. Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley are of course with the U.S. national team, as is new center-back Omar Gonzalez, while the likes of Jonathan Osorio and Ashtone Morgan are with Canada.

The depth of TFC is going to be tested over the next few weeks, especially with Canada advancing to the knockout stage, so the scoring/creative burden will rest heavier than ever on the shoulders of Alejandro Pozuelo.

Portland begins the long climb back against Houston

It's odd to see the Portland Timbers sitting in last place in the Western Conference. They played their first 12 games away from home while Providence Park was being revamped, and after narrowly falling 3-2 in a thrilling encounter to LAFC in the season's home opener, Portland can now focus on making the long climb up the table.

To their benefit, Argentines who play in MLS don't get called up to the national team much of the time, if ever, so the Timbers will be ready with their Albiceleste trio of Brian Fernandez, Sebastian Blanco and Diego Valeri. Each time he takes the field in a Timbers jersey, Fernandez impresses and there will be ample opportunity to add to his four-goal total on Saturday against Houston (11:00 pm ET, ESPN+).

The Dynamo will be missing some key pieces both in the back and front, with attacking duo Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto and defender Maynor Figueroa away with Honduras. But Portland would be foolish to pencil in an easy three points, especially with the underrated Mauro Manotas on the field.

This is just the type of game that no one expects the Dynamo to win, which in the crazy world of MLS means that Houston will probably win.

Welcome to ESPNcricinfo's live updates and analysis on India v Afghanistan. If the blog doesn't load for you, please refresh your page.

New Zealand are taking on West Indies in Manchester. Here are ESPNcricinfo's live updates. If the blog doesn't load for you straightaway, please refresh your page.

Big Picture

If disappointment and frustration could be ring-fenced into a cricket ground, the best way to do it would be airdropping Pakistan and South Africa's 2019 World Cup in Lord's Cricket ground tomorrow. Two sides that were widely considered genuine semi-final contenders, they have seen their hopes dashed game after game, and will face off tomorrow, Even 'must-win' sounds a bit off at this stage.

For South Africa, the downturn began during the IPL, when Dale Steyn was ruled out of after playing just two games, that too after a long tryst with injuries. He was then ruled out of the World Cup without being able to take the field, despite South Africa attempting to reassure the world, and themselves perhaps, that Steyn would only miss the first few games.

ALSO READ: Samiuddin - Pakistan's think tanks to blame for the Shoaib Malik problem

Anrich Nortje was ruled out of the tournament in May, and following a breakthrough summer, Duanne Olivier opted to take up a Kolpak deal. That meant despite Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi's presence, the team's core strength, fast bowling, had to be propped up by allrounders Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo, who do not possess the menace of the men who aren't here.

As a consequence, the World Cup has seen a side not quite sure of the best combination in terms of the number of batsmen and bowlers, or what to do with second spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, should the pitch deem his inclusion propitious. In fact, South Africa aren't even sure of their opening combination, with Hashim Amla's poor form seeing Aiden Markram promoted, and it's a sign of the scrambled thinking that they left out David Miller in the opening game, for reasons that have never quite matched common cricketing sense.

ALSO READ: Fernando - The haunted history of South Africa's World Cups

The best thing for South Africa at this stage is that Pakistan aren't in the finish-teams-off kind of mood. Relying on a miracle has evoked tedious, specious comparisons to the 1992 World Cup, and much of the optimism from the win over England has fizzled out following an error-strewn performance against Australia and a demoralising defeat to India. Pakistan, too, are unsure about their best XI, or the combination that best suits their strengths. Persisting with Shoaib Malik, never at his most comfortable in England over the course of a long career, has seen the crucial No. 6 spot go to a man bereft of confidence. At the same time, Pakistan haven't been quite sure how to get the fifth set of ten overs in, tying themselves in such intricate knots they even left out Shadab Khan for the game against Australia, Pakistan's equivalent of the Miller omission.

Pakistan now need to win all four remaining games to stand a realistic chance of reaching the semi-finals. How realistic is that, really? They have won just four of their last 24 ODIs, after all. In South Africa, must contend with Rabada and Ngidi leading an attack against a batting line-up that, top three aside, doesn't nearly convince. Apart from Mohammad Amir, the bowlers aren't quite hitting their lengths either, and even he hasn't been able to get Pakistan an early breakthrough in the two previous games, where the opening batsmen ran up partnerships of 146 and 136. But South Africa haven't been much better, and whoever wins on Sunday will be bucking the trend.

Form guide

(Last five completed matches, most recent first)

Pakistan WLLWW

South Africa LWWLW

In the spotlight

Famously billed by AB de Villiers in 2015 as "the player who would play the innings that won us the World Cup final", Quinton de Kock has had a lot to live up to; unfortunately, his World Cup form hasn't matched his usual lofty numbers. In 14 innings across two tournaments, he averages 28 (career average 45.21), with only three fifties and 11 scores under 30. The fluctuating fortunes of Markram and Amla's waning form has meant his contributions are ever more desperately needed, but two half-centuries have been accompanied by a string of low scores this time around. He is perhaps likelier to have a longer ODI career than the rest of the top six, but it is in tournaments like these that his quality must shine through if he is to be spoken of in the same breath as the big boys of the game.

Yes, Mohammad Amir is in excellent form, but the fact that it is an exclamation rather than a casual utterance reveals how expectations have dipped over the past few years. He's one of the leading wicket-takers in the World Cup so far, but he still struggles to provide breakthroughs at the top of the innings. The first game aside, he hasn't struck in the first Powerplay once, but he does have an economy rate of 4.72 for his 13 wickets. That West Indies game, where batsmen played shots without attempting to preserve wickets, was an aberration in a trend that had seen him go wicketless in the first Powerplay in 264 balls bowled since January 2018. For all his other skills, Amir was most valuable to Pakistan because he was lethal with the new ball. That's the Amir Sarfaraz Ahmed needs back, never more than at Lord's tomorrow.

Team news

The performance against New Zealand was much improved, even if it didn't produce the result South Africa so desperately needed. They are likely to stick with the same XI.

South Africa (possible): 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 Rassie van der Dussen, 5 Aiden Markram, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Andile Phehlukwayo, 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Lungi Ngidi

After scores of 8, 0 and 0, Malik might have played his last game in a Pakistan shirt. Haris Sohail should take his place. Hasan Ali's lacklustre performances might push him to the bench, with Mohammad Hasnain poised to slot in.

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

Pitch conditions

The pitch the game will be played on has lost much of its green in the past 24 hours, and is likely to shed more by match time on Sunday. It's expected to be a flat wicket, good for batting. These days, that would mean bowl first, but given Pakistan's misadventure with the toss against India last Sunday, this may just be a better toss to lose for them.

Strategic punts

• Pakistan will have a better chance of turning South Africa over if they can nab de Kock early, and the best way to do that could be to attack him with left-arm pace. Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, de Kock has averaged almost half (35.4) against left-arm pace as he has against right-arm pace (62.1), being dismissed five times in 13 innings by left-arm quicks. Pakistan could consider giving Wahab Riaz the new ball. Or they could let Shaheen Shah Afridi take the new ball alongside Mohammad Amir. Afridi is also the only member of the current attack to have dismissed de Kock in this format - during Pakistan's tour of South Africa earlier this year - so he could be a good option first up for Pakistan.

• South Africa should open the bowling with Imran Tahir. Fakhar Zaman enjoys pace on the ball, and his discomfort against high-quality spin was evident in the middle overs against India. Ditto for Babar Azam, who has timed the ball beautifully in the early stages of his innings, and this is where Tahir's variations of pace could fiddle with his technique and control.

Stats and trivia

• History favours South Africa, who have won three of four World Cup encounters with Pakistan. Pakistan did, however, win the most recent one, in Auckland in 2015.

• This will be the first time Pakistan and South Africa play each other at Lord's. Of their three previous encounters in England, South Africa have won two, while Pakistan triumphed most recently at the Champions Trophy in 2017.

\

Who says India-Pakistan doesn't matter anymore? Judging by the reactions of some Pakistani fans to their team's defeat to India last Sunday, it matters to them, and perhaps a bit too much.

The last week has been a cruel one for Pakistan's players. Becoming the subject of countless memes is now par for the course, but the kind of real-life abuse their players have received has been harrowing.

The captain Sarfaraz Ahmed - with his child - was abused to his face by a fan who, having videoed it on his phone, later issued an "apology" in which it sounded as if the fan had been unintentionally caught on camera. Two other players were abused while out shopping. Families have been dragged into it. They've been pilloried for daring to be out and about, as if to have dinner itself is a crime. Ex-players have joined this deafening cacophony.

"Teams have lost before but now on social media it is unstoppable. Whoever thinks [anything, they just] write it on social media. That hurts, too much" Sarfaraz Ahmed

The PCB has taken note. "We have advised players to be aware of the situation and be cautious," a spokesperson said. "It is not correct that we have barred them from going out as is projected in some parts of the media."

Sarfaraz, captured yawning during the game against India, has borne the brunt of it. And ahead of a series of do-or-die games starting with South Africa at Lord's on Sunday, he looked like a man on whom this last week has weighed heavily.

It has been, Sarfaraz admitted wearily, a tough week. They took two days off immediately after the India game and since practice has resumed, Mohammad Hafeez and then Wahab Riaz have also asked for a certain degree of calm and respect from fans.

"Don't criticize in a way that breaks us more" - Mohammad Hafeez's message to the Pakistan public. #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/WhHAr5JRQ1

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) June 22, 2019

"Social media and media are not in our control," he said at Lord's. "They are so big that you cannot stop them. Teams have lost before but now on social media it is unstoppable. Whoever thinks [anything, they just] write it on social media. That hurts, too much. Players are affected psychologically.

"Criticise us on our game, that's not an issue, but don't abuse us. Their families get affected. If someone is hitting, then pushing anyone that's not good. Our fans are emotional and these same people lift us when we win. But if they feel sad on a defeat we also feel the same way.

"We feel it much more because we are playing for Pakistan."

Sarfaraz himself has tried to retain whatever semblance of balance he can through all this, insisting that he is like he was before, that cricket brings ups and downs like this. But the pressures are telling.

So many have been spared over the years and over the many World Cups that it is reasonable to assume no more thoughts are left to be spared for South Africa. Still, from politeness, the request must be made: spare a thought for South Africa one more time.

Because this World Cup, this World Cup, has been a different kind of cruel. They were in a happy enough place to begin with, under the radar enough to not invoke the choking talk, but with a reasonable enough side, with enough bowling weapons especially, to think realistically about progressing beyond the group stages.

Since then nothing has gone right. Losing Dale Steyn for the entire tournament, then Lungi Ngidi for a few games, not only having their batting found out - which most people knew about - but more significantly having the whole AB de Villiers thing found out.

ALSO READ: 'We left everything out there, that's all I can ask' - du Plessis

The bald facts are that they have lost four of their six games and stand on the brink of elimination. They cannot really afford to lose on Sunday, even if Sri Lanka's surprise win over England has had everyone scrambling for their calculators.

"Look, I don't - we definitely never feel done and out," Aiden Markram said a day before the game against Pakistan. "We've sort of tried to put a lot of focus back completely on to us going forward. It's obviously really important that we win the remaining three of our games, and if there's outside chance of qualifying, that would be incredible.

"But the only way we're going to do that is by winning the next three games. A lot of focus is on us at the moment, us as a squad and trying to win the next three games and from there we'll take it as it comes."

"For us as a batting unit, we are pretty much doing the hard work up front. We are getting in and we are not kicking on. It does definitely set you back"

Even in the baldness of those facts, though, some get lost amid the others. It's not as if South Africa have been outplayed in all four defeats. A 104-run defeat to England doesn't look competitive and ultimately it wasn't, but until the moment Jofra Archer pinged Hashim Amla flush on his head, they were in the game.

They were never entirely in but never entirely out of the failed chase against Bangladesh. The West Indies washout looked ropey but ended so early it's impossible to know what would have happened. And then, most recently, against New Zealand, the margin of defeat was not just a Kane Williamson masterclass (and some Colin de Grandhomme heroics) but also a review never taken.

It's not right to say they have been unfortunate, but they have been on the wrong end of one or two of the kind of moments that end up becoming critical. One after the other, heap upon heap - it's not easy getting out of this.

"Naturally after the game, it was - it was quite a tough one to swallow because obviously it was quite an important game for us leading to it and it was really close," Markram said. "It obviously went down to the wire and Kane Williamson played incredible to get his team going, something we can learn from.

"Look, the mood, naturally it was a bit down, but I think we've done a bit of our sulking and moping around. The energy in the changing room since we've been here is really good, and I also think it helps the families arrived yesterday. So the guys are feeling slightly more refreshed and up for the next three games."

It hasn't been their only issue, but - as with their opponents on Sunday - their top order getting starts but not much more has hurt them. Quinton de Kock has two 68s and a 23; Amla's form hasn't been great but a 55 against New Zealand should have been more; Faf du Plessis has 63, 38 and a 23; Markram himself a 45 and 38.

Some dismissals have been to good bowling, some to ordinary batting when the thinking has been right, but the execution wanting. "I think it's sort of the modern game," Markram said. "It's really important to get yourself in, because we've seen the knocks and the magnitude of knocks that some of the top players in the world are doing at the World Cup. They are really scoring big hundreds.

"For us as a batting unit, we are pretty much doing the hard work up front. We are getting in and we are not kicking on. It does definitely set you back. Every time you lose the wicket, naturally the rate will drop and the new batter needs to get himself in and it takes a bit of time.

"We pride ourselves on getting big hundreds as individuals because that sets up the team and puts the team in a big position. The positive is that we have been getting in, so we are doing the tough part fairly well up front, and now it's about converting it into really big scores."