Abhishek Sharma’s 12-ball half-century is the joint-third-fastest in all men’s T20 cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Nov-2025Abhishek Sharma has smashed a 12-ball half-century, playing for Punjab against Bengal in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Hyderabad on Sunday. It is the joint-third-fastest fifty and joint-second-fastest by an Indian in men’s T20 cricket.Opening the batting with Prabhsimran Singh, Abhishek took apart a bowling attack headlined by Mohammed Shami and Akash Deep, scoring at well over 15 runs an over against both of them as well as Saksham Choudhary and Writtick Chatterjee. Abhishek hit five fours and five sixes to get to his fifty, conceding just one dot ball in the 12 balls he had faced to get to the landmark.Though he never really threatened to run the record for the fastest century in men’s T20s close – Chauhan’s, in 27 balls – Abhishek did get to the mark in 32 balls before finishing on 148 in 52, with eight fours and 16 sixes. Abhishek, however, already has the record for the joint-second-fastest T20 century, off 28 balls, the same as Urvil Patel, who scored it for Gujarat against Tripura, also in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, last season.Punjab finished with 310 for 5 in their 20 overs, Prabhsimran smashing 70 in 35 balls, but his innings put in the shade by his partner. Punjab’s total was the second highest in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, behind Baroda’s 349 for 5 against Sikkim in Indore in December 2024. They went on to win the game by 112 runs.The fastest fifty in men’s T20s was scored by Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee, against Mongolia during the Hangzhou Asian Games in September 2023. India’s Ashutosh Sharma is at No. 2 on the list for his 11-ball fifty for Railways against Arunachal Pradesh in the 2023-24 edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Abhishek is now the fifth batter to record a 12-ball fifty in the format. Yuvraj Singh was the first, with his innings at the 2007 T20 World Cup against England, which included six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad. Chris Gayle achieved it in the BBL, for Melbourne Renegades against Adelaide Strikers in January 2016. In October 2018 then, Afghaniostan’s Hazratullah Zazai matched it playing for Kabul Zwanan against Balkh Legends, featuring Gayle, in an Afghanistan Premier League game in Sharjah.The last instance was when Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan got there against Cyprus in an international match in Episkopi on his way to an unbeaten 41-ball 144.

It’s fair to say that Leeds United have looked different recently.

The Whites haven’t been at the races whatsoever, and if it weren’t for a late winner against Birmingham City they’d have failed to win any of their previous four matches.

It’s no surprise that this poor run has coincided with a defensive lapse.

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Leeds still have the joint-best backline in the league, conceding just 20 goals in 25 games, but ten of those have been shipped in their last four outings.

So what’s going on? Ben White’s stats are still as excellent as ever, winning 11 interceptions in the last three games. The same, meanwhile, goes for Liam Cooper, who has amassed 20 clearances in the same time frame. So where is the defensive lapse coming from?

It’ll be hard for United fans to hear it, but blame for the Whites’ poor defensive record as of late may lie on the shoulders of Kalvin Phillips.

The defensive midfielder has often been the rock in front of Leeds’ backline protecting the defence from any possible threats, but in recent weeks he’s been lacklustre.

The 24-year-old averages the third-highest tackles-per-game in the entire division, but in Leeds’ last four matches he’s made just two tackles overall, averaging 0.5 per match which is way down from the 3.1 he has been averaging this term.

That’d be ok if he was making up for it by winning the ball back in other ways, but his interception numbers tell a similar story as he’s made just two in the past four matches.

There’s no doubting that Phillips is one of the main reasons for Leeds’ brilliant defensive record this season – his tackling stats up to this point have been nigh on impeccable, but his recent dip seems to be what has caused United to leak goals.

In other news, Phil Hay has named three positions that Leeds are looking to strengthen in January.

“Results over style” is what is being murmured at Anfield by the likes of creative midfielder Adam Lallana, and you do indeed get the sense that it is now results that are of more importance to Reds boss Brendan Rodgers, who for too long has focused on style over substance.

The signing of Christian Benteke from Aston Villa was a big indicator that the Northern Irishman was ready to change his ways, and their win over Stoke was another sign that there is a real change in style happening at Liverpool.

That is not to say that the Reds will now be a long ball team, but it looks as though that Rodgers realises that results are key for him in this crunch period. He needs points and needs them on the board early, otherwise he will come under intense pressure from the Liverpool board.

When Liverpool lost the title at home to Chelsea in May 2014, the sight of hopeful crosses into the box from deep were every bit as painful as Steven Gerrard’s painful slip that day. Gerrard acknowledged that the Reds were too desperate to score; their inexperience cost them as they “lost their way” and went too “gung ho.”

In particular. he pointed out the Reds went into the game with the “same tactics” that served them so well in their eleven game winning run and when it failed, they did not know what else to do. They panicked.

A lot has changed since that fateful day. The signing of Benteke could be the most significant change in that time, and judging by his debut against Stoke, the big 6ft 4in striker might well have a major impact on Liverpool’s approach play.

The clear clue lies with goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who hit more successful passes into the final third of the pitch at Stoke than in any away game last season.

While it wasn’t exactly hit and hope football that was being played, there was a bigger balance to the Reds’ play. There was more opportunity to mix it up. And it is no coincidence that Rodgers’ men put in the third most amount of crosses in on the opening weekend of Premier League football.

Rodgers even acknowledged that Benteke’s aerial threat opens his side up to new opportunities. He said: “I thought Christian was outstanding.

“He showed all the elements of his game today: his touch, hold-up play, movement in behind. He always really occupies a back four, on his own at times, and it is important to have that ability to be unpredictable.”

The key word there is “unpredictable”, which is something that, under Rodgers’ Liverpool, simply have not been at all in his time at Anfield, and who have always tried to play like Barcelona rather than mix it up. However, Liverpool don’t have Lionel Messi or the likes of Iniesta and Neymar, they can’t try to play like Barcelona all of the time and, if that is all that they try to do, they become far too predictable to play against. That’s why variation in style with Benteke will be crucial this season.

Finally, the fact that players are coming out and saying results are more important now shows Rodgers has got his message across, and now with Benteke on board the Reds look far less predictable; that could well be to their advantage this season.

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Last Sunday’s defeat against Swansea told us a fair few things about Man United so far this season, one being that the squad isn’t balanced and that they are well in short in the striking department.

It is fair to say that the Reds aren’t well stocked in that striking departments, which has led to United boss Louis van Gaal to suggest that midfielder Maraoune Fellaini could play up front, which was the role the Belgian midfielder played when he came on against Swansea last Sunday.

But is it actually a viable option to play the midfielder up front? Well, when he is deployed in a deeper central defensive midfield role he struggles, and doesn’t really play to his strengths.

This is something van Gaal has recognised by saying that this season Fellaini will be used as a no9 or no10, opposed to the deeper role in which former Man United boss David Moyes fielded the former Everton man.

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In his Premier League career so far, Fellaini has been used just once as a target man striker and that was for Everton. But he has had a fairly significant impact coming off the bench for Man United, on the occasions he has been thrown on as a lump it long striker.

On the nine occasions it has happened under van Gaal, United have scored six goals and conceded just twice.

There is no doubting that when Fellaini is used in this way his sizeable 6ft 4in frame causes plenty of problems for the opposing defences, and despite United’s good footballing reputation, van Gaal isn’t worried about playing long balls. Only relegated pair QPR and Burnley played more long balls than the Red Devils last term.

Along with that, their long ball accuracy was the best in the league, with 54% of them finding their target, suggesting van Gaal’s side have the ability needed to make the most of Fellaini’s strengths, too.

He can certainly do it as a striker, but Fellaini would admit himself that his best position is behind the striker in a number 10 role. That is where you get the best out of the Belgium international.

In 40 matches in that position Fellaini has produced the goods, with a hand in 19 goals (11 goals and eight assists). It is where he produces his best form, but despite this, perhaps because of his nature he isn’t often used so much in that position, as the ‘long ball team’ tag could be branded to whoever chooses to play him there.

It is strange as when played deeper, he simply is wasted. Fellaini has been involved in just 15 goals in 97 starts from a deeper role, which proves how ineffective he can be in that role.

This also highlights the way van Gaal should use him, which would be a good decision considering the difference he can have when he is played further forward.

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The sun doesn’t appear to set on the South Coast, despite the miserable weather conditions you might expect as the seasons bypass autumn and bring a wet winter to the area quicker than a trademark Sadio Mane run at petrified defences.

Yes, Southampton are still defying the odds and continue on their quest to break into the long established top order in the higher echelons of the Premier League. The conveyer belt of astute signings is still in motion, more efficient than ever, despite huge player turnover and big name departures.

The Saints are one of the most exciting teams in the top tier, having moulded a side out of under the radar signings across the continent to replace the likes of Luke Shaw, Adam Lallana and most recently Morgan Schneiderlin.

You would back those in charge of recruitment at St. Mary’s to have a strong sense of who to bring into the philosophy at play, and manager Ronald Koeman to get the best out of each player within its frameworks.

The club know a gem when they see one, so it’s barely surprising to see them linked with a raft of exciting, stylish names ahead of the January transfer window.

Here are FIVE January transfer rumours at Southampton that may actually happen…

Juan Quintero

Reported Arsenal target Juan Quintero is apparently being lined up for a £16m move to Southampton in January. The 22-year old Colombian international has impressed on loan at Rennes from FC Porto, and could be set to add further flair to the Saints’ front line.

He appeared during the 2014 World Cup in the vibrant national team, and would appear to be a natural fit into Koeman’s skilful side. With both Jay Rodriguez and Shane Long out injured, refreshing the squad in the New Year could be a priority as the Dutchman looks to launch another assault on European positions.

He has quite the pedigree for a player his age, and could see a Saints switch as the best possible step in his career.

Joe Allen

Joe Allen is a Welsh international and could slot nicely into the engine room at Southampton. A great passer of the ball, just mostly sideways during his time at Liverpool.

As cover for Jordy Clasie and Steven Davis, the Welsh wizard has been linked with a move, and could help strengthen midfield options. Though it’s not really worked out for him at Anfield, the player was excellent during his time at Swansea, and a move could perhaps spark him back into life.

It would be a sensible signing, rather than a stellar one.

Jorginho

Napoli midfielder Jorginho has been linked with a host of Premier League sides, namely Liverpool and Southampton. The 23-year old Brazilian is hot property in Europe after some classy performances in Napoli’s engine room.

Such showings have seen him linked with Liverpool, though Saints could be looking to steal a march.

He would appear to be exactly the sort of player the South Coast side would prefer to target – young, skilful and potentially an astronomical sell on value should everything go to plan. With Steven Davis ageing, Koeman could see fit to splash out on the Napoli man in order to add further genuine class in the middle of the park.

Tony Vilhena

Long term target Tonny Vilhena has been quoted as saying: “I am definitely open to a foreign club.”

The 20-year old is thought have been on Ronald Koeman’s radar for a while, after coming through the ranks with Feyenoord and a regular in the Dutch under-21 side.

Like the links to Jorginho and Quintero, Vihena is an exciting attacking midfielder, able to take on players as well as score goals. In fact, he is the youngster ever player in the Eredivisie to net twice in a single outing.

Talks are thought to have been underway for almost a year now, though with the player revealing he is open to switch – it could come to fruition at last.

Gaston Ramirez

It’s not really worked out for Gaston Ramirez since his, then club record, £12m move from Bologna almost four years ago now. The Uruguayan has failed to settle, and has seen the club’s stellar recruitment strategy provide strong levels of competition for a starting berth.

The 24-year old is out of contract at the end of this season, and reports suggest a return to Serie A could be on the cards, with Rome giants Lazio lurking. Surely the club will be looking to recoup some money on their investment, rather than lose him for free in the summer.

He was only able to make 24 appearances throughout his time with the club, and spent almost the entirety of last season at Hull.

A man with experience, a man with personality. A man able to balance defensive solidarity with a spark of creativity. Utilising pace, power and the unpredictability of mavericks such as Yannick Bolassie, Wilfried Zaha, Bakary Sako and Jason puncheon, Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew could be the perfect fit for England should Roy Hodgson fail to deliver in France next summer.

Firstly, this is in no way an article belittling Roy Hodgson as a manager, the role of England manager can be seen, in some way, as a poisoned chalice. A role in which the man at the helm can, and will, be second guessed by every sofa-pundit, keyboard warrior, and Gary Neville impersonator in this country.

Roy is a man with extensive experience, managing in: England, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland and the UAE. Yet he was unable to manage England to any more than complete and utter embarrassment at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He has then, to his credit, guided England through the European Championships qualifying group stage with a 100% record. There is clear signs that England are an improving side, transitioning from the years of the miss-matched pairing of Lampard and Gerrard roaming the centre circle, to the young talents of Sterling, Barkley and Stones.

England are a side capable of sweeping aside the lesser nations with quick football and an airtight defence, but have on more than one occasion looked toothless against nations with similar ambition to the Three Lions, (the two-nil loss to Spain earlier this month, and games against Italy and Uruguay in Brazil spring instantly to mind).

With players available to England such as Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling, Vardy and Kane, it is evident that England have young and hungry players, with an abundance of pace, trickery and the innate ability to spot a run, perhaps the focus should be shifted from the possession-based football made popular by Spain circa 2012, to a fast, strong, physically dominant force à la Bayern Munich of 2013.

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Granted, Adam Lallana and Jesse Lingaard may not possess the ruthlessness or guile of Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery. But under the correct tutorship, and the implementation of tactics best suited to serve the talents of the young English contingent, England can set a style and standard recognised worldwide.

Recent comments from Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque stating: “There is no English football anymore, no authentic style” is a statement which is very difficult to argue against.

This highlights the lack of impression make throughout Europe and other continents. England are crying out for a change of outlook. Step forward Mr A.Pardew.

All one has to do, to find out how highly this man is thought of is take a stroll around the streets surrounding Selhurst Park, Upton Park and the Madejksi Stadium. Currently the fans supporting the Eagles are benefitting from the leadership of their former player, improving Palace from relegation candidates to an established mid-table Premier league side, in which others look on in envy at the skills of Zaha and Bolassie, the strength and solidarity of the centre half pairing of Scott Dann and Damien Delaney (stop sniggering at the back), and the pin-point precision passing of the French maestro Yohan Cabaye.

Before his current spell in South London, Pardew found himself as manager of ‘the sleeping giant’ of a club, situated in the North-East. Pardew did not exactly endear himself to the locals at NE1, he did not get off to a great start with the fans, especially after committing the unforgivable crime of being born a Southerner.

During the four years in which Pardew was in charge of Newcastle, he was viewed as the face of the evil cockney mafia, clearly holding the mighty force that is Newcastle United football club, back from their rightful place in Champions League and FA cup finals. The truth of the situation was, no matter if Pardew beat Sunderland every time the two clubs met, gained european qualification and ended world hunger, he would have always had his detractors in that part of the world.

However, since the departure of Pardew to pastures new, Newcastle have slumped to a side looking, alongside other fallen giants of clubs Sunderland and Aston Villa, as favourites to be dropping a division come the end of the season. The difference of the quality of football being played, when newcastle played their way to a 5th place finish in the 2011/2012 season under Pardew, to the side who, just last Saturday slumped to a three-nil home loss to Leicester City, is as clear as daylight.

The decision to allow Pardew to leave St. James Park (I’m sorry, Sports Direct Arena *spits on floor*) must have even the loudest of the anti-cockney mafia brigade, wondering if maybe, just maybe, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Off the back of the slander and abused aimed at him from the black-and-white striped club from the North-East, ‘Pards’ returned to London to his beloved Crystal Palace, a club in which he played for 128 times, including an appearance at the FA cup final in 1990 and its replay versus Manchester United, also appearing in the Eagles win against Everton in the final of the Zenith Data Systems Cup (no, me neither).

Pardew went on to guide Crystal Palace to their best ever Premier League finish of tenth. In doing so, Pardew became the first manager to take over a team in the relegation zone, and end the season in the top half of the division. Many also went on to claim, that it was Pardew’s tenure at Newcastle for the first half of the 2014/2015 season which allowed Newcastle to stave off relegation (well, it certainly wasn’t through the tactical genius of John Carver).

Pardew’s reign started off brilliantly, a demolition of non-league side Dover, followed by a two-one win over rivals Spurs gave Crystal Palace fans a glimpse of the style of football they would be witnessing for the remainder of the season. Zaha and Puncheon at times looked like men possessed. But the real hero of the Palace faithful came in the form of Yannick Bolasie. The Congolese international became one of the most exciting wingers in Europe, using deft flicks and tricks which confudled not only the defender who had just been left on his backside, but also the crowd, commentator and cameramen.

Overnight, the man set himself a £25million pound price tag, and a long line of admirers emerged. If Pardew is capable of bringing out that kind of form from a player as relatively anonymous as Bolasie, just imagine what the man can do with the likes of British transfer record holder Raheem Sterling.

Pardew has had his fair few moments of controversy also. Spats with Wenger, Pellegrini and perhaps most famously, a disagreement with Hull City midfielder David Meyler, with a headbutt most WWE superstars would have been proud of, the man clearly has, for lack of a better word: ‘personality’.

He has been described by many as: a man whom, ‘if he were made of chocolate, would eat himself’. Yet despite these judgements by football fans up and down the country, he has constantly proved himself in many different footballing situations (everyone remembers the 4-4 comeback between Newcastle and Arsenal). Clearly Palace would not allow for Pardew to leave Selhurst Park without a fight, and rightly so.

However, Palace’s loss could be England’s gain, as they would have acquired a manager with tactical know-how, man-management skills that bring the best out of untapped potential from within relatively average footballers, and the ability to do the unexpected (no, I’m not referring to his Pardew shuffle made famous at West Ham).

So, should England fall to another disappointing display in France next summer, maybe, just maybe the FA should put the name ‘Alan Pardew’ at the top of their shortlist.

This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…

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Before the Hammers were struck down with a series of testing injuries to first team players in recent weeks, Slaven Bilic’s new side had certainly begun the 2015/16 campaign in rather admirable form.

A number of underwhelming results may have admittedly cropped up against some of the Premier League’s so-called ‘lesser’ sides across the season so far – but as West Ham successfully saw off the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea before December, the majority of the Upton Park faithful had very little to complain about.

However, one man who just hasn’t managed to impress down at the Boleyn Ground this term arrives in the form of current Arsenal loanee – Carl Jenkinson. For one reason or another, the 23-year-old Englishman has seemingly failed to build upon his decent debut season in east London since Slaven Bilic has been installed as the club’s new manager.

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So then, now that Lille’s up and coming 19-year-old right-back – Benjamin Pavard – has subsequently been linked with the Hammers in the run up to the January transfer window, must West Ham simply look to replace the struggling Jenkinson with this latest transfer target?

Although the young French defender has admittedly only started five league games for Lille this season, Pavard nonetheless arrives as someone with a decent amount of potential.

Ligue 1 has certainly proved rather fruitful for the Hammers in the transfer market before of course, as both Dimitri Payet and Diafra Sakho were signed from Olympique de Marseille and FC Metz respectively in recent windows.

The emerging talent has since drawn praise for his ability to work possession calmly out from the back. Pavard also displays a sharp quality when working the flanks in an effective manner for someone of his overall skill-set – as well as providing Frederic Antonetti’s team with a fair degree of versatility across his desired back-four. With West Ham looking somewhat weak in the full-back department this term, such a welcome addition could potentially work wonders for the Hammers at some stage down the line.

The signing of Benjamin Pavard could be seen as a massive gamble should Slaven Bilic drop him straight in the deep end, but as Carl Jenkinson has arguably gone down as the Hammers’ most consistently poor performer so far in 2015/16 – maybe Pavard wouldn’t represent such a questionable option after all.

Despite partially thriving under Sam Allardyce at Upton Park last season, Jenkinson’s overall game has seemingly come undone under the updated style and philosophy employed by the new West Ham boss. When it comes to displaying vital composure at the back when the going gets tough, the on loan Arsenal man has simply failed to do the business.

His positional awareness has been sloppy at the best of times, Jenkinson’s crossing ability has also been thrown into doubt of late, and as James Tomkins has actually turned West Ham into a much more organised outfit when utilized as right-back for the Hammers – the 23-year-old defender’s future at Upton Park remains far from certain.

In the end, Arsenal will simply be kidding themselves if they believe Carl Jenkinson to be good enough for their starting XI next season. For all the hard work and endeavour he reliably displays out on the pitch, his distinct lack of technical ability ultimately serves to hold him back when push comes to shove.

So although Benjamin Pavard isn’t exactly the most established defender currently operating in Ligue 1 at the moment, Slaven Bilic should at least consider his services this January if West Ham are to improve as an all-round collective unit.

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After looking at the teams that are set to face some pretty tasty fixtures, we are now forecasting those that may not be happy with their schedule list.

But first let’s see how the ‘big teams’ performed against their opponent in the midweek clash.

Last week, we predicted Arsenal as the team that would pick up wins over the next few games, but they stumbled against Southampton on Wednesday in a 0-0 draw.

Crystal Palace were also supposed to make easy work of Bournemouth, but the newly promoted club beat the Eagles to dampen their appeal.

Meanwhile, Leicester City were touted as the team that should struggle, but as usual, the flying Foxes easily disposed Liverpool 2-0 in spectacular fashion.

So while we do forecast teams that have an encouraging or unfavourable run of games, it does not guarantee that the predicted outcome will occur!

Here are THREE TEAMS that you should avoid in the upcoming gameweeks.

Manchester United

Manchester United have suddenly gotten rid of their boring tag in recent fixtures, lately demolishing Stoke City at Old Trafford 3-0.

However, the Red Devils will come against a rather tricky set of games, with Chelsea (Away), Sunderland (Away), Arsenal (Home), and Watford (Home). Away games with the Blues and the Black Cats could even see manager Louis van Gaal revert his team back to a defensive unit, lessening their appeal.

This should warn managers against drafting in the likes of Wayne Rooney (10.0) and Anthony Martial (7.5) in attack for the time being, and unless you already have a Man United defender, it’s best to avoid them as well.

Sunderland

Sunderland put in one of their best performances of the season against Manchester City on Tuesday, but they were unrewarded with the Sky Blues beating them 1-0 thanks to an early Sergio Aguero goal.

Sadly for the Black Cats, they have to face three of the teams chasing for a place in Europe starting with Liverpool (Away) this weekend, before games against Manchester United (Home), and West Ham United (Away).

Sam Allardyces’ men are unlikely to pick up many points during this run, but if they do, their fixtures ease up afterwards and there could be some interesting Fantasy Premier League assets in the future.

Manchester City

Title-favourites Manchester City may have two home games in succession, but it’s against the two teams nobody wants to be facing at the moment.

City host Leicester City and then Tottenham Hotspur in the next two gameweeks in what could be the defining games in the title race, but what makes it a real worry for drafting in Sky Blues stars is their blank gameweek 27.

Sergio Aguero (13.5) is very likely to be kept by owners in anticipation of a double gameweek in the future, but to make sure you have 11 players for Gameweek 27, avoid other assets like David Silva (10.0), Yaya Toure (8.6), and even Bacary Sagna (5.8) for now.

Emulating Arsene Wenger is a challenge in real life, but you should be able to far surpass anything the Frenchman has done on FIFA16.

If you like to focus on developing youngsters, splashing the cash or just winning at all costs, then Arsenal can be the club for you in your new Career Mode as you take on a highly talented squad with a tasty budget.

Managing in the Premier League is tricky on FIFA16, due to the depth of quality teams in the division, yet being Arsenal manager can be a huge amount of fun with the class of Mesut Ozil and the midfield dominance of Aaron Ramsey.

Three to buy…

Ilkay Gundogan: Arsenal’s need for a deep lying playmaker is severe and Gundogan perfectly fits the bill to partner Aaron Ramsey. Whilst Coquelin can be used in one of your more defensive formations, Gundogan has all the attributes to control from deep in your side and spread the play to the attacking talent of Sanchez and Ozil.

Gundogan will cost you nearly £30million, but you’ll get your money’s worth out of this German gem.

Marquinhos: David Luiz and Thiago Silva are the first choice centre-backs at PSG, making Marquinhos a backup player for much of the season. The young Brazilian doesn’t have the height that some of you will desire for your FIFA centre halves but his potential can see him fly into the late 80s and become a dominating centre-back.

Marquinhos won’t be as expensive as you might think and his pace will allow you to play a high line that so many players prefer.

Mauro Icardi: A striker has to be one of your priorities when you start your save and Icardi is one of the cut price solutions if you don’t want to blow your budget on Robert Lewandowski or Karim Benzema. Icardi does not start with ratings that put Olivier Giroud to shame, but his all round game will develop to the level of Benzema or Lewandowksi and he is the ideal focal point for your attack.

Training Icardi on his passing will help if you like to use your centre forward with his back to goal.

Three to sell…

Mathieu Debuchy: You won’t make as much money as you would’ve done before January with this sale, because of the recall fee, but Debuchy can be moved on easily and free you up some funds to sign another defender to cover at both centre and right back.

The days of Debuchy as a good player to use on FIFA are long gone and he is as ordinary as it gets on 16.

Mathieu Flamini: Flamini and Arteta should both be players you look to sell as soon as possible, even if you aren’t going to garner much revenue. At the very least, you will get Flamini’s wages off the books and free up some more to invest in players that will add to your squad in some level.

Joel Campbell: Despite his recent good form, Campbell still falls far short of the quality in the rest of the Arsenal attacking ranks.

Chamberlain, Walcott and Sanchez are all far ahead of the Costa Rican in the pecking order and, if you want extra depth, it would be more beneficial to bring in a new winger than put faith in this man. Campbell is a great signing if you are a mid table club due to his pace.

Train ’em up…

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Chamberlain’s potential has always been hard to reach on FIFA, but the new training system makes it a far more realistic prospect on this edition of the game. A rating of 83+ is easily attainable with the correct work and the Ox should be worked on his shooting.

Hector Bellerin: You can take Bellerin on two paths as you train him. You can either make him into a Dani Alves type of full-back and focus on the attacking elements of his game, or you can look to improve his defensive attributes for the days when his pace isn’t enough.

A balanced mixture of both will see Bellerin as one of the best defenders in the world by 2018.

Serge Gnabry: Gnabry should be out on loan at the start of your save, but it might be worth recalling him if you want to mould the winger in your own way.

Pace and dribbling are, as with most of Arsenal’s forwards, his key strengths and we would advise that you get Gnabry working on ‘chance creation’ a fair bit.

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Everyone loves a giant-killing, except when it’s your team on the receiving end.

Football is full of fairy-tales, of FA Cup shocks, League traumas and bitter relegations.

As a result, it sometimes feels that international surprises are swept under the carpet, and with EURO 2016 in France fast approaching, there is one team that people don’t seem to be paying much attention to: Northern Ireland.

The Green and White army have been slowly going about their business after qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in 30 years. That’s some achievement, especially when you consider their qualification journey was almost flawless.

Bar one defeat to Romania, Northern Ireland remained unbeaten in the qualifying stages, finishing top of Group F with the likes of Romania, Hungary, Finland, The Faroe Islands and Greece all below them.

Their success has been rewarded with a group that contains Germany, Poland and Ukraine – a considerably trickier task than their previous venture.

Following the group draw, many football fans, journalists and pundits have completely written off Michael O’Neill’s side. But for a team that currently sit 28th in the world, this is quite an insult. Only four years ago Northern Ireland were 129th, which shows the considerable progress they’ve made.

In the recent past the squad has been made up of mainly Football League players and those who ply their trade abroad. But this time round, O’Neill has a crop of top-quality names to choose from.

From the Premier League you have the likes of Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans, Paddy McNair, Craig Cathcart, Steve Davis and Kyle Lafferty – all big stars that would improve the majority of international squads in some shape or form.

Then you have the Championship players who are all playing well domestically with Oliver Norwood, Shane Ferguson, Conor Washington and Jamie Ward just a handful that have performed well in England’s second tier this season.

So that’s the squad, but what hope do they have? And who are the players that can bring success to the country?

Everyone loves an undedog and Northern Ireland are definitely that. Some bookmakers have them as low as 500/1 to win the tournament, so for those feeling optimistic, a £1 bet wouldn’t be too daft.

Yes it’s fair to say they aren’t anywhere close to being favourites, with many expecting them to get knocked out in their group, but if they can beat Ukraine, and possibly a draw against Germany or Poland, they’ll be in a good position depending on other results.

You get the impression that this is the first time in a while that the Northern Ireland fans are considerably optimistic for a national tournament. They overcame a tough Slovenia side 1-0 at Windsor Park on Monday evening, further adding to their EURO 2016 credentials.

It’s always interesting when you have an underdog, and this year they won’t come any smaller than Michael O’Neill’s side. But, to those ruling them out at this stage, just wait and see.

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