G'day sports fans,

"Alcohol is available here - but a pint will set you back AU$22.0. You could get a soft drink, burger, and chips for the same price." - Fans turning up to the Fan Park in Qatar.

🇦🇺 Aussie Sport

🏏 Australia comfortably beat England in their first ODI as Pat Cummins kicked off his reign as the Aussies’ new ODI skipper in style.

If David Warner and Travis Head pair up as Australia's openers at next year's 50-over World Cup in India, they just gave their rivals a formidable glimpse of the destruction that could lie ahead.

In Australia's first one-day international since the retirement of captain and long-time opener Aaron Finch in September, Warner and Head combined for a 147-run stand to set up a six-wicket win over England at Adelaide Oval on Thursday.

Chasing 288 runs to win after England's first drop, Dawid Malan compiled 134 from 128, and Australia had little trouble.

⚽️ Sydney FC made it anything but a happy homecoming for ex-Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou with a shock 2-1 win over Celtic at Allianz Stadium.

⚽️ A-League boss Danny Townsend has made an audacious bid to bring world football icon Cristiano Ronaldo to Australia.

“Obviously it‘s a longshot but we’ve certainly got a compelling proposition for him hre in Australia to consider, so we’re in dialogue and we’ll see where that goes,” Townsend told SportsFM 91.3.

Ronaldo has a connection to Australia as the grandparents of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner live in Western Australia.

🏉 WORLD CUP FINAL

History will be made at Old Trafford on Sunday morning (AEDT) when defending champions Australia take on first-time finalists Samoa at the Theatre of Dreams.

Meninga has made no changes to the 19 players selected for last week's semi-final.

RUGBY LEAGUE WORLD CUP FINAL

Humiliated 60-6 by England after going into the tournament opener as favourites, Toa Samoa has performed a minor miracle. Regrouping by piling 134 points on Greece and France, Samoa upset archrivals Tonga 20-18 in a gripping quarter-final.

But the island nation’s 27-26 golden-point triumph over England was on another plane altogether. Captain Junior Paulo and chief playmaker Jarome Luai led the way, before Stephen Crichton – who scored a vital long-range intercept try late in the game – slotted the euphoric match-winner.

The Kangaroos were barely troubled on their way to the semis, racking up 240 points to just 18 conceded in victories over Fiji, Scotland, Italy, and Lebanon. But the two-time defending champs were pushed to the brink in the semis by a previously underwhelming New Zealand side.

The Kangaroos won Old Trafford-hosted World Cup finals against the Kiwis 40-12 in 2000 and 34-2 in 2013. A similar result could be on the cards at the famous venue here.

SGM: AUSTRALIA -12.5 POINTS / JOSH ADDO-CARR TO SCORE ANYTIME / HARRY GRANT ANYTIME TRY SCORER

🏉 Kangaroos star Reagan Campbell-Gillard believes he might need to strike a “gentlemen’s agreement” with Samoa skipper Junior Paulo ahead of the World Cup final.

🐴 Ballarat Cup (race 8) Saturday: Pick Atishu (3) is in flying form for Chris Waller and was a dominant winner of the Matriarch over this trip on Champions Stakes day. It has a decent draw and should be there or thereabouts at the finish. ($4.0 on Dabble).

🏉 Legendary halfback Andrew Johns says Jackson Hastings could be the key to unlocking Kalyn Ponga's enormous potential as a top-line NRL five-eighth.

Hastings, 26, was announced as Newcastle's latest signing on Wednesday, moving up the highway in a player swap with David Klemmer.

🌍 World Sport

⚽️ Cristiano Ronaldo says he was close to joining Manchester City before following his "heart" by rejoining Manchester United.

Shakhtar Donetsk want 100m euros for Ukraine winger Mykhaylo Mudryk, 21, who has been linked with moves to Arsenal, Manchester City and Newcastle United. (Athletic)

🎾 Novak Djokovic confirmed he will play at next year's Australian Open, saying he was "very happy" his visa ban had been overturned.

🏉 Rugby Union: Players should be limited to 30 'game involvements' per season in order to prevent a "significantly higher injury burden" in the following campaign, according to new research.

🍺 A bloke is drinking beers from all countries in the World Cup after collecting all 32.

"I'm planning on drinking each beer once that country gets knocked out so the end of the group stages should be fun!"

He won't be smiling when he opens that Coopers Red! 🤣

🎾 ATP Finals: Rafael Nadal bows out of the tournament with a consolation win over Casper Ruud

Nadal, who sits second in the rankings, said he was happy with a season in which he won the first two Grand Slam titles, in Australia and at Roland Garros.

🏀 Suspended All-Star guard Kyrie Irving is nearing completion on the process needed for a return to play and could rejoin the Brooklyn Nets as soon as Sunday's game against the Memphis Grizzlies at Barclays Center, sources told ESPN.

🏆 WORLD CUP GOLDEN BOOT MARKET

Only one player over 30 has won it: (Davor Suker '98) - Average Age of the winner is 24.8 yrs (almost exactly Harry Kane's age at the last WC).

Country of winner: Brazil (5), Germany (3), Arg, Eng, Hun, Rus (2) winners.

The average number of International Caps: is 22 (most Ronaldo 2002, with 57).

So, the winner needs to be 30 years of age or younger, ideally around 24-25, and will likely be based in Europe at a club in the top four of their respective league.

They should have at least 22 caps and 11 goals for their country going into the tournament and decent goalscoring form for their club.

Who meets the criteria?

Lautaro Martinez is the top pick from these, and with Messi supplying the goals, who would bet against it? The $17.0 is the cherry on the cake. (Get on Dabble)

🗞 Please share Sport Journal

📲 Share via WhatsApp HERE

🧑🏻‍💻 Share the link with a friend to sign up HERE

📺 Live sport 👇🏼

TODAY

🏀 08:00 - Men's NCAA - Texas A&M Aggies v Murray State Racers (ESPN 2)

🏒 11:00 - NHL - Boston Bruins v Philadelphia Flyers (ESPN 2)

🏈 12:15 - NFL - Green Bay Packers v Tennessee Titans (ESPN)

🏀 14:30 - NBA - Los Angeles Clippers v Detroit Pistons (ESPN 2)

🏏 17:30 - T20 Series - New Zealand v India (Fox Sports)

🏀 19:30 - NBL - Tasmania JackJumpers v New Zealand Breakers (ESPN)

SATURDAY

⛳️ 04:00 - PGA TOUR - RSM Classic, Round 2 (Fox Sports)

🏀 11:00 - Men's NCAA - Baylor Bears v Virginia Cavaliers (ESPN 2)

🏀 11:30 - NBA - Philadelphia 76ers v Milwaukee Bucks (ESPN)

🏀 14:00 - NBA - Golden State Warriors v New York Knicks (ESPN)

🏏 14:20 - ODI Series - Australia v England (Fox Cricket)

🏍 16:00 - WorldSBK Australia - WorldSBK Australia Race 1, Round 12 (Fox Sports)

🏀 17:30 - NBL - South East Melbourne Phoenix v Melbourne United (ESPN)

🏀 20:00 - NBL - Brisbane Bullets v Cairns Taipans (ESPN)

🏉 00:00 - Test Match - Wales v Georgia (Stan Sport)

🏉 00:00 - Test Match - Italy v South Africa (Stan Sport)

SUNDAY

🏎 01:00 - Formula 1 UAE - Formula 1 UAE Qualifying, Round 22 (Fox Sports)

🏉 02:15 - Test Match - Scotland v Argentina (Stan Sport)

🏉 03:00 - World Cup Final - Australia v Samoa (Fox League)

🏉 04:30 - Test Match - England v New Zealand (Stan Sport)

⛳️ 05:00 - PGA TOUR - RSM Classic, Round 3 (Fox Sports)

🏉 07:00 - Test Match - Ireland v Australia (Stan Sport)

🏀 11:30 - NBA - Philadelphia 76ers v Minnesota Timberwolves (ESPN 2)

🏀 14:00 - NBL - New Zealand Breakers v Adelaide 36ers (10 Peach, ESPN)

⚽️ 14:45 - Sydney Super Cup - Everton v Celtic (Channel 10)

🏀 16:00 - NBL - Sydney Kings v Illawarra Hawks (10 Peach, ESPN)

🏍 16:00 - WorldSBK Australia Race 2(Fox Sports)

🏏 17:30 - T20 Series - New Zealand v India (Fox Sports)