Which player has scored the most hat-tricks?

In recent seasons, countless column inches have been devoted, not without justification, to the rivalry between two giants of the modern game, Cristiano Ronaldo, nowadays of Juventus and Portugal, and Lionel Messi, of Barcelona and Argentina. Between them, they have won every individual award in the game, including the coveted Ballon d’Or, or ‘Golden Ball’, every year between 2008 and 2017 and, although neither of them is getting any younger, their rivalry seems set to continue for a while yet.

In terms of hat-tricks, Cristiano Ronaldo, 33, just holds the edge over his nemesis, having chalked up a total of 52 trebles in his career to date, including 44 for Real Madrid. He has scored three goals in a game for Los Blancos 34 times in La Liga, seven times in the UEFA Champion League, twice in the Copa del Rey and once in the FIFA Club World Cup. The remainder of his hat-trick tally is made up of six for Portugal, one for Juventus, in the UEFA Champions League and one for Manchester United in the Premier League. By contrast, Messi, 30, has racked up 51 career hat-tricks, including 45 for Barcelona. His Barça record includes 33 hat-tricks in La Liga, eight in the UEFA Champions League, three in the Copa del Rey and one in the Spanish Super Cup; like Ronaldo, he scored six hat-tricks at international level, for Argentina.

For all their accolades, neither Ronaldo nor Messi is likely to come anywhere near the record of 92 career hat-tricks set by the Brazilian footballer Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pele, who also recorded 31 four-goal ‘pokers’ between 1956 and 1977.

How many teams beat England during the 2018 World Cup finals?

England made a bright start to the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia, opening their campaign with a 2-1 win over Tunisia, followed by a freewheeling 6-1 win over World Cup newcomers Panama, in which Harry Kane scored a hat-trick. However, for their final group game, against Belgium, manager Gareth Southgate fielded a weakened side and England suffered their first defeat, losing 1-0 after a spectacular, curling strike from former Manchester United midfielder Adnan Januzaj. Consequently, England faced Colombia, rather than Japan, in the last sixteen but, after a 1-1 draw, won a penalty shootout 4-3 to record their first knockout victory in a World Cup since 2006.

A 2-0 win over Sweden, courtesy of goals from Harry Maguire and Dele Alli either side of half-time, saw England reach their first World Cup semi-final since 1990, in which they faced Croatia. England made a near-perfect start, with right-back Kieran Tripper opening the scoring with a 20-yard free kick after just five minutes, but a second-half equaliser from Croatian forward Ivan Perisic sent the match into extra time. Deep into the additional period, Perisic was also involved again, flicking the ball on for Mario Mandzukic to score the winning goal. In the effectively meaningless third-place playoff, England again lost to Belgium, 2-0, to finish a creditable fourth in the tournament.

How many times was Mike Tyson knocked out during his career?

How many times was Mike Tyson knocked out during his career? Michael Gerard ‘Mike’ Tyson made his professional boxing debut, as an 18-year-old, on March 6, 1985 and the following November knocked out Trevor Berbick to become World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight champion. In his 58-fight career, ‘Iron Mike’ won 50 fights, 44 of them by knockout, and became undisputed world heavyweight champion. However, he did lose six times, three times by knockout, twice by technical knockout and once by disqualification.

His first knockout came at the hands of the unheralded James ‘Buster’ Douglas on February 11, 1990. In one of the biggest shocks in modern sporting history, Douglas recovered from an eighth-round knockdown to knock out Tyson – who had never previously hit the canvas – early in the tenth round and bring his hitherto unbeaten record to an end. Although he suffered a surprising loss, by technical knockout, to Evander Holyfield in November, 1996 and another, less surprisingly, by disqualification – after he bit Holyfield twice on his right ear, severely enough to remove part of it – in their rematch six months later, Tyson was only ever knocked out twice more.

In what became, ultimately, a one-sided contest against undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis on June 8, 2003, Tyson was eventually knocked down, and out, in the eighth round. The following July, facing debts of $38 million, Tyson returned to the ring for what proved to be the penultimate fight of his career against former British Commonwealth heavyweight champion Danny ‘The Brixton Bomber’ Williams. In the fourth round, Williams unleashed a flurry of unanswered punches, culminating with a huge right hand, which sent Tyson reeling. Tyson sat, dazed, on the canvas, leaning against the ropes and, although he did eventually try to get to his feet, was counted out.

Now that his boxing career is over, Tyson does not have to worry about the risk of getting knocked out.

These days he spends a lot of time granting interviews and promoting sportsbooks across the world.

He’s been named a global ambassador for Parimatch and Brazilian brand, BRBet. Previously, he also enjoyed a working relationship with American betting company DraftKings.

The brand is particularly for nice betting promotions for their customers. What really sets DraftKings apart is their referral bonus offer, which ranks amongst the best Sportsbook referral bonuses for bettors.

What is a Mankad dismissal?

The ‘Mankad’ is a perfectly legal, but contentious, method of running out the non-striking batsman in a cricket match. If the non-striker is backing up or, in other words, advancing down the wicket in preparation for a quick run, the bowler may, according to the Laws of Cricket, attempt to run him/her out up to the point when he/she ‘would normally have been expected to release the ball’. According to the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), the law regarding the Mankad dismissal is essential to prevent the non-striker from advancing, unrestricted, down the wicket and, in so doing, gain a huge advantage by leaving his/her ground early

Nevertheless, the dismissal – named after Indian bowler Mulvantrai Himmatlal ‘Vinoo’ Mankad, who twice ran out Australian opening batsman William ‘Bill’ Brown during a tour of Australia in 1947/48 – has always been controversial. Some, but not all, batsmen consider the Mankad unsporting conduct on the part of the bowler and not within the spirit of the game. Others contend that, although there is no legal requirement to do so, a bowler should at least warn a batsman that he/she is in danger of dismissal if he/she persists in leaving his/her ground early – as Mankad originally did to Brown – before dismissing him/her.

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