FABREGAS JOINS BBC’S PUNDIT TEAM IN RUSSIA

CESC FABREGAS has been handed a last-minute call to the BBC’s World Cup line-up after he was left out of Spain’s squad. It will be the 31-year-old’s first punditry role. Fabregas (below) helped Spain win the World Cup in 2010 and is their eighth most-capped player of all time with 110 appearances. Yet he will be watching from the studio when they begin their World Cup campaign on Friday against Portugal at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi. Philip Bernie, the BBC’s head of TV Sport, said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Cesc as he joins our star-studded team of experts. He knows what it takes to lift the biggest prize in the sport, and we are greatly looking forward to his expertise.’