Root praises England as ace Moeen shines

KATARINA Johnson-Thompson missed out on a heptathlon medal at the World Athletics Championships, but vowed to bounce back.

The 24-year-old was tipped to make the podium in London but could not recover from an awful high jump and finished fifth.

She was 240 points adrift of thirdplaced Anouk Vetter going into the 800 metres and needed an unlikely result which never happened.

Johnson-Thompson fell 18 centimetres short of her high jump personal best on Saturday and, despite coming second in the long jump, never looked likely to mount a stunning comeback.

She said: “I just don’t really understand (her high jump failure). It’s not frustration, I’ve tried to move on, but it’s in the past so I just try to forget it.

“It’s getting there, I’ve said from the start of the year I’ve had a lot of change and it’s going to take a bit of getting used to but I’m happy with where I am physically and mentally and I’m not injured. I know it will happen one day, I just don’t know when.

“I’m definitely going to put in all my scores and then maybe put in a 1.90 high jump and see where they would have placed me.

“The biggest thing I’ll take away is my change in attitude, to not give up and bounce back. I feel like in the past I’ve tried to bounce back but I’ve been kind of defeatist. But I felt I grasped the opportunity even though I lost over 200 points in the high jump.”

Johnson-Thompson clocked two minutes 08.10 seconds in the 800m to come second to record a total of 6558 points, as Olympic champion Nafi Thiam won with 6784 points.

Cardiff-based Holly Bradshaw missed out on a medal in the pole vault, finishing sixth. MANCHESTER United manager Jose Mourinho is ready to “fight” for Gareth Bale’s signature if Real Madrid leave the attacker out of the UEFA Super Cup.

Skopje plays hosts to the annual clash between the winners of the Europa League and Champions League tonight (7.45pm), with both sides looking to kick the campaign off with silverware.

Bale is part of the 24-man squad in Macedonia for the match, but speculation continues over the Wales international’s future.

There have been suggestions in Spain that Madrid are willing to part company with the 28-year-old as they move for Monaco’s Kylian Mbappe, giving hope to long-standing admirers United.

Mourinho recently said it would be impossible to bring in Bale, but is now ready to pounce on any softening on their part.

“If he’s playing tomorrow, well, no ENGLAND captain Joe Root was pleased with how his side overcame challenges as they wrapped up a 3-1 series win over South Africa.

Root’s first series at the helm ended with a 177-run victory in the fourth Investec Test at Old Trafford after his side bowled out the tourists for 202 in their second innings.

The margin of victory was crushing in the end, but there was a period during the afternoon when Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis looked like they could lead South Africa to an unlikely chase of 380.

But three wickets in two overs from man of the series Moeen Ali wrestled control back to England and there was no way back.

It mirrored a similar theme in the series where England consistently bounced back from challenging moments.

Root said on Sky Sports Main Event: “I am really pleased with the way the series has gone.

“Credit to South Africa, they put us under pressure a number of times throughout but the way our guys have responded has been exceptional. Great start.

“We have had to overcome a number of different challenges, but the way we have played as a unit, especially the last two games, we have been brilliant. We have got a lot of hard work to do in the future but it was a great series.

“It has been a fantastic team performance and that’s what it takes to win a series like this, everybody contributing and that’s what we have had this time around.”

Root’s opposite number Du Plessis had no complaints at the result and admitted his side could not cope with England’s rampant bowling attack.

Iwouldn’t think of that possibility of signing on (Bale),” the United boss said in Macedonia ahead of facing his former club.

“If he is playing tomorrow, it is because he is in the coach’s plans and in the club’s plans and because he also has that ambition to continue in Real Madrid.

“So I haven’t even thought of the possibility of signing him on our team.

“If he’s not in the club’s plans, if what you are writing right now is true – I am not sure whether it is or not – that the arrival of another player (would) perhaps (mean) Gareth would be on his way out.

“If he is on his way out of Real Madrid, well, I’ll try to be waiting for him on the other side and try to fight with other coaches that would also like to have him on his team.

“But I think that if he plays tomorrow, it is probably the best confirmation that they’ll keep counting on him during the season.”

“England were well deserved winners of this series, they were consistently the better team. Three months in England has been a tough time for us,” he said.

“At times we showed some real good fight but consistently England were just coming up with answers.”

Ali was the standout player for England with 25 wickets and 252 runs.

Despite taking 10 wickets in the series-opening win at Lord’s Ali was insistent that he was not England’s frontline spinner, and he says that helped him.

“It has been good, it definitely took some pressure off me, especially the first game, and I feel like I got into a good rhythm after that,” he said.

“I have done a lot of work and I have had a lot of consistency this series.”