Soccer

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could resume their longstanding rivalry in a tournament being staged in Saudi Arabia in February.

Croatia overcame some nerves and a stubborn Armenia team to win 1-0 and secure the last automatic qualifying spot for next year's European Championship on Tuesday. The Croats needed a win to guarantee qualification along with Group D winner Turkey.

BUTARE, Rwanda (AP) — Ghana lost to Comoros 1-0 in one of several surprise results in 2026 World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — France's perfect record in European Championship qualifying ended with a 2-2 draw at Greece on Tuesday.

VIENNA (AP) — Germany lost 2-0 to Austria in a friendly on Tuesday to leave next year's European Championship host in turmoil yet again with less than seven months until the tournament begins.

MOENCHENGLADBACH, Germany (AP) — Austria defender Stefan Lainer has made an emotional return to training with his club Borussia Moenchengladbach four months after he was diagnosed with cancer.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Son Heung-min scored two goals and set up another to help South Korea win its second straight game in World Cup qualifying, a 3-0 victory over China on Tuesday.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Rafael Yen is just a boy, only 8 years old and mad for soccer like most kids in soccer-mad Brazil, but he has a conundrum that even his father is so far powerless to fix.

MILAN (AP) — After avoiding the dreaded playoffs, the “real work” starts now for Italy and coach Luciano Spalletti. And that includes everything from drones and smartphone apps to dinners and difficult matches.

Sergiño Dest lost his composure in a needless dispute with the referee, getting a pair of yellow cards for dissent in a 30-second span that endangered the United States' berth in next year's Copa América.