Soccer

ZURICH (AP) — The expected bid by the United States and Mexico to co-host the 2031 Women’s World Cup can face only a rival bid from Africa, with FIFA on Wednesday excluding Europe from the contest.

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Barcelona was reduced to 10 men after an early red card but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny came through when his team needed him in a hard-fought win over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Harvey Elliott scored less than a minute after coming on as a late substitute to fire Liverpool to a stunning 1-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 on Wednesday.

PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain's wasteful finishing came back to haunt the French team on Wednesday in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16. Harvey Elliott's late goal punished PSG at Parc des Princes.

PARIS (AP) — Italian referee Davide Massa was screamed at by Paris Saint-Germain soccer adviser Luis Campos for not awarding a penalty during PSG's 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday.

MUNICH (AP) — Harry Kane ended his four-game scoring drought on Wednesday as he helped Bayern Munich to a comfortable 3-0 win over German rival Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA promised $1 billion in total prize money Wednesday to the 32 teams playing at the men’s Club World Cup in the United States.

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe's company INEOS has placed its ownership of Swiss soccer club Lausanne-Sport into a blind trust to comply with UEFA rules on multi-club ownership to enter European competitions.

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Portland Thorns and U.S. team forward Sophia Wilson has announced she is pregnant.

ATLANTA (AP) — TNT Sports will televise 24 of 63 Club World Cup matches on TNT, TBS and truTV under an agreement with the streaming platform DAZN announced Wednesday. DAZN obtained world-wide rights from FIFA in a deal announced in December.