Asia

AL WAKRAH — South Korea advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Cup with a 2-1 comeback win over Australia in extra time at Al Janoub Stadium on Friday after Son Heung-min scored the winner with a sublime free kick.

With South Korea going to extra time for a second straight game after they beat Saudi Arabia on penalties, Hwang won a free kick on the edge of the box from a foul conceded by Miller once again.

Thursday’s “Last Dance” between Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr and Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami ended up being a Miami massacre as the Saudi club won 6-0, Ronaldo didn’t play and Messi only featured for 15 minutes.

The one big highlight fans are discussing is Al Nassr and former Manchester City center back Aymeric Laporte scoring a ridiculous 70-yard free kick.

Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be playing against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami on Thursday due to a calf injury said Al Nassr head coach Luis Castro. 

Castro said that Ronaldo is in the final stages of his recovery and won’t be able to play in the friendly. Many fans had dubbed the game as the “Last Dance” between two of the greatest soccer players the world has ever seen.

Why is Ronaldo not playing vs Messi’s Inter Miami

Inter Miami’s narrow 4-3 friendly defeat to Saudi Pro League leaders Al Hilal in Riyadh on Monday was highlighted with Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi’s first goals of 2024.

What needs to be discussed more is the incredible Messi assist vs Al Hilal in the 55th minute to set up youngster David Ruiz.

The Herons were trailing 3-1 in the second half until the 54th minute when Messi finished confidently from the penalty spot to bring his side within one. A minute later the score would be level thanks to a beauty of a goal.

Lionel Messi assist vs Al Hilal

DOHA — Clubs worldwide spent a record $9.63 billion on international transfers in 2023, an increase of nearly 50% compared to 2022, world soccer's governing body FIFA said in its Global Transfer Report published on Tuesday.

After transfer spending fell in 2020 and 2021 due to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, outlays on players have only increased, with last year's total spend seeing an increase of 48.1% compared to 2022.

AL WAKRAH — South Korea finished second in their Asian Cup group after Malaysia held them to a 3-3 draw on Thursday with an equalizer in the 15th minute of added time which saw Bahrain finish top with a 1-0 win over Jordan.

Bahrain topped Group E with six points thanks to an Abdulla Yusuf Helal winner while South Korea finished with five points. Jordan finished third with four points and also went through as one of the best third-placed teams.

Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr have cancelled their two-game China tour after the forward suffered an injury, the Saudi club said on Tuesday, sparking concern over the Portuguese's participation in their upcoming encounter against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

Al-Nassr were scheduled to play Shanghai Shenhua on Jan. 24 and Zhejiang four days later, with both games now postponed.

Palestine and Syria qualified for the knockout stages of the Asian Cup for the first time on Tuesday with victories in their last group matches.

Syria beat India 1-0 after Omar Khribin -- the 2017 Asian Footballer of the Year -- netted in the 76th minute to give the Middle Eastern side their first goal of the tournament.

Syria finished with four points and the AFC later clarified that they are also through to the last 16 as one of the four best third-placed teams across all groups "regardless of final results from other groups".

The United States women’s national team will be hosting Brazil, Japan and Canada in the 2024 SheBelieves Cup in Atlanta and Columbus.

All four nations competed in last year’s SheBelieves Cup which saw the USWNT win all three games and lift the trophy.

The 2024 edition will have a different format. Rather than having all four teams play each other, the tournament will begin with semifinal games, followed by a championship and third-place game.

SheBelieves Cup 2024 teams