Europe

TOKYO — Canada reached the semifinals in women's soccer for the third consecutive Olympic Games as goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe saved two Brazil penalties in a 4-3 shootout win on Friday. Australia smashed Great Britain in extra time and Sweden knocked out host Japan.

After Canada captain Christine Sinclair's penalty was saved by Barbara, Labbe rescued her side with two diving saves to keep out Brazil's final two spot kicks from Andressa and Rafaelle.

Chelsea has once again caused a stir with its new away kit. If there's something that characterizes the London club year after year, it's the annual release of away jerseys that always generate opinions and rarely leave fans feeling indifferent.

This is the case for the 2021-22 season. After unveiling the home uniform, which has a clear nod to the past, now it's the away shirts turn.

Come August, there are always a few clubs that capture the imagination with their audacious summer spending before inevitably collapsing by October. Usually this is Everton. 

The return of a club legend, the signing of a highly touted prodigy or a loan move for a big-name player whose career has stalled (or preferably all three in one window) are the usual fixings for getting way too hyped before the start of a new campaign.  

English football will limit the number of high-force headers in training to 10 per week from the 2021-22 season to protect players as part of new guidelines, the Premier League and other governing bodies said on Wednesday.

Headers that involve higher forces are typically those taken after a long pass of more than 35 metres or from crosses, corners and free kicks, a joint statement from the governing bodies said.

The statement said that initial studies showed most of the headers are taken in training and the majority of those involve low forces.

Defending champions Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals of the men's Olympic soccer tournament after a 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday helped them top Group D while Ivory Coast booked their berth by sending Germany home.

Japan advanced after delivering the knockout blow to 10-man France with a 4-0 win to stay perfect in Group A. Takefusa Kubo, Hiroki Sakai, Koji Miyoshi and Daizen Maeda all scored for the rampant hosts while Randal Kolo Muani was sent off for France.

Few teams have experienced a more painful first half of 2021 than Derby County, and the year just got worse for Rams fans following a training ground incident on Monday involving manager Wayne Rooney.

Due to a shortage of first-team players, Rooney — who last played for Derby in November of 2020 — has been taking part in team training sessions.

After a 0-0 draw with Australia confirmed the USWNT’s runner-up finish in Group G of the Summer Olympics, our collective focus shifted to Group F with the U.S. scheduled to play the winner on Friday in Yokohama.