Asia

For all the talk about building momentum and playing their best stuff come the knockout rounds, the USWNT has very little momentum and could put you into a soccer-induced coma heading into a quarterfinal against either the Netherlands or Brazil after drawing Australia 0-0 on Tuesday morning.

The optimist might say “job done.” The USWNT had nothing to gain here with Sweden locking up the top spot in the group, but the team could’ve still dropped to third with a defeat. The realist will say “yeah but that was terrible.”  

CAPE TOWN - South Africa’s soccer team coach David Notoane said his side were caught in the eye of a coronavirus storm and likened their situation to waiting for a guillotine to fall ahead of their Tokyo Olympic Games opener against hosts Japan on Thursday.

The squad was severely depleted by COVID-19 infections and withdrawals before they left South Africa, and has now faced further setbacks after players Thabiso Monyane and Kamohelo Mahlatsi, along with video analyst Mario Masha, tested positive for the virus on arrival in Tokyo.

Japan's men's captain Maya Yoshida has questioned the decision to hold the Olympic Games behind closed doors, calling on authorities to reconsider the spectator ban before the football tournaments begin on Wednesday.

Fans will be absent from the Games as coronavirus infections continue to climb in Japan, even though fans are allowed to attend other sporting contests within the country.

Premier League club Norwich City on Thursday ended their partnership with kit sponsor BK8 following supporters' criticism of the Asian betting company's provocative marketing material online.

Norwich, who won the second-tier Championship last season to qualify for the top flight, had announced BK8 as their new shirt sponsor on Monday for the 2021-22 season.

Last Thursday, the world’s second-most populated country once again failed to qualify for the World Cup. India had never managed the feat before, and a 1-0 defeat to Qatar confirmed that 2022 wouldn’t mark a maiden voyage for the Blue Tigers.

But there’s one contest that India might yet win, and that’s the personal battle between 36-year-old captain Sunil Chhetri and six-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi. 

Soccer players around the world have spoken out against the past week’s violence taking place in Palestine and Israel.