Cristiano Ronaldo's job search is over.
Saudi club Al-Nassr announced they signed the Portuguese on a two-year contract. Reports say the deal is worth $75 million per season and will run until the summer of 2025.
TOKYO - Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu will remain in charge of the Asian team for another World Cup cycle, the country's football association announced on Thursday, with the aim of breaking new ground after a number of near misses.
That Moriyasu would continue in the role came as little surprise after he led Japan to victories over former World Cup winners Germany and Spain during the finals in Qatar en route to topping what was considered the most difficult group at the tournament.
Indonesia routed Brunei 7-0 at the 2022 AFF Championship, a traditional tournament among South Asian nations. After the game, players from Tim Garuda celebrated the victory, except for crestfallen defender Hansamu Yama, who experienced an embarrassing moment during the game.
Yama could have added another goal for Indonesia on the scoreboard but ended up submitting a strong entry for the howler of the year award, missing a shot so close to the goal line that it's almost impossible to understand how he was able to miss the chance.
The almighty FIFA overlords who control the rankings that decide which countries are the best at soccer have spoken. The latest FIFA rankings released on Thursday say that the USA is better than Germany, Brazil is still the best in the world and a whole bunch of other nonsense.
The USA is officially the 13th best nation in the world according to FIFA.
The A-League derby between Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory was abandoned amid chaotic scenes following a pitch invasion on Saturday in which City goalkeeper Tom Glover was left bloodied after he was struck in the face.
Glover was hit by a metal bucket used to dispose of flares as fans from the Victory end stormed onto the pitch after the 20-minute mark of the game with City leading 1-0 at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
AL WAKRAH, Qatar - Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livaković saved penalties from Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Maya Yoshida before Mario Pašalić netted the winning spot-kick in their 3-1 shootout win over Japan on Monday to reach the World Cup quarterfinals.
BLOCKED! The first penalty from Japan is saved!
Japan: ❌
Croatia: pic.twitter.com/NBvPsYulJo
The United States qualified for the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup. It had been over eight years since the men’s team had last reached this stage, only to fall in overtime to a strong Belgium side in 2014. This time, the Netherlands stood between the United States and a place in the quarters.
The Dutch side was no stranger to making it all the way to the final match. Their world-class team was headlined by one of the top defenders in the world, Virgil Van Dijk, along with Frenkie de Jong, a speedy midfielder in his prime. Netherlands were clear favorites to win.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar - Speculation regarding the future of Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo and his outburst following his substitution against South Korea were in sharp focus on Monday ahead of their World Cup last-16 game against Switzerland.
The forward, who left Manchester United by mutual consent last month following a controversial interview, was linked with a potential move to Al Nassr of Saudi Arabia but Portugal coach Fernando Santos said he knew nothing about it.
DOHA - Ashraf Ali arrived at Stadium 974 six hours ahead of the Argentina-Poland World Cup match and, in desperation, raised a hand-written sign: "We need tickets."
Someone offered one for $2,000, nine times face value.
That was too steep for Ali, 30, who traveled to Qatar from Egypt to fulfill a dream to see Argentina star Lionel Messi play. Thirty minutes before kickoff, he managed to nab a ticket for $500 and witnessed Argentina's 2-0 win.
AL RAYYAN, Qatar - Brazil forward Neymar will train later on Sunday and is set to play for the five-times champions in their World Cup last-16 match against South Korea after recovering from an ankle injury, coach Tite said.
Neymar suffered the injury in Brazil's opening 2-0 win over Serbia, which ruled him out of their 1-0 win over Switzerland and the shock defeat by Cameroon, one of a series of injury problems within the squad.
"Neymar will train today in the afternoon and if he trains well he will play," Tite told a news conference.