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Kumi Yokoyama struck it perfectly. The ball zipped through the air at the Allianz Riviera like lightning, heading straight for the top corner of the goal from 36 yards out.

Karen Bardsley wasn’t even in the picture as it began to look like Japan would take the lead over England early in their Group D match on Wednesday. The Three Lionesses keeper had shaded to her left side of the goal and was still scrambling to her right when Yokoyama’s shot made a late swerve toward the upper 90. 

It’s hard to believe, but the UEFA Champions League returns in one week! So it’s only the preliminary round, featuring the likes of Lincoln Red Imps and Tre Penne, but a new season means a new opening title sequence for television. 

As always, it features the glorious Champions League anthem, a lot of the logo and last year’s winner (Liverpool) lifting the trophy. Things begin with Douglas Costa’s brutal elastico nutmeg on Ajax’s Joël Veltman and they really heat up with Porto’s Moussa Marega pulling a Zidane Turn on Fabinho and Jordan Henderson. 

Cameroon winger Gabrielle Aboudi Onguene scored her country’s first goal of the Women’s World Cup in a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands on Saturday.

Moments before her goal, she pissed off the entire Dutch bench with what’s either a hilarious piece of gamesmanship or an awful display of sportsmanship.

Video shows Aboudi Onguene repeatedly asking the Netherlands bench for a drink of water in the 43rd minute, right after the Dutch had taken a lead through Vivianne Miedema.

Cristiano Ronaldo is back on the score sheet for Portugal — and in some style.

Ronaldo blasted a brilliant free kick past Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer in the 25th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 halftime lead in the UEFA Nations League semifinals on Wednesday at Estádio do Dragão in Porto, Portugal.

Christian Pulisic returned to the Borussia Dortmund starting lineup for the first time since March 16 on Saturday against Werder Bremen. Injuries and the form of Jadon Sancho had kept the 20-year-old American out of the first XI for about six weeks, but he returned in some style, scoring a marvelous goal in the sixth minute.

Initial team sheets suggested Pulisic might be starting at right back, prompting plenty of social media mavens to criticize Lucien Favre. 

Lionel Messi started Saturday’s match against Levante on the bench on Saturday. With a big match against Liverpool in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday, Ernesto Valverde wanted to rest his star man, knowing any win in the final four matches would wrap up the LaLiga crown.

But after a scoreless first half, Valverde had no choice but to bring on his Argentine maestro — and you already know where this is going. 

Borussia Dortmund and Schalke are heated rivals, but nothing excuses what happened to Jadon Sancho during the Revierderby on Saturday at Signal Iduna Park.

The home side went in the lead in the 14th minute when Sancho’s delicious lob into the box was headed home by Mario Götze. 

After the goal, the Dortmund players celebrated together in the right corner. Soon after, Sancho was requiring medical attention, holding his right eye.

Whether you’re Team Messi or Team Ronaldo, there’s no denying the goal-scoring ability of the Portuguese star. While it’s easy to point to powerful headers, long-range missiles and plenty of penalty kicks as reasons why the Juventus striker scores so often, the Cristiano Ronaldo movement in and around the box is a major reason why he is so difficult to contain.

Euro 2020 will be an historic tournament. With 12 cities in 12 countries hosting matches, the 60th anniversary event will be a romantic show of how football brings the world together. 

When it comes to bringing the world together, the only thing that might compare to soccer is Game of Thrones. The HBO show, which debuts the final season on Sunday, brings fans of beheading, incest and dragons together to borrow their parents’ HBO passwords like nothing else in the world.

Nicolas Belvito is the definition of a journeyman. 

The 32-year-old striker has played for 12 different clubs over his 14-plus year career, all in France. 

Now playing for Grenoble in Ligue 2, he may have scored the best goal of his career on Friday. 

The match was tied at a goal apiece when Belvito decided to take matters into his own hands (feet).