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Two goals in the first 12 minutes helped propel Argentina to a dominant 4-1 victory over Brazil in their World Cup qualifying clash in Buenos Aires.

Having secured their spot in next year’s tournament prior to kick-off as a result of Bolivia’s 0-0 draw with Uruguay, a Lionel Messi-less Argentina were in control from the opening whistle.
Messi has an injury to his adductor and was not included in Argentina’s squad for the two latest matches.
Poor defending allowed striker Julian Alvarez to get Argentina on the board in the fourth minute and some slick passing enabled Enzo Fernandez to double the lead eight minutes later.
Brazil pulled one back in the 26th minute via Matheus Cunha, but a third Argentina goal through Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister just before half-time halted any momentum for the visitors

Brazil’s struggles continued in the second half as Giuliano Simeone picked up Argentina’s fourth goal in the 71st minute.

Striker Julián Álvarez said Argentina’s big win “is historic because of the rival, the context, what was said, the great match we played and because we are qualified to the World Cup.”
“Very humbly we did our work,” he said.
The result marked Brazil’s worst defeat in South American World Cup qualifying.
Brazil sit in fourth place in the standings with the top six clinching an automatic spot.

Defending champion Argentina qualified for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday when Bolivia failed to beat Uruguay.
Argentina leads South American qualifying and hosts archrival Brazil at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium later Tuesday.

South America has six direct berths in the next World Cup, a 48-team tournament to be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Argentina was assured of one of the six spots when seventh-place Bolivia drew 0-0 with Uruguay in El Alto. The Bolivians have 14 points with only four matches remaining for the Andean team.
“We have a secured place for the top tournament,” Argentina’s national team said on X. “One more time, we will fight for the maximum glory. Let’s go, Argentina!”
Backed by Lionel Messi, three-time World Cup winner Argentina (28 points) has led South American qualifying from the start, with few hiccups and major away wins at Brazil and Uruguay.
But coach Lionel Scaloni has not fielded 37-year-old Inter Miami forward in several games, which still raises doubts on whether the star will play in the tournament next year.

Messi has an injury to his adductor and was not included in Argentina’s squad.

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood was awaiting the results of scans on a right hip injury which forced him from the field Monday in New Zealand´s World Cup qualifying victory over New Caledonia.
Wood was substituted in the 53rd minute of the Oceania qualifying final with the score 0-0. New Zealand won the match 3-0 to become the second team after Japan to qualify to the 2026 World Cup

Wood was to undergo scans on Tuesday to determine the severity of the injury.

That´s where the pain is at the moment,” he said. “I felt it on that side so I´ll get it checked over and hopefully it is nothing too major and hopefully it´s just impact.”
Once the scans are completed Wood will return to England to rejoin Nottingham Forest, who face Brighton in an FA Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.
Wood currently is fourth in EPL scoring with 18 goals this season.

Arda Guler has savagely hit back at Dominik Szoboszlai, labeling the Liverpool midfielder ‘a joke’ following their fiery encounter in Hungary and Turkey’s UEFA Nations League tie. The Turkish star’s side clinched promotion to League A with a resounding 6-1 aggregate victory, simultaneously relegating Hungary to League B.

During the win in Budapest, where they triumphed 3-0, Guler notched the second goal and controversially celebrated by making a shush gesture directed at Szoboszlai. The Reds’ playmaker couldn’t resist taking a swipe at the young Real Madrid talent via social media. In a cheeky Instagram comment beneath a snap showing him silenced by Guler’s gesture, Szoboszlai slyly penned ‘1088’, poking fun at the mere 1088 minutes Guler has played for the colossal Spanish club this term.

He’s often been sidelined in Ancelotti’s star-studded squad. Unfazed, Guler has clapped back fiercely through his own Instagram story, reposting the same image but with biting sarcasm.

Adding to the picture where he’s shushing Szoboszlai, Guler wrote: “This guy is a joke. Isn’t 6 goals enough to shut you up?” To rub salt in the wounds, the forward subtly edited the scoreboard graphic on the shared photo.

It was edited with the match’s 3-0 outcome and highlighting his goal while sarcastically crediting ‘Szoboszlai, 1 Instagram comment’ to Hungary’s scoreline, a clear jibe at the Liverpool man’s online antics.

Despite Szoboszlai not outperforming Guler internationally, he was part of the Liverpool team that triumphed over Real Madrid with a 2-0 victory last November. Guler started one of his seven games this season at Anfield but was substituted after 56 minutes, shortly after Alexis Mac Allister scored for Liverpool.

Whether Szoboszlai will retaliate and prolong the ongoing verbal spat between the two remains to be seen. The Hungarian has enjoyed an impressive season with Liverpool, who sit 12 points clear atop of the Premier League.

Having scored seven goals and assisted six more across all competitions, the midfielder has surpassed his goal contribution tally from his debut campaign in Merseyside last year.

Spain have made it into the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League after a nervy penalty shoot-out victory over The Netherlands, which came after a 5-5 aggregate scoreline across two legs.

In Thursday’s first leg in Rotterdam, Spain found the opening goal inside the opening 10 minutes, and they did so again at the Mestalla. On this occasion, Mikel Oyarzabal was fouled inside the penalty area by Jean Paul van Hecke, and that allowed the Real Sociedad captain to step up and score from 12 yards.
La Roja would hold their lead until half time, but on 54 minutes, they were pegged back. Robin Le Normand was adjudged to have fouled Memphis Depay inside Spain’s penalty area, and that gave the opportunity for the former Barcelona and Atletico Madrid striker to score, which he managed to do.
15 minutes later, Spain would find themselves back in front, and it was Oyarzabal that scored again after he was set up following great work in the build-up from Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams on the counter-attack, which ended in the 27-year-old heading home after his initial effort was saved.

However, La Roja could not hold on to book their place in the Nations League semi-finals as the Dutch found another equaliser, with defender Ian Maatsen blasting past Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon from inside the penalty area to restore parity on the night and on aggregate.
That goal meant that extra time was needed at the Mestalla, and in the first half of the additional 30 minutes, Spain thought that they scored the winning goal in the tie, and it was a special one from Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal. It was a wonderful pass over the top from Dean Huijsen, and the 17-year-old controlled brilliantly before firing into the far corner. But again, they were pulled back into a stalemate as Xavi Simons netted a penalty to make it 3-3.

That meant penalties were required, and it was Unai Simon that came up clutch at the end to save Donyell Malen’s effort. That gave Pedri the chance to secure the victory for Spain, and he did, with La Roja winning 5-4 in the shoot-out. And it means that they will take on France – who also won a penalty shoot-out in their quarter-final tie against Croatia – in the semi-finals this summer, before a possible final against Portugal or Germany.

The United States may not be bidding alone for the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
Earlier this month, a FIFA declaration all but handed hosting rights of the tournament to Concacaf, with U.S. Soccer quickly announcing its bid for the tournament.

The U.S. and Mexico initially launched a joint bid for the 2027 tournament, but eventually dropped their pursuit as they chose to focus entirely on co-hosting the men’s World Cup in 2026 alongside Canada.

Mexico wasn’t included in U.S. Soccer’s announcement this month of its bid for the 2031 tournament, raising questions as to whether the United States was set to go it alone.
But according to Concacaf president Victor Montagliani, the eventual bid could include several countries in addition to the United States.

“I would like to see perhaps a potential Caribbean [host], a potential Central America [host],” “So, over and above just a North American World Cup.

“Obviously, there’s some realities with that, because not every country has the infrastructure to host a Women’s World Cup,” he added. “But, I think we’re open minded on that.

“We all know the U.S. is a very strong candidate, even if they went on their own. But I think those discussions are being had by U.S. Soccer, by Mexico, and others as well. And Concacaf is at that table. And obviously, whatever we decide, we’re gonna support [the bid] 100%. And hopefully we can win it.”
That Concacaf will win the bid is hardly in question. FIFA decided this month to restrict bids for the 2031 event to just Concacaf or Africa. That cleared away almost every possible challenger, with FIFA also declaring that the 2035 edition could only be hosted by a European or African country.

FIFA will select hosts for both tournaments at its congress next year.
Should the U.S. host the 2031 Women’s World Cup, it would be the country’s third time staging the event. The first was the record-setting 1999 tournament, while the 2003 World Cup was moved to the U.S. at the last minute due to a SARS outbreak in host country China.

Mikel Merino was the hero for Spain as La Roja snatched a stoppage-time equaliser against 10-man Netherlands to secure a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Nations League quarter-final.
Merino, who has deputised as a striker for Arsenal in the absence of Kai Havertz, came on as a midfielder but proved his knack for goalscoring as he tapped in a close-range rebound three minutes into added time in Rotterdam.

The Dutch had dominated much of the match – having recovered from Nico Williams’ early goal to go 2-1 up via Cody Gakpo and Tijjani Reijnders – but faltered after a late red card for 19-year-old defender Jorrel Hato.

And Merino popped up a couple minutes from time to give Spain a goal that maintain a two-year unbeaten streak and gives the European champions the advantage ahead of the second leg in Valencia on Sunday.
In the evening’s other blockbuster tie, Germany came from behind to beat Italy 2-1 as two of the continent’s most successful sides met at the San Siro.

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali had opened the scoring early on, putting the finishing touches on a well-worked goal, and though the Azzurri continued to look dangerous it was Germany who scored next, with substitute Tim Kleindienst heading in four minutes after the break.

Both sides fought for the win but it was the visitors who grabbed it late on, with Leon Goretzka’s glancing header from a corner giving them the lead 14 minutes from time.

It means that Germany take a narrow lead into the second leg in Dortmund, with the winner facing the victor from the quarter-final between Portugal and Denmark .
And that match produced the first of two shocks of the evening, as Rasmus Hojlund scored the only goal in a 1-0 win for the Danes.

Hojlund came off the bench to net the winner in Copenhagen in a game in which the hosts created plenty of chances, with Christian Eriksen seeing a first-half penalty saved by Diogo Costa.

The Portugal goalkeeper came to the rescue on several occasions, but there was little he could do about the goal as Andreas Skov Olsen squared the ball for Hojlund to tap in in the 78th minute.

It was Portugal who applied the pressure as the game approached the final whistle but Cristiano Ronaldo and his team-mates were unable to capitalise, leaving Denmark with a slender lead ahead of Sunday’s second leg in Lisbon.

There was another shock in Split, goals from Ante Budimir and Ivan Perisic gave Croatia a deserved 2-0 win over France.

The return of Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele failed to spark the visitors to life in a match in Croatia were the dominant side, with Andrej Kramaric also seeing a penalty saved by France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.

Croatia, who were runners-up in the last edition of this tournament, were good value for their win, and though France tested Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic several times, it was a below-par performance from Les Bleus.

Mauricio Pochettino’s first major test as coach of the men’s national team ended in disaster Thursday when Cecilio Waterman scored deep into stoppage time to give Panama a 1-0 victory in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals before a tiny crowd at SoFi Stadium, where the Americans will play two of their three group-play matches in next year’s 2026 World Cup.

The game marked the second time in seven games under Pochettino that the U.S. was held scoreless and the second time in less than a year that Panama has beaten the U.S. in a tournament. The Central Americans beat the U.S. 2-1 in last summer’s Copa América, a result that hastened former coach Gregg Berhalter’s firing.

Panama will play the winner of Thursday’s second semifinal between Mexico and Canada for the Nations League title on Sunday. The U.S., winner of the three previous Nations League tournaments, will play for third place against the loser

Panama took a defensive posture from the start, playing with a five-man back line and crowding the midfield with four more, generating what little offense it produced on the counterattack.
And while that well-organized defense frustrated the U.S. for long stretches, the Americans still managed three dangerous chances in the first half, with Josh Sargent striking Panamanian defender Edgardo Fariña with a right-footed shot that caromed off the post in the 19th minute; Weston McKennie sending a header into the midsection of goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera a minute later; and Sargent losing a goal on a shot from the center of the box that beat Mosquera in the 24th minute because Tim Weah was offside.

The game opened up a bit early in the second half with the best chance by either team coming in the 82nd minute when second-half substitute Patrick Agyemang beat the defense into the box with only Mosquera to beat. But the keeper came up big, pushing the right-footed shot away for his third save.

Four minutes later Agyemang was back, played into the box by Christian Pulisic. But the Charlotte FC striker got his feet tangled trying to get off a shot and chipped his try onto the top of the net.
That set the stage for Waterman’s winner. The winger, who plays club soccer in Chile, took a pass from Adalberto Carrasquilla in the box on the right wing and set a low shot across the front of the goal and in at the far post. The shot was Panama’s first on target and U.S. keeper Matt Turner didn’t get a hand on it.

Thursday’s semifinal doubleheader was as much a test for the temporary grass laid over SoFi’s synthetic Matrix Turf as it was for the four national teams.
FIFA requires World Cup games to be played on natural surfaces and eight of the 16 stadiums that will be used in next year’s tournament have artificial fields. Those venues will have to install grass for the World Cup.

SoFi’s 70-by-110-meter field, grown at a sod farm in Washington state, was laid down in strips earlier this month and was used for the first time Thursday. The surface will remain in place for Sunday’s Nations League final and the third-place game as well as for a women’s friendly between the U.S. and Brazil next month.

Otto Benedict, the stadium’s senior vice president for facility and campus operations and the person overseeing the project, will study the field’s performance with help from FIFA to ensure the surface will hold up under the strain of eight World Cup games in 28 days.
“We are taking readings almost every single hour, if not more than that. We have systems in here that are looking at the ambient temperatures, the ambient moisture,” Benedict said of the multimillion-dollar process.
“It’s a learning opportunity. We want to put on the best possible event with the best possible pitch.”

City hosted Chelsea in the first leg of the Women’s Champions League quarter-finals in the second of four meetings between the two sides in a 12 day period.
Chelsea have been formidable this season and lifted the League Cup trophy on Saturday after a 2-1 victory over City. Consequently, City were out for revenge tonight and they were successful in this mission.
The hosts handed Chelsea their first loss of the season and will now carry a valuable and unexpected 2-0 lead into the second leg of their Champions League tie. Many believed that Chelsea would prevail on all four of the clashes between the two teams. However, City stepped up to the challenge and put in a brilliant performance to use the odds.

Here are five things we learned:

Miedema makes the difference:
Vivianne Miedema was the match-winner tonight. The Women’s Super League’s all-time leading goalscorer, Miedema also boasts an impressive Champions League goalscoring record. After tonight, the Dutch international has scored 31 goals in just 35 Champions League matches. She started amongst the substitutes tonight but made a huge impact after coming on at half-time. The forward was in the right place at the right time to fire the hosts ahead on the hour mark. Then she doubled City’s lead with a top class finish in the 88th minute, guiding City to a massive victory.
Chelsea’s unbeaten season over
After 31 matches without defeat, Chelsea have finally been bested. The Blues’ impressive streak without losing matched the record for the longest unbeaten run of any WSL side ever. However, they could not extend their invincible streak tonight as they suffered their first defeat since May. Their dressing room will not be used to the feeling of losing but Chelsea will have to bounce back quickly. They are entering a season-defining period and cannot let this knock them down.

City overcome injury troubles:
City have struggled this season and key injuries have continually hampered their form. They were dealt another injury blow this week, as star striker Bunny Shaw was ruled out of tonight’s Champions League tie. However, City were able to overcome their absences to produce a memorable performance and victory. It will provide a huge boost to their confidence and belief for the final months of the season.
Bompastor defeated
Sonia Bompastor has been in dreamland since she took charge of Chelsea in the summer. The French coach had big shoes to fill after Emma Hayes left the role but she has delivered so far. Bompastor’s Chelsea had been almost perfect before tonight, winning every game part from two draws, but now we will finally see how Bompastor reacts to defeat. The tie is far from over but she will need to find solutions if her side are to overcome the two goal deficit in the second leg.

Cushing off the mark:
The result is equally important to City’s boss as it is to their players. It is Nick Cushing’s first victory since he took interim charge of the side last week. Gareth Taylor was sacked ahead of the League Cup final that City lost to Chelsea last Saturday. Cushing started his tenure with the unenviable task of facing the best team in the country four times in a row. Despite this, now he has secured victory over Chelsea, Cushing has proven to everybody that he is still capable.

Mauricio Pochettino predicts the United States can dominate soccer and Donald Trump will put pressure on him to deliver at next year’s World Cup.
The U.S. men’s national team coach believes it is only a matter of time before America leads the way in the world’s most popular sport.

“I think we can dominate soccer, football, maybe in 10 or 15 years´ time, or maybe less: five, six, seven years. The potential is massive,” Pochettino told English media. “In five or 10 years, for sure we can be No1 in the world.”

Pochettino was hired last September to succeed Gregg Berhalter as coach and lead the country into the 2026 World Cup, which it co-hosts with Canada and Mexico.
Notably, the 53-year-old Argentinian, stopped short of saying his team could produce a shock victory at next year’s tournament, but he believes with Trump as president, much will be expected of his team.
“For us, the pressure is going to be there because we are a host,” he said. “In sport, in everything that Americans are involved in, they want to win. The players know it´s going to be massive pressure and now our president (Trump) likes to put pressure on, but it´s welcome. That means we are going to feel the adrenaline we need to feel. We are ready to deliver.”

Pochettino might welcome that pressure, but he was uneasy with FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s response when, on a recent White House visit, Trump asked him if the U.S. could win the World Cup.
“Gianni said yes, but I was disappointed with this answer,” he said. “He should say: `You need to ask your great coach, Pochettino.´ Because for sure, he can give a better opinion.”

The race towards a place in next year’s FIFA World Cup enters a crucial stage as of Monday, 17 March when the African qualifiers resume across the continent.
The global showpiece will for the first time have a guaranteed 9 representatives and possibly a tenth in the newly expanded version set to take place in the United States between 11 June – 19 July 2026.
With four rounds of matches already played, Match Day 5 of the qualifiers has lined up some appetising encounters, as the race to a top finish that guarantees qualification gradually takes shape.
The action officially gets underway in Group E on Monday, 16 March when third placed Tanzania play host to Congo who are yet to register a point in their past three matches.

Four exciting fixtures take place on Wednesday, 19 March with Liberia taking on top of the table Tunisia in Group H.
Cameroon will be looking at extending their lead in Group D when they take on bottom of the table Eswatini, while Central Africa Republic look to climb up the group when they take on third placed Madagascar.
Thursday, 20 March sees a total of nine mouth-watering encounters taking place across the continent. Some of the marquee fixtures to look out for on include Zimbabwe playing host to Benin, Malawi welcoming the Brave Warriors of Namibia who have had an impressive start so far, as well as Cape Verde taking on Mauritius.
Later on in the evening, Libya will be home to Angola in the tightly contested Group D, while the Eagles of Mali travel to Comoros to conclude Thursday’s fixtures.

Match Day 5 of the qualifiers concludes on Friday, 21 March with a total of 13 fixtures taking place.
With three draws and a loss to their campaign, the Super Eagles will be looking at securing their first win when they take on top of the table Rwanda in Group C. South Africa play host to Lesotho in the same group, as they eye a vital victory that could see them top the group should the result in the Nigeria and Rwanda match go their way.
In other exciting fixture to look out for, Group A leaders Egypt have a tough assignment travel to Ethiopia who are desperate for a win following three draws and a loss.
African champions, Cote d’Ivoire who lead Group F by a narrow point ahead of Gabon face third placed Burundi are also within reach of a top spot.
The Lions of Teranga will be aiming at nothing short of a victory to possibly go top of Group B ahead of Sudan when they face each other in what promises to be an explosive top of the table encounter on Friday.

FIFA World Cup Qualifiers Fixtures – Match Day 5:
Monday, 17 March
16h00 GMT: Tanzania vs Congo
Wednesday, 19 March
16h00 GMT: Liberia vs Tunisia
16h00 GMT: Eswatini vs Cameroon
16h00 GMT: Central African Republic vs Madagascar
16h00 GMT: Mozambique vs Uganda
16h00 GMT: Malawi vs Namibia

16h00 GMT: Zimbabwe vs Benin
16h00 GMT: Cape Verde vs Mauritius
16h00 GMT: Sierra Leone vs Guinea-Bissau
Thursday, 20 March
19h00 GMT: Libya vs Angola
19h00 GMT: Gabon vs Seychelles
19h00 GMT: Gambia vs Kenya

19h00 GMT: Comoros vs Mali

Friday, 21 March
13h00 GMT: Equatorial Guinea vs Sao Tomé and Principe
13h00 GMT: Botswana vs Algeria
16h00 GMT: Rwanda vs Nigeria
16h00 GMT: Burkina Faso vs Djibouti
16h00 GMT: DR Congo vs South Sudan
16h00 GMT: South Africa vs Lesotho
16h00 GMT: Togo vs Mauritania
19h00 GMT: Ghana vs Chad
19h00 GMT: Burundi vs Cote d’Ivoire
19h00 GMT: Sudan vs Senegal
21h00 GMT: Guinea vs Somalia
21h00 GMT: Ethiopia vs Egypt
21h00 GMT: Niger vs Morocco

Source (Fixtures were gotten from CAF)

The coaches of the four teams playing for the CONCACAF Nations League title this week think soccer should remain separate from the geopolitical events currently roiling relations among their nations.

Speaking two days before the tournament’s semifinal matches at SoFi Stadium, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino and Canada counterpart Jesse Marsch on Tuesday downplayed the political impact on the latest major international sporting competition to be staged amid President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and policies, including his tariff war with Mexico and Canada.
“I think we can’t mix political things with sport,” Pochettino said. “It’s not because I don’t want to talk. I have my ideas. But I represent the federation, and I (don’t) want to talk about politics.”

The U.S. faces Panama in the first Nations League semifinal match on Thursday before Canada takes on Mexico in the nightcap. The championship match is Sunday night.
“I’m not going to get political right now,” said Marsch, a Wisconsin native. “I think I’ve made my statements clear and known. I will say that I do think from watching the 4 Nations in hockey, you can see that the climate for sports in North America has been elevated for national teams. I’m really hopeful that this tournament can be the best reflections of our societies, in that we don’t have to waste time booing anthems and getting caught up in politics, and we can just focus on the players and the teams and supporting the love of the game, and then whatever your nationality is, that you can support your team all the way.”

That political tension was a recurring theme last month in hockey’s 4 Nations Face-Off, where Montreal fans loudly booed the U.S. national anthem. The Canadian team furiously rallied to win the title amid nationalist fervor from both North American powers.

Marsch already spoke extensively last month about the tensions between his home country and Canada.
At a news conference to promote this week’s games, Marsch called for the U.S. to “lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being a 51st state,” calling it “unsettling and frankly insulting.”
“As an American, I’m ashamed of the arrogance and disregard that we’ve shown one of our historically oldest, strongest and most loyal allies,” Marsch added.
Marsch said last month that he expected the geopolitical tensions to fuel his team with national pride. He didn’t go that far Tuesday, but acknowledged he had exchanged thoughts with Jon Cooper, Canada’s coach at the 4 Nations and two-time Stanley Cup winner.

Pochettino, the famed Argentine coach, took over the U.S. program only six months ago after stints at Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. He called it “a big mistake” to put politics at the forefront of sports.
“People are not waiting for us to talk in this way,” Pochettino said. “It doesn’t mean I don’t have my values and my vision of the situation.”
Thomas Christiansen, the coach of Panama’s national team since 2020, is from Denmark, where boycotts of American products are strong and growing amid Trump’s threats to seize Greenland, a Danish territory.
Two weeks ago, Panama reacted with outrage after Trump claimed the U.S. was “reclaiming” the Panama Canal because an American company bought controlling interest in a Chinese company that operates the canal’s ports.
Yet Christiansen said he won’t be using anything from the precarious political world to inspire his team when it faces the favored U.S. squad.