Mohamed Salah was left out of Liverpool's starting lineup by manager Arne Slot on Wednesday for the second straight Premier League match, in what could be a sign of the Egypt winger's fading status in his ninth season at the club.

Salah was named on the bench for the home game against Sunderland, only entering as a halftime substitute — and failing to score — in a 1-1 draw at Anfield.

Erling Haaland scored his 100th Premier League goal on Tuesday and Manchester City moved to within two points of the top of the standings after surviving a stunning fightback from Fulham.

Haaland became the fastest player to reach a century of goals in the league with his 17th-minute opener in City's 5-4 win at Craven Cottage. But a night of personal glory was nearly wrecked as Fulham came back from 5-1 down and came agonizingly close to an equalizer in added time when Josh King's effort was cleared off the line.

It's a life-size World Cup football trophy — made of 2,842 Lego bricks.

Iran is to boycott next week's World Cup finals draw in Washington because the United States refused to grant visas to several members of the delegation, the Iranian football federation announced on Friday.

"We have informed FIFA that the decisions taken have nothing to do with sports and the members of the Iranian delegation will not participate in the World Cup draw," the federation's spokesperson told state television.

Napoli is back.

And just in time as the defending champion visits Serie A leader Roma on Sunday, with just two points separating the sides.

The time has come for Monaco to step up its game as French league leader Paris Saint-Germain travels to the Principality this weekend.

Monaco has a squad packed with talent but already lags 10 points behind PSG , having lost five of its 13 league matches.

The Swiss government teamed up with FIFA on Thursday, giving 120,000 Swiss francs ($149,000) to help fund the building of community football fields in the West Bank.

Switzerland-based FIFA said money from the country's foreign affairs ministry was for "enabling the construction of the facilities and supporting a broader, long-term commitment to restoring access to football across the region."

Top of the Premier League. Top, with a 100% record, in the Champions League.

Arsenal is the best team in Europe right now, no matter what manager Mikel Arteta says.

Sanae Takaichi made history by becoming Japan's first female prime minister in October. She must now decide whether she'll break another barrier: the taboo barring women from the sumo ring.

The winner of the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament that ends Sunday will be presented with the Prime Minister's Cup. Some of her male predecessors, including former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, have entered the ring to hand over the cup.

The top two teams in the Champions League standings meet Wednesday as Arsenal hosts Bayern Munich in a game between the leaders in the Premier League and Bundesliga.

Arsenal has yet to concede a goal in four straight wins in the eight-round opening phase but is still second behind Bayern on the tiebreaker of more goals scored, with both having the same goal difference.