Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is feeling better after sustaining an ankle injury at the weekend but is not guaranteed to play in the upcoming Champions League game against Young Boys, manager Pep Guardiola said Monday.

"I spoke with the doctor and him," Guardiola said of Haaland. "Yesterday he said he felt much better, but I don't know."

Saudi Arabia is all but certain to host the men's 2034 World Cup after the Australian football federation decided not to enter the bidding contest, which had been widely seen as shaped by FIFA to suit the oil rich kingdom.

FIFA had set Tuesday as the deadline to formally declare interest in hosting the tournament, but Australia's decision not to enter the race leaves Saudi Arabia as the only declared candidate — to the dismay of many human rights activists.

The list reads 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2019, 2021, and now 2023.

Lionel Messi won the men's Ballon d'Or for a record-extending eighth time on Monday after fulfilling his life's ambition by leading Argentina to the World Cup title in Qatar last year.

Damian Lillard acknowledged this season opener felt a little different from the others as he adjusted to switching teams for the first time.

But the results he delivered were familiar to anyone who watched the seven-time All-NBA guard during his 11 years in Portland.

When Kevin Durant scored in the final minutes, LeBron James answered. These two generational basketball greats put on a scintillating duel in their first head-to-head matchup in nearly five years.

Although Durant was better in the first three quarters, he eventually had to concede he couldn't do it alone.

The bling and the banner were nice. What the Denver Nuggets really relished, though, was opening defense of the franchise's first NBA title with a 119-107 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

"We can't think about last year too much," Jamal Murray said after the Nuggets followed the raising of their championship banner by dropping the hammer on the Lakers in the NBA's season opener, which featured Nikola Jokic's triple-double and LeBron James taking a few more breathers than normal.

Bayern Munich has decided not to sanction Noussair Mazraoui after the Morocco right back expressed support for Palestinians on social media.

The German club said Friday that it had a "detailed and clarifying conversation with Noussair Mazraoui this week" after the 25-year-old player reportedly shared several posts on Instagram in support of Palestinians and against terrorism, hate and violence.

In what has become an all-too familiar sight, Neymar left the football field in tears after yet another injury — this time with a torn ACL and meniscus.

Quite a contrast to Lionel Messi's smiles at Inter Miami and Cristiano Ronaldo's reenergized success with Portugal.

Bundesliga football club Mainz has suspended Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi for what it called an "unacceptable" social media post about the Israel-Hamas war.

The club said on its website that it has "relieved Anwar El Ghazi of his training and matchday related duties" because of a post he shared Sunday that he since deleted. It does not say what the post contained, nor whether the player will return to play for the club.

Lionel Messi scored twice in Argentina's 2-0 win at Peru in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, playing the entire match for his national team. The 36-year-old appeared fit after he was sidelined for several matches with his club Inter Miami because of muscular pain

Also Tuesday, Brazil — the archrival of the defending World Cup champion — took two serious blows at Uruguay. Brazil lost 2-0 to the hosts, its first defeat in 37 World Cup qualifying matches, and saw its star Neymar leave the Centenario Stadium in Montevideo on crutches with a left knee injury.