Stephen Curry was on a roll — and it was barely enough to beat Sabrina Ionescu.

And fittingly, he won by three.

Defending champion and top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the quarterfinals of the Argentina Open by beating Camilo Carabelli 6-2, 7-5 on Thursday in his first clay-court match of the season.

The 20-year-old Alcaraz came from 2-0 down in the second set against his Argentine opponent.

Lionel Messi and Inter Miami closed out their tumultuous Major League Soccer preseason with a 1-1 draw against Messi's boyhood club, Newell's Old Boys, on Thursday night.

It was the first time that the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner faced the club that both he and Inter Miami coach Gerardo "Tata" Martino grew up with as natives of Rosario, Argentina. Messi played there as a child before leaving to play for FC Barcelona, where he rose to soccer stardom. Martino played and coached for the club and holds the record for most appearances in club history.

Real Madrid and Kylian Mbappé may get a second chance to make it work.

Less than two years after what seemed to be a done deal fell apart, the Spanish powerhouse and the France star could have another opportunity to join forces.

Brazilian soccer fans were already in a funk after a year that saw a string of poor results, a coaching void and a political tug of war at the country's federation.

Things got even worse Sunday after Brazil failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics thanks to a loss to archrival Argentina, meaning the two-time defending champion will not be part of the tournament this summer.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola called on Erling Haaland to "relax" and stay positive after being concerned by the prolific striker's on-field demeanor before he scored the first goals of his comeback from injury.

Guardiola was critical of his players' body language during the 2-0 win over Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, which saw Haaland score twice in the second half after a frustrating first 45 minutes for the Norwegian.

Barcelona heard from its fans again after its chances of successfully defending the Spanish league title took another hit on Sunday.

Barcelona was jeered at home following a 3-3 draw against second-to-last Granada, a setback that saw the Catalan club move 10 points behind leader Real Madrid, which defeated second-place Girona 4-0 on Saturday.

Many are calling it the best-ever Africa Cup of Nations. The 34th edition of the biennial soccer tournament served up more goals, plenty of late drama, and surprising twists and turns as underdogs had their day.

It finished with a happy ending for host nation Ivory Coast after its remarkable path to the final, including near-elimination in the group stage.

The stars are starting to align for another Lionel Messi vs. Kylian Mbappé showdown on a global soccer stage to follow their epic World Cup final in 2022.

The men's soccer tournament at the Paris Olympics starts July 24 and Argentina has now joined host France in the 16-nation lineup.

With his flowing curls and thrilling attacking play, it was no surprise that Akram Afif was likened to Liverpool star Mo Salah at the Asian Cup.

Over the space of a month the Qatar forward lit up the tournament. With eight goals, including a hat trick in the 3-1 win over Jordan in the final, he was the leading scorer and most valuable player as his team won back-to-back titles.