Lionel Messi's mood should be better by now. Barcelona has a game on Saturday.

He's a proud Argentine, but his scoring disconnect with the national team sharply contrasts with his record-setting feats for the Spanish club. Criticism at home of his inability to score more for Argentina wasn't dampened after the team played out a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia midweek.

A Brazilian hospital says Pele is undergoing physiotherapy following surgery on his right hip.

Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo said Wednesday that Pele remains in good condition and is already walking around his room.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic illuminated a low-key night of international friendlies on Wednesday, scoring an audacious overhead kick from 30 yards to cap his four-goal display in Sweden's 4-2 win over England.

Ibrahimovic's one-man show in Stockholm — featuring what both his opponents and pundits hailed as one of the greatest goals seen in recent years — overshadowed two high-profile matches between fierce European rivals, with the Netherlands and Germany drawing 0-0 and France coming from behind to beat Italy 2-1 away.

Rudy Gay scored a season-high 28 points and Zach Randolph added 20 points and 11 rebounds as the Memphis Grizzlies extended their best start in team history by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 107-97 on Wednesday.

Marc Gasol chipped in 14 points as the Grizzlies won their sixth straight game.

Lance Armstrong's cancer-fighting charity has formally dropped him from its name and will officially be known as the Livestrong Foundation.

The move is the latest of several by the charity to separate itself from its founder, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency revealed evidence of performance-enhancing drug use by Armstrong and his teammates.

China is the number one venue for major sporting events but Russia is set to overtake it in 2013, sports analysts said Wednesday.

Taking into account nearly 700 world championships and global sports events between 2007 and 2018 and weighing up their impact for host nations, researchers Sportcal found that China was far and away the most attractive home nation in 2012.

A long-range strike from Uruguayan-born striker Sebastian Suria helped Qatar beat Lebanon 1-0 Wednesday in an Asian World Cup qualifier that boosted its chances of booking a spot in Brazil.

Suria took a pass from Fabio Cesar and fired the ball from 20 meters (yards) outside the area, sending it curling past Lebanon keeper Abbas Hassan. The goal set off raucous celebrations among the home supporters, who are desperate for a good showing after Qatar was awarded the 2022 World Cup. The win moved Qatar into a second in Group A alongside South Korea and Australia and a point behind leader Uzbekistan.

Chelsea went public for the first time Tuesday with detailed racial abuse allegations against a referee, insisting there was no misunderstanding and that its players heard Mark Clattenburg use the word "monkey" during a Premier League match.

Chairman Bruce Buck opted to end Chelsea's public silence on the claims despite an ongoing investigation by the English Football Association into the events during last month's match against Manchester United.

A Brazilian hospital says Pele is in good condition after undergoing surgery.

The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo did not release details, but local media said Tuesday that the football great had an operation on his hip.

Lazio captain Stefano Mauri and teammate Giuseppe Sculli will be questioned next Tuesday about their alleged role in the Italian match-fixing scandal.

The pair, along with former player Omar Milanetto and Lazio physiotherapist Romano Massimo Papola, will be asked about Lazio's matches against Genoa and Lecce in May 2011.