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BUENOS AIRES: Roma striker Paulo Dybala was left out of the Argentina squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifiers, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez is back after a suspension.
Coach Lionel Scaloni announced his squad on Tuesday, with the absence of Dybala and the inclusion of Valencia midfielder Enzo Barrenechea the two big surprises.
Martínez was suspended by FIFA for the last two qualifiers for “offensive behavior” in two previous matches in September, but he will be available for the match at Paraguay on Nov. 14 and the home game against Peru five days later.
Argentina lead South American World Cup qualifying with 22 points from 10 matches. The top six teams will get direct spots at the 2026 tournament.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa), Walter Benítez (PSV Eindhoven), Gerónimo Rulli (Marseille).
Defenders: Gonzalo Montiel (Sevilla), Nahuel Molina (Atletico Madrid), Cristian Romero (Tottenham), Germán Pezzella (River Plate), Nehuén Pérez (Porto), Leonardo Balerdi (Marseille), Nicolás Otamendi (Benfica), Lisandro Martínez (Manchester United), Nicolás Tagliafico (Lyon).
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes (Roma), Alexis Mac Allister (Liverpool), Enzo Fernández (Chelsea), Giovani Lo Celso (Real Betis), Nicolás Paz (Como), Exequiel Palacios (Bayer Leverkusen), Rodrigo de Paul (Atletico Madrid), Enzo Barrenechea (Valencia).
Strikers: Thiago Almada (Botafogo), Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), Nicolás González (Juventus), Alejandro Garnacho (Manchester United), Julián Álvarez (Atletico Madrid), Facundo Buonanotte (Leicester), Valentín Castellanos (Lazio), Lautaro Martínez (Inter Milan).
SYDNEY: Josh Inglis will captain Australia for the first time in the third ODI against Pakistan and in the following Twenty20 series, selectors said Wednesday, with a number of stars absent.
Regular one-day skipper Pat Cummins plus Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith will not play the third ODI in Perth on Sunday so they can prepare for the Test series against India.
Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Josh Philippe all come into the squad.
With Twenty20 skipper Mitchell Marsh on paternity leave, the 29-year-old wicketkeeper Inglis will also captain the hosts in the three-match T20 series against Pakistan starting November 14.
“Josh is an integral member of the ODI and T20I teams and a highly respected player on and off the field,” George Bailey, chairman of selectors, said.
“He has led Australia A previously and will bring strong tactical nous and a positive approach to the role.”
Australia won the first one-dayer on Monday by two wickets. The second match is on Friday.
Australia’s Test team, led by Cummins, will play five matches against India.
The first Test starts on November 22 in Perth.
LONDON: European heavyweights Real Madrid and Manchester City both suffered big defeats in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Defending champions Madrid were humbled 3-1 at home by AC Milan, while Erling Haaland missed a penalty and City squandered a fourth-minute lead as they lost 4-1 at Sporting Lisbon, whose coach will soon take charge of their crosstown rival.
It was a much better evening for Liverpool, as Luis Diaz scored a hat trick and Cody Gakpo grabbed another goal in a 4-0 win over German champion Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield that marred Xabi Alonso’s return to his old home.
The Leverkusen coach was given a warm welcome on his return to the club where he became a fan favorite as a player over five seasons between 2004-09. Alonso won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005.
Liverpool moved top of the league phase table with four wins from four games, followed by Sporting and Monaco, both on 10 points after three wins and a draw. Under the new 36-team format introduced by UEFA this season, the top eight teams advance directly to the next round, and those from ninth to 24th enter playoffs to reach it, while the bottom 12 are eliminated.
Amorim’s audition
Before their game, Sporting fans displayed a huge tifo thanking Ruben Amorim in his last home game before he takes over Manchester United.
Phil Foden then got City off to a flying start in the fourth minute, only the second goal Sporting has conceded in four games of the competition.
But Swedish forward Viktor Gyokeres scored a hat trick as Sporting came roaring back. Gyokeres first equalized in the 38th after a perfect through ball from Geovany Quenda, before Maximiliano Araujo made it 2-1 right after the break. Gyokeres then made it 3-1 from the penalty spot after Josko Gvardiol was penalized for a shove on Francisco Trincão in the area.
Haaland’s penalty hit the crossbar, before Gyokeres showed the Norwegian how it’s done with another spot kick at the other end to complete the scoring.
It is the first time since 2018 that City have lost three straight games, coming off a defeat to Tottenham in the English League Cup and a loss to Bournemouth in the Premier League.
“In my seven and a half years at the club, I don’t remember losing three games in a row,” City midfielder Bernardo Silva said.
Madrid faltering
In Spain, Christian Pulisic sent in a corner for Malick Thiaw to head Milan into a 12th-minute lead, ensuring Madrid trailed in a third straight game in the Champions League this season. The 15-time champion had already lost to surprise team Lille in their second game.
Vinícius Junior equalized from the penalty spot in the 23rd after he’d been tripped, but Alvaro Morata pounced on the rebound after Andriy Lunin saved Rafael Leão’s shot to restore the visitors’ lead against his former club.
Morata had already been given a hostile reception from the home fans, who evidently remember the goal he scored to take Juventus through to the 2015 final at their team’s expense.
Tijjani Reijnders scored Milan’s third goal as the home fans made their frustrations known at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
“The last two defeats are inexplicable. We have to analyze and react quickly,” Lunin said, referring to Madrid’s 4-0 loss to Barcelona in its previous Spanish league game.
It’s the first time since 2009 that Madrid have lost two successive games at home with at least three goals conceded in each, according to Opta.
“We have to get back on track,” Lunin said.
Other results
German forward Nicolas Kuhn scored twice as Celtic defeated Leipzig 3-1 at home, and Juventus drew 1-1 at Lille.
Lille midfielder Edon Zhegrova eluded two defenders before playing a perfect pass for Jonathan David, who fired inside the far post, but Dusan Vlahovic equalized with a penalty for the Italian club.
Donyell Malen scored late for Borussia Dortmund to beat Sturm Graz 1-0 at home, and Thilo Kehrer did likewise for Monaco to win at Bologna 1-0.
US midfielder Malik Tillman scored one goal and set up another as PSV Eindhoven beat Spanish team Girona 4-0.
Dinamo Zagreb dealt Slovan Bratislava their fourth straight defeat in the competition as the visitors came from behind to win 4-1 in Bratislava.
MADRID: Real Madrid and AC Milan honored the victims of the deadly floods in Valencia before their Champions League match on Tuesday.
Players from both teams entered the field wearing shirts with the words “We are all Valencia,” written in Spanish on Madrid’s kits and in Italian on AC Milan’s.
A huge banner of the Valencia region was displayed in the stands at midfield, covering several sitting sections at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium while a moment of silence was observed before kickoff.
Madrid’s organized fan group also displayed a “We are all Valencia” banner behind one of the goals at the Bernabeu.
Spain international Alvaro Morata, who scored one of the goals for Milan in the team’s 3-1 win against Madrid, said soccer has become secondary after the tragedy.
“What’s happening in Valencia is the most important thing,” he said. “Hopefully the situation will improve, because we can’t enjoy a soccer match with a situation like that happening in our country.”
More than 200 people were killed when flash floods caused by heavy downpours in eastern Spain devastated the Valencia region last week, destroying almost everything in their path and leaving people trapped in vehicles, homes and businesses.
Real Madrid had donated 1 million euros to help the victims affected by the unprecedented floods.
Madrid hadn’t played a match since its 4-0 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish league “clasico” on Oct. 26. Their weekend game at Valencia in the league was postponed because of the floods.
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said in his news conference on Monday that he didn’t “feel like talking about soccer” with everything that was happening in Valencia.
Several other sporting events across Spain were affected by the deadly floods.
Before the match, Madrid fans at the Bernabeu loudly jeered when UEFA’s Champions League anthem was played. That came after the club decided not to attend the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony last week whentheir forward Vinicius Junior did not win the prestigious prize.
CHARLOTTE: NASCAR issued $600,000 in fines and suspended nine team members from three different teams on Tuesday for alleged race manipulation at Martinsville Speedway.
The penalties came down after a contentious final battle Sunday at the Virginia track in which Christopher Bell initially qualified for the championship final four, but his move to hit the wall and use it for momentum violated a banned safety rule and was disallowed.
That gave the final spot in this week’s winner-take-all finale at Phoenix Raceway to William Byron.
But, NASCAR was clear in disqualifying Bell that it would take a hard look at the actions other drivers played in the sequence of events as Bell and Byron battled for the final spot in the championship flat.
In the case of Bell, NASCAR determined fellow Toyota driver Bubba Wallace faked a flat tire in order to give Bell the leeway to move out of the way and hit the wall.
In the case of Byron, NASCAR ruled that Ross Chastain and Austin Dillon both ran interference to help fellow Chevrolet driver Byron not lose any position on the track that would cost him a spot in the championship.
Elton Sawyer, NASCAR’s senior vice president of competition, said the sanctioning body considered suspending the drivers as well as taking action against manufacturers Chevrolet and Toyota. He said there was nothing in the rulebook that would call for the manufacturers to be punished, but NASCAR planned to meet with the leaders of Ford, Chevy and Toyota to discuss the situation.
Because the penalties were issued the week of the season finale, the teams have until Wednesday afternoon to ask for an expedited appeal. The appeals would likely be heard Thursday.
Trackhouse Racing, which fields Chastain’s Chevy, said it would appeal, as did 23XI for the Toyota of Wallace.
“We feel strongly that we did not commit any violations during Sunday’s race,” 23XI said in a statement. The team is currently embroiled in a lawsuit against NASCAR over the charter system and has Tyler Reddick racing Sunday for the Cup Series title.
The penalties issued were:
Chastain
A $100,000 fine for Chastain, a $100,000 fine for Trackhouse, and one-race suspensions for team executive Tony Lunders, crew chief Philip Surgen and spotter Brandon McReynolds. Chastain is the defending race winner at Phoenix. The team also lost 50 points.
Dillon
Dillon was fined $100,000, as was Richard Childress Racing. One-race suspensions were given to team executive Keith Rodden, crew chief Justin Alexander and spotter Brandon Benesch. The team also lost 50 points. Richard Childress Racing also said it would appeal.
Wallace
Wallace was fined $100,000, as was 23XI. The one-race suspensions went to team executive Dave Rogers, crew chief Robert Barker and spotter Freddie Kraft. The team also lost 50 points.
Sawyer had said Sunday that NASCAR would review the Martinsville finish to see if there was indeed any race manipulation with rival drivers helping others that are aligned with the same manufacturer.
But he said he hoped the penalties were harsh enough to curb the manufacturer alliances and race manipulation.
“We took and looked at the most recent penalty that we had written for an infraction very similar… we wanted to ramp this one up,” Sawyer said, “and we did. We did that in a way that included team leadership and this is something that we felt like we wanted to get our point across that it is a responsibility of all of us…. to uphold the integrity of the sport.”
LIVERPOOL: Xabi Alonso endured a miserable return to Anfield as Liverpool thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 on Tuesday, thanks to a Luis Diaz hat-trick, to go top of the Champions League table.
Cody Gakpo was also on target as the Reds maintained their 100 percent record in Europe after four games.
Alonso, a Champions League winner during his playing days in the Liverpool midfield, turned his back on succeeding Jurgen Klopp to remain at Leverkusen after leading them to an unbeaten German league and cup double last season.
Liverpool, though, are not left wondering what might have been as Arne Slot continued his stunning start as manager with a 14th win in 16 games in all competitions.
Leverkusen remain on seven points from their opening four Champions League matches after another sobering night for their ambitions to match the heights they hit last season.
Alonso’s men sit fourth in the Bundesliga, seven points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, and failed to master what Alonso described pre-match as a “beautiful challenge.”
The Spaniard cut a frustrated figure on the touchline as his side struggled to get into the slick passing rhythm they have become famed for during his tenure.
The German champions, though, created the best of what chances there were in a first half short on goalmouth action.
Jeremie Frimpong saw appeals for a penalty waved away when he went down with a clear sight of goal under a challenge from Kostas Tsimikas.
Frimpong also had the ball in the net just before the break but handled before racing through to finish.
Liverpool’s best opening of the half came seconds later when Curtis Jones’ excellent pass finally found some space for Gakpo, but his powerful effort was repelled at his near post by Lukas Hradecky.
Just like in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Brighton that took Slot’s men to the top of the Premier League, it took until the second half for both Liverpool and the Anfield crowd to come to life.
Mohamed Salah should have done better when he sliced wide after a jinking run through the Leverkusen midfield by Ryan Gravenberch.
A cagey tactical battle was sparked into life on the hour mark by a moment of stunning quality.
Jones spun his marker before splitting the Leverkusen defense with a pinpoint pass for Diaz, who nonchalantly chipped the advancing Hradecky.
Moments later, Liverpool had killed the visitors off with another flowing move.
Salah’s driven cross was headed in at the back post by the flying Gakpo.
The linesman raised his flag to momentarily silence the celebrations, but a VAR review showed the Dutch forward was onside for his sixth goal of the season.
Victor Boniface headed wide with a huge chance to bring Leverkusen immediately back into the game.
Instead, Liverpool pulled further clear seven minutes from time when Diaz controlled Salah’s looping cross and fired home.
The Colombian then rounded off the scoring with his ninth of the season in stoppage time with another clinical finish after Darwin Nunez’s blocked shot fell into his path.
Liverpool’s return of 12 points means they are almost certainly already assured of a place in the knockout phase, but are closing in on sealing direct progression to the last 16 via a top-eight finish in the 36-team league.
