Mike Gundy, one of college football’s most colorful coaches over the last two decades, was fired by Oklahoma State on Tuesday.
The 58-year-old Gundy had a career record of 170-90 at his alma mater, where he was a star quarterback in the late 1980s. He posted winning records every season from 2006 to 2023, but had losing records in his final two years.
“Cowboy Football reached an unprecedented level of success and national prominence under Coach Gundy’s leadership,” Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiberg said in a statement. “I believe I speak for OSU fans everywhere when I say that we are grateful for all he did to raise the standard and show us all what is possible for Oklahoma State football.”
Gundy arrived as head coach in 2005, and the Oklahoma City native’s charm and sense of humor appealed to fans and recruits and helped the Cowboys compete with better-funded programs. As late billionaire T. Boone Pickens poured millions into the program, Gundy turned Oklahoma State into an unlikely powerhouse that often affected the national championship race. The Cowboys won the Big 12 in 2011 and played in the Big 12 title game in 2021 and 2023.
But the Cowboys couldn’t keep up as college football changed. The transfer portal and NIL made it more difficult for a coach who made his name mining diamonds in the rough. Gundy lost 11 of his final 12 games with the program. In his final two seasons, he emerged as a refreshingly open and honest voice about the changes in the sport.
On Monday, Gundy said he wanted to stay.
“Ever since I was hired, I’ve put my heart and soul into this, and I’ll continue to do that until I don’t want to do it anymore, or until someone else says we don’t want you to do it,” he said.
All those things were forgiven as the team won. But the Cowboys lost their last nine games last season, the final defeat a 52-0 blowout at Colorado.
This season, Oklahoma State struggled out of the gate against FCS program Tennessee-Martin, winning 27-7 but raising eyebrows with its struggles after quarterback Hauss Hejny went down with a broken foot in the first quarter.
The next week, the Cowboys lost at Oregon 69-3. Ducks coach Dan Lanning said Gundy got his team fired up by talking about how much money Oregon had at its disposal.
After a bye week, the Cowboys lost at home to Tulsa for the first time since 1951. The fans booed him during the loss to Tulsa, with some chanting “Fire Mike Gundy.”
“If you want to be angry at Coach Gundy, then you can do whatever you want that makes you feel better, but don’t do it to the team,” Gundy said on Monday. “I think that’s what’s best for Oklahoma State football, Oklahoma State’s athletic department and Oklahoma State in general.”
SAN JOSE — Racheal Kundananji scored in the second half to pull Bay FC into a 1-1 draw with Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League on Sunday night.
Bay (4-10-7) earned its second straight draw but has not won since June 7 and remained below the playoff line. Gotham (8-6-7) is unbeaten in its last five league matches and is third in the league standings.
“An excellent game from us today, a little unfortunate that we didn’t get a goal there at the end,” said Bay FC head coach Albertin Montoya, who earlier this month announced he’ll resign at season’s end. “But I thought it was an exciting game on both halves. Just [am] proud of the team, they came out with so much desire and fight.”
Esther Gonzalez fed a short pass to Rose Lavelle who sent the ball to the opposite post to put Gotham up in the 36th minute at PayPal Park.
Kundananji tied it for Bay in the 68th with a smash from atop the box that arced up before falling into the side netting.
Bay FC defender Brooklyn Courtnall celebrated a career milestone in the match as she made the first start of her young career. The University of Southern California product made her club debut in last week’s match at Orlando, and made four appearances off the bench for the North Carolina Courage this season prior to joining Bay FC on loan last month.
Jaedyn Shaw made her first start for Gotham, a week after she made her debut and scored in a 2-0 victory over the San Diego Wave. Shaw was acquired earlier this month from the North Carolina Courage for an NWSL record $1.25 million in intraleague transfer funds.
Bay FC plays its second straight home match next Saturday when the Utah Royals visit PayPal Park.
Joel Waterman, Dje D’Avilla and Philip Zinckernagel each scored a goal, Chris Brady had four saves, and the Chicago Fire beat Minnesota United 3-0 on Saturday night
Chicago (13-11-6) has 45 points this season and has a two-point lead over the 10th-place New York Red Bulls — who beat Montreal 2-0 earlier Saturday — for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Minnesota (15-7-9) is third in the Western Conference with 54 points, behind Vancouver (55) and San Diego (57).
Waterman, who was acquired Aug. 20 via trade with Montreal, scored his first goal of the season in the 26th minute.
André Franco played an arcing free kick to the back post and D’Avilla went up high for a header from the 6 yards out in the 41st — the 22-year-old midfielder’s first goal in MLS.
Zinckernagel paused as a defender went sliding by and scored on a rising shot from near the penalty spot to make it 3-0 in the 70th.
Dayne St. Clair had six saves for Minnesota.
Minnesota allowed two first-half goals for the first time this season. Due to rest of injuries, four players (Mamadou Dieng, Darius Randell, Dominik Fitz and Nectarios Triantis) made their first-ever starts in MLS. Minnesota played Wednesday in the U.S. Open, a 2-1 loss to Austin FC that lasted 120 minutes.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Brendan McSorley had two goals and an assist — the 22-year-old’s first goal contributions in MLS — and Roman Bürki had nine saves, to help St. Louis City beat the San Jose Earthquakes 3-1 on Saturday night.
St. Louis City (6-17-8) has won back-to-back games overall and is 6-0-0 in its three MLS seasons against the Earthquakes.
San Jose (9-13-9) has 36 points, tied with Houston for 10th in the Western Conference, and fell behind Dallas (37 points) for the final playoff spot.
McSorley, who made his first career start, put away a volley from the top of the 6-yard box to open the scoring in the 10th minute. Chris Durkin played a long arcing ball-in from well outside the area to the back post and João Klauss flicked a header to McSorley for the finish.
Marcel Hartel, with his right foot, gently stopped a header from McSorley, turned a fired a left-foot shot from inside the penalty arc to make it 2-0 in the 19th and played a perfectly-placed ball-in to McSorley for a header that gave St. Louis a 3-1 lead in the 45th minute.
Cristian Arango converted from the penalty spot in the 31th for the Earthquakes.
McSorley and Klauss are the only players in club history with at least two goals and one assists in single game.
San Jose had 56% possession and 23 shots, 11 on target.
McSorley, at the goal line, blocked a shot by Arango from the center of the area in the 61st.
Joel Waterman, Dje D’Avilla and Philip Zinckernagel each scored a goal, Chris Brady had four saves, and the Chicago Fire beat Minnesota United 3-0
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Joel Waterman, Dje D’Avilla and Philip Zinckernagel each scored a goal, Chris Brady had four saves, and the Chicago Fire beat Minnesota United 3-0 on Saturday night
Chicago (13-11-6) has 45 points this season and has a two-point lead over the 10th-place New York Red Bulls — who beat Montreal 2-0 earlier Saturday — for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Minnesota (15-7-9) is third in the Western Conference with 54 points, behind Vancouver (55) and San Diego (57).
Waterman, who was acquired Aug. 20 via trade with Montreal, scored his first goal of the season in the 26th minute.
André Franco played an arcing free kick to the back post and D’Avilla went up high for a header from the 6 yards out in the 41st — the 22-year-old midfielder’s first goal in MLS.
Zinckernagel paused as a defender went sliding by and the scored on a rising shot from near the penalty spot to make it 3-0 in the 70th.
Dayne St. Clair had six saves for Minnesota.
Minnesota allowed two first-half goals for the first time this season. Due to rest of injuries, four players (Mamadou Dieng, Darius Randell, Dominik Fitz and Nectarios Triantis) made their first-ever starts in MLS. Minnesota played Wednesday in the U.S. Open, a 2-1 loss to Austin FC that lasted 120 minutes.
Sep 17, 2025; Bronx, New York, USA; New York City forward Julian Fernandez (11) reacts after scoring a goal against the Columbus Crew during the second half at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: John Jones-Imagn Images
BRONX, NY — Julian Fernandez produced a stunning 94th-minute winner as New York City FC (NYCFC) came from behind once again to defeat Columbus Crew 3-2 at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night. and record a crucial win in the race for the MLS playoff places.
Fernandez, on as a second-half substitute, whipped a sensational left-footed shot into the top corner deep into stoppage time to send the hosts fifth in the Eastern Conference, leapfrogging Columbus in the process.
NYCFC, who have taken 23 points from a losing position in the MLS this season, twice leveled through Hannes Wolf after Columbus twice took the lead through Daniel Gazdag and Wessam Abou Ali in an evenly matched encounter.
The game appeared to be drifting to a forgettable conclusion before substitute Agustín Ojeda broke through the center of the Columbus midfield and fed Fernandez, who applied a sublime finish from just outside the area.
Pascal Jansen credited his side for once again coming from behind in an MLS game this season.
“They stayed very composed throughout,” Jansen said. “Going for the win the way they did, that makes me even prouder.”
NYCFC enjoyed the lion’s share of the possession in a cagey opening half that saw precious little goalmouth.
Jansen’s side was largely restricted to shots from range and rarely troubled Patrick Schulte in the Columbus goal.
It was the visitors who had the better chances in a lifeless opening half, with Gazdag heading straight at Matt Freese from close range after being left completely unmarked from a corner on 37 minutes.
However, the Columbus striker would not have to wait long for another opportunity after referee Rubiel Vazquez judged that Aiden O’Neill had fouled Abou Ali in the area. Contact appeared minimal, but Abou Ali had managed to poke the ball away before a tangle of legs sent him tumbling to the turf.
Gazdag stepped up after a lengthy review and sent Freese the wrong way to give Columbus the lead on 40 minutes.
Jansen described the penalty as “harsh” but credited his players for how they reacted in the five minutes before the break.
NYCFC squared things up on the stroke of half-time when Justin Haak got on the end of a well-worked routine and sent a cutback across the Columbus six-yard box.
Schulte’s parry was unconvincing, allowing Wolf to prod home from close range to send the sides in level at the break.
The hosts thought they should have had a penalty 10 minutes into the second half when Alonso Martinez scampered through on goal and collided with Schulte as he looked to round the Columbus ‘keeper. Vazquez deemed the contact insufficient to award a second spot kick of the evening.
Columbus was back in front five minutes later when Abou Ali rose highest to flick a Maximilian Arfsten cross goalward. The header lacked power but crept into the back of the net via the post after Freese mistakenly judged that the ball was heading wide.
Once again, the hosts responded well to going behind and penned Columbus inside their own half as they pressed for another equalizer, with Ojeda proving influential on the right wing.
They drew level for a second time on 73 minutes when Wolf met an Ojeda cross on the volley and sent a bouncing shot beyond Schulte to send the City faithful into raptures.
The lively Ojeda continued to exert an influence on the game and could have won it himself when he raced onto a defense-splitting pass from Jonny Shore but fired his shot to close to Schulte and the chance went abegging.
Ultimately, it was Ojeda’s fellow substitute Fernandez who produced the game-defining moment with seconds left to play, although Ojeda still played a major role.
Ojeda raced through the Columbus midfield and found Fernandez lurking in space on the edge of the Columbus penalty area. Fernandez applied the finishing touch, in some style, and ripped off his shirt in celebration as the Yankee Stadium crowd went wild.
Two studies are revealing new insight into the effects of head impacts while playing sports like soccer. One study focused on frequent soccer headers by amateur players. Dr. Michael Lipton, who led the research, joins to discuss.
Spain’s Lamine Yamal, left, and Turkey’s Abdulkerim Bardakci fight for the ball during a World Cup qualifying round Group E soccer match between Turkey and Spain at Konya Buyuksehir stadium, in Konya, Turkey, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
MANCHESTER, England — Liverpool left it late again and moved back to the top of the Premier League.
The defending champion secured a 1-0 win against Burnley on Sunday and preserved its 100% start to the season thanks to a stoppage-time penalty from Mohamed Salah.
After late winners against Bournemouth and Newcastle already this term, Liverpool staged another dramatic finale at Turf Moor.
Arne Slot’s team looked set to drop points for the first time this season, but was handed a lifeline when Hannibal Mejbri handled the ball in the box and referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot.
Salah did the rest by blasting a powerful shot past Burnley goalkeeper Martin Dubravka before running away in celebration.
Manchester City hosts Manchester United later Sunday.
Substitute defenders Anthony Markanich and Carlos Harvey ended a scoreless duel with goals three minutes apart in the second half, Nectarios Triantis debuted with a goal and an assist and Minnesota United went on to beat expansion side San Diego FC 3-1 on Saturday night in a battle between the top two teams in the Western Conference.
Markanich subbed into the match in the 63rd minute before taking a pass from Joaquín Pereyra in the 74th and scoring for a 1-0 lead. Seven of Markanich’s eight career goals have come this season. Pereyra’s assist was his 10th in his first full season in the league.
Both of Harvey’s goals have come this year in his second full season. He entered midway through the first half and used assists from Triantis and Kelvin Yeboah — his third — to score.
Triantis made it 3-0 with a goal in the second minute of stoppage time after coming in with Markanich.
San Diego avoided a shutout when Jeppe Tverskov scored his second goal in his first season — three minutes after Triantis.
Dayne St. Clair totaled 12 saves for Minnesota United.
CJ dos Santos stopped two shots for San Diego.
Minnesota United (15-6-9) pulls within two points of first-place San Diego (17-8-5) with four regular-season matches remaining. Both clubs have already clinched postseason berths.
San Diego travels to play Atlanta United on Saturday. Minnesota United returns home to play the Chicago Fire on Saturday.
Ben Verbrugge is a freelance sportswriter with a journalism degree from CSU Dominguez Hills. He is a member of the Los Angeles media and spends most of his time covering the NBA, NFL, and MLB. When not writing, he is either playing or watching sports.
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Lamine Yamal and Barcelona will face Valencia in this La Liga matchup on Sunday at Estadi Johan Cruyff.
Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona runs with the ball during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Vallecas on August 31, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona runs with the ball during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Rayo Vallecano de Madrid and FC Barcelona at Estadio de Vallecas on August 31, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. Diego Souto/Getty Images
Barcelona are 2‑0‑1 (two wins and one draw) to open the 2025‑26 season, scoring 7 goals and conceding 3 so far. They’ve done it all away from home, with victories at Mallorca and Levante and a draw at Rayo Vallecano. Lamine Yamal has been a standout so far, leading the team in both goals and assists, and Hansi Flick will expect more from him and the front line now that they finally get a home game.
Valencia have had a mixed start: one win, one draw, one loss, putting them mid‑table early on. Their attack has shown glimpses, recently beating Getafe 3‑0 at Mestalla, thanks in part to Arnaut Danjuma, who scored his first goal for the club in that match. The challenge for Valencia will be containing Barcelona’s creativity while being clinical themselves, especially given the hostile surroundings at the Estadi Johan Cruyff.
This is a great La Liga matchup that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.
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Rafael Santos is already worth the price of admission.
Three games into his Colorado Rapids tenure, the club paying $125,000 in General Allocation Money — less than the going price of an international roster slot — is looking like highway robbery.
The left back has three assists in that time span, including one on the opening goal in Saturday’s 2-1 win against the Houston Dynamo at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
The assist itself wasn’t spectacular, but it was smart and required careful execution. On a free kick from striking distance, Santos lined up and postured to take it, but instead dragged it behind him to set up Cole Bassett for a shot on the move. The delicate setup created a path around the wall for Bassett to hit, which he did from about 22 yards out.
The strike was Bassett’s third goal of the season and first since mid-July. It was his 31st all-time for the Rapids, tying him with Chris Henderson for the sixth most in club history.
The Rapids’ winner came in the 90+6th minute, when a corner kick glanced off Paxten Aaronson’s head, then went in off Houston defender Felipe Andrade. All of DSGP thought Aaronson had scored his first goal for his new club, but it was credited as an own goal.
Santos continued his hot start with a pair of impressive crosses later in the first half. Either one could have netted an additional assist.
His signing was done in part to give competition to Sam Vines for the role moving forward with a less-than-impressive campaign from the Homegrown. So far, it’s a landslide at the top of that totem pole.
What impresses about Santos is what has been lacking from Vines. Vines made a name for himself in 2021 running in attacks and whipping in solid crosses, essentially making himself a winger who tracked back to defend. His service has not been the same since returning to the Rapids for the 2024 season.
In that sense, Santos has been a breath of fresh air. Both of those crosses had this in common: They were on time, on target, and hit with speed. The latter could be what benefits this team most.
The Rapids have been built for speed on the flanks, and even their strikers — Rafael Navarro and Darren Yapi — have some pace to them. In certain attacking scenarios, the speedsters put themselves in good spots but couldn’t get good service.
So far, all indications are that Santos could be that weapon. On both occasions Saturday night, a recipient got a foot to the ball but was a half step too late.
Jack McGlynn tied it up for Houston in the 68th minute with as easy a goal as he may ever score. Lawrence Ennali, who had been in a physical battle with right back Reggie Cannon for the first 15 minutes of the second half, beat Cannon to the touch line and lofted a cross to the back post. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen couldn’t jump high enough to snuff it out, then McGlynn flew in unmarked and tucked it into a wide-open net from close distance.
As authorities continue to remember lives lost on 9/11, two of Portland’s emergency services organizations will play a soccer match tonight at Providence Park in their memory, fielding former collegiate players who work for those departments.
Rick Graves with Portland Fire said why this annual gathering is important for the community.
“We recognized about a decade ago how great it would be if we came together on the soccer field to try and improve the communities that we serve,” Graves said.
Graves also said that while this is just one of many annual gatherings for competition, but there’s only one stat that matters in this game.
“We do have other opportunities throughout the year where police and fire are directly competing against one other,” Graves said. “So we do have moments like that where we do have a tally.”
“But the only tally taken is how many balls hit the net in the (back of) the opposing team’s goal,” Grave continued.
Entry into Providence Park is a donation of an unwrapped small toy or a can of non-perishable food. Gates on the corner of 20th and Morrison will open at 6pm and the ninth annual match starts at 7.
The Premier League season wasn’t even 30 minutes old when Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo reported being racially abused by a spectator.
The same weekend, a German Cup match was stopped after Schalke midfielder Christopher Antwi-Adjei said he was racially abused at a throw-in.
In Italy, Juventus condemned racist abuse targeting U.S. player Weston McKennie as he warmed down after a league game.
And in Spain, police on Wednesday arrested a spectator for allegedly making monkey noises and gestures toward Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé during a match on Aug. 24.
An early-season surge in abuse directed at Black players in competitions across Europe has alarmed anti-discrimination campaigners and highlighted how racism persists in soccer despite multiple initiatives by soccer bodies FIFA and UEFA, national federations and individual clubs to eliminate it.
“I think it’s more than double what we had last season at the same time,” said Piara Powar, executive director of the Fare network, an anti-discrimination group which works with the global and European soccer bodies to monitor and advise on incidents at games.
“If you layer social-media issues on top of that,” Powar added in a phone interview, referencing the abuse of England player Jess Carter at the Women’s European Championship this summer, “then you really are getting into a lot of stories coming out.”
Frustrated at the lack of progress, some Black players have called for tougher penalties against offenders from both the justice system and soccer institutions.
“In this day and age, we’re still, us players, getting racially abused and it just doesn’t make sense,” Semenyo told British broadcaster ITV. “We just want to know why it keeps happening.”
The man arrested on suspicion of hurling abuse at Semenyo in the Premier League opener against Liverpool was released on bail and told he cannot go within 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) of a soccer stadium in Britain while police investigate the incident.
Soccer’s tribal culture and frenzied fan base makes it a prime stage for societal problems like racism to surface. English soccer had a particularly harrowing time with racism in the 1970s and ’80s when Black players were regularly subjected to monkey chants and offensive slurs.
A generation later, racial abuse of players is more common in social media but also continues in stadiums. A high-profile example came in Spain in 2023 when Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior confronted a supporter who called him a monkey. Months earlier, four people hung an effigy of the Brazilian player off a highway bridge, resulting in prison sentences this year.
Soccer’s governing bodies have struggled to stamp out the problem, despite measures such as longer bans for players, heavier fines for clubs, partial stadium closures, points deductions and a three-step protocol used by referees when racism occurs in matches.
FIFA recently fined the soccer federations of Albania, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for offenses including racism during World Cup qualifiers they hosted in June. Argentina, Colombia and Chile also were punished for what FIFA said was “discrimination and racist abuse.”
FIFA created a racism task force in 2013 but controversially disbanded it three years later, saying it had “completely fulfilled its temporary mission.”
Last week, FIFA announced its latest initiative: a 16-strong group of former players, including soccer greats such as George Weah and Didier Drogba, which will advise on anti-racism initiatives.
“They will further push for a shift in football culture,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said about The Players’ Voice Panel, “making sure measures to counter racism are not just talked about, but actioned, both on and off the pitch.”
One member of the panel, former Manchester United defender Mikael Silvestre, said he received racist insults on Instagram the day after the initiative was announced.
“It was a surprise,” Silvestre said in comments provided by FIFA, “but it made me even more motivated.”
Powar said his organization, which sends observers to men’s matches in international soccer and European club competitions, has sent reports to UEFA and FIFA for 18 alleged discriminatory incidents so far this season, excluding online incidents. Based on news reports and its own observations, the Fare network found 90 clear incidents of discrimination in 67 matches. Nearly half of them involved racism.
Powar said there was “more awareness” of racist incidents happening in soccer, mainly because of increased media coverage, but was still surprised to see so many reports so early in a season. He suggested a heightened focus on migration in European politics may have contributed to the surge.
“Every week now we are seeing far-right parties, parties of the center-right, prioritizing migration as an issue that Europe needs to get a grip of,” he said. “And that inevitably plays out amongst fan groups, many of whom have a far-right agenda in any case, and it plays out in the minds of the general public.”
Jacco van Sterkenburg, a professor of race, inclusion and communication in soccer and the media at Erasmus University in Rotterdam, cautioned against blaming racism in soccer on broader political trends.
“Football itself produces racism that to some extent is independent from society,” Van Sterkenburg said, “because behind it are some aspects like, for example, (the lack of) diversity of boardrooms, in coaching staffs.”
Organizations like FIFA and UEFA have to tread a fine line as they balance being a competition organizer as well as a regulatory body.
Powar pointed to the example of Mexico, a co-host of next year’s World Cup whose federation is getting regularly fined because of its fans’ use of a homophobic chant during matches.
“FIFA has fined them probably close to 20 times over the last few seasons,” Powar said, “and really, given their offenses, they should be closer to being kicked out of the FIFA World Cup.”
Gary Neville, the former Manchester United and England defender, also wants there to be a bigger “consequence” for offenders.
Neville is a co-owner of English fourth-tier team Salford City, whose players walked off the field during a friendly match at York in July after one of them was allegedly racially abused by a home supporter.
Speaking at the launch of UK anti-discrimination group Kick It Out’s five-year “Football United” strategy, Neville said the conversation on racism must move beyond education.
“Should the (offender’s) employer be contacted? Should there be further punishment for the club? Should the players continue to be on the pitch?” he asked. “We have to take the conversation beyond what is the norm because I just see exactly the same response every single time.”
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar contributed to this story.
EL ALTO, Bolivia — Miguel Terceros scored from a penalty in the first half and Bolivia downed Brazil 1-0 on Tuesday in South American qualifying which combined with Colombia’s win over Venezuela helped the Bolivians advance to the playoff tournament for the 2026 World Cup.
Terceros converted in the 45th minute for the Bolivians who defeated Brazil at home for the first time since 2019.
The playoff tournament will involve six nations and will be played in March’s international window to decide the last two spots for the World Cup to be played next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Bolivia is aiming to qualify for its fourth World Cup and first since 1994.
Uruguay, Colombia and Uruguay were the most recent South American teams to qualify for next year’s World Cup last week and the final round of the qualifiers was meant to decide the team to advance to the international playoff.
The Colombians, who finished in third place in the qualifiers, helped Bolivia’s cause by rolling past Venezuela 6-3 with a big night from striker Luis Diaz, who scored four goals.
Diaz, a Sporting Club player, scored in the 42nd, 50th, 59th and 67th minutes. Yerry Mina in the 10th and Jhon Cordoba in the 75 also scored.
Also on Tuesday, Enner Valencia scored on a penalty kick late in the first half and Ecuador defeated reigning champions Argentina 1-0.
The 35-year-old Valencia converted in the 45th minute for the Ecuadorians, who finished second in the South American standings with 29 points behind the Argentinians’ 38.
Ben Verbrugge is a freelance sportswriter with a journalism degree from CSU Dominguez Hills. He is a member of the Los Angeles media and spends most of his time covering the NBA, NFL, and MLB. When not writing, he is either playing or watching sports.
🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Peru is set to take on Paraguay in this World Cup 2026 qualifier match on Tuesday at Estadio Nacional.
Peru’s forward #09 Paolo Guerrero celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Peru and Bolivia, at the National Stadium in Lima, on March 20,… Peru’s forward #09 Paolo Guerrero celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Peru and Bolivia, at the National Stadium in Lima, on March 20, 2025.
Peru has had a slow start to qualifying and is struggling to score goals. They’ll be counting on their home fans in Lima to lift them, and experienced players like Paolo Guerrero could still make a difference in tight matches.
Paraguay has also been inconsistent, but they have some exciting young talent and a solid defense. This is a big chance for them to steal points away from home. It’s expected to be a close and hard-fought match, with few goals.
This is a great World Cup 2026 qualifying match that you will not want to miss; make sure to tune in and catch all the action.
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Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson is in good form going into the World Athletics Championships
The world’s best athletes will take to the track and field this weekend when the World Athletics Championships get under way in Tokyo from September 13-21.
Many of the stars who shone at Paris 2024 will be there, including Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and USA’s 100m Olympic champion Noah Lyles.
One of the major talking points away from the sport has been the introduction of a mandatory SRY or sex test for athletes who intend to compete in female categories.
All athletes in female category take new ‘sex test’
World Athletics, led by their President Seb Coe, have taken an unambiguous stance for several years when it comes to talking about and defining new rules around the sensitive issues of the protection of female categories, transgender and DSD (Difference of Sexual Development).
They became the first global sporting federation to announce they would introduce a mandatory, once-in-a-lifetime gene test, known as an SRY Test earlier this year.
The test identifies the Y chromosome which causes male characteristics to develop. If an athlete returns a negative result, they are eligible to compete in female categories at world ranking events, including these World Championships.
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World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
World Athletics President Lord Coe says the governing body will do ‘whatever is necessary’ to protect the female category in the sport after it approved the introduction of cheek swabbing to determine if an athlete is biologically female
Coe told Sky Sports he expected every athlete required to take an SRY Test will have done so by the time track and field events get under way in Tokyo, including all French athletes.
In France, the process has been complicated by French law where the SRY gene test is illegal in France due to a 1994 law banning DNA testing for non-medical, non-judicial purposes to protect family integrity, so French athletes have had to undertake the SRY test by travelling outside of France.
Coe confirmed that while it is World Athletics’ stated aim to have all athletes tested by the start of the World Championships next month, the results do not have to be known due to the tight time frame.
For athletes whose national federation hasn’t been able to offer an SRY test yet, World Athletics will step in and offer the test at holding camps in Japan used by athletes prior to competing in Tokyo.
“By and large, the process has gone pretty smoothly, but it’s not been without its challenges,” Coe said. “The vast majority have been pretty straightforward and we’ve (World Athletics) made a contribution of about US$100 per test.”
How important are championships for Coe?
Very.
He has transformed the athletics governing body since his election in Beijing in 2015 from the tarnished old IAAF to the new World Athletics.
He’s serving his third and final term as president and while no doubt still pondering his defeat in March’s International Olympic Committee (IOC) presidency election to Kirsty Coventry, his first love has always been track and field, and during his term as president he has tackled controversial issues like banning Russia and bringing in updated rules on gender eligibility.
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Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
Lord Coe accepts defeat to Kirsty Coventry in the IOC Presidential vote and says he welcomes the fact it’s a former Olympic athlete who will take up the role
While those issues can be divisive, the progress of time has shown that many, if not most, sporting federations have followed athletics’ lead by watching and then following.
It’s interesting to note that the new IOC President, whom he lost out to, is preparing the IOC to greater understand and perhaps even lead on gender eligibility and protections for female sports stars.
He also wants athletics firmly in the position of the world’s second most popular sport behind football by showing off packed out stadia in Tokyo.
The World Championships take place in the 70,000 capacity Olympic Stadium where during the 2020 Olympics not one fan was able to watch the sport on offer due to a strict Covid-19 lockdown in Japan.
Many of the sessions during the nine days of competition are sell-outs and, according to Coe, no session will have fewer than 50,000 people in attendance.
Tokyo heat, humidity and typhoons
World Athletics deliberately scheduled the start of their marquee championships later than they would normally. Two years ago in Budapest, for example, the schedule ran during August.
High temperatures and humidity can be exceedingly high in Japan during the months of July and August, as many athletes who competed at the Tokyo Olympics four years ago will testify to.
The 2025 World Athletics Championships will be held at the National Stadium in Tokyo from September 13-21
However, heat mitigation measures will again be in place as Japan has experienced temperatures 2.36 Degrees Celsius above average between June and August, with local temperatures in Tokyo this week reaching 33 Degrees Celsius.
World Athletics president Seb Coe is of the belief that climate change is not temporary and is here to stay; at these championships, decisions on whether competition will go ahead will not be in the hands of local organisers, but World Athletics.
Information on drinks, ice baths and cooling techniques has been shared widely with athletes and their federations, while plenty of provision will be in place for spectators.
Tokyo and Japan, in general, is prone to typhoons at this time of year, indeed many British and Northern Irish athletes were confined to their hotel at their training camp for a few days due to a typhoon. If such a weather system hits Tokyo during the championships, it will again be a decision for World Athletics to make as to whether to postpone or cancel events.
Where could GB medals come from?
Great Britain and Northern Ireland haven’t been set a medal target, but a top-eight finish in the medal table is the challenge, with an expectation of several of their world-leading track stars to medal and all relay squads to medal.
So who are the stars? The women’s 800m final has been scheduled for the last session of the last day of the championships, as it’s been viewed as being a hot ticket in town. Two Brits could well end up on the podium, both friends and training partners coached by husband and wife duo Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter – Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter-Bell.
Hodgkinson was one of the stars of Paris last year, streaking home to become Olympic champion and, although she has suffered hamstring injuries this year, she has come back to racing in time and is running ferociously quickly.
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Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
Keely Hodgkinson says she is in a good place after receiving her MBE and is fully focused on the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo
While perhaps not quite the right time for a tilt at the 800m world record, if Hodgkinson feels it, she’ll go for it.
Elsewhere, medals could come in men’s middle distance, with 1500m runner Josh Kerr defending his world title he won in 2023.
His battles with Norway’s Jacob Ingebrigtsen have already become legendary, with the two not the best of pals. At the Paris Olympics, one of the two should have taken the gold medal, but their attention on one another allowed the USA’s Cole Hocker to shock them both and cross the line first.
George Mills, son of Danny – the former Leeds, Manchester City and England defender – is a serious contender for medals in the men’s 5000m. This season he’s beaten Sir Mo Farah’s long-standing British 5000m record and ran the second fastest 1500m by a Brit, so the 26-year-old is well warmed up.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson is always a threat at major championships, and at Tokyo she will defend the heptathlon world title she won two years ago. She was also crowned world champion in 2019, and took Olympic silver in Paris.
Dina Asher-Smith will make her seventh appearance at a World Championship and, while the competition is fierce in both the 100m and 200m, she is running quickly this season.
“I’m just really happy,” she told Sky Sports. “I think the other week in Zurich is testament to what kind of shape I’m in because, honestly, I knew that I’ve been in good shape for a very long time and I know that I’ve been putting together some great races in the past few months, but to run a 10.90!
!I was picking it out because I know I could have had faster in me that day, but still obviously I’m very happy.”
Could Dina Asher-Smith medal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo?
Also very quick is Daryll Neita, who finished fourth in the women’s Olympic 100m final in Paris, narrowly missing out on a medal. She did, however, take home an Olympic Silver medal from the 4x100m women’s relay and in Tokyo it is expected that Great Britain and Northern Ireland medal in all five relay disciplines.
Individually, in the men’s sprint events (100m and 200m), Zharnel Hughes should at the very least make finals, as the qualified pilot has run sub-10 seconds in the 100m and sub-20 seconds in the 200m. With age, Hughes seems to get faster, as he broke both British 100m and 200m records in 2023, the same year he took his first ever global medal, a bronze at the last World Athletics Championships.
“Obviously the experience has been taking me into finals and stuff like that,” he said. “I’ve always been one to be reckoned with when it comes to the championships. I’ve always been able to position myself into the finals at every major championship.
“Unfortunately, last year it didn’t get to happen due to injury, but I’m feeling confident and I’m looking forward to getting myself on that podium for sure. I’ll be giving it my very best, I’m filled with determination and I’m quite confident in my ability that I can always catch you at the very end.
“I’m trusting myself and trusting my speed. The work that I’ve put in leading up to this championship has been tremendous. It’s going to be great.”
While the British team is medal heavy on expectation from the track, also keep an eye on pole-vaulter Molly Caudery. She won the 2024 World Indoor title and won the Diamond League meeting in Doha in May.
The Cornishwoman is a huge talent was expected to challenge for the gold at the Olympics last year, but had a shocker and failed to even qualify for the final. The 25-year-old is determined to learn the mental lesson from a year ago.
HARRISON, N.J. — Kennedy Fuller scored in the 2nd minute, but Angel City FC fell 3-1 to Gotham FC on Sunday at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Fuller opened the scoring with a right-footed shot from outside the box. Gabi Portilho equalized in the 47th minute from close range off a pass from Midge Purce.
Rose Lavelle put Gotham ahead four minutes later, and Jaelin Howell added insurance in the 68th minute with a strike from outside the box off a pass from Geyse.
With the result, Gotham improved to 7-6-6 while Angel City moved to 6-5-8.
Saturday night, the Oakland Coliseum was the place for soccer fans to be. The venue hosted an international friendly match between Japan’s and Mexico’s Men’s National soccer teams.
Organizers of the match reported that the match was at capacity on Saturday, meaning there was a full crowd.
The match ended in a 0-0 draw, but the game itself seemed to represent a win for sports in Oakland.
Saturday, the Coliseum parking lot was filled with excited tailgaters firing up their grills, playing live music, dancing, and waving flags. The cheers of fans echoed across the Coliseum and into the parking lot throughout the game.
People traveled from all around the Bay Area to attend.
Attendee Aiden Ang of Cupertino explained, “My mom’s Japanese and she wanted to watch this a lot, and I’m a big fan of soccer, so I just came out to watch.”
“I just want to watch Japan play, because I’ve never watched them in person,” he added.
Gabby Valdovinos of Sonoma said she bought tickets to go with her dad to the game for his birthday.
“I’m excited because I feel like I haven’t heard of any of these games happening near me [before],” Valdovinos said.
She noted she’d been to A’s games and concerts at the Oakland Coliseum and Arena before, but this was her first time watching soccer at the venue.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s great exposure for the bay,” she said.
Fernando Silva of Oakland said it felt special to be at the Coliseum to watch an international soccer match.
“When it comes to soccer versus any other sport, you feel the energy, you feel every hit of the drum, you hear every yell, every cheer, you feel like it — it’s in here, you know?” he said, gesturing to his heart.
This match is a big deal for Oakland, which has seen the Raiders, the Warriors, and the A’s depart in recent years. The Oakland Roots USL soccer team announced the Coliseum as its new home earlier this year, bringing consistent competition back to the area. The Roots also brought in a new field to the Coliseum, which was a big part of drawing in new events like this international friendly match.
Peter Gamez, the president and CEO of Visit Oakland, noted that Oakland Roots, the Oakland Soul USL W team, and the Oakland Ballers have each played a role in building more momentum around sports in the Town.
Gamez expects this international friendly match to bring tourism and business to Oakland.
“We’re anticipating a lot of fans, not only from the Bay Area, we’ve actually had fans coming in from Mexico and staying overnight in Oakland,” he noted.
He explained that sporting events have the potential to draw new visitors from around the world to Oakland.
Gamez noted that when Oakland hosted two events during the NBA All-Star Weekend earlier this year, local hotels also saw a boost in bookings.
He said that when the Bay Area hosts the Super Bowl and World Cup games in 2026, while those events won’t be hosted in Oakland, he expects out-of-town visitors to stay and spend time in Oakland during their travels to the region.
“Bringing in for our tourism economy brings in a boost for the overall tax revenue for the city of Oakland,” Gamez emphasized.
