At 35, Edin Dzeko is both the star and old man of a Bosnia team he will lead against France in 2022 World Cup qualifying on Wednesday, but he owes his long career to the time his mother would not let him play football.

Kane, who broke into Spurs' starting line up in 2014, has scored 215 goals in all competitions, but he is yet to win a trophy with the north London club.

The Netherlands saw off Latvia 2-0 after their opening Group G defeat by Turkey, who backed up that performance with an impressive 3-0 victory over Norway.

Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka have both been ruled out of England's World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Poland, the Football Association announced Friday.

James Harden delivered game highs of 44 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists Friday to power the Brooklyn Nets over Detroit 113-111 while Boston ended Milwaukee's eight-game NBA win streak.

UEFA will decide next week on a revised format for the Champions League which will likely overhaul Europe's top football competition from 2024, European Leagues revealed on Friday.

Wales midfielder Joe Allen will miss the World Cup qualifier against the Czech Republic after picking up an injury in this week's 3-1 defeat to Belgium, caretaker boss Robert Page confirmed on Friday.

Germany head coach Joachim Loew appears to have a luxury problem to solve before this summer's Euro 2020 finals in deciding which midfield stars to leave out.

The NBA champions Los Angeles Lakers endured a fourth straight defeat since losing superstar LeBron James to injury, falling 109-101 to the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

Gareth Southgate hailed Ollie Watkins' "fairytale" England debut after the Aston Villa striker scored in a 5-0 win against San Marino in Thursday's opening World Cup qualifier.

Former champions Spain were held to a 1-1 draw by Greece in their opening 2022 World Cup qualifier on Thursday with the visitors earning a point from a disputed penalty as coach Luis Enrique insisted his side deserved to have been winners.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic said it felt like his Sweden debut as he set up the decisive goal in his first international appearance in nearly five years with Thursday's 1-0 home win over Georgia in 2022 World Cup qualifying.

Nikola Vucevic, Evan Fournier and Aaron Gordon were traded by the Orlando Magic at Thursday's NBA trade deadline according to multiple reports as the struggling club launched a rebuilding scheme.

Germany cruised to a 3-0 win over Iceland on Thursday to get their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start after their players staged a pre-match demonstration for human rights.

Italy got their World Cup qualifying campaign off the mark with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Northern Ireland in their Group C qualifier in Parma on Thursday.

Miki Yamane scored on his debut to give Japan the lead in the 17th minute, before Daichi Kamada added a second 10 minutes later and Wataru Endo notched a late third.

The Milwaukee Bucks pushed their NBA winning streak to eight games on Wednesday, squandering a 25-point third-quarter lead but holding on to edge the Boston Celtics 121-119.

European champions Portugal got their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign off to a winning start thanks to an Azerbaijan own goal in a tight 1-0 Group A victory in Turin on Wednesday.

Antoine Griezmann scored a superb goal but holders France were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Ukraine on Wednesday as their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar got off to a stumbling start.

Norway stars Erling Braut Haaland and Martin Odegaard on Wednesday donned t-shirts with the slogan 'Human rights, on and off the pitch' in support of migrant workers building World Cup venues in Qatar for the 2022 finals.

But others said they are concerned about Japan hosting the Summer Games amid the global health crisis or feel discomfort that they have been dubbed the "Reconstruction Olympics," when people in the region are still grappling with the aftermath of a catastrophic earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster 10 years ago.

The Netherlands slumped to a "disappointing" 4-2 loss to Turkey in Istanbul in their dramatic opening 2022 World Cup qualifier as Burak Yilmaz scored a hat-trick on Wednesday.

Lewis Hamilton's team chief Toto Wolff is confident that champions Mercedes can bounce back from a poor pre-season test and fight for victory in Sunday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.

England manager Gareth Southgate said on Wednesday he will seek input from his senior players over whether the Three Lions continue to take the knee before matches.

Luis Enrique said Wednesday that Spain "must apply ourselves from minute one" as they start their World Cup qualifying with a trio of matches against teams they are expected to beat. 

Germany head coach Joachim Loew has urged his side to take out their "anger and disappointment" from the humiliating defeat against Spain when they host Iceland on Thursday.

FIFA banned its former president Sepp Blatter until 2028 on Wednesday after handing him a new suspension of six years and eight months for receiving huge bonuses.

Scotland's players will stand against racism rather than take the knee ahead of their World Cup qualifier against Austria.

France have their eyes on adding the European Championship title to their World Cup crown this year, but first they begin their defence of the trophy they won in Russia three years ago as qualifying for the 2022 tournament in Qatar gets underway on Wednesday.

Brandon Ingram scored 36 points as the New Orleans Saints took full advantage of LeBron James' injury absence to pummel the Los Angeles Lakers 128-111 on Tuesday.