"The Association was informed by Liverpool of their regret of Mohamed Salah being unable to join the national team in their matches against Angola in Cairo and Gabon in Franceville as part of... the World Cup qualifiers," the EFA said in a statement posted on its social media.

The crunch CONMEBOL encounter on September 5 will mark the first time the two icons face each other as PSG teammates, and will come less than two months after Messi inspired Argentina to a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the Copa America final.

The Melbourne-based Doherty Institute said the country's focus must shift to limiting the number of COVID-19 deaths and hospitalisations, from its current zero-cases strategy, when at least 70 percent of the country's population above age 16 is fully vaccinated.

"An investigation is underway, but no one has been taken into custody" at this stage, said the prosecutor's office.

The 42-year-old Filipino boxing superstar indicated he now planned to turn his attention to his political career in the Philippines in the wake of a unanimous points defeat to Ugas.

The 2-0 victory, Liverpool's second in as many games this season, took place in front of a capacity crowd at Anfield for the first time since March last year, when the Reds lost to Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

Rublev will play Alexander Zverev for his maiden Masters 1000 title on Sunday after the German downed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 7-6 (4) in a thrilling second semi-final at the warm-up for the US Open.

Osaka has lately had a strained relationship with sections of the media, saying her mental health is adversely impacted by certain lines of questioning.

Not yet fully fit, Messi, along with Neymar and fellow new recruits Gianluigi Donnarumma and Sergio Ramos, did not make the match squad, but saw his new club take an early lead through Mauro Icardi at Parc des Princes.

Van Dijk recently returned to action during pre-season after spending nine months on the sidelines with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury sustained in the Merseyside derby in October.

Speaking at Friday's news conference ahead of the league fixture after Messi joined PSG from Barcelona earlier this week, Pochettino added his first task was to make sure a star-studded outfit began to look the sum of its parts.

The 34-year-old Argentinian forward signed a two-year deal Tuesday with Paris Saint-Germain of Ligue 1 with an option for a third year. Financial terms were not announced, but The New York Times reported Messi will earn $41 million per year.

The contrast was dramatic after a Tokyo Games played out in mostly empty stadia and under strict COVID-19 protocols.

The Argentine superstar said his next move is not confirmed, but ESPN reports that he'll join Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal with an option for a third season.

The ceremony, although lusterless, gave athletes something of a glimpse of everyday Tokyo life as the Olympic Stadium was transformed into a park with grass, buskers and BMX riders.

The focus immediately shifts to Beijing as the curtain falls on the Tokyo Olympics, with a growing coronavirus outbreak in China and boycott calls looming large just six months from the start of the Winter Games.

There was no immediate comment from either club.

Messi will speak at 1000 GMT after Barcelona said on Thursday the 34-year-old will leave the club, despite both parties having reached an agreement over a new contract, citing economic and structural obstacles to the renewal of the deal.

For the host nation, the Olympics fell short of the global triumph and financial blockbuster it once sought. Still, organisers appear to have prevented the Games from spiralling into a COVID-19 superspreader event, a remarkable achievement given that some 50,000 people came together amid the pandemic.

An April consolation prize of a Spanish Cup success -- his 35th club trophy -- was scant reward.

The Americans were 24-18 behind after the first quarter and 42-45 adrift at half-way, but stormed back during a dominant third term to stay on track for a fourth consecutive gold medal.

Apriyani Rahayu, 23, and her veteran partner Greysia Polii picked up the badminton-mad country's first Olympic gold medal in Tokyo on Monday, and its first-ever Olympic medal in the women's doubles.

The world No. 6 women's doubles badminton pair managed to beat second seed Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan of China in a fierce straight set battle.

In the gold medal match, Canada will face the winner of the other semi-final between Australia and Sweden which is being played later on Monday.

The 33-year-old veteran and partner Apriyani Rahayu beat China's Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan 21-19, 21-15 to pick up their country's first Olympic medal in women's doubles.

Punishing conditions greeted the athletes as a trackside thermometer in the open, placed about 50 metres from the finish line, touched 40 degrees Celsius (104°F) and the humidity hovered around 60 percent, with sun beating down on the fan-free Olympic Stadium.

Polii, 33, and Apryani Rahayu, 10 years her junior, beat South Korea's Lee So-hee and Shin Seung-chan 21-19, 21-17 on Saturday to move within one win of an unlikely women's doubles gold medal.