Neymar will start on the bench for Brazil's Group C finale against Scotland on Wednesday at Miami Stadium. Neymar arrived with Brazil and is available to make his debut at this year's tournament after missing the first two matches. He was one of the final players to get off Brazils bus Wednesday afternoon, flashing a thumbs-up, giving a wave and slapping hands with a few well-wishers as he made his way inside the stadium and toward the teams locker room. "He is available. He trained very well this week," Ancelotti said Tuesday, without confirming that Neymar would take the field against Scotland. "He is fit and able, ready to play. We are very happy that he is back. He is a high-quality player." Neymar has been dealing with a right calf injury, one that has sidelined him from all matches for more than a month. He went through a training session with Brazil on Sunday, prompting the belief that he could finally be set to play. Neymar is Brazils career scoring leader with 79 goals in 129 international appearances. The 34-year-old forward appeared in each of the past three World Cups for Brazil, scoring eight goals. His role and whether he deserves to be on this team at all has been a major talking point among Brazil's passionate fans for some time. Neymar has struggled since returning from tearing the ACL in his left knee in October 2023 in a World Cup qualifier, and has four goals in eight matches for his Brazilian club Santos this season. Reporting by The Associated Press.

Clark claimed she was told she got the technical foul 'for clapping'

An unfortunate challenge gone wrong at the 2026 World Cup has resulted in a five-match ban for Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo, whose tackle from behind broke the leg of Canada's Ismal Kon during the teams' group-stage match last week.In the moment, an immediately remorseful Madibo was shown a red card. Just about a week later, on Wednesday, FIFA's disciplinary committee imposed the suspension for serious foul play, a decision thats subject to appeal.Madibo, who was clearly shaken up by the gruesome injury he caused, went to the Canada locker room to apologize to Kon after the match, Canada manager Jesse Marsch said, according to The Athletic.Recently, the players were even photographed embracing:Qatars Assim Madibo, the player who broke Ismal Kons leg stuck around Vancouver to spend time with Kon.He was very affected for his injury, never he was intentional. All of you know Madibo, and was a very clear accident, only to remark this, and to wish him all the best pic.twitter.com/cwI7qzewO3 Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) June 24, 2026Because of the red card he received, Madibo, 29, was already sidelined for Qatars 3-1 defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday. Had Qatar advanced to the knockout round, Madibos suspension would have applied to the countrys remaining World Cup matches.Since Qatar is at the basement of Group B and wont play again in this years tournament, Madibos entire five-match ban will roll over beyond the tournament.The incident occurred in the second half of Canadas 6-0 victory last Thursday. The gut-wrenching sight put a damper on the co-hosts first-ever World Cup win.Kon, a 24-year-old midfielder for Sassuolo, has successfully undergone surgery, which, according to The Associated Press, repaired the broken tibia and fibula in his left leg.After wheeling onto the pitch at BC Place in Vancouver, he was given a standing ovation before Canadas final match of group play on Wednesday, a 2-1 loss to Group B winner Switzerland.While significant, Madibos punishment isnt the most severe FIFA has administered in World Cup history. Notably, during the 2014 iteration of the tournament in Brazil, Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was hit with a nine-match suspension, plus banned from all soccer-related activity for four months, after he bit Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini.Uruguay striker Luis Suarez was given a nine-match suspension and banned from all soccer-related activity for four months for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Canada lost home advantage as World Cup co-hosts after a 2-1 defeat against Switzerland denied Jesse Marsch's team top spot in Group B.

Returning captain Ben Stokes insisted he had been man enough to apologise to his England teammates after missing the last Test for breaching a curfew.

England subsequently prodded and probed for 90 frustrating minutes as they laboured to a disappointing 0-0 stalemate in Boston.

Less than 24 hours after the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a monumental change in eligibility rules, a group of 15 college basketball players filed a lawsuit in an Ohio state court claiming the new age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition.The NCAA will now allow athletes five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. The move will all but eliminate waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service. No longer will extensions be considered for athletes who are injured.Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional model four years of competition over five years will not be allowed a fifth year of competition under the new rules that go into effect this fall. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cincinnati (Hamilton County) sought temporary and permanent injunctive relief that would allow a fifth year of competition for athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and began their college sports careers that fall and never redshirted. A judge denied a temporary restraining order hours after the lawsuit was filed and scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on the request for a preliminary injunction. The new eligibility rule unjustifiably restrains their ability to earn money through use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL) connected to their work as Division I athletes, attorneys Ryan Downton and Charles Rittgers wrote in the complaint.Similar lawsuits are expected to be filed in other states. A message seeking comment was left with an NCAA spokesperson.Nine of the plaintiffs have played or planned to play next season at Ohio schools. The rest, according to the complaint, have played multiple games in the state.The complaint said class of 2022 athletes competed for playing time against older athletes who had eligibility extended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also noted the NCAA allowed 2022 high school graduates to play a full professional season before enrolling in 2023 and that they are not excluded from playing in 2026-27.NCAA athletes have a reasonable expectation that they will be treated fairly by the NCAA and that NCAA rules will be applied consistently, regardless of the athletes background before they attend an NCAA school and regardless of the year in which they graduated from high school, the complaint said. The lawsuit points out that the plaintiffs don't challenge the concept of a defined eligibility period or the five-for-five rule itself.Rather, they challenge the NCAAs application of the rule that allows players they competed against from the high school class of 2017-20 and 2023-25 an additional year of competition while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity," the attorneys wrote. The NCAA then compounded the problem by allowing former professional players to compete in their fifth year following high school graduation regardless of the number of professional games they had played, while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity for a fifth year of competition.___AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports

Less than 24 hours after the NCAA Division I Cabinet approved a monumental change in eligibility rules, a group of 15 college basketball players filed a lawsuit in an Ohio state court claiming the new age-based model unfairly shuts them out of further competition.The NCAA will now allow athletes five seasons of competition over a five-year period that begins with their full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever occurs first. The move will all but eliminate waivers or redshirt years for extended eligibility except for religious missions, pregnancy or active-duty military service. No longer will extensions be considered for athletes who are injured.Athletes whose eligibility expired by spring 2026 under the traditional model four years of competition over five years will not be allowed a fifth year of competition under the new rules that go into effect this fall. The lawsuit filed Wednesday in Cincinnati (Hamilton County) sought temporary and permanent injunctive relief that would allow a fifth year of competition for athletes who graduated from high school in 2022 and began their college sports careers that fall and never redshirted. A judge denied a temporary restraining order hours after the lawsuit was filed and scheduled a hearing for next Wednesday on the request for a preliminary injunction. The new eligibility rule unjustifiably restrains their ability to earn money through use of their name, image, and likeness (NIL) connected to their work as Division I athletes, attorneys Ryan Downton and Charles Rittgers wrote in the complaint.Similar lawsuits are expected to be filed in other states. A message seeking comment was left with an NCAA spokesperson.Nine of the plaintiffs have played or planned to play next season at Ohio schools. The rest, according to the complaint, have played multiple games in the state.The complaint said class of 2022 athletes competed for playing time against older athletes who had eligibility extended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It also noted the NCAA allowed 2022 high school graduates to play a full professional season before enrolling in 2023 and that they are not excluded from playing in 2026-27.NCAA athletes have a reasonable expectation that they will be treated fairly by the NCAA and that NCAA rules will be applied consistently, regardless of the athletes background before they attend an NCAA school and regardless of the year in which they graduated from high school, the complaint said. The lawsuit points out that the plaintiffs don't challenge the concept of a defined eligibility period or the five-for-five rule itself.Rather, they challenge the NCAAs application of the rule that allows players they competed against from the high school class of 2017-20 and 2023-25 an additional year of competition while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity," the attorneys wrote. The NCAA then compounded the problem by allowing former professional players to compete in their fifth year following high school graduation regardless of the number of professional games they had played, while denying plaintiffs the same opportunity for a fifth year of competition.___AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports