FIFA eye playoff between LAFC and Mexico's America for Leon's Club World Cup place

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said they will look to hold a playoff between Los Angeles FC and Club America for a place at the Club World Cup after it removed Club Leon from the tournament last month, Reuters reported.

Leon were pulled from the June 14-July 13 tournament over multi-club ownership rules, though the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has registered Leon's appeal against the decision.

"In a couple of weeks we will have the final and definitive decision, we will respect any decision," Infantino told reporters at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday.

"What we are looking at is that, if CAS confirms the decision of the Appeals Committee, FIFA's intention is to play a match, a playoff, between the team that lost the final of the CONCACAF Champions League, LAFC, and the next team in the ranking, which is America."

World soccer's governing body has said $1 billion prize money will be on offer at the expanded 32-team competition, according to Reuters.

ICC U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifier: Nepal secure second consecutive win

Nepal defeated Oman by eight wickets in the ICC U-19 Men's Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifier on Monday.

In the match held at the Upper Mulpani Cricket Ground, Oman, who were invited to bat first after losing the toss, posted 117 runs.

Chasing 188,  Nepal achieved the target losing two wickets.

Niraj Kumar Yadav top-scored for Nepal with 46 runs off 31 balls hitting five boundaries and two sixes. Another opener Sahil Patel made 44 runs.

Capitan Niraj Bhatta remained unbeaten at 12 and Santosh Yadav at 10.

Saumya Bhavin Sampat claimed two wickets for Oman.

Earlier, Oman scored 117 runs in 38 overs.

For Oman, Jeet Shah scored highest 52 runs off 78 balls with six boundaries. Similarly, Siddhartha Shankar contributed 16, and Pratheish Ramesh 10 while other batters failed to score in double digits.

Yuvaraj Khatri took five wickets for Nepal. Likewise, Santosh Yadav claimed two wickets, and Linda Dayananda Mandal, Aparajit Paudel and Ashok Dhami took one wicket each.

In the first, Nepal beat the UAE by five wickets.

Similarly, Afghanistan defeated Hong Kong by eight wickets in the second match in the Lower Mulpani Cricket Ground and Oman by eights wickets in the first match.

 

Ten-man Real overcome lowly Alaves 1-0 after Mbappe sees red

Defending champions Real Madrid secured a nervy 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Deportivo Alaves in LaLiga on Sunday after a reckless foul by Kylian Mbappe had them reduced to 10 men late in the first half, Reuters reported.

Eduardo Camavinga gave Real the lead in the 34th minute, scoring from outside the box with a brilliant curled shot, after an earlier goal by Raul Asencio was ruled out following a VAR check.

Mbappe's violent tackle on Alaves midfielder Antonio Blanco left Real a man down before halftime. The player count, however, was level in the second half after Vinicius Jr was subjected to a similar foul by Manu Sanchez, who also was sent off.

Second-placed Real have 66 points from 31 games and are four points behind leaders Barcelona, who edged Leganes 1-0 on Saturday, according to Reuters.

Real, who on Tuesday were handed a shock 3-0 loss at Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final, have struggled in all competitions this month as they still try to cut the gap to Barca.

Liverpool leave it late to close in on title, Man Utd lose again

Liverpool moved to within two wins of the Premier League title with a 2-1 victory over West Ham United on Sunday, while Manchester United's miserable season continued as they were beaten 4-1 at Newcastle United, Reuters reported.

Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw at home against relegation-bound Ipswich Town, while an error-strewn performance by Tottenham Hotspur led to a 4-2 away defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah broke the record for most goal involvements in a season, to celebrate signing his new contract, and Virgil van Dijk scored a late winner as Arne Slot's team moved 13 points clear at the top of the standings.

Salah created the opener for Luis Diaz in the first half and after West Ham had scored an equaliser in the 86th minute, skipper Van Dijk settled the tight contest three minutes later to leave West Ham 17th on 35 points, according to Reuters.

Van Dijk scored his 24th Premier League goal; the most of any centre back since his debut in the competition in September 2015.