José Mourinho praised new Real Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa ahead of Benfica's match against his old club in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Mourinho coached Arbeloa at Madrid in the early 2010s. He called him "one of my boys" and one of the "special players" that he was in charge of during his career.

In a hectic last round of the Champions League opening phase Wednesday, 16 into eight just won't go.

With all 36 teams playing in 18 games that kick off simultaneously, at 2000 GMT, only table-topping Arsenal and second-place Bayern Munich have sealed direct entry to the round of 16 with guaranteed top-eight finishes.

After a walkover and an in-match retirement, 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic will meet two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

Djokovic dropped the first two sets of his quarterfinal 6-4, 6-3 Wednesday to fifth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti but was up a break in the third when the 23-year-old Italian retired with an injured right leg.

Refusing to let a tumultuous football game strain diplomatic and economic ties, Morocco and Senegal pledged Monday to give fresh momentum to their relationship and boost trade and investment between the two African nations.

The prime ministers of Morocco and Senegal signed 17 agreements in the Moroccan capital Rabat on increasing investments in sectors like agriculture, infrastructure, fisheries and mining.

Spain will host the final of the 2030 World Cup the president of the Spanish football federation said Monday.

FIFA has not yet said where it plans to stage the decisive match of a tournament that will be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. But Rafael Louzán told reporters at a media event that the title match will be in Spain, although he did not specify in which city or venue it would be played.

Coco Gauff smashed her racket into the concrete floor once for every time she dropped serve, and another one for good measure, after her Australian Open quarterfinal loss to Elina Svitolina on Tuesday.

The third-seeded Gauff, a two-time major winner, struggled with her serve and recorded five double-faults in the first set, when she was broken four times.

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Monday backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches in the United States because of the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at home and abroad.

Blatter was the latest international football figure to call into question the suitability of the United States as a host country. He called for the boycott in a post on X that supported Mark Pieth's comments in an interview last week with the Swiss newspaper Der Bund.

Aryna Sabalenka beat 18-year-old Iva Jovic 6-3, 6-0 to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday before searing heat on Day 10 forced matches to be played under cover.

Elina Svitolina stunned third-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-2 in a 59-minute night match to move into the semifinals in Australia for the first time.

Lamine Yamal scored with an acrobatic volley and Barcelona beat last-place Oviedo 3-0 to regain the lead of the Spanish league on Sunday.

Dani Olmo and Raphinha also struck in the second half with both players taking advantage of defensive mistakes by the Oviedo defense.

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw has defended his team's walkoff during the Africa Cup of Nations final, saying it was an emotional decision taken in the chaos of the moment.

Last Sunday, Senegal left the field in stoppage time when Morocco was awarded a penalty, just moments after a potential trophy-winning Senegal goal was ruled out.