LATEST NEWS

Australia became the 31st country to qualify for the finals after they edged out Peru on penalties.

And Costa Rica completed the Qatar lineup after an early Joel Campbell goal gave them the victory over New Zealand.

Qualifying continued with wins for Morocco and Nigeria, who beat Sao Tome e Principe 10-0.

Wydad beat Al Ahly 2-0 to lift their third Champions League title.

Two goals from Zouhair El Moutaraji gave the Moroccans the win in Casablanca.

Bodo/Glimt, FC Copenhagen, Maccabi Haifa, and Benfica, who won 2-0 at Dynamo Kyiv, all secured first-leg playoff wins.

Ferencvaros, Zurich, Malmo, Ludogorets, and Fenerbahce were among the latest winners.

Fiorentina, AZ Alkmaar, Villarreal, CSKA Sofia, Anderlecht, Maccabi Tel Aviv, and Premier League West Ham all won their playoff matches.

The long weekend action ended with ten-man Liverpool being held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield by Crystal Palace.

The new season in Spain begins with a 2-1 defeat for Sevilla at Osasuna.

While Barca were held goalless by Rayo Vallecano.

But the champions, Real Madrid, won 2-1 at Almeria thanks to a winner from David Alaba.

Began with wins for Inter, Atalanta, Torino (at Monza), and the champions, AC Milan.

Followed by Sunday victories for Roma, Lazio, and Fiorentina.

PSG started their title defence with a 5-2 win over Montpellier at the Parc.

Possible title contenders Borussia Dortmund won 3-1 at Freiburg at the start of the round 2 matches.

While the title holders, Bayern, beat Wolfsburg 2-0 at the Arena with goals from Jamal Musiala and Thomas Muller.

Benfica, Sporting, and Porto, with a single-goal win at Vizela, all secured three points at the weekend.

AFRICAN PLAYER NEWS & GOSSIP

Possibly moving to Chelsea - Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon)

Possibly moving to Istanbul Basaksehir - Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso)