Lionel Messi and the world champion Argentina football team are expected to be special guests this week as the southern African nation of Angola celebrates the 50th anniversary of its independence from Portugal.

The events began Wednesday.

The initial batch of tickets for the first regular-season NFL game in Madrid were gone in a matter of hours, with nearly 700,000 people trying to get a seat to watch the Miami Dolphins play the Washington Commanders on Sunday at Real Madrid's iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

For the first game in Ireland last month, organizers said some 600,000 digital devices were logged on to try to buy tickets for the Pittsburgh Steelers' game against the Minnesota Vikings at Dublin's famed Croke Park.

The German football federation (DFB) wants compensation when players opt to represent other countries after representing Germany at youth levels.

"It simply makes no sense to me why a player who has been coached primarily at his club for five years but also by the federation as a junior partner should be able to switch national associations for free," DFB managing director Andreas Rettig told news agency dpa on Tuesday.

Spain dropped Lamine Yamal on Tuesday before two World Cup qualifiers after the star forward underwent more treatment on a nagging groin injury.

The Spanish soccer federation said it received notification from Barcelona that Yamal underwent "invasive radiofrequency treatment for discomfort in his pubis."

Spain and Lamine Yamal, France and Kylian Mbappé plus Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo are close to confirming their places at the 2026 World Cup.

Erling Haaland's 12 goals so far have Norway even nearer to sealing the team's first World Cup qualification since before he was born, and edging Italy toward the playoffs where the four-time champion was shockingly eliminated in the past two editions.

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick to help Barcelona gain ground on Real Madrid in the Spanish league on Sunday.

After Madrid was held by Rayo Vallecano to a 0-0 draw — its second consecutive setback following a Champions League loss at Liverpool — Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal led Barcelona to a 4-2 victory at Celta Vigo to move the Catalan club within three points of the lead.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is expected to miss Belgium's upcoming World Cup qualifiers because of a muscle injury.

Madrid said in a statement on Monday the 33-year-old Courtois has been diagnosed with an injury "to the long abductor muscle in his right leg" after undergoing medical tests with the club. The Spanish league side did not specify how long he will be sidelined, saying only that "his recovery will be assessed."

In his 1,000th game as a manager, Pep Guardiola celebrated victory as if it was his first.

Manchester City's 3-0 triumph over Liverpool on Sunday was win No. 716 for Guardiola and likely one of the most satisfying of his trophy-laden career.

Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka earned a third straight group-stage win at the WTA Finals by beating Coco Gauff 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Thursday, eliminating her American opponent from the tournament in the process.

Sabalenka's win means Jessica Pegula advanced to the semifinals from the group along with the Belarusian No. 1. Pegula beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-3 earlier to take her record to 2-1. Gauff, the defending champion, finished 1-2 while Paolini went 0-3 at the season-ending tournament for the world's top eight players.

British police said Friday that 11 people were arrested the previous night around the highly charged Europa League football match in Birmingham between English Premier League side Aston Villa and Maccabi Tel Aviv, a match that saw fans of the Israeli team banned.

In an update Friday, West Midlands Police said five of those arrested were on suspicion of racially aggravated offenses. The others included failure to comply with orders and breaching the peace.