Welcome to Sportz Point's post-match report of the World Cup Qualifier clash between Japan and China. Japan's win today increases their goal tally to 39 so far in the qualifiers and with a 20-plus goal difference this country is on course to qualify for the World Cup in a remarkable style. Here, we break down all the key moments and highlights from the game.

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First Half 

Japan took control of the game from the opening whistle, dominating possession and relentlessly pressuring the Chinese defense. The first notable chance came in the 10th minute when Chinese attacker Wei Shihao received a brilliant through ball from Wang Shangyuan and fired a right-footed shot. However, the tight angle denied him a goal.

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Double trouble! ⏩

You can always count on Koki Ogawa to deliver-again!#AsianQualifiers | #CHNvJPN pic.twitter.com/c9QyA5atDb

— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) November 19, 2024

Despite mounting pressure, Japan struggled to convert until the 39th minute when Koki Ogawa headed a Takefusa Kubo corner into the bottom left corner. Just before the halftime whistle, Ko Itakura doubled the lead, capitalizing on a well-delivered corner by Koki Machida. The first half ended with Japan firmly in control, leading 2-0.

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Second Half

Perfect corner + perfect header = a match made in heaven! ⚽❤️#AsianQualifiers | #CHNvJPN pic.twitter.com/dyUuKhuggJ

— #AsianQualifiers (@afcasiancup) November 19, 2024

China started the second half with intent, as Wei Shihao delivered a precise pass to Lin Liangming which he finished beautifully just four minutes after the restart.

Xie Wenneng nearly equalized with a powerful left-footed strike from outside the box, but the Japanese goalkeeper made a crucial save to his left.

Both teams enjoyed spells of possession, seeking opportunities to score. In the 54th minute, Koki Ogawa extended Japan's lead, heading in a well-placed cross from Junya Ito.

Despite several attacking attempts from both sides, no further goals were scored, and the match concluded after seven minutes of added time.

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Final Score

China- 1 (Lin Liangming 48')

Japan- 3 (Koki Ogawa 39' 54', Ko Itakura 45'+6)

The Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) has announced a preliminary list of 52 players called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches against Colombia on March 21 and Argentina on March 26. 

This list includes former Barcelona forward Neymar Jr. and former Chelsea forward Oscar, both of whom are returning to the national team after a long time.

Next week, Brazil national team's head coach Dorival Junior will announce the final squad of 23 players.

Full Players List:

Goalkeepers:

•  Alisson (Liverpool, England),
• Bento (Al-Nassr, Saudi Arabia),
• Ederson (Manchester City, England),
• Hugo Souza (Corinthians),
• Lucas Perry (Lyon, France),
•  Weverton (Palmeiras).

Defenders:

•  Alessandro (Lille, France),
• Beraldo (Paris Saint-Germain, France),
• Danilo (Flamengo), Fabricio Bruno (Cruzeiro),
• Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal, England),
• Leo Ortiz (Flamengo),
• Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain, France),
• Murillo (Nottingham Forest, England).

Full-backs: 

• Abner (Lyon, France),
• Alex Sandro (Flamengo),
• Alex Telles (Botafogo),
• Dodo (Fiorentina, Italy),
•  Douglas Santos (Zenit, Russia),
• Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro),
• Wanderson (Monaco, France),
• Wesley (Flamengo).

Midfielders: 

• Alisson (São Paulo),
• Andre (Wolverhampton, England),
• Andreas Pereira (Fulham, England),
• Andrey Santos (Strasbourg, France),
• Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle, England),
• Ederson (Atalanta, Italy),
• Gerson (Flamengo),
• João Gomes (Wolverhampton, England),
• Joelinton (Newcastle, England),
• Lucas Moura (São Paulo),
• Lucas Paquetá (West Ham, England),
• Matheus Cunha (Wolverhampton, England),
• Neymar (Santos),
• Oscar (São Paulo).

Forwards:

•  Antony (Real Betis, Spain),
• Bruno Henrique (Flamengo),
• Endrick (Real Madrid, Spain),
• Estevão (Palmeiras),
• Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal, England),
•  Galeno (Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia),
• Igor Jesus (Botafogo),
•  Igor Paixão (Feyenoord, Netherlands),
• João Pedro (Brighton, England),
• Luis Enrique (Zenit, Russia),
• Raphinha (Barcelona, Spain),
• Rodrygo (Real Madrid, Spain),
• Samuel Lino (Atletico Madrid, Spain),
• Savinho (Manchester City, England),
• Vinícius Júnior (Real Madrid, Spain), 
• Yuri Alberto (Corinthians)

T20 International cricket saw many unfamiliar names emerge as the breakout stars across the year. The T20I batting charts have been mostly dominated by these players who have represented their nation on the international stages.

In this special article, Sportz Point aims to delve into those cricketers who have accumulated the most T20I runs in 2024.

1. Muhammad Waseem | 909 runs

• Nation: United Arab Emirates
• Runs: 909
• Matches: 26
• Centuries: 1
• Half-centuries: 8
• Highest score: 100 

2. Kendei Kadowki-Fleming | 860 runs

• Nation: Japan
• Runs: 860
• Matches: 20
• Centuries: 1
• Half-centuries: 6
• Highest score: 109*

3. Nizakat Khan | 784 runs

• Nation: Hong Kong
• Runs: 784
• Matches: 28
• Centuries: 0
• Half-centuries: 5
• Highest score: 81

4. Alishan Sharafu | 770 runs

• Nation: United Arab Emirates
• Runs: 770
• Matches: 24
• Centuries: 0
• Half-centuries: 7
• Highest score: 90*

5. Babar Azam | 738 runs

• Nation: Pakistan
• Runs: 738
• Matches: 24
• Centuries: 0
• Half-centuries: 6
• Highest score: 75

6. Oscar Manishimwe | 723 runs

• Nation: Rwanda
• Runs: 723
• Matches: 24
• Centuries: 0
• Half-centuries: 6
• Highest score: 89*

7. Asif Khan | 719 runs

• Nation: United Arab Emirates
• Runs: 719
• Matches: 22
• Centuries: 0
• Half-centuries: 5
• Highest score: 79

8. Faisal Khan | 702 runs

• Nation: Saudi Arabia
• Runs: 702
• Matches: 22
• Centuries: 1
• Half-centuries: 3
• Highest score: 101

The group division draw for the UEFA European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup has just been finished in Zurich, Switzerland as the groups are announced, and the European powerhouses have come to know their fate in the qualifying process. 

UEFA #FIFAWorldCup qualifying groups: locked in. 🔐

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) December 13, 2024

The qualifying group matches are scheduled to commence in March 2025 and will conclude in November 2025; as 16 European teams will book their tickets to the USA, Mexico, and Canada for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. 

Here are all the details about the UEFA European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

How did the draw work?

Teams were drawn into 12 groups of four and five teams, with traditional home-and-away matches. From Group A to Group F; each group has 4 teams each, and from Group G to Group L; 5 teams have been drawn into each group.

What were the seedings for the qualifiers draw?

There were five pots where the 55 teams were divided. 

The European qualifiers draw for the 2026 World Cup will take place in 5 minutes! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/t8dcGlXnPx

— Football Xtra™ (@FootballXtra0) December 13, 2024

Will there be any play-off matches in the qualifying process?

There will be a play-off round involving 16 teams in total. The 12 group runners-up will participate in the play-offs, along with the four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that did not finish their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place.

When will the matches take place?

Group stage match dates: March to November 2025

Play-off match dates: 26 & 31 March 2026

How will the UEFA Nations League align with the qualifiers?

The 8 Quarter-finalists of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League have been seeded in Pot 1, as the winners and losers of the Quarter-finals are divided into different groups in the qualifiers. Four best-ranked group winners of the 2024/25 UEFA Nations League that did not finish their European Qualifiers group stage in first or second place, will also qualify for the play-offs. 

Here are the groups for the UEFA European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

UEFA European Qualifiers Groups for FIFA World Cup 2026

Group A 

Winner of QF4: Germany/Italy
Slovakia
Northern Ireland
Luxembourg

Group B 

Switzerland
Sweden
Slovenia
Kosovo

Group C 

Loser of QF3: Portugal/Denmark
Greece
Scotland
Belarus

Group D

Winner of QF2: France/Croatia
Ukraine
Iceland
Azerbaijan

Group E

Winner of QF1: Spain/Netherlands
Turkey
Georgia
Bulgaria

Group F

Winner of QF3: Portugal/Denmark
Hungary
Republic of Ireland
Armenia

Group G

Loser of QF1: Spain/Netherlands
Poland
Finland
Lithuania
Malta

Group H

Austria
Romania
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Cyprus
San Marino

Group I

Loser of QF4: Germany/Italy
Norway
Israel
Estonia
Moldova

Group J

Belgium
Wales
North Macedonia
Kazakhstan
Liechtenstein

Group K

England
Serbia
Albania
Latvia
Andorra

Group L

Winner of QF2:  France/Croatia
Czechia
Montenegro
Faroe Islands
Gibraltar

When the exclusion of badminton from the 2026 Commonwealth Games feels like unhealed pain for Indian badminton fans, the shuttles shine at the Japan Para Badminton International 2024 in Tokyo. India concluded their campaign with 24 medals, including six gold, nine silver, and nine bronze.

Sivarajan Solaimalai defeated Chun Yim Wong of Hong Kong in straight games (21-16, 21-16), thus winning the gold medal in the men's single SH6 category.

Manisha Ramadass clinched the gold medal by defeating Japan's Mamiko Toyoda by 21-12, 21-18 in the SU5 women's singles category.

Sukant Kadam, however, defeated his contemporary Indian Tarun Dhillon by 21-12, 21-10 to win the gold in the SL4 Men's Singles Category.

Naveen Sivakumar and Surya Kant won the bronze medals.

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Upset For Paralympic Champion Nitesh Kumar at the Japan Para Badminton International 2024

Japan's Fujihara Daisuke defeated Nitesh Kumar in a thrilling three-game contest in the final, with Kumar winning just one in the middle. The scoreboard says 16-21, 21-18, 19-21. Nitesh had to settle for silver

Hardik Makkar too received a silver medal after being defeated by Japan's Taio by 5-21, 19-21 in the SU5 Men's single final. Ruthik Raghupati won a bronze medal in this category.

The other silver came after Coraline Bergeron of France defeated Neeraj in the women's singles SL3 category final.

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Gold haul counts three

Hardik who failed in the SU5 Men's single, partnered with Ruthik and won gold by defeating the Indo-Polish duo Dev Rathi and Bartlomiej Mroz. 

Umesh Vikram Kumar and Surya Kant Yadav won the gold medal in the SL3-SL4 men's double category by defeating their fellow Indians Sukant Kadam and Dinesh Rajaiah 21-5, 20-22, 21-16.

In the D SH6 category, Sudarsan Saravanakumar Mutusamy and Sivarajan Solaimalai won the gold medal.

Argentina National Football Team will face the challenge of Venezuela in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match on 11th October 2024 at 2:30 AM IST at the Estadio Monumental de Maturín Stadium in Venezuela.

Lionel Messi is back with the Argentina squad after recovering from his ankle injury that he suffered during the 2024 Copa America Final against Colombia. Goalkeeper Emi Martinez will be left out of the squad as he will serve a two-match ban imposed on him by the FIFA disciplinary committee.

Nico Gonzalez, Paulo Dybala, Cristian Romero, and Alejandro Garnacho; all will miss the match against Venezuela on 11th October due to health issues or injury concerns.

Argentina Coach Lionel Scaloni stated in the press conference:

"We must take advantage of the players who are in Argentine football, bringing in out-of-date European footballers today seems impossible to us."

"The team will always come forward. We have a great squad, but we always prefer to have everyone available to choose from based on what we call up. This time we have had a series of problems."

"Venezuela is a very good rival, physically and football-wise. It is a rival to be reckoned with, respected, and we will approach the match as it deserves."

Streaming Details

The Venezuela vs Argentina in the CONMEBOL FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match will not be available for telecast in India.

Football fans can watch the live streaming of the match on the Fancode app and website.

Head-to-head stats for Argentina vs Venezuela

Matches Played: 14

Argentina won: 10

Venezuela won: 2

Draw: 2

Match Details 

Match: Argentina vs Venezuela

Date:  11 October 2024

Time: 2:30 AM IST

Venue: Estadio Monumental de Maturín, Venezuela