Six direct places in the Europa League round of 16 are up for grabs and 11 teams remain in contention for the five last spots in the knockout stage in the final round of the opening phase on Thursday.

Only leader Lyon and second-placed Aston Villa have already qualified for the last 16. They are tied on points atop the standings with six wins and a loss.

More than $1 million in fines and bans for Senegal and Morocco have followed a shambolic Africa Cup final this month that FIFA condemned and Africa's soccer body called unacceptable.

The bans apply only to Africa games and not the World Cup kicking off in June that Senegal and Morocco have both qualified for.

Old rivals Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille come back to Ligue 1 with a sour taste after completing the Champions League phase.

Reigning European champion PSG was dull in attack in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle that dropped Luis Enrique's side out of the top eight and into the playoffs.

LeBron James doesn't know if Wednesday night will end up being his last trip to Cleveland as a player.

If James doesn't return, the Cavaliers and their fans continued to let James know how much he means to them.

Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Manchester City are among the giants of European soccer preparing for a nervy final round of matches in the opening phase of the Champions League on Wednesday.

All face the prospect of being consigned to the playoffs on a bumper night of 18 matches in Europe's elite club competition.

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.