Four Real Madrid players including Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior are being investigated for alleged "indecent conduct" during the Champions League game at Atletico Madrid, UEFA said on Thursday.

UEFA said it appointed a disciplinary inspector to study the unspecified allegations at the round of 16 game on March 12. The case also involves Antonio Rüdiger and Dani Ceballos.

Iran became the second Asian side to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Uzbekistan in Tehran on Tuesday, handing organizers a likely diplomatic headache.

If Italy fails to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time, an embarrassing goal might be remembered as contributing to another epic failure.

Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and the entire Azzurri defense were protesting to the referee when Joshua Kimmich played a short corner to Jamal Musiala, who scored into an empty net to give Germany a 2-0 lead over Italy in the Nations League quarterfinals in Dortmund.

The 2026 World Cup will have a record 48 teams, and New Zealand qualified on Monday five days after Japan became the first nation excluding the three hosts to secure a spot. Other teams could follow in the current international window.

Next year's tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada kicks off on June 11 and the final will take place on July 19.

Defending champion Spain and France needed penalty shootouts on Sunday to reach the Nations League semifinals, where they were joined by Germany and Portugal.

Spain was pegged back three times by the Netherlands in a 3-3 draw after extra time in the second leg for a 5-5 aggregate score. Barcelona midfielder Pedri scored the decisive penalty kick after Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón had saved Donyell Malen's effort as the shootout finished 5-4.

Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Bahrain 2-0 at Saitama Stadium on Thursday.

Second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo ensured the Samurai Blue secured a spot in Asia Group C's top two automatic qualification places.

Croatia contained the attacking duo of Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé in a 2-0 victory over France in the first leg of the Nations League quarterfinals Thursday.

Ante Budimir headed Croatia ahead in the 26th minute off a cross from Ivan Perišić with France goalkeeper Mike Maignan partially blocking the ball before it crossed the line.

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored a hat trick of headed goals as New Zealand beat Fiji 7-0 Friday to join New Caledonia in the Oceania qualifying final for the 2026 World Cup.

New Caledonia earlier beat Tahiti 3-0 in the first semifinal in FIFA's smallest confederation.

A last-minute goal by Vinicius Júnior secured Brazil's 2-1 win over Colombia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday, helping his team and millions of fans avoid more disappointment.

A draw would have seen Brazil slump to sixth in the South American standings. Instead, Brazil moved to second spot behind Argentina after Vinicius Júnior's long-range goal.

Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after beating Bahrain 2-0 at Saitama Stadium on Thursday.

Second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo ensured the Samurai Blue secured a spot in Asia Group C's top two automatic qualification places.