Usain Bolt managed to upstage the first weekend of Australia's A-League season without kicking a ball after his agent said he had been offered a professional contract by the Central Coast Mariners.
Iran took a significant step towards qualifying for next year's World Cup finals with a 1-0 win over China on Tuesday that pushed Marcello Lippi's team closer to the brink of elimination.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Forced to play their home matches in Malaysia due to security concerns, Syria had fallen behind when Robbie Kruse tapped in from close range in the first half but the underdogs refused to buckle to their vastly more experienced opponents.
Hosts Australia swept into the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup in some style on Tuesday with a 4-0 hammering of Oman at Stadium Australia that ensured South Korea would go through from Group A with them.
Australia shook off a nervous start and an early goal before trampling over Kuwait 4-1 to kick off their home Asian Cup football tournament in emphatic style in Melbourne on Friday.
Emirati Ahmed Khalil got a modicum of revenge on Guangzhou Evergrande captain Zheng Zhi when he pipped the Chinese to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Player of the Year award on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Australia stunned the United Arab Emirates with two goals in the first 14 minutes to reach a second successive Asian Cup final, where they will meet South Korea.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Hong Kong held China to a nil-nil draw in a World Cup qualifying soccer match on Tuesday played amid lingering political tensions between the two sides after last year's massive pro-democracy protests in the financial hub.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Substitute James Troisi scored halfway through extra time in a pulsating final to give tournament hosts Australia their maiden Asian Cup title with a 2-1 victory over South Korea on Saturday.
Marcelo Lippi's first game as China coach ended in a 0-0 draw with Qatar in a World Cup qualifier in Kunming on Tuesday, seriously damaging both team's hopes of reaching the finals in Russia.
South Korea squandered a chance to book their spot at next year's World Cup finals on Thursday after a 0-0 draw with 10-man Iran left their qualification hopes precariously balanced.
It will have made uneasy viewing for coach Jorge Sampaoli and emphasised more than ever how reliant his side are on their talisman Messi, who has been struggling with a muscle problem.
Luis Suarez returned for Uruguay for the first time since his infamous World Cup biting incident and scored in a 1-1 friendly draw against Saudi Arabia.
Switzerland struck twice in quick succession to stun Euro 2016 champions Portugal 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and hand them a first competitive defeat in two years under coach Fernando Santos.
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
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