Sport

Lionel Messi made a successful return to international football as Argentina gained a measure of revenge on Brazil for this summer’s Copa America semi-final defeat with a 1-0 win in Riyadh.

The Socceroos faced – and overcame – their sternest test to date on the road to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, holding out a second-half onslaught from hosts Jordan to maintain their perfect record in qualifying.

Socceroos great Stan Lazaridis has opened up on his relationship with former national team boss Guus Hiddink, claiming the pair “spoke about five words to each other in a whole year”.

The Socceroos claimed a historic victory over Jordan overnight, holding out a second-half onslaught to snare a 1-0 win in Amman.

The Socceroos have beaten Jordan outside Australia for the first time, a clinical Adam Taggart strike the difference in a gripping World Cup qualifier in Amman.

The Socceroos’ attacking stocks have taken a huge blow, with in-form striker Jamie Maclaren suffering a hamstring tear and fellow forward Andrew Nabbout to miss several weeks with a hamstring injury of his own.

South Korea’s footballers had no idea their surreal World Cup qualifier in Pyongyang would be played in an empty stadium — a match Tottenham Hotspur star Son Heung-min described as “very aggressive” and one official likened to warfare.

Racists must be “kicked out” of stadiums, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Thursday as he pressed for a worldwide ban on spectators who abuse black footballers.

Adam Taggart immediately repaid Australian coach Graham Arnold’s faith in starting him over last week’s hat-trick hero Jamie Maclaren, scoring two clinical goals in the opening twenty minutes against lowly opponents Chinese Taipei.

North and South Korea drew 0-0 in a historic but surreal World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, played in front of an empty stadium and almost completely blocked off from the outside world.