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Nov 30 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's 2034 World Cup bid received a higher technical score from FIFA than the 2026 joint bid by the United States, Canada and Mexico even though the Middle East nation has yet to construct several stadiums proposed for the tournament.

2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia receives higher bid score than 2026 World Cup

FIFA released its bid evaluation report and said the 2034 bid received an overall average score of 4.2 out of 5 even though eight stadiums are still to be built.

The United States men’s national team will face Panama in the semifinal of the Concacaf Nations League in March, avoiding the possibility of facing Canada or Mexico.

U.S. fans will be glad to see their team got the best outcome for the semifinals but must be wary not to celebrate too early. We all remember what happened in the Copa América group stage this summer when Panama stunned the USMNT 2-1.

Mexico and Canada will play in the other semifinal. Both games will be played at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, California.

MADRID — Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday that he does not fear LaLiga leaders Barcelona but has the utmost respect for Hansi Flick's side, who they host on Saturday.

Barca lead the standings three points ahead of their rivals. While Ancelotti praised Barca's recent form, he highlighted the fact that Real are the defending champions and will not be intimidated.

"Fortunately, at the moment nobody keeps me awake at night," Ancelotti told a press conference on Friday.

Inter Miami's dominant regular season could conclude with the league points record when they host the New England Revolution on Saturday evening in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Miami (21-8-4, 71 points) already clinched the Supporters' Shield and will carry home-field advantage throughout the MLS Cup playoffs. A victory on Saturday would give the Herons the most single-season points in MLS history, breaking the mark of 73 set by the Revolution during the 2021 season.

Inter Miami points record

Christian Pulisic is one of five United States men’s national team players being sent back to their club ahead of Tuesday’s friendly. For fans asking why is Pulisic not playing vs Mexico, the USMNT star is going back to AC Milan to manage his workload.

The other four USMNT players heading back to their clubs have picked up minor injuries.

Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Zack Steffen and Marlon Fossey have all left the USMNT October camp.

Why is Pulisic not playing vs Mexico

Concacaf revealed the 2025 Gold Cup host cities and stadiums on Wednesday with 14 different venues set to host games next summer. Notably there are no host cities on the East coast as the FIFA Club World Cup, held in the United States, will be happening at the same time.

The Gold Cup runs from June 14 until the final on July 6 with 13 venues in the U.S. as well as Vancouver being one of the host cities. The majority of venues are on the West coast with a sprinkle of Texas, St. Louis and Minnesota.

2025 Gold Cup host cities

The first edition of the annual FIFA Intercontinental Cup for club teams from around the world will have five matches, with European Champions League winners Real Madrid to play in the final on Dec. 18 in Doha, the world soccer body said on Friday.

The tournament, which was announced in December last year, replaces the annual Club World Cup which will now be played every four years with 32 teams from 2025.

2024 FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Coming : The FIFA Intercontinental Cup

Lionel Messi is back ladies and gentlemen. At least, that’s the report from Inter Miami and head coach Tata Martino.

The Herons head coach announced that Messi is available for selection as Inter Miami host the Philadelphia Union on Saturday.

"Yes, he's fine now," Martino said. "Yesterday he returned to training, he's under consideration for (Saturday). We'll define our strategy for him after today's session, but he's available."

The club also posted that he’ll be back for the Union showdown.

Lionel Messi return from injury