Suarez Open to Uruguay Return for World Cup

Teenage substitute Mezian Mesloub gave Lens a 1-0 win over Nantes in Ligue 1 on Friday to clinch his side qualification for next season's Champions League, while relegating Nantes to the second tier.

The result also keeps the Ligue 1 title race alive with second-placed Lens the only team that can still pip Paris Saint-Germain to the trophy.

The 16-year-old substitute Mesloub picked up a loose ball in the box with his first touch in the 79th minute and fired home with his second to break the deadlock on his Ligue 1 debut, AFP reported.

Lens are now guaranteed a top-three finish in Ligue 1 after moving nine points clear of fourth-placed Lille, with both teams having two matches remaining.

The top three teams in Ligue 1 qualify automatically for the Champions League phase, while the fourth-placed side heads into the qualifying rounds.

Lens, whose budget is not even a 10th of Champions League finalists PSG, are still to play the Parisians who lead them by three points and have a game in hand.

Following the win, the sell-out 38,000 crowd at Lens' Stade Bollaert stayed behind for extravagant celebrations, with the players heralded one at a time on a spotlit center-circle with fireworks flaming.

Stopping PSG remains an outside chance, but Lens are also eyeing silverware in the French Cup, with the final against Nice on May 22.

Lens, the 1998 French champions, were the surprise package earlier in the season as they reached the winter break top of the table.

Lens had three goals ruled out for offside or handball Friday as Nantes held them at bay largely thanks to goalkeeper Anthony Lopes.

Nantes are now guaranteed to finish in the bottom two and will be relegated from Ligue 1.

Club great Vahid Halilhodzic took over as the third coach of their season in March but could not save the Canaries.

PSG play Brest at home on Sunday but the Lens win has prevented them from mathematically wrapping up a fifth straight title this weekend.

However, their far superior goal difference means victory would all but wrap up top spot.

Luis Enrique's men will face Arsenal in the Champions League final on May 30 after beating Bayern Munich 6-5 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

Lionel Messi says Argentina fans are right to dream of a second straight World Cup crown, but warns other contenders, including France and Spain, "are in better shape.”

"There are a lot of guys who are dealing with injuries or a lack of match fitness, but the truth is that when the group is together it has been proven that it competes and always wants to win," Messi said of Argentina in an interview with host Pollo Alvarez published on YouTube.

However, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has made Inter Miami the must-see team in Major League Soccer, said the competition will be stiff, AFP reported.

"As of today, France are in great shape again. They have a ton of top-level players," he said of the team that Argentina beat in the 2022 final in Qatar.

He also tipped Spain and Brazil, called Portugal "very competitive" and noted that traditional European powers Germany and England are always dangerous.

Messi, who will turn 39 in June, has yet to officially confirm his participation in the tournament, which will be held from June 11-July 19 in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Nevertheless, the former Barcelona star stressed that he has not set any time limits on his career as his competitive hunger remains.

"I love playing football, and I'm going to do it until I can't anymore," said Messi, who earned MLS Most Valuable Player honors last season as he sparked Miami to the title and led the league in goals.

"I'm competitive," he said. "I like to win at everything ... I don't even let my son win at video games."

FIFA announced on Friday that it will hold separate opening ceremonies prior to the first game in each of the three host countries for this year's World Cup, which is being held in Mexico, Canada and the United States.

The biggest World Cup in history kicks off on June 11 in Mexico City, where Grammy Award-winning Mexican pop band Mana will ⁠be performing as ⁠part of a lineup that also includes Alejandro Fernandez and Belinda, FIFA said in a post on X.

The Mexico City concert will highlight Mexican culture and include Indigenous and "modern folkloric" performers, Reuters quoted FIFA as saying.

Canadian singers Alanis Morissette, Michael Buble, Alessia Cara, William Prince ⁠and Bangladeshi American Sanjoy, who is a Los Angeles-based DJ, will perform ahead of Canada’s opening group stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto on June 12.

FIFA said a "mosaic-inspired reimagining of the FIFA World Cup Trophy will reflect Canada's diversity and community" at the concert.

Later that day, American singer-songwriter Katy Perry will headline an opening ceremony ahead of the US team's match against Paraguay in Los Angeles, where ⁠Atlanta rap ⁠star Nayvadius Wilburn, better known as Future, will also perform. The lineup also includes Anitta, LISA, Rema and Tyla.

The US concert is designed around "delivering a high-energy spectacle that reflects the scale, ambition and cultural power of the tournament itself," FIFA said.

This year's World Cup marks the second time the global soccer showcase is being co-hosted by multiple countries. The 2002 World Cup was co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, with the former staging the opening ceremony.

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