Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay secured their spots in the 2026 World Cup on Thursday in the next-to-last round of South American qualifiers.

Uruguay and Colombia had 3-0 wins, and Paraguay had a scoreless draw to advance to the global tournament along with already qualified Argentina, Brazil and Ecuador.

“It’s a good way to qualify. The team’s offensive play was strong, there were also many highlights in individual performances,” Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa said.

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Peru, which needed wins in the last two rounds to advance, is now out of contention following the loss to Uruguay.

“It hurts to lose, it hurts because of the effort the players put in, but today the opponent outclassed us,” Peru coach Oscar Ibanez said.

James Rodríguez opened the scoring for Colombia in the 31st minute while John Cordoba and Juan Fernando Quintero added second-half goals to secure the win over Bolivia.

The Colombians return to the World Cup after missing the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

It will be the Colombian team’s seventh appearance in the World Cup. After a debut in Chile in 1962, Colombia made three consecutive appearances between 1990 and 1998, and repeated in 2014 and 2018.

“This jersey has given me so much. I’m grateful for everything I’m doing,” said James, who is aiming to play in his third World Cup. “I’ve always given everything and I’ll keep the good things for myself.”

Paraguay is returning to the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. Its last participation was in South Africa in 2010, where Paraguay lost in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Spain.

World Cup champion Argentina defeated Venezuela 3-0 with two goals by Lionel Messi and remained well clear at the top of the South American standings.

The next year tournament will have a record 48 teams in an event to be co-hosted the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Forty-three teams will get their spots through continental qualifying tournaments. Another two will secure their places in the intercontinental playoffs featuring six teams and scheduled for March 2026. The three host countries automatically qualify.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

London City Lionesses have completed the signing of Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain in a world-record transfer that sources have told ESPN is worth £1.43 million ($1.9m).

The France international becomes London City’s 16th signing of the summer after making the deadline day move.

Geyoro’s move to the Women’s Super League (WSL) is the third time this window the women’s world transfer record has been broken after Olivia Smith‘s £1m ($1.3m) move to Arsenal and the £1.1m ($1.5m) deal that took Mexico‘s Lizbeth Ovalle to Orlando Pride.

The 28-year-old had three years remaining on her contract at PSG and will link up with Jocelyn Prêcheur, a manager who she has previously worked with in Paris.

Sources have told ESPN that PSG were looking for a fee or around €2m ($2.3m) but settled for less.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of London City’s WSL opener against Arsenal on Saturday, head coach Prêcheur spoke of his satisfaction at bringing Geyoro to London.

“She’s a complete player with a lot of experience … A player I know very well,” he said.

“It has been a long talking [talks] during all the summer to make this deal but I’m very satisfied, I’m very happy and looking forward to start to work with her.

“We know we are a young club, very short history, we want to develop this history … When you are such a young club you also need to build a culture and all the staff, all the leaders of the club are working very hard to build this culture in this club.”

Geyoro made over 270 appearances for PSG after joining the club at the age of 15, scoring 54 goals.

“Paris Saint-Germain salutes Grace Geyoro’s exemplary career with the club,” PSG said in a statement.

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“An iconic figure in the women’s section, she leaves an indelible mark on the history of the Rouge et Bleu. The club extends its sincere thanks to her and wishes her all the best for the rest of her career.”

She also scored 22 goals in 103 caps for France.

Meanwhile, the Lionesses have also signed Lucía Corrales from Barcelona after triggering her €500,000 release clause.

Infromation from ESPN’s Sam Marsden contributed to this report.

NEW YORK — Novak Djokovic knows the world is expecting another final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday at the US Open.

And even he — the man with the most major titles in history and someone who spent 428 weeks atop the rankings — believes them to be the best two players in the world. He has spoken openly about how important the duo is for the sport and its future.

But despite all that, the 38-year-old Djokovic isn’t quite ready to pass the baton yet.

“Everybody is probably expecting and anticipating the finals between two of them,” Djokovic said following his quarterfinal victory over Taylor Fritz on Tuesday. “I’m going to try to, you know, mess up the plans of most of the people.”

Djokovic will have his chance to do just that Friday as he takes on 22-year-old Alcaraz, the No. 2 seed, in an eagerly anticipated semifinal match. The winner will face either the top-ranked Sinner or No. 25 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who also play Friday, in Sunday’s final. Alcaraz and Sinner have played against each other in the previous two Slam finals, at Wimbledon and the French Open, and have combined to win the last seven major titles.

Friday will mark the ninth career meeting between Djokovic and Alcaraz, with Djokovic holding a 5-3 edge, and with the two most recent victories. But, even with that history, Alcaraz is still favored to win the match.

For both players, there’s a lot on the line. Djokovic is hoping to keep his dream alive of winning his 25th major Slam title, which would break a tie for the most all time with Margaret Court, and Alcaraz would like to reach his third consecutive major final and potentially win the sixth of his career.

Here’s everything you need to know ahead of Friday’s semifinal.

Can Djokovic do it?

Djokovic has a few things going for him. First, he’s never lost to Alcaraz on hard court. Their last meeting, in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open to start the year, saw Djokovic force a comeback — after sustaining a leg injury early and dropping the opening set — behind powerful groundstrokes, strong defense and vintage movement that seemed to get better and better as the match progressed.

Alcaraz later admitted that Djokovic’s injury caused him to lose his focus slightly, and Djokovic credited his vast career experience in helping him overcome the hindrance and any distraction.