The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) held the draw on Wednesday to determine the quarterfinal pairings, a day after announcing that the western zone playoffs that were postponed because of the war in the Middle East have been rescheduled for April 13-14 in Jeddah.
By the time the uninjured judge had regained her composure, Nishida's 186cm frame was sliding quickly along the ground towards her, his nose down and his hands by his side, triggering laughter and applause among the spectators and his teammates. Nishida was not finished, however. He then got to his knees and continued to bow profusely, at one point clasping the palms of his hands together.
Barcelona capitalised on two defensive mistakes by bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo to seal a 3-0 victory at a rain-drenched Camp Nou on Sunday, regaining top spot in La Liga. Goals from Dani Olmo, Raphinha, and an acrobatic Lamine Yamal strike powered the Catalans to 52 points, one ahead of Real Madrid, while Atletico Madrid trail in third on 44. Barca struggled to break the deadlock against a spirited Oviedo until they finally found the breakthrough in the 52nd minute, with Olmo striking home following a defensive lapse.
Cynics may say it is no coincidence the J.League has introduced penalty shootouts to replace draws just before the World Cup. Japan have identified the quarter-finals as the target this summer after failing to progress past the last 16 on three of the past four occasions, with two of those disappointments coming after failures from the spot. The 2022 tournament was the worst, with the Samurai Blue, who should have seen off Croatia during normal time, losing the shootout 3-1 in dismal fashion.
The Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball announced this week that they've signed veteran right-hander José Ureña to a one-year contract for the 2026 season. It'll be the first stint overseas for the Premier Talent Sports client, who's previously pitched for 11 major league clubs - including a whopping five teams in 2025 alone. Ureña, 34, split the '25 campaign between the Mets, Twins, Blue Jays, Dodgers and Angels.
Image source, Getty Images Chelsea's FA Cup fourth-round tie at Championship side Hull City will be televised live on BBC One on Friday, 13 February (19:45 GMT kick-off). The all-Premier League tie between Aston Villa and Newcastle at Villa Park will be shown on BBC One on the following day (17:45 kick-off). Both matches will also be live on iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app. Additionally, Wrexham's home tie against Ipswich on 13 February (19:45) will be screened live by BBC Wales.
Without a permanent manager and languishing in eighth place in the Scottish Premiership, they are 11 points off the top six never mind the European places. The club have churned through a manager, a sporting director, and plenty of players since the summer, fielding four debutants in defeat by Motherwell on Sunday. They face the same opposition in Wednesday's re-arranged Scottish Cup last-16 tie which now has the feel of a season-defining game.
