Christian Horner has revealed that Williams and Alfa Romeo have expressed an interest in signing Alex Albon for the 2022 Formula One season.

Albon lost his Red Bull seat to Sergio Perez at the end of last season and was relegated to the role of reserve driver.

With Kimi Raikkonen retiring and George Russell strongly fancied to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes, Albon could be back on the grid next year.

Red Bull boss Horner hopes Albon gets another chance and will help the 25-year-old kickstart his career.

Horner said: "I think Alex, he deserves a seat in Formula One next year and I think there's quite a bit of interest in him for next year and we'll do whatever we can to try and enable that.

"I hope that nothing prevents him from realising one of those opportunities. He's a talented driver; it's subject to George moving. Kimi's retiring – that does open up opportunities – so I am sure it will get resolved over the next week or so.

"We're looking at external teams. Williams and Alfa have both expressed interest and yes, we're keen to see him back racing in Formula One, and hopefully that can get resolved over the next few days."

Horner added: "We’ll be supportive of [Albon] racing elsewhere. I hope that Mercedes don't prevent that from happening. He deserves that chance. So, we're doing our best to help him and we’ll see what happens."

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff insisted he would not stand in Albon's way of a place on the grid despite their backing of Nyck de Vries, the 2019 Formula Two champion who is vying to make the step up.

"I would never block someone like Alex Albon," said Wolff. "He's a fantastic guy, personality is great, I was personally sad to see him going [in 2020], and if he has a chance in a Formula One car I think that's the right thing to do.

"But equally, maybe Nyck has. So we'll have to look at the open spaces at Alfa and at Williams and try to find a solution."

Richard Cockerill and Anthony Seibold have joined Eddie Jones' England coaching set-up.

Former Leicester Tigers and Edinburgh head coach Cockerill has been appointed as forwards coach and will work alongside Matt Proudfoot.

Australian Seibold takes over as defence coach following John Mitchell's departure for Premiership club Wasps.

Seibold switches codes, with his most recent role being as head coach of NRL side Brisbane Broncos.

England head coach Jones said: "We're two years from the World Cup so we wanted to freshen up our coaching team and get the right people in place for where we want to go – which is to win the World Cup.

"We've added Richard to the team to work with Matt to create a dominant forward pack. He's a former England player, has great coaching experience and comes in as a well-rounded, mature, driven English coach."

Jones said of his compatriot Seibold:  "Anthony is a coach that I have had a relationship with since 2019 and have followed his career closely.

"He is a good coach and thinks deeply about the game. John Mitchell did a great job improving us in defence and Anthony will add further nuances to the good system that he has put into place.

"It's an exciting time for rugby with the new season starting, supporters back in the stadium and the return of the grassroots game this weekend – with the rugby community celebrating being back together at Pitch Up for Rugby events around the country. We're looking forward to getting the squad back together and growing this England team."

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo says he would understand if Antoine Griezmann is jeered by his own supporters after rejoining the Spanish champions from Barcelona.

France international Griezmann this week completed a surprise return to Atleti on an initial season-long loan deal with an option for both clubs to extend the deal by a further year, just two years after heading the opposite way.

The 30-year-old was a fan favourite during his previous five-season stint at the club before his €120million exit, scoring 94 goals in 180 LaLiga appearances.

However, many Atleti fans were unhappy with the manner of Griezmann's drawn-out exit in 2019, a year after dedicating his future to the club in a mini-documentary.

The deal also brought with it further controversy as Atleti insisted Barca had fallen some €80m short of the obligated fee, but the transfer was nevertheless upheld.

With Griezmann now back at the Wanda Metropolitano, however, Cerezo is hoping Atleti backers give their full support to their returning former hero.

Asked about the possibility of fans booing Griezmann when he returns to the field for Atletico, Cerezo told Cadena SER: "I would understand that. 

"But what I want to say is that we are not going to gain anything with this. When he left, all I said was that in Barcelona they wouldn't love him the same as they do here. 

"He left in a strange way, but he has shown that he was eager to return to Atletico Madrid.

"There are fans who will not like it, but there are others who were delighted with his return and in the end the important thing is performance and having the best squad."

 

Griezmann was directly involved in 29 LaLiga goals across his two seasons at Camp Nou, a tally bettered among Barca players by only Lionel Messi (85), who is now of course with Paris Saint-Germain.

He played 51 times in all competitions in 2020-21, recording 20 goals and 12 assists, but was allowed to leave on deadline day due to the Catalans desperately needing to balance their books.

The transfer went through late on after Atletico freed up space by sending Saul Niguez to Chelsea on an initial loan deal.

"It was a three-way carom and we are lucky to have Griezmann for the next two years," Cerezo added. 

"We did not count on Griezmann because we didn't know if Saul was going to leave."

Griezmann featured in all three of Barca's LaLiga games in August, but failed to score or create a single chance.

The Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) has vowed to "severely punish" supporters who disrupted Hungary's World Cup qualifier with England on Thursday.

However, in the statement released by MLSZ on Friday, the governing body steered cleared of addressing the alleged racist abuse aimed at England's players.

England's 4-0 win at the Puskas Arena was overshadowed by the behaviour of certain sections of the home crowd.

Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were allegedly subjected to abuse, and missiles, including a flare, were launched towards the Three Lions' players during the match.

United Kingdom prime minister Boris Johnson condemned the apparent racist abuse and called on FIFA to take "strong action" against the perpetrators.

For their part, world governing body FIFA has promised to act once it receives reports from match officials and delegates who attended the match in Budapest.

The Hungarian FA made no mention of the racism allegations in their own statement, but they intend to hand out two-year bans to those who entered the field and hurled objects.

"The vast majority of the 60,000 fans present in the Puskas Arena supported the teams in a sporting manner, cheering on the Hungarian national team even when the team was already losing," the statement read. 

"It is in their defence that the minority of disruptive ticket-holders need to be identified and severely punished. Fans entering the field of play, throwing flares and plastic cups are in the process of being identified. 

"The MLSZ has already filed or will file police reports against them and will pass on any financial penalties to the perpetrators through civil litigation.

"Furthermore, at the end of proceedings, those found guilty can expect a two-year ban from all sporting events."

Speaking after the match, Hungary head coach Marco Rossi apologised to England pair Sterling and Bellingham.

"I am sorry that happened," Rossi said. "What I can say is that what I can control, it was respectful. From the players and everybody. What I cannot control is not dependent on me."

Lionel Messi will win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain before retiring at Barcelona, according to former team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme.

Messi joined the Ligue 1 giants on a two-year deal last month following the conclusion of his contract with Barca, making his debut as a substitute in their 2-0 victory over Reims.

While PSG have dominated French football over the past decade – winning seven Ligue 1 titles, as well as the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue on six occasions apiece in that time – the Champions League crown has continued to elude them.

Riquelme, who played alongside Messi for club and country, believes his ex-team-mate will provide the missing piece of the jigsaw in PSG's quest for continental glory.

But at the same time, the former midfielder does not think Messi's story at Barcelona is over just yet.

 

"Messi is the best because he likes to play ball," said the Boca Juniors vice-president, who won Olympic gold for Argentina alongside Messi in 2008.

"If PSG don't win the Champions League now with Messi, they don't win it anymore.

"I'm sure Messi is going to win the Champions League with Paris and retire with Barcelona."

South Africa one-day captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out for the remainder of the Proteas' ODI series in Sri Lanka with a fractured thumb.

The skipper suffered the freak injury during Wednesday's first ODI that, inspired by centurion Avishka Fernando, the hosts won by 14 runs.

Bavuma was inadvertently struck from a fielder's throw-in during the 26th over at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.

Persistent discomfort saw him retire hurt two overs later, with scans later revealing a fracture.

Bavuma will return to South Africa for further treatment, from which his recovery time will be determined.

Keshav Maharaj will deputise as captain for the second ODI of the three-match series on Saturday.

 

FIFA has vowed to take "adequate actions" after England players were allegedly racially abused by Hungary fans during a World Cup qualifying win on Thursday.

Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were allegedly subjected to abuse as the Three Lions cruised to a 4-0 Group I victory at the Puskas Arena.

Hungary were ordered to play their next two UEFA competition matches behind closed doors following an investigation into discriminatory behaviour by supporters at Euro 2020.

World governing body FIFA on Friday vowed to act once it receives reports from match officials and delegates who attended the match in Budapest.

"First and foremost, FIFA strongly rejects any form of racism and violence and has a very clear zero tolerance stance for such behaviour in football," a FIFA statement said.

"FIFA will take adequate actions as soon as it receives match reports concerning yesterday's Hungary-England game.

"With regards to the previous UEFA sanction against Hungary, please note that as specified by UEFA at the time, this sanction is to be served in UEFA competitions."

England boss Gareth Southgate said he had not heard the abuse.

He added: "It sounds like there have been some incidents and everybody knows what we stand for as a team and that that's completely unacceptable."

Three Lions captain Harry Kane also stated that he had not heard the alleged racist chants.

The Tottenham striker said: "I didn't hear that. Obviously, that's something I'll talk to the boys [about] and see if any of them heard any of it.

"We'll have to report it to UEFA as the rules permit and if it is the case hopefully UEFA can come down strong."

Novak Djokovic says he was not acting like a "spoiled brat" when he complained about a rowdy spectator during his US Open defeat of Tallon Griekspoor.

World number one Djokovic took another stride towards a first calendar Grand Slam and a record 21st major title by beating Dutchman Griekspoor 6-2 6-3 6-2 in the second round on Thursday.

Top seed Djokovic, who will face Kei Nishikori in the third round, had to contend with a member of the crowd trying to unsettle him in Arthur Ashe Stadium.

He shouted as the Serb went for an overhead smash that he missed and continued to be vocal during points, prompting Djokovic to express his grievances with the chair umpire.

Djokovic feels it is important to make it clear that sort of behaviour should not be tolerated.

"When tennis players talk about that, someone who is watching team sports would say, 'What a spoiled brat'," the three-time US Open champion said.

"But it's a different sport. Look, there's a lot of noise happening on the stadium, particularly in the night sessions. I don't mind that.

"Even sometimes during the point it happens that people out of excitement, they just scream, or they release like a sound or whatever, sigh, whatever you call it. And that's fine.

"But if someone intentionally does it over and over again, then I have tolerance up to a certain point, then it's not correct, then it's not fine. It's not fair. I feel like it's not good for us players.

"I mean, particularly that guy for some reason was calling, raising the sound and kind of screaming just before I would hit my smash, which was a big point. Before that he would do [it] a few times. After that again.

"That wasn't nice. That's all. I don't mind the noise. Don't get me wrong. I think it's important for the entertainment, for the crowds, the music.

"I get it. But if someone does it over and over again, particularly when you are at his side, he knows why he's doing it. The guy that I pointed out, he knew exactly what he was doing, and that's all."

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni urged his team not to "rest on our laurels" after the in-form Copa America champions set up a mouth-watering top-of-the-table World Cup qualifying showdown with rivals Brazil.

Lautaro Martinez, Joaquin Correa and Angel Correa were on target as Argentina extended their unbeaten streak to 21 matches by downing 10-man Venezuela 3-1 in CONMEBOL qualifying on Thursday.

After first-half substitute Luis Martinez was sent off for a horrifying challenge on Lionel Messi in the 32nd minute, Argentina – playing for the first time since July's drought-ending Copa triumph over Brazil, their first title in 28 years – took control of proceedings.

Argentina are second and unbeaten through seven qualifiers on the road to Qatar 2022, six points behind Brazil, while they have not tasted defeat since November 2019.

As Argentina turn their attention to Sunday's blockbuster in Sao Paulo, where Brazil will put their perfect record on the line, Scaloni told reporters post-game: "It's special for the players to have the patch of champions on their chest, they fought so hard to win the Copa America.

"The important thing is to not rest on our laurels."

The complexion of the match changed when Luis Martinez – who replaced Jose Velazquez earlier in the half – saw red.

Messi went to ground after receiving a high foot to the shin and the challenge, initially a yellow card, was upgraded to red after the referee consulted the pitch-side monitor following a VAR review.

Lautaro Martinez then opened the scoring in the second minute of first-half stoppage time, the Inter star scoring his third goal in qualifying after being played through by Giovani Lo Celso.

Joaquin Correa and Angel Correa struck within three minutes – the 71st and 74th minute – to put the result beyond doubt, though Yeferson Soteldo's last-gasp spot-kick gave the home crowd something to celebrate.

Looking ahead to the Copa America final rematch with Brazil, Scaloni added: "We will have time to analyse how the players are. It will be a different game and everyone is available.

"We have things to improve, surely, but I'm not going to say them. We always have to improve, when you win or lose. We will try to do our best."

Lautaro Martinez added: "The three points are very important. Venezuela is a very complicated opponent. In South America, they're all difficult but we had a great first half.

"We created chances and after the goal we were able to work with more peace of mind. We brought home three important points. I think we had a great first half today, beyond the fact that they were down a man.

"For a striker, it's important to score but the most important thing is that the Argentina national team win. You always have to think about the group."

Novak Djokovic welcomed the ongoing 'GOAT' discussion alongside Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer after the world number one took another step towards an historic grand slam title at the US Open.

Djokovic, Nadal and Federer share the most men's slams in history with 20 but the former has the chance to break the record at Flushing Meadows, where the top seed dismantled unheralded Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor 6-2 6-3 6-2 in the second round on Thursday.

Serb star Djokovic is also bidding to become just the third man to complete a calendar Grand Slam and the first to sweep all four majors in a year since Rod Laver in 1969.

It is widely debated who is the greatest player of all time among Djokovic, Nadal and Federer – the latter two are both absent from this year's US Open due to injury.

After reaching the third round in New York, Djokovic was asked who the better player on a neutral surface is, given Nadal's clay-court dominance and Federer's grass-court expertise.

"It's difficult to say who is better. Three of us, we're all so different. We have different styles," Djokovic said during his post-match news conference.

"We have different trajectories or journeys to where we are at this moment. We all had tremendous success, some more particularly on one surface, some the other surface.

"We do complement each other. I think the rivalry between the big three, so to say, it's phenomenal for our sport.

"So the more traction, the more conversation there is around the three of us, the GOAT discussion, et cetera, the better in general for our sport. I hope people still keep on talking about it."

Djokovic added: "I think actually one of the best I think images that I've ever seen from tennis is them [Nadal and Federer] playing on a half-grass, half-clay court.

"I thought that was fantastic. Whoever came up with the idea was genius. As a tennis fan, I enjoyed that very much."

Djokovic hit 33 winners, fired down 13 aces and broke six times throughout a dominant performance against Griekspoor under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights.

The 34-year-old also improved to 53-1 against non-top 100 opponents at majors, while he is now 13-0 against them at the US Open.

Kei Nishikori awaits Djokovic, who owns a 17-2 head-to-head record against the 2014 US Open runner-up.

"We played many times. I have very good score against him," Djokovic said of Nishikori. "I lost I think last time here in New York in semis in 2014. Historically I think his most successful grand slam is here. He's one of the quickest and most-talented players that I've seen in my lifetime, in my career.

"I think it's important for me to serve well and try to take off the pace a little bit because he likes the pace. He likes to hit the ball early, protect the line. But I know his game well. We played in Olympic Games. I know what's expecting me. I look forward to a good challenge."

Mexico clinched the start they wanted, opening their CONCACAF World Cup qualifying campaign with a dramatic 2-1 win over Jamaica. 

Henry Martin's 89th-minute strike was the difference at an empty Estadio Azteca, helping El Tri avoid an embarrassing result as they look to secure a spot at Qatar 2022. 

Mexico dominated possession throughout Thursday's fixture and out-shot Jamaica 27-5, but Reggae Boyz goalkeeper Andre Blake thwarted the hosts until Martin's last-gasp winner. 

A botched clearance by Jamaica in the 50th minute left the ball at Alexis Vega's feet, with multiple Mexico players in an offside position, he held the ball and worked his way toward the middle of the field along the top of the penalty area before sending a right-footed shot past a diving Blake.

Shamar Nicholson equalised 15 minutes later for Jamaica, firing a shot past Guillermo Ochoa after a poor clearance by Jorge Sanchez. 

Martin gave Mexico the three points in the end, collecting a pass from Luis Romo that was redirected by Cesar Montes and firing home just inside the top of the area.

Nearly four years after the infamous loss to Trinidad and Tobago that saw the United States fail to qualify for Russia 2018, a young USA side opened the final round of 2022 World Cup qualifying with a 0-0 draw at El Salvador on Thursday. 

USA head coach Gregg Berhalter's inexperienced team, missing star Christian Pulisic and goalkeeper Zack Steffen, managed to take a point before a raucous crowd in San Salvador following their CONCACAF Gold Cup success last month.

It might not have been a scintillating performance for a side coming off Gold Cup and CONCACAF Nations League triumphs, but the USA will take it after opening their 2018 qualifying campaign with successive losses. 

Nine players in the USA starting line-up were making their first appearance in a World Cup qualifier, with DeAndre Yedlin and Tim Ream the only exceptions, but the group did not appear rattled on the road. 

USA had a tantalising chance after eight minutes when Miles Robinson got free behind the El Salvador defence on a Gio Reyna free-kick, but saw his header sail over the goal. 

El Salvador's best opportunity of the first half came in the 33rd minute when California-born Alex Roldan cut in from the left after a short corner and curled a ball over USA goalkeeper Matt Turner that grazed the top of the crossbar. 

The home side had a chance to take the lead in the 57th minute, as Turner had to dive to his left to save a header from Eriq Zavaleta off a corner from Marvin Monterroza, the first and only shot on target for El Salvador. 

Weston McKennie had a clear header in the 72nd minute, however the USA and Juventus midfielder could not put home Reyna's cross, one of several missed opportunities for the visitors.

The result snapped the USA's nine-match winning streak, but they still have suffered only one defeat in their last 20 games dating to November 2019, a 2-1 friendly loss at Switzerland in May. 

 

Brazil preserved their perfect record in 2022 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying after edging Chile 1-0 on Thursday.

Everton Ribeiro came off the bench and scored the winning goal in the 64th minute as Brazil made it seven wins from seven games on the road to Qatar 2022.

Brazil – back in action for the first time since their Copa America final loss to La Albiceleste in July – are six points clear of Argentina atop the standings ahead of Sunday's mouth-watering showdown in Sao Paulo.

Chile, meanwhile, are seventh in the 10-team qualifying section in South America, three points adrift of the play-off position.

A refusal by Premier League clubs to release players for international matches in COVID-19 red-listed countries meant Brazil were without the likes of captain Thiago Silva, Alisson, Ederson, Fred, Fabinho, Roberto Firmino, Richarlison and Gabriel Jesus.

Weverton started for Brazil in the absence of stars Alisson and Ederson and he was the busier of the keepers in Santiago, where the two nations met for the first time since the Selecao beat Chile at the Copa.

Arturo Vidal was in the thick of the action for Chile amid a strong start to the season with Inter – the star midfielder forcing a double-save from Weverton with a tricky free-kick on the half-hour mark and the latter reacted quickly to deny Eduardo Vargas' close-round rebound.

Gabriel 'Gabigol' Barbosa had earlier shown a great burst of pace to surge clear on the counter-attack, sliding the ball to an unmarked Neymar but the Paris Saint-Germain forward sent his shot high into the stands.

Vidal then forced Weverton into another save before half-time, though clear-cut chances were few and far between after 45 minutes.

The game came to life in the second half when Brazil broke the deadlock against the run of play in the 64th minute.

Chile had largely controlled proceedings, but Ribeiro and Neymar combined just past the hour mark – the latter's close-range attempt kept out by Claudio Bravo but the former was on hand to convert the rebound.

Chile continued to move forward in search of an equaliser but they were unsuccessful as Brazil kept their fifth consecutive clean sheet in qualifying and sixth in total.

 

What does it mean? Tite's men stay hot

There is no stopping Brazil on their path to next year's World Cup. The Selecao have won all of their qualifiers so far and have never lost a game under head coach Tite when scoring first.

Ribeiro the unlikely hero

With so many absentees, Ribeiro was the hero off the bench for Brazil. The Flamengo star made his international debut in 2014, but both of his international goals have come this year, within three months since June.

Chile's qualifying woes continue

The two-time Copa America champions have only won one of their seven qualifying fixtures so far, against Peru in November. Pressure is growing on Chile boss Martin Lasarte.

What's next?

Brazil and Argentina will renew their rivalry in Sunday's top-of-the-table encounter, while Chile visit Ecuador on the same day.

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