Brazil head coach Tite has criticized the decision to appoint a Colombian referee for Thursday's chaotic 1-1 World Cup qualifying draw with Ecuador.

Colombian referee Wilmar Roldan handed out four red cards throughout the game, including two to Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson which were both rescinded by the VAR, along with two overturned penalty awards for Ecuador.

Trailing 1-0 to Casemiro's first-half strike, Ecuador had a 55th-minute penalty awarded by Roldan overturned when it was determined Pervis Estupinan had dived in the box as opposed to being fouled by Raphinha.

In stoppage-time, the hosts again thought they had a penalty which could have led to the winner after a foul from Alisson but the award was overturned by the VAR, offering the Liverpool goalkeeper and Brazil a late reprieve.

Tite was critical of Roldan's "impulsiveness" but also the decision to appoint a referee from Colombia, who came into this matchday fourth in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying behind Ecuador.

“Today there was no point in appointing a referee from the fourth country in the table, when the third and first were playing," Tite said at the post-game news conference.

"Roldan is a good referee, but it gives for interpretations. The designation took a bit of sensitivity."

Tite added: "It was a difficult game. The number of fouls was exaggerated, 20 fouls by Ecuador and 12 by us.

"The circumstances happened, it wasn't evil, it was impulsive. Incorrect, yes. And it needs to be corrected, yes. It needs to be mature, yes. But it wasn't evil."

Already-qualified Argentina flexed their muscle without Lionel Messi with a 2-1 away win over Chile leaving their 2022 World Cup qualification hopes at major risk on Thursday.

Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez netted first-half goals around Ben Brereton-Diaz's looping header as Albiceleste extended their unbeaten run to 27 games.

The victory improves second-placed Argentina's CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign to 32 points from 14 games, while Chile are battling to reach Qatar 2022.

La Roja, who suffered their second straight home defeat, have 16 points from 15 games and are seventh in the standings, three points behind Uruguay in the fourth automatic qualification spot after they won 1-0 in Paraguay.

Paris Saint-Germain winger Di Maria silenced the home Calama crowd in the ninth minute when he curled home a trademark left-foot strike from outside the box for his 23rd international goal.

Blackburn Rovers attacker Brereton-Diaz leveled the game up in the 20th minute when he precisely headed over Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez from Marcelino Nunez's diagonal cross.

Argentina restored their lead, just as Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo had gestured to be substituted due to injury, with the veteran stopper unable to hold Rodrigo De Paul's long-range strike allowing Martinez to fire home the rebound in the 34th minute.

The visitors weathered Chile's late pressure, with Brereton-Diaz forcing a good low save from Martinez with an 84th-minute header.

Mexico scored two goals in the final 10 minutes to revive their stuttering 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-1 win over 10-man Jamaica in Kingston on Thursday.

El Tri, who had lost their past two qualifiers against the United States and Canada, were staring down the barrel of a third straight loss when trailing 1-0 with 10 minutes left before their late rally.

Henry Martin tapped home to equalise in the 81st minute, with Carlos Vega netting a dramatic winner two minutes later to ease the pressure on head coach Gerardo Martino.

Preston North End midfielder Daniel Johnson had fired in a left-foot strike to put the Reggae Boyz ahead in the 51st minute after they had been reduced to 10 men prior to half-time when Damion Lowe was sent off after VAR review – introduced to CONCACAF World Cup qualifying for the first time – for a studs-up challenge.

El Tri, who were without the injured Raul Jimenez and suspended Hirving Lozano, had early chances with Carlos Rodriguez and Vega both testing Jamaica goalkeeper Andre Blake in the first half.

The win means Mexico move up to 17 points from nine qualifiers, temporarily moving above Canada – who play Honduras later on Thursday - into second spot in CONCACAF qualifying, one point behind USA who edged El Salvador 1-0. The result leaves Jamaica off the pace, with only one win and seven points from nine games.

Antonee Robinson's second-half strike earned the United States an unconvincing 1-0 victory over El Salvador to move a step closer to 2022 World Cup qualification on Thursday in cold conditions in Columbus.

Fulham defender Robinson lashed home in the 52nd minute after Timothy Weah's good lead-up work in the decisive moment, as USA moved up to 18 points from nine games.

USA temporarily moved into top spot in the CONCACAF qualifying standings, with Canada due to take on Honduras later.

Jesus Ferreira, starting in a World Cup qualifier for the first time, burnt two first-half chances, before Robinson broke the deadlock early in the second half as USA stamped their superiority.

The hosts pressed for a second goal, with El Salvador goalkeeper Mario Gonzalez acrobatically denying Valencia midfielder Yunus Musah's poke.

El Salvador's best chance came in the 85th minute as Joaquin Rivas glanced Bryan Tamacas' cross wide, while USA fluffed opportunities with Weston McKennie and Gyasi Zardes headers.

Senegal have been defended by Confederation of African Football (CAF) medical doctor Dr. Thulani Ngwenya for their handling of Sadio Mane's head injury against Cape Verde.

Mane received a nasty blow to the head in a collision with opposition goalkeeper Vozinha – who was sent off after a VAR review – in Tuesday's Africa Cup of Nations last-16 tie.

The Liverpool forward was given treatment on the field but was allowed to stay on and subsequently curled in a brilliant opener for Senegal, who went on to win 2-0.

However, Mane collapsed to the ground when celebrating his goal and was taken off shortly afterwards before being assessed at hospital.

He later took to social media to assure worried supporters that "all is well", but brain injury association Headway criticised Senegal for allowing Mane to play on after the collision.

"On the face of it, this seems to be yet another example of football putting results ahead of player safety," said Luke Griggs, deputy chief executive of Headway.

"This was a sickening collision that clearly left both players in enough distress for a concussion to have surely been considered a possibility at the very least.

"At that point, the principle of 'if in doubt, sit it out!' should have resulted in Mane being substituted without another ball being kicked."

Griggs added: "This is now a real test of leadership for CAF and world governing body FIFA – particularly if Senegal declare Mane fit for Sunday's quarter-final.

"If football wants to be taken seriously when it comes to concussion, it simply must take action to enforce and strengthen its protocols."

But Dr. Ngwenya insisted Mane is in good hands with the Senegal medical team, who remain in dialogue with Premier League side Liverpool.

"We have a very capable medical team. Senegal have two team doctors, who are highly commended," Dr. Ngwenya is quoted as saying by Sky Sports.

"I know the team doctors are responsible, so they communicate with the club and I understand that they have actually communicated with Liverpool.

"What I know is that after taking Mane for further investigations, we scanned the head and there was no structural damage, but that does not rule out concussion. 

"I'm confident that my colleagues are taking care of the player and the player was in good spirits when I saw him in the hospital."

Dr. Ngwenya added: "I've heard people say, 'why wasn't he removed from the game?' The medical assessment is based on what you see and assess at that particular time. 

"The medical team spent quite a significant amount of time assessing Mane.

"It might have been during the assessment the medical team came to a decision it was just a head collision, not concussion because they couldn't pick up anything that was concussion.

"We need to give the benefit of the doubt to them because you can make an assessment at the time and then two minutes later it's different. 

"But when I went in there were features of concussion, hence it was easy for me to actually make that call to say we need to remove the player out of the game.

"The player is not capacitated to make a decision because they are confused, so it's you as a doctor that needs to make a decision on their behalf."

Mane posted an image of himself back in the gym on his personal Instagram account on Thursday, accompanied by the caption "recovering".

Despite potentially suffering from concussion after the sickening blow, he has not been ruled out of Senegal's quarter-final against Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.

"I'm not sure if he will be available for the next match. When you look at the protocols, I don't know whether he will be ready. I can't make that assessment," Ngwenya said.

"That judgement can only be made by the team doctors that are managing him on a daily basis."

Alisson was given a stoppage-time VAR reprieve after conceding a penalty as Brazil somehow clung on to a 1-1 draw against Ecuador in a chaotic World Cup qualifying classic.

Felix Torres equalised with 15 minutes to go and Ecuador looked set to grab the win that would put them on the brink of qualification when awarded a last-gasp penalty, but that opportunity was taken away in an ending that befitted the remarkable 90 minutes that preceded it.

The first half saw the red card brandished three times – the first two, for Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez and Brazil right-back Emerson Royal, were decisions that remained, but Alisson's was overturned.

All the controversy somewhat overshadowed Casemiro's early goal, which looked likely to be the winner given Ecuador had a goal wiped out and a penalty decision reversed soon after the restart, before Torres headed in.

Alisson was then sent off again, but for the second time his dismissal was overturned and Ecuador were denied their late spot-kick.

Arsenal have a "pretty strong" chance of completing a deal for United States goalkeeper Matt Turner, according to New England Revolution coach and sporting director Bruce Arena.

Turner was voted MLS Goalkeeper of the Year in 2021 after helping the Revs to Supporters' Shield success, though his side fell short in the playoffs with defeat to New York City in the Eastern Conference semi-finals.

The 27-year-old joined the Revs as a free agent in 2016 after going undrafted and has been a regular for the past four seasons, racking up 97 MLS appearances over that time, including 28 last year when recording five clean sheets.

Arsenal have recently been linked with the USA international, who has been capped 13 times by his country, and Revs chief Arena has confirmed talks are ongoing between the two teams.

However, a transfer is not expected to go through this month, with Arsenal instead expected to wait until the end of the Premier League campaign before bringing in Turner – potentially to replace Bernd Leno, the back-up to Aaron Ramsdale.

"As speculated, there's a chance we could lose Matt Turner," Arena told the Sports Hub on 98.5 radio.

"If things work out the right way, we will lose him in the summer. We are in negotiations with Arsenal to complete the transfer. The likelihood of that happening is pretty strong."

Arsenal will reportedly pay an initial £4.5million ($6m) for Turner in a deal that could rise to £7.5m ($10m) with add-ons, which is the same amount Manchester City agreed to pay Columbus Crew for international rival Zack Steffen in 2019.

The delayed move for Turner may now see Leno stay in place for the remainder of the season.

Should he complete a switch, Turner will become the fifth American to sign for Arsenal after Gedion Zelalem, Danny Karbassiyoon, Frank Simek and Doug Farquhar.

Robin Gosens has completed a move to Inter from Atalanta on loan with an obligation to buy for a reported €25million.

Gosens signed for Atalanta in 2017 from Dutch outfit Heracles for just over €1m and made over 150 appearances for the Bergamo club in all competitions, scoring 29 goals and assisting 20.

The Germany international is believed to have already agreed a four-and-a-half year deal with the Nerazzurri, and told the club's official website that he is eager to get going.

"I'm so proud to have joined one of the biggest clubs in Europe. I'm thrilled to be here and can't wait to get started."

The 27-year-old also mentioned his connection to Alessandro Bastoni, who he is reunited with once against having previously played with him at Atalanta.

"We've been speaking almost every day, not just now," Gosens added. "Even two or three years ago, he told me it was a great club and how proud you feel to play for Inter.

"It wasn't a difficult decision for me. I didn't need any convincing because I also know it's a huge club. He told me about the club's history, the team, the way you work here and I'm pleased to have spoken to him."

Gosens has spent a large part of this season on the sidelines with a muscle injury, but scored 11 times in Serie A last season despite playing the majority of games at left wing-back.

Atletico Madrid have confirmed the signing of utility player Daniel Wass from fellow LaLiga side Valencia on an 18-month contract.

The Denmark international, who was due to become a free agent at the end of the season, is reported to have cost Atletico €2.7million plus add-ons.

Diego Simeone's side confirmed the transfer on their official website on Thursday, making the Brondby youth product their first signing of the January window.

Wass is comfortable playing in a number of positions, including at right-back, where Atleti have been looking to recruit following Kieran Trippier's move to Newcastle United.

After three years at Celta Vigo, Wass made the switch to Valencia in July 2018 and featured 152 times – at least 12 times more than any other player for the club over that time.

Used predominantly in central midfield this term, the 32-year-old scored one goal and assisted another in 19 LaLiga starts for Los Che.

Wass has also been capped 41 times by his national side and played in five of Denmark's six matches en route to the semi-finals of Euro 2020 last year.

Toni Kroos insists he wants to spend the rest of his career with Real Madrid, with his current contract due to run until the end of next season.

Kroos moved to the Santiago Bernabeu in 2014 from Bayern Munich and has made 344 appearances for Los Blancos in all competitions, scoring 25 goals and assisting 77.

The German midfielder has won two LaLiga titles, three Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups and four FIFA Club World Cups since arriving in Spain, and has confirmed that he wishes to see the final days of his career out in Madrid.

"I want to finish my career here," Kroos said in an interview with RTVE. "My family and I are fine in Madrid, there is still a year and a half left [of this contract]."

The 32-year-old also spoke about this season's title race in LaLiga, with Madrid currently top of the league, four points ahead of second-placed Sevilla, adding: "We have to look for all the points in the league, there's still a lot left.

"At the moment the rival is Sevilla, and we have to fight for it until the end."

Kroos' team-mate Eden Hazard has had a difficult time since his big-money move to Madrid from Chelsea in 2019, but the Belgian has started to show shoots of form of late, scoring the winning goal in the dramatic 2-1 comeback win in extra time at Elche in the Copa del Rey.

"I believe in him," Kroos said of Hazard. "He has to do everything to return to being what he has always been – he can help us a lot."

The 2014 World Cup winner was also asked about another world champion, Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, who has been heavily linked with a move to Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the current season.

"It is difficult to know because everything depends on the situation of his contract," he added. "It does not surprise me that Madrid are trying to sign him because he is a top player. It is not a secret that Real Madrid want him.

"In my eight years here, many names have come up and only 20 per cent have arrived."

Erling Haaland has revealed he studies Jamie Vardy's game closely as he believes the Leicester City striker is "maybe the best in the world" at running in behind defenders.

Borussia Dortmund star Haaland has become one of the most sought-after players in world football after scoring 80 goals in 79 games during his two years at the Bundesliga club.

That is a tally bettered only by Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski (107) – who has played 11 more games – among players from teams in Europe's top five leagues.

Haaland has been linked with the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and Bayern, with reports suggesting he has a €75million release clause that will activate in July.

Despite his impressive exploits, Haaland acknowledges there are still areas of his game he can improve, with an unlikely player proving to be a source of inspiration.

"I've been watching a lot of players. Let's take for example the run in behind the centre-back when the number 10 has the ball," he told Sky Sports. 

"You have maybe the best in the world at that, Jamie Vardy. I've been looking a lot at him on exactly this. I have always been watching a lot of football and I still do. 

"When we play Saturday, I go home on Sunday and watch football all day."

Vardy has scored 122 goals in 227 Premier League appearances since the start of the 2015-16 campaign, which famously ended with Leicester winning the title.

The 35-year-old ranks 10th in terms of the most prolific strikers in Europe's top five leagues over that time, a metric that Lewandowski also leads with 209 goals in 208 games.

Vardy has also spoken of his admiration for ex-Arsenal and Manchester United striker Robin van Persie.

"Van Persie I watched a lot because he was also left-footed," Haaland said. 

"I watched him scoring a lot of goals and as a left-footer as well it was natural for me to watch him a lot. I've been watching a lot of players, especially strikers."

Of the 80 goals scored by Haaland for Dortmund, 64 have come via his left foot, nine with his right and the other seven from headers.

The former Salzburg striker has been likened to a number of iconic figures, Zlatan Ibrahimovic among them, but he is not interested in comparisons.

"Ibrahimovic is a cool guy, and I think he is also himself 100 per cent on the pitch. He does everything he can to win," Haaland said.

"I don't want to compare myself to anyone. I think I am a bit special, with my physical abilities. 

"My mother was really quick, my grandmother was really quick, my father was really quick, but not so quick."

Milan have completed the signing of striker Marko Lazetic from Red Star Belgrade.

Lazetic, who turned 18 last week, joins the Serie A giants on a deal that runs through until the end of the 2025-26 campaign.

The Serbia youth international progressed through Red Star's academy and made his senior debut for the club in November 2020.

Following a loan spell with feeder club Graficar Beograd, Lazetic returned to Red Star at the start of this season and found the net once in 16 appearances.

Milan are reported to have paid an initial €4million to sign the youngster, who has been handed the number 22 shirt at San Siro.

Lazetic will link up with the Rossoneri's first-team squad and is effectively a replacement for Pietro Pellegri, whose loan deal was terminated earlier on Thursday.

Pellegri joined Milan from Monaco in August but featured just six times in the league in an injury-plagued campaign and will spend the rest of the season with Torino.

Il Toro have the option to sign the former Genoa striker at the end of the campaign.

UEFA plans to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and halve them over the next eight years as part of a sustainability pledge.

European football's governing body has joined the United Nations' Race to Zero campaign following the launch of its own sustainability strategy in December.

The goal is to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2030 as part of plans to achieve net zero carbon by 2040 "within UEFA, across UEFA events and collaboratively across European football".

"Climate change is one of the biggest threats facing society today and we have unfortunately witnessed how flooding and unseasonable weather patterns have lately devastated infrastructure across the world," president Aleksander Ceferin said.
 
"The transition to a thriving, green economy is imperative and must be part of the solution. Football can play an important role in implementing new standards in this respect and raising awareness across the globe."

Lindita Xhaferi Salihu, Sectoral Engagement Lead (Sport for Climate Action) at UN Climate Change, added: "Just like in football, addressing climate change requires leadership, resilience and teamwork and we look forward to working with UEFA to apply these standards on the field and outside of stadium."

UEFA has stepped up its initiatives to help to combat climate change following accusations of 'greenwashing' in the wake of Euro 2020.

Amid concerns about the environmental cost of staging a tournament across 11 host cities – Wales fans were forced to travel more than 12,000 kilometres just for two group games in Baku – UEFA pledged to offset 405,000 tonnes of carbon produced by fans and its staff members journeying to games.

There were also plans to plant 50,000 trees in each of the host cities, but UEFA shelved them last year, citing the impact of the pandemic, as attention turned to other projects.

Kieran Trippier has confirmed he attracted "strong interest" from Manchester United last year before returning to the Premier League with Newcastle United.

Trippier swapped a LaLiga title defence with Atletico Madrid for a relegation battle with Newcastle this month, with the England full-back joining Eddie Howe's side for a reported fee of £12million.

The 31-year-old spent two-and-a-half seasons at Atleti after leaving Tottenham in 2019, helping Diego Simeone's side clinch a LaLiga title last year.

There were reports since early in 2021 that Trippier wished to return to England, and United were heavily linked.

Trippier has now confirmed that United and Atleti held discussions before the 2021-22 season, after England's run to the final of Euro 2020, but the potential move broke down over the Spanish club's demand that his release clause, reported at around £50m (€60m), was met.

"After the Euros, there was really strong interest," Trippier told Newcastle great Alan Shearer in an interview with The Athletic.

"I've got to be careful what I say because I don't want to get into trouble, but yeah, there was interest. We had conversations, but Atletico Madrid just wanted my release clause and it was a lot of money for a 30-year-old, so I understand why Man United didn't do that.

"There were other clubs interested too. Anyway, it's gone now, so it doesn't bother me."

Trippier hopes Simeone, who has established himself as one of world football's leading coaches during his decade-long stint at Atleti, follows him from LaLiga to the Premier League.

"I'd love to see him working in England. I know he was learning English about a year ago, and his partner speaks English," Trippier said.

"The thing about Simeone is that because he's so passionate when he's talking in the dressing room, I think it would get to him if he wasn't completely fluent. But I would love to see him in the Premier League. I think everyone would."

Simeone's pragmatic approach has sometimes come in for criticism, but there can be no doubting its success.

"It's a bit unfair, because Simeone has been so successful. He's won eight trophies," Trippier added, before referring to a comment Jurgen Klopp made about Atleti not playing "proper football" after Liverpool's defeat to Los Colchoneros in the 2019-20 Champions League knockout stage.

"I understand where Klopp is coming from, but if you're playing at Anfield you can't go toe-to-toe with [Liverpool] because you'll get punished.

"Everybody has their own system or set-up and Simeone's is different. It's worked for him."

Trippier's decision to leave Tottenham came after Mauricio Pochettino's side had reached the 2019 Champions League final, losing to Liverpool - ironically, at Atleti's Wanda Metropolitano stadium.

The former Burnley defender enjoyed a fine 2018 World Cup, but felt his form dropped off slightly afterwards. However, he also hit out at Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, who he claims was engineering a sale while the season was ongoing.

"f you look back to the last few months of my Tottenham career, I admit that I wasn't at the levels that I was at the World Cup and there's no excuse," he said.

"After the Champions League final, it felt like the right time to move on.

"What annoyed me, I know 100 per cent for a fact – and this is what I was most angry about – that two months before the end of the season, Daniel was offering me to other clubs.

"I knew for certain that was happening, so I knew my time there must be up. I was playing for my team-mates and the supporters, but I also knew I wasn't wanted."

Diego Carlos will not be moving to Newcastle United in the January transfer window, according to Sevilla sporting director Monchi.

The Magpies tabled a bid of reportedly around £30million this month to try to bring the Brazil centre-back to the Premier League, but that was rejected by Sevilla and it appears that the deal will not be revisited before deadline day.

The 28-year-old joined Sevilla in 2019 from French side Nantes and has established himself as a key part of Julen Lopetegui's stubborn backline, which boasts the best defensive record in LaLiga this season having conceded just 16 times in 22 games.

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe was keen to add Diego Carlos as they try to ensure their Premier League safety, but Monchi's latest comments appear to suggest he will have to look elsewhere for defensive reinforcements in the current window.

Speaking to i, the renowned sporting director said: "The Newcastle offer was a good offer, a respectable offer. I have to say that. But our board and management team thought it wasn't enough.

"It's true that maybe it wasn't the right time. It's a difficult market to find a replacement for a player like Diego Carlos. It's a market that takes place over a very short period of time. Maybe if that offer comes along in the summer then things might have changed."

Monchi also suggested the player himself is happy to stay with Sevilla, who are second in LaLiga, only four points behind leaders Real Madrid.

"I was talking to Diego this morning and he's happy," he added. "At the end of the day he's staying here at his club, a club that really wanted him.

"If he was really angry then maybe he would have changed his opinion, but he seems happy."

He also had words of praise for the way Newcastle conducted business but reiterated his belief that negotiations have now ended between the two clubs.

"We've had conversations based on a lot of respect. They've understood that we can reject their offer," Monchi said.

"The first contact comes from the player's agent. They said, 'Maybe Newcastle are prepared to make an offer'.

"The first offer was a month ago. With Newcastle, it's been very correct the way it's gone ahead. We've had video calls and each side has explained their view.

"We consider the negotiation finished because I don't think we're going to start negotiations again because we're all clear how we think about this transfer."