The following is a summary of current sports news.

Cricket-S Africa is wary of Stokes’ ‘x-factor’ in World Cup match

South Africa are in for a treat when they take on old rivals England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday, with both sides having to bounce back from shock defeats in their last meetings at the Cricket World Cup. England lost to Afghanistan by 69 runs and South Africa were beaten by the Netherlands to put a damper on their excellent start to the tournament. Both will want to get back into gear on what has traditionally been an excellent batting wicket.

Soccer-United Lindelof is available for Sheffield after Brussels attack

Victor Lindelof will be fit for Manchester United’s Premier League trip to Sheffield United on Saturday, four days after returning from Swedish duty in Brussels, where two Swedish fans died ahead of their Euro 2024 qualifier against Belgium. The match between Belgium and Sweden was suspended at half-time and then abandoned after a suspected Islamist militant killed two and seriously injured one on Monday.

Football-Canadian mascot Sinclair proud to leave the international game in a better place

Canada’s Christine Sinclair is closing the book on a glittering international career as the world’s all-time leading goalscorer, but her longtime talisman said one of her greatest triumphs was being a vocal advocate for the women’s game. The 40-year-old, who has 190 goals in 327 games, announced her retirement from Team Canada on Friday, but plans to play with the NWSL’s Portland Thorns next season.

UEFA fined soccer clubs Soccer-Bayern, Galatasaray and AEK Athens for crowd trouble

Bayern Munich, Galatasaray and AEK Athens have been fined for disorderly conduct in recent Champions League and Europa League matches, European football’s governing body UEFA said on Friday. Bayern have been fined €40,000 ($42,380.00) by UEFA’s control, ethics and disciplinary body for throwing objects and setting off fireworks by fans during their 2-1 win at FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.

Soccer-Man City face a tough test against Brighton with only De Bruyne missing

Manchester City’s players have returned fit from the international break and now face one of their “toughest tests” of the Premier League season when they visit Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend, manager Pep Guardiola said on Friday. The treble winners had 17 players away with their countries, but Guardiola said on Friday that “everyone is fit except for Kevin” De Bruyne, who is recovering from hamstring surgery.

The IOC rejects Putin’s accusation of “ethnic discrimination” in relation to the Olympics

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s accusation that he is using the Olympic Games as a tool of politics and racism. Putin said on Thursday that the IOC had effectively suspended Russia from the Olympic movement.

Premier League football clubs will wear black armbands during the conflict between Israel and Hamas

Premier League players, managers and officials will wear black armbands for the next round of matches as a mark of respect for those affected by the conflict between Israel and Hamas, England’s top league said on Friday. “We hope for peace and our deepest sympathies go out to the victims, their families and the affected communities,” the league said.

Morocco will build a new stadium, upgrade six others before the 2030 World Cup

Morocco plans to build a large stadium in Benslimane, near Casablanca, and upgrade six others in preparation for co-hosting the 2030 World Cup, the prime minister’s office said on Friday. On the same day, an agreement was signed between the government and CDG State Fund to finance the new stadium, which is to be ready by 2028 at a total cost of 5 billion dirhams ($500 million), the authority said in a statement.

Soccer-Liverpool’s Robertson is set for shoulder surgery, says Klopp

Liverpool defender Andy Robertson is likely to undergo shoulder surgery following his injury with Scotland, manager Juergen Klopp has said ahead of Saturday’s derby with Everton at Anfield. Scotland captain Robertson, who has started all eight Premier League games this season, left the national team camp after injuring his shoulder in the 2-0 defeat to Spain in a Euro 2024 qualifier last week.

Cricket-Warner, Marsh tons give Australia 62-run win over Pakistan

Australia beat Pakistan by 62 runs in a high-scoring World Cup group match on Friday to get their campaign back on track with a second straight win thanks to centuries from their opening pair David Warner and Mitchell Marsh. Pakistan won the toss and put Australia into bat, but captain Babar Azam’s hopes of early wickets quickly evaporated as Warner (163) and Marsh (121) came out with all guns blazing to put up a 259-run stand.

(With input from agencies.)