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PARIS — Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 trip to Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday as he continues his recovery from COVID-19, the capital club said on Saturday.

The Argentine forward is back in Paris from his home country after testing negative but has not been cleared to play.

Lionel Messi will miss PSG's trip to Lyon as he continues his recovery from Covid-19 ❌ pic.twitter.com/CuLRzgi96R

American fans are dying to see the USMNT January roster that will take on El Salvador, Canada and Honduras in the crucial upcoming World Cup qualifiers. The fixation on the roster is so intense that fans brushed aside defender Aaron Long’s marriage.

Roster out?

— Tactical Manager (@ManagerTactical) January 6, 2022

YAOUNDE - Gabon captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tested positive for COVID-19 on arrival in Cameroon on Thursday, threatening his participation at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Aubemayang and teammate Mario Lemina returned positive results when tested on arrival at Yaounde’s airport, along with assistant coach Anicet Yala, the Gabon Football Federation said in a statement.

Despite pandemics and lawsuits, one constant for the U.S. women’s national team lately has been the SheBelieves Cup. Every year since 2016, the USWNT has hosted some of the best teams in the world in a four-team competition aimed at inspiring young women. Unfortunately, the 2022 SheBelieves Cup looks like it’ll be the least inspiring yet. 

For the first time ever, Barcelona Femeni is set to host a match at the Camp Nou with fans in attendance, and what an event it'll be: the return leg of the club's UEFA Women's Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid on Wednesday, March 30.

If recent results are any indictor, it'll be a party atmosphere inside the ground following the first leg in Madrid on March 22. 

RABAT — Hakim Ziyech was the notable absentee as Morocco coach Vahid Halilhodzic on Thursday named his squad for next month's Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon.

The Chelsea winger had a fallout with the coach earlier this year and was overlooked for the six World Cup qualifiers played between September and November, making his omission no shock although the Dutch-born Ziyech is seen as Morocco's key player.

Of all the years in the 2020s, 2021 was probably the least bad one. Maybe. But worry not; 2022 can’t possibly be as bad as the first two years of the decade, right? According to our 2022 soccer predictions, it’s going to be the best year ever, or at least the best of the last three. 

MADRID — Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard will start at home to Cadiz in LaLiga on Sunday, manager Carlo Ancelotti has said.

It will be the first time the Belgium midfielder has been in the starting lineup since Real's 2-1 home loss to Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League on Sept. 28.

Ancelotti said Hazard's selection has nothing to do with Real missing six players due to a COVID-19 outbreak at the club.