Men's National Teams

BELGRADE - A Cristiano Ronaldo goal not given in a dramatic World Cup qualifier between Serbia and Portugal would have stood if the two football associations had agreed before the game to use goal-line technology, UEFA said on Monday.

Portugal captain Ronaldo was left fuming and got booked for dissent after his stoppage-time effort in Saturday's Group A 2-2 draw at Serbia was cleared by Stefan Mitrović after the ball had crossed the line as shown by television replays.

The United States are "absolutely devastated" at missing out on qualification for the Olympic men's soccer tournament following Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Honduras, said coach Jason Kreis.

Defeat in the semifinals of the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament means the United States will miss a third successive Games, with their last appearance coming in Beijing.

Zlatan Ibrahimović has turned a tearful return to the Swedish national team into a highly productive one. The AC Milan striker set up three of Sweden’s four goals in its two recent World Cup qualifiers. The first Zlatan assist vs Kosovo on Sunday was a stunning flying backheel pass to open the scoring in a 3-0 victory.

TBILISI — Spain striker Dani Olmo snatched a 2-1 win away to Georgia in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday with a stoppage-time strike from outside the area to kick-start his side's efforts to qualify for Qatar 2022 after a sluggish start.

Georgia, ranked 89th in the world, 83 places below Spain, thrilled the 15,000 fans in the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena when 20-year-old winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia fired them ahead two minutes before halftime after they coasted past the defence.

Five straight friendly wins for the U.S. after it beat Northern Ireland 2-1 on Sunday, a rare victory in Europe; nine games without a loss tallying a 33-5 goal margin. The USMNT is playing better than it has in years, and while the competition hasn’t been the best, there’s an undeniable new mood around the team. 

BELGRADE — Serbia striker Aleksandar Mitrovic became his country's all-time top scorer on 39 goals from 63 international appearances after he netted in a 2-2 home draw with Portugal in a thrilling 2022 World Cup Group A qualifier on Saturday.

The Serbians fought back from two goals down to earn a share of the spoils as Fulham striker Mitrovic pulled one back in the 46th minute and Filip Kostic levelled after a Diogo Jota double had given Portugal a 2-0 lead in the first half.