Spain's growing influence on world football will be on full display at next week's Ballon d'Or gala, the annual award ceremony honoring the sport's top performers.

Four of the five nominees for the Johan Cruyff Trophy for men's coach of the year are Spanish, as are two of the candidates for the women's trophy.

The Asian Football Confederation has endorsed Gianni Infantino for another term as FIFA president in an apparent turnaround in its stance from two months ago when it criticized the head of football's world governing body for a breach of trust.

AFC president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa embraced Infantino with a large hug Friday in front of the Asian membership at an extraordinary congress meeting in Tokyo, where he delivered his endorsement. It was a timely boost for Infantino as he campaigns for re-election amid strong opposition from Europe

President Donald Trump on Thursday accused LeBron James of disrespecting the United States after the NBA star appeared to continue his warmups while the national anthem was performed before Philadelphia's season opener on Tuesday.

"I said right from the beginning that he's no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE," Trump said of James in a social media post sharing the video. "LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!"

Vinícius Júnior's scoring slump continued in his return to the Real Madrid lineup in the Champions League.

The Brazilian forward had an ineffective performance and couldn't find the net in Madrid's 4-1 win over Leipzig at home on Wednesday, reaching nine straight appearances without a goal for the Spanish club.

Opening night in the NBA provided some hints.

The Philadelphia 76ers had a stat sheet as well-balanced as just about any in LeBron James' 24-year career to beat the New York Knicks. The Detroit Pistons were a No. 1 seed last season and felt a need to remind the league that it wasn't a fluke. And the Oklahoma City Thunder — who lost a home Game 7 to San Antonio in last season's Western Conference finals — went into Texas and took the fight right to Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs.

A goal and an assist from Harry Kane wasn't enough for Bayern Munich to beat Arsenal.

Kane's England teammate Declan Rice scored a second-half equalizer for last season's runner-up to secure a 2-2 draw at six-time winner Bayern in a matchup of two European heavyweights in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Holders Paris Saint-Germain made it three wins from three in this season's Champions League, beating Barcelona 4-2 thanks to late goals from Vitinha and Fabian Ruiz on Tuesday, while Liverpool clinched a dramatic comeback victory over Villarreal.

The Champions League showpiece between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona will go ahead as planned on Tuesday in Paris, the French interior minister confirmed despite violent weekend protests.

Many French citizens have been left shocked by the images of violence that have drawn worldwide attention and highlighted the country's tense social climate. On Monday, French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu said he instructed prefects to impose "very limited" and "localized" curfews in cities to prevent more rioting and looting.

UEFA has given FIFA a Nov. 2 deadline to release documents relating to Gianni Infantino 's aborted attempts at a secretive investment plan for the World Cup and other governance issues.

The latest move in a power struggle between the two governing bodies came in the week after UEFA's European delegates were disappointed by what they perceived as a lack of clarity by FIFA president Infantino over the issues at a FIFA council meeting last week.

Walking out on the Portugal camp earned Cristiano Ronaldo a 30-day suspension and 255 euros ($285) fine from the national federation.

The Portuguese Football Federation had provisionally suspended Ronaldo and on Monday called the punishment "adequate and sufficient."