Jon Rahm was the major casualty from the WGC Match Play on Friday as Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay all advanced with perfect records.

The Spanish second seed was dumped out after losing 5 and 4 to 2021 WGC Match Play winner Billy Horschel in their final Group 2 match at the Austin Country Club in Texas.

Horschel went 1-up with a par on the second hole and never relinquished the lead, with Rahm failing to register a birdie throughout the day's play.

The 36-year-old American pulled away with birdies on the 10th and 11th holes followed by a 21-foot birdie putt on the 14th to clinch a spot in the round of 16 against Cameron Young.

Horschel progressed in a tight group with a 2-0-1 record ahead of Rickie Fowler (2-1-0), Rahm (1-2-0) and Keith Mitchell (0-2-1).

Top seed and reigning champion Scheffler advanced after beating Tom Kim 3 and 2 to round out a 3-0-0 group stage record.

Kim came out strong with birdies on the first two holes to go 2-up, but Scheffler rallied back immediately winning three of the next four holes.

Third seed McIlroy topped Group 3 unblemished after beating Keegan Bradley 3 and 2, while fourth seed Cantlay beat Brian Harman 2 and 1 to top Group 4 with a 3-0-0 record.

Kurt Kitayama won a three-way sudden death playoff over Tony Finau and Adrian Meronk to progress atop Group 10.

Canadian Mackenzie Hughes produced an upset to advance via Group 12 from Taylor Montgomery who he beat 6 and 4. Jordan Spieth, who beat Hughes on Thursday, missed out after losing to Shane Lowry 2 and 1.

J.J. Spaun also pulled off a surprise by topping Group 11 with a 3-0-0 record, downing Min Woo Lee 2 and 1 to seal his progress.

Max Homa, Xander Schauffele, Andrew Putnam, Matt Kuchar, Sam Burns, Lucas Herbert, J.T. Poston, Jason Day and Young also all progressed into Saturday's last 16 knockout stage.

Englishman Matt Wallace leads the Corales Puntacana Championship by one stroke at the halfway point ahead of American pair Sam Stevens and Wyndham Clark.

Wallace, who was third after the first day, carded a second-round six-under-par 66 on Friday to be 11-under overall at the picturesque Puntacana Resort's Corales Golf Course in the Dominican Republic.

The 32-year-old Englishman has never won a PGA Tour event but has a golden opportunity with most of the world's top-ranked players competing at the WGC Match Play.

Wallace's second round was bogey free, carding birdies in four of his final six holes to claim the lead, with early leaders Brice Garnett and Ben Martin scoring 70 and 72 to slip down the leaderboard.

Stevens and Clark are 10-under overall, with the former managing eight birdies with one bogey in his seven-under round.

Clark also carded a seven-under 65, including an eagle on the par-five fourth hole to help launch his surge up the leaderboard.

Tyler Duncan, Akshay Bhatia, Nicolaj Hojgaard and Garnett, who won the event in 2018, are all tied for fourth at eight-under overall. Bhatia carded the best round of the day, with a nine-under 63.

Lane Johnson's goal is to retire as a member of the Philadelphia Eagles, and he now looks destined to achieve that aim by signing a one-year extension.

The All-Pro right tackle inked an extension worth $33.445million, and includes $30m guaranteed.

It will keep the 32-year-old under contract through the 2026 season.

"My whole goal is to retire an Eagle," Johnson said on Friday. 

"That's what I'm going to do. I'm just excited to be here, be as fortunate as I am to be with one team for as long as I have.

"I love this game and, more importantly, I love the people and the coaches that I'm with every day and that's why I love the game so much."

Johnson is a two-time first-team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler who has started 127 games in a stellar career.

Having won Super Bowl LI with the Eagles in 2017, the 2013 fourth overall pick helped Philadelphia to Super Bowl LVII last season, where they lost 38-35 to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In 2022, his aggregate win rate across pass protection and run blocking of 78.26 per cent was ninth among all tackles, according to Stats Perform data.

Romelu Lukaku scored a hat-trick as Belgium kicked off a new era under Domenico Tedesco with a 3-0 win over Sweden on Friday in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier.

The Red Devils replaced Roberto Martinez with Tedesco after exiting the World Cup at the group stage, while a number of big names also retired from international football.

Tedesco's tenure got off to a flying start at Friends Arena in Stockholm, where Lukaku's header and a close-range finish either side of half-time had the visitors in control.

Sweden brought on 41-year-old striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but Lukaku completed his treble in the 82nd minute to round off a comfortable victory.

Dejan Kulusevski almost gave Sweden the lead when his shot trickled towards goal after Thibaut Courtois got a hand to it, only for Wout Faes to clear off the line.

It was the visitors who opened the scoring 10 minutes before the interval when Dodi Lukebakio's right-sided cross was glanced in by the head of Lukaku.

The on-loan Inter striker doubled his tally with a tap-in from a yard out after Lukebakio burst into the box, got away from his man and once again picked out his team-mate.

Sweden struggled to ask any real questions of Courtois, despite the introduction of Ibrahimovic, and Lukaku made certain of the win when given a simple finish by Johan Bakayoko.

Luka Doncic has been fined $35,000 after making "an inappropriate and unprofessional gesture" towards an official.

With just 1.7 seconds to go of the 127-125 defeat to the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks star rubbed his fingers together at a referee, appearing to reference money.

One piece of fortune for Doncic was that he was not given a technical foul for the gesture, with the Slovenian just one shy of the 16 required for a one-game suspension.

However, the NBA confirmed on Friday that Doncic will be fined for the incident.

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban wrote on Twitter after the game that they will protest what he called the "worst officiating non-call mistake possibly in the history of the NBA".

Dallas' objections are based on a referee call that led to Warriors center Kevon Looney scoring an uncontested dunk to make it 90-87 from a Jordan Poole inbound pass with 1:54 left in the third quarter following a Mavericks timeout.

The Mavericks believed they had possession of the ball, and so were not in position for the inbound, with Cuban claiming that was due to a miscommunication by the referees.

Yaya Toure is "very positive" about having opportunities in management despite seeing Patrick Vieira recently sacked by Crystal Palace.

Toure was disappointed to see his former Manchester City team-mate lose his role as manager of the Eagles, who replaced Vieira with 75-year-old Roy Hodgson until the end of the season.

Speaking at a Football Black List event, the former Barcelona and City midfielder paid tribute to Vieira, whose dismissal meant there are no black managers in the Premier League.

"Patrick Vieira is a great person, and a great coach as well. I think it's a sad part of it," Toure said.

"It's a concern because if you have 50 per cent of the black players playing Premier League, and maybe one or two per cent of managers or coaches are black, it's quite strange."

Toure has taken up coaching since retiring from playing in 2019, with short-term assistant roles at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russia's Akhmat Grozny, before returning to England to work for Tottenham's academy in August.

He has designs on becoming a manager himself one day, and still believes the opportunities will be there for him.

"I think the Premier League and the FA are working hard to get it right, because for us it's very important," he said. 

"And as well, for me, I can say, I'm confident, to be honest. I'm confident, I'm looking forward, I'm very positive [about] how the opportunities are going to come for me and I'm going to be ready for it."

Alvaro Morata has been named Spain's new captain ahead of Luis de la Fuente's first match in charge, with the new coach seeking the "security and confidence" of a strong start.

It is all change for Spain following the 2022 World Cup, with previous skipper Sergio Busquets retiring and De la Fuente replacing Luis Enrique as boss.

Morata is left as the most experienced player in the former Spain Under-21 coach's first squad and was confirmed as captain ahead of their first Euro 2024 qualifier against Norway on Saturday.

"It's a pride and a joy," Morata said in a news conference. "I'm looking forward to things going well and winning. I'm here to help the younger ones."

The Atletico Madrid striker has been enthused by what he has seen from De la Fuente so far – and he believes he is not alone in that sense.

"I have been with different coaches and I see everyone very excited," Morata added. "He likes to give affection to his players and work hard.

"We all have to win from playing and competing. The ticket for a European Championship and a World Cup is not easy, and we are all clear about what is important for us and that we have to always be at these tournaments."

De la Fuente is "enjoying and living an incomparable experience", but he knows the importance of the result against Norway.

"Any project has to start well," the coach said. "It's not all about getting off to a good start, but I'd like to.

"It would give us more security and confidence. We are sure of that."

Spain's hopes of that first win have been boosted by the absence of Norway's superstar striker Erling Haaland, out with a groin injury.

De la Fuente added: "I'm very sorry for any footballer's injury. It is the ugly face of this sport. We also have injuries.

"That said, to say I'd like to see Haaland on the field tomorrow would be lying."

Oliver Kahn says Bayern Munich's decision to replace Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel as head coach was due to the team playing "less successfully and less attractively" since the World Cup.

The Bundesliga giants lost their lead at the top of the table at the weekend after a 2-1 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen, with Borussia Dortmund leapfrogging them with a 6-1 win over Koln.

Despite an impressive Champions League last-16 success against Paris Saint-Germain, Nagelsmann has paid the price for a dip in domestic form, with two of their three league defeats this season coming in their last five games.

"When we signed Julian Nagelsmann for FC Bayern in the summer of 2021, we were convinced we would work with him on a long-term basis, and that was the goal of all of us right up to the end," Bayern chief executive Kahn told the club's website.

"Julian shares our aspiration to play successful and attractive football. But now we have come to the conclusion that the quality in our squad – despite the Bundesliga title last year – has come to the fore less and less often. After the World Cup we have played less successfully and less attractively. 

"The big fluctuations in performance have cast doubt on our goals for this season, but also our goals for the future. That is why we have acted now. 

"Personally and on behalf of FC Bayern, I would like to thank Julian and his coaching team, and wish everyone the best of luck for the future."

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic echoed Kahn's words, saying it was "the most difficult decision in my time as a board member".

He added: "I have had an open, trusting, friendly relationship with Julian from day one. I regret the parting of the ways with Julian. But after a thorough analysis of the sporting development of our team, especially since January and with the experience of the second half of the previous season, we have now decided to release him. 

"I am very grateful to Julian for what he has done for FC Bayern and I wish him all the best."

Bayern have appointed former Dortmund, PSG and Chelsea head coach Tuchel on a contract until June 2025.

The Premier League has referred Everton to an independent commission over an alleged breach of profitability and sustainability rules.

It was announced by the Premier League on Friday that the Toffees are alleged to have broken the regulations during the 2021-22 season.

Everton finished only four points above the relegation zone last season as Norwich City, Watford and Burnley dropped into the Championship.

The Merseyside club are embroiled in another fight to stay in the top flight, sitting in 15th place and only two points better off than third-bottom West Ham – who have two games in hand on Sean Dyche's side.

Everton face an anxious wait to discover if they will be hit with a points deduction.

A Premier League statement said: "In accordance with Premier League Rule W.82.1, the Premier League confirms that it has today referred an alleged breach of the League's profitability and sustainability rules by Everton Football Club to a commission under Premier League Rule W.3.4. The assessment period for which it is alleged that the club is in breach is the period ending season 2021/22.

"Commissions are independent of the Premier League and member clubs. The members of the commission will be appointed by the independent Chair of the Premier League Judicial Panel, in accordance with Premier League Rules W.19, W.20 and W.26.

"The proceedings before the commission will, in accordance with Premier League rule W.82, be confidential and heard in private.

"Under Premier League rule W.82.2, the commission’s final award will be published on the Premier League's website. The League will be making no further comment until that time."

Markquis Nowell said the back-and-forth clash between the Kansas State Wildcats and the Michigan State Spartans in Thursday's Sweet 16 round at the NCAA Tournament was "like a Rocky fight."

Nowell starred as the Wildcats won 98-93 in overtime, recording 19 assists to break the tournament record for a single game.

The five-foot-eight guard has 64 points, 42 assists and 11 steals in his three outings so far, with the last division one college basketball or NBA player to reach all of those numbers over any three-game span being Allen Iverson in 2005.

"It was like a 'Rocky' fight," Nowell said about the game, which saw 16 lead changes and neither team ever holding a double-figure lead.

Nowell's 19 assists were complimented by 20 of his own points, joining Chris Paul and James Harden as the only players from either division one college basketball or the NBA in the last 10 years to put up a game of at least 20 points, 15 assists and five steals.

And he attributed his success to his team-mates, with the Wildcats setting up an Elite 8 clash with the Florida Atlantic Owls on Saturday.

"We're at our best when we're sharing the ball, passing the ball around the perimeter and different guys is getting into double figures in the scoring category," Nowell said. "I wouldn't have 19 assists if they didn't make any shots."

He produced a stunning alley-oop pass to Keyontae Johnson late in the game, and Johnson heaped praise on Nowell, especially after sustaining an ankle injury during the second half that still did not slow him down.

"He's our starting point guard," he said. "His IQ, his feel for the game, he brings everybody confidence, and when he came back... everybody saw how he was trying to fight through his injury, and we just wanted to fight back for him."

Bayern Munich shocked the Bundesliga by making a dramatic change in the dugout, replacing Julian Nagelsmann with Thomas Tuchel.

The decision came with Borussia Dortmund posing a serious threat to Bayern's hopes of an 11th consecutive league title.

Tuchel arrives with Bayern sitting one point off the Bundesliga summit and through to the Champions League quarter-finals, with the former BVB and Chelsea boss facing several pressing tasks.

Fending off his former club's challenge for domestic glory and plotting a route past Pep Guardiola's Manchester City will be among the immediate concerns, but there are others requiring Tuchel's attention.

From the futures of club stalwarts Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller, to the need to suitably replace Robert Lewandowski, there will be plenty to keep Tuchel occupied until the end of the season and beyond.

Here, Stats Perform looks at five of the most pressing tasks facing Tuchel on his return to Germany.

Fix Bayern's sloppy backline

While Bayern boast the Bundesliga's best defensive record with 27 goals conceded this term, Tuchel – who was successful in making Chelsea tough to beat in his last managerial assignment – will be keen to examine a series of shortcomings at the back.

Having beaten Augsburg 5-3 in Nagelsmann's penultimate game at the helm, Bayern suffered a damaging 2-1 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen last time out, with Benjamin Pavard and Dayot Upamecano clumsily conceding a pair of second-half penalties.

With Nagelsmann known for employing a high defensive line and adopting an aggressive approach, Bayern have often appeared too open this campaign.

Of the Bundesliga-high 13 errors leading to shots made by Bayern players this season, three have resulted in goals, while last year's big-money recruit Matthijs de Ligt is yet to establish himself as a dominant defensive presence.

Tuchel's Chelsea kept five clean sheets in seven Champions League knockout games en route to being crowned European champions in 2021 – he will be confident of having a similar impact in his new job, given the defensive talent at his disposal.

Make crucial Neuer decision

The most controversial incident in Bayern's season before the change of coach came in January, when captain Neuer hit out at the club's decision to fire close friend and goalkeeping coach Toni Tapalovic.

Those comments were met with a furious reaction from the club's hierarchy, throwing Neuer's future in Munich into doubt.

A series of injuries – the latest a broken leg sustained during a skiing holiday – have limited Neuer to 16 appearances across all competitions this term, and with Yann Sommer's arrival giving Bayern two top-class goalkeepers to choose from, Tuchel has a decision to make.

While Neuer boasts a better save percentage (75.44 per cent) than Sommer (64.1) for Bayern this term, the 2014 World Cup winner will be 37 by the time he returns to fitness, and there may not be room for both shot-stoppers in Bayern's long-term plans.

Find Lewandowski's successor

No discussion of Bayern's inconsistent season would be complete without a mention of their failure to find an adequate replacement for goal machine Lewandowski.

Lewandowski left for Barcelona last year, having led the Bundesliga's scoring charts in six of his eight seasons with Bayern (2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21 and 2021–22).

The Poland international hit 35 goals in as many league appearances in his final season with the Bavarian giants. This term, Jamal Musiala is their top Bundesliga marksman with 11 goals, one ahead of Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting.

While having five separate players on double figures across all competitions this term is no bad thing (Choupo-Moting, Musiala, Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry and Sadio Mane), an established successor to Lewandowski is surely required.

Solve the Mane conundrum

On a related note, getting the best of last year's marquee arrival Mane will also be high on Tuchel's to-do list, with the Senegal attacker yet to hit the heights he reached at Liverpool.

Injuries and mixed form have meant Mane has started just 14 of Bayern's 25 league games, failing to net in any competition since a 6-2 win over Mainz in October.

Tuchel's previous success with a fluid forward line could bode well for Mane. In his only full Premier League campaign with Chelsea, the Blues were only outscored by Manchester City and Liverpool, with a plethora of players chipping in as the returning Romelu Lukaku fell out of favour.

Examine Muller's role

While the acquisition of a centre-forward will surely be at the forefront of Bayern's plans at the end of the season, the Bavarians' chances of short-term success could hinge on finding a regular role for Muller.

Muller, who became Bayern's all-time leading outfield appearance maker in the Bundesliga last month, has started just 14 league games this campaign, but his tally of 11 goal contributions (four goals, seven assists) in just 1,062 minutes demonstrates his lasting quality.

With Nagelsmann alternating between 4-2-3-1 and 3-5-2 shapes in recent weeks, Muller has featured in a number 10 role – where he previously thrived under Hansi Flick – and in a front two.

With high-stakes clashes against Dortmund and City on the horizon, Tuchel's first month at the helm could prove decisive, and finding a place for the experienced Muller could help the new boss make a flying start.