The United States' stuttering start to World Cup qualifying continued after they were held to a 1-1 draw by rivals Canada.

Brendan Aaronson's 56th-minute opener was cancelled out within six minutes by Canada forward Cyle Larin as the USA drew consecutive games on the road to Qatar 2022.

Chelsea star Christian Pulisic returned to the starting line-up on Sunday after missing the USA's Octagonal opener against El Salvador following a positive coronavirus test.

Weston McKennie, though, was axed from the squad following a "violation of team policy", while Giovanni Reyna sat out due to a hamstring injury.

Canada made a lively start on the road in Nashville, where Larin checked his run and got on the end of Alphonso Davies' pass, but Matthew Turner somehow pushed the shot onto the crossbar in the 14th minute.

USA went close to breaking the deadlock five minutes before the break when Pulisic's shot hit the post from close-range.

CONCACAF Gold Cup champions the USA, though, did open the scoring via Aaronson, who slid onto the end of Antonee Robinson's cross 11 minutes into the second half.

The lead was short-lived however as Davies showed off his incredible pace, driving towards the penalty area before teeing up Larin for a simple tap-in just past the hour-mark.

Despite the draw, the USA extended their unbeaten streak to 11 matches across all competitions.

The United States and Canada both have two points from their opening two fixtures.

Harry Kane made his first appearance for Tottenham this season on Sunday amid speculation about his future.

Kane has been linked with a big-money move to Manchester City, having reportedly told Spurs he wanted to leave late last season.

Spurs have postured that they are steadfast in wanting to keep their star forward, though it has been claimed they may be tempted if City up their bid to around £150million.

TOP STORY - CITY TO MAKE FRESH KANE BID THIS WEEK

The Telegraph claims that Manchester City will make another push to sign Harry Kane from Tottenham as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy remains stubborn.

City want to bring in Kane to bolster their attack but have reportedly been unsuccessful with a £100m bid previously.

The report claims City will make a further bid this week for the England captain ahead of the closure of the transfer window at the end of the month.

ROUND-UP

- Tottenham have reached out to Juventus to discuss a potential deal for United States international Weston McKennie, with Tanguy Ndombele expected to be involved in a player exchange according to Tuttosport.

- Corriere dello Sport claims that Napoli have contacted Barcelona's Miralem Pjanic about a move to Italy. Barca are reportedly hoping to offload several players to ease their financial situation, with midfielder Pjanic among them.

- Sport1 claims that RB Leipzig remain interested in signing Barcelona youngster Ilaix Moriba and may make a move if Marcel Sabitzer leaves the German club.

- Rennes will permit Eduardo Camavinga to leave for €35m as the closure of the transfer window approaches, reports Fabrizio Romano. Chelsea and Manchester United are among his admirers.

- Romano also reports that Chelsea will sell Davide Zappacosta to Atalanta, with personal terms already agreed.

- Burnley will rival Southampton in their interest for Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie, claims the Daily Record. Italian club Sampdoria are also keen on the Scotland international.

Dejan Kulusevski scored his first goal since January as Juventus took another step towards securing a Champions League spot with a 3-1 win over Genoa.

Kulusevski opened the scoring early on and Alvaro Morata doubled Juve's lead midway through the first half of Sunday's Serie A clash at Allianz Stadium.

Genoa posed much more of a threat after the break and Gianluca Scamacca's goal early in the second half gave them hope.

Weston McKennie gave Andrea Pirlo's side breathing space with a third goal as they moved a point behind third-placed Milan with eight games to play.

Juan Cuadrado was the architect for Juve's opening goal four minutes in, bamboozling Nicolo Rovella with great trickery before cutting the ball into the path of Kulusevski, who found the far corner of the net with a measured left-foot finish.

The champions were in the mood and doubled their last after 21 minutes, with a moment to forget for Ivan Radovanovic.

Federico Chiesa raced away from the defender after robbing him just inside the Juve half before forcing a fine save from Mattia Perin and although Cristiano Ronaldo struck the post from a tight angle, the onrushing Morata lashed the loose ball home with his left foot.

Perin palmed Adrien Rabiot's rasping drive away and Wojciech Szczesny prevented Scamacca from pulling a goal back on the stroke of half-time after the striker got away from Matthijs de Ligt and Giorgio Chiellini with a sharp turn.

Scamacca halved the deficit three minutes into the second half, though, heading home an outswinging corner from the Juve-owned Rovella with De Ligt on the floor claiming he was pushed.

The Bianconeri looked shaky at the back and Marko Pjaca forced a great save from Szczesny before the same player fired wastefully off target from inside the area.

McKennie eased the tension just a couple of minutes after coming on, calmly finishing after clearly thinking he had strayed offside.

Juventus trio Arthur, Paulo Dybala and Weston McKennie have been left out by head coach Andrea Pirlo as punishment for their breach of coronavirus protocols.

Italian newspaper La Stampa reported that police were called to McKennie's home late on Wednesday to break up a social gathering, with such events forbidden under current social restrictions.

Arthur and Dybala were among those to attend, despite a nationwide curfew put in place amid the global health pandemic.

Ahead of Saturday's derby with Torino, Pirlo confirmed the three players would not be involved – and did not make it clear exactly when they will be considered again for first-team action.

"The three players involved in the episode are not called up for tomorrow's match and we will see when they will resume," the Juve boss told the media on Friday. "Having said that, let's talk about the derby.

"I took the decision not to call them, the club did the rest. This certainly wasn't the right time to have a dinner until late, both because it was two days away from a match and out of respect for those who respect the rules."

For Dybala, it is the latest setback in a difficult season. The forward has featured in just 11 Serie A games in 2020-21 and has been sidelined since the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie with Porto through injury.

The Argentina international issued an apology via Instagram on Friday having attended the gathering with his colleagues, adding: "I know that in such a difficult moment for the world with COVID it would've been better not to make a mistake, but I was wrong to stay out to dinner."

Pirlo is also without defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Merih Demiral after both tested positive for coronavirus during the international break.

It is hardly ideal for the reigning league champions as they desperately look to stay in the title race; Juve suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to Benevento last time out and trail leaders Inter by 10 points.

"Tomorrow is very important, we will speak to each other before the match in order to face it in the best possible way. The approach doesn't change, you play to win, always," Pirlo said.

"After defeats you have to get up and react as best you can. We are ready to do that, we will show great pride, we have champions and a great group who want to react."

Pirlo will have Alex Sandro available after he returned to training without any issues, while Danilo offers an option for Juve in either defence or midfield.

Torino have won only one of their past 29 Serie A derbies between the sides, though they too are in need of points as they sit precariously placed in 17th, just above the relegation zone.

Juve are unbeaten in their past 33 league fixtures against teams starting the matchday in the bottom four (W29 D4), their last defeat against such opposition coming back in May 2016 against Verona.

Juventus have completed the permanent signing of Weston McKennie from Schalke for a further initial fee of €18.5million.

The United States international signed on a season-long loan for a fee of €4.5m last August.

The 22-year-old has impressed in his first few months with the Serie A champions, scoring five goals in 31 appearances in all competitions, including in the 3-0 Champions League win away to Barcelona.

His five goals in Serie A have already made him the leading American scorer in the history of Italy's top flight.

On Wednesday, Juve announced McKennie had signed a four-year contract. The €18.5m will be paid to Schalke over three years and could rise by a further €6.5m in variables.

"Weston McKennie's adventure with the Juventus shirt started very well and, as they say, the numbers don't lie," Juve said in announcing the deal.

"Wes has proven to be a very important resource for coach [Andrea] Pirlo, having already put his signature on important performances and goals. It's impossible not to think about his goal against Barcelona at Camp Nou, or the one in the Derby della Mole – his first in the black and white jersey.

"It's also important to note that he is also the youngest midfielder in this league with at least four goals, as well as the best American scorer in Serie A history. In six of the goals he has actively participated in (four goals and two assists), Juventus have always won.

"It's because of this, that as of today, he has become an outright Juventus player, with the club having made the move permanent from Schalke."

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a first-half double as Juventus ended a run of three games without a win by beating bottom side Crotone 3-0 to go third in Serie A.

Ronaldo had failed to find the back of the net in those three winless matches, but normal service was resumed as the prolific forward took his tally for the season to 25 goals at Allianz Stadium on Monday.

The Portugal captain headed home twice in the first half and should have had a hat-trick prior to the interval as Crotone were outclassed by the champions.

Weston McKennie added a third in the second half as Juve moved eight points behind leaders Inter with a game in hand, while Crotone look destined for relegation following a fifth consecutive defeat.

Crotone almost took a stunning early lead when Arkadiusz Reca volleyed wide at the far post after Danilo slipped while attempting to deal with Junior Messias' cross.

Ronaldo drilled a free-kick from just outside the penalty area into the wall and cut a frustrated figure once again when he failed hit the target from point-blank range after Alex Cordaz got a fingertip on Federico Chiesa's dangerous cross.

Matthijs de Ligt volleyed narrowly wide and Aaron Ramsey headed an inviting centre from the lively Chiesa against the crossbar before Ronaldo finally opened the scoring.

The former Real Madrid man headed home Alex Sandro's pinpoint cross 38 minutes in, then rose to powerfully nod in Ramsey's delivery in first-half stoppage time before somehow firing wide of an open goal moments later with Crotone all at sea defensively.

Ronaldo wanted a penalty when he felt Lisandro Magallan had upended him as he shot tamely wide of the near post before Gianluigi Buffon prevented Junior Messias from pulling a goal back.

Cordaz kept out Ronaldo’s drive with his feet, but he had no chance when McKennie rifled home a loose ball as Crotone failed to deal with a 66th-minute corner.

Ramsey should have added a fourth but the busy Cordaz saved with his feet again and Federico Bernardeschi fired just over the bar against his former club as Juve put sorry Crotone to the sword.

Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour on his days off is not Juventus's responsibility, according to Andrea Pirlo, after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner allegedly broke coronavirus travel restrictions.

Valle d'Aosta police are investigating whether Ronaldo failed to adhere to Italy's strict COVID-19 protocols by travelling to the area from Piedmont to go skiing with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, as part of her birthday celebrations this week.

Both Valle d'Aosta and Piedmont are listed as "orange zone" regions, with travel between such locations prohibited.

Ronaldo, who tested positive for coronavirus last October, may face a fine if found guilty.

"Cristiano Ronaldo had a day off and on your days off you are free to do what you want," head coach Pirlo told a news conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Sampdoria.

"When they are here they are under my control, but outside of here they are free citizens and can take their own actions."

Weston McKennie has become one of Juve's key performers this season since joining from Schalke, scoring four times across all competitions from midfield since the start of December.

Pirlo believes the 22-year-old United States international has plenty of room for further improvement.

"He is so young he can improve everywhere," he said.

"We were the fastest to sign him in Germany and we are so happy to have him with us.

"He is humble and very keen to improve, especially from a technical point of view. I mean, he is a bit rough in ball control, in his body movements, but he can improve quickly.

"He is a healthy kid, he knows he is not done, he is just at the beginning and being aware of this is already a good starting point."

Pirlo has a clean bill of health, with the exception of forward Paulo Dybala, who is still nursing a knee injury.

Federico Chiesa completed the scoring in the 4-0 Coppa Italia win over SPAL and will start after shaking off an ankle problem.

Alvaro Morata put Juve in front from the penalty spot in midweek - his 13th goal of the campaign - and is ready to go again having been compromised by groin pain of late.

"He played last time and we managed to save him some minutes, so tomorrow he will be at the top of his game," Pirlo added.

"We know him well, he dwells so much on enthusiasm and that is what we need to give him back.

"But he has done well, he knows he is very important for Juventus, so I am more than convinced he will go on at his best."