The 20th Asian Games will open in Japan later Saturday with a glittering ceremony following a stuttering build-up to a multi-sport spectacular that has more participants than the Olympics.

In cricket, selection is meant to follow clear logic: form, fitness, team balance, and future planning. But when a player vanishes from consideration while none of those criteria fit, darker questions emerge.

Brentford exposed Chelsea's defensive problems to inflict a damaging 3-0 defeat on Friday that gives Xabi Alonso plenty to ponder over a three-week international break.

Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich's 7-0 demolition of Union Berlin on Friday , becoming the fastest player to reach 100 Bundesliga goals.

Italy coach Roberto Mancini on Friday called up 34 players, nine for the first time, for the opening four games of his second stint in charge of the Azzurri.

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal said he has experienced racism "a thousand times", with many people unaware that their comments or behaviour are racist.

Zinedine Zidane confirmed on Friday that Kylian Mbappe would be his France captain after naming his first squad since being appointed as the successor to Didier Deschamps as coach of Les Bleus.

Bangladesh women's cricket team will play a friendly match against China on Saturday.

"It was nice to spend some time in the middle and spend some time out there with Mitch (Marsh)," said player-of-the-match award winner Head.

Kane also opened up about his relationship with Messi and recalled the emotion surrounding their meeting after a major World Cup disappointment.

The BCB had announced the idea of the tournament earlier this year, with board president Tamim Iqbal saying it was aimed at creating more opportunities for players outside the national and top-tier domestic setup.

Led by opener Shafali Verma's unbeaten 40 off 15 balls, India romped to an eight-wicket victory by reaching 59-2 off just five overs. Defending Asian Games champions India will play Bangladesh in Sunday's semi-finals and Pakistan face Sri Lanka.

Mbappé's move to On ends a relationship between the French national team captain and Nike that dates back to 2006, and comes at the heels of Nike's loss of recent World Cup winner Spain's Lamine Yamal to Adidas ADSGn.DE.

Lined up before the match, the South Korean players looked around in confusion as the anthem rang out at Green Stadium in Gifu, Japan.

In August, Ronaldo fuelled speculation about his retirement plans after saying the coming year would probably be the last of his playing career.

While the opening ceremony, which is the official start of the Games, will take place on September 19, events like basketball, football, volleyball, cricket and modern pentathlon have already been happening since September 10.

The event on Tuesday included a person dressed as Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who led Japan's invasions of Korea in 1592-1598, and the ceremony prompted a backlash in South Korea.

The inclusion of Farhaan Ali Wahid has generated particular interest, with Dooley hopeful that the England-based forward can provide Bangladesh with a cutting edge in front of goal.

He smashed a 30-ball century against Afghanistan in Delhi, setting a new record for the fastest T20I hundred by a batter from a Full Member nation.

Bangladesh will play their second match against Japan on September 22.