Breaking sports news on the morning of September 14: South American women's volleyball team secures Olympic spot

Breaking sports news on the morning of September 14: Brazil women's volleyball team crowned champion at the 2026 South American Championship; Yamal asserts he deserves the 2026 Ballon d'Or...

Brazil women's volleyball team earns Olympic berth for 2028

By defeating the Argentina women's volleyball team in their final match of the 2026 South American Championship, the Brazilian women's volleyball team finished the tournament with a perfect record of five wins, all by 3-0 scores, thus successfully defending their title and securing a direct spot for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

This marks the 16th consecutive South American title and the 24th in history for the Brazilian women's volleyball team. Team captain Gabriela "Gabi" Guimarães returned after missing the VNL and scored 13 points in the victory over Argentina.

Julia Bergmann contributed 12 points, while Tainara Santos added 11. Argentina's Bianca Cugno led all scorers in the match with 16 points and was also the tournament's top scorer with 113 points.

The women's volleyball teams of Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia qualified for the 2027 Women's World Cup. Thus, 6 of the 12 Olympic berths for 2028 have been determined: the United States (host), Canada, Thailand, Egypt, Turkey, and Brazil. These are the champions of the North, Central America and Caribbean; Asia; Africa; Europe; and South America regions, respectively.

Yamal claims he is worthy of the 2026 Ballon d'Or

Lamine Yamal believes he deserves the 2026 Ballon d'Or more than Kylian Mbappé. The Barcelona star insists that he and Mbappé are the two best players in the world, and that anyone who regularly watches matches can see that. Yamal also highlighted his achievements: winning the World Cup with Spain and the La Liga title with Barcelona.

When asked whom he would award the Ballon d'Or to, Yamal said: "Honestly, I think there are maybe only two players who are the best in the world, but I deserve to win this award this year."

He added: "For me, Kylian Mbappé and I are the two best players, and anyone who watches the matches knows that."

Meanwhile, Mbappé considers the Ballon d'Or an individual prize, although team performance remains very important in football. The French forward believes his performances over the past year are distinctive enough to compete for the title.

Ronaldo speaks out to defend Ruben Neves

Cristiano Ronaldo has called on the Saudi Pro League to permanently ban any fans found to be involved in mocking Rúben Neves by chanting Diogo Jota's name during the match between Al Taawoun and Al Hilal on September 12. Jota died along with his brother in a traffic accident in Spain in July 2025.

During the match, Neves reportedly reacted by clapping sarcastically, giving a thumbs up and pointing to the sky after hearing fans chant "Jota, Jota, Jota." After the match, he said he hoped those people "don't go to pray" after what they did. Ronaldo stated such behavior goes beyond the limits of football and demanded strict punishment from the league. Neves and Jota were former teammates at Portugal's youth teams, Porto, and Wolverhampton. Neves was also one of Jota's pallbearers.

"The league must act and punish this kind of fan behavior. This is no longer football, and there must be limits. People who behave like this should never be allowed inside a stadium again," Ronaldo wrote in a comment on an Instagram post featuring a video of the incident.

Harry Kane scores to help Bayern Munich win

Bayern Munich secured a 2-1 victory over Elversberg in the Bundesliga, returning to winning ways after a 0-0 draw with Schalke. Lennart Karl opened the scoring for Bayern in the 26th minute. Elversberg then had a goal from Cole Campbell disallowed by VAR for offside.

In the second half, Maurice Krattenmacher scored a spectacular goal from outside the box in the 61st minute to level the match. Then in the 72nd minute, Harry Kane received a pass from Aleksandar Pavlovic and finished decisively to seal the 2-1 win for Bayern. This was Kane's first Bundesliga goal of the season. The victory moved Bayern up to fourth place, while Elversberg dropped to sixth. Kane was noted to have reached 99 Bundesliga goals in 97 matches.

Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 3-0

Atletico Madrid earned a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad in Round 5 of La Liga, ending a streak of two consecutive losses to Athletic Bilbao and Liverpool. The first half was fairly balanced, with Real Sociedad having a slight edge but failing to convert chances. The second half remained tight and seemed destined for a draw, but Atletico exploded in the final minutes.

Alejandro Grimaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 84th minute, Jonathan David doubled the lead in the 90th minute, and Giuliano Simeone sealed the 3-0 victory in the 90+5th minute. This result gave Atletico Madrid 10 points, moving them to fourth place, two points behind Real Madrid and five behind Barcelona. Real Sociedad sits in 12th with 7 points.

PSG win 1-0 thanks to Ferran Torres

PSG secured their first Ligue 1 win of the season by defeating Brest 1-0 away. Ferran Torres scored in the 5th minute after a pass from Ousmane Dembele. The Spanish newcomer now has 6 goals in 5 matches across all competitions for PSG. The win lifted Luis Enrique's side to eighth place, while Achraf Hakimi left the field before halftime due to injury. Brest nearly equalized but Kamory Doumbia hit the post, and goalkeeper Matvey Safonov made several saves late in the match.

In another match, Ethan Mbappe scored in stoppage time to help Lille beat Troyes 2-0 and move to the top of Ligue 1. This was his first goal since December. Lille has 10 points after 4 matches under coach Davide Ancelotti. Lens sits in 10th place with 4 points after a 2-2 draw with Le Mans.