A ground-breaking first Rugby World Cup in the Americas is now unlikely to take place until 2031, with Australia emerging as a prime contender to host in 2027.

France will stage the tournament in four years' time.

A southern hemisphere country is then expected to host, with a breakthrough event in the USA now lined up for the following tournament.

The formal bidding process for 2027 and 2031 starts next November.

'Australia an important rugby nation'

Australia have already announced their bid to stage the event in eight years' time, with administrators down under seeing it as an opportunity to revive a flagging rugby nation, especially given their strong track record of hosting major tournaments.

And despite their recent difficulties on and off the field, Australia remains a crucial part of the global landscape, says Bill Sweeney, chief executive of England's Rugby Football Union.

"You would think 2027 would need to go somewhere southern hemisphere," Sweeney told the BBC.

"Australia is a really important rugby nation, who have had some financial challenges.

"Anything that World Rugby can do to support the game in Australia would be supported by all of us, I think."

A southern hemisphere World Cup also brings South Africa strongly into the equation after they narrowly missed out to France to host in 2023.

The South African Rugby Union - buoyed by the Springboks' status as world champions - is considering another bid, but has yet to confirm.

USA in 2031?

Meanwhile World Rugby is desperate for the sport to catch fire in the USA, and a bid for the 2031 showpiece would allow more time for rugby union to develop in the States, with Sweeney adding that there was "a massive opportunity for the game to kick off" there.

Hosting in 2031 rather than 2027 would also avoid the rugby showpiece being sandwiched between the Football World Cup in 2026 - which is hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico - and the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

The governing body is also open to a joint bid from the USA and Canada, while a South American Rugby World Cup - revolving around Argentina and Uruguay - is another intriguing option.

With the bidding process starting in November 2020, the host nations for 2027 and 2031 World Cups will be announced together at some point in 2021.

MANCHESTER -- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Manchester United fans saw the "template" for how he wants his team to play following the win over Partizan Belgrade.

United booked their place in the knockout rounds of the Europa League with a 3-0 win at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.

"This is a little bit of a template on how we want to play," Solskjaer told a news conference.

"Too many times we're 1-0 up and haven't got the second but these boys are learning and it will give them loads of pointers of how we play."

Early qualification from Group L means Solskjaer can afford to rest players for the 7,000-mile round trip to Kazakhstan to face Astana on Nov. 28 ahead of crucial Premier League games against Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City.

"We wanted to get through as quickly as we could and that long trip is not one you want to travel to and have to win," said Solskjaer.

"It might be a possible to rest a few and be ready for a tough week after that game. We've got Villa, Spurs and City that week."

First, Solskjaer will turn his attention to Brighton's visit to Old Trafford on Sunday but he is already sweating on the fitness of midfielder Scott McTominay, who was forced off against Partizan because of an ankle injury.

"It didn't look too good," said Solskjaer.

"He said he would be be fine but he had to come off. I hope he'll recover by Sunday."

William Porterfield has stepped down as Ireland's captain after 11 years in the role. Andrew Balbirnie, the middle-order batsman, will replace him as Test and 50-over captain, while Gary Wilson will continue in the T20 job.

Porterfield led Ireland in 253 games after taking over from Trent Johnston in 2008, captaining in two 50-over World Cups and five World T20s as well as their first-ever Test match, against Pakistan at Malahide in May 2018.

"It has been an incredible journey, and a fantastic honour to have captained my country over the past 11 and a half years," Porterfield said. "There have been many highs, along with a few lows along the way, but I can honestly say that it has been thoroughly enjoyable. To have been able to lead Ireland out at various World Cups, through to our first Test against Pakistan, and again at Lord's in the summer, have been but a few of these highlights. I feel incredibly lucky and privileged to have done so."

"I feel, and in consultation with Cricket Ireland, that now is the right time to hand over that mantle. With the ODI league starting in the summer it will allow Balbo [Balbirnie] time to get into the swing of things. I feel that the selectors have made a great choice in appointing Balbo and that it has come at a great time for him personally being on top of his game, and with more to come. Having spoken to him, I know how honoured and excited he is to get going. I'm looking forward to helping and supporting Balbo in any way I can, and seeing him lead Ireland forward."

More to follow...

Bayern Munich discussed the potential of ex-Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger taking over at the German club but have decided to pursue other options.

Wenger had reached out to Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Wednesday to discuss the position.

The club confirmed the discussion to German outlet Bild, saying: "Arsene Wenger called Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Wednesday afternoon and signalled his fundamental interest in the position at Bayern. FC Bayern highly value Arsene Wenger's work at Arsenal, but he is not an option to become head coach at FC Bayern."

Sources told ESPN FC that a sticking point was that Wenger would not accept a short-term contract until the end of the season, which Bayern was looking for.

Bayern dismissed Niko Kovac on Sunday after a string of bad results and uneasy mix of stagnation on the pitch and conflicts off it. Kovac took over at Bayern in 2018 after a spell in charge of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hansi Flick, a former assistant of Joachim Low with the Germany national team, was appointed on a caretaker basis. He led the team to a 2-0 win over Olympiakos in Champions League group stage action on Wednesday.

Among other names linked to the job have been Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel, Ajax boss Erik ten Hag, and ex-RB Leipzig manager Ralf Rangnick. All three have stated that they would not take the Bayern position.

According to sources, another potential option is Xabi Alonso, who manages at Real Sociedad B. The ex-Spain international played at Bayern for three seasons after a stints at Liverpool and Real Madrid.

When asked about other candidates on Tuesday, Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic said: "I won't talk about any names."

Wenger told BeIN Sports on Wednesday that: "I'd never refuse to talk to Bayern Munich, because I know the people who have led the club for 30 years and I was nearly going to Bayern a long, long time ago. That's all I can say."

Wenger, 70, has been out of work since ending his 22-year reign at Arsenal in 2018.

Former Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has also been linked but ESPN FC reported last month that he would take a sabbatical from management this season.

ESPN FC's Julien Laurens and Stephan Uersfeld contributed to this story.

Everything you need to know about this weekend's Premier League action, all in one place.

Jump to: Is the title race over if Man City don't win? | Is time running out for Emery? | False hope for Tottenham? | Fantasy tips | Stats of the weekend | Man to watch | Game you should watch | Team that needs luck | One thing that will definitely happen | Predictions

The weekend's big questions

Is the title race over if Man City don't win?

Hyperbole? Perhaps, but a Liverpool victory will mean they are nine points clear with less than a third of the season gone, the sort of intimidating lead that it's difficult to see anyone overhauling, even Pep Guardiola's Manchester City.

For us neutrals who want a title race with peril, closeness, uncertainty and tension, are we in the unusual position of hoping City can pull off a victory? If they do, they will be within three points of the top, and if Leicester and Chelsea can beat Crystal Palace and Arsenal, respectively, then the top four will be separated by just five points. Now that would be spicy.

It promises to be a special game anyway -- and not just because it's the two best teams in the country facing each other. City need to win, so they can't be cautious even if they knew how to be, while Jurgen Klopp's previous successes against Guardiola have been based on aggressive, attacking play, and you suspect he will let slip his dogs of war to attack City from the start. Cancel all your plans.

Will Unai Emery do enough to keep his job?

Most Arsenal fans have reached the point where they can't see the back of Unai Emery quickly enough. But the club are playing it more cautiously, reluctant to sack a manager who has lost only two league games this season and has his team in fifth place.

How long will that remain a viable stance? In each of their past four games, Arsenal have taken the lead but failed to win. That's just one of the ways in which they are such a dispiriting side to watch, a team that is boring but also no good in defence, that have little character, spirit or style.

If a team isn't entertaining, then they need results. To this point results have been just good enough, but that's changing. If they get a thrashing from Leicester this weekend, as is entirely possible, then Arsenal might be forced to act.

Will this win over Red Star be another false dawn for Tottenham?

A few weeks ago, Tottenham ran in five goals against Red Star Belgrade, and though the opposition was moderate, it sparked a little hope that they would take that form into the Premier League. That didn't quite work out: They lost to and were dominated by Liverpool before playing truly one of the worst games of Premier League football in years in the 1-1 draw with Everton. All the momentum that the first Red Star win promised was gone.

Now they've given the same team another hiding, with more terrific individual performances and once again a hint that Mauricio Pochettino has found a system that suits his players well. Will this be the start of something more tangible or another false dawn for Spurs? They face Sheffield United this weekend, and if they pass that stiff test, we might be able to believe that the spark is returning to Tottenham.

Fantasy tips

Kieran Darcy has some tips for the weekend action. Read his full preview here, and set your team lineup!

Must-have player: Tammy Abraham, Tier 1 forward

Abraham has nine goals, one behind that of league leader Jamie Vardy, but he is also second in the league in xG (expected goals), while Vardy is 17th.

Worth considering: James Maddison, Tier 1 midfielder

Maddison is tied for second in shots among all midfielders, and he had eight chances created against Crystal Palace last week.

Avoid at all costs: Alisson, Goalkeeper

As good as Liverpool have been this season, they haven't kept a single clean sheet in eight home games across all competitions, and now they're hosting Manchester City.

Stats of the weekend

Information provided by ESPN Stats & Information

-- Chelsea seek their sixth consecutive Premier League win for the first time since May of their title-winning 2016-17 season. Their opponents, Crystal Palace (11 road wins), trail only Liverpool, Manchester City (18 each) and Chelsea (14) for most road league wins since the start of the previous season.

-- Tottenham enter the weekend 11th in Premier League with 13 points, their fewest points through 11 games since 2008-09. They host Sheffield United, who are winless in their past 17 league matches in London (0-11-6 W-L-D) since beating Chelsea in October 1992.

-- West Ham's Robert Snodgrass, facing Burnley, can become the first Scottish player to score in three consecutive Premier League appearances since Steven Naismith for Everton in August 2014.

Man to watch

Bravo ... should Ederson be out for City

It's not ideal for any team to lose their first-choice goalkeeper, but for Manchester City, it's a bigger deal than most, particularly for a game against the side six points clear of them at the top of the table. The word from City was that Ederson was substituted in their Champions League game against Atalanta as a precaution, and they'd better hope he'll be fit for the visit to Anfield on Sunday.

City's defensive issues this season have been extensive, but playing a midfielder or two as a centre-back wasn't quite so much of an issue with the security of Ederson behind them.

With Claudio Bravo in goal, though, that security disappears pretty quickly, firstly because he simply isn't very good at the basics of keeping, and secondly because he's liable to do something entirely ludicrous, as he did to get sent off against Atalanta. Guardiola isn't a religious man, but he might be asking a deity of some sort for a favour before Sunday.

The game you're not watching ... but should

Southampton vs. Everton

On any other weekend, this would be the most intriguing game around. In the red corner, we have Southampton, who are buoyed a little by a pair of creditable performances against Manchester City as they try to wash away the shame of that 9-0 but who need to turn those showings into something tangible.

In the blue corner, we have Everton -- or perhaps more specifically, Everton manager Marco Silva, who absolutely, positively needs at least four points from this game and the next versus Norwich, given that the following five see them face Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal. If he gets nothing, the sack could be near.

The team that needs a bit of luck

Watford in their relegation fight

A generous interpretation of the work Quique Sanchez Flores has done since returning to Watford is that performances have become more solid and the defence more secure.

But in truth, they haven't really looked much more like winning a game than they did when Javi Gracia was in charge, with displays of little inspiration and only two goals scored in the past six games.

Perhaps luck isn't what they need to sustain something over the coming season, but a bit of fortune might help them beat Norwich on Friday in what is already a colossal relegation six-pointer.

One thing that will definitely happen

Vardy will score against Arsenal

The Leicester talisman will score pretty much no matter whom he plays against these days, but he has a particular liking for Arsenal.

He has eight in his past eight against the Gunners, and if he doesn't find the net, then nobody tends to: The last time another Leicester player scored against Arsenal in a game and Vardy didn't was in 2015.

You can let Vardy off for that one: He didn't play. Given that Vardy has seven in his past five and he'll be facing a fragile Arsenal defence ... there can hardly be a surer thing in football this weekend.

Predictions

Norwich 2-1 Watford
Chelsea 3-1 Crystal Palace
Burnley 1-0 West Ham
Southampton 0-0 Everton
Tottenham 1-1 Sheffield United
Newcastle United 1-2 Bournemouth
Leicester 4-1 Arsenal
Manchester United 1-2 Brighton
Wolves 2-2 Aston Villa
Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City

Nine centuries including a Test double, eight half-centuries, 201 fours and 66 sixes. Rohit Sharma is bossing international cricket in 2019, right on top of the run-scorers' list for the year at the moment after his 43-ball 85 against Bangladesh in the second T20I, which levelled the series 1-1 with one match to go.

India's stand-in captain was feeling so confident on Thursday evening that thoughts of hitting offspinner Mosaddek Hossain for six sixes in an over did cross his mind, when he was batting on 58 off 30 balls, but he could not go beyond three.

"That's what I tried, I wanted to go for six in a row but when I missed the fourth one I decided to go for singles," Sharma told Yuzvendra Chahal on bcci.tv after the game. "I knew that an offspinner was bowling, and the wet ball was not going to turn, so my plan was to stand still and hit the ball without stepping out."

Facing Hossain, who was bowling from around the wicket, Sharma dispatched the first ball over deep midwicket, the second over deep backward square-leg and the third over wide long-on, all off flat deliveries. But he couldn't quite connect with the fourth, a fuller delivery, and only got an edge, breaking the sequence. After 21 runs off the over, India got to their target of 154 with eight wickets in hand and 26 balls remaining.

"You don't need just big muscles or power to hit sixes," Rohit explained to Chahal. "You need timing and you need to hit it from the middle, your head should be still, your body needs to be in the right position. When you take care of these things on a good wicket, you will be able to hit sixes."

It's already November, and Sharma now wants to finish his outstanding year on a high note.

"It's been a very good so far, just want to finish it off on a great note," he told Star Sports at the post-match presentation. "We've got a few games coming up, one against Bangladesh and then there's a whole West Indies series coming up as well. So yes, I'm quite looking forward to that, not to forget the two Test matches [against Bangladesh]."

Sharma admitted that having started the second T20I behind in the series, India were under pressure to stay alive and they needed one batsman to play a long innings to chase down the total.

"I always knew that Rajkot is a good track [for batting], it was good to win the toss, to have the score in front, and later on with the dew coming in, we knew it will be slightly difficult for bowlers in the end. We took advantage of that, had a great powerplay," he said. "After that, it was just about carrying on and putting the pressure on the bowler.

"It was important to start like this for the team - one batsman had to play a long innings. We've seen so many times that if a batsman goes on, his team usually wins. A bit disappointed because I got out at the wrong time, nevertheless I'm happy with my performance and the team's performance as well because we were under pressure after losing the first game. It was important to win this game or we would have lost the series."

The win was set up by the bowlers, especially spinners Chahal and Washington Sundar, who returned a combined 8-0-53-3 to tie Bangladesh down to only 153 in batting-friendly conditions in Rajkot.

"Both Washington and Chahal are pretty smart and understand their bowling really well," Sharma said. "They've been playing a lot of domestic cricket and IPL as well. More importantly, they analyse, and they always have conversations with the bowling coach and the captain as to where they can improve.

"Chahal, we have seen over the years, has bowled in difficult conditions and situations and somehow he has managed to get the team on top. And that has given him a lot of confidence moving forward. And same with Washy as well. Washington has been our new-ball bowler all this while, but today I wanted to change it a little bit and bowl him one over in the powerplay and have three overs at the back considering how big the ground was."

Australia chose to bowl v Pakistan

Australia captain Aaron Finch asked Pakistan to bat on what looked like a lively surface at Perth Stadium. Finch said he wanted his bowlers to use the moisture he saw in the pitch.

The hosts included Sean Abbott for his first international in five years, and also recalled Billy Stanlake at the expense of Adam Zampa in expectation of a bouncy pitch. Pat Cummins also lost out.

Pakistan selected two debutants among the four changes they made, with middle-order batsman Khushdil Shah and 19-year-old quick Muhammad Musa coming into the team, alongside Mohammad Hasnain and Imam-ul-Haq. They left out the experienced players Fakhar Zaman, Asif Ali, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Irfan.

A victory for Australia will cut Pakistan's lead at the top of the ICC T20I rankings table to a single point. Australia currently lead the three-match series 1-0 after the rain-affected first T20I.

Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Aaron Finch (capt), 3 Steven Smith, 4 Ben McDermott, 5 Ashton Turner, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Ashton Agar, 8 Sean Abbott, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Kane Richardson, 11 Billy Stanlake

Pakistan: 1 Imam-ul-Haq, 2 Babar Azam (capt), 3 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 4 Haris Sohail, 5 Iftikhar Ahmed, 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Imad Wasim, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Mohammad Hasnain, 11 Muhammad Musa

LOS ANGELES -- After scoring 18 points in the fourth quarter for the second time this season, Kawhi Leonard said he will continue to follow his load management in order to maintain his health.

One night after he was held out of a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks due to load management of a knee issue, Leonard overcame a slow start and helped the LA Clippers erase an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit, totaling 27 points and 13 rebounds in a 107-101 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.

After the win, Leonard found himself answering questions about load management and his knee. The NBA had fined the Clippers $50,000 before the game for statements made by the team and Doc Rivers that "were inconsistent" with Leonard's health. In that statement, the NBA also detailed Leonard's injury by explaining that the team was compliant in load management by "reasonably" determining that "Leonard is suffering from an ongoing injury to the patella tendon in his left knee and has been placed by the team at this time on an injury protocol for back-to-back games."

"I mean it was shocking, but it doesn't matter to me," Leonard said when asked what he thought about the NBA revealing his knee injury as a patella tendon in his left knee. "I'm not a guy that reads the media anyway. We're going to manage it the best way we can to keep me healthy and that's the most important thing, me being healthy moving forward."

After the NBA said the Clippers were compliant with league rules in holding Leonard out for Wednesday's nationally televised game against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks, Rivers said before that game that Leonard "feels great," that there is no reason to be concerned and that the team must make sure Leonard stays feeling great.

This is the second time that the Clippers have been fined this year for comments involving Leonard. In May, Rivers told ESPN that Leonard "is the most like Jordan that we've seen" when likening the All-Star physically to Jordan. Leonard at the time was with the Toronto Raptors before becoming a free agent, and the NBA fined the Clippers $50,000 for tampering.

"For me, I'm on his side, you know what I mean?" Leonard said when asked about the NBA fining the Clippers twice over Rivers' remarks about Leonard. "I'm a Clipper, he's my coach. That's just disappointing. It feels like they want players to play if they're not ready.

"It is what it is. Like I said, I don't read into it. I got to do what makes me healthy and is going to help the team be successful and that's me being able to play basketball games for us."

Twice this season, Leonard has sat out the first game of a back-to-back set, the previous coming in a Clippers loss at Utah in what was also a nationally-televised game on Oct. 30. The decision, though, clearly looked like it paid off on Thursday night.

Even though Leonard missed 10 of 13 shots and had only nine points after the first three quarters, he continued to shine in the fourth quarter. Leonard leads the league in fourth-quarter scoring early in the season, averaging 13.5 points per game in the quarter.

Not only did he score 15 points or more fourth-quarter points for the third straight game, he also outdueled Portland's formidable backcourt tandem of Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum in this nationally televised game. The Clippers held the duo scoreless and to a combined 0-for-8 shooting in the fourth.

Meanwhile, Leonard made 6 of 10 shots and all six of his free throw attempts while grabbing six of his rebounds in the quarter.

"Well, he looked well-rested," Portland head coach Terry Stotts said of Leonard, who also scored 18 points in the fourth-quarter of a win over Utah on Nov. 3. "He was able to take it to another gear in the fourth quarter."

Before training camp, Leonard, 28, said he felt much better than he did at the same time a year earlier and that his load management would be different than how Toronto handled it when he played in a total of 60 games during the regular season. Leonard then played in 24 postseason games, averaging 30.5 points and 9.1 rebounds to lead Toronto to its first championship while earning Finals MVP honors as well.

Rivers echoed how good Leonard has felt before Wednesday's game but wouldn't go into any further detail on Thursday after the fine. The Clippers coach has had to straddle the line between Leonard's desire for privacy regarding his health and the league's stance on transparency about injuries and "load management." Asked if there is a middle ground between those two competing mandates, the veteran coach said, "I'm scared to answer. That's my answer. I just won't answer."

Leonard said he will continue to follow the lead of team doctors and his training staff when it comes to load management and sitting out a game during back-to-back sets.

"It just helps from just me pushing on something that's not ready," Leonard said of the long-term benefits of not playing in two front ends of back-to-back sets so far. "Like I said, we are going to keep managing it moving forward. I'm not a doctor and that's for what the doctors and my training staff is for, letting me know and just telling how I feel and just got to keep moving it forward."

CONCORD, N.C. – In the battle for the Super DIRTcar Series championship, Mat Williamson fired the first shot during Thursday’s Can-Am World Finals preliminaries at The Dirt Track at Charlotte.

Williamson, who trails point leader Matt Sheppard by six entering the two-race weekend, set the fastest time of the day during qualifying for Saturday’s program at 15.712 seconds (88.671 mph) before going on to win his Saturday heat race, placing him into the top-10 redraw for the final feature of the year.

It was Williamson’s first time topping qualifying all season long and couldn’t have come at a better time as he chases his first series championship.

“Man, I’m just excited to be able to do what we do here,” Williamson said. “To be in the position that we’re in is cool and I hope that we can take advantage of it through the rest of the weekend. Obviously to be in the redraw for Saturday is a good start to what we need to do to catch (Matt) Sheppard, and hopefully when we get to run Friday’s heats we can do the same thing there and take a shot at it.

“It may work out; it may not, but we’re going to give it all we’ve got and have fun trying.”

Saturday’s group qualifying session was followed by four eight-lap heat races, each of which was won from the pole and all of which ran caution-free, save for a crash on the initial start of the first heat where Phil Vigneri climbed the outside wall and nearly flipped in the first turn.

In heat one, Mike Maresca led all the way and beat Chris Hile, Anthony Perrego, Brian Swartzlander and Billy Dunn to the checkered flag, as the top five from each heat locked into the main event.

Heat two saw Williamson hold off a hard-charging Max McLaughlin for the victory, with Billy Pauch Jr., Mike Mahaney and Gary Tomkins also transferring on.

The third heat went to Demetrios Drellos, over Erick Rudolph, Brett Hearn, Tyler Siri and Ryan Godown, with heat four being won by Billy Decker over Matt Sheppard, Tim Fuller, Jimmy Phelps and Danny Johnson.

During the group qualifying round for Friday’s racing program, Billy Decker went out in group two and turned in a lap of 15.739 seconds (88.519 mph), good enough for his sixth fast time of the season.

Rain drenched the speedway before Friday’s heat races could be completed, leading series officials to cancel the Last Chance Showdowns for the opening-night program and replace them with the still-to-be run heat races – which will kick off Friday’s on-track activities.

To view complete results, advance to the next page.