Brazil has dismissed head coach Dorival Júnior following Tuesday's deflating loss to rivals Argentina, Brazil's football confederation (CBF) announced Friday.

Argentina won 4-1 in Buenos Aires, despite the absence of its talismanic captain Lionel Messi, to inflict Brazil's heaviest ever loss in World Cup qualifying.

"The Brazilian Football Confederation announces that coach Dorival Júnior will no longer be in charge of the Brazilian National Team," the CBF said in a statement. "The board thanks the professional and wishes him success in his continued career. From now on, the CBF will work to find a replacement."

Dorival, who took full responsibility for his team's poor showing, remained confident that he could turn things around.

However, following Friday's meeting between CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues and Dorival, a decision was taken to part ways.

Dorival, 62, leaves the national team with a record of 7 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats from his 16 games in charge, with Brazil not yet guaranteed a place in next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Throughout his spell, Dorival has not been able to count on the services of Brazil's all-time leading scorer Neymar because of the player's injury issues.

The former São Paulo manager had been appointed to bring stability after a turbulent period since Brazil's 2022 World Cup quarterfinal exit due to a penalty shootout loss to Croatia, which led to the sacking of former coach Tite.

Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with São Paulo. However, he was not the CBF's first choice, with Rodrigues having initially set his sights on Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

Despite promising signs with a 1-0 friendly win over England and a 3-3 draw in Spain in Dorival's first games in charge, Brazil never took off.

The coach came under fire last July after Brazil's Copa América quarterfinal exit at the hands of Uruguay, Brazil failed to impress and won just one of their group games before losing 4-2 in a penalty shootout against 10-man Uruguay after a goalless draw.

That tournament was won by 2022 World Cup winner Argentina.

But it was Tuesday's embarrassing loss, Brazil's fifth defeat in qualifying and its first since a 1-0 setback at Paraguay in September, that sealed Dorival's fate.

Despite boasting an attack that includes Real Madrid duo Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo, Barcelona's Raphinha and Wolverhampton Wanderers' Matheus Cunha, Brazil had just one shot on target.

The CBF has not yet named a replacement for Dorival.

Sources have told ESPN Brasil that Al Hilal's Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus is the leading candidate to replace Dorival. Jesus previously enjoyed a successful spell in charge of Rio de Janeiro giants Flamengo, leading the team to the Copa Libertadores title in 2019.

Ancelotti, who has once again been linked with the role following the defeat to Argentina, again pledged his loyalty to Real Madrid on Friday.

"My contract [until June 2026] speaks for itself," Ancelotti said at a news conference. "I don't have anything to add. I have a lot of affection for the Brazil team, its players and fans. But I have a contract at Real Madrid."

Brazil is in the midst of its worst World Cup qualifying campaign. The team is fourth in the South American standings with 21 points, a point above sixth-place Colombia, which currently occupies the final direct qualifying berth.

Never has Brazil lost so many games, conceded so many goals or set so many negative records in the qualifying competition. It has lost five of its 14 games and conceded 16 goals.

Brazil is back in action in June when it visits Ecuador and hosts Paraguay in its next World Cup qualifiers.

Information from Reuters was used in this report.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Oluchi Okananwa recorded her third double-double of the season to lead ACC tournament champion Duke past North Carolina 47-38 Friday and into the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA tournament.

The Blue Devils will make their 12th Elite Eight appearance in program history and will play either No. 1 seed and defending champion South Carolina or fourth-seeded Maryland, who were scheduled to play later Friday in Birmingham.

Okananwa scored 10 of her 12 points in the first half along with 10 rebounds off the bench for Duke, which got 26 points from its bench compared to North Carolina's six. Ashlon Jackson finished with 10 points, and Toby Fournier, Duke's leading scorer this season who missed the second round with an illness, was held to three points.

Fifth-year senior Alyssa Ustby had nine points on 3-of-10 shooting for the Tar Heels, who fell short in their attempt to advance to their first Elite Eight since 2014.

Neither team shot the ball well. Duke shot 31% after missing its first nine field goals. North Carolina went 28% from the field.

Part of it could have been because of familiarity. The teams played each other for the second time this season less than a month ago. North Carolina coach Courtney Banghart said this week that there's an added level of comfort going against a team they just played.

But this was also two of the top defenses in the country going at it, forcing turnovers, errant shots and desperate heaves late in the shot clock at the start of the game.

It was the first NCAA tournament meeting between the two teams, who have played each other 111 times. North Carolina holds a slight edge (56-55).

Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball will miss the rest of the season as he undergoes two minor procedures to address right ankle and wrist issues, the team said Friday.

Ball will undergo arthroscopic surgery on a right ankle impingement and will have a procedure on his right wrist, according to the Hornets.

Ball had played through pain in recent weeks before he and the team consulted doctors on the best course of action, sources told ESPN. Team doctors and outside specialists concluded that the procedures will allow Ball to heal and have a full, productive offseason.

Ball, 23, has dealt with ankle injuries over recent years, missing at least 25 games in each of the past three seasons after playing a career-high 75 games in 2021-22.

He underwent surgery on his right ankle in 2023, and this is the second straight year the Hornets have shut down Ball on March 28. He was held out for the rest of the 2023-24 season to rehab his right ankle after recurring issues following a November 2023 sprain.

The decision for the 2024-25 season ends Ball's career year in scoring at 25.2 points per game. He also averaged 7.4 assists and 4.9 rebounds over 32 minutes in 47 games this season.

Ball is the first Hornets player to average 25 points and seven assists in a season, and he had a franchise-record six games with 25 points and 10 assists, according to ESPN Research. Ball had the second-highest usage rate in the NBA.

The Hornets (18-54) have the third-worst record in the NBA but have accumulated significant draft capital, acquiring six picks since October. Charlotte owns all of its first-round picks in future years and has a total of 11 first-round and 13 second-round picks moving forward.

Charlotte saw success with lineups featuring Ball, Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges and Mark Williams, but their possessions were limited due to injuries.

Miller missed time with injuries, including a sprained ankle, before undergoing season-ending right wrist surgery in January. Bridges was out nearly a month with a bone bruise in his right knee, and Williams began the season injured before a potential trade to the Los Angeles Lakers was nixed over a failed physical.

Meg Jones was born in Cardiff and speaks Welsh. But on Saturday she hopes to line up for England against Wales in the Principality Stadium.

Sarra Elgan went to meet Jones as part of her Women's Six Nations preview, which you can watch in full on BBC iPlayer.

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"London Irish was never about one person. Our mission is, and will always be, to build something lasting - something rooted in Irish identity, global ambition and community," Kyle said in a statement, external on LinkedIn.

"While Dad was a huge inspiration behind this journey, our plans were always built to move with him in the background."

Jordan's Formula 1 team won four grands prix in its 15 years and gave seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher his debut in 1991.

Tributes came in from across the motor racing world in the wake of the Irishman's death and his son described his "huge" loss.

"He was my mentor, my hero, and the person who helped shape how I see the world - through competition, culture and relentless belief," Kyle added.

"His passing leaves a huge void in my life and in the spirit of the sporting world we both loved."

Despite suggestions before the SGM that it would be just the start, not the end, of the rebellion, Sweeney's opponents struck a more conciliatory tone when they spoke to the BBC afterwards.

They stressed that forcing the SGM and making the RFU board answerable to the game at large was a victory in itself.

Meanwhile, a second motion, which the board brought forward, to devolve more responsibility to the community game seems to have gone a long way to quelling the uprising.

"We want to work together," said Paddy McAlpine, chair of Chichester Rugby Club and co-chair of the Whole Game Union (WGU).

"What is really encouraging about tonight is that all those rugby players across the nation from the smallest club up to the Championship now have a voice.

"And we will hold those responsible for the leadership of our game to account. We look forward to all the changes and improvements that they are going to put in place."

"This was never really about one individual," added Alistair Bow, chairman of Championship club Nottingham and co-chair of the WGU.

"We felt the game was suffering to the point that we needed to have a look at the top. We went to the game and the vote has been cast.

"But actually we got what we needed. There was no winner and loser from the outset, but what we have done is we have taken our plight to the whole game.

"The game has had an opportunity [to voice concerns] and there were some very interesting questions raised in there tonight.

"And you could see there was a good percentage of people voted for him to go."

England have won 20 of their previous 22 Six Nations matches against Wales, and given the strong team named by Mitchell, matching their average winning margin (over the last eight championship wins) of 46 points looks likely.

World player of the year Ellie Kildunne, who scored two tries against Wales in last year's 46-10 victory, returns to the starting XV to win her 50th cap.

The 25-year-old full-back is joined by wings Abby Dow and Jess Breach, with the trio ready to chase down their 18 combined tries in last year's championship.

Zoe Harrison gets an opportunity to press forward her case to be the starting fly-half in a star-studded backline also containing regular centres Meg Jones and Tatyana Heard.

Quality returns to the pack in the form of prop Sarah Bern, who was at her barnstorming best off the bench in York, while 22-year-old Morwenna Talling and Abbie Ward form a balanced second-row partnership that brings work-rate and line-out nous.

"You could field two completely England different 23s and both could win the Six Nations, that is the calibre we are talking about," former Wales player Philippa Tuttiett told BBC's Rugby Union Weekly.

"There are some superstars throughout that team, it is an incredible team."

To cap off the exciting team selection, Olympian Abi Burton, who nearly lost her life in 2022, is set to make her England debut from the bench.

The 25-year-old back row spent 25 days in an induced coma after being diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis, which occurs when the body's immune system mistakenly attacks the brain.

When Burton came out of her coma she was unable to walk and talk, and had lost more than three stone, but she miraculously returned to rugby sevens in time for her second Olympics in Paris.

England centre Jones said when Burton came out of her coma she "manifested" playing for the Red Roses and the back rower has impressed following her switch back to XVs with Trailfinders.

"Since I've been ill and come back into playing rugby at the Paris Olympics and coming back into XVs, I feel like I am thriving as a person on and off the pitch," Burton told BBC Sport.

"My family are now finally seeing me fully play rugby like I will never play again, every single game, and they love seeing that enjoyment on face.

"It will be a really special moment for them just seeing me happy and enjoying myself."