Messi curled a superb free kick into the corner of Claudio Bravo’s net from 25 metres after 33 minutes. Chile equalised 13 minutes into the second half when Vargas followed up to head home the rebound after Arturo Vidal’s penalty was tipped on to the bar by Emiliano Martinez.
* Paraguay went behind to an early penalty but fought back against 10 men in the second half to beat Bolivia 3-1 in their Copa America opener on Monday. The result leaves Paraguay top of Group A, ahead of Argentina and Chile, who drew 1-1 earlier on Monday.
* Sweden were out-passed by a factor of over five to one against Spain in their opening Euro 2020 Group E match but they made no apologies for shutting down the Spaniards in a dull 0-0 draw on Monday. Spain dominated possession and played a massive 953 passes, according to UEFA statistics, compared with Sweden's 178, yet their stifling tactics and superb goalkeeping from Robin Olsen earned them a point.
* Phil Mickelson, fresh off a historic win at the PGA Championship, said on Monday he had a head start on getting reacquainted with Torrey Pines in a bid to bury his US Open demons this week. Mickelson, who has finished runner-up at the US Open a record six times, grew up playing Torrey Pines but due to a redesign wanted to get familiar with the layout that sits atop the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
* NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell said on Monday that the upcoming Tokyo Games could be the most profitable Olympics in NBC’s history. In March 2020, NBCUniversal said it had sold more than US$1.25 billion in national advertising for the Tokyo Olympics, a record for any broadcaster for the event.
* Slovakia executed sound defensive plans to stop the threat of Poland striker Robert Lewandowski, coach Stefan Tarkovic said after his team won their opening Euro 2020 Group E match 2-1 on Monday. Tarkovic said Slovakia had tried to stifle Poland's left-side attack, using midfielder Lukas Haraslin and defender Peter Pekarik as extra cover.
* The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between Sierra Leone and Benin that was rescheduled from March descended into farce on Monday after it was alleged minutes before kickoff that six of the Leone Stars players had tested positive for COVID-19.
* This year's Wimbledon men's and women's singles finals will be played with full crowds in attendance on Centre Court, the All England Club said on Monday. They will be the first outdoor sporting events in the United Kingdom to have capacity crowds since the start of the coronavirus pandemic last year.
* An Argentine prosecutor began hearing evidence on Monday involving seven people accused of contributing to the death of soccer player Diego Maradona. Maradona, the revered former Boca Juniors and Napoli star who had alcohol and drug addictions for many years, died last Nov 25 from heart failure at the age of 60 after undergoing brain surgery earlier that month.
* The British Open is still likely to be played in front of spectators next month despite the government delaying the lifting of full COVID-19 restrictions, organisers the Royal and Ancient said on Monday. The 149th Open, cancelled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will take place at the Royal St George's in Sandwich on the Kent coast from Jul 15-18.
* Wembley will be allowed to host up to 45,000 fans for the semi-finals and final of the European Championship as the stadium was granted an exemption from a delay in the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, British media reported on Monday.
* Kevin De Bruyne trained with Belgium for the first time at the European Championship on Monday, boosting his country's hopes for the tournament after recovering from a double facial fracture suffered in last month's Champions League final. De Bruyne will train again twice on Tuesday and Wednesday in a bid to prove his readiness for the Group B clash with Denmark in Copenhagen on Thursday, officials said.
* Hungary need cohesion, discipline and a fair bit of luck against defending champions Portugal if they are to make a good start to their Euro 2020 Group F campaign, coach Marco Rossi said on Monday.
* Germany on Monday refused to accept the underdogs tag in their Euro 2020 Group F opener against world champions France on Tuesday, saying they were out to win the game and pay back fans for a disappointing World Cup campaign three years ago.
* France coach Didier Deschamps said it is not just his own side's attacking threat that can cause problems as he prepares to take on Germany in the European Championship in Munich on Tuesday.
* Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray admits there are question marks about whether his body will hold up as he prepares to return to competitive action at Queen's Club. Murray has struggled to return to his former level since having hip resurfacing surgery in January 2019 with niggling injuries limiting his tournament time.
* Roger Federer made a winning return to the grass courts with a hard-fought 7-6(4) 7-5 victory over qualifier Ilya Ivashka at Halle on Monday. The Swiss has not played a competitive match on grass since his Wimbledon final defeat by Novak Djokovic almost two years ago, but was quickly back in the routine.
* Indonesian badminton player Markis Kido, an Olympic doubles gold medallist, has died aged 36 from a heart attack, the Badminton World Federation said on Monday. The doubles specialist won gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics partnering Hendra Setiawan, a year after the pair won the men's doubles title at the world championship in Kuala Lumpur.
* A long club season affected by the COVID-19 pandemic followed by a draining Euro 2020 tournament build-up could have contributed to Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen's horrific collapse, Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said on Monday. The 29-year old Denmark midfielder is in stable condition after suffering cardiac arrest during the first half of their 1-0 Group B defeat by Finland in Copenhagen on Saturday, with play halted for nearly two hours after the incident.
* Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled out of the Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle, Germany, on Monday because of personal reasons after surrendering a two-set lead in his defeat against Novak Djokovic in Sunday's French Open final.
