Steph Catley’s penalty earned co-hosts Australia a narrow victory over the Republic of Ireland in front of a record home crowd after captain Sam Kerr was ruled out of their first two matches at the Women’s World Cup due to injury. Catley took the armband from Kerr after the star forward was sidelined by a calf injury picked up in…

FIFA President Gianni Infantino could make no guarantee Wednesday that the member federations will distribute the $30,000 payments promised to every player at the Women's World Cup. He said at a news conference ahead of the tournament opener that he's engaging with member federations on the issue. The payments are made the individual federations, which…