Sept 2 (Gracenote) - Results and standings from the US championship matches on Thursday

QUITO, Sept 1 (Reuters) - A decisive performance from Gabriel Jesus, who scored twice and made another goal, gave Brazil a deserved 3-0 win over Ecuador on Thursday and helped get their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia back on track.

WELLINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Former England manager Peter Taylor has agreed to help New Zealand try to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.

(Reuters) - A Chinese-backed consortium interested in acquiring a stake in Liverpool is willing to raise its valuation of the Premier League club closer to 1 billion pounds ($1.33 billion), Bloomberg reported on Thursday citing a source familiar with the situation.

MONZA, Italy (Reuters) - Max Verstappen compared himself to Manchester United's mercurial Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Thursday when Formula One rivals questioned the teenager's aggressive driving at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix.

BERLIN, Sept 1 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel hosted women's soccer players from Europe, the Middle East and Africa on Thursday as part of a project called "Discover Football" that aims to use the world's most popular sport to empower women.

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss authorities have opened criminal proceedings against German soccer great Franz Beckenbauer and two former presidents of Germany's football federation (DFB) in connection with its successful bid for the 2006 World Cup.

LONDON (Reuters) - Records tumbled in the transfer window as Premier League spending totaled 1.165 billion pounds ($1.54 billion), financial analyst Deloitte's Sports Business Group said on Thursday.

ZURICH, Sept 1 (Reuters) - Swiss federal prosecutors are investigating soccer great Franz Beckenbauer and three other German soccer officials for fraud and money laundering in connection with the award of the 2006 World Cup to Germany, authorities said on Thursday.