GOAL

U.S. Soccer has announced that friendlies involving its men and women's national teams in the coming weeks have been cancelled.

The USMNT were set to play Netherlands and Wales in late March while the USWNT have seen games against Australia and Brazil in early April suspended.

The U.S. men's Under-23 side is currently in Mexico for the Olympic qualifying tournament, which is set to get under way on March 20, and is in constant contact with CONCACAF officials regarding the status of the tournament.

MLS joins Serie A in suspending its matches, with Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte calling a halt to all sporting events across the country as they endeavour to control the spread of the outbreak. Two Serie A players have already tested positive for the virus.

La Liga also joined the list on Thursday, with a member of Real Madrid's basketball team – who use the same training facilities as the football team – testing positive and hence forcing the entire club into quarantine.

In the Premier League, both Arsenal and Leicester have been affected, but the majority of games in the English top tier are set to go ahead.

In Germany, the DFB released a statement of their own, with General Secretary Friedrich Curtius stating: “We have to deal with all the possible scenarios in order to be prepared in case of an interruption or even an early end of the season.

“The goal remains, of course, to finish the season in a regular sporting manner. But the health authorities have the decisive word. We'll follow these guidelines without any ifs and buts, and we consistently align the organisation of match operations, which is the core task of the DFB and its associations, with them."