LONDON (AP) — Alessia Russo scored a pair of second-half goals in a 10-minute span to cap a 6-0 victory for Arsenal over Moroccan club ASFAR on Wednesday for a spot in the final of the first Women's Champions Cup.
Arsenal will face Brazilian club Corinthians on Sunday in the title match of the intercontinental championship for club teams. Corinthians defeated Gotham FC 1-0 in Wednesday's earlier match at Gtech Community Stadium.
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Arsenal's Alessia Russo, right, challenges for the ball with Asfar's Siham Boukhami during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Arsenal and Asfar in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Arsenal's Alessia Russo, right, celebrates after scoring her side's fifth goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Arsenal and Asfar in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, right, celebrates with teammates after the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Gotham's Jaedyn Shaw challenges Corinthian's Gi Fernandes during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Gotham's Jaedyn Shaw misses a chance during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Stina Blackstenius' header went over the goal line in the eighth minute before it was kicked out by a defender, followed closely by Frida Maanum's goal in the 12th to give Arsenal an early 2-0 lead.
Mariona Caldentey converted a penalty in the 22nd and Olivia Smith's late blast from the top of the box made it 4-0 at the break.
Russo came on as a substitute in the 61st minute and scored five minutes later before adding a second in the 76th minute. The African champions were unable to mount much of a challenge against Arsenal, which qualified for the tournament as winners of the Women's Champions League.
In the earlier match, 40-year-old Gabi Zanotti stopped a cross on her chest, then shot the dropping ball with her left boot to the right of Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, who got her hands to it but couldn’t stop it from slipping through in the 82nd minute.
National Women's Soccer League club Gotham, which qualified for the inaugural FIFA event by winning the first CONCACAF Champions Cup, had pushed hard for the opener in the second half.
But Corinthians, the Copa Libertadores champion, defended smartly and the Brazilian team made it count with the 38-year-old Tamires producing the cross for the oldest player on the field to score the goal that mattered.
Gotham made a desperate push for a late equalizer with Berger going up for a free kick deep in stoppage time, when one of the Corinthians backroom staff was sent off, presumably for calling too frenetically for the full-time whistle. Jaedyn Shaw sent the free kick to the right of the post in the last action of the game.
It was Gotham's first competitive match since winning the NWSL championship as the eighth seed in November. Team captain Rose Lavelle went off injured in stoppage time.
Both the final and third-place match are to be played Sunday at Arsenal’s stadium, with $2.3 million going to the winner of the competition. The runner-up takes home $1 million.
The six-team Champions Cup was created as an event for club teams. It builds on a growing number of regional club competitions, led by the success of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Two continental champions were eliminated in earlier rounds: Auckland United from Oceania and Wuhan Chegu Jiangda from Asia.
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Arsenal's Alessia Russo, right, challenges for the ball with Asfar's Siham Boukhami during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Arsenal and Asfar in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Arsenal's Alessia Russo, right, celebrates after scoring her side's fifth goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Arsenal and Asfar in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, right, celebrates with teammates after the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Gotham's Jaedyn Shaw challenges Corinthian's Gi Fernandes during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Gotham's Jaedyn Shaw misses a chance during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Corinthian's Gabi Zanotti, left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Women's Champions Cup semifinal soccer match between Gotham FC and Corinthians in London, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump seemed to signal a willingness to ease tensions in Minneapolis after a second deadly shooting by federal immigration agents, but there was little evidence Wednesday of any significant changes following weeks of harsh rhetoric and clashes with protesters.
The strain was evident when Trump made a leadership change by sending his top border adviser to Minnesota to take charge of the immigration crackdown. That was followed by seemingly conciliatory remarks about the Democratic governor and mayor.
Trump said he and Gov. Tim Walz, whom he criticized for weeks, were on “a similar wavelength” following a phone call. After a conversation with Mayor Jacob Frey, the president praised the discussion and declared that “lots of progress is being made.”
But on city streets, there were few signs of a shift. Immigration enforcement operations and confrontations with activists continued Wednesday in Minneapolis and St. Paul.
A group of protesters blew whistles and pointed out federal officers in a vehicle on a north Minneapolis street. When the officers’ vehicle moved, a small convoy of activists followed in their cars for a few blocks until the officers stopped again.
Associated Press journalists were in the neighborhood covering the enforcement actions. When the journalists got out of their car to document the encounter, officers with the federal Bureau of Prisons pushed one of them, threatened them with arrest and told them to get back in their car despite the reporters' identifying themselves as media.
Officers from multiple federal agencies have been involved in the enforcement operations. From their car, the AP journalists saw at least one person being pepper sprayed and one detained, though it was unclear if that person was the target of the operation or a protester. Agents also broke car windows.
Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is visiting Minnesota, said 16 people were arrested Wednesday on charges of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement in the state. She said more arrests were expected.
“NOTHING will stop President Trump and this Department of Justice from enforcing the law," Bondi said in a social media post.
Messages seeking comment were left with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
Many immigrant families are still fearful of leaving their homes, and Latino businesses are still closed, according to Daniel Hernandez, who owns the Minneapolis grocery store Colonial Market. He also runs a popular Facebook page geared toward informing the Hispanic community in the Twin Cities.
While Colonial Market is open, all but one of the dozen immigrant-run businesses that rented space inside to sell clothes, jewelry and toys have closed since late December, and none has plans to reopen, Hernandez said.
“The reality is the community is still very worried and afraid,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez referenced Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who helped lead the administration's crackdown in the Twin Cities and who has reportedly been assigned elsewhere.
Bovino "was removed, but the tactics so far are still the same," Hernandez said. “Nobody now is trusting the government with those changes.”
The federal enforcement extended to the city’s Ecuadorian consulate, where a federal law enforcement officer tried to enter before being blocked by employees.
Meanwhile, Trump said in a social media post that the mayor was “PLAYING WITH FIRE” by not participating in the enforcement efforts.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, Donnie McMillan placed a cardboard sign reading “In remembrance of my angel” at the makeshift memorial where Alex Pretti was shot.
The Vietnam veteran, 71, kneeled to pay his respects and saluted to honor the nurse whom he said he remembered seeing during his frequent visits to the Veterans Affairs hospital where Pretti worked.
“I feel like I’ve lost an angel right here,” the disabled veteran said, pointing to the growing sidewalk memorial covered in flowers, candles and signs.
“This is not the way we should operate,” added McMillan, who said he served in Vietnam and then in the military police for more than a decade. “I respect everybody, but I respect my angel more, and now he’s no longer with us.”
In other developments, a man confronted Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall meeting and squirted her with a strong-smelling substance as she denounced the administration. He was tackled and identified by police as 55-year-old Anthony Kazmierczak, a convicted felon who had made online posts supportive of Trump.
Minnesota court records show Kazmierczak was convicted of auto theft in 1989 and has multiple arrests for driving under the influence, along with a slew of traffic offenses. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney.
In social media posts, Kazmierczak described himself a former network engineer who lives in Minneapolis and had made comments critical of former President Joe Biden, referring to Democrats as “angry and liars.”
Omar continued speaking for about 25 minutes after the man was ushered out by security, saying she would not be intimidated. After the event, she said she was unharmed.
The administration was also being challenged in court. Federal courts were weighing a decision on a lawsuit seeking to pause the crackdown, as well as an order for the head of ICE to appear personally to address what a judge said were failures to grant due process for certain immigrants.
Associated Press writers Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show that agency's name is Veterans Affairs, not Veterans Administration.
The Ecuadorian consulate stands in Minneapolis, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
Vietnam war veteran Donnie McMillan places a sign that says "In remembrance of my angel" at a memorial set up at the location where Veterans Affairs nurse Alex Pretti was shot by U.S. federal agents, in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)
A person is attended to after federal officers used a chemical irritant on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A person walks past a memorial honoring Alex Pretti outside the Minneapolis VA hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Kerem Yücel/Minnesota Public Radio via AP)
A federal officer approaches observers and journalists on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
ADDS MORE INFORMATION Federal Bureau of Prisons officers threaten AP video journalist Mark Vancleave with arrest on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Federal agents knock on a door of a residence on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Blaine, Minn. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
