One of the most popular teams in the United States is returning to Oakland.

No, not the Warriors.

The Mexican national soccer team, which fills stadiums everywhere it plays in the U.S., will play a friendly match against Japan at the Oakland Coliseum on Sept. 6, Mexico’s soccer federation announced Tuesday.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. PT.

The last time Mexico played in the Bay Area was July 2, 2023, when it lost its group stage finale in the Gold Cup to Qatar at Levi’s Stadium but still managed to win the group and, eventually, the tournament.

Mexico will play a second friendly three days later against South Korea, but the location has not yet been named.

The Oakland Roots game against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds initially scheduled for Sept. 6 has been moved to Sept. 7 and will kick off at 1 p.m.

Both Mexico and Japan will be building up to the 2026 World Cup as Japan qualified in March and Mexico has an automatic bid as one of three host nations, along with the U.S. and Canada.

Japan will play the U.S. in Columbus on Sept. 9 in Columbus, three days after South Korea plays the Americans in New Jersey.

Tickets for the match in Oakland will go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at SomosLocales.com.

Six World Cup matches will be played at Levi’s Stadium during the 2026 World Cup, so Mexico or Japan could find its way back to the Bay Area soon.

— Michael Nowels

TENNIS

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner passed a big test in his return from a three-month doping ban, beating accomplished clay-court player Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (2), 6-3 to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals.

The 18th-ranked Cerundolo has a tour-best 18 wins on clay this year and was coming off a run to the Madrid Open semifinals.

In the other half of the draw, Carlos Alcaraz was made to work for a 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Karen Khachanov that earned him a rematch with Jack Draper — who beat him earlier this year.

Alcaraz improved to 5-0 in his career against the 24th-ranked Khachanov.

Alcaraz, who won the Monte Carlo Masters in April, improved to 12-1 on clay this season. The four-time Grand Slam champion will next face No. 5 Draper, who rallied past Corentin Moutet 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.

In the women’s tournament, Jasmine Paolini rallied past Diana Shnaider 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 to become the first Italian woman to reach the semifinals in Rome since her doubles partner, Sara Errani, lost the 2014 final to Serena Williams.

The last Italian woman to win the Italian Open was Raffaella Reggi, who took the 1985 title in Taranto.

MOTORSPORTS

Team Penske was fastest on the opening day of practice for the Indianapolis 500, a day shortened at the front and back end because of weather.

Will Power and two-time defending Indy 500 winner Josef Newgarden went 1-2 in Chevrolets for Penske in the abbreviated session. Cars ran only about three hours, first because of morning rain and then a lightning strike ended the session with about 30 minutes remaining.

Power turned a lap at 227.026 mph around Indianapolis Motor Speedway, while Newgarden went 226.971 mph.

Alex Palou, winner of four of the first five races this season and the current IndyCar points leader, was third fastest for Chip Ganassi Racing. The Honda driver is the two-time reigning IndyCar champion and has won three of the last four series titles. He went 226.673 mph.

He was followed by Ganassi teammate Scott Dixon and then Scott McLaughlin, another Penske driver. Four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves was sixth fastest.

WNBA

The Connecticut Sun are looking at all options for the franchise’s future, including a potential sale, team president Jen Rizzotti said.

The team is owned by the Mohegan Tribe, which runs the casino where the team has played since 2003. The Tribe bought the franchise for $10 million and relocated it from Orlando that year. The Connecticut franchise was the first in the league to be run by a non-NBA owner and also became the first to turn a profit.

Rizzotti, who took over in her current role four years ago, said that Mohegan’s decision was the move of “responsible business owners” and that “it’s more about being consistent about how they’re evaluating all of their businesses, the Connecticut Sun being one of them.”

Rizzotti said that no decision has been made and that no timeline has been set. The team could be sold to an outside group or the franchise could bring on a minority owner.

The Sun have been one of the most successful teams in the league, making the postseason in 16 seasons, including a run of six straight semifinal appearances. But the team was hit hard this offseason with the entire starting five from last season leaving either via free agency or trade.

The league hasn’t had a team relocate since 2017, when the San Antonio franchise moved to Las Vegas and became the Aces.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Ohio State women’s basketball coach Kevin McGuff, the Big Ten’s 2024 coach of the year, was charged with operating a vehicle while impaired last week, police said.

Officers said McGuff hit several curbs and drove into a yard, where he was found behind the wheel on May 6 in the Columbus suburb of Dublin, according to an arrest report. McGuff refused to give a breath sample, police said.

The coach’s attorney entered a not guilty plea on his behalf during a hearing Tuesday.

McGuff has led Ohio State to eight NCAA tournament appearances in 12 seasons and a Big Ten title in the 2023-2024 season. He previously coached at Washington and Xavier and has a career record of 479-212.