Lionel Messi marked his retirement about face with a goal to give 10-man Argentina a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Thursday that lifted them to the top of the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
Six-time champion Mary Kom defeated Colombia's Valencia Victoria in her quarter-final bout to secure her maiden World medal in the 51kg category, in which she won an Olympic medal back in 2012.
Germany have four players and Argentina three in the 10-man FIFA shortlist for the adidas Golden Ball, which is awarded to the World Cup's most outstanding performer.
Earlier in the night, Bolivia were denied their first win when Kaku scored with 18 minutes remaining to rescue a 2-2 draw for home side Paraguay in Asuncion.
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The plane that crashed in Colombia virtually wiping out an entire Brazilian football team was running out of fuel, had no electrical power, and was preparing for an emergency landing, according to the pilot's final words. The disaster on Monday night killed 71 people and sent shock waves round the global football world. Only six on board the LAMIA Bolivia charter flight survived, including three of the Chapecoense football squad en route to the biggest game in their history: the Copa Sudamericana final.
India's Rohan Bopanna earned himself an opportunity to become only the fourth Indian to win a Grand Slam trophy by reaching the French Open mixed doubles final with partner Gabriela Dabrowski, in Paris.
An emotional Neymar cried as he recalled the challenge that ended his World Cup on Thursday and said he felt blessed not to have ended up in a wheelchair.
Former Brazil striker Ronaldo has accused Colombia's Juan Zuniga of an "evil, violent" tackle that has put Neymar out of the World Cup and said on Saturday he favoured tougher sanctions against violent play.
Colombia beat Argentina 2-1 after a first-half red card for Carlos Tevez in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers.
Costa Rica's domination of a group with three former champions and Chile and Colombia's triumphant march through their first two matches highlights the strength of the Latin American challenge at the World Cup.
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Aimar and Tevez add to Crespo's brace to give the South Americans a 4-1 win.
The latest qualifying rankings feature three Chinese weightlifters in the top five.
United States striker Abby Wambach has escaped with nothing more than a warning from FIFA after she said a referee at the women's World Cup had targeted two of her team mates on the verge of suspension.
Peru beat 10-man Venezuela 1-0 at the Copa America on Thursday.
A week before they kick off their Copa America campaign against Peru, Brazil dominated a poor warm up match though there was a moment of brilliant by Philippe Coutino when they opened the scoring after 27 minutes.
Lionel Messi has identified Spain as the one country he hopes to avoid in the group stages of the World Cup finals next year.
Brazil remain bitter about the tackle that ended their marquee striker Neymar's World Cup but hope his absence will inspire the rest of the team in Tuesday's semi-final against Germany.
Neymar's exit from the World Cup due to a back injury left Brazilians shocked and angered on Friday, darkening the mood after the hosts' 2-1 win over Colombia in the quarter-finals had sparked nationwide celebrations.
Brazil play Colombia in Fortaleza in Friday's afternoon kick-off and, with the weight of expectation upon them, there are concerns about whether a team that have failed to sparkle so far can cope with the pressure.
At least one person died on Thursday when an unfinished overpass collapsed in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, overshadowing the buildup to the first quarter-finals in which France face Germany and Brazil take on Colombia.
Argentina's Lionel Messi is the bookmaker's favourite to win the Golden Boot and the Golden Ball at the World Cup while France, Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands are favourites to win their matches in the quarter-finals which start on Friday.
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Hungarian partner Timea Babos entered the semi-finals of the Australian Open mixed doubles event with a comfortable victory in Melbourne, on Wednesday.
Racing towards the camera after scoring direct from a corner at Colombia's top youth tournament in 2004, excited scouts could see James Rodriguez was a kid at ease in the limelight.
Colombian fans are paying tribute to defender Andres Escobar, gunned down 20 years ago after scoring an own goal in the World Cup, and hope his memory will inspire the current crop's hunt for glory.
Roger Federer admits he suffered a "bit of a breakdown" during last month's tour of Mexico and South America after rioting in Colombian capital Bogota forced him to cancel his exhibition match against German's Alexander Zverev.
'So, clearly, getting out of the group and winning a knockout game would be a real sign of progress. And if you win one, you win more'
India's Rohan Bopanna and his Slovakian partner Katarina Srebotnik faced stiff resistance from Marc Lopez and Andrea Hlavackova before prevailing in a tense first round contest in the mixed doubles event of the French Open.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday '
Benjamin Pavard's swerving strike from the edge of the area in France's round of 16 win over Argentina in Kazan has been voted the best goal of the World Cup finals.
Brazil will play Germany next week in what the hosts' players are calling the final before the final and manager Luiz Felipe Scolari is facing selection dilemmas four days ahead of the semi-final in Belo Horizonte.
Brazil striker Neymar's World Cup is over and the loss of their talisman and top goalscorer to injury leaves manager Luiz Felipe Scolari with a big headache ahead of their semi-final against Germany on Tuesday.
Images from the World Cup quarter-final game between Brazil and Colombia.
As much as I would love to witness a Brazil-Argentina final at the Copacabana beach, Colombia, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina look like the semi-finalists and, if Argentina peaks at the right time, Germany vs Argentina could be the title match, says Mauktik Kulkarni.
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All the 27 deaths occurred in the virus-hit central Hubei province, China's National Health Commission (NHC) said. The confirmed cases for the first time fell below 50 since COVID-19 surfaced in Hubei province in January.
India caused a stir in Zagreb where veteran duo Leander Paes and Rohan Bopanna edged Mate Pavic and Franko Skugor in Saturday's doubles to keep alive the tie but Marin Cilic quickly doused Indian hopes with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Sumit Nagal.
The World Cup group stages games are over and while European heavyweights Spain, Italy, England and Portugal are knocked out of the biggest sporting carnival, there is still plenty to look forward to.
Uruguay forward Luis Suarez faces a lengthy ban after Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini accused him of biting during the South Americans' 1-0 Group D victory on Tuesday, overshadowing a day of emotional extremes at the World Cup.
