All five African teams at the last World Cup in Russia failed to get past the first round and the continent's football leaders have said their future priority is to make sides more competitive in the international arena.
The number of assists is used as a tiebreaker to separate players who are level on goals scored. If they are tied on both counts, the winner is decided by who played the fewest minutes.
Argentina are on a 36-match unbeaten run with top scorer and captain Messi playing his fifth and last World Cup in search of the elusive honour
A disbelieving Magda Linette continued her dream run at the Australian Open on Wednesday with a stunning victory over former world number one Karolina Pliskova to move into the semi-finals.
Theo Hernandez's high hooked finish from a deflected Kylian Mbappe shot put the defending champions ahead and forced Walid Regragui's team to take the initiative, ending the game with more possession than Les Bleus.
"There are other steps and it starts on Wednesday. Let's be happy with what we've done tonight even if it's not enough. At least we broke the (defending champions') curse," he added.
Mihaila late show for Romania stuns Swiss in thrilling draw
The 71-year-old, who has battled with cancer over the last year, concluded his third spell as the Netherlands coach with their penalty shootout loss and will be replaced by Ronald Koeman.
Erigaisi is two points clear of Praggnanandhaa and world champion Carlsen (15 points).
I told my players to take 1,000 penalties, says Spain's Luis Enrique
The din of a concerned crowd transformed into a tumultuous racket when Abdelhamid Sabiri's free kick caught out Thibaut Courtois at his near post and captain Romain Saiss added a slight touch to see Morocco into the lead.
Doubles exponent Rohan Bopanna retained his place in India's Davis Cup team despite his recent run-in with the national federation, which named a five-member squad for the upcoming World Group I away tie against Finland.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov clinched the winning point for Canada with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz in the decisive doubles match.
What has made Deschamps successful in tournaments, especially at the World Cup since 2018, is not sticking to a particular identity or philosophy which is often the defining feature of big teams.
The 35-year-old Jakhar had won the men's 10m air pistol gold with a world record effort in Croatia 2019 World Cup.
Yet even though the Swiss lack world stars like France's Antoine Griezmann, Karim Benzema or Kylian Mbappe, Spain must be prepared for a long evening finding their way through Vladimir Petkovic's disciplined side on Friday in St Petersburg.
'I was lucky enough to play with Wayne and he was a huge player who I looked up to. I watched him play in the major tournaments and it's a huge honour to be close to him.'
"We've once again shown the rest of the world that English football is healthy and we've got some players not only for now but for the future as well."
Six-times winners Spain will meet Croatia for a place in the semi-finals.
There was some jeering from a small section as players briefly went down on one knee,
Morocco relied on the usual mixture of North African style, combining committed defence with counter-attacks
With the group standings flashing on the big screen of the Al Bayt stadium, Germany grew nervous with Musiala twice hitting the post early in the second half.
Qatar no playground for playmakers as defenders clamp down
Several thousand Argentinians are expected to descend on Qatar for the tournament starting next month but not all are having an easy ride.
Unbeaten England finished with seven points, comfortably ahead of Croatia, who were second with four after beating Scotland 3-1 in Glasgow.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup semi-final between France and Morocco, played at Al Bayt Stadium on Wednesday.
A makeshift England side beat Romania 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up game, while Belgium's Romelu Lukaku underlined his status as one of the world's top strikers with his 60th international goal to secure a 1-0 win over Croatia.
'To win the Olympic gold medal, I have been really working really hard for the past five years now, and it has always been my dream.'
Jeswin Aldrin, meanwhile, finished fifth after he hit the 7.69m mark at the 17th Iberoamerican Meeting in Huelva, Spain.
Indian men's compound archery team of Abhishek Verma, Rajat Chauhan and Aman Saini downed France by one-point in a thrilling final to win the gold medal at the World Cup Stage 1 in Antalya on Saturday.
Three-times winner Serena Williams moved into the Toronto Open second round after beating Spain's Nuria Parrizas Diaz on Monday
Italy's Matteo Berrettini reached his fourth consecutive grasscourt final as he overpowered unseeded Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp at the Queen's Club Championship on Saturday.
'I think Croatia must be better than India currently (in terms of COVID-19 situation) and being with the team also gives you confidence. I don't see any problem from being away from home for three months.'
Brazil spread the ball beautifully with a plethora of one-touch passing combinations that cornered the South Koreans who had no plan to defend against so much talent.
Five strikers who surprised us in World Cup 2022.
Round-up of World Cup qualifiers played on Friday
Kristina Mladenovic and Ivan Dodig swept to a 6-3, 6-4 victory
Here is an overview of the teams that have been eliminated
The tournament, staged in 11 cities across Europe, will feature 24 of the best teams from June 12.
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