The 25-year-old striker, who stands 1.76 metres tall, caught the eye on the big stage against Germany, driving home a penalty at the end of the first half before poking in the ball on 72 minutes following a rare blunder by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
The largest athlete's village in the history of the Games is a visceral monument to now-faded optimism. Planned when Brazil was booming, its harnessing of private sector wealth was meant to set the gold standard for a sustainable Olympics. Instead, the worst recession in generations pushed the luxury apartments out of reach.
Atletico Madrid's Jackson Martinez scored his first goal for the club when he came off the bench and curled in a superb effort to seal a hard-fought 3-0 victory at Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday.
Bayern Munich have all but secured their third consecutive Bundesliga title and victory over Hertha Berlin could see them clinch it as early as this weekend.
Barca made a slow start to the campaign under their new coach but after beating Paris Saint Germain in the quarter-finals they are on course to repeat the treble success.
Factbox on Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi, who became his country's all-time top goalscorer on Tuesday when he scored his 55th international goal.
Hegerberg hat-trick fires Lyon to fourth straight Champions League
We sorted through countless photographs taken around the world to come up with the top photos of 2019. Together these images tell the story of the year -- capturing moments of hope and heartbreak, triumph and tragedy.
Manchester United were denied by a spirited Stoke City performance as Joe Allen pounced late to secure the visitors their first point at Old Trafford since 1989 in a deserved 1-1 Premier League draw.
If, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said, a week is a long time in politics, four and a half months in football clearly represents an eternity.
An Aaron Ramsey strike and a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, while Chelsea beat a stubborn Slavia Prague 1-0.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
With most Manchester United fans praying for much-needed defensive reinforcements, manager Louis van Gaal made a surprise deadline-day swoop for flamboyant Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on Monday.
Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at surprise league leaders Leicester City on Monday, their ninth loss in 16 league games since the start of a season that has gone spectacularly wrong, proved to be the final straw.
Leicester's EPL title credentials on show against champions Chelsea.
Bayern Munich will not only have to overturn a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg deficit against Barcelona on Tuesday but they will have to do it against a superb defence and in the midst of their biggest slump in years.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
A summary of Tuesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
The shadow of their disappointing 2014 World Cup campaign still hangs over Spain as they prepare to defend their European Championship crown in France next month, according to coach Vicente del Bosque.
Benfica's Oscar Cardozo scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 extra-time win over Lisbon rivals Sporting in the Portuguese Cup last 32 on Saturday with Luisao grabbing the winner after a blunder by visiting keeper Rui Patricio.
Manchester United ended their one-year Champions League hiatus in emphatic style when Wayne Rooney struck a hat-trick in a 4-0 destruction of Club Bruges that sent the three-times winners through 7-1 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Last-minute starter Adrian Ramos scored a first-half header to give Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 victory over Sporting on Wednesday and earn a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two Group F matches to spare.
Thirty-two countries, ranging from Finland and Sweden to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Kazakhstan, have declared interest in hosting matches at Euro 2020 which will be staged across the continent.
A factbox on Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi
As the mercurial Messi rings in his 28th birthday, Rediff.com brings you all the exciting moments from the ace footballer's life.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona first struggled to come to terms with their shock 4-0 defeat to Paris St Germain in the Champions League last 16 first leg but have sparkled in their last two games and are daring to believe they can defy history by reaching the quarter-finals.
After Sunday's crushing 4-2 derby defeat at Manchester United, even a top four finish and a place in next season's Champions League is no longer a certainty.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
Manchester City displayed champions' swagger as they roared clear at the top with a 5-0 trouncing of Burnley but it was drama which engulfed their neighbours Manchester United and Jose Mourinho that dominated the Premier League agenda on Saturday.
English clubs took their spending on players for the season soaring past 1 billion pounds on Monday, but the biggest signing on transfer deadline day was that of a manager as Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola will take over this summer.
Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.
Fees paid by Premier League clubs passed one billion pounds for the first time, according to financial analysts Deloitte. That was inflated by the world record 89 million pounds ($115.98 million) that Manchester United paid Juventus for France midfielder Paul Pogba.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Borussia Dortmund fans will be offered tea and pies at Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday but there will be no such generosity on the pitch with the Russians intent on reaching their first Champions League quarter-final.
Radamel Falcao's hopes of playing at the World Cup finals hung by a thread on Thursday after his Ligue 1 club Monaco announced the Colombia striker required surgery on a left knee injury.
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
A deputy leader of Al Qaeda's branch in the Indian subcontinent, who was seen as a "rising star" in terrorist circles, died in an American drone strike in Pakistan in January that also killed an American and Italian hostage, according to a media report.