Cameroon overpower Ecuador; Nigeria score late to draw with Sweden
Russia is the lowest FIFA ranked side at the event, but two games in they are top of their group with six points and are poised to qualify for the next stage.
Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic denied Brazil's potent strike force on several occasions in a goalless first half of their World Cup Group G match on Thursday.
The French in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018 all followed their stuttering starts as champions by bombing out in the group stage.
A 90th-minute goal by Xherdan Shaqiri secured Switzerland a 2-1 victory over Serbia in a blistering-paced World Cup Group E match in Kaliningrad on Friday, putting them in a strong position to go through to the knockout round.
Yerry Mina's header secured Colombia a 1-0 win over Senegal in Samara on Thursday to clinch their safe passage to the last 16 as they finished top of Group H, while Senegal missed out to Japan on a fair play tiebreaker.
Iceland's president Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson has told Reuters that he wants even more soccer fans from around the world to join "Team Iceland" and share the joy as his tiny nation makes its World Cup debut in Russia.
Since the beginning of the World Cup, Ilham has been cheering Morocco on in Doha.
Croatia made heavy weather of beating Denmark in their worst performance of the tournament, but will seek to rediscover their fluency in a weekend showdown against Russia for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
"If you look at our team, only three players of the 26 have played at a World Cup before. This is a new generation of players. There is everything still left to play for. We have not lost hope."
"We have long faces, we deserved something more, but that's football," AEK Athens player Pineda, 26, told ESPN.
FIFA WC PIX: Ghana vs Portugal
The World Cup is around the corner and millions of fans are putting down their iPads to collect and trade soccer stickers, a decades-old hobby that has defied the digital age.
The 2-2 draw in Kaliningrad was thrilling for neutrals but exposed huge vulnerabilities in the 2010 world champions, who had to come from behind twice after careless mistakes gifted two goals to already-eliminated Morocco.
Stanislav Cherchesov is getting the big graffiti treatment in Russia after coaching the home team to the second round of the World Cup for the first time in 32 years.
Bangladesh labour activists said on Friday they had joined a lawsuit in Switzerland against world soccer body FIFA for allegedly failing to use its influence to ensure people working on 2022 World Cup facilities in Qatar are treated fairly.
Argentina dominated the opening stages and earned the penalty when Di Maria was fouled by Ousmane Dembele, with Messi sending France keeper Hugo Lloris the wrong way to move to the top of the goalscoring charts in Qatar.
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
Southampton confirmed that they had signed 23-year-old Walker-Peters, who spent the second half of last season on loan at the club. British media put the fee at 12 million pounds.
Modric said it was important to respect opponents in Qatar, including Morocco, describing the players as phenomenal and highly motivated.
The South Americans face Senegal in a decisive Group H clash in Samara on Thursday.
"I want to continue playing as a World Cup champion."
President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies could hurt an expected U.S. bid to host the 2026 World Cup although plenty of time remains for concerns to ease before the decision by world soccer's governing body FIFA.
England beat Spain 5-2 to win FIFA U-17 World Cup
A second-place finish in the group stages could prove to be a blessing in disguise for England who are on the relatively easier side of the draw in the knockout stages.
Decisions about the availability of Otavio, who started against Ghana, and reserve left back Nuno Mendes, who is also an injury concern, would be taken after a training session later on Sunday, Santos said.
Mathew Ryan asked his family if anyone wanted to come and watch him play in the World Cup in Russia, there was an enthusiastic response - from 27 of them.
Defending world champions Germany crashed out of the World Cup after a shock 2-0 loss to South Korea on Wednesday, courtesy of two stoppage-time goals.
India may be the underdogs in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup but midfield-lynchpin Suresh Singh Wangjam is confident that playing on the home soil would help them do well in the prestigious tournament.
Tehran's streets were filled with thousands of Iranians celebrating their men's national soccer team's qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, defying threats by Islamic State to launch more extremist attacks in the country.
"It wasn't easy to collect these four points, only one of the games we played was not on the expected level and that was when we played versus Australia."
Martin Caceres shackled Son, harassing the South Korean winger any time he got the ball and sticking close to him to discourage others from passing his way.
Argentine referee Nestor Pitana will take charge of Thursday's opening World Cup match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia in Moscow, FIFA said on Tuesday.
Entering the tournament with minimal expectations and the second youngest team at the World Cup, England surprised many by reaching their third ever World Cup semi-final.
European powerhouse Spain bounced back from the defeat in their opening match to score a 4-0 victory over Niger in a Group D match of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Kochi on Tuesday.
Costa Rica edged past 10-man New Zealand 1-0 in their intercontinental playoff
Portugal charged into the knockout rounds of the under-20 World Cup on Saturday with a 3-1 defeat of Colombia while Serbia also advanced after sending Mexico crashing out of the tournament.
The All India Football Federation (AIFF) remains hopeful of organising the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup in November despite the coronavirus pandemic causing cancellation and postponement of top sporting events, throwing international schedules haywire. The optimism stems from the seven months' time that the organising committee has at its disposal to prepare for the top age-group tournament.
Germany announced their arrival at the FIFA Women's World Cup on Sunday by handing out a near-record 10-0 thrashing to Ivory Coast.
The world's most-talented young players gave India a memorable show of high quality football on the field as the country showcased its organizational skills in a near-flawless and record-breaking FIFA Under-17 World Cup across six cities, which culminated with England clinching the title in Kolkata on Saturday.
