A round-up of Friday's action in the UEFA Nations League.
France substitute Kylian Mbappe engineered two late goals to rescue a 2-2 draw against Iceland and spare the blushes of the world champions in their friendly.
Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool career seemed to be heading for a premature end last season but the striker showed on Tuesday he may yet have an important role after taking his chance during a rare start in the Champions League win over Paris St Germain.
'They probably need to refresh the team a bit more, to be very honest. They have kept the majority of the same team for the last couple of years'
The simplicity of football was again emphasised as France secured a place in the World Cup final from a basic set- piece.
Goalkeeping howlers have been scarce at the World Cup but Fernando Muslera's mistake proved fatal for Uruguay in their 2-0 quarter-final defeat by France on Friday just as much as a brilliant stop from Hugo Lloris kept his side ahead.
For the first time since 1998, the Champions League final will feature two teams who entered the competition as domestic champions, a throwback to the day's of the old European Cup when only a country's title winners were allowed to enter.
Benzema, who has scored 30 goals in all competitions for Real Madrid this season, has not played for France since 2015 after a blackmailing scandal over which he faces a trial in October.
Manchester City came out on top in an epic Champions League battle against Monaco as late goals by John Stones and Leroy Sane secured a 5-3 victory in a last 16 first-leg thriller on Tuesday that had goals galore and a missed penalty.
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
Real Madrid dug deep in a 3-0 home win against lowly Alaves in the La Liga, but Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain their second Ligue 1 loss of the season.
The football world gathered in the Qatari capital on Friday as the draw ceremony for the World Cup finals got under way with music and dance.
'In my opinion he has taken on more challenges and succeeded at all of them. He's the most complete player I have seen and his work ethic, as I mentioned, is unmatched.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
Real Madrid's Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was named winner of the 2018 Ballon d'Or on Monday, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's decade-long hold on the prestigious award.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a perfect hat-trick inside 32 minutes as Juventus bounced back from their midweek Champions League exit by beating Cagliari 3-1 away in Serie A on Sunday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Spurs striker Bergwijn is major casualty as Netherlands trim squad
"This was one of the reasons why I took this opportunity. To train with all these personalities and this talent."
Real Madrid have endured a miserable season since Zinedine Zidane left in May, first sacking Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari.
The World Cup final between Russia and Croatia in Moscow was briefly interrupted when three intruders ran onto the pitch before they were hauled off by stewards.
Deschamps has proven both innovative and brave as coach, and is now one victory away from joining an elite club.
Barcelona abandoned their hopes of signing Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool after the Merseyside club demanded 200 million euros ($237.14 million) for the Brazil attacking midfielder, the Liga side's director Albert Soler said.
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
"It would be a big deal, increasing the team's appeal and also because it would bigger business for Juve, through merchandising," a Milan-based trader said.
The mesmerising moments that made the 2018 FIFA World Cup a blockbuster worldwide.
Jose Mourinho said on Monday he would step up Manchester United's pursuit of Gareth Bale if the Real Madrid winger was left out of the starting line-up in Tuesday's European Super Cup between the Red Devils and the Champions League holders.
France stretched their unbeaten run against Croatia to eight games after a late goal by Kylian Mbappe gave the world champions a 2-1 win in their Nations League top-tier Group 3 match on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich winger Serge Gnabry has been ruled out of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris St Germain after testing positive for COVID-19 while midfielder Marc Roca will miss the game due to injury.
AS Monaco, beaten 2-0 at home in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Juventus, will have to make history in Tuesday's return if they are to end Ligue 1's long absence from the final.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
One goal determined the outcome of the Champions League final on Sunday but there could be no doubt that Bayern Munich deserve to be crowned European champions for the sixth time. With a 1-0 victory over Paris St Germain courtesy of Kingsley Coman's header, Bayern have achieved what no team have managed in Europe's elite club competition -- win every game.
PSG make winning start as Messi arrival looms
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo struck his fifth international hat-trick, including a spectacular volleyed opener, to lead the European champions to a 5-1 win over the Faroe Islands in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
The FIFA World Cup at Russia saw a variety of celebrations -- from the weird to some fancy dance moves -- Rediff.com has got it all covered here...
France began dreaming of World Cup glory after a two-decade wait after Les Bleus on Tuesday defeated Belgium to reach the final
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