Didier Deschamps is confident he has prepared his players for any tactical surprises his opposite number Roberto Martinez might spring
Belgium's Eden Hazard is making the strongest bid for that crown.
France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
Liverpool's Champions League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane joined regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's player award
Neto will sign a four-year deal with Barcelona that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2022-23 season and he will replace Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen who moved the other way on Wednesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Germany scored five times in 27 minutes in the first half to crush Estonia 8-0 and make it three wins in three Euro 2020 Group C qualifiers.
PSG made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in the French Ligue 1, while Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 win away to Alaves in their opening game.
Ousmane Dembele struck early and Lionel Messi converted a late penalty as Barcelona won 2-0 at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side.
Philippe Coutinho's versatility makes him a great acquisition for Barcelona, coach Ernesto Valverde said on Sunday as the Brazilian made his first public appearance at the Nou Camp following his 142-million-pound ($192.57-million) move from Liverpool.
Neymar has been included in Paris St Germain's squad for Wednesday's Champions League game against Bayern Munich after recovering from a foot injury, coach Unai Emery said on Tuesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Hundreds of thousands of ecstatic French fans celebrated the return of their World Cup winning football team on Monday, jumping and chanting "We Are The Champions" as their bus paraded down the Champs Elysees before a special presidential reception.
Messi, whose deal expires in 2021, had called his side "weak" and "inconsistent" after they lost the league title to Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo helped Juventus continue their unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a comfortable 2-0 home victory over struggling SPAL on Saturday.
Instead, Allegri said on Monday, he would throw on all his best attacking players in an attempt to outscore his opponents in the first leg at the Juventus stadium.
Serie A witnessed some breath-taking football action, especially when AC Milan could not convert the umpteen chances they had against Sassuolo while Inter went to top. In Ligue 1 action, all the star players found the net for PSG. Here are images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Images from the international friendly and Euro qualifying football matches played on Tuesday.
A European nation is set to win the World Cup for the fourth time in a row this Sunday and in doing so confirm an unprecedented dominance for the Old World over their once mighty rivals in South America.
Belgium paid the price for failing to take their chances against France
Uruguay's Edinson Cavani has always played second fiddle to his more illustrious attacking colleagues at country or club level but the long-haired marksman emerged out of those shadows with his twin strike in the World Cup round of 16 last week.
Brazil soccer great Pele died on Thursday, aged 82, after a long battle with cancer.
Milan replaced Gennaro Gattuso with former Sampdoria coach Giampaolo during the close season in a bid to improve on last season's fifth place and to take them back to the Champions League.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League second semi-final played at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool were beaten 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid in their last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
Portugal had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Spain in a heavyweight friendly on Wednesday after hammering the crossbar twice and missing a last-gasp open goal.
Ajax, four-times European Cup winners who are in the knockout stages for the first time in 13 years, have enhanced their reputation as a talent factory due to the rise of homegrown Dutch players Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
United States striker Tim Weah says his side felt like playing at home during their 5-0 thrashing of Paraguay in their FIFA U-17 World Cup pre-quarterfinal match, in New Delhi, on Monday.
The victory saw Spain finish top of League A4 with 11 points after six games, joining France in the final four tournament, which will take place in October 2021.
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
Alaba strike on Clasico debut gives Real Madrid 2-1 win at Barcelona.
A summary of Sunday's action in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers across Europe.
City hold a 2-1 lead after an impressive performance in Paris last week and Guardiola's men are within touching distance of their first Champions League final.
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the five best matches of the final round.
And what an exciting week it has been, with players returning to packed stadiums, some memorable individual and team performances and a medical incident which had the world on edge.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
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