Lionel Messi stepped out of Diego Maradona's shadow by leading Argentina to World Cup victory last year and a statue of the diminutive forward will stand alongside those of his predecessor and Brazil great Pele at the South American federation's museum.
The world's lowest ranked soccer team, Bhutan, will take on Sri Lanka next month, while sleeping giants India face Nepal in the first qualifying matches for the 2018 World Cup.
Summary of the South American World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
The team may be able to rely on Real Madrid's young trio of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Eder Militao and Premier League rising stars Bruno Guimaraes, Antony and Gabriel Martinelli, among others.
France hoping Mbappe will be enough to match England's impressive depth
Morocco relied on the usual mixture of North African style, combining committed defence with counter-attacks
Giroud, at 36, brings experience and guile to France's attack, while Mbappe, 23, is blessed with pace
Germany was overwhelmed, badly prepared and below standard at the tournament
It's the first yellow card issued by a lady referee in the men's World Cup -- Stephanie Frappart is the umpire; Costa Rica's Oscar Duarte is the player -- and it all happened in the 76th minute of the match against Germany.
Germany came to Qatar with a leaky defence that had not kept a clean sheet in a competitive game
Qatar no playground for playmakers as defenders clamp down
With immense pressure on him to match the late great Diego Maradona and send the trophy back to Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi has lit up the Qatar tournament while others in the superstar stratum - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo - have underwhelmed and gone home.
'I feel very happy, to be able to achieve this, to finish my World Cup journey by playing my last game in a final'
"To say I'll be happy for Argentina (if they win), that will not be true, it would be a lie, I will not be a hypocrite," Ronaldo said in an interview with the Spanish daily Marca.
Iran's win over Wales and the U.S. team's goalless stalemate against England set up a tantalising final round of Group B matches.
In a highly ill-tempered game, players from both teams threw challenges, pushed and shoved each other, culminating in 48 fouls!
The Italian coach considers that having healthy players, such as striker Karim Benzema, will be the key to face the schedule that awaits the Madrid side, who will be looking to defend their LaLiga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League titles.
Chhetri and his wife Sonam Bhattacharya were blessed with their son Dhruv in August. Chhetri said that has changed his perspective on life.
India 'seriously' considering bid for 2036 Games, says sports minister
Jude Bellingham has become one of the most sought-after signatures in football
We haven't played the best coming into the tournament. There was a lot of talk and speculation about our form but we showed everyone how much quality we have and what we can do," said Saka, whose last major tournament ended with him missing a penalty in the Euro 2020 final shootout.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino accused critics of World Cup host Qatar's treatment of migrant workers of hypocrisy.
England fans, the majority of whom will be watching on sofas and in pubs back home, have rightly lauded Southgate but patience is beginning to run out.
Now that the World Cup is over, we take a look at the good, bad and ugly moments in the month-long football extravaganza.
Qatar will be the first team since Italy in the second World Cup in 1934 to participate in the finals for the first time as a host without having previously qualified for the tournament.
Players who have been ruled out or are doubtful for the 2022 World Cup.
Luis Suarez emerged from a month of treatment on his injured knee to score both goals as Uruguay beat England 2-1 to keep his team's World Cup hopes alive and leave England's hanging by a thread on Thursday.
France's national soccer team returned from Qatar to the acclaim of huge crowds in Paris on Monday, after their heroic defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final.
Lionel Messi -- but who else -- led Argentina's World Cup celebrations.
As World Cup fever grips soccer fans, spectators are excited and cricketers are no exception, as India's vice-captain Virat Kohli is ready to root for Germany in the upcoming mega-event.
Reigning champions France take on Argentina in a showpiece final at Lusail Stadium with both teams looking to add a third star to their crest.
The 35-year-old also paid tribute to Messi, who played for Real's arch-rivals Barcelona.
Speaking to reporters in her home state of California, Rapinoe said she had known for about a year that this would be the point at which she would be ready to retire.
Lloris and Kane will be back in action for Tottenham against Brentford on Dec. 26 when the Premier League swings back into action after its winter shutdown for the World Cup.
While ARTEMIS may not be at the next FIFA World Cup, Hong's team will be unveiling its full soccer capabilities at RoboCup in Bordeaux, France, in July.
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.
Lionel Messi has surpassed Diego Maradona as the greatest player of all time, Argentina's World Cup winning coach Lionel Scaloni said.
India will host the FIFA Under-17 World Cup football in 2017 with the world governing body awarding the right to host the prestigious tournament to the country in its executive committee meeting in Salvador da Bahia in Brazil.
Lewandowski huffed and puffed, but he cut a lonely and frustrated figure
Formal discussions over a possible joint US-Canada-Mexico bid are likely to start in 2017 once "all the rules and regulations" related to the bid are announced.
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