Real Madrid have endured a miserable season since Zinedine Zidane left in May, first sacking Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari.
Teddy Griffith said he is confident of staging the 2007 World Cup without major problems.
England skittled out shell-shocked Australia for 60 and piled up 274 for four in reply to take control of the fourth Ashes Test on a dramatic first day at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
Liverpool handed their fiercest rivals a painful lesson on Thursday with a dominant 2-0 win over Manchester United in the first leg of a Europa League last-16 clash.
England beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties on Tuesday after Eric Dier scored the decisive spot kick to send them through to a World Cup quarter-final against Sweden.
Ibrahimovic has not played since suffering a career-threatening knee ligament injury in United's Europa League quarter-final second leg match against Anderlecht at Old Trafford in April.
The late Florence Griffith Joyner topped the list of 10 inductees into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Everyone at Manchester City is flying high after the 1-0 derby win over Manchester United at the weekend but they could all come crashing back to earth after Wednesday's meeting with CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.
Murphy, ranked 48 in the world, became the first qualifier to win the tournament since Terry Griffiths in 1979.
A rampant Harry Kane netted four goals and livewire Son Heung-Min scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Leicester City 6-1 in an action-packed Premier League clash on Thursday.
India made two changes for this must-win game, with Gurkeerat Mann and Rishi Dhawan handed debuts on account of their all-round capabilities. Ravichandran Ashwin and Manish Pandey made way for them in the playing eleven.
Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0, Real Madrid boosted their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages with a 3-2 home victory over Inter Milan and Bayern Munich came from behind to crush RB Salzburg 6-2.
FC Basel won the Swiss Super League for an unprecedented sixth season in a row on Sunday.
'I think they're in a big fight now'
Ireland manager Martin O'Neill complained that France had far more time to prepare for Sunday's second-round 2-1 defeat of the Irish than his squad. The hosts, who battled back from a goal behind, had a week's rest after a goalless draw with Switzerland in their final group match, while the Irish had three days less to recover after their defeat of Italy.
The 30-year-old joins Luke Shaw in the treatment room after the left back pulled out of the England squad with an injury on Monday.
Didier Drogba is expecting a 'crazy' Stamford Bridge atmosphere.
England's performances at Euro 2016 so far will leave none of their opponents scared at the prospect of a knockout clash with the country, according to former striker Alan Shearer.
India remains at the top with 8,401,253 passengers, a year on year growth of 14.3 per cent compared to 7,347,270 in 2012.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho raised a few eyebrows on Friday when he said he had no interest in awards like FIFA's FIFPro World XI list for 2014.
Bulgaria's weightlifters will be absent from next year's Olympics after the sport's governing body banned the country's athletes following a high number of doping cases, it said on Friday.
Manchester City had to come from behind to hold Liverpool 1-1 as both teams lost ground in the Premier League following victories for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
Paris St Germain coach Unai Emery cursed his side for switching off in the final minutes of their 6-1 defeat at Barcelona which sent the French champions out of the Champions League before the quarter-finals for the first time in five years.
Sergio Aguero proved he is still vital to Manchester City's cause as the Argentine paved the way for a routine 2-0 victory at bottom club Sunderland on Sunday.
ManchesterCity manager Manuel Pellegrini said he had no option but to name a much-changed team for Sunday's 4-2 Premier League defeat by Southampton with the club's Champions League semi-final clash with Real Madrid scheduled on Wednesday.
The Indian media manager, denied a rift in the Indian team management, following a media report that chief coach Duncan Fletcher was being ignored in meetings and also not being kept in the loop about team strategy.
Another unconvincing display from Manchester United was compounded by a needless red card for Angel Di Maria.
Former Pakistan fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar has criticised the Indian bowling attack terming it as an unit that "lacks depth" as the only wicket-taking bowler is off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Wayne Rooney may not start Manchester United's Europa League match against Ukrainian side Zorya Luhansk for his own protection as he is struggling with a back injury, manager Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.
United beat Leicester City at Old Trafford in the opening game of the season but Spurs present a very different quality of opponent.
The Swedish striker, who has amassed an Aladdin's cave of silverware that includes 11 league titles in four European countries, is LA Galaxy's biggest foreign acquisition since David Beckham in 2007.
German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is unlikely to play for Manchester United this season, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.
Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj is confident he can rediscover the form he displayed in his breakthrough season in 2013-14 and feature more regularly for the club.
Liverpool needed two extra-time goals to beat NottsCounty 4-2 at Anfield on an eventful night for the Premier League clubs in the League Cup second round on Tuesday.
Young off-spinner Arjun Nair, the Canberra-born son of Indian immigrants, has been included in the New South Wales (NSW) squad for their upcoming Sheffield Shield match against South Australia.
'I, for one, never even thought after the advent of the helmet that this could happen. But accidents do take place and this is one of them,' said former India captain Nari Contractor, who survived a near-fatal skull injury after being hit by a fast delivery in the West Indies five decades ago, reacting to Phillip Hughes's death.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
