News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid moved into the semi-finals of the Champions League after their makeshift defence held on for 0-0 second-leg draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
Belgium paid the price for failing to take their chances against France
Sergio Aguero's hat-trick led Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday and back into second place in the English Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
For however much or little it counts, Belgium have history on their side in not having lost to the Irish for 50 years, which includes beating them by a single goal in the playoffs to win a place at the 1998 World Cup in France.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
Belgium hammered the final nail into Egypt's halting World Cup warm-up campaign with an assured 3-0 win in Brussels on Wednesday that settled some nerves among the fancied hosts.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Premier League title race looks poised to be one of the most thrilling in years.
Manchester City gave renewed hope to the chasing pack in the battle for a Champions League spot as they were held to a battling 1-1 draw at relegation strugglers Newcastle United on Tuesday.
A makeshift England side beat Romania 1-0 in their final Euro 2020 warm-up game, while Belgium's Romelu Lukaku underlined his status as one of the world's top strikers with his 60th international goal to secure a 1-0 win over Croatia.
Successive home defeats by leaders Leicester City and second placed Tottenham Hotspur have left City six points off the pace with serious doubts about whether their expensively-assembled squad is still playing for the manager.
The Senegal international, 26, joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 for 34 million pounds ($43.8 million) and has scored 40 goals in 89 games for the Anfield club.
Manchester United held on for a goalless draw in a feisty derby with Manchester City after midfielder Marouane Fellaini was sent off for a headbutt in the Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday.
The perfectionist in Pep Guardiola forbids him to get remotely carried away by Manchester City's 100 per cent record this season even though they made it 10 wins out of 10 under their new Spanish manager on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola claimed his maiden English silverware as his side thrashed Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup final with Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva all on target in a disappointingly one-sided showpiece on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola said Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it used to be as City look to win all three points and take the lead in the Premier League title race.
Watford's hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a double blow on Tuesday when they were thrashed 4-0 at home by Manchester City and then slipped into the Premier League relegation zone after fellow strugglers Aston Villa beat Arsenal in the late game.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday
An 85th-minute equaliser by Naldo gave VfL Wolfsburg a 2-2 draw at Borussia Dortmund, maintaining their hold on second place and leaving the hosts in the Bundesliga relegation zone.
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.
Manchester City survived a late grilling by Real Madrid thanks to goalkeeper Joe Hart to hold on for a 0-0 draw on Tuesday that keeps alive their hopes of reaching the Champions League final for the first time.
Images from Sunday's English Premier League matches.
Belgium fought back from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2 with an added-time goal from substitute Nacer Chadli on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final with Brazil.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has a goalkeeping dilemma to resolve before ManchesterCity turn up for their Group C Champions League match in Glasgow on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich have all but secured their third consecutive Bundesliga title and victory over Hertha Berlin could see them clinch it as early as this weekend.
Manchester City beat Swansea 3-1 to make it a perfect 10 victories under Pep Guardiola, including six in the Premier League, as they recorded their best start to a top-flight campaign. City's victory was the perfect riposte to the Spaniard's old rival Jose Mourinho, who earlier saw his remodelled Manchester United sparkle without the dropped Wayne Rooney, thumping Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1. On a day of goals, both Manchester sides were outscored by Liverpool, who crushed Hull City 5-1 to take their tally to 24 in the past eight games.
Manchester City stumbled to the most unexpected defeat of the Premier League season on Saturday before neighbours Manchester United began their brave new world under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a glorious reminder of long-forgotten attacking swagger.
Leaders Bayern Munich eased past VfB Stuttgart 2-0 on Saturday to grab their first win of the year, as did Borussia Dortmund who beat Freiburg 3-0 to climb off the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Wales's Euro 2016 victory over Belgium, officially the second-best team in football, showed again that you can have all the attacking talent in the world but if you are weak at the back you will be found out at the highest level.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Until this season Manchester City's progression in the Champions League could be measured in baby steps but on Tuesday they can make a huge leap forward when they host Real Madrid in their first European semi-final for 45 years.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Images from Sunday's Premier League matches.
Knee injuries have sidelined him for large parts of this season, however, and the Belgium international has started only four Premier League games.
Belgium beat England 2-0 in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday to secure their best ever finish at a World Cup and send Gareth Southgate's side home with a second straight loss.
England's right-back Kieran Trippier is one of the World Cup's top performers.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday.