Sweden beat Brazil 4-3 in a penalty shoot-out after the teams were locked goalless following extra-time on Tuesday to reach the final of the women's football tournament at the Rio Olympics.
Pele has been invited to light the Olympic flame at the Rio Games on Friday but the Brazilian soccer great is checking with his sponsors to see if he is free to lead the torch ceremony in the Maracana stadium.
The fastest-ever World Cup own goal and a typical piece of Lionel Messi brilliance gave Argentina a 2-1 win over tournament debutants Bosnia-Bosnia-Herzegovina in their Group F clash at the Maracana on Sunday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
More than six million requests for World Cup tickets were made during the first sales period that ended on Thursday.
Police shot a mugger near the stadium where the Rio Olympics opening ceremony took place and a woman was killed close to another Olympic site, police said Saturday. The violence on Friday highlighted the task facing an unprecedented force of 85,000 soldiers and police deployed to secure the Olympics. Rio police said in a statement that a man was mugging people near the Maracana stadium when he was intercepted by one of the police officers sent from another area of Brazil to Rio as part of the huge reinforcements.
Argentina lose to Brazil in Copa America semis
Colombia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time after a double from James Rodriguez gave them a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
Brazil's goalless draw to Colombia in their World Cup qualifier brought a predictably angry reaction from the media on Thursday, although they stopped short of calling for the head of coach Dunga. The match was almost a replica of the previous month's stalemate with Bolivia, with Brazil lacking the ideas to break down defensive but unambitious opponents.
Brazil were jeered off the field after being held to their second successive home goalless draw in the World Cup qualifiers.
Rains failed to dampen the famous Rio carnival spirit as this Brazilian city bid an emotional farewell to the thousands of athletes of the world in a colourful closing ceremony to bring down curtains on the 31st Olympic Games.
Athletes Village opens officially, on Sunday, meaning 10,500 athletes and another 7,000 staff members will start trickling into the luxurious layout.
Brazil's Olympic women's football team was showered with joyous attention until their heart-breaking semi-final elimination on Tuesday which brought forward a key question: Was the interest the start of something big or another false dawn?
With a little bit of chaos and a last-minute sprint on preparations, Rio de Janeiro was ready on Friday to revel in a moment seven years in the making: the opening of the Olympic Games.
Brazil's Gabriel Jesus made one goal, scored another and was sent off in the second half as they beat Peru 3-1 to win the Copa America for the ninth time.
Former Brazil striker Romario will make another attempt to score what he says will be his 1,000th goal in Vasco da Gama's Brazilian championship match against Sport Recife on Sunday.
Defending champions Brazil will attempt to end a five-match winless run against their smaller neighbours Uruguay when they meet in Tuesday's Copa America semi-final.
Rediff.com takes you through a photographic journey of all the exciting sporting moments that unfolded over the last seven days.
The Indian hockey team will miss the opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics amid speculation that the kit did not fit some of the players ahead of the parade to take place at the Maracana Stadium.
Neymar shed tears of joy after delivering Brazil's first men's soccer gold medal with the winning penalty in a 5-4 shootout triumph over Germany after a thrilling final ended in a draw following extra-time on Saturday.
A late header from Edinson Cavani gave Uruguay a 1-0 win over Copa America holders Chile which saw them snatch top spot in Group C at their opponents' expense and set up a quarter-final meeting with Peru.
The fire broke out at Ninho do Urubu, a state-of-the-art training centre that was expanded and opened only two months ago.
Neymar should return to Spain with renewed enthusiasm after leading Brazil to their first soccer gold medal at an Olympic Games, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. Neymar, who has scored 85 goals in 141 games in his three seasons at Barcelona, was given permission to stay in Brazil until after international games early next month. "I think it's a good decision to grant him (Neymar) that," Pique told El Mundo Deportivo. "He has earned it.
Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time with 18 gold medals among his career haul of 22, will carry the US flag in Friday's opening ceremony of the Rio Olympics.
The Olympic torch was raised before Rio de Janeiro's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue on Friday on the final leg of its journey to the opening ceremony of the Olympics, as Brazil excitedly put the final touches to seven years of preparations.
World football governing body FIFA has reportedly announced that more than 3.5 million requests for the tickets of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil have been made from 199 countries in the second sale phase.
Brazil overwhelmed Peru with three goals in a superb first half to set up a crushing 5-0 victory on Saturday and cruise into the Copa America quarter-finals.
Rio de Janeiro is seeking a new venue for the opening water polo matches at the 2016 Olympics after organisers on Thursday confirmed reforms at the proposed venue will not be completed in time.
Focused on winning their first ever Olympic medal, the Indian archers will skip the much-awaited opening ceremony of the Rio Games on Friday.
'Living in Brazil, I had internalised the football mythology of that country, the way I had learnt Mahabharata stories in my childhood. The tragedy at the Maracana stadium in 1950, when a confident Brazil had lost to Uruguay in the finals. They tell the story of this debacle, this 'Hiroshima' that hit them, like the Shias lament the death of Ali. It led to the Brazilian team burning their white uniforms and switching later to Yellow and blue symbolising their national colours,' says Ambassador B S Prakash, India's former envoy to Brazil.
A mix of interesting events, coupled with big, shocking results, in the sporting world, grabbed headlines last week. From Manchester United being stunned by Watford to lose their third consecutive match to Nico Rosberg taking the World Championship lead from Mercedes teammate and rival Lewis Hamilton by clinching the Singapore Grand Prix. The Rio 2016 Paralympic Games were brought to a close inside a packed Maracana Stadium on Sunday evening. Not before, we witnessed some enthralling action.
The 2026 soccer World Cup could be split between up to four countries, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday, announcing the organisation would encourage applications to co-host the tournament.
Brazil's economy is heading for recession, the President is threatened with impeachment and a huge corruption scandal has engulfed the nation but Rio de Janeiro is riding a wave of confidence in its preparations to host the Olympics next year.
Uruguay sealed their spot at the 2014 World Cup finals after a goalless draw at home to Jordan in the second leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday saw them advance 5-0 on aggregate.
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.
At least two of the eight first-round groups of four produced tough obstacles for their participants to progress to the knockout rounds.
The first Indian woman grappler to win an Olympic medal, a bronze in the 58kg freestyle at Rio, she was the obvious choice as P V Sindhu, India's only other medallist, who bagged a silver in the women's singles badminton, left for Hyderabad on Saturday.
Neymar scored a brace, including the fastest goal in Olympic history, Gabriel Jesus got two more and Marquinhos and Luan added one each as Brazil swept past Honduras 6-0 into the final of the men's Olympic soccer tournament on Wednesday.
Beijing Olympics gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, who is competing in his fifth Games, led the Indian contingent at the parade of nations during the Open Ceremony of the Rio Olympics on Friday night.
Brazil unfurled a vast canvas celebrating its rainforest and the creative energy of its wildly diverse population in welcoming the world on Friday to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, all to the pounding beat of samba, bossa nova and funk.
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