A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Chelsea's Guus Hiddink believed his side could qualify for next season's Champions League with a top-four finish but he has now virtually written off their chances.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Iceland were within two minutes of a famous victory on their first appearance at a major tournament on Saturday only for Birkir Saevarsson to put through his own net to hand Hungary a 1-1 draw that leaves Euro 2016 Group F wide open.
England coach Roy Hodgson, basking in a 2-1 victory over Wales on Thursday clinched by goals from two substitutes, said fringe players would be a major factor at Euro 2016. Gareth Bale put Wales in front before Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge replied, the latter in stoppage time, after both came on in the second half. Hodgson said it was hard to remember if he had made a better double substitution in his 40-year career.
Football fans have opened up a new sporting crisis for Russia.
Radamel Falcao answered Zlatan Ibrahimovic's early opening goal for Paris St Germain with a quick equaliser for a 1-1 draw that kept Monaco top of Ligue 1 on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta lifted a ninth Liga title after his side beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Sunday in an emotional final game for the midfielder at the Nou Camp while Fernando Torres scored twice in his final game for Atletico Madrid.
The victory, Chelsea's 28th of the season, put the long-time league leaders 10 points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have only three games left to play.
Barcelona look well set to wrap up the La Liga title.
Paris St Germain's league record 36-game unbeaten streak came to an abrupt halt when they lost 2-1 at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday.
Germany coach Joachim Loew and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer praised the team's less experienced players for stepping up to convert in their dramatic penalty shootout against Italy, firing the world champions into the Euro 2016 final four.
The co-pilot of Germanwings Flight 9525 appears to have deliberately crashed the plane after he was left alone in the cockpit, according to a French prosecutor.
After a couple of solid defensive performances in defeats by Switzerland and France, Albania need to discover some scoring form against Romania, their Italian coach Gianni De Biasi said ahead of Sunday's vital Euro 2016 Group A fixture.
Albania are unlikely to pose much of a threat to France but Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann will be expected to produce sharper performances in Wednesday's Group A match when victory should assure the hosts a last 16 spot in Euro 2016.
Iceland will head into their maiden appearance in a major tournament devoid of stage fright, their coach Lars Lagerback and key players said ahead of Tuesday's Euro 2016 Group F clash with Portugal in St Etienne.
Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away. The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team. Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didiers Deschamps took over as coach in 2012. "My statistics speak for themselves," Giroud told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris on Saturday. "People say I get better through adversity but I'd be happy to live without all the mudslingers," he added.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Football's winter transfer window closed on February 1, and, surprisingly, none of Europe's biggies made even a slight move, let alone sign a player.
Mesut Ozil guided Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Napoli while a late Cesc Fabregas header gave Barcelona a laboured 1-0 win at 10-man Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Striker Radamel Falcao scored his sixth and seventh goals in as many Ligue 1 matches as big-spending Monaco beat Bastia 3-0 at home on Wednesday to maintain their grip at the top of Ligue 1.
In England, the celebrations went on at Leicester City as they marked their fairytale Premier League success with another win while champions Juventus' long unbeaten streak in Italy came to an end.
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France may have ousted rivals Germany for the first time in 58 years but it will mean nothing if they lose Sunday's Euro 2016 final against a Portugal team that have had more recovery time, said Didier Deschamps.
Paris St Germain clinched a third successive Ligue 1 title, with a game to spare, and stayed on course for an unprecedented domestic treble with a 2-1 win at Montpellier on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Croatia needed a touch of Luka Modric magic to beat Turkey 1-0 in their Euro 2016 Group D opener on Sunday, gaining a measure of revenge after their bitter quarter-final elimination by the same opponents at Euro 2008.
An early goal by defender Fabian Schaer earned Switzerland a 1-0 victory over debutants Albania whose captain was sent off before halftime in the Euro 2016 Group A match on Saturday. Switzerland, bidding to reach the knockout stages for the first time, scored in the fifth minute and were given a further boost by a second yellow card for Albania skipper Lorik Cana.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Irresistible Chelsea go into the Christmas round of fixtures knowing they can end the year by re-writing the record books.
World champion Marc Marquez underlined his dominance of MotoGP when he swept to a record-equalling 12th pole position of the season on a good day for Spain at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Arsenal led a list of nine clubs who grabbed a second win in as many games in the Europa League group phase as France striker Olivier Giroud scored his 100th goal for the club in a 4-2 win at BATE Borisov on Thursday.
'As events at Kargil and Pakistan's continued support to terror activities in India prove, Pakistan has always felt that the break-up/destruction of India was within its capability,' notes Colonel Anil A Athale (retd).
The suggestion that Spain need to change their playing style is already meeting resistance even though another disappointing performance at a major soccer tournament suggests that tiki-taka has run its course. In many countries, a defeat as comprehensive as the one Spain suffered against Italy in Euro 2016 on Monday, when they were outplayed and lucky to lose only 2-0, would have led to calls to knock everything down and start again. In Spain, however, where many are proud of having such a distinctive style of play, there are plenty of voices calling for the team to continue trying to pass the ball all the way into the goal.
It is a measure of the importance of captain Robert Lewandowski to Poland that the striker is the first name coach Adam Nawalka writes on the team sheet despite his goal drought at Euro 2016. Most forwards who go more than 10 hours without scoring would be warming the bench and facing criticism from the media and fans. But the Bayern Munich striker will be a key part of Poland's efforts to defeat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Thursday's quarter-final in Marseille. After scoring 13 goals in the qualifying, Lewandowski's statistics in his first four games in France make disappointing reading: no goals, two attempts on target, three attempts off target and three blocked attempts.
Here is a quick fact-box on new Real Madrid coach Rafael Benitez, who was appointed to replace Italian Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday.
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