Following are the teams in eight groups for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Qatar from November 20-December 18.
Holders Real Madrid breezed past Chelsea into the semi-finals of the Champions League with Rodrygo's double securing a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge.
Real Madrid through to next round, win 6-2 on aggregate, Liverpool ousted
I'm the little man who can, says Croatia's Modric
Rahim Sterling, something of a surprise starter after a flat end to the domestic season but a favourite of manager Gareth Southgate, slid home a 61st-minute shot after great work by Kalvin Phillips to end an individual drought that had run through England's three previous major tournaments.
Croatia made heavy weather of beating Denmark in their worst performance of the tournament, but will seek to rediscover their fluency in a weekend showdown against Russia for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
Real Madrid continued their march towards a 35th LaLiga title
Lionel Messi insisted his fifth-place finish in Monday's Ballon d'Or awards was not a motivating factor behind his sensational performance in Barcelona's 4-0 thrashing of local rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Saturday.
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric urged Neymar to join him at the Champions League winners after swapping shirts with the forward following Sunday's international friendly between Brazil and Croatia.
Here are the list of awards handed out after the FIFA World Cup
Real Madrid produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to earn a devastating 5-2 victory at Liverpool
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
A diving header from Mario Mandzukic took a deflection off the Nigerian midfielder and crept into the goal for a deserved lead as Croatia dominated the count of chances created in the first 45 minutes.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the five best matches of the final round.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga and the Bundesliga.
A summary of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.
Lorenzo Insigne curled a quite wonderful shot beyond the reach of Belgium goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois after jinking in from the left flank.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos once again proved to be the man for the big occasion as he converted a fiercely debated penalty to help his side to a 3-1 win over rivals Barcelona at an empty Camp Nou in La Liga on Saturday.
'What a heart, what a mindset, what guts, what everything, what a REFERENCE you are! I'm at your feet!'
'This award is not just mine.' 'It is my team mates' from Real Madrid and Croatia.' 'Without my coaches, I would not have won this and without my family I would not be the player I am today.'
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema rescued his side again by scoring two late goals to snatch a 2-1 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Saturday and revive his side's hopes of catching leaders Atletico Madrid.
Real will meet the winners of Thursday's semi between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in Sunday's showpiece at the King Abdullah Sport City Stadium in Jeddah.
A guide to the Croatia starting 11 ahead of the World Cup final against France.
Croatia's road to Sunday's World Cup final, where they will play France for a chance to lift the trophy for the first time:
Ivan Rakitic an integral part of the Croatia side who reached the World Cup final in Russia before losing 4-2 to France.
Real are on 81 points with four games to go. They are 17 points ahead of nearest rivals Sevilla.
Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive.
Eight years is a long time in the life of an athlete. But just like Messi, Di Maria has preserved and persisted towards his childhood dream, points out Deepti Patwardhan.
Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Monday.
Ivan Rakitic outshone Barcelona team mate Arda Turan as Croatia ran out 1-0 winners against Turkey at Euro 2016 on Sunday, a victory that was more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.
Thirteen-times European champions Real, who had come through each of their last three Champions League semi-final ties, had been second best for much last week's first leg which ended 1-1.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois, Federico Valverde, Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Jr have tested positive for COVID-19.
Real Madrid's trophy aspirations could well depend on how well they cope with an injury crisis that sees Gareth Bale and Luka Modric in the treatment room.
Croatia were in dreamland on Thursday after advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time in 20 years with a 3-0 rout of Argentina that left a subdued Lionel Messi and his team mates facing yet another flop.
The result continued a dismal streak for Madrid, who have won only two of their last five games in all competitions
They can now dream of going one better than their third-place finish in 1998, which marked their first participation in the World Cup finals as an independent nation.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane made up for the absence of Sergio Ramos by scoring one goal and making another to help his side to a hard-fought 3-0 win at Getafe. La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Espanyol on Saturday as China striker Wu Lei came off the bench to grab a late equaliser in a pulsating city derby.
