Yerry Mina's header secured Colombia a 1-0 win over Senegal in Samara on Thursday to clinch their safe passage to the last 16 as they finished top of Group H, while Senegal missed out to Japan on a fair play tiebreaker.
While Chelsea and Manchester City slug it out at the top of the Premier League, Louis van Gaal's Old Trafford revolution gathers ever more momentum in the red half of Manchester.
Playing at the Parc des Princes against the team who denied them the title last year was the perfect occasion for PSG, owned by big-spenders Qatar Sports Investments since 2011, to wrap up their fifth title in the Qatari era.
Manchester United have enough in their armoury to cope with the loss of suspended striker Wayne Rooney, Everton manager Roberto Martinez warned his players on Friday ahead of this weekend's Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho's side had paid lavish sums to bolster key areas by this time last year but, having claimed the title at a canter, the motto of this transfer window seems to be: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Chelsea must add a new dimension to their brand of football if the champions are to mount a strong defense of the Premier League title they won in some comfort last season, said manager Jose Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho maintained his hold over Arsene Wenger with leaders Chelsea enjoying a routine 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday after the two old adversaries became involved in an ugly touchline spat.
Monaco swept into the Champions League quarter-finals and left Manchester City to pick up the pieces of another failed European campaign after a 3-1 victory on Wednesday sent them through on away goals.
If, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson once said, a week is a long time in politics, four and a half months in football clearly represents an eternity.
Colombia marked their return to the World Cup after a 16-year absence with an attacking display that earned a 3-0 victory over Greece on Saturday, and the early initiative in what looks to be a really tight Group C.
How could a front six including Angel Di Maria, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata fail to get a single shot on target in a 1-0 home defeat by Southmapton?
Stuttering Chelsea retained their Premier League lead by virtue of the alphabet heading into the new year but will need a quick riposte at home to Newcastle United on Saturday (2030 IST) to hold Manchester City at bay.
Manchester United, who spent 150 million pounds on new players in the summer, might need to spend another 100 million pounds before they can compete for the Premier League title, according to former defender Phil Neville.
Manchester United emerged from the transfer window with a rich icing and the brightest of cherries to decorate their cake but the suspicion remains that the team's base may crumble under pressure.
The Jose Pekerman-coached team closed ranks on Friday, undertaking a private training session at their ski resort base outside of Kazan and declining to comment on the Colombian police probe and their preparations for Poland, who were upset 1-0 by Senegal in their opener.
La Liga champions Barcelona began the new campaign with a 3-0 win over Alaves on Saturday with the help of a spectacular under-the-wall free kick from Lionel Messi, who scored twice, and a curling shot from substitute Philippe Coutinho.
Chile beat Ecuador 2-1 in their closing South American qualifier in Santiago on Tuesday as both went through automatically to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
Arsenal stayed ahead of Manchester United in the race to qualify directly for next season's Champions League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday while Manchester City made sure of their place in the group stage with a 4-2 win at Swansea City.
The table suggests Louis van Gaal is making progress at Manchester United but winning matches has never been good enough on its own at the Theatre of Dreams.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich survived several first-half scares in a 1-1 home draw with midtable Schalke 04 on Saturday as Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for the Bavarian club.
Daley Blind's late second half strike helped a lacklustre Manchester United salvage a 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in the Premier League on Monday.
The Louis van Gaal era finally got lift off as Manchester United demolished Queens Park Rangers 4-0 on Sunday for their first win since the Dutchman took charge at Old Trafford.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Monaco owe most of their recent success to their young guns, but when they face Manchester City looking to overturn a two-goal deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, they will turn to a more experienced player in Radamel Falcao.
Having absorbed the body blow of losing striker Radamel Falcao in the close season, Atletico Madrid have emerged as genuine contenders to break the title stranglehold of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Written off last season as a sub-standard misfit with a comical haircut, there are signs that Marouane Fellaini is finally beginning to feel comfortable in a red Manchester United shirt.
A plethora of high-profile attacking signings had expectant Manchester United fans dreaming of a return to the upper echelons of European football, but their failure to identify their defensive problems is threatening to derail those hopes.
World champions Germany drew 1-1 with Spain in a high tempo friendly on Friday as they launched their preparations for a title defence in Russia while their opponents had striker Diego Costa making his long-awaited comeback as a substitute.
Leicester City added another tale of remarkable success to an incredible year by reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in their debut season with a 2-1 victory over Club Bruges.
Wayne Rooney ended his eight-game Premier League scoring drought with a 2-0 victory against a dogged Sunderland.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea when they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to struggling Burnley on Sunday.
Manchester United suffered a double blow on Thursday with Daley Blind ruled out for a 'long' spell due to a knee problem and Radamel Falcao receiving a "new injury" that will keep him out for at least two more weeks.
The Greek league leaders confirmed the move but did not give financial details. Local media said Toure would be paid around 2.5 million euros ($2.9 million) for one season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A superb 83rd minute free-kick from captain Neymar gave Brazil a winning start under new coach Dunga as they beat Colombia 1-0 in a fiercely contested friendly on Friday.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
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