Poland rested striker Robert Lewandowski and missed his firepower as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Lithuania in a Euro 2016 warm-up in the former capital city of Krakow on Monday. The stalemate before a 30,000 crowd against a determined Lithuania side playing on the counter followed Poland's 2-1 loss to the Netherlands in a friendly last week. Poland coach Adam Nawalka fielded an experimental defence with Thiago Cionek in central defence and talented teenage midfielder Bartosz Kapustka deployed at right back to try to beef up the rearguard but they still looked vulnerable. The hosts played with more urgency in the second half against the Lithuanians, who failed to qualify for the finals in France, and almost scored on the hour when winger Jakub Blaszczykowski hit the post after marauding down the right. Despite attacking relentlessly they could not find the net without talisman Lewandowski, who watched from the bench as 'Ajax Amsterdam forward Arek Milik toiled alone up front.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
The improvement since Tite took over as coach in June 2016 has been remarkable and Brazil are now joint favourites to win a record sixth World Cup.
Top seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga swept to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Brazilian Thiago Alves in the first round of the South African Open in Johannesburg on Tuesday. The Frenchman was joined in the second round by second seed David Ferrer, fifth seed Jeremy Chardy and seventh seed Kristof Vliegen.
Roberto Firmino had a goal chalked off late in the first half after the referee awarded a foul against the hosts, before substitute Gabriel Jesus found the net on the hour mark only for a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review to deem Firmino offside in the build-up. Brazil meet Peru in their final group game on Saturday with both sides needing only a draw to seal their place in the quarter-finals
Roger Federer, revelling in the unusual role of being the underdog, will continue his bid for a fifth successive US Open title on Friday when he plays little-known Brazilian Thiago Alves in the second round. The Swiss, relegated to second seed in New York after losing his number one ranking to Spaniard Rafael Nadal, is trying to avoid ending the year without a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002.
Lionel Messi dragged a nervous Barcelona to a 1-0 win at home to Levante in La Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo converted two late penalties on his 100th appearance for Juventus in all competitions as the Serie A titleholders ground out a 3-1 win away to a dogged Genoa side.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 victory over 10-man VfL Bochum on Wednesday with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice to keep their treble hopes on track.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
FIFA slapped the Mexicans with a CHF 10,000 fine for what it called "discriminatory and insulting chants" during their surprise 1-0 win over Germany on Sunday.
Brazil beat Chile 3-2 in a penalty shootout to reach the World Cup quarter-finals after their dramatic last-16 match in Belo Horizonte ended 1-1 after extra time on Saturday.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Summary of all that transpired on and off the football field
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
Hundreds of visiting supporters have been queuing up to visit Josef Stalin's bunker - chambers dug out underneath the southwestern city to protect the Soviet leader from a Nazi German assault that never came.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
United are 16th in the standings with a game in hand heading into the international break.
India's national champion beat the Brazilian to advance to the quarter-finals of the inaugural Indian Open table tennis championships.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Champions Bayern Munich comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday to lay down a marker as they eye a record-extending sixth straight German league title.
Unbeaten Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich opened up an 11-point gap at the top after goals from Thomas Mueller and Kingsley Coman eased them past Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Saturday, their 13th win in 14 league games.
The unheralded Dane beat the Argentine second seed in the first round of the Chennai Open.
European Champions Spain produced a dominant display to thrash South Korea 6-1 in Salzburg, Austria on Wednesday in their penultimate friendly before Euro 2016.
Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros (198.82 million pounds) transfer from Barcelona to French side Paris Saint-Germain appeared close to completion on Wednesday, when his agent predicted he could be unveiled by the weekend.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck twice as Paris St Germain made up for their midweek Champions League defeat by crushing Toulouse 5-0 to stretch their Ligue 1 lead to 13 points on Saturday.
Belgium used a combination of daring, intelligence, resilience and not a little luck to oust World Cup favourites Brazil 2-1 in a memorable quarter-final tie on Friday that would have made a worthy final.
A man who tried to rob Arsenal players Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac at knifepoint in a failed North London carjacking last July was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Friday.
Karim Benzema fired Real Madrid to a 1-0 win in the city derby against Atletico Madrid on Saturday which underlined Real's La Liga title credentials. Bayern Munich scored three goals in the opening 26 minutes to defeat Mainz 05 3-1 away on Saturday and go two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with their sixth straight win.
Images from the action on Day 2 at the Australian Open.
Leading striker Samuel Eto'o will also miss the Champions League Group C match at Udinese because of a bruised ankle.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich were made to work extremely hard for a 3-1 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the table with five games left.
Germany scored five goals in 18 first-half minutes on the way to a 7-1 destruction of Brazil in the semi-final on Tuesday to leave the host nation in a state of stunned disbelief at the most amazing World Cup result of all time.
The Mumbai lad pulled off the biggest win of his career when he beat the world No 106-ranked Brazilian in straight sets to enter the second round of the Chennai Open.
Robert Lewandowski's hat-trick helped give coach Carlo Ancelotti a flying start to his first Bundesliga campaign as Bayern Munich cruised to an easy 6-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Friday.
IMAGES from Day 7 of the French Open, at Roland Garros, on Saturday.
After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra-time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone's side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.
Roberto Firmino struck a stoppage-time winner as Liverpool beat Paris St Germain 3-2 at Anfield on Tuesday after Kylian Mbappe looked to have secured a point for the French side in a compelling Champions League Group C clash.
The Barcelona defender was ruled out after rupturing knee ligaments during his side's 4-1 victory over Real Zaragoza.
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