Dutch soccer great Johan Cruyff says he is "2-0 up in the first half" of his fight against lung cancer and confident of winning the battle. A former smoker who had heart surgery in 1991, the 68-year-old former Barcelona coach was diagnosed with cancer in October. "After several medical treatments I can say the results have been very positive, thanks to the excellent work of the doctors, the affection of the people and my positive mentality," triple Ballon d'Or winner Cruyff said in a statement. "Right now I have the feeling I am 2-0 up in the first half of a match that has not finished yet. But I am sure I will end up winning." Considered one of football's all-time greats, Cruyff helped Ajax Amsterdam win three European Cups from 1971-73 and was named European Footballer of the Year in 1971, 1973 and 1974. He joined Barcelona for a then-world record transfer fee of $2 million and it was the Catalan club that defined his coaching career as he helped them win their first La Liga title in 15 years in 1974.
World soccer great Diego Armando Maradona, who died on Wednesday less than a month after his 60th birthday, was worshipped like a god for his genius with the ball, but his demons almost destroyed him.
Take a swimwear style tip from the contestants of the first-ever Miss Euro soccer beauty contest held in West Germany last week.
If England win their Euro 2016 last-16 clash on Monday they can add the prized scalp of Iceland to those of Paraguay, Belgium, Cameroon, Denmark, Ecuador and Spain - the only teams they have beaten in a tournament knockout game since 1966.
Austria will look to repeat the historic feat at the 1978 World Cup when they meet Germany in the crucial Group B match on Monday.
France coach Didier Deschamps heaped praise on his players after they reached the World Cup final with a 1-0 win over Belgium on Tuesday, saying the lost final at Euro 2016 was still on his mind.
Belgium and France meet in the World Cup semi-final at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday.
Neymar, who has scored twice so far to help Brazil into the World Cup quarter-finals in Russia where they will face Belgium on Friday, has been sharply criticised for a string of exaggerated reactions when clashing with an opponent.
England turn focus to knockout round and the dreaded penalty shootout
Brazil, the only bidding country, were named as the host nation of the 2014 World Cup finals by FIFA, world soccer's governing body, on Tuesday.
Some England soccer fans sobbed while others looked to the future with confidence
Some of the fastest men to run the 100 metres in under ten seconds.
'In my opinion, he's the best, most complete attacker there is at the moment,' said the former West Germany striker.
Brazil's ace striker equalled Gerd Mueller's World Cup finals record of 14 goals.
Franz Beckenbauer was re-elected for a fifth consecutive term as Bayern Munich president on Friday, receiving 98.2 percent of the vote from 2,500 members attending the club's annual meeting.
Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness will stand trial for tax evasion in March, a German court said on Monday, but his club wants him to stay on in his current role.
Pakistan men's team slumped to a new low as it failed to qualify for next year's Rio Olympics.
Zinedine Zidane's successful seventh minute penalty for France against Italy on Sunday meant he became the fourth player to score three goals in the history of the World Cup final.
Franz Beckenbauer said Klinsmann should stay on as coach because the job he started rebuilding Germany football is not finished yet.
Brazil striker Ronaldo equalled Gerd Mueller's World Cup finals record of 14 goals, scoring twice in the 4-1 win over Japan in Group F.
With their own bitter memories of past semi-final defeats in the soccer tournament, England and Croatia will be competing for a spot in Sunday's final against France.
Already-qualified France played out an uninspiring goalless draw with Denmark in their final World Cup Group C match at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Tuesday, which was enough to ensure that both teams advance to the knockout stage.
Argentina start as hot favourites to beat Iceland in their opening World Cup Group D match on Saturday but the toughest opponent for the runners-up four years ago may be themselves rather than the tiny tournament debutants.
No team coached by a foreigner has won either of the biggest prizes in international soccer - the European Championship and the World Cup - until now.
Former Czechoslovakia coach Jozef Venglos says the current Czech side have many qualities of the team he helped guide to the 1976 European title.
Hungary coach Lothar Matthaeus believes Juergen Klinsmann has done a great job in his first five months in charge of the Germany team.
The 29-year-old Brazilian ace said eclipsing Gerd Mueller's mark of 14 goals was never a particular target for him.
'The feeling that we were Olympic champions only dawned on us when we reached India.'
Northern Ireland have enough tools to get a result in their final group match against a fallible German team, Northern Ireland's coach Michael O'Neill said on Monday.
Germany went down 2-0 in their final warm-up match for Euro 2004.
A piece of the original World Cup trophy, which was stolen in Brazil in 1983 and never recovered, has been found in a basement at FIFA's headquarters.
World Soccer magazine named Brazil team of the year. Guus Hiddink was named for the manager's award.
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness was charged with tax evasion on Tuesday after months of investigations into the high-profile affair were concluded, a Munich court said.
Belgium fought back from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2 with an added-time goal from substitute Nacer Chadli on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final with Brazil.
The Danes were certainly in no mood to risk defeat by pushing for a win they did not need to qualify.
