A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
England's World Cup 2018 team, and remarkable similarities emerge between the XI expected to start the semi-final against Croatia
Defensive injury concerns for veteran squad leader Vincent Kompany and Barcelona's Thomas Vermaelen have eased and coach Roberto Martinez has sent standby defender Laurent Ciman home.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Belgium struck early and held off a late Brazil fightback to send the five-time champions tumbling out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory in an end-to-end thriller on Friday that earned them a semi-final against France.
World number one Lin Dan battled past Peter Gade as China whitewashed Denmark 3-0 to retain the Thomas Cup on Sunday
Maradona's lawyer had said earlier he was in good health and willing to fight his disease.
Indian-origin British filmmaker Asif Kapadia says he lived with the idea of making a documentary on Diego Maradona for 25 years, since the 1990s when he was a film student and read a book on the legendary footballer.
Hungary made their first appearance at a European Championship for 44 years a memorable occasion by grabbing their goal chances to score a 2-0 win over old rivals Austria in a Group F clash on Tuesday. Austria, riding a wave of national euphoria following an impressive qualifying run, were the better side for most of the game but left the pitch still dreaming of their first-ever win in the finals. The two teams, meeting for the 138th time, started the tournament with reasonable hopes of emerging from a group that also features Portugal and Iceland who meet later on Tuesday in St Etienne.
Brazil were winning 3-1 and the 1970 World Cup final against Italy was over as a contest when Carlos Alberto looked up to see the whole of the right wing open to him and started to motor. There were four minutes left on the clock at the Aztec stadium and Brazil's captain really just wanted the game to end. His team mates felt the same way and were knocking the ball about nonchalantly when the marauding full back spotted the chance of a fourth goal, even from way back in his own half.
Belgians tasted bitterness in their beer on Tuesday after their dreams of a first World Cup final were ended by the narrowest of margins by their bigger French neighbours.
Argentina will play at Jerusalem's Teddy Kollek Stadium on Saturday night in a World Cup warm-up match that has attracted huge interest among the Israeli fans, mainly because of Messi's planned participation. But the Palestinians are not happy that the match will be held in Jerusalem and Palestinian FA chief Jibril Rajoub wrote to Claudio Tapia, the head of the Argentinian FA, last week accusing Israel of using the match as a "political tool".
Maninder Singh, the talented left-arm spinner, was taken to cleaners with utter disdain, but he never faced public wrath.
Diego Maradona could return to international soccer as the Argentine is being considered for the vacant United Arab Emirates head coaching job.
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.
Belgium beat England 2-0 in the World Cup third-place play-off on Saturday to secure their best ever finish at a World Cup and send Gareth Southgate's side home with a second straight loss.
Sporting world lost some of its favourite stars this year.
Coach Didier Deschamps believes his players are ready to write a new page in the history of French football at Euro 2016 on Thursday when the hosts attempt to beat Germany for the first time for 58 years in a competitive match. The French go into the semi-final against the world champions in Marseille as underdogs. Even though they have twice won the European championship, they have not beaten their German neighbours outside of friendlies since the 1958 World Cup.
A factbox on new Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal.
Carlos Tevez struck twice as Argentina set up a rematch of their 1986 and 1990 World Cup finals with Germany, beating Mexico 3-1 in their second round match in Soccer City on Sunday.
Diego Maradona's fans will have a chance to snap up memorabilia from the soccer star in an auction on Sunday, just over a year after his death, which will include his iconic cigars, a pair of BMW cars and a luxury villa that Maradona bought his parents.
Javier Aguirre ended his second stint as Mexico coach on Wednesday, resigning three days after his team were beaten 3-1 by Argentina in the second round of the World Cup in South Africa.
Denmark coach Morten Olsen is hoping for some traditional 'Danish dynamite' from his team's attack in Thursday's decisive Group E clash with Japan.
Luis Fabiano's second goal against Ivory Coast at the World Cup was not with the Hand of God as the Brazilian claimed, Diego Maradona said on Monday.
On a dramatic days in England's history, John Terry spoke with team manager Fabio Capello and campaigned openly for Joe Cole's inclusion in the starting line-up to face Slovenia on Wednesday. He also voiced the team's desire for Wayne Rooney to play up front on his own.
Diego Maradona, scorer of the infamous Hand of God goal in the finals of 1986, made a strong plea for fair play on the opening day of the World Cup on Friday. 'Let there really be fair play, let the referees understand what the words fair play mean,' Argentina's coach, targeting fouling, told a news conference.
CONCACAF big guns Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica all got off to winning starts on Friday in their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Belgium paid the price for failing to take their chances against France
Former Argentina football captain Diego Maradona has paid his respects to his Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro who died on Friday night.
Diego Maradona's extraordinary career comes full circle when Argentina face Scotland in a friendly at Hampden Park on Wednesday.
As a dozen scantily clad Brazilian Samba dancers gyrated on to the stage, rocking peacock-style headdresses and glittery thongs, Usain Bolt was not about to be intimidated or upstaged.
Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov was in bullish mood ahead of their final Group A showdown with Uruguay on Monday, dismissing suggestions his men under pressure because of their status as World Cup hosts.
During his visit to Kannur, the stadium in which Maradona participated in an event had witnessed a sea of people
David Beckham, one of the so-called "Class of 92", went on to win six Premier League titles under Alex Ferguson at United alongside youth-team buddies Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Nicky Butt, and Gary and Phil Neville. Beckham also won two FA Cups and, memorably, the Champions League in 1999. He topped up his trophy collection with a La Liga winners' medal for Real Madrid and added two MLS Cups during a north American adventure with LA Galaxy.
Diego Maradona criticised a ban on international matches at high altitude on Monday after playing a charity game in Bolivia's national stadium at 3,600 metres above sea level. FIFA on Friday ruled that international matches can only be played above 2,750 metres if visiting teams are given one week to acclimatise and above 3,000 metres if they are given two weeks.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Roger Binny, the former Karnataka and India cricketer talks about India's lack of genuine allrounders, India's poor fielding, India's chances in the Twenty20 World Cup.
Two goals in the first half from Roberto Firmino and Neymar gave Brazil an easy 2-0 victory over the United States in a friendly match in New Jersey on Friday.
Carlos Alcaraz heralded the changing of the guard in men's tennis as he ended Novak Djokovic's long reign at Wimbledon
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
