Seasonal cheer has been scarce for Louis van Gaal after a six-match winless sequence for his Manchester United side intensified rumours that he will be sacked and Stoke City are unlikely to be offering any solace on Saturday.
The Welsh, who reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, finished runners-up on 14 points from eight games, three behind Croatia who sealed their berth on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Slovakia.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
How quickly affections can switch in soccer. Where once they would serenade coach Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge with an operatic flourish, now Chelsea fans have fallen headlong for another man driving them inexorably to the Premier League title.
Aditi and Akshay Maliwal are mentoring young sports athletes from Asia to get through to top US universities.
As Leicester City celebrates its Premier League triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com salutes the man behind it.
After a Champagne Sunday, leaders Chelsea got back to the bread and butter of churning out Premier League points with Eden Hazard's header sealing a 1-0 victory at London rivals West Ham United on Wednesday.
Stephan El Shaarawy took a small step towards refuelling his career at Monaco when the AC Milan loanee came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League's second round of group matches on Thursday.
United's Ibrahimovic, Roma's Dzeko find the net thrice to give clubs first leg advantage
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
Chelsea face the prospect of having veteran Didier Drogba as their only fit striker for their visit to Manchester United on Sunday in what is usually one of the standout matches of the Premier League season.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was the scourge of AS Roma again as he inspired the hosts to a 2-0 win and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, scoring and setting up a goal Rodriguez to seal a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Liverpool substitute Adam Lallana struck deep into stoppage time to snatch a 5-4 win over shell-shocked Norwich City in an extraordinary Premier League game at Carrow Road on Saturday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Rediff.com brings you a collection of some of the best sports images from around the world...
American Charley Hoffman, helped by some brilliant iron play down the stretch, clinched his first PGA Tour title in four years with a one-shot victory at the $6.1 million OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico on Sunday.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
A summary of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA champions League.
In an exciting weekend for football lovers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their extraordinary double act, both scoring hat-tricks as Real Madrid and Barcelona maintained their battle for supremacy at the top of La Liga. Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday but no-one can get the better of Bayern Munich, who marched on in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. We present a summary of events in photos.
Tottenham Hotspur's tenacious chase of leaders Chelsea continued as they claimed a 12th consecutive Premier League home win with a 4-0 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday to cut the gap to four points.
Here is the round-up of all the football action across Europe on the weekend
Mohamed Salah struck four times in rampant Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of Watford that lifted them back into third spot in the Premier League on Saturday.
Karim Benzema came off the bench to score 13 minutes from time and ruin any chance of a dream result for resilient Ludogorets as holders Real Madrid carved out a patchy 2-1 win in Wednesday's Champions League Group B match.
2016 is at the halfway stage and the year has already seen some stunning sporting wins, underdogs emerging triumphant on the biggest stages of them all.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
The 20-time English Premier League champions are far from their best, but, in the final analysis, it is the results that matter, and at the moment they are on a winning spree, says Bikash Mohapatra
Isco scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Spain launched an improbable fightback to snatch a 2-2 friendly draw against England with both their goals coming after the 89th minute at Wembley on Tuesday.
Two late goals in two minutes from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez gave European champions Barcelona a dramatic 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Chelsea icon Frank Lampard scored for Manchester City to end his old club's perfect start to the Premier League season while Leicester City came from 3-1 down to beat Manchester United 5-3 on a remarkable day in the Premier League on Sunday.