A summary of Saturday's action in the Serie A, Ligue 1 and Bundesliga
Defending champions Germany face a stern test when they take on rampaging the Netherlands in a mouthwatering Pool A clash in the Hero Honda hockey World Cup in New Delhi on Sunday.
India clinched a second successive Olympic bronze medal at the Games for the first time in 52 years with a 2-1 triumph over Spain in the third position playoff on Thursday.
Olympic champions Germany will look to set aside security fears and focus on clinching their third straight world title when the men's hockey World Cup kicks off on Sunday.
Germany's surprise loss to Mexico could create a strange situation in Group G where England and Belgium may face a theoretically easier path to the last four if they finish second rather than top of the standings.
A dramatic stoppage-time goal from Toni Kroos gave holders Germany a 2-1 win over Sweden on Saturday to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the World Cup last 16.
Victor Boniface rattled the post with a powerful shot eight minutes after the restart as Leverkusen picked up where they had left off.
Germany's players, however, must not only process their first ever loss to Japan, they are also under fire back home for their handling of a diversity armband affair
Carlsen accuses FIDE chief of broken promises.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League last 16 matches played on Tuesday
Twitterati couldn't contain their joy at the upset and hailed Japan for 'pulling off a Saudi Arabia'.
Germany defeated Malaysia 3-2 to take an unassailable lead atop the table with 16 points while European champions the Netherlands' hopes of retaining the title appear bleak after a thrilling 3-3 draw Australia.
Rishabh Pant has been nominated for the prestigious Laureus World Comeback of the Year Award.
Here is what you need to know about the year's Australian Open:
Joel Baker scored in the last minute of the match to help New Zealand shock World champions Germany 3-2 in the play-off and finish third in the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup hockey tournament in Chandigarh on Monday. The teams were locked 2-2 till the last minute when Baker scored to carve out a memorable victory for his team.
The World champions beat Malaysia for their third win in the Azlan Shah hockey tournament.
World Champion D Gukesh has taken the joint lead at the Tata Steel Masters chess tournament after defeating his fellow Indian, P Harikrishna.
The prolific drag-flicker said the series would be an opportunity to test the team further after its title-winning run in the Asian Champions Trophy in China earlier this month.
Mohit Kumar on Wednesday became the first Indian wrestler to win junior world champion since 2019.
Jude Bellingham topped the men's overall voting, with the Real Madrid and England midfielder receiving 11,176 selections from his peers.
The hugely successful partnership between star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra and his long-time coach Klaus Bartonietz of Germany is set to end after five years of working together.
The Dutchman collapsed on the court after converting his sixth match-point to end an absorbing three hour, seven minute affair under sunny skies on Stadium One court.
Alexander Zverev into ATP Finals semis after straight sets win over Carlos Alcaraz
Three-time European champions Germany are keen to notch their ninth win in as many Euro 2012 qualifiers when they take on Turkey on Friday as they seek to become the first German team to go through a qualifying campaign without dropping a point.
World champions Germany are favourites in their fourth successive European wonen's final on Sunday.
Werder Bremen's Niclas Fuellkrug made his Germany debut at the age of 29 this week, scoring the winner in their warmup match against Oman on Wednesday after coming on as a substitute.
Chess960, created by former world champion Bobby Fischer in 1996, has been gaining in popularity after an invitational tournament played last year at the Weissenhaus Luxury Resort, which hosted the G7 Foreign Minister summit in 2022.
India's Simran, accompanied by her guide Abhay Singh, finished fourth and last in the sprint race clocking 12.31 seconds.
Captain Teun de Nooijer struck in dying minutes to lead the Netherlands to a thrilling 2-2 draw against defending Champions Germany in a Pool A hockey World Cup match and virtually booked a semi-final berth for his side on Sunday.
R Praggnanandhaa outclassed world champion D Gukesh in sudden death to win Tata Steel Masters chess title.
Grandmaster D Gukesh will face his first major challenge since becoming world champion when he begins his campaign in the Tata Steel Chess tournament, which starts on Friday in Wijk Aan Zee, The Netherlands.
"Will Germany be more dangerous because they need the win more? You never know in football," Luis Enrique said.
India's men's hockey team was handed a tough group for the Rio Olympic Games as it has been pooled with defending champions Germany, European Champions Netherlands and Pan-American Games champions Argentina in the six-team Pool B.
Sweden scout Roger Sandberg is not expecting Germany to make many changes for their World Cup game on Saturday, despite the world champions' flat performance in a 1-0 defeat by Mexico in their opening match.
Praggnanandhaa will meet pre-event rating favourite Fabiano Caruana of United States while Abdusattorov has to tackle the solid defences of Vincent Keymer of Germany in the other key clashes of the 11th round.
Star Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Saturday roped in Jan Zelezny, one of the greatest the sport has produced, as coach to help prepare him for the upcoming season.
Goalkeeper Baljit Singh put up a stupendous show under the bar to help India defeat Olympic champions Germany 2-0 in the last match of the four-nation Punjab Gold Cup tournament in Chandigarh on Tuesday. Dilip Tirkey opened the scoring in the second minute and Prabhjot Singh added a second in the 53rd minute for the hosts through penalty corners.
World champion D Gukesh played out a draw with Jorden van Foreest of Holland, while Grandmaster R Praggnanandhaa beat Alexey Sarana of Serbia as the two Indians shared the lead after a thrilling day at the Tata Steel Masters at Wijk Aan Zee (The Netherlands) on Saturday.
Third seed Alexander Zverev produced a near-flawless display to outclass former champion Holger Rune 6-3 7-6(4) on Saturday and return to the Paris Masters final after a gap of four years.
