Arsenal took the race to the final day last season and are strongly tipped to end Manchester City's dominance this time.
Croatia were not the favourites to reach the last four again but they came through two penalty shootouts in a repeat of their 2018 exploits.
Christian Pulisic scored his 10th goal for the United States before being substituted after picking up a knock in a 1-1 draw with Chile in a friendly in Houston on Tuesday.
To up the glamour, the Octagon girls joined Barcelona superstar Neymar.
DeAndre Yedlin has joined Championship (second tier) side Newcastle United on a five-year deal from Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee, the clubs have announced.
Manchester United midfielder Angel di Maria's transfers might have amounted to more than 100 million euros, but the price of the Argentine when his first ever transfer was made was just 20 footballs.
Zenit St Petersburg striker Hulk scored after nine minutes when he muscled his way past a defender and fired home from 12 metres.
Here is a compilation of some of the best photos from 2021...
Qatar will be the first team since Italy in the second World Cup in 1934 to participate in the finals for the first time as a host without having previously qualified for the tournament.
Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo injured his calf in their 2-0 victory at Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday, making him a doubt for the final two games of their title challenge.
The crowd in Tel Aviv cheered Messi throughout and it was the forward who helped Argentina draw level in the 63rd.
"We had a crazy coach who gave us instructions and motivated us strongly during halftime," Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdel-Ilah al-Maliki told Al-Kass TV station after the win over Argentina.
The decision was partly swayed by an "unfavourable opinion" from the French Athletics Federation medical commission after it evaluated potential risks for spectators and officials.
Chelsea have agreed a fee with Paris Saint-Germain for the return of Brazil international defender David Luiz, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. "The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical," said a statement on the club website (www.chelseafc.com). PSG paid a reported 50 million pounds ($65.59 million), a world record fee for a defender, when Luiz moved to west London in June 2014.
Barcelona legend Xavi believes nobody will ever be able to replace his former teammate Lionel Messi with respect to his abilities and achievements. Comparing the Argentine with Cristiano Ronaldo, Xavi said that Messi was way above the Portugal's Euro 2016 winner. The 36-year old said, "There will be many good players in the future but no one would come close to Messi's level, when he eventually decides to call it quits."
A summary of Thursday's South American World Cup qualifiers.
Lionel Messi says he is retiring from international soccer after Argentina lost to Chile in Copa America final.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah have been nominated as finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Player Award, world soccer's governing body announced on Monday.
Uruguay made light of the absence of striker Luis Suarez to recover from a goal down and beat 2015 Copa America hosts Chile 2-1 in a friendly in Santiago.
The owner of Colombian top flight club Boyaca Chico has been banned for one year for punching a referee after disagreeing with the official's decisions during a game.
Lionel Messi drew level with Diego Maradona's number of World Cup goals and appearances on Saturday, but the current No. 10 knows that only winning the trophy at long last will earn him the same eternal love of his fellow Argentines.
Teams competing in the men's and women's German Cup this season will be allowed to make four substitutions if matches go into extra time, with Germany taking part in a pilot project, the country's football association (DFB) said on Friday.
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been left out of the Argentina squad for the crucial World Cup qualifier clash against Brazil to be held at the Mineirao Stadium later this evening. The 28-year-old has been struggling with form in his recent international appearances including missing a penalty for Argentina during their 0-1 defeat at the hands of Paraguay in their last outing.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Striker Radamel Falcao equalised Colombia's international goals record with a 74th-minute penalty in his country's 3-1 away win over Kuwait in a friendly on Monday.
The Ballon d'Or will not be awarded this year for the first time in its 64-year history after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the football calendar, organisers France Football magazine said on Monday. The prestigious award, voted for by journalists, is an annual prize given to the best male footballer in the world since 1956. The women's Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 2018.
Lionel Messi marked his retirement about face with a goal to give 10-man Argentina a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Thursday that lifted them to the top of the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
Choking back tears, midfielder Arturo Vidal made a public apology for crashing his Ferrari.
Five-times world champions Brazil have returned to what they will consider their rightful place at the top of the FIFA rankings for the first time in seven years.
Brazil named Dunga as their manager for the second time on Tuesday, two weeks after they were hammered 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-finals which led to the resignation of former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
From a bloodied face of Spanish club Atletico's Madrid's Mario Mandzukic, to Australia's ICC World Cup triumph, Sania Mirza's fabulous run and more scintillating moments are frozen in time in this beautiful photo-feature.
Infantino warns against re-starting football too early.
Following are the teams in eight groups for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Qatar from November 20-December 18.
The Indian football team continued to paint a grim picture as they are languishing down at 156th spot in the latest FIFA rankings.
Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal has completed his transfer from Juventus to Bayern Munich by signing a four-year contract with the Bundesliga champions.
'I hope Messi wins something with his national team and not only with his club, then he would have won everything with everyone'
Venezuelan soccer official Rafael Esquivel has agreed to be extradited from Switzerland to face charges in the United States in an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the sport, the Swiss government said on Friday.
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