There have been three dismissals in three previous World Cup finals matches -- 1938 Brazil v Czechoslovakia, 1954 Brazil v Hungary and 1998 Denmark v South Africa.
US goalkeeper Kasey Keller praised the courage of team mate Brian McBride after the big striker's battling and bloodied display against Italy.
Juventus launched their bid for a sixth successive league title after their record signing Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to grab a trademark winner in a 2-1 success over Fiorentina on the opening day of the Serie A season.
The beat Serbia & Montenegro 3-0 in the final to win the title for a fifth time in the past seven tournaments.
Italy manager Antonio Conte named his provisional squad for the European Championship on Monday, and his selection was notable as much for the player he left off as for those he chose.
Goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon announced his retirement as the Azzurris unable to qualify for first time since 1958.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Italy's victory over Belgium was celebrated as a triumph of the team over individual talents, but Friday's opponents Sweden are relying on the singular genius of frontman Zlatan Ibrahimovic to get their Euro 2016 campaign off the ground.
The use of video technology for the first time in an international spared a France player an early red card in their friendly against Italy on Thursday and cut down on arguing over decisions, the match referee said.
AS Roma suffered another European humiliation on Tuesday when they had two players sent off, lost 3-0 at home to Porto and missed out on the Champions League group stage.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Gold rush continues for India but 16th Olympic quota eludes hosts.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Francesco Totti brought down the curtain on a remarkable 25 years at his only professional club on Sunday.
Italy midfielder Antonio Candreva gave a dazzling performance as he scored a penalty and set up a second goal in a 2-0 win over Finland in their fast-paced final Euro 2016 warm-up in Verona on Monday. The 29-year-old winger coolly converted a 27th-minute spot kick after being brought down and delivered an inch-perfect cross for Daniele De Rossi to head home midway through the second half. Thriving on the right flank in an adventurous 3-4-3 formation, Candreva was a handful for the visitors throughout the evening, showing blistering pace as well as neat footwork. With their coach Antonio Conte fielding a three-pronged attack of Stephan El Shaarawy, Ciro Immobile and Simone Zaza, the Italians pressed high and hard to keep the Finns on the back foot from the start.
The triple champion, who started the race from a record 69th career pole position, led Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas to a runaway one-two finish in front of the massed ranks of red-shirted Ferrari fans.
AS Roma missed the chance to put pressure on Serie A leaders Juventus after playing out a frustrating goalless draw with Inter Milan in front of a half empty Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez scored a magnificent first-half goal, and later missed a penalty, as the runaway Serie A leaders won 1-0 at home to mid-table Genoa on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Electrical gremlins held up Lewis Hamilton in Italian Grand Prix practice on Friday after the Mercedes driver had lapped more than half a second quicker than anyone else in the morning session.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde's conservatism was cited by the Spanish media as the main reason for their 3-0 defeat at AS Roma on Tuesday that led to a shock Champions League quarter-final elimination being regarded as 'a historic debacle'.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Lewis Hamilton took pole position at the Italian Grand Prix for the third year in a row on Saturday with Mercedes team mate and title rival Nico Rosberg joining the Briton on the front row of the grid.
Rediff.com's Norma Godinho captures classic moments from the planet's greatest sports competition: The FIFA World Cup.
Carlos Tevez scored two early goals for Juventus before the Serie A leaders squandered the lead in a 2-2 draw at Verona on Sunday.
England drew 0-0 with Slovakia on Monday to finish second in Euro 2016 Group B and qualify for the knockout phase behind Wales who beat Russia 3-0 in their final match.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Forget Italy's image of Catenaccio (or "door chain defence"). Antonio Conte's Italy showed in a 2-0 defeat of Spain at Euro 2016 on Monday that they can do unchained attacking football too. The Azzurri, who will take on world champions Germany in a fascinating quarter-final on Saturday, had promised they would not be afraid to go forward against Spain.
Last season's runners-up Liverpool, big-spending French league champions Paris St Germain and Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli were thrown together in the pick of the groups while holders Real Madrid must face last season's semi-finalists AS Roma.
Belgium make Wales wait after Hazard's strike, while Czechs beat Latvia to qualify
Thunder, lightning and torrential rain washed out second practice at the U.S. Formula One Grand Prix on Friday after Nico Rosberg went fastest for Mercedes in a largely meaningless morning session.
Edin Dzeko scored twice to set up a 3-1 win for AS Roma away to Napoli in the battle for second place in Serie A on Saturday and Paulo Dybala also notched up a brace for leaders Juventus in their 2-1 win over Udinese.
Two goals from in-form Gervinho, including the winner two minutes from time, gave AS Roma a thrilling 3-2 victory in their Italian Cup semi-final first leg against Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Rafa Benitez kicked off his tenure as Real Madrid boss with a frustrating 7-6 penalty shootout loss to AS Roma in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
An inexperienced Germany suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in a storm-affected friendly ahead of Euro 2016.
Antonio Conte far exceeded expectations with a limited Italy squad at Euro 2016 and the coach, who is heading for pastures new at English club Chelsea, is likely to prove a tough act for replacement Giampiero Ventura to follow.
Title contenders Germany will come face to face with their ultimate tournament nightmare when they take on Italy in their Euro 2016 quarter-final in Bordeaux on Saturday.
These images from across the globe tell that it is a crazy world out there!
Schalke 04 hit back from two goals down to draw 2-2 and overcome fellow Germans Borussia Moenchenglach on away goals in their Europa League last 16 tie while Manchester United edged Rostov 1-0 to progress on Thursday.
US Open champions Marin Cilic and Serena Williams kicked off their China Open campaigns with straight sets victories against battling underdogs on Monday, but Rafael Nadal suffered defeat in a rare doubles outing on his return from injury.
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