Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has signed a formal letter stating his wish to play for adopted country Spain, ending a tug-of-war between the two powerhouses over the in-form 25-year-old.
Valverde said he was concerned about the team's away form after they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by promoted Granada
Manchester United's 3-2 Champions League defeat at VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday was difficult to understand, said manager Louis van Gaal after they crashed out in the group stage for the first time since 2011.
Chennaiyin FC rode on Jeje Lalpekhlua's 64th minute strike to beat Pune City FC by a solitary goal and book a semi-final spot in the Indian Super League football tournament in Pune on Saturday.
A guide to the Croatia starting 11 ahead of the World Cup final against France.
After tweaking his formation and starting lineup at Euro 2016, France coach Didier Deschamps seems to have found the perfect formula at just the right time. Thanks to his shrewd tactics, his team turned on the style to outplay Iceland 5-2 on Sunday and advance to an appetising semi-final battle with Germany. The fact that France, who had never got past the last eight at the finals since their 2000 triumph, managed to get almost everything right, has a lot to do with Deschamps' methods.
'The players are playing the situation, whatever the teams need at that time. Players are professionals, so they tend to mould into that situation rather than thinking too much about who we are playing. It's a ball and bat and you just want to perform with those.'
The much-anticipated clash between Liverpool and ManchesterCity at Anfield on Saturday looks like a knockout to determine who can challenge Chelsea for the Premier League title.
India captain Sardar Singh asserted that they have a lot to play for in the ongoing Hockey World League Semifinals.
'This is the only place on earth where Elephas maximus climbs to these heights.'
Cesc Fabregas was "pissed off" with Spain teammate Sergio Ramos for raising doubts about his commitment to the national team but said the pair had buried the hatchet.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 400th goal for Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's side closed in on a first La Liga title since 2012, easing to a 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday while Neymar hit a hat-trick for Barcelona, who thrashed Las Palmas 4-1.
Sweden missed the influence of captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was resting a sore calf muscle, as they struggled to create chances in a dull 0-0 draw with Slovenia in their penultimate Euro 2016 warm-up in Malmo on Monday.
Whether it is Greece's victory at Euro 2004, Denmark's success in 1992 or Iceland's run to the quarter-finals at Euro 2016, the similarities between successful smaller countries and their approaches seem striking.
This and more from the happenings in the world of footbal.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are not yet ready to compete with Europe's elite but his side will be confident of opening their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.
James Maddison scored a brilliant winner to help Leicester City come from behind and beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday in a match dominated by VAR drama.
'Very few are lionised like Dhoni anywhere in the world, perhaps not even Messi,' says Dhruv Munjal.
Manchester United's troubled season hit a new low on Saturday as Jose Mourinho saw his gamble on introducing a new tactical system backfire with an insipid 3-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Striker Jonathan Calleri chipped a brilliant 'rabona' as Boca Juniors marked Carlos Tevez's homecoming with a 2-1 victory over Quilmes at La Bombonera to stay top of the Argentine championship.
Jamie Vardy wrote a new chapter in his fairytale rise from the wilderness of non-League football to playing for England, when he became the first player to score in 11 consecutive Premier League matches on Saturday.
Follow the latest developments from all the on-field and off-the-field action in the Premiership.
Despite taking a career-best six for four in an ODI against Bangladesh in Dhaka in June, Stuart Binny is, however, yet to win the confidence of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and the team management. He was benched throughout the ODI series in England before being dropped for the recent controversy-ridden ODI series against the West Indies.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner as Paris St Germain beat Chelsea 2-1 to knock them out of the Champions League for the second successive season at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The blast was claimed by both the local affiliate of the Islamic State terror group and by Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan.
Arsenal ended their away hoodoo against Premier League title challengers with a 2-0 victory at Manchester City on Sunday that left Chelsea five points clear at the top.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'Cristiano Ronaldo v Lionel Messi' got top billing at a packed Old Trafford but it was a lesser light who scored as Portugal scraped a 1-0 friendly win over Argentina on Tuesday.
'If there were no Ahmedabad programme -- no flashy town hall event in a huge cricket stadium with thousands cheering him on -- then Trump may well have decided not to go to India.'
Five other convicts were also granted varying jail terms by a special MCOCA court.
Zidane was accompanied on stage by his wife and four sons, who all look good to follow in the footsteps of their father.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Chelsea put all their struggles away and looked like a renewed squad, stamping their class over Crystal Palace in their English Premier League match at the Selhurst Park on Sunday.
At 12 years, seven months and 17 days, Dommaraju Gukesh is the second youngest Grandmaster of all time.
The Indian agenda for the talks has put extra stress on the "most important" issue of breach of ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
As the gunfire stopped at a parking garage in downtown Dallas, where five police officers were killed and seven others injured in "ambush style" firing during a protest against the fatal police shootings of black men this week, a new trend in crime-fighting crawled into spotlight.
Didier Deschamps has let his hair go grey naturally since the last time he picked up a European title 16 years ago. The diminutive Deschamps was never a spectacular player -- a la Zinedine Zidane -- and certainly does not belong to the Jose Mourinho school of coaching with sensational sound bites. But the unglamorous Frenchman with the twangy voice has been instrumental in taking the host nation through to Sunday's Euro 2016 final against Portugal.
