Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Ukraine advanced to the Euro 2020 finals after an impressive first half helped them to a 2-1 home win over Portugal, whose talismanic captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 700th career goal.
Karim Benzema, who is under investigation for alleged blackmailing, should not be called up to the France squad, French Prime minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored and missed a penalty in Argentina's 3-1 win in Germany and Belgium stunned Netherlands 4-2 as a flurry of new coaches and debutants cut their international teeth in friendlies on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup first semi-final played between France and Belgium on Tuesday
Blue is definitely the colour for the discreet N'Golo Kante, now shining for France on the pitches of Euro 2016 after playing a key role in LeicesterCity's fairytale run to the Premier League title in England.
Rediff.com looks at the five best goals from the concluding round in the league stage.
Dimitri Payet's spectacular late strike earned France a 2-1 win over Euro 2016 Group A rivals Romania on Friday, giving the host nation a flying start to their campaign.
Rami believes he still has a vital role to play although he is unlikely to line up against Uruguay in Friday's quarter-final in Nizhny Novgorod.
Germany, who crashed out at the group stage in the World Cup in Russia, suffered their sixth defeat of 2018.
Kylian Mbappe believes Les Bleus have what it takes to win the title in Russia if they all stick together.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah were named as the three finalists.
France coach Didier Deschamps confirmed his final Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday, including defenders Adil Rami and Samuel Umtiti in place of the injured Raphael Varane and Jeremy Mathieu. Liverpool centre back Mamadou Sakho was not included even though his 30-day provisional suspension for failing a drugs test expired last weekend. Hosts France geared up for the finals with a 3-2 victory over Cameroon in Nantes on Monday. They take on Scotland in Metz on Saturday.
Hosts France came from behind to beat 10-man Ireland 2-1 and reach the Euro 2016 quarter-finals after two second-half strikes from forward Antoine Griezmann at Parc OL on Sunday. A tactical switch from coach Didier Deschamps at the break revitalised the French, who struggled to find their feet early on after conceding a Robbie Brady penalty in the second minute, the fastest goal in the 2016 tournament.
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.
Les Bleus needed a penalty, given by the video assistant referee, and goal-line technology to beat Australia 2-1 in their opening game and they were shaken up by Peru on Thursday but won 1-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe goal.
Striker Antoine Griezmann lashed home the historic spot kick in the 58th minute but Australia hit back with a penalty of their own when Samuel Umtiti inexplicably handled the ball in the box four minutes later.
The presidential visit to Clairefontaine ahead of a World Cup has become a ritual for French leaders ever since Jacques Chirac visited the squad in the run-up to the 1998 tournament.
A look at the last 16 team as Euro 2020 enters the knockout phase.
Brazil inflicted France's first defeat since the World Cup when a perfectly executed second-half performance earned them a 3-1 win in a friendly game at the Stade de France on Thursday.
A round-up of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
French Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was placed under formal judicial investigation on Thursday in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail fellow French soccer international Mathieu Valbuena using a sex video.
The 25-year-old striker, who stands 1.76 metres tall, caught the eye on the big stage against Germany, driving home a penalty at the end of the first half before poking in the ball on 72 minutes following a rare blunder by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
When France meet Portugal in Sunday's Euro 2016 final, the outcome is likely to depend on the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann -- the second time the two players have clashed with a European trophy at stake in six weeks. Portugal's Ronaldo steered Real Madrid to their Champions League triumph at the end of May after his French rival Griezmann missed a penalty for city rivals Atletico.
Hundreds of thousands of ecstatic French fans celebrated the return of their World Cup winning football team on Monday, jumping and chanting "We Are The Champions" as their bus paraded down the Champs Elysees before a special presidential reception.
Liverpool's Champions League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane joined regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's player award
Goal-line technology was used for the first time in a World Cup match to decide if the ball had crossed the line during France's Group E clash with Honduras on Sunday.
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals in Tuesday's Group H match against Senegal.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group C match played between France and Australia at Kazan Stadium on Saturday
Thirteen years ago, a single punch left boxer Michael Watson in a coma, his life in ruins. Against the odds, he has rebuilt his health and forged a new career.
Juventus were promoted back to Serie A with three games to spare after a thumping 5-1 win at Arezzo.
With a population of just over four million, Croatia punched considerably above their weight to reach the final, going down gallantly to France at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
Veterans Arjen Robben (21) and Wesley Sneijder (34) laid the groundwork for a Dutch victory in coach Dick Advocaat's first game in charge.
The defender became France's third most-capped player with 103 appearances during Euro 2004.
France striker Olivier Giroud ended a run of 10 international games without a goal by netting a stunning winner as the world champions claimed a deserved 2-1 victory over the Netherlands in their Nations League clash on Sunday.
Fabio Capello replaces Marcello Lippi who left the club at the end of the season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Crowds of cheering French soccer fans began gathering in Paris on Sunday, draped in red, white and blue and singing the Marseillaise, as excitement was building ahead of the France-Croatia showdown at the World Cup final in Moscow.
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