France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
The former Wimbledon champion has decided to take on the tournament director's role at next year's World Indoor tournament.
Sebastian Vettel handed Ferrari their first Canadian Grand Prix pole position since Michael Schumacher in 2001 on Saturday while Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton qualified fourth for Mercedes. Vettel, 14 points behind the Briton, will start from the front for the fourth time at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve after setting a track record of one minute 10.764 seconds on a sunny afternoon.
Chelsea finally produced a performance befitting of champions to demolish Newcastle United 5-1.
Mercedes's brilliant pitstop strategy spoiled the game for Max Verstappen in Hungarian Grand Prix, says Rediff's F1 columnist Raja Sen.
Max Verstappen was compared to Formula One greats Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher on Sunday after the Dutch teenager's sensational drive to third place in a wet and chaotic Brazilian Grand Prix. Even father and former racer Jos, the 19-year-old Red Bull driver's biggest fan and fiercest critic, was astonished. "What Max showed here today was really special," he said of a race likely to go down in the sport's annals as one for the ages. In the last 15 laps, after a change to extreme wet tyres, Verstappen passed more than half the starting grid as he went from 16th place to the podium.
Chelsea's Guus Hiddink believed his side could qualify for next season's Champions League with a top-four finish but he has now virtually written off their chances.
Russia was among 14 countries which signed a convention between the Council of Europe and European soccer body UEFA on Sunday aimed at stopping a repeat of fan violence which has marred Euro 2016.
Pummelling the ball with such force that it appeared distorted into an oval shape at times, the nine-times French Open champion was able to toy with his opponent until ready to finish him off.
Four-time champions Pakistan produced a lion-hearted performance before going down 0-1 to Olympic bronze medallist Germany in their opening Pool D match of the 2018 Hockey World Cup.
British media reports say Sanchez will seal his move to United this week
Manchester United manager Lous van Gaal has again dismissed reports he will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, saying on Friday he does not have to answer to the media. The Dutchman's future has been the subject of persistent speculation after United's Champions League group-stage exit and indifferent Premier League displays sparked discontent among fans. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was linked with Van Gaal's job last and United were forced to deny a report that they had met with Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich boss who has said he wants to manage in the Premier League next season. "I don't think that the press have to help me with my decisions. First they have sacked me. Now they are interfering with my future. I don't have to answer," Van Gaal told reporters. "I have a relationship with the players of Manchester United. That is the most important thing. "Not everything the media are writing is true."
Arjen Robben scored a 90th minute winner in their 2-1 victory at Mainz 05 on Friday to send Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich into the winter break with a commanding 14-point lead.
Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick stayed on course for an all-American U.S. Open final.
Rejected former boss David Moyes says Manchester United must not become a club that are continuously sacking managers and should give his under-fire successor Louis van Gaal time to build a successful side.
Manchester United forward Radamel Falcao is "100 per cent ready to give everything" according to wife Lorelei Taron who hit back at manager Louis van Gaal's suggestion that the Colombian is only fit enough to play 20 minutes.
Virgil van Dijk made a dream start to his Anfield career, scoring the winning goal on his debut for Liverpool, as they beat city rivals Everton 2-1 in a pulsating FA Cup third round tie on Friday.
Halep through but Stephens exits in Cincinnati
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
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Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 courtesy of an Arjen Robben goal to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 10 points and extend their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 16 games over two seasons.
Guus Hiddink is set to take over as Chelsea manager until the end of the season.
Greek tyro Stefanos Tsitsipas' dream run at the Rogers Cup continued on Friday as the teenager toppled defending champion Alexander Zverev 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Toronto.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Liverpool's livewire Sadio Mane scored one goal and played a crucial part in the other as they reclaimed the Premier League's top spot with a scrappy 2-1 win at second bottom Fulham on Sunday.
The recently-announced changes to the Champions League are detrimental to domestic football in Europe and will increase the gap between the wealthiest clubs and the rest, Europe's domestic football leagues (EPFL) said on Thursday.
Geraint Thomas tightened Team Sky's grip on the Tour de France when he handed the British outfit their sixth title in seven years on Sunday and there is no sign that their domination will end anytime soon.
Caroline Wozniacki overcame a mid-match wobble and withstood a barrage of big hitting to get her WTA Finals title defence back on track with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Petra Kvitova at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.
Both scored contrasting semi-final victories on Saturday.
For Indian hockey, 2016 was a year in which much was promised and achieved as well. It was also a year where India made significant and visible advancements but deep down somewhere the pain of missing out on an Olympic medal will remain for four more years.
Maldini, an ace defender, who donned the Italian national team colours 126 times, made his AC Milan debut in 1985, and played his last Serie A match in May 2009.
Italian Antonio Conte was named as Chelsea's new head coach with a three-year contract, the outgoing Premier League champions announced on Monday.
It was touted as the year which could herald a change in the fortunes Indian hockey, but 2018 turned out to be yet another saga of missed opportunities for the sport.
It was the Russian's first competitive match since she withdrew from the St Petersburg Open in January.
Louis van Gaal accused his Manchester United players of being out-fought in a 3-0 defeat at Everton.
Swiss Fabian Cancellara rode off into a golden retirement with a second Olympic time trial title after a masterful ride that eclipsed Tour de France champion Chris Froome on Wednesday.
The Indian hockey teams at the Olympics are facing a shortage of chairs and Television sets at the Games Village and chief coach Roelant Oltmans has complained that the players' apartments are not properly furnished. In a letter to Chef de Mission of the Indian contingent Rakesh Gupta, Oltmans complained about unfurnished accommodation provided to both the men's and women's hockey teams. "The apartments of the Rio Olympics are not furnished properly," Oltmans, who is also the High Performance Director of Indian hockey, wrote in his letter.
Liverpool cranked up the pressure on West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic with a 4-1 victory at the London Stadium, while Burnley's remarkable start to the Premier League season continued thanks to a 1-0 victory at Southampton on Saturday.
Chris Froome has been so strong on this year's Tour de France that at times he appears to have been toying with his rivals.
Bayern Munich slumped to their first defeat for three months when the Bundesliga leaders suffered a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Mainz 05 on Wednesday.
