Belgium passed a test of character with a display of true grit that bodes well for a World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, coach Roberto Martinez said after they came from 2-0 behind to beat Japan 3-2 in injury time.
Rafael Nadal is in contention for the 'World Sportsman of the Year' award alongside six-time Formula 1 World champion Lewis Hamilton, six-time World MotoGP champion Marc Mrquez and six-time FIFA World Footballer of the Year Lionel Messi.
The All India Football Federation is exploring the possibility of selecting Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) for the Indian football team.
Defending champions Italy suffered a shock 2-3 defeat at the hands of Slovakia to crash out of the FIFA World Cup with Robert Vittek scoring twice in a drama-filled match to send his side to the round of 16 as Group F runners-up in Johannesburg on Thursday.
Defending champions Italy relied on a penalty conversion to save themselves from a famous upset as they were held to a remarkable 1-1 draw by rank outsiders New Zealand in a FIFA World Cup Group F match.
If this sporting clash was, as English essayist, novelist and journalist George Orwell said, "war minus the shooting" both sets of players were more than ready, and set about each other with little restraint.
European champions Portugal came up against a superior version of themselves as they were knocked out of the World Cup by Uruguay on Saturday. Although Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will grab the headlines -- the former for his two brilliantly goals and the latter for what could well be his World Cup farewell -- Uruguay owed their 2-1 win to a superb all-round performance.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter began his fifth term at the helm of football's governing body on Saturday facing the daunting task of restoring public faith in an organisation tainted by allegations of corruption and deeply divided over his re-election.
Blind, 32, has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in his chest to detect an irregular heart beat and deliver a life-saving shock in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
'My team gave their best. They played a very good second half and missed qualifying by just a few minutes. These kind of matches build the character of the team.'
Brazil scored twice in the last four minutes, the second a first international goal from Real Madrid striker Rodrygo, to cap a comfortable 4-0 win over Paraguay in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte.
Cristiano Ronaldo-led Euro 2016 champions, Portugal inched closer to the top-five after climbing two places to 6th in the FIFA world rankings released on Thursday.
FIFA executive committee members Juan Angel Napout and Alfredo Hawit have been suspended from football for 90 days after their arrest in Switzerland, the ethics committee of the football's governing body said on Friday.
The long road to Russia 2018 kicks off in the outposts of Asia on Thursday with the world's worst international team, Bhutan, making their World Cup qualifying debut and eyeing a first win of any sorts since 2008.
Two Swiss government ministers have backed national team players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri after their controversial goal celebrations in Friday's 2-1 World Cup win over Serbia.
The election to replace outgoing Sepp Blatter will take place at an extraordinary congress on February 26 in Zurich.
The Women's World Cup stopped to take a breath on Wednesday following an opening round of games that produced a little bit of everything.
Pakistan have been cleared to play next month's 2014 World Cup qualifier at home in Lahore and there have been no formal requests from opponents Bangladesh to switch the game, FIFA said on Thursday. The Asian zone preliminary round second-leg tie will be one of the first important international sporting events to be held in Pakistan since gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore in 2009, killing seven people.
Germans started adjusting to a new world on Thursday, brushing off any notion that a shock humiliation in the soccer World Cup
India, who tallied 173 points, are ranked 22nd among Asian countries, above teams like Yemen and Lebanon, to whom Bob Houghton's boys lost in the first round of qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup.
Pragmatic, difficult to beat, spearheaded by talismanic forwards and led by veteran, battle-hardened coaches -- few teams have as much in common with each other as Uruguay and Portugal who meet in a World Cup round of 16 tie on Saturday.
Mozambique's Helder Pelembe scored with a powerful strike early in the second half to secure a 1-0 home victory over Gabon and Zambia won by the same scoreline away in Sudan in the first legs of African World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday.
Sunil Chhetri stirred up emotions in his final international outing but the Indian football team just could not rise to the occasion as it settled for a goalless draw against Kuwait.
The English soccer players will grab the headlines for their on-field showing during the FIFA World Cup in Brazil and their WAGS will also be enjoying a spot in the limelight.
India captain Sunil Chhetri added another feather to his illustrious cap as he overtook Argentina star Lionel Messi to become the second-highest goalscorer among the current players in international football.
Uruguay's Edinson Cavani has always played second fiddle to his more illustrious attacking colleagues at country or club level but the long-haired marksman emerged out of those shadows with his twin strike in the World Cup round of 16 last week.
Some key facts about Zinedine Zidane, who stepped down as Real Madrid coach after leading the Spanish club to a third successive Champions League title.
Real Madrid on Wednesday denied media reports they have made a bid for Paris Saint-Germain's teenage striker Kylian Mbappe, who is emerging as one of the biggest stars of the Russia World Cup.
The streaming site recently bagged the rights for the book after a round of competitive bidding.
West Ham United have been fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($108,061) by FIFA following a dispute with the Senegalese FA over Diafra Sakho who played in an FA Cup match having withdrawn from the squad for the African Nations Cup.
Players' lack of commitment towards their national teams is the reason why African sides have fared poorly in the ongoing FIFA World Cup says former Nigerian striker Chima Okorie.
South Africa became the first host country in the FIFA World Cup history to crash out in the opening round despite a 2-1 victory over France, who also ended their miserable campaign with 10 men after Yoann Gourcuff was sent off in a Group A match in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
India face tough Iraq test sans Chhetri
Croatia came back after conceding in the opening minute to defeat Denmark 3-2 in the penalty shoot-out and earn a World Cup quarter-final berth, after the two sides drew 1-1 in the Round of 16 match on Sunday.
England's bid to stage the World Cup for the first time in more than half a century ended in a humiliating first-round defeat when they collected just two votes from the 22-man FIFA executive committee on Thursday.
The autopsy, which was based on blood and urine samples and released by the Buenos Aires Scientific Police, said Maradona had problems with his kidneys, heart and lungs.
For Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic the final is a chance to settle the score 20 years after the bitter defeat
Their Viking mentality means Iceland will fear no-one, and hundreds of fans dressed in blue filled the stands of the Zaryadye Park in Moscow for their match against Argentina.
The United States Soccer Federation said in a statement on the new charges that its hosting of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament would go ahead as planned.
Five-time champions Brazil and their former colonial masters Portugal played out a disapppointing goal-less draw in a listless Group G FIFA World Cup match as both teams progressed to the next round of the tournament in Durban on Friday.
