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.
Cristiano Ronaldo powered-home a fourth-minute header to give Portugal a 1-0 World Cup victory over Morocco that took them top of Group B on Wednesday and meant the unlucky North African side become the first to be eliminated from the tournament.
Several players across the continent are poised to make a name for themselves on the international stage.
The 19th FIFA World Cup saw its first real goal-fest with Portugal pummeling North Korea 7-0 in a rain-soaked Group G match to bolster their campaign and eliminate the Asian side at Cape Town on Monday.
South Korea scored, twice, and the German team crashed out of the tournament in the first round, for the first time in history. Uttaran Das Gupta discovers a stunned nation on a visit to Germany during the World Cup.
European soccer's governing body has so far resisted implementation of the VAR system, which allows key incidents to be reviewed with the use of video replays and was used at the World Cup in Russia this year.
It all ended in tears as Argentina and Colombia went out in the round of 16, the latter on penalties, while Uruguay and Brazil both lost their quarter-finals on Friday, to France and Belgium respectively.
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While that may not differ too much from the scenario in many group stage matches pairing the big beasts of the game against those nations who occupy lower rungs of the FIFA rankings, the X-factor in Kazan could be Carlos Queiroz.
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The return of attacking midfielder Dele Alli to full fitness could help England's squad "write their own stories" at the World Cup, manager Gareth Southgate said ahead of Tuesday's last-16 clash with Colombia.
A revived Japan go into Thursday's decisive Group H match against an already-eliminated Poland knowing a draw would be sufficient to advance to the knockout rounds after they beat Colombia and drew with Senegal in their opening fixtures.
In the earlier match on the night, Ghana beat debutants Niger 2-0, face Mali in quarters
Gokulam Kerala have written to the AFC to reimburse the money spent on the travel
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
The 55 teams have been divided into 10 groups of five or six, and the top two teams in each qualify directly.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
France's chance against Argentina in the World Cup last 16 might be that Lionel Messi does not benefit from the same support with the national team than at Barcelona, his club team mate Samuel Umtiti said on Thursday.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches on Sunday night.
The storyline underpinning the match for most of the world is whether Lionel Messi can get his hands on the trophy in his fifth attempt to finally lift himself up alongside, never above, Diego Maradona in the hearts of his nation.
Colombia's James Rodriquez is once again looking to showcase his skills at the showpiece event and remind the world of his talent.
The prolific striker became the first Indian footballer to score 50 international goals, in his 87th match, when he reduced the margin in the dying minutes as India went down 1-2 to Guam in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
South Korea's faint hopes of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup have faded further with news that captain Ki Sung-yueng will miss their final group game against Germany.
Germany's shock World Cup opening defeat to Mexico on Sunday has left their tournament plans in disarray but coach Joachim Loew sounded confident the world champions would quickly make amends.
Allowing a lead to twice slip from their grasp in their last World Cup game could come back to haunt Senegal when they face Colombia in a decisive Group H clash in Samara on Thursday.
With the number of teams participating in the ICC events - like the World Cup - increasing on a regular basis, the whole idea of a separate tournament for Asian nations seems far-fetched. Is a tournament like the Asia Cup still relevant?
Hosts Russia virtually sealed a place in the second round of the FIFA World Cup after a 3-1 victory over Egypt on Tuesday. The victory took them to top the of Group A with six points from two games.
A superb second-half strike from Adnan Januzaj gave Belgium a 1-0 win over England on Thursday to see them top World Cup Group G with a perfect record and consign England to second place, with both sides already assured of going through to the last 16.
Spain coach Fernando Hierro said he had no regrets at taking the job two days before the World Cup despite his side's second-round exit at the hands of hosts Russia on Sunday.
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Unheralded New Zealand will have a tough job at hand when take on Turkey in the FIFA U-17 World Cup Group B opening match at the D Y Patil Stadium in Mumbai on Friday.
Switzerland's never-say-die attitude and will to win was the key to turning around a match in which they had been pummelled by Serbia for much of the first half, Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said on Friday.
In Tokyo's trendy Shibuya, elated supporters streamed out of sports bars after the final whistle at around 1 a.m. local time, the sound of horns and "Nippon" chants filling the streets as they converged upon the district's iconic pedestrian scramble.
Switzerland made sure of a place in the last 16 of the World Cup, but had to survive some anxious moments in Wednesday's 2-2 draw with Costa Rica before finishing second behind Brazil in Group E.
The Swiss squandered seven set points in the opener and although he took the second on a tiebreak he capitulated in the decider after dropping serve at 1-2, losing 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-1.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Murray, who took a wildcard into the seaside event as a fitness test for next week's Wimbledon, looked sharp on a sun-baked centre court and tasted victory for the first time since beating Benoit Paire in the last 16 of Wimbledon 350 days ago.
'Our defence system starts with our first four and that's why we have a solid defence. People look to Brazil and always try to find players who score or dribble but we have many other qualities. With our goalkeeper and defenders, we have a solid defence' 'It's pretty exciting for us and we are looking to do something great here'
Denmark will change their approach and offer more in attack as they bid to get past Croatia at the World Cup, coach Age Hareide promised on the eve of Sunday's second round match.
