A struggling India escaped with a 1-1 draw against lower-ranked Bangladesh in their FIFA World Cup second round qualifying match in Kolkata.
Mexico will look to add gloss to their World Cup campaign when they face Sweden in their final Group F match on Wednesday, with a win likely to boost the image of their embattled coach Juan Carlos Osorio back home.
Here is a look at some of the key head-to-head duels which could prove decisive.
Croatia were in dreamland on Thursday after advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time in 20 years with a 3-0 rout of Argentina that left a subdued Lionel Messi and his team mates facing yet another flop.
England hold no fear for World Cup last 16 opponents Colombia, said the South American side's coach Jose Pekerman.
India's Ankur Mittal won silver medal in the men's double trap event at the ongoing ISSF World Shotgun Championship, in Moscow, on Tuesday.
A star-studded England will take on unpredictable Chile in a Group F match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup at the refurbished Salt Lake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Sunday.
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the second year running and the third overall on Monday after a prolific, trophy-filled year with Real Madrid.
A gritty India survived waves of attacks from Qatar to hold the reigning Asian champions to a goalless draw to steal an unexpected point from their away match of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.
Ghana and the United States would look to seal a knockout berth when they face-off in their second group match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in New Delhi, on Monday.
A compelling cast of players, two attacking teams propelled by great pace and a clash between neighbours to boot.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Wednesday night.
Referee Robert Madley was "200 percent wrong" to allow Juan Mata's goal to stand during Manchester United's 3-0 FA Cup fifth-round win over League One Shrewsbury Town, according to former FIFA official Mark Halsey.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA) is in no danger of suffering the sort of corruption scandal currently engulfing world soccer governing body FIFA, its president Jean Todt said on Saturday.
'In my opinion, he's the best, most complete attacker there is at the moment,' said the former West Germany striker.
After defeating Mali 3-2 and New Zealand 4-2, the South American team, one of the favourites to lift the title, will be looking to dominate Turkey.
India's top men's player Saurav Ghosal had a comfortable opener against Australian Steven Finitsis in the PSA World Squash Championship in Doha on Saturday.
Every week, we bring you fascinating videos, chosen by you, through your likes.
Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin was among the first to tweet his reaction.
The early signs from the Confederations Cup are that Brazil's fans can help rather than hinder the team at home, reports of Spain's demise are premature and the heat is going to cause problems for everyone at the World Cup.
Companies ready to cash in if FIFA accepts goalline technology after World Cup refereeing howlers say they are not yet convinced soccer's governing body will adopt measures common in other sports.
These women never not impress no matter what they wear.
AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic shed a few tears of pride as he returned to Sweden's national team after a four-year absence for their World Cup qualifiers and recounted how his son did not want him to leave home to join up with Janne Andersson's squad.
The All India Football Federation, on Wednesday appointed Portugal's Luis Norton de Matos as the head coach of the India U-17 team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to be held in October this year.
World Cup 2014 hosts Brazil appeared to publicly slam FIFA chief Sepp Blatter when they launched a campaign against racism in sport on Thursday.
Portugal decided not to appeal his red card received in the stormy second-round win over the Netherlands.
Keisuke Honda announced his retirement from international football following Japan's elimination from the World Cup at the hands of Belgium on Monday night.
While the 31-year-old achieved every honour in the club game, eclipsing Bobby Charlton as Manchester United's leading scorer, his career with England was always more problematic, even though he ended as their most prolific goalscorer and most capped outfield player.
'We made many changes, trying to create opportunities but the important thing today was the players were really brave. That courage made this result possible'
Llorente's second-half treble, a double from Son Heung-min and a late effort from Kyle Walker-Peters in driving snow at a freezing Wembley Stadium settled an game where tensions had threatened to bubble over before the break.
Outgoing Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has no regrets as he prepares to leave his post at the end of July after eight years in charge during which they won the World Cup and Euro 2012.
Stephen Constantine has first hand knowledge of how difficult it is to wake up India from its soccer slumber but the Englishman insists he can make a difference at his second attempt or he would not have accepted the offer.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Henry, who started out playing for Monaco and went on to enjoy a stellar club career with Arsenal and Barcelona, has been working as assistant coach for the Belgian national team but has never been in charge of a team in his own right.
South Korea were left with plenty to ponder ahead of this month's World Cup finals after Edin Visca scored a hat-trick to give Bosnia and Herzegovina a 3-1 victory in a friendly in Jeonju on Friday.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
The 'sleeping giant' woke up to a new dawn with the Indian Super League putting Indian football on the global map, but the national team continued to paint a grim picture, plummeting to its worst-ever rankings in an eventful year for the sport.
2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan struck a brilliant hat-trick, the first of the season, to power Mumbai City FC to the top of the Indian Super League table with a 5-0 demolition of Kerala Blasters in Mumbai on Saturday.
When Sepp Blatter is not comparing FIFA to a boat in calm or choppy waters he often uses football analogies to illustrate his point so it might amuse him to think he faces a tricky 45 minutes at this month's Congress.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
