Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Spain had Naranjito, the smiling orange in 1982; France, Footix, the football-playing rooster in '98. Now Brazil have chosen the endangered armadillo as the mascot for the 2014 World Cup.
Saka's replacement Reiss Nelson made his first Premier League appearance since August 2021 and netted twice in three minutes in the second half for a blockbuster display off the bench.
As famous as movie stars and global leaders are a bunch of animal celebs that the world grew to positively adore.
Gianni Infantino wants the world to 'focus on the football'
For Yuvraj Singh, it is his favourite club Manchester United that has forced him to switch loyalties from his perennial favourite Brazil to supporting France in the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
The two lowest-ranked teams will kick off the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14.
Playing in a "false nine" role, Messi capped a disappointing tournament with another subdued display at Kazan Arena as Argentina bowed out of the last 16 with a 4-3 defeat.
FIFA launched proceedings against the players who angrily harangued the referee after crashing out of the tournament in Qatar, despite beating Ghana 2-0 in their final group match on December 2.
With two wins from two games, Spain top Group E on six points, while Turkey and Georgia follow with three apiece.
The footballers heading to Carnival capital will hope to make fate walk their path. But there are some big names who couldn't make the big trip for some reason or the other. Rediff.com presents the top 16 players you won't be seeing in Brazil.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group B match played between Portugal and Iran in Saransk on Monday
Nasser Hussain, an astute reader of the game that he'd played for more than a decade internationally, expressed his amazement at Virat Kohli's intensity and his hunger to succeed. Kohli has been amassing big runs for the past few years but Hussain said the India captain is not worried about personal records.
The mysterious omissions of the talented Samson led to banners in the Kerala cricketer's support at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar no less.
Here are the list of awards handed out after the FIFA World Cup
'Les Bleus' will be inspired by the two-decade anniversary of their only World Cup win in 1998, while double winners Uruguay's modern generation are desperate to recreate the black-and-white-era glories of their 1930 and 1950 trophies.
Bollywood star Deepika Padukone unveiled the FIFA World Cup trophy on Sunday ahead of the final between Argentina and France at the Lusail stadium in Doha.
Qatar's construction industry is rife with abuse of migrant workers who are "treated like cattle" and live in squalid accommodation exposed to overflowing sewage, Amnesty International said in a report on Sunday.
Real Madrid hit their stride at the Club World Cup on Tuesday, edging Juventus 1-0 to reach the quarter-finals thanks to a second-half strike from academy graduate Gonzalo Garcia.
23-year-old Brazilian forward, signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for 60 million pounds ($81.5 million) last week, stars in victory over boyhood club Fluminense
FIFA will carry out a feasibility study on holding the World Cup and the women's World Cup every two years after backing a proposal at its annual congress on Friday.
Images from the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers played across the globe on Saturday
'So being here means we deserve to be here, it's not a change or because we are women.'
Lucas Hernandez's World Cup campaign is over after the France defender sustained a knee injury in the defending champions' 4-1 win over Australia in Group D on Tuesday.
Paris St Germain's Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz scored twice in a devastating first-half display as the French champions demolished Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday to book their place in the Club World Cup final against Chelsea.
Miami's Hard Rock Stadium was awash in Argentine passion as Boca Juniors fans turned it into a little Buenos Aires for their team's 2-2 draw with Benfica on Monday.
An overview of contenders in the race for top scorer at the 2022 World Cup.
Neymar and Marquinhos arrived late for the first day of World Cup training on Monday due to problems with their flight from Paris to Turin where Brazil are holding a five-day camp before flying to Doha.
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
It was perhaps fitting that the World Cup match between Senegal and Japan - whose fans have received international acclaim for their cleanliness in the stadium - ended in a thrilling 2-2 draw on Sunday in Yekaterinburg.
Russia was banned from the world's top sporting events for four years on Monday, a period that includes the next summer and winter Olympics and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, for tampering with doping-related laboratory data. The World Anti-Doping Agency concluded that Moscow had tampered with laboratory data by planting fake evidence and deleting files linked to positive doping tests that could have helped identify drug cheats.
The 'OneLove' armbands were originally launched in 2020 as part of an inclusiveness campaign by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB).
The FIFA World Cup at Russia saw a variety of celebrations -- from the weird to some fancy dance moves -- Rediff.com has got it all covered here...
Get into the FIFA groove with your phone Games, apps, score updates, statistics...there's something for everyone in the digital world around the World Cup.
Flamengo overturned a first-half deficit to defeat Chelsea 3-1 in their Club World Cup Group D clash on Friday, with second-half goals from Bruno Henrique, Danilo, and Wallace Yan securing the Brazilian side's second consecutive win in the tournament.
Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal stunned Manchester City 4-3 in extra-time in Orlando on Monday to pull off one of the shocks of the Club World Cup.
The top two sides from each of the three groups, along with the two best third-placed teams, will progress to the quarter-finals.
Frappart was also the first woman to officiate a men's Champions League game in 2020.
Nita Ambani hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that he has great vision to transform India into a global sporting powerhouse.
World football body FIFA, one of the most coveted clients of the beleaguered Satyam Computer, on Thursday said it was closely monitoring the developments.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances