The American football team's success in the World Cup has an Indian connection. Sunil Gulati, an Indian-American native of Allahabad, who currently heads the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), is being credited for the US soccer team's rise.
Adidas stopped short on Thursday of ending its sponsorship deal with Uruguay's Luis Suarez after FIFA banned him for nine matches for biting an Italy defender, but the German sportswear firm said it would not use him in any further World Cup marketing.
National coach Stephen Constantine announced a list of 28 probables on Thursday for India's forthcoming 2018 World Cup preliminary joint qualification match against Iran.
The 23 members of France's World Cup squad have been suspended for the country's next game, the French Football Federation (FFF) said on Friday.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has returned home to Argentina but remains doubtful for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela with his club confirming the 29-year-old is struggling with a sore left hamstring.
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.
The dates have put the start of the 'I League' in jeopardy.
India qualified automatically for the event as hosts. They have prepared well with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sending the players for training tours in Europe and a tournament in Mexico but the home side are the clear underdogs.
Amid accusations of gamesmanship, Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has called for the stadium roof to be left open for Friday's World Cup qualifier in Sweden.
Programmers in Middle East and North Africa are focusing on what Christ has meant in the lives of some famous soccer players
Switzerland are unlikely to face the same hostility when they face already-eliminated Costa Rica in Group E of the World Cup on Wednesday.
China and Spain played out a 0-0 draw in their final World Cup Group B match on Monday and the result was good enough for both teams to advance to the last 16 after Germany beat South Africa 4-0 in the other game in the section.
Germany striker Thomas Mueller could crown an "unbelievable" first season in top flight football with the World Cup's young player of the tournament award after he was picked as one of three candidates.
Brazil made a strong statement with a 2-1 victory over Spain in their opening Group D clash on October 7, and they would now look to build on the winning momentum.
A battle of contrasting football styles will be on view when classical Spain cross swords with a robust Mali in the semi-finals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, in Navi Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Brazil have shown all the signs they can rule the world yet again in Russia but they must make their excellent preparations count in their World Cup Group E opener against a resilient Switzerland side on Sunday in Rostov.
Belgium and France meet in the World Cup semi-final at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday.
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.
Belgium struck early and held off a late Brazil fightback to send the five-time champions tumbling out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory in an end-to-end thriller on Friday that earned them a semi-final against France.
Stephan Lichtsteiner, whose marauding runs down right flank for Switzerland have earned him the nickname Forrest Gump, may find his style cramped by Ecuador's pacey wingers in Sunday's World Cup match.
England manager Fabio Capello has pinpointed the end of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as his retirement date, two years prior to the scheduled end of his contract with the Football Association.
A small but much-prized soccer trophy on display in a cell of Robben Island prison is a reminder of how football touched the lives of the activists locked up there by the apartheid regime.
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.
John Duerden, football correspondent of the Pyongyang-based Korean Herald, who is covering the World Cup in South Africa, writes an exclusive for rediff.com on the fortunes and future of the North Korean team.
India suffered their second defeat in three matches in the Asian zone Group 3 first round, losing 0-7 in Saitama, Japan.
High on confidence after a successful Copa America campaign, Venezuela coach Cecar Farias is determined to break his side's jinx of being the only Latin American nation yet to qualify for the football World Cup by making the cut for the 2014 edition in neighbouring Brazil.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup match played between England and Tunisia in Volgograd Arena in Volgograd, Russia on Monday
Top English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur has joined hands with Nagpur-based Krida Vikas Sanstha Nagpur, to take the Indian Slum Team for the Homeless World Cup football tournament in Milan that is scheduled from September 6 to 14.
A two-member FIFA team visited the refurbished Cooperage football ground in Mumbai on Sunday to have a look at its artificial playing surface and other amenities as part of their inspection of eight venues short-listed to host the Under-17 World Cup in 2017.
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals in Tuesday's Group H match against Senegal.
"It is clear that there was a slush fund for the German World Cup bid," Zwanziger told Der Spiegel magazine, which first reported the allegations last week.
Morocco and Iran's hopes of making a mark at the World Cup before a ball has been kicked, and they head into their opening match in St Petersburg on Friday knowing defeat could likely mean an early exit.
Mexico and Cameroon would be prime contenders for the title of most fortunate qualifiers for the World Cup but both will fancy their chances of progressing from Group A if they can win their opening encounter on Friday.
FIFA President Sepp Blatter has said he "would die" if he saw another World Cup blunder such as Frank Lampard's disallowed goal for England against Germany in South Africa in 2010.
Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.
Spain and Italy have undergone managerial changes since Antonio Conte handed Vicente del Bosque a tactical masterclass at Euro 2016, but Spain go into Thursday's World Cup qualifier in Turin in better shape than their Group G rivals.
A goalkeeping howler and Yuri Alberto's opportunistic late strike were enough for Brazil to beat Mali 2-0 in an uninspiring match and finish third in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
The second-half strike gave Belgium a 1-0 win that saw them move into the second round as Group G winners over England, though victory means they face much the tougher half of the draw.
'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
