CONCACAF big guns Mexico, the United States and Costa Rica all got off to winning starts on Friday in their qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
American champion Tyson Gay continued his impressive buildup to next month's World championships on Thursday by winning the 100 metres at Lausanne's Athletissima Diamond League meeting in 9.79 seconds.
Mexico scored twice in the final five minutes to beat Uruguay 3-1 in a pulsating Copa America Group C match in which each side had a man sent off on Sunday.
Neymar's record-breaking 222 million euros ($263 million) transfer from Barcelona to Paris St Germain is set to be completed this week with the French club poised to pay his release clause.
Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus scored twice in a 3-1 victory at Werder Bremen on Saturday to put them within five points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich while Borussia Moenchengladbach continued their sensational winning run with a 4-1 demolition of Hertha Berlin.
FIFA slapped the Mexicans with a CHF 10,000 fine for what it called "discriminatory and insulting chants" during their surprise 1-0 win over Germany on Sunday.
Javier Pastore and Edinson Cavani scored late as Paris St Germain ignored their fans' boos and recovered from a shaky start to beat visiting strugglers Evian Thonon Gaillard 4-2 on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Argentina and Brazil both lost their opening World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as the South American campaign for Russia 2018 started in unexpected fashion.
In other matches, super-sub Messi helped Barca romp past Atletico
Saturday marks the 10th anniversary of Lionel Messi's first-team debut with Barcelona, when the Argentine came on as a 16-year-old substitute during a friendly against Porto in Portugal.
'Our plan is to put the best foot forward for the upcoming tournament and play good matches'
Real Madrid maintained their pursuit for the title by defeating Malaga 3-1 late on Saturday.
Images from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Karim Benzema scored his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0 on Sunday for a fourth successive La Liga victory which took the European champions to within eight points of leaders Barcelona.
These bikes are a good mixture of style, mileage, performance and affordability, says Rajesh Alva.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United kept up the positive momentum of their pre-season tour with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Saturday in Santa Clara, California.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A year after Andy Murray's reign as Wimbledon champion ended lamely at the hands of a man dubbed the new Roger Federer, he got a stark reminder on Friday that the original is the real threat to his grand slam ambitions.
The D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai brightened its prospects of hosting Under-17 World Cup football matches next year, with the head of a FIFA delegation on Wednesday calling it a 'high quality' arena.
Wayne Rooney scored two first half goals to help send Manchester United to a 4-1 win over a spirited Aston Villa on Saturday, temporarily lifting the gloom surrounding David Moyes' dismal first term in charge.
Argentina's injured captain Lionel Messi has been named in a squad missing the suspended Javier Mascherano and Gonzalo Higuain for next month's World Cup qualifier against South America's bottom side Paraguay.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
With most Manchester United fans praying for much-needed defensive reinforcements, manager Louis van Gaal made a surprise deadline-day swoop for flamboyant Colombian striker Radamel Falcao on Monday.
In the other match of the night, Jamaica 'keeper blunder hands Paraguay 1-0 win
Holders Barcelona produced a second-half blitz to come from behind and beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to book a place in the King's Cup semi-finals after Atletico Madrid crashed out in a shock 3-2 defeat by Celta Vigo.
Tiny Guam beat Turkmenistan 1-0 to record their first ever World Cup qualifying victory.
Barcelona must appreciate matching the club's record of nine wins and a draw in their first 10 games of a Liga campaign, especially after Real Madrid's defeat at Girona, coach Ernesto Valverde told a news conference on Monday.
Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu has reiterated the club's innocence of tax fraud in the signing of Neymar and insisted the operation to bring the Brazil forward to the Catalan capital was "completely legal".
Head-to-head rivalries featuring the world's leading athletes are the best way forward for the beleaguered sport of track and field.
Monaco's firepower was far too hot to handle for Olympique de Marseille as the Principality side moved top of the French Ligue 1 standings with a 4-0 home win on Saturday.
Barcelona's Neymar struck twice to put the Spanish side in the Champions League final despite a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed 5-3 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid or Juventus next month.
They were two small Argentina players with the same enormous challenge -- to meet the expectations of a soccer-mad country. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi have both proved themselves to be skilful giants on the world soccer stage despite their diminutive frames of 1.65 and 1.70 metres respectively.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice in the first half as holders Bayern Munich cruised past Schalke 04 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semi-finals.
Inter Milan earned a 2-0 victory over Livorno thanks to a howler from visiting goalkeeper Francesco Bardi, who is on loan from the San Siro club, and a late Yuto Nagatomo strike in Serie A on Saturday.
A summary of Saturday's action in Ligue 1, La Liga and Serie A.
Lionel Messi broke a Spanish hat-trick record and Luis Suarez struck twice as a rampant Barcelona took over top spot in La Liga with a 6-1 hammering of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
