The midfield duo, who both have dual Moroccan-Belgian nationality, kept Belgium alive with their goals off the bench in the extraordinary round of 16 comeback against Japan and were handed starts in the 2-1 win over Brazil.
Steve Finn helped England dominate Australia in another Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Friday to take a 2-1 series lead. A day later, there were celebrations across China as Beijing won the rights to host the 2022 Winter Olympics. And, on Sunday, Premier League club Arsenal finally won bragging rights after beating Chelsea 1-0 to clinch the Community Shield to kick-start their season on a positive note. Rediff.com has all this and a lot more action from the week gone by, snapped right here!
'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
What If has its moments but doesn't really shine through in entirety, says Paloma Sharma.
Swimming's top nations are setting their sights on how to deal with midnight finishes during the Rio 2016 Olympics.
Russia will host the 2018 World Cup finals in 12 venues spread across 11 cities.
The 19-year-old ravaged Argentina from start to finish in France's thrilling 4-3 win in Kazan
Brazil firmed up to 3-1 favourites to win the World Cup for the sixth time after goals from Neymar and Roberto Firmino secured a 2-0 win over Mexico and a place in the quarter-finals on Monday.
Hungary's Katinka Hosszu set a world record for the women's 200 metres individual medley at the world swimming championships on Monday.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world of sport last week, in 10 images.
According to reports, the 57-year-old was seen being from his seat, before collapsing into a chair inside the stadium.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday met her Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow and raised several issues.
Hosts Russia were drawn on Saturday in Group A at next year's Confederations Cup along with Portugal, Mexico and New Zealand.
Members of Brazil's national team, which was knocked out of the 2018 World Cup, were applauded by fans greeting their arrival at Rio de Janeiro's international airport on Sunday.
After a collective blow-out in the Champions League, England has a three-pronged attack on Europe's second tier competition with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United all vying for Europa League success.
Brazilian fans' hopes of celebrating a sixth World Cup title in Russia were dashed on Friday when their national team lost 2-1 to Belgium in the quarter-finals.
Terek Grozny could face stiff penalties from the Russian FA after ChechenRepublic head and club honorary president Ramzan Kadyrov insulted the referee following Sunday's 0-0 draw against Rubin Kazan, calling him a "donkey".
A passenger plane crashed at an airport in the Russian city of Kazan on Sunday, killing all 50 people on board, BBC reported.
Images from Europa League matches played across Europe on Thursday.
Holders Chelsea should have striker Demba Ba and defender Ryan Bertrand available for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against ManchesterCity at Wembley.
Spain squeezed past dogged Iran 1-0 in their World Cup Group B encounter on Wednesday, thanks to a fortuitous goal from Diego Costa, but the Europeans suffered a string of second-half scares.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Wednesday night.
Katie Ledecky of the United States broke her own world record for 800 metres freestyle at the world swimming championships on Saturday.
We live in a wonderfully weird world and here's the proof!
Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen cruised into the Europa League knockout stage with emphatic wins on Thursday but holders Atletico Madrid and former winners Liverpool suffered surprise defeats.
France striker Antoine Griezmann put his country 1-0 up in their World Cup opener against Australia early in the second half on Saturday after a penalty was awarded by the Video Assistant Referee system for the first-ever time.
Images from the Europa League matches played across Europe on Thursday.
South African Chad le Clos threw down the gauntlet to rival Michael Phelps with a cheeky grin after powering to the 100 metres butterfly gold.
Russian clubs ruled the Europa League roost on Thursday as Rubin Kazan upset holders Atletico Madrid while Anzhi Makhachkala and Zenit St Petersburg opened up commanding first-leg advantages in their last 32 ties.
Russia midfielder Alan Dzagoev will miss out on Euro 2016 after breaking a bone in his foot playing for CSKA Moscow, the Russian Football Union (RFU) said on its website last week.
Benjamin Pavard's swerving strike from the edge of the area in France's round of 16 win over Argentina in Kazan has been voted the best goal of the World Cup finals.
American Katie Ledecky set a world record for the women's 1500 metres freestyle at the world swimming championships on Tuesday.
Less than a day after being knocked out the World Cup by Belgium, Brazilian striker Neymar said he will find it hard to return to club football.
The former Boca Juniors and Napoli player coached Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, where his team were beaten 4-0 by Germany at the quarter-final stage
'A minor setback is not a bad thing to bring the team closer together'
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.
"It's not much better at the moment. With Daniel's injury we have to take it day by day, and see if he's better," Klopp told a news conference on Friday.
Juergen Klopp got a taste of the problems at Liverpool as his first home game as manager ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan who played more than 50 minutes with 10 men in the Europa League on Thursday.
