Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto urged referee Ravshan Irmatov to keep a close eye on Dutchman Arjen Robben in Saturday's World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands.
Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 on Saturday to launch their season with a bang on coach Thomas Tuchel's Bundesliga debut with the club.
Bayer Leverkusen beat a second-string Bayern Munich 2-0 on Saturday to move up to third in the Bundesliga and get back on course for an automatic Champions League spot with three matches left in the season.
Lionel Messi's penalty earned Argentina a 2-1 win over Croatia after a fortunate equaliser that stood despite an unintentional handball by Sergio Aguero in a friendly at West Ham United's Upton Park ground on Wednesday.
Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.
The good news for Schalke 04's defenders as they prepare to face Chelsea in their opening Champions League Group G match on Wednesday is that striker Diego Costa is nursing a slight hamstring injury.
United's Ibrahimovic, Roma's Dzeko find the net thrice to give clubs first leg advantage
The Netherlands failed to reach the European Championship for the first time since 1984 as they lost 3-2 at home to the 10-man Czech Republic in their final qualifier on Tuesday to miss out on Euro 2016.
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
Stephan El Shaarawy took a small step towards refuelling his career at Monaco when the AC Milan loanee came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League's second round of group matches on Thursday.
Bayern Munich carved out a 1-0 win at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday thanks to Thomas Mueller's first-half penalty in the strangely muted atmosphere of a cold, damp and deserted Khimki Arena.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It was a dramatic night at the Champions League as Barcelona's Anssumane Fati -- 17 years and 40 days old - became the youngest to net a goal in the competition. Last season's semi-finalists, Ajax were eliminated by Valencia while Napoli's coach Ancelotti was shown the door despite the team's progress. Here are Images from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Croatia, helped by a mistake by veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, held Italy to a 1-1 away draw on Sunday, but their evening was ruined by their fans who twice interrupted play by throwing flares onto the pitch.
Wales continued their unbeaten start to the Euro 2016 campaign as a nervy 2-1 triumph over Cyprus, after they had been reduced to 10 men, bolstered the nation's dream of qualifying for a major championship finals for only the second time.
Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky continued to swipe past the seeds at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday by dumping World No 4 Maria Sharapova from the hard court tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi equalled the Champions League scoring record of 71 goals when he struck for the second time in the 76th minute of Wednesday's Group F match at Ajax Amsterdam.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
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