A late Mauro Icardi strike earned Paris St Germain a last-gasp 2-1 home victory against Olympique Lyonnais with Lionel Messi making limited impact on his Parc des Princes debut on Sunday.
France showed the full range of their attacking weapons as they continued their preparations for the World Cup in convincing fashion with a 3-1 win over Italy in a friendly on Friday.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
IMAGRS from the soccer matches played across European leagues on Friday
The focus has very much been on the game between two countries that share a sporting rivalry.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Tunisian captain's goal mobilised the French into action, with Deschamps bringing in stars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to jump-start an attack that had so far been tepid.
A round-up of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Here is a quick guide to the eight games which get underway on Saturday.
Roundup of Champions League matches played on Wednesday night
A sloppy Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to Real Betis on Saturday in a further blow to their hopes of retaining the La Liga title.
France are looking to beat the Socceroos just like they did to kick off their 2018 journey in Russia.
Lionel Messi has become the first player to win Europe's Golden Shoe award for three straight years after his nearest challenger Kylian Mbappe failed to score the four goals he needed in Paris St Germain's final league match of the season on Friday.
Stopping the stars won't be enough to win World Cup
'But when I arrived in Barcelona, I was told that it was no longer possible, that I could not stay and that I had to find another club, because Barca could not afford to extend my contract. That changed my plans.'
Bayern Munich midfielder Thomas Mueller has tested positive for COVID-19 and will miss the Club World Cup final against Mexico's Tigres UANL on Thursday
Yann Sommer saved France striker Kylian Mbappe's spot kick to give Switzerland a 5-4 penalty shoot-out win, following a thrilling 3-3 draw after extra-time, on Monday as they advanced to the Euro 2020 quarter-finals where they will meet Spain.
Images from the Nations League football matches played on Thursday.
Robert Lewandowski and substitute Pablo Torre each scored twice to help leaders Barcelona thrash visitors Sevilla 5-1 in LaLiga on Sunday in a confidence boost for Hansi Flick's side ahead of key clashes against Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Lionel Messi's fifth-place finish in this year's Ballon d'Or vote was absurd, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said of the Spanish champions' Argentina forward on Tuesday.
Monaco swept into the Champions League quarter-finals and left Manchester City to pick up the pieces of another failed European campaign after a 3-1 victory on Wednesday sent them through on away goals.
Martinez's team face the 1998 World Cup winners in St Petersburg on Tuesday for a place in the final
Featuring Neymar, Coutinho, Dembele, Pogba, Bale...
Saka, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden -- the three youngest players in the England squad -- have been described as "generational talents", but the Arsenal player said they had learned to tune out the noise, be it compliments or criticism.
The flying wingback is one of the key players in the north African outfit whose last-16 match in the Qatar World Cup against Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, gives them a chance to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
Griezmann thankful for thankless role in France side
More than 50 Africa-born or African-origin players are spread across 11 teams -- excluding sides from the continent -- that are part of the tournament in Qatar.
Messi was three ahead of nearest rival Kylian Mbappe, who scored 33 times for Paris St Germain as they won France's Ligue 1.
The French in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018 all followed their stuttering starts as champions by bombing out in the group stage.
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
France overwhelmed Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Sunday to lift the trophy for the second time in 20 years.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second England international to leave Arsenal in two days when he joined Premier League rivals Liverpool for a reported 40 million pounds on Thursday.
Not only the senior team but the young Blue Colts also emerged victorious in the SAFF Men's U-19 champions after hammering Pakistan in the final and clinching a vigorous 3-0 victory.
The French fans will be largely outnumbered by the Morocco supporters
Brazilian soccer great Pele said on Saturday he was "strong" and grateful for the widespread support he has been receiving after being hospitalized in Sao Paulo earlier this week as he battles colon cancer.
Second-half strikes by Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick gave feeble Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over lowly Real Valladolid.
Les Bleus, who face Poland in the last 16 on Sunday, underperformed at the Education City stadium and only after Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele came off the bench did they pose any threat.
Didier Deschamps has tough choices to make ahead of his young team's World Cup opener against Australia and the experienced Olivier Giroud could find himself on the bench.
Inter Milan got a crucial 1-0 win at Juventus on Sunday
