IMAGES from UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Argentina captain Lionel Messi said defending champions France and Brazil are the favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar as they have a core group of players who have played together for a long time.
Qatar no playground for playmakers as defenders clamp down
IMAGES from the Champions League semi-final played between PSG and Leipzig at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday.
The focus has very much been on the game between two countries that share a sporting rivalry.
Following are comments, quotes and reactions from the French coach, players.
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.
The winner will be named on August 26, along with UEFA's women's player of the year and Champions League positional award winners, at the Champions League group stage draw in Istanbul.
Real Madrid have avoided defeat in their last 41 LaLiga games, the second best streak by a team in the competition's history.
Greece beat England for the first time as striker Vangelis Pavlidis's double earned the visitors a richly-deserved 2-1 victory.
Bayern Munich's Douglas Costa scored a first-half winner as the holders did the bare minimum to beat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 on Tuesday and move into the German Cup quarter-finals.
Stopping the stars won't be enough to win World Cup
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 are looking to beat the Socceroos just like they did to kick off their 2018 journey in Russia.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona's Lionel Messi, who have won the award 10 times between them, are included
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
Images from the Nations League football matches played on Thursday.
A round-up of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Crowds of cheering French soccer fans began gathering in Paris on Sunday, draped in red, white and blue and singing the Marseillaise, as excitement was building ahead of the France-Croatia showdown at the World Cup final in Moscow.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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 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.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the Champions League quarter-finals first leg.
'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.'
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.
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.
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
Hundreds of thousands of Argentines poured into the sunlit streets of Buenos Aires on Sunday
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.
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.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Novak Djokovic claimed a record-breaking 23rd men's singles Grand Slam title when he beat Norway's Casper Ruud 7-6(1) 6-3 7-5 in the French Open final.
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.