Having beaten Colombia in a tense Round of 18 match at the World Cup England can now look forward to a quarter-final against Sweden with the curse of the shootout lifted.
Slovakia defender Martin Skrtel will have no second thoughts about kicking England striker Daniel Sturridge, his Liverpool team mate, to help his country win their final Euro 2016 Group B game on Monday. England top the standings with four points from two games, one ahead of Slovakia and Wales with Russia at the bottom on one. "We can be friends before and after the game but on the pitch there is no friendship and I am sure Daniel would tell you the same thing," Skrtel told a news conference on Sunday.
Liverpool started the ball rolling with a convincing 4-1 win at home to promoted Norwich and City responded a day later with an even more emphatic 5-0 victory at West Ham United.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
England coach Roy Hodgson will be strongly tempted to start with Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge in attack against Slovakia on Monday after both came off the bench to score in the 2-1 win over Wales.
France stretched their unbeaten run against Croatia to eight games after a late goal by Kylian Mbappe gave the world champions a 2-1 win in their Nations League top-tier Group 3 match on Wednesday.
How do India and Australia's teams stack up? Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Arsenal are eighth, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea, while Norwich remain second from bottom.
Manchester United's troubled season hit a new low on Saturday as Jose Mourinho saw his gamble on introducing a new tactical system backfire with an insipid 3-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.
If England coach Roy Hodgson's two halftime substitutions proved decisive in turning the tide in their 2-1 victory over Wales on Thursday, he still risked a charge of not having made them before the game rather than midway through. As usual, however, the result was all and a win enabled the normally conservative Hodgson to claim justification for his strategy. Others will question whether his loyalty to Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, both poor for the second successive match, might have been costly in terms of both England's qualification and, after that, his own job prospects.
Substitute Daniel Sturridge scored a dramatic winner in injury time to steer England towards a 2-1 win over Wales and top spot in their Group B clash Euro 2016.
Spain began a new era under Luis Enrique in impressive fashion as they came from a goal down to outplay England in a 2-1 win in their Nations League opener at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Manchester United eased the pressure on manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer with a 3-1 win at Everton in the Premier League on Saturday with Bruno Fernandes scoring twice and Edinson Cavani grabbing his first for the club.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Let's look at 10 well-known nations that have GDP less than the price Facebook paid for the chat service.
Manchester United survived a tense finale to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Sunday and close to within 11 points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
The fixture list suggests that Chelsea should still be able to finish above challengers Tottenham Hotspur. But strange things can happen when the pressure reaches it's greatest intensity and here was certainly something strange about Chelsea at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Chelsea brought a whole new dimension to the Premier League title race when they handed Manchester City their first defeat of the season on Saturday to leave Mohamed Salah-inspired Liverpool as the new leaders.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
Premier League clubs Watford and Hull City, and Championship side Leeds United paid the penalty for fielding weakened teams when they were all knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round on Sunday -- but holders Manchester United won comfortably.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to earn Belgium a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday, lifting the mood in the country after a week marred by match-fixing allegations.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
A summary of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League.
Images from the 2020 Euro Championships qualifiers played on Saturday
United down Newcastle after Saints stun Chelsea on a dramatic night in the English Premier League.
McTominay injury takes gloss of vibrant United display
The Netherlands will face underdogs New Zealand in the summit clash of the Hero Hockey World league Final on Saturday after the two teams eked out hard-fought wins over world champions Australia and England at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Lionel Messi came off the bench to inspire Barcelona to a 3-1 win over a dogged Leganes side on Sunday, creating one goal and scoring another to keep the Catalans five points clear at the top of La Liga.
City are 18 points clear of second-placed Liverpool after beating Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and need just four wins from their final nine games to be sure of the title.
Images from the European World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
Photos from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
Top-class goals from Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero took Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League in a 2-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.
Danny Rose scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out James Milner's penalty as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Manchester City displayed champions' swagger as they roared clear at the top with a 5-0 trouncing of Burnley but it was drama which engulfed their neighbours Manchester United and Jose Mourinho that dominated the Premier League agenda on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
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