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.
RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol powered home a towering header in 70th-minute to earn them a 1-1 draw against visitors Manchester City in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
Iran took a significant step towards qualifying for next year's World Cup finals with a 1-0 win over China on Tuesday that pushed Marcello Lippi's team closer to the brink of elimination.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Erling Haaland became the third player in Champions League history to score five goals in a game as he led Manchester City to an unrelenting 7-0 rout of RB Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Defiant 10-man Porto upset Juventus to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw despite losing 3-2 to the Italians following extra time in a thrilling clash that went to the wire on Tuesday.
Manchester City squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Morocco and Iran's hopes of making a mark at the World Cup before a ball has been kicked, and they head into their opening match in St Petersburg on Friday knowing defeat could likely mean an early exit.
The stability and pragmatism of Carlos Queiroz's seven-year reign has firmly established Iran's as Asia's number one team, but the nation will go to the World Cup hoping to advance for the first time to the knockout phase.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Lionel Messi scored his maiden goal for Paris St Germain in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League victory against Manchester City.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
A round-up of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
Images and summary of all the World Cup 2022 qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
