Brazil have shown all the signs they can rule the world yet again in Russia but they must make their excellent preparations count in their World Cup Group E opener against a resilient Switzerland side on Sunday in Rostov.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half to help Barcelona to a 2-0 win over Arsenal in their UEFA Champions League round of 16, first leg match at the Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
Real Madrid's bid to land Gareth Bale from Tottenham Hotspur for a world record fee in the region of 100 million euros is out of place in the current economic climate, Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A much-changed Brazil failed to win for the first time in 11 games but still qualified top in Group B for the quarter-finals of the Copa America on Sunday after drawing 1-1 with Ecuador in Goiania.
Only Brazilian superstar Neymar Junior (0.68), Ali Ashfaq (0.68) of Maldives and Edin Dzeko (0.63) of Bosnia have a better strike rate then Chhetri.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes his current squad is the strongest he has ever had and he is very confident of retaining the La Liga and King's Cup titles. The Spanish champions have recruited Andre Gomes, Samuel Umtiti, Lucas Digne and Denis Suarez since the end of last season while Marc Bartra, Thomas Vermaelen, Adriano Correia and Sandro Ramirez have departed. "On paper, this is the best squad that I have had in my three years at Barca," Luis Enrique told the club's website. "We have a squad that has been strengthened brilliantly.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Brazil failed to make a winning start despite home advantage, a multi-million dollar strike force and a man advantage as they were held 0-0 by South Africa in their opening soccer match at the Rio Olympics on Thursday.
Holders Barcelona produced a second-half blitz to come from behind and beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to book a place in the King's Cup semi-finals after Atletico Madrid crashed out in a shock 3-2 defeat by Celta Vigo.
A World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil was suspended amid farcical scenes on Sunday after Brazilian health authorities accused a number of Premier League players of violating the country's COVID-19 quarantine rules.
Striker Marcus Rashford scored a second-half winner as a young and much-changed England avoided an unprecedented fourth successive defeat by beating Switzerland 1-0 in a friendly on Tuesday.
Barca dominated possession and Luis Suarez had several early chances but it was Villarreal who took the lead with Denis Cheryshev redirecting a Mario Gaspar shot past keeper Claudio Bravo on the half hour.
Can 2018 top its predecessor in Sporting Glory?
Lionel Messi became the first player to notch 300 La Liga goals as his double blast powered Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon that sent them six points clear at the top of the table on Wednesday.
Aguero will not start against Man United: Guardiola.
India's most successful One-Day International captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has beaten football superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to secure ninth place in the list of the world's 'most marketable athletes', compiled by the London School of Marketing.
Sergio Busquets called on Barcelona to sign more players after the club's 3-1 Spanish Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid on Sunday.
The forward was again the stand-out Brazil player and he coolly side-footed home his 60th international goal in the 76th minute after Diego Laxalt brought down Danilo, although Uruguay claimed there was a handball in the build-up.
France striker Kylian Mbappe went off nursing a shoulder injury as they beat Uruguay 1-0 with an Olivier Giroud penalty in a rematch of their World Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
PSG made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in the French Ligue 1, while Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 win away to Alaves in their opening game.
Luis Suarez has progressed from his impressive debut La Liga campaign to produce the most prolific season of his career and fire Barcelona to a second straight title, free of the stigma of his ban for biting which accompanied him to Spain in 2014. It was fitting that the Uruguayan should score a hat-trick in the comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada on Saturday to clinch the title, taking his tally to 40 goals in 35 games. He is the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to finish as La Liga top scorer since 2009 but his contribution to Barca's title triumph goes beyond his goals and 16 assists. For Suarez is the hardest working of the feted 'MSN' partnership he forms with Messi and Neymar, a trio who have delivered 90 of Barcelona's 112 league goals. He is also the most willing to close down opponents and run into space and, naturally, he has shown himself to be the player who is keenest to throw himself into any physical battle.
Brazil beat Ecuador 1-0 in an international friendly in New Jersey on Tuesday with a first half goal from Willian enough to give coach Dunga his second successive victory.
Antoine Griezmann scored two goals and provided two assists as Barcelona staged a stunning last-gasp comeback before beating Granada 5-3
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
In a statement, the prosecutor's office said Ronaldo had knowingly used a "business structure" created in 2010 to hide his income in Spain from his image rights.
Brazil coach Dunga is coming under increasing pressure to include Santos youngsters Neymar and Paulo Henrique Ganso in his World Cup squad after the pair's electrifying performances for Santos this season. With Brazil heavily dependent on out-of-form Kaka for creativity, many feel the pair should be given a chance by Dunga after scoring 10 goals apiece in helping Santos top the Paulista championship.
'There is a loss of camaraderie .. no one speaks unless i'ts work related .. it's like a laboratory where some rather deep scientific experiments abound.'
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos scored in the 90th minute to hold FC Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Saturday.
Lionel Messi still wishes to leave Barcelona after meeting new coach Ronald Koeman, according to reports in the Spanish media on Friday, as all four sports newspapers dedicated their front covers to the Argentine's uncertain future.
Captain Casemiro said Brazil fully deserved the three points.
Riyad Mahrez struck twice as Manchester City reached the Champions League final for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory over Paris St Germain at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday that secured a 4-1 aggregate win.
Brazil firmed up to 3-1 favourites to win the World Cup for the sixth time after goals from Neymar and Roberto Firmino secured a 2-0 win over Mexico and a place in the quarter-finals on Monday.
Little more than a year has gone by since Tite took over as coach of a Brazil side still reeling from embarrassing exits in the World Cup and Copa America but in that short time he has transformed the team into favourites for Russia 2018.
Defender Gerard Pique grabbed a rare winner and Lionel Messi scored yet another beauty as Barcelona came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday and reclaim an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona overwhelmed Manchester City as Ivan Rakitic's strike secured a 1-0 win.
"It would be a big deal, increasing the team's appeal and also because it would bigger business for Juve, through merchandising," a Milan-based trader said.
Colombia have scored more goals than Argentina and notched as many as the highly-rated Brazilians
