While Africa, Asia and North America will not be represented, dashing any hope of a revolutionary breakthrough in the eventual destination of the trophy, at least one of this year's finalists will not have reached the title decider for half a century, if at all.
Brazil's stuttering performance stemmed from anxiety at playing their first World Cup game, coach Tite said after their 1-1 draw with Switzerland.
Messi, whose deal expires in 2021, had called his side "weak" and "inconsistent" after they lost the league title to Real Madrid.
Real have underperformed on the domestic stage, trailing Barcelona by 15 points and knocked out of the King's Cup by Leganes, and many predicted an early elimination from Europe when they drew the runaway Ligue 1 leaders in the last 16.
Lionel Messi notched his 250th La Liga goal to move one off the all-time league scoring record as leaders Barcelona won 3-0 against Eibar on Saturday ahead of next weekend's Clasico with Real Madrid.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Santos were crowned champions of South America for the third time after goals from teenagers Neymar and Danilo gave them a 2-1 win over Penarol in the second leg of the Libertadores Cup final on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
Celta Vigo thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Wednesday with Iago Aspas hitting a double.
Under the new system, half the votes would belong to the players and coaches of the world's 211 national teams and half to the public, who will take part via an online ballot, and selected media representatives.
Britain's No 1 tennis player Andy Murray watched Neymar score twice.
Real will ease the pain by retaining their Champions League title, their only hope of salvaging a disappointing season.
Daniel Sturridge's Liverpool career seemed to be heading for a premature end last season but the striker showed on Tuesday he may yet have an important role after taking his chance during a rare start in the Champions League win over Paris St Germain.
India captain Virat Kohli, senior batsman Mahendra Singh Dhoni and stylish left-handed batsmen Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, have found places in this year's ESPN World Fame 100 list that made its debut last year.
Lionel Messi has passed a kidney stone which ruled him out of their Club World Cup semi-final and Barcelona will now decide whether he will be fit for the final, the Spanish sports daily AS said on Friday.
A chubby-looking Ronaldo said farewell to soccer in Brazil's lacklustre 1-0 win over Romania in a friendly on Tuesday, missing three chances in the 15 minutes he was on the pitch.
Carli Lloyd, captain and hat-trick hero for the United States in their World Cup final triumph, heads the trio of nominees for FIFA Women's World Player of the Year, announced on Monday.
Paris St Germain's then sports director Leonardo declared the club were ready for tougher competitions in Europe two years ago but Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final exit suggests PSG need more time to reach the top.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
From the debate-arousing introduction of VAR to maximum number of Penalties to the superb Ronaldo, here are the A to Z of the ongoing 2018 World Cup
Brazil inflicted France's first defeat since the World Cup when a perfectly executed second-half performance earned them a 3-1 win in a friendly game at the Stade de France on Thursday.
The Frenchman, who won nine trophies in two-and-a-half years, suggested it is events off the pitch, rather than on it, that made him leave.
India's Test captain and numero uno batsman Virat Kohli has been named as 'Third Most Marketable Sportsperson' in the world ahead of football superstar Lionel Messi, world No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic in a latest survey published by magazine 'SportsPro'. Kohli is ranked behind NBA's 'Most Valuable Player' Stephen Curry and Juventus' French international Paul Pogba. Incidentally, Kohli is just ahead of golfer Jordan Spieth. Djokovic is 23rd in the list, followed by Messi at 27th and 'Sprint King' Usain Bolt at 31.
New Brazil coach Mano Menezes made wholesale changes with only four survivors from the World Cup when he named his squad on Monday for next month's friendly against the United States.
Barcelona's star striker Messi is an alien who plays with us humans, says the Juventus 'keeper
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez netted twice for a 2-1 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday after the visitors' Fernando Torres opened the scoring and was later sent off.
Real's Cristiano Ronaldo will be going in search of his third consecutive World Player of the Year award
Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
Brazil scrapped their way to a flattering 3-0 friendly win over France on Sunday in an ugly, disjointed match against opponents who are even worse off than themselves.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Football legend Pele has termed Argentine forward Lionel Messi as the "best in last 10 years", but also spoke highly of his fellow Brazilian Neymar and Portugal's Ronaldo.
Clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona are rarely short on drama and Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' may have more than its usual share with Luis Suarez poised to return from a biting ban and Barca teammate Lionel Messi on the brink of equalling the top-flight scoring record.
The following factbox details five times a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) made an impact at the World Cup.
Next year's Copa America in Chile will give Brazil the chance to bury the ghosts of their miserable World Cup, the president of the country's soccer federation said.
The match marks just the second time, and first in 35 years, that El Clasico will be played outside Spain.
A compelling cast of players, two attacking teams propelled by great pace and a clash between neighbours to boot.
Cristiano Ronaldo has received an offer to leave Real Madrid and join Italian champions Juventus, a source close to the player said.
Barcelona made a brisk start to the season with new coach Luis Enrique at the helm in place of Gerardo Martino and a host of additions to the squad, including midfielder Ivan Rakitic and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
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