Poland coach Adam Nawalka said his team had needed to beat Japan in their final World Cup match on Thursday to prove they were not quitters and bring some joy to their country's football fans after a miserable campaign in Russia.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez declared himself delighted with a 3-0 win over World Cup debutants Panama but there were plenty of issues that will encourage England after their own winning start in Group G.
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski will be faced with a defender ominously known as K2 when, at the age of 29, he finally makes his debut at the World Cup finals in Tuesday's Group H match against Senegal.
'Where people in the name of religion kill each other, kill others just to go to heaven, and thinking only they will go to heaven,' says Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
The above map explains the freedom of expression index for each country. United States, Poland and Spain are in the first three places with 5.73, 5.66 and 5.62 as their scores respectively
Lille fought back from a goal down to win 3-1 at Nancy in Ligue 1 on Sunday but lost goalkeeper Tony Sylva.
The striker was suspended from playing for the national team for six months after he reacted angrily to being substituted.
The career milestones of the France international and outgoing Arsenal captain
At some stage this fall in the quality of life will begin to hurt anybody's popularity, observes Shekhar Gupta.
Modi will arrive in France on Thursday evening and straightaway head for talks with Macron, who will also host a working dinner for the visiting leader.
Germany's exit has no bearing on England preparations for the World Cup latter stages and they will be going all out to win their final Group G match against Belgium, coach Gareth Southgate said on Wednesday.
England and Belgium, already qualified from World Cup Group G, meet on Thursday in what Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini says could be a "strange match". Depending on the outcome of other games, it may not be an advantage to finish top of the group, but both sides insist they won't take such calculations into account.
West Ham United marked their first match at the Olympic Stadium with a 3-0 win over Slovenian side NK Domzale, Cheikhou Kouyate scoring twice to help secure a place in the Europa League playoff round.
India has so far succeeded in staving off the deadly virus that has claimed over 4,500 lives abroad.
The structure went green for the opening of the Paris climate conference, marking the launch of an art project that will see "virtual trees" grow on the landmark to support reforestation.
Little did the relatives of Anita Datar, the 41-year-old Indian-American aid worker killed in the Mali hotel massacre, realise that her visit to the family in Pune in March this year would prove to be the last.
Brazil forward Robinho ended his third spell at Santos on Tuesday with local media reporting he was set to join up with former Selecao coach Luiz Felipe Scolari at Chinese champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
Sadio Mane struck four minutes into stoppage time to give Liverpool a last-gasp 1-0 win over derby rivals Everton that lifted them into second place in the English Premier League.
The Swedish striker gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
In a YouTube video post, Anelka said Houllier's comments were "of a racist nature" and he alleged that "it (was) not the first time".
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Two Swiss government ministers have backed national team players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri after their controversial goal celebrations in Friday's 2-1 World Cup win over Serbia.
Three South American sides have accounted for almost half of all World Cup titles but their worst overall performance since 2002 has raised the question: Is South American football on the wane?
Sampaoli looked morose after Argentina's heaviest defeat in a World Cup group stage since 1958 and appeared resigned to his side's fate.
Colombian soccer supporters brought a wave of tropical exuberance to the stolid citizens of Saransk
The 26-year-old trained at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk on Monday but his state of fitness was still unclear.
Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.
Southampton's Senegal forward Sadio Mane scored the fastest Premier League hat-trick as he broke a 20-year-old record to help them lead 5-1 at home to Aston Villa by halftime on Saturday.
English clubs took their spending on players for the season soaring past 1 billion pounds on Monday, but the biggest signing on transfer deadline day was that of a manager as Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola will take over this summer.
'Our government's claim that there are no undetected cases of infection that happened within our bustling cities because of exposure to infected international travellers are not credible,' notes Rahul Jacob.
Belgium go into Monday's World Cup last 16 match against Japan full of confidence but wary that relying on individual talent against similarly well-organised but less fancied teams has cost them dear in the past.
His 107th-minute strike gave Liverpool a 2-0 win over Sheffield United.
England and Belgium face a World Cup conundrum ahead of Thursday's crunch in Kaliningrad
Colombia's World Cup campaign roared back into life with a 3-0 win over Poland in Group H on a sweltering evening at the Kazan Arena which sent the Poles tumbling out of the tournament on Sunday.
