India qualified automatically for the event as hosts. They have prepared well with the All India Football Federation (AIFF) sending the players for training tours in Europe and a tournament in Mexico but the home side are the clear underdogs.
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench and scored an opportunist goal which set Portugal on the way to a 2-0 win in Andorra on Saturday that maintained their chances of qualifying directly for the World Cup.
Atletico de Kolkata, reduced to ten men from the 43d minute, reached the final of the Indian Super League on goal aggregate after playing out a hard-tackling, goalless draw with Mumbai City FC in the second leg semi-final.
European champions Portugal comfortably dispatched New Zealand 4-0 to reach the Confederations Cup semi-finals on Saturday after Cristiano Ronaldo set them on their way with a penalty.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as his double helped Barcelona sweep Levante aside in the second half in a 4-1 victory on Sunday to maintain their perfect La Liga start.
The Goa-based designer fields rapid-fire questions!
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In playing terms, both are the leaders of their teams but they take very different approaches to their role. While Bale is widely acclaimed as an inspiration for his national team, Ronaldo's influence on Portugal is the subject of debate. Gareth Bale is constantly encouraging his team mates and is described by his manager as "the most down-to-earth boy you could meet."
Tata Steel, SBI, Infosys and L&T were among the top gainers for the day.
The President has maintained that he has nothing to do with Russia.
Carlos Vela helped Real Sociedad overcome a European hangover when he grabbed a second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at promoted Elche in La Liga on Saturday.
A factbox on Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi
Italian legend Alessandro del Piero scored his first goal at the fag end of the tournament via a superb free-kick as Delhi Dynamos rallied from two goal down to hold leaders Chennaiyin FC 2-2 in a thrilling Indian Super League football match on Tuesday.
Chinese brokers had been looking to use some of the cash they raised this year to expand their global reach
As the mercurial Messi rings in his 28th birthday, Rediff.com brings you all the exciting moments from the ace footballer's life.
Colombia marked their return to the World Cup after a 16-year absence with an attacking display that earned a 3-0 victory over Greece on Saturday, and the early initiative in what looks to be a really tight Group C.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
NorthEast United FC capitalised on a debatable penalty decision as they held FC Goa to a 1-1 draw in a high intensity Hero Indian Super League match.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi rescued a 1-1 draw at Villarreal with a sensational late free-kick on Sunday but could not prevent the champions finishing the weekend third in La Liga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Delhi Dynamos were better but wasteful as they paid the price for their profligacy even as Alessandro del Piero's presence failed to break the deadlock in their barren draw against FC Pune City in the Hero Indian Super League on Tuesday.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.
Jamie Vardy scored his first goal in the Champions League to give Leicester City some hope of staying in Europe's elite competition despite a 2-1 loss to an utterly dominant Sevilla in Wednesday's last-16 first leg.
An impudent individual goal from Philippe Coutinho steered Liverpool comfortably into the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday after a 1-1 draw at bitter rivals Manchester United completed a 3-1 aggregate win.
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Mumbai-based designer Nachiket Barve talks about his favourite things.
When UEFA decided eight years ago to expand the European Championship from 16 to 24 teams, its then president Michel Platini promised the standard of the tournament would not drop.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Tuesday's qualification matches next year's FIFA World Cup.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is head strong but it appears as though he may be fighting a losing battle with the four times World Player of the Year.
New Zealand are placed in Group B along with Turkey, Paraguay and Mali.
Delhi Dynamos unveiled Brazilian World Cup winner Roberto its marquee manager-cum-player for the second season of the Indian Super League. Manu Shankar/Rediff.com reports
Brazil held 10 presumed Islamist militants in isolation cells at a maximum security jail on Friday as police combed their computers and mobile phones for information about possible threats to next month's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagging four goals, while Juventus and Bayern Munich preserved their leads and FA Cup holders Arsenal were dumped out of the competition.
Five players to watch during the 2016 Major League Soccer season, which opens on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
One of the most disappointing aspects of Barcelona's failure to win major silverware last season was the lack of on-field chemistry between Lionel Messi and Neymar.
The sale came when Mallya was trapped in a sea of debt, mainly as a result of the losses his now grounded carrier, Kingfisher Airlines, had been piling.
From heroes to zeros and back again, Leicester City's remarkable rollercoaster ride took another twist as a superb 2-0 victory over Sevilla put them in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday.
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