The consequences of failure are nowhere more devastating than at a World Cup, where two previous finals and five semi-finals have been decided by the gut-wrenching lottery of penalties.
Overall leader Chris Froome put the hammer down on the Tour de France when the Briton humiliated his rivals in the first mountain test, winning the 10th stage in awe-inspiring fashion on Tuesday.
Here's your weekly digest of odd, crazy moments from around the world
Canada beat USA to enter quarters, Argentina overpower Chile in opening tie
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to hit 30 La Liga goals in six consecutive seasons as he inspired Real Madrid to a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar on Saturday.
Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu admitted he went against UEFA's wishes in fielding midfielder Fred in Tuesday's Champions League qualifier despite being aware of a possible doping violation hanging over the Brazilian international.
Neymar shrugged off some rough tackling and a missed penalty to score a brilliant solo goal as he led Brazil to a 3-0 win over Paraguay that moved them within sight of the 2018 World Cup finals on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Spain captain Iker Casillas has said he finds it strange that the format of the draw for the World Cup finals allowed the holders to be placed in the same group as Netherlands, the team they beat in the final in 2010.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to help a second-string Argentina record an easy 4-0 away win over Guatemala in a friendly and overtake Diego Maradona's international goals tally.
Deepika Kumari failed to deliver when it mattered most as Russia beat India in a closely-contested quarter-final 5-4 via the shoot-off in the women's recurve archery competition at the Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, on Sunday.
Lionel Messi's return sparked Argentina to a 2-1 win over Chile in Santiago on Thursday, breathing new life into their South American qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
It was a disappointing day for the Indians at the Archery World Cup Stage 3 as ace archer Deepika Kumari made a quarter-final exit, while others failed to progress beyond pre-quarterfinal stage at Medellin, Colombia.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has opened the door to out-of-favour midfielder James Rodriguez leaving the club by admitting the player's lack of appearances could become a problem.
Netherlands may be among the favourites to win the World Cup but they suffered a scare on Saturday when they narrowly avoided defeat by Japan in their first match since completing qualification for next year's finals.
Brazil got off to a winning start in their home Olympics on Wednesday when the women's soccer team beat China 3-0 in host city Rio de Janeiro. Although the opening ceremony takes place on Friday, the soccer competitions began ahead of time with six women's matches on Wednesday and another eight men's games on Thursday.
Atletico Madrid's faint hopes of chasing down runaway Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona, meaning they could fall 11 points behind the Catalans by the end of the weekend.
The draw for the eight groups for the final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which will be played from June 12 to July 13 in Brazil, was just held in Costa do Saupe near Salvador de Bahia.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp is expecting his toughest test yet in a Merseyside derby when his side face local rivals Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid will welcome back the added firepower of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Karim Benzema when they entertain promoted Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
India's shooting ace Apurvi Chandela attained the World No 1 position in the women's 10m air rifle event while compatriot Anjum Moudgil rose to second.
FIFA legends Carlos Valderrama and Marcel Desailly on Wednesday advised the Indian colts to view the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup as a huge opportunity to shine on the international stage and perform to their potential.
After not much action barring the 2-2 draw against Bangladesh in an international friendly in March this year, India slipped eights places to be ranked 158th in the latest FIFA rankings headed by World Champions Germany.
First half goals from Philippe Coutinho and Neymar were followed by a third from Paulinho after 58 minutes to sink the Argentines and extend their winless run to four games.
Sports events produce a multitude of highly amusing and crazy celebrations. Individual and team players have various way of celebrating victory, a goal or point. Some do it with a high-five, blow a kiss, cartwheel or dance. And on the soccer field, it's a soccer ball baby!
Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called for a big improvement after the European champions suffered a surprise early-season setback at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday.
A small Australian maker of bug sprays became an unlikely beneficiary of the mosquito-borne Zika virus outbreak this week when the country's Olympic team signed it up as its first official insect repellent sponsor.
Jezreel Pannikot reveals life lessons the stars of the 2018 World Cup taught us.
The home team's record signing Jefferson Lerma, who cost 25 million pounds ($32 million) in August, scored a spectacular own goal to give Arsenal the lead but Norwegian international Josh King, back in the Bournemouth side after injury, equalised just before halftime.
Clubbed in a veritable group of death for next year's World Cup, Australia believe they can spring a surprise while fellow Asian qualifiers Japan, South Korea and Iran were more cautious with their optimism despite being dealt kinder draws.
World football governing body chief Gianni Infantino, on Friday, described the FIFA U-17 World Cup as a "resounding success" but refrained from giving any commitment on the country's bid to host the U-20 World Cup in 2019.
News of all that transpired on and off the field.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
United States striker Abby Wambach has apologised for her suggestion the referee targeted certain American players for yellow cards.
Check out how Indian athletes fared on the second day of the 2016 Olympics.
Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain struck twice as the Italian side produced a masterful all-round display to beat Monaco 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
England coach Mark Sampson named an experienced squad on Monday for the women's World Cup in Canada.
Having won all their three group matches with ease, South American giants Brazil will start clear favourites when they take on the unfancied Honduras in a pre-quarterfinal match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, in Honduras.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances