Argentina got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start on Thursday when Lionel Messi's early penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a lacklustre match in Buenos Aires.
Son Heung-min's touch of class for the winner once again showed why he has been Asian Footballer of the Year seven times and why, with him in their ranks, South Korea will never admit defeat.
In the 21 editions of the World Cup over 92 years featuring 79 nations, there have still been only eight winners and only 13 have made it to the final. Spain were the last to join the elite group of champions in 2010 after France in 1998 and Argentina in 1978.
It was Spain's first competitive win in Portugal since 1934
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez heads to next month's World Cup in Russia looking for a measure of redemption after ending the previous two editions of the tournament in disgrace.
The football world gathered in the Qatari capital on Friday as the draw ceremony for the World Cup finals got under way with music and dance.
Friday's game marked Messi's return to the national side after being rested for Argentina's previous two World Cup qualifiers
Uruguayan soccer player Diego Forlan on Monday denied evading taxes by hiding money in Swiss accounts with the British bank HSBC Holdings PLC.
The Barcelona striker's clever, low free kick helped Uruguay to beat hosts Russia 3-0 on Monday and to clinch top spot in Group A with three straight wins.
Even as the bilateral relationship between the two neighbouring countries remains hostile, there is growing coordination between India and Pakistan on one multilateral forum - the World Trade Organization (WTO). Both countries have made two joint submissions at the WTO as co-sponsors in the past two months. In June, Pakistan joined India, Cuba, and 44 African countries, seeking sufficient flexibility in intellectual property rights for developing countries to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Brazil scored twice in the last four minutes, the second a first international goal from Real Madrid striker Rodrygo, to cap a comfortable 4-0 win over Paraguay in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte.
Following is reaction to the 2022 FIFA World Cup draw, which was held at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center in Qatar on Friday.
The Uruguay striker seemed to momentarily forget that Chile goalkeeper Gabriel Arias's job is to stop shots with his hands and appealed for a penalty, gesticulating to the referee by pointing to his own hand.
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches.
France, Portugal and Russia all moved closer to next year's World Cup finals with first leg playoff wins on Saturday, although none of them did enough to take victory for granted in the second legs next week.
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
Wilmar Valdez, the head of Uruguay's football association, says it was a mistake to play the Centenary Copa America in the US.
The enormous structured global advertising machinery that surrounds every football game on the planet today? Pele was perhaps single-handedly responsible for all of it. By just being brilliant, captivating crowds, and behaving like a being from the future, doing things that STILL provoke oohs and aahs from watchers. Vaibhav Raghunandan salutes the Incomparable Pele.
Spain won by a landslide as expected but tiny Tahiti emerged with their reputations enhanced and their dignity intact despite their 10-0 loss to the world and European champions in the Confederations Cup on Thursday.
He donned the number seven shirt during his first stint at the club, following in the footsteps of great United players including George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.
Alisson was shown a red card after 25 minutes for a fierce tackle and another in stoppage time
Saudi Arabia are looking towards the Asian Cup with hope after they showed signs of progress in their 1-0 defeat to Uruguay as they exited the World Cup on Wednesday.
France was always among the favourites but an underwhelming set of warm-ups plus a timid start suggested their reputation rang louder than reality
India 'B' blanked Estonia 4-0 in the second round of the Open section in the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai, on Saturday while the second-seeded India 'A' team defeated Moldova 3.5-0.5 to make it two wins from as many matches.
Every twist and turn in KMC's civil service career is attributed to serendipity, an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. He plays down his capabilities, which took him to the top of the civil service as the Cabinet Secretary or his misfortune in losing a daughter in her prime and suggests that his career was indeed serendipitous, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
The Declaration for the Future of the Internet is in part a response to a rising trend of digital authoritarianism, including Russia's actions to block credible news sites
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.
Brazil soccer great Pele died on Thursday, aged 82, after a long battle with cancer.
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.
Images from Copa America matches played on Monday.
The most impressive players at the FIFA World Cup 2022 after Round One.
FIFA has charged Uruguay's Luis Suarez for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini during their Group D World Cup match on Tuesday.
Argentina won their first major title in 28 years on Saturday after Angel Di Maria's goal gave them a 1-0 win over Brazil and a record-equalling 15th Copa America, at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Saturday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Argentina suffered a blow to their 2018 World Cup qualifying plans when Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero withdrew on Monday from their squad to face Uruguay and Venezuela. Aguero and Paris St-Germain midfielder Javier Pastore both have calf muscle injuries and will miss Thursday's home clash with Uruguay and the visit to Venezuela next Tuesday, the Argentine FA said.
India stands out as a poor and very unequal country, with the top 1 per cent of the population holding more than one-fifth of the total national income in 2021 and the bottom half just 13 per cent, according to a report. The report, titled ' World Inequality Report 2022', has been authored by Lucas Chancel, co-director of the World Inequality Lab, and coordinated by several experts, including French economist Thomas Piketty. It further said India is now among the most unequal countries in the world.
A restaurant in St Petersburg has struck a chord with the hordes of soccer fans in town for the World Cup by serving up pizzas featuring the faces of some of the tournament's biggest stars.
Argentina had a scare when Lionel Messi had to be substituted after incurring a back injury during a 1-0 win over rugged Honduras in a Copa America Centenario warm-up friendly on Friday. Messi walked off in pain in the 64th minute in San Juan after a clash with Honduras substitute Oliver Morazan 10 days before Argentina's opening Group D match against Chile. The team later dispelled fears of a serious injury, saying on their Twitter account that Messi had "suffered bruising on the left of his lower back and ribs." Gonzalo Higuain scored the only goal for Argentina. In other warm-up matches for the June 3-26 tournament in the United States, Edinson Cavani struck twice as Uruguay overcame Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 and title holders Chile were upset 2-1 by Jamaica.
