The cases made on both sides came with a host of subtexts: the Argentine versus the Brazilian, the man of the people versus the establishment figure, the party animal versus the quiet man, and the rebel versus the conformist.
As England tightened their grip on Euro 2024 qualifying and France maintained their perfect run, hosts Germany's troubles deepened.
'The boss (coach Graham Arnold) said it perfectly after the game: we enjoy, we celebrate with the fans, with friends and family in the stands, but the result will mean nothing if we don't get a result against Denmark.'
Indian boxers came good on Sunday as they advanced to the semi-finals of the Asian Youth Boxing Championship in Tehran, Iran.
Griezmann thankful for thankless role in France side
Djokovic raced into a 3-0 lead before his opponent found his rhythm to set up three break points at 4-2.
Summary of the Europa League semi-final matches played on Thursday.
The 1-1 draw leaves Germany facing a must-win match against Costa Rica.
Indian fans wait for Messi's '2011 Tendulkar moment'
Italy qualified for Euro 2024 after drawing 0-0 against Ukraine in their final Group C qualifier on Monday.
PCB chief Ramiz Raja said Pakistan would not accept the Asia Cup being moved out of the country only because India could not tour the country.
Images from Day 3 in the first Test between South Africa and India, at SuperSports Park, Centurion, on Thursday.
Rahul had suffered the debilitating injury during the IPL, which later necessitated surgery in London.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match played between Switzerland and Sweden in St Petersburg on Tuesday
Arsenal's defence of the trophy ended with something of a whimper as Mikel Arteta's side struggled with repeatedly sloppy defending.
With the group standings flashing on the big screen of the Al Bayt stadium, Germany grew nervous with Musiala twice hitting the post early in the second half.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Group E match between Germany and Japan on Wednesday.
Sports Ministry formally recognises yogasana as competitive sport.
The first half of Monday's World Cup Group A match between Senegal and the Netherlands ended 0-0 at Al Thumama Stadium as the Dutch were left to rue missed chances.
With immense pressure on him to match the late great Diego Maradona and send the trophy back to Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi has lit up the Qatar tournament while others in the superstar stratum - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo - have underwhelmed and gone home.
The lowest price of the India-South Africa tickets is of Rs 900 which are being sold for around Rs 5000 in the black market.
Mary Kom had also won a gold medal at the India Open boxing tournament in May
Ghana captain Andre Ayew hit a feeble left-footed effort from the spot in the 21st minute which was saved by goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, who had been adjudged after a lengthy VAR review to have brought down Mohammed Kudus.
The VAR system took several minutes to confirm the ball had not gone out before Mitoma's touch
'Since childhood we've said 'tumhare mu mein ghee shakkar'.' 'That's why I am moving away from sweet sweet films and concentrating on films like Tiger.'
India's chief coach Graham Reid says his players ticked most of the boxes in the 2-0 victory over a tricky Spain in their FIH men's hockey World Cup opener in Rourkela on Friday.
Pain, often excruciating, was Shreyas Iyer's constant companion as he dealt with a back injury.
Images from the FIFA World Cup third place playoff match between Croatia and Morocco on Saturday.
The younger Shaqiri's game was all about explosive pace and spectacular goals and the speed was still evident in bursts on Thursday as the 31-year-old finally became the driving force of the Swiss midfield.
Target man Giroud is level with Thierry Henry on 51 goals after scoring twice in their 4-1 win against Australia on Tuesday.
'Our viewers have grown up over the years.' 'Today, they want to see something which is sensible, a story rooted in logic rather than jingoism.'
Images from the FIFA World Cup match between Senegal and England on Sunday.
L Sarita Devi (64kg) and Sonia Lather (57kg) advanced to the semifinals and assured themselves of medals at the Asian women's Boxing Championships.
The list of international sporting events affected by a new virus outbreak in China grew on Wednesday with skiing World Cup races in Yanqing cancelled and Olympic women's football in Australia in doubt over concerns about athletes' safety. Badminton, tennis and basketball were among other sports whose governing bodies were rearranging events, weighing possible changes or monitoring the implications of the outbreak.
IMAGES from the Euro 2024 qualifiers played on Tuesday.
Goals from Memphis Depay and Daley Blind gave the Netherlands a 2-0 halftime lead over the United States at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday in the first knockout match of the World Cup.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Group H match between Portugal and Uruguay on Monday.
anada's hopes of getting back into the contest were dashed when a curling cross from Perisic on the left was controlled by Kramaric, who shifted the ball onto his left foot and dispatched it low into the bottom corner in the 70th minute.
Veteran striker Girelli, 33, replaced 16-year-old midfielder Giulia Dragoni in the 83rd minute and needed only four minutes to make an impact
Iran are second on three points with Wales bottom on one point and all outcomes are still possible going into the final round of games when England take on the Welsh.
