All five African teams at the last World Cup in Russia failed to get past the first round and the continent's football leaders have said their future priority is to make sides more competitive in the international arena.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The first of a five part history of the World Cup from Uruguay in 1930 up to the preparations for the 2014 finals in Brazil.
Javier Ceppi, Tournament Director of the 2017 Under-17 football World Cup, which India will host, says the success of the event depends on the country's fans. Laxmi Negi reports.
Qatar will be the first team since Italy in the second World Cup in 1934 to participate in the finals for the first time as a host without having previously qualified for the tournament.
Although they won their first round group, there was little evidence to back up their self-confidence as they stuttered through
The Qatar World Cup has delivered a rich feast of soccer for the past month
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Trezeguet had recently played in the Indian Super League for Pune City FC.
Former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic criticised Gareth Bale for lacking leadership qualities
British daily The Times splashed "In the hands of God" with the image of Maradona celebrating after beating West Germany in the final of the 1986 World Cup.
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?
World soccer great Diego Armando Maradona, who died on Wednesday less than a month after his 60th birthday, was worshipped like a god for his genius with the ball, but his demons almost destroyed him.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Nigeria have no sympathy for the struggles of Argentina striker Lionel Messi at the World Cup and will do everything they can to bring his tournament to a premature end when the teams meet in St Petersburg on Tuesday.
India captain Sunil Chhetri added another feather to his illustrious cap as he overtook Argentina star Lionel Messi to become the second-highest goalscorer among the current players in international football.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said Argentina look lost and have no leadership after the 3-0 loss to Croatia which left them on the verge of a disastrous early exit from the World Cup, in an audio message leaked to Spanish and Argentine radio stations.
Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An important factor in India's stupendous success in 2021 was the way the government opened its coffers to support athletes.
Tite admitted he had been complaining to the referee during the first half and said the two men exchanged words.
"Big countries didn't progress here and we still have three matches to go. Now we have to roll our sleeves up and get back to work." he said.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos risks being hit with an extra game suspension which would rule him out of a potential Champions League quarter-final first leg after admitting he got booked on purpose in Wednesday's 2-1 win at Ajax Amsterdam.
Indian centre-back Sandesh Jhingan feels he will be "tested to the limit" while enhancing his game outside his comfort zone at Croatian league Prva HNL.
Manchester United conceded two late own goals to allow Sevilla to snatch a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
The Ballon d'Or will not be awarded this year for the first time in its 64-year history after the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the football calendar, organisers France Football magazine said on Monday. The prestigious award, voted for by journalists, is an annual prize given to the best male footballer in the world since 1956. The women's Ballon d'Or was first awarded in 2018.
France's probable starting line-up for World Cup final
All the action that transpired on and off the football field
The metal arena sits on the waterfront overlooking the Arabian Gulf and the West Bay skyline, but it could easily be mistaken for a shipping container yard if not for the structure that supports the roof.
It is important that these events do not remain one-offs. It is crucial that India sets long-term targets, and not solely depend on foreign coaches from regions that continue to produce some of the finest talents in the world, asserts Arindam Roy.
Maradona's inheritance process is likely to be a messy affair between his large family, with eight children from six different partners
The Copa America was played as a 12-team tournament from 1993 when the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) invited two teams from CONCACAF, the North and Central America and Caribbean region, to join in.
Argentina's two iconic players may be contrasting characters but they shared many traits
The three sides who have bossed the ball the most in Russia, Spain, Germany and Argentina have all said "do-svidaniya" before the quarter-finals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Argentina coach Gerardo Martino resigned on Tuesday citing a leadership vacuum at the Argentine FA (AFA) and problems trying to pick an 18-man squad for the Olympic soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro in August, the AFA said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
