'Living in Brazil, I had internalised the football mythology of that country, the way I had learnt Mahabharata stories in my childhood. The tragedy at the Maracana stadium in 1950, when a confident Brazil had lost to Uruguay in the finals. They tell the story of this debacle, this 'Hiroshima' that hit them, like the Shias lament the death of Ali. It led to the Brazilian team burning their white uniforms and switching later to Yellow and blue symbolising their national colours,' says Ambassador B S Prakash, India's former envoy to Brazil.
World Cup final referee Howard Webb has been included among the 25 who were named by FIFA on Wednesday for this year's tournament in Brazil.
Ronaldinho, who had a disappointing Club World Cup this month, has been elected South American footballer of the year in the annual poll conducted by the Uruguayan daily El Pais.
Belgium and France meet in the World Cup semi-final at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday.
"Since 2008 we have never gone beyond this first knockout game and it was very important for us to get that monkey off our back," Modric said.
Proposals to revamp the Davis Cup into a season-ending 18-team event were backed by national federations at the International Tennis Federation annual general meeting in Orlando, Florida, on Thursday.
Germans basked in World Cup glory again when the national team were honoured before attending the premiere of the official movie about their victory in Brazil in July.
Johan Cruyff, the legendary Dutch soccer striker and coach, died aged 68, according to a message posted on his website.
Lukas Podolski completed his transfer from Arsenal to Galatasaray on Saturday after the Turkish club agreed a fee of around 2.85 million pounds ($4.45 million) to finally land their man at the fourth attempt.
Rugby: Blues players sent home due to COVID-19 lockdown, still hoping to play last game.
Indian football saw a big jump in the FIFA rankings on Thursday, rising 24 places to go up to 147 spot.
The 28-year-old's body was flown back to Argentina and arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday morning before being driven the 538 km (334 miles) to Progreso, where he grew up.
Maradona backs Venezuela's Maduro, signs for World Cup coverage
France substitute Kylian Mbappe engineered two late goals to rescue a 2-2 draw against Iceland and spare the blushes of the world champions in their friendly.
Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too
Frozen balls containing team names have been used to rig European soccer's club competition draws although the ruse was never used at FIFA, the former chief of the game's world governing body, Sepp Blatter, has said.
Saudi club Al-Hilal have furiously demanded a formal probe into the appointment of the referees for the Asian Champions League final, which they lost 1-0 on aggregate to Australia's Western Sydney Wanderers last weekend.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
Anahat Singh seals berth for World Junior Squash C'ship after topping selection trials
Netherlands will be hoping the teenager known as the Messi of women's football discovers her scoring touch as they seek an upset win over Japan at the Women's World Cup on Tuesday.
Pop star Shakira will perform before the World Cup final in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, headlining a closing ceremony that includes guitar virtuoso Carlos Santana and rapper Wyclef Jean.
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.
Brazil have shown all the signs they can rule the world yet again in Russia but they must make their excellent preparations count in their World Cup Group E opener against a resilient Switzerland side on Sunday in Rostov.
The election to replace outgoing Sepp Blatter will take place at an extraordinary congress on February 26 in Zurich.
Having headed into the match tied on 47 league goals with West Ham's former stalwart Paolo Di Canio, Antonio was delighted to have surpassed the Italian as he celebrated by lifting a cardboard cut-out of himself at the side of the pitch.
Barcelona's talismanic Lionel Messi remains the driving force of a talented side on the brink of repeating 2009's historic treble despite a change in their coach and style of football, not to mention a host of players.
The mesmerising moments that made the 2018 FIFA World Cup a blockbuster worldwide.
Bosnia beat Iran 3-1 in their Group F finale on Wednesday to record their first World Cup win and deny the West Asians any chance of reaching the knockout stage.
Spain goalkeeper David de Gea made a rare error which led to his side drawing 1-1 at home to Switzerland in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Sunday which the hosts dominated but failed to make their superior possession count.
Having beaten Colombia in a tense Round of 18 match at the World Cup England can now look forward to a quarter-final against Sweden with the curse of the shootout lifted.
Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.
FIFA says it 'strongly rebukes' Argentina great Diego Maradona's comments that England's win over Colombia was a robbery
Poland's Robert Lewandowski has chalked up so many big-game landmarks during his club career that the 27-year-old seems overdue a major tournament performance with his country.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has criticised FIFA's Ballon d'Or award given to the world's best player for glorifying the individual at the expense of the team.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'But I want to be Giovanni and nothing more. It is not easy to live with his greatness. That's why I have to become stronger than him. I have to prove that, if I'm here, it's only because of me'
Switzerland's never-say-die attitude and will to win was the key to turning around a match in which they had been pummelled by Serbia for much of the first half, Switzerland coach Vladimir Petkovic said on Friday.
How they strategised, motivated and led their teams to victory.
The brain may be sharp as ever, but the legs seem heavier, the pace worryingly slower. He's still only 32, but the strain of a decade-and-a-half of paranormal activity on the pitch may just be piling up.
