Diego Maradona dedicated victory to the mothers of Argentina after his team Al Wasl made a winning start to their league season with a 3-0 win over Sharjah on Sunday.
Brazil have conceded only one goal in this World Cup, the equal most stingy rearguard along with Uruguay, and allowed only five shots on target in four games, the fewest of any side.
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.
The former Chelsea player, who now plies his trade with Vfl Wolfsburg in Germany, scored the opener and created the second for Marc Wilmots' side.
"What's important for me is to give the best of myself for my club, and we're looking forward for Leo (Messi) to return to continue scoring and winning matches."
The historic Maracana stadium has hosted two World Cup finals, in 1950 and 2014, and saw Messi and his squad become 2021 Copa America champions by beating Brazil 1-0.
Hosts Russia have exceeded expectations after advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals with a win on penalties over Spain but they will need more firepower if they are to give Croatia a run for their money on Saturday.
Argentina and South Africa settled for an exciting 2-2 draw in their Women's World Cup Group G clash at Dunedin Stadium
'But this was our first match point, if we compare this to tennis, our second match point comes against Portugal. We're still alive and dreaming'
Les Bleus needed a penalty, given by the video assistant referee, and goal-line technology to beat Australia 2-1 in their opening game and they were shaken up by Peru on Thursday but won 1-0 thanks to a Kylian Mbappe goal.
The former Boca Juniors and Napoli player coached Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, where his team were beaten 4-0 by Germany at the quarter-final stage
Germany beat Canada 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the Davis Cup semi-finals where they will face the Netherlands who advanced with a stunning upset of hosts Spain.
Nchout sends Cameroon through with last kick of game
Ace pistol shooter Manu Bhaker will lead a 35-member Indian team in the season-opening ISSF World Cups in April in South America.
Carlos Tevez laid on two goals and scored a third as Argentina beat world champions Spain 4-1 in a friendly at the Monumental on Tuesday.
A brilliant performance from Angel Di Maria spurred Argentina to a crushing 4-2 friendly win over world champions Germany on Wednesday in an entertaining rematch of July's World Cup final.
A summary of Thursday's South American World Cup qualifiers.
A stoppage-time goal helped Ecuador rescue a 2-2 draw at home to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying on Thursday, preserving their record as South America's only unbeaten side and keeping them top of the 10-team standings in the race to Russia.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup quarter-final played between Argentina and The Netherlands on Friday.
Australia now have the opportunity to avenge last year's final defeat by Italy after world number one Jannik Sinner inspired the holders to a 2-1 victory over Argentina.
Diego Maradona fights for his future as Argentina's World Cup coach when he sends his team out against Peru on Saturday. Maradona, whose side are flirting with elimination in a playoff berth, believes his players will get the victories they need to remain on course for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
Croatia were not the favourites to reach the last four again but they came through two penalty shootouts in a repeat of their 2018 exploits.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
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.
Indian men's football team drops six places to 133rd in FIFA rankings, worst in nine years
"I want to continue playing as a World Cup champion."
Brazil fought back from a goal down to score three times in the second half and record a 3-1 win over Venezuela that maintained their 100 percent record in qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup.
They looked on course to clinch all three points on offer but Govers Blake scored in the dying minutes for Australia as the two sides split points.
Qatar returns to the spotlight on Friday little more than a year after the first World Cup held in the Arab world when the relocated and delayed 2023 Asian Cup gets underway amid a seismic shift in football's global order.
The Italian coach considers that having healthy players, such as striker Karim Benzema, will be the key to face the schedule that awaits the Madrid side, who will be looking to defend their LaLiga, Spanish Super Cup and Champions League titles.
India put up a gallant fight before going down 2-3 to the Netherlands in their opening match of the Hero FIH Junior hockey World Cup, in Delhi, on Friday.
Didier Deschamps of France and Argentina's Lionel Scaloni should avoid the temptation to throw on a 'penalty specialist'
Argentina have called up Mallorca's Spanish defender Pablo Maffeo for the first time ahead of this month's World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Brazil in the squad announced by its FA on Friday.
This is the first Golden Ball to go for auction and while the value is still to be confirmed, the auction house expects it to fetch millions on June 6.
What made Argentina's World Cup triumph very special for Ziva Dhoni was that she came home with a signed Messi jersey.
India won the gold medal in the Junior Hockey World Cup after defeating Belgium 2-1 at the Major Dyan Chand stadium in Lucknow on Sunday.
Images from the international friendly and Euro qualifying football matches played on Tuesday.
A summary of Friday's action in the Davis Cup group stage matches.
According to reports, the 57-year-old was seen being from his seat, before collapsing into a chair inside the stadium.
Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava found out the hard way that there are consequences for seeking an autograph from eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and World Cup winner Lionel Messi -- he was hit with a CONCACAF disciplinary sanction.
