A goalkeeping howler and Yuri Alberto's opportunistic late strike were enough for Brazil to beat Mali 2-0 in an uninspiring match and finish third in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
As football fever grips fans across the globe, Portuguese soccer star Christiano Ronaldo has emerged as the most searched player on Google in India, with Brazil topping the list among most searched countries.
Scottish fans clad in kilts have dominated central Munich for the last few days, playing bagpipes, chanting and endearing themselves to the locals. Hours before kick-off Germany fans emerged to join the excitement, saying they were proud to host the tournament and ready to get behind their team.
The opening match of the 2014 football World Cup, between Brazil and Croatia, will be played on June 12 in Sao Paulo, but according to Indian Standard Time, it will be played on June 13 at 01.30 am. The matches will be telecast on Sony Six.
Red Bull make changes to car after discussions with FIA
Belgium struck early and held off a late Brazil fightback to send the five-time champions tumbling out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory in an end-to-end thriller on Friday that earned them a semi-final against France.
Egypt, who endured a torrid start to the competition when they trailed Brazil 3-0 in their opening match, completed a remarkable recovery by reaching the men's football quarter-finals at the Olympics with a 3-1 win over Belarus on Wednesday. Gold medal favourites Brazil completed their perfect run of three straight wins when they beat New Zealand 3-0 at St James' Park in Newcastle.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Ronaldo will play a farewell match with Brazil in June to mark the end of a career in which he won two World Cup winners medals, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) said on Wednesday.
Former captain and coach Dunga hailed the appointment of Luiz Felipe Scolari as coach saying he will take Brazil to great success.
The Paris St Germain forward was both architect and executioner for Brazil, who inflicted a seventh straight last-16 exit on the central Americans, sliding home in the second half and then teeing up Roberto Firmino late on.
Substitute Neymar scored two second-half goals to inspire Brazil to a 4-1 win over the United States in Massachusetts on Tuesday.
Brazil's disappointingly one-sided win over Argentina in the Copa America final was a victory for muscle over finesse and could prompt the losers to revert to a more physical, less entertaining, style.
Football fans were treated to a month long diet of mainly breathless, intoxicating action in Brazil but their team collapsed in the final stages.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The four key battles in Tuesday's World Cup semi-final between Brazil and Germany in Belo Horizonte's Mineirao stadium.
Many fans arrived in Brazil for the World Cup expecting a six-week party with a heady mix of top quality football, tropical beaches and Caipirinha cocktails played out to the soundtrack of a funky Samba beat.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool's Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho is on the verge of signing for La Liga leaders Barcelona in a club-record deal, according to Spanish media reports.
All infrastructure for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will be ready before they begin in August, including a much-delayed metro line, Brazil's newly appointed Sports Minister Leonardo Picciani said in an interview on Wednesday.
Brazilian police began investigating allegations of corruption in its soccer industry on Thursday, prompted by the arrests of top officials at world soccer body FIFA in a US bribery probe.
Germany are banking on a mix of hugely talented young players, including Jamal Musiala and newly-crowned Bundesliga champion Florian Wirtz, and experienced veterans such as 2014 World Cup winners Manuel Neuer, Thomas Mueller and Toni Kroos.
'It's all about football tomorrow and this is what is going to matter. We are ready and mature enough to just play football. We want to make our nation proud and happy, and we will ignore the rest.'
'Tall frames, blond hair, blue eyes, high cheek bones -- some of them inherit an explosive mix of attractive features. They may come from modest backgrounds and farming families, but spotted early they can be trained and transformed into super models.'
World Cup sidelights: All the fun news from Brazil right here...
Brazil's former star striker and World Cup winner Rivaldo will grace the finals of the Subroto Cup International Football Tournament beginning September 14, exactly a year after the legendary Pele's visit to the country for the school tournament. The 44-year-old former Barcelona and Milan star is expected to make an appearance for the U-17 junior boys final at the Ambedkar Stadium on October 22.
FIFA tweeted a picture of the cutouts, saying 'World Cup fever has hit Kerala'.
Every player in the game will have 'memories' and show 'emotions' based on what's happening in a match.
Yaya Toure was named African Footballer of the Year for a record fourth straight time at the annual Confederation of African Football awards on Thursday.
In Brazil it will be the Olympic moment everyone remembers.
Former Brazil football great Rivaldo is telling tourists to stay away from the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil goalkeeper Julio Cesar travelled back to his club Inter Milan on Sunday nursing a bruised thigh that has put him out of the upcoming friendly against Mexico, the Brazilian Football Federation (CBF) said.
Chapecoense goalkeeper Danilo, who was killed in the Colombian air crash last month, was posthumously named Brazil's Player of the Year after a vote by fans.
The footballers heading to Carnival capital will hope to make fate walk their path. But there are some big names who couldn't make the big trip for some reason or the other. Rediff.com presents the top 16 players you won't be seeing in Brazil.
