Pragmatic, difficult to beat, spearheaded by talismanic forwards and led by veteran, battle-hardened coaches -- few teams have as much in common with each other as Uruguay and Portugal who meet in a World Cup round of 16 tie on Saturday.
Barcelona have been very active in the transfer market in recent years, completing three of the top six most expensive transfers ever.
France forward Griezmann, 28, rejected a move to Barcelona last year but announced in May he was leaving the Madrid side, where he has spent the last five seasons since signing from Real Sociedad in 2014.
Sepp Blatter in Russia on first foreign visit since crisis.
'This award is not just mine.' 'It is my team mates' from Real Madrid and Croatia.' 'Without my coaches, I would not have won this and without my family I would not be the player I am today.'
A little under two weeks ago Neymar netted the goal that wrapped up Barcelona's UEFA Champions League triumph against Juventus but his needless sending off at the Copa America on Wednesday means the Brazil forward may have played his last game at the tournament.
'When I signed, I only knew that East Bengal are a big club with great history. I have no idea about ISL or any other tournament. I came here because East Bengal are a big club'.
Argentina got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start on Thursday when Lionel Messi's early penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a lacklustre match in Buenos Aires.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Carlos Tevez holds out no hope of being part of Argentina's World Cup squad and prefers not to watch their matches on television, the Juventus striker said on Friday.
The Argentina captain turns 31 in a few days and may be playing his last World Cup. He would need to win it to rival fellow great Diego Maradona for the eternal love of his compatriots.
The Euro 2020 soccer Championship, trumpeted as a continent-wide feast of football from Dublin to Baku to mark UEFA's 60th anniversary, was postponed for a year on Tuesday as the coronavirus pandemic claimed its biggest sporting casualty yet. Europe's flagship tournament, staged every four years and second only to FIFA's World Cup in terms of prestige in soccer, will now be staged from June 11 to July 12, 2021.
The 'wounds' of 2014 will probably never heal, concedes Lionel Messi but the Argentine superstar is hopeful that 2018 will bring with it the World Cup that football 'owes' him.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
Neymar and Lionel Messi grabbed a goal each in the first half as Barcelona rolled over Roma 3-0 in the traditional Gamper Trophy pre-season match on Wednesday.
FA Cup winners Arsenal beat champions Chelsea 1-0 in England's Community Shield season curtain-raiser at Wembley on Sunday to end a long wait for victory over their London rivals.
Former World Cup winning captain Dunga is the favorite on a short list of candidates to coach Brazil's national soccer team, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said.
Relentless will to improve drives City to greatness
Manchester United's on-loan striker Radamel Falcao hinted he could leave the club at the end of the season in search of more regular football.
Parma, joint bottom of Serie A alongside Cesena, have signed Uruguay midfielder Cristian Rodriguez and Portugal forward Silvestre Varela, both on loan, the club said on Tuesday.
As we prepare to cruise into the New Year, Rediff.com gives you a glance back, through photos, into all the sporting moments that made the last 12 months memorable.
Chelsea have signed Germany's highly-rated attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Friday.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Brazil beat Ecuador 1-0 in an international friendly in New Jersey on Tuesday with a first half goal from Willian enough to give coach Dunga his second successive victory.
Paraguay's Lucas Barrios scored in the 90th minute to give his side a dramatic 2-2 draw against Argentina in the Copa America in Santiago, on Saturday.
All the action that transpired on and off the football field
There are 28 sports at the Olympics but many home fans will be happy if the hosts win just one as their young soccer team seek to finally secure the only international title that has so far eluded Brazil.
The World Cup lost its headline acts on Saturday as the game's two biggest stars, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, readied to leave Russia after their teams were eliminated in the round of 16. Messi's Argentina lost 4-3 to France and hours later Ronaldo's Portugal went down 2-1 to Uruguay, leaving the tournament without its two best known and most loved players.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches.
Messi memes quickly sprung up on the internet.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
Manchester United's new manager Jose Mourinho made peace with Bobby Charlton as he met the Old Trafford icon at the club's Carrington training ground.
Argentina remain winless in South American qualifying for the 2018 World Cup after struggling to a 0-0 in Paraguay on Tuesday, while Uruguay and Ecuador both made it two wins from two games to top the group.
Substitute Neymar scored two second-half goals to inspire Brazil to a 4-1 win over the United States in Massachusetts on Tuesday.
Barcelona forward Neymar finds himself at the centre of unwanted media attention in Spain as his struggling team's promising season threatens to unravel after a run of defeats. The Brazilian has not scored in his last five games and is being portrayed as one of the reasons for Barca's woes after three straight La Liga losses has seen them caught by Atletico Madrid, who have also knocked them out of the Champions League. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia this week focused on the 24-year-old's conduct off the pitch, particularly his "trips away, parties at unadvisable times and commercial commitments". He visited Brazil in March for his sister's birthday party. TV programme 'El Dia Despues (The Day After) on Tuesday showed Neymar arguing with Jordi Ala during Sunday's home defeat by Valencia after the defender chose not to pass to him. Camera footage showed Neymar appearing to swear at his team mate. Barcelona play Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday looking to get their title bid back on track with the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo focusing on Neymar, pictured between Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, below the headline 'This cannot go on'.
Lionel Messi's return sparked Argentina to a 2-1 win over Chile in Santiago on Thursday, breathing new life into their South American qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
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.
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News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Alexis Sanchez shrugged off an ankle injury and continued his resurgent form at the Copa America. The Chile striker fired his side to a 2-1 victory over Ecuador on Friday which took the holders into the quarter-finals of the competition.
