Former World champion Viswanathan Anand scored an impressive fifth-round win over Anton Korobov of Ukraine to rise to second position in the rapid competition of the Croatia Grand Chess Tour tournament, in Zagreb, on Thursday.
For Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic the final is a chance to settle the score 20 years after the bitter defeat
The 12 winners of the Qualifiers on March 6-7 next year will compete alongside the six nations that have automatically qualified for the 2020 Finals.
The clash marks the fourth time the Croatia and Spain have met at the Euros.
World Cup: When wingers gave Croatia flight
Croatia's road to Sunday's World Cup final, where they will play France for a chance to lift the trophy for the first time:
England fought back to qualify for the semi-finals of the UEFA Nations League as Harry Kane and Jesse Lingard scored late goals in a pulsating 2-1 victory over Croatia, who were relegated from Group A4 after defeat at Wembley on Sunday.
Third seed Andrey Rublev suffered a first round exit after his Qatar Open title, losing to qualifier Quentin Halys 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) at the Dubai Open on Tuesday.
Zheng Qinwen became the first Chinese player to win an Olympic tennis singles gold medal when she held off Croatia's Donna Vekic for a 6-2, 6-3 win in a tense final on Saturday.
'I have calmly accepted that, and since I need my players fit and ready to play, I have made this decision'
Bill Aitken came to India nearly 60 years ago. He never returned. An Indian citizen since 1972, he tells Rediff.com's Archana Masih how India changed his life forever.
England, appearing in their first semi-final since 1990, had looked on course for their first final since 1966 as they led through Kieran Trippier's fifth-minute free kick and totally dominated the opening half.
Spain showed their remarkable potential under new coach Luis Enrique by destroying World Cup runners-up Croatia 6-0 on Tuesday to hand the visitors their biggest ever defeat and take control of their Nations League group.
Germany overcame an early red card to Emre Can and eventually eased to a 3-0 victory away to Estonia on Sunday in a Euro 2020 qualifier to go joint-top of Group C.
Modric and Co will face England in Moscow on Wednesday!
India's Vijay Sundar Prashanth and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan found a way to prevail over second seeds Julian Cash and Llyod Glasspool in a tough battle in the Hangzhou Open quarterfinals while Yuki Bhambri progressed to the Chengdu Open semifinals with his partner on Saturday.
Croatia's elated coach Zlatko Dalic lauded his captain Luka Modric who missed a penalty in extra time but then scored another in a shootout victory over Denmark on Sunday that put them in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Russia's World Cup dream ended within agonising sight of the semi-finals as they went down 4-3 on penalties to Croatia on Saturday after another gallant performance in front of their fanatical fans which again belied their lowly ranking.
Rohan Bopanna and his Croatian partner Ivan Dodig suffered a shock loss to the pair of Francisco Cerundolo and Nicolas Jarry in the first round match of the China Open.
Top seed Elise Mertens cruised to victory, but fourth-seeded Nadia Podoroska and fifth-seeded Jacqueline Cristian were not as fortunate in the first round of the Jasmin Open Tunisia
Europe's soccer governing body UEFA said on Saturday it had opened disciplinary proceedings against the soccer federations of Croatia and Turkey for crowd trouble during the Euro 2016 tournament in France.
Croatia are to face a disciplinary hearing over their Euro 2016 qualifier at home to Italy during which a swastika cross was imprinted on to the pitch.
With a population of just over four million, Croatia punched considerably above their weight to reach the final, going down gallantly to France at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.
When Croatia take on France at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium later on Sunday, the team hopes to settle an old score with the French dating back to the 1998 World Cup.
The powerful World No 7 was relentless as he snuffed out any hope of a famous French fightback -- giving Pouille little chance of sending the showpiece into a fifth rubber.
Neymar took part in team training and will join the Al-Hilal squad for their Asian Champions League trip to UAE Pro League club Al-Ain after recovering from a serious knee injury, the Saudi Pro League club said.
2024 delivered unforgettable moments that epitomised triumph, passion, and sheer brilliance across the globe.
"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.
France overwhelmed Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Sunday to lift the trophy for the second time in 20 years.
Davis Cup heavyweights Australia and the United States eased through the first qualifying round on Saturday but Britain were knocked out as Japan hit back from 2-1 down to win 3-2, while Denmark staged a dramatic comeback to overcome Serbia.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, a conservative challenger, made history in Croatia.
Iceland's first World Cup adventure came to a valiant end on Tuesday as they were beaten 2-1 by Group D winners Croatia due to a late strike from Ivan Perisic, with Argentina qualifying as runners-up instead.
Rohit Rajpal will continue as India's non-playing captain. He took over as captain last year after the country's top players and then captain Mahesh Bhupathi refused to travel to Pakistan in November. India is scheduled to travel to Croatia for their next tie on March 6 and 7.
They can now dream of going one better than their third-place finish in 1998, which marked their first participation in the World Cup finals as an independent nation.
A round-up of Saturday's qualifying matches for the Euro 2020 Finals.
Brothers Elias and Mikael Ymer comfortably won their singles rubbers against Canada as seven-times champions Sweden made a roaring start in the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid on Thursday.
Final positions in the six groups are still up for grabs which determine potential opponents in the knockout stage.
Former World champion Viswanathan Anand started with a fluent win over Dutch Grandmaster Jorden van Foreest before faltering against Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in the second round of the rapid event in the Croatia Grand Chess Tour tournament, in Zagreb, on Wednesday.
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.
