Lionel Messi announced on Friday that he wants to return to play for the national team, reversing his decision to retire earlier this year. Messi said in June that he would not play for Argentina again after the team lost to Chile in the final of the Copa America.
Laggards in international rankings, India finally made their presence felt by pulling off an impressive under-17 World Cup that drew all-round praise even though the country was eliminated in the very first round.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will be out for between six and eight weeks with a hamstring injury, the La Liga leaders said on Monday.
Striker Sergio Aguero, injured during Argentina's shock 2-0 home defeat by Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier, said on Friday he would be out for a month.
Argentina's new coach Edgardo Bauza has set his mind to wooing Lionel Messi back from international retirement as he ponders his squad for next month's South American 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Bauza was named on Monday to replace Gerardo Martino, who resigned a month ago after steering Messi's side to two successive Copa America finals which ended in penalty shootout defeats to Chile.
The Copa America was played as a 12-team tournament from 1993 when the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) invited two teams from CONCACAF, the North and Central America and Caribbean region, to join in.
Two-time champions Ghana are seeking to revive their fortunes in the tournament, having last won it way back in 1995, when they stunned a Brazilian outfit that had the likes of Julio Cesar in its ranks.
Argentina start as hot favourites to beat Iceland in their opening World Cup Group D match on Saturday but the toughest opponent for the runners-up four years ago may be themselves rather than the tiny tournament debutants.
Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.
Former England captain John Terry will not be brought of international retirement to play at this year's World Cup finals in Brazil, manager Roy Hodgson said on Wednesday
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Media reports suggest Sevilla's Argentine coach Jorge Sampaoli, who has never disguised his ambition to take charge of the national team and steered neighbouring Chile to the Copa America title in 2015, will step into the vacancy.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Analysis of the eight groups for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
Here's a glimpse of all that happened around the world last week, in 10 images.
Hosts Chile brushed aside Bolivia 5-0 at the Copa America on Friday to finish top of Group A and ensure they remain in the capital Santiago for their quarter-final.
The United States Soccer Federation said in a statement on the new charges that its hosting of the 2016 Copa America Centenario tournament would go ahead as planned.
Free-flowing France blew away in-form Switzerland with a three-goal first-half barrage en route to a thumping 5-2 World Cup Group E victory on Friday that virtually assures them qualification to the second round.
An inspired performance from Douglas Costa helped Brazil to a 3-0 win over Peru on Tuesday and lifted them into third place in the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Chile face Argentina in Sunday's Copa America final for the right to call themselves South America's dominant team but perhaps an even bigger question for football fans the world over regards whether Lionel Messi can finally win a major international title. The Barcelona forward has won every trophy possible with the Spanish club but he has lost three finals with Argentina, including in 2014 World Cup Final in 2014 and the Copa America last year. Sunday's game against Chile in New Jersey gives Messi a chance to end both his personal hoodoo and that of Argentina, who have not won a major title since lifting the Copa America in Ecuador in 1993.
Rafael Nadal is recovering satisfactorily from appendicitis and will continue a course of antibiotics in a bid to be fit for the remainder of the 2014 season, the World No 2's spokesman said on Thursday.
'I am dismayed and will not accept that my integrity is being doubted by certain areas of the media, especially given that UEFA has already disclosed in detail all facts regarding these contracts'
At least two of the eight first-round groups of four produced tough obstacles for their participants to progress to the knockout rounds.
A Curtis Davies own goal gifted West Ham United a point after Hull City had twice taken the lead in a frenetic 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Premier League Swansea City fell victims to the first major giant-killing of the FA Cup third round on Sunday when they lost 3-2 away to League Two (fourth tier) side Oxford United.
Uruguay sealed their spot at the 2014 World Cup finals after a goalless draw at home to Jordan in the second leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday saw them advance 5-0 on aggregate.
As millions of passengers stream through Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur International Airport, heading off on holidays or returning home to loving families, all Hassan Al Kontar can do is watch. And wait. Stuck at the airport since March 7, 2018 that's all Kontar has been able to do. The airport has become his home. And for all those who wonder what it must be like to live at an airport, the stranded 36-year-old tells us via Twitter exactly what his story is and what's happening to him.
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Sony World Photography Awards recently announced the winners of its first-ever mobile phone photography category.
Tiny Cape Verde Islands catapulted themselves into surprise World Cup contention with a 2-1 victory away to South Africa.
