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.
Lionel Messi marked his retirement about face with a goal to give 10-man Argentina a 1-0 win over Uruguay on Thursday that lifted them to the top of the South American qualifying group for the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia.
A summary of Thursday's World Cup qualifiers.
The race for the UN secretary-general for 2022-2027 is already over and another term for Antonio Guterres is a foregone conclusion, observes Ambassador T P Sreenivasan.
Slovenian Tadej Pogacar claimed a second successive Tour de France title after Sunday's 21st and final stage, which was won by Belgian Wout van Aert on the Champs Elysees.
Argentina have reached three major finals in three years but the team who came so close to winning the 2014 World Cup face crunch games against Peru and Ecuador that will determine if they miss out on the global showpiece event for the first time since 1970.
A number of social media users suggested it was an assassination attempt "ordered" by Hillary Clinton, while others thought US President Barack Obama was involved.
Cameroon overpower Ecuador; Nigeria score late to draw with Sweden
First lady Jill Biden cheered her countrywomen to an upset victory over the French in the debut of 3x3 basketball at the Olympics as President Emmanuel Macron watched on from the sidelines.
Argentina and Brazil both lost their opening World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as the South American campaign for Russia 2018 started in unexpected fashion.
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday announced that the US will allocate 75 per cent - nearly 1.9 crore of the first tranche of 2.5 crore doses - of unused COVID-19 vaccines from its stockpile through the UN-backed COVAX global vaccine sharing programme to countries in South and Southeast Asia as well as Africa.
An early goal from Lautaro Martinez and a late second from Sergio Aguero gave Argentina a 2-0 win over Qatar on Sunday, a deserved victory that takes them into the Copa America quarter-finals.
Philippe Coutinho grabbed a hat-trick as Brazil ramped up their Copa America campaign with a resounding 7-1 win over a hapless Haiti on Wednesday. Renato Augusto scored a brace and substitutes Lucas Lima and Gabriel also goaled for Brazi, while James Marcelin put in Haiti's consolation goal. The scoreline -- identical to Brazil's nightmare 7-1 defeat by Germany in the World Cup semi-final two years ago -- takes Brazil to the top of Group B with four points, ahead of the evening's second game between Peru and Ecuador. Coutinho got Brazil off to a positive start in the Camping World stadium with a goal after 14 minutes when he skipped past a defender and hammered home from 20 metres out. He doubled Brazil's lead 15 minutes later thanks to Jonas, who was on hand to poke a loose ball across goal and leave the Liverpool player with the simplest of tap-ins.
James Rodriguez struck in the second half to give Colombia a 1-1 draw away against Chile in 2018 World Cup qualifying on Thursday as the hosts dropped their first points of the South American campaign.
Diego Forlan and Martin Palermo scored last-gasp goals as Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador switched places on a dramatic Saturday of South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. Diego Maradona's Argentina, having beaten Peru 2-1 at home in torrential rain, go to Montevideo on Wednesday to defend an automatic berth in the South Africa finals against a Uruguay side that turned the tables on Ecuador.
According to Associated Press, Messi was banned for "having directed insulting words at an assistant referee" during a home qualifier against Chile on Thursday, FIFA said hours before kickoff in La Paz.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who dramatically sought sanctuary in the Ecuador embassy and applied for political asylum, could be arrested since he has breached one of his bail conditions, police said on Wednesday.
Substitute Raul Riudiaz's hotly disputed goal earned Peru a shock 1-0 win over Brazil in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Sunday, the defeat knocking the five-time world champions out the Copa America at the group stage.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, currently holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London, on Friday expressed fear that he may be sent to the United States to face possible criminal charges punishable by death for publishing some 250,000 leaked American diplomatic cables.
With a month to go for the Tokyo Olympics Vijender Singh takes a trip down memory lane to relive one of the most iconic moments in Indian sport... India's first Olympic medal in boxing.
Images and a round-up of all the World Cup qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
'It's a moot point if Kailaasa will ever evolve beyond being a haven for a fugitive from justice,' notes Devangshu Datta.
Substitute Fred struck in a last-minute equaliser to give holders Brazil a 2-2 draw with Paraguay before unfancied Venezuela upset Ecuador 1-0 to go top of Group B at the Copa America on Saturday.
Ecuador's Antonio Valencia has injured the ankle which he had surgery on last year and will miss their second Copa America Group B match against Venezuela on Saturday, a team doctor said on Tuesday.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
Michal Kwiatkowski, the unsung hero of Team Sky/Ineos during their dominant years, claimed his maiden Tour de France victory
Earlier in the day, Bolivia beat Venezuela 3-1 at home and Uruguay and Paraguay drew 0-0 in Montevideo.
Summary of the South American World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
Brazil drew 1-1 away to Ecuador in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday thanks to an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Julio Cesar. Brazil have 18 points from 11 games in the 10-team South American qualifying group, five behind leaders Paraguay, while Ecuador have 13.
Neymar overtook Ronaldo and moved into second place behind Pele on Brazil's all-time goalscoring list after notching a hat-trick in a 4-2 victory over Peru on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
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.
Argentina, helped by a majestic Juan Roman Riquelme performance, maintained their perfect record in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday while Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez quit after a 5-1 loss to Paraguay. Riquelme scored two second half goals, including an exquisite free kick, in a 3-0 win over Bolivia which left Argentina with nine points from three games in the South American group.
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Italy's Fabio Fognini said it was a 'strange feeling' playing a Davis Cup tie with no fans. Japan were also playing their tie against Ecuador in an empty stadium in Miki because of the coronavirus spread, which has played havoc with sporting fixtures across the world.
We present some of the oddest photographs from across the globe clicked in the past week. Enjoy!
Pakistan on Wednesday failed to win a re-election to the United Nations' human rights body. The 193-member General Assembly voted here to elect 18 new members of the UN Human Rights Council.
Robinho scored a hat-trick to give Brazil a badly-needed 3-0 Copa America win over Chile.
The country has its own triangular flag with an emblem of Paramashiva and Nandi and is called the 'Rishabha Dhvaja'.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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