FIFA president Gianni Infantino hailed Qatar's progress on infrastructure ahead of its 2022 World Cup and said the tournament is poised to be the best one yet.
The favourites to win next year's World Cup in Russia were given navigable paths to the last 16 with the coaches of Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Spain having reason to feel reasonably optimistic after Friday's draw.
Luis Suarez marked his 100th international cap by sending Uruguay into the last 16 of the World Cup as the striker benefited from some poor goalkeeping to eliminate Saudi Arabia with a 1-0 win.
the countries assured of places in the 32-team field for next year's World Cup finals in Russia after Tuesday's qualifiers.
The former head of Egypt's football federation said on Sunday that ex-FIFA Vice President Jack Warner asked for $7 million from Egypt.
Al Janoub is a fully air-conditioned stadium which keeps the temperature 10 degrees lower than the 29 Celsius outside.
Muslim soccer fans visiting Russia for the World Cup celebrated the end of the fasting month of Ramadan on Friday, with Egyptian fans hoping the festival would bring their national team good luck in a match with Uruguay later in the day.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had proposed expanding the tournament and explored the idea of adding additional host nations.
Pakistan Hockey Federation is still awaiting the No Objection Certificate from its government to send its national squad for the Junior Hockey World Cup, to be held in Lucknow from December 8.
The points table of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The many moods of the fans at the World Cup in Russia
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
India, hosting its first ever FIFA tournament in the U-17 World Cup, will set the record of having the farthest distance between two venues in the event's history.
When Russia and Saudi Arabia meet on Thursday form will be irrelevant as the world's biggest sporting festival explodes into life in Moscow.
European champions Portugal spurned a two-goal lead against Tunisia, stumbling to a 2-2 draw, as France, one of the World Cup favourites, flexed their muscles with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in warm-up friendlies on Monday.
Iceland were holding Argentina 1-1 at halftime in their World Cup Group D match on Saturday after Alfred Finnbogason hit back to cancel out Sergio Aguero's opener for the South Americans.
Asia's representatives are once again heading home before the business end of the World Cup gets going.
Rediff.com takes you back to the five own goals scored at the ongoing FIFA World Cup...
Germany will retain their World Cup title in Moscow to equal Brazil's record of five wins in the tournament, according to a Reuters poll of financial specialists more used to predicting market moves.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup opening match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow
World Cup hosts Russia turned in another unconvincing display as Austria extended their winless run stretching back to October with a 1-0 victory in a friendly on Wednesday.
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
The FIFA World Cup at Russia saw a variety of celebrations -- from the weird to some fancy dance moves -- Rediff.com has got it all covered here...
No one expects Nigeria to win, but by now everyone knows that shirt...
Analysis of the eight groups for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
Uruguay will head to the World Cup on a winning note after beating Uzbekistan 3-0 in a chilly warmup in front of their own fans on Thursday.
After Saturday's 2-1 win at Chelsea - their 12th in 13 league matches - Aston Villa have claimed 18 points from losing positions so far this season, more than any other team.
England beat Nigeria 2-1 in a friendly on Saturday that provided some clues as to how coach Gareth Southgate will line up his still experimental side when the World Cup gets underway in two weeks' time.
Six-time champions and title holders Germany continued their fine form and defeated New Zealand 2-1 in a closely-fought Pool C encounter to virtually seal their place in the quarter-final of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup, in Lucknow on Friday.
The total number of spectators, who turned up at the six host venues across the country, currently stand at 12,24,027, a mere 6949 less than the earlier attendance of 12,30,976 set in the first edition of the tournament in China in 1985.
Belgium stunned six-time champions and title holders Germany 4-3 in the shoot out to progress to their maiden final of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup in Lucknow on Friday.
Egypt's talisman scored a consolation penalty as he started his first World Cup game in Group A after recovering from the injury suffered in last month's Champions League final but made little other impact in a match his side needed to win.
Senegal, nicknamed the Lions, lost 1-0 to their South American opponents, despite being the better side in the first half and having a penalty decision overturned. Senegal lost out on a second spot in the group to Japan because of a worse disciplinary record.
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.
Double Olympic medallist shooter Manu Bhaker has affirmed that Jaspal Rana will continue to be her coach despite his recent appointment as the High Performance trainer for pistol shooters.
Mo Salah is third on Liverpool's all-time goal scoring list with 243 goals in 394 games.
Jean-Laurent Kierffer scored a brace as France stunned European champions Belgium 5-4 in a nail-biting encounter to enter the semi-finals of the ongoing Hero Junior Men's Hockey World Cup in Delhi on Thursday.
The 25-year-old winger is desperate to play for Egypt in only their third World Cup and their first for 38 years.
Sania ousted from Qatar Total Open.
"We want an investigation into the performance of the whole refereeing team," Egyptian Football Association president Hany Abo Rida said on Friday.
