News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sweden beat Italy 1-0 to gain the upperhand after their World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night, while a young England side held Germany goalless and Belgium drew 3-3 with Mexico despite Romelu Lukaku's double but France eased to a 2-0 victory against Wales.
Millions of French soccer fans were delirious with joy on Sunday as France beat Croatia 4-2 to win soccer's World Cup in a pulsating final in Moscow that sparked ecstatic scenes from Paris to Marseille and beyond.
It was a godsend for both Burns and Italy, who qualified for their maiden ICC World Cup by making the cut for next year's T20 showpiece India and Sri Lanka on Friday.
The consequences of failure are nowhere more devastating than at a World Cup, where two previous finals and five semi-finals have been decided by the gut-wrenching lottery of penalties.
The 2014 World Cup was a captivating carnival of football with high drama and Germany displayed their credentials as worthy champions.
The United States reached the final of the women's football World Cup for the second time in a row on Tuesday, taking advantage of a dubious penalty to beat top-ranked Germany 2-0 in a hugely enjoyable game.
The Football Associations of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have been fined by world soccer's governing body FIFA for displaying poppies during World Cup qualifiers played in November.
Pakistan will aim to maintain their remarkable consistency against a spirited Namibia and seal a semi-final spot in the T20 World Cup in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Video assistant referees (VARs) will be used at the World Cup for the first time in this year's finals in Russia, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said on Friday, and teams will be allowed a fourth substitute in matches that go to extra-time.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Iceland's president Gudni Thorlacius Johannesson has told Reuters that he wants even more soccer fans from around the world to join "Team Iceland" and share the joy as his tiny nation makes its World Cup debut in Russia.
Chile conceded an own goal through substitute Diego Valencia in the 81st minute.
"There are other steps and it starts on Wednesday. Let's be happy with what we've done tonight even if it's not enough. At least we broke the (defending champions') curse," he added.
Spain v France, a knockout clash which usually leads to Euro triumph
Nine players from treble-winning Paris St Germain have been nominated for the men's Ballon d'Or this year along with the club's coach Luis Enrique as France Football announced the list of nominees on Thursday.
Analysis of the eight groups for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
France shocked the World champions to win the Six Nations rugby tournament.\n\n
"It feels like a missed chance because I felt the performances were really good and the focus and the hunger was good every single day," said England midfielder Jordan Henderson.
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...
Sweden ended Germany's hopes of a third women's World Cup win, coming from behind for a surprise 2-1 quarter-final victory on Saturday thanks to goals from Sofia Jakobsson and Stina Blackstenius.
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.
It was the second goal of the tournament for Kane, 29, who was the top scorer in Russia four years ago with six.
Qatar's treatment of migrant workers has come under enormous scrutiny during the build-up to the tournament but Deschamps chose not to wade into the topic even as he expressed his "sincere condolences" to the family.
At least two of the eight first-round groups of four produced tough obstacles for their participants to progress to the knockout rounds.
The battle between England right back Kyle Walker and France's top scorer Kylian Mbappe could be key to the outcome of the first encounter between the teams in the knockout phase of a major tournament.
As England tightened their grip on Euro 2024 qualifying and France maintained their perfect run, hosts Germany's troubles deepened.
"They have experienced players. Obviously, Lewandowski is a stand-out player, one of the best strikers in the world. We should not underestimate them." said coach Didier Deschamps.
Adidas can declare itself the winner over arch rival Nike in the upcoming soccer World Cup even before the first match kicks off as it is kitting out the most teams.
France brushed aside co-hosts Ukraine 2-0 in a Group D game suspended for 55 minutes by a violent thunderstorm and England fought back to beat Sweden 3-2 after more enthralling action at Euro 2012.
Over the course of the next two years, the former England international was able to engineer a turnaround in fortunes for the team, leading them to the 2018 World Cup semi-finals before their run to the final of the Euro 2020 tournament last year.
India were on Friday drawn with two-time champions Ghana, United States and Colombia in a tough Group A of the FIFA Under 17 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.
Griezmann thankful for thankless role in France side
A rejuvenated France ran up a 16-point lead in the first half and held on to beat an error-prone England 19-12 at Eden Park on Saturday and set up a World Cup semi-final against Wales.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
It was, possibly, the biggest takeaway from France's victory. They can win when Mbappe does not shine or score, and his reaction to Giroud's goal proved Deschamps's point when he said he did not need to manage the Paris St Germain forward's ego.
FIFA U-17 World Cup 2017 Full Schedule, Venue Details, Time Table
World champions Spain were held by lowly Finland but there were wins for England, Germany, France and Netherlands as Europe's top teams returned to the task of qualifying for next year's World Cup finals on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
