England's 2-1 defeat by Iceland at Euro 2016 may have looked like one of the worst reverses in their history yet in many was it was a perfectly logical result.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris on Friday with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up. All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France -- 210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people.
Three-time champs Australia confident of reclaiming World Cup
England's World Cup 2018 team, and remarkable similarities emerge between the XI expected to start the semi-final against Croatia
French football was again marred by violence after Olympique de Marseille's Ligue 1 match against Olympique Lyonnais was called off on Sunday when the visitors' bus and some fans were pelted with stones and beer bottles, injuring Lyon coach Fabio Grosso.
While he only made one late substitution in the 2-1 victory over England, Deschamps used the bench more against Morocco.
Images from the international friendly and Euro qualifying football matches played on Tuesday.
Some of soccer's biggest names are cheering the rescue of 12 Thai boys and their coach from a flooded cave
As England begin the search for their fifth new manager in 10 years following their humiliating exit from Euro 2016, there appear more unemployed former holders of the job than serious contenders to replace Roy Hodgson.
Neymar's hat-trick lit up a powerful Brazil performance as the 32 nations taking part in this year's World Cup tested out their squads on a busy night of friendlies on Wednesday which also brought victories for Spain, Germany and France.
Now, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo venturing into smaller leagues as they near the end of their brilliant careers, 2024 may finally be the year for the next in line in football royalty.
The 25-year-old striker, who stands 1.76 metres tall, caught the eye on the big stage against Germany, driving home a penalty at the end of the first half before poking in the ball on 72 minutes following a rare blunder by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
England coach Mark Sampson said defender Laura Bassett would head home as a hero.
Red Bull's Dutch 20-year-old Max Verstappen took the chequered flag in second place with Kimi Raikkonen completing the podium for Ferrari and Australian Daniel Ricciardo finishing fourth for Red Bull.
England's performances at Euro 2016 so far will leave none of their opponents scared at the prospect of a knockout clash with the country, according to former striker Alan Shearer.
India's ranking among Asian Football Confederation members, however, still remained static at 19th place
'We've had consistent performances over three tournaments. Tonight is the best we've played against a major nation since I've been in charge, but we have fallen short. In the end, the scoreline is what matters.'
The storyline underpinning the match for most of the world is whether Lionel Messi can get his hands on the trophy in his fifth attempt to finally lift himself up alongside, never above, Diego Maradona in the hearts of his nation.
Spain's dramatic defeat by Russia on penalties in the World Cup round of 16 on Sunday ensured that at least one of this year's finalists will not have reached the title decider for half a century, if at all.
England have lost to Germany in their last three knockout meetings at major tournaments
The 35 year-old England prop came on for his 112th Test appearance in the fifth minute of the semi-final against France.
"We wanted to commemorate the great player he was, he's a legend of Senegalese football, he made me dream and he made all of us dream so we could not mess it up on the anniversary of his death."
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Friday but England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time. Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament. It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition's 12-year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
France stretched their unbeaten run against Croatia to eight games after a late goal by Kylian Mbappe gave the world champions a 2-1 win in their Nations League top-tier Group 3 match on Wednesday.
Zinedine Zidane's successful seventh minute penalty for France against Italy on Sunday meant he became the fourth player to score three goals in the history of the World Cup final.
Former Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness said FIFA needed to be more transparent over VAR decisions.
After a string of middling transfer windows, Manchester United have made their biggest statement of intent in recent years by signing centre back Raphael Varane and winger Jadon Sancho.
Liverpool's Champions League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane joined regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's player award
England have what it takes to get the better of any opponent but need to be consistent if they are to win their first European Championship in France, captain Wayne Rooney has said.
A summary of Saturday's action in the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship qualifiers.
France's hopes of reaching the World Cup finals are hanging by a thread after a 2-0 first-leg defeat away to Ukraine in their playoff on Friday while Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner gave Portugal the edge against Sweden.
Tunisia fear facing England's 'most dangerous weapon'" - attacking midfielder Dele Alli - but the North Africans will be pushing for an upset in their opening game on Monday, said coach Nabil Maaloul.
FIFA and official licensee Electronic Arts will feature 12 Women's national football teams for the first time in the game's history.
Shailesh Karkera picks the Best Players at Euro 24.
France coach Didier Deschamps, who has kept tinkering with his squad since the start of the European Championship, will be forced to rejig once again when the hosts face Iceland for a place in the semi-finals. With centre back Adil Rami and holding midfielder N'Golo Kante suspended, Deschamps, who has been praised for shrewd tactical moves in the tournament, is looking for the best options for Sunday's game at the Stade de France.
Foreign teams that will land in India for next month's FIH Men's Junior Hockey World Cup in Bhubaneswar have been exempted from quarantine and will only be required to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms during the stay.
Mumtaz edged Belgium's Charlotte Englebert for the Player of the Year award by a margin of just three points after votes cast by experts (40%), teams (20%), fans (20%) and media (20%) were tallied finishing with a total of 32.9 points.
With Crystal Palace dangerously close to being relegated, manager Patrick Vieira was sacked after 20 months in charge.
Regragui's tactical masterclass sends Portugal packing
