Just as he seemed to be returning to something near his peak, Kaka will have to endure the frustration of missing Brazil's final group game against Portugal as he serves a one-match suspension for his sending-off against Ivory Coast.
The 19th FIFA World Cup saw its first real goal-fest with Portugal pummeling North Korea 7-0 in a rain-soaked Group G match to bolster their campaign and eliminate the Asian side at Cape Town on Monday.
Australia booked a place at the 2011 Asian Cup by beating Indonesia 1-0 with a goal from Mark Milligan in their final Group B qualifier on Wednesday.
It will be David vs Goliath when title favourites South Africa take on spirited new entrants Afghanistan in their second and final Group C match for a Super Eight berth in the Twenty20 World Cup in Bridgetown, Barbados on Wednesday.
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Hosts Angola and Algeria qualified for the African Nations Cup quarter-finals after playing out a goalless draw in their final Group A match on Monday.
Peru beat 10-man Venezuela 1-0 at the Copa America on Thursday.
Having already assured a quarter-final berth, Indian team will be aiming to top their pool when they square off against a spirited Nepal in the final group league encounter of the ICC U-19 World Cup, on Monday. Rahul Dravid's boys have steamrolled their earlier opponents beating Ireland by 79 runs and New Zealand by a whopping 120-run margin. With Nepal also having qualified for the quarterfinals, tomorrow's match will decide which team will top Group D. The group champion will face either Namibia or Bangladesh in the quarter-final after defending champions South Africa crashed out on Sunday. On paper, an India versus Nepal cricketing contest should have been declared as a mismatch but the teenagers from the Himalayan nation have been the 'surprise package' of the tournament so far, defeating New Zealand and Ireland with minimum fuss.
A super-eight berth at stake, Australia's Victoria Bushrangers and Sri Lanka's Wayamba Elevens take on each other in the must-win final group D match of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament in New Delhi.
A magnificent 309 not out by Rohit Sharma helped Mumbai post a mammoth 648 for six declared on the second day of their final Group A match against Gujarat in Mumbai on Wednesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Australia Under-19 has suffered a nail biting two-wicket loss to South Africa in their final Group B match at the World Cup in Queenstown, New Zealand on Wednesday.
Star striker Bhaichung Bhutia scored eight minutes from time to guide 10-man East Bengal to a solitary goal win over JCT in their final Group A match and book a berth in the semi-finals of the Federation Cup in Silchar on Sunday.
India's top badminton players Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth took a big step on way to reaching the semi-finals at the World Super Series Finals by securing second consecutive wins in their respective group in Dubai.
Turkey have left it late to bid for a place in the knockout stage of Euro 2016 but defender Gokhan Gonul believes they still have a chance, if they can beat a buoyant Czech side in their final Group D game on Tuesday.
England manager Roy Hodgson gave few clues on Sunday when asked about his attack for the final Group B game against Slovakia from which they need a point to qualify for the knockout stage of Euro 2016. Harry Kane started to disappointing effect in the 1-1 draw against Russia and was then substituted at halftime against Wales with England trailing 1-0. Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy came on to change the game, each scoring in a 2-1 win and both have been tipped to play against Slovakia on Monday.
Germany's Mario Goetze brushed off criticism of his lacklustre performances at Euro 2016 on Sunday and said players were used to being praised one day and knocked off their pedestal the next.
Minnows Afghanistan scripted history as they defeated 2012 champions West Indies by six runs in their final group league encounter of the ICC World Twenty20 in Nagpur to sign off on a memorable note.
Their survival hinging on a favourable result elsewhere, India take on West Indies in a must-win match at Johannesburg on Wednesday, hoping that arch-rivals Pakistan do them a favour by beating Australia in their final group A engagament of the Champions Trophy.
A semi-final berth well within their grasp despite the wash-out against India, defending champions Australia take on a rejuvinated Pakistan in their final group A match of the Champions Trophy at Centurion on Wednesday.
Croatia fans who caused trouble during their team's Euro 2016 match against the Czech Republic on Friday were "sports terrorists" and had no place in football stadiums, the Balkan nation's coach told a news conference. The supporters threw flares on to the pitch and fought among themselves in one section of the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, forcing the Group D game to be interrupted for several minutes while officials and players appealed for calm. "We were exposed to the terror of hooligans who have no place in sports arenas and I sincerely hope they will be identified and brought to justice," said Cacic.
Germany bolstered their back line with the return of central defender Mats Hummels on Thursday but lacked penetration at the other end of the field as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Poland at Euro 2016.
A stoppage time penalty from Giorgios Samaras sent Greece into the last 16 of the World Cup for the first time with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast.
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was pushed to the brink of exit after he suffered his second consecuitve loss in the BWF Super Series Finals, losing in straight games to Denmark's Viktor Axelsen in the men's singles in Dubai.
India suffered a humiliating 0-4 defeat to defending champions Australia in their final group league encounter of the FIH men's hockey World Cup, in The Hague, Netherlands, on Monday.
Bangalore Royal Challengers, spurred by an unbeaten 114 by opener Manish Pandey, beat Deccan Chargers by 12 runs in the final group match of the Indian Premier League at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.
Shakhtar Donetsk coach Mircea Lucescu admitted he went against UEFA's wishes in fielding midfielder Fred in Tuesday's Champions League qualifier despite being aware of a possible doping violation hanging over the Brazilian international.
Defending champions Punjab were shocked by Manipur 2-1 in the quarter-final Group A league opener in the 63rd National Football championship, for the Santosh Trophy, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, in Chennai on Tuesday.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos hauled off Ricardo Quaresma after the winger failed to follow his tactical instructions as they struggled to make their domination count in a 0-0 draw with Austria at Euro 2016 on Saturday.
Italy coach Antonio Conte said he wants more of the team's supporters at Euro 2016 to show their pride by wearing blue shirts after they secured their place in the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Sweden on Friday. As the Azzurri secured their second straight win with Eder's late goal, Conte was impressed by the vast number of Swedish supporters inside the stadium in Toulouse wearing their side's bright yellow shirts. Italy, in contrast, looked under-represented in the stadium.
Northern Ireland scored two second-half goals to beat Ukraine 2-0 in a feisty Euro 2016 Group C match on Thursday that was briefly suspended due to a hailstorm. Defender Gareth McAuley powered home Oliver Norwood's free kick after 49 minutes shortly before torrential rain forced the referee to take the players off the pitch.
If England coach Roy Hodgson's two halftime substitutions proved decisive in turning the tide in their 2-1 victory over Wales on Thursday, he still risked a charge of not having made them before the game rather than midway through. As usual, however, the result was all and a win enabled the normally conservative Hodgson to claim justification for his strategy. Others will question whether his loyalty to Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane, both poor for the second successive match, might have been costly in terms of both England's qualification and, after that, his own job prospects.
Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu must decide whether veteran left back Razvan Rat can repel the danger of Xherdan Shaqiri in what could be the defining confrontation of his team's Euro 2016 clash with Switzerland on Wednesday.
A win against Sri Lanka will put them firmly in contention for a semi-final berth but England's best batsman Joe Root was forthright in his assessment that his team has not been able to play "best cricket" in the tournament so far. "If we're being honest, we've not done one part of our game consistently well. Times we've bowled extremely well and when we've batted well. The exciting thing for me is, when that comes together we'll be a very hard side to beat," Root told mediapersons ahead of their final group league game against Sri Lanka on Saturday. But he also admitted that finding ways to win is the key, which they have done in the last two matches. "We have not performed at our best throughout the competition, which in a way is quite exciting because we know that's still to come. The really pleasing thing for me is we're finding ways of winning games of cricket. As long as we can continue to do that, all we can worry about is making sure we get that win on Saturday and give ourselves the best chance of qualifying," said Root. Even if England win, they need to keep a track of other matches and Root said that they are keeping a tab of what's happening in the group.
Mumbai FC held a depleted Dempo Sports Club to a 1-1 draw in the final group A league match of the 30th Federation Cup football championship in Barasat on Tuesday night.
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Overnight leader Shubhankar Sharma struggled with his putts on the decisive final day to fall short of scripting history but the rapidly-rising Indian managed a creditable tied ninth finish at the US$ 10 million World Golf Championships.
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Mexican media called on Sven Goran-Eriksson to quit as national coach on Thursday, a day after his side lost to Honduras and avoided an early World Cup exit by the skin of their teeth.
We have had so far a tight and intense competition, says Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA's director of competitions
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