Each Round of 16 game was entertaining. Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the games to remember.
Losing striker Jamie Vardy to Arsenal could spark an exodus of players from Leicester City, former defender Gerry Taggart has said, adding that the move could be catastrophic for the Premier League champions. Arsenal tabled a bid for Vardy before he left for the European Championship in France with the rest of England's squad on Monday, according to British media reports. The 29-year-old was the joint second-highest scorer in the English top-flight last season and Arsenal's bid comes at an uncomfortable time for England, whose manager Roy Hodgson has banned players' agents from the team hotel in Chantilly to avoid his players being distracted. "If Vardy goes then one or two others might want to leave as well," Taggart, who made over 100 appearances for Leicester, told the BBC. "For the good of the whole team and the club it is important Vardy stays."
While the whole world grapples to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the sporting world has been brought to a complete standstill. A lot of top sportsperson around the world have also tested positive for COVID-19 as major events like Tokyo Olympics, Formula One, Indian Premier League and the top football leagues in Europe all face long-term suspension.
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
Portugal erupted into jubilation on Sunday as the country defeated France to win the Euro 2016, its first major international soccer championship.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the football hooligan violence at Euro 2016 a "disgrace" but questioned how Russian fans could have overpowered a far larger contingent of English supporters. "The fighting between Russian fans with the English, that is a disgrace," he said at Russia's annual economic forum in Saint Petersburg. "But I truly don't understand how 200 of our fans could beat up several thousand English," he said, to laughs and applause from the audience.
Belgium paid the price for failing to take their chances against France
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...
Cristiano Ronaldo is a colossal figure in club football having completed a hat-trick of Champions League (1 Manchester United, 2 Real Madrid) victories. The three-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo has won several league titles. But the Portuguese magician tasted success for the first time with the national team as Portugal defeated hosts France to lift the 2016 Euro title.
Surprise Euro 2016 quarter-finalists Iceland want a fairytale ending to their run, like the one that Leicester City enjoyed when they stunned the soccer world by clinching the Premier League title this season, team coaches said on Wednesday. Leicester, with no big names in the squad, finished ahead of far more illustrious English clubs in what was one of the biggest upsets in club football.
Neuer sidelined for 'coming weeks' after knee surgery - Bayern
All major sporting events in the Paris region were suspended on Saturday as France mourned the victims of the attacks in the capital city the night before that left 129 people dead and 352 wounded.
Some England soccer fans sobbed while others looked to the future with confidence
Switzerland have no fears coming into their game against hosts France on Sunday despite being thrashed 5-2 when they met two years ago at the World Cup in Brazil, coach Vladimir Petkovic said.
Northern Ireland reached their first major tournament in 30 years and their neighbours south of the border beat world champions Germany to take a big step towards joining them at Euro 2016 in a memorable night for Irish football on Thursday.
Two Swiss government ministers have backed national team players Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri after their controversial goal celebrations in Friday's 2-1 World Cup win over Serbia.
Former England captain Cook, 34, who retired from international cricket this year, was his country's most-capped Test player and record test run scorer.
Rediff.com brings you the best quotes of the day from Brazil!
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich will not release France forward Franck Ribery for a disciplinary hearing by the French Football Federation to probe his alleged role in the team's World Cup revolt, the German champions said on Monday.
Romain Ducret, a 17-year-old supporter of French club Paris St Germain, clutched in his hand a document that soccer fans all over Europe dream of having: a ticket to watch a top-flight soccer game in the flesh. He was among 5,000 fans given special dispensation -- despite the COVID-19 epidemic -- to attend.
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.
Croatia defender Domagoj Vida apologised after his team's World Cup semi-final victory over England on Wednesday after speaking out in support of Russia's neighbour and adversary Ukraine.
France forwards Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema will know whether they are cleared of soliciting an underage prostitute next Thursday after the Correctional Court of Paris adjourned the case for further deliberations.
Zidane was accompanied on stage by his wife and four sons, who all look good to follow in the footsteps of their father.
A member of the French Football Federation's governing body, Guy Chambily, has called for national team coach Raymond Domenech to be replaced.
ormer Manchester United and France striker Louis Saha became the first international big star to be roped in for the much-anticipated IPL-style football league to be organised by IMG-Reliance early next year.
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
World Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo is not clever enough to become FIFA president one day in the future.
Here's how Germany celebrated their with against Portugal.
Regarded as the Oscar of sports, the nominations for 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards were finalised following a ballot by the world's sports media.
The FIFA legends, including World Cup winner Frenchman Marcel Desailly, Colombian great Carlos Valderrama, Spain's Fernando Morientes, Mexican Jorge Campos and Nigerian Emmanuel Amuneke, will roll back the years and turn out for a short match at the D Y Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai.
Barcelona lost ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid when their 11-match winning streak was snapped by Malaga, while Premier League pacesetters Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley. Bayern Munich enjoyed a second-successive goalrush in the Bundesliga after routing Paderborn 6-0 while AS Roma lost ground to Serie A leaders Juventus after yet another draw. This and more from the happenings in the world of football over the weekend.
Real Madrid will be without forward pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, midfielder Toni Kroos and defender Pepe for Tuesday's UEFA Super Cup encounter with Sevilla in Trondheim, Norway.
Leicester City's England striker Jamie Vardy has been named Premier League Player of the Season after his pivotal role in the club's remarkable title-winning campaign.
When Croatia take on France at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium later on Sunday, the team hopes to settle an old score with the French dating back to the 1998 World Cup.
The Euro 2020 Championship is being held across Europe for the first time in the competition's 60-year history, with 11 host cities in total.
An internal investigation of suspended FIFA President Joseph "Sepp" Blatter has found no evidence of corruption over a 2 million Swiss franc (1.3 million) payment to European football head Michel Platini, the Swiss newspaper Handelszeitung said on Wednesday.
The Russian national football team has been handed a suspended disqualification from Euro 2016 and a 150,000-euro ($168,300.00) fine after their fans were involved in violent clashes in Marseille, the governing body UEFA said on Tuesday.
