News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
At their medal ceremony, the players team sang the Russian anthem over the sound of the Olympic anthem at the Gangneung Hockey Centre despite being barred from having their flag raised or anthem played.
Manchester United are optimistic ahead of a crucial period of fixtures as they are close to finding their best form, midfielder Ander Herrera said ahead of Sunday's top of the table showdown against Premier League leaders Manchester City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
World champions Germany drew 1-1 with Spain in a high tempo friendly on Friday as they launched their preparations for a title defence in Russia while their opponents had striker Diego Costa making his long-awaited comeback as a substitute.
The historic Maracana stadium has hosted two World Cup finals, in 1950 and 2014, and saw Messi and his squad become 2021 Copa America champions by beating Brazil 1-0.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The rumblings of discontent from Righteous Europe over Qatar's admittedly appalling human rights record can only be viewed as deeply disingenuous and phoney, argues Kanika Datta.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Qualifiers Spain and the United States suffered blows in friendlies, the world champions beaten 1-0 by eliminated South Africa on the SoccerCity pitch where they clinched their 2010 crown and the Americans losing 1-0 away to lowly Austria.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
But their inability to close out the game proved costly, allowing Belgium to claw their way back into contention with two goals in five minutes before Nacer Chadli's injury-time winner capped the most thrilling game of the 2018 finals.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, whose election promises included expanding the World Cup finals to 40 countries, on Monday proposed an even larger tournament involving 48 teams.
'Commentators have said that dealing with allies as equals will make Modi more sensitive.' 'Remember that the people Modi is dealing with are equally autocratic in their own lairs.' 'Further, Modi always has handy the threat of dissolving Parliament and calling for fresh polls.' 'Most of his own party, and certainly his allies and opponents having blown their budgets of efforts and resources in the just concluded elections, have no stomach for this.' 'They are all greatly looking forward to the loaves and fishes of office on offer.' 'That gives Modi an unbeatable advantage in any push-comes-to-shove situation,' explains Shreekant Sambrani.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
We bring you snapshots from Iracema Scharf's latest fashion show held in Munich, Germany.
Kevin de Bruyne struck twice to inspire Manchester City to a dominant 4-2 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday and move the champions level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
World soccer body FIFA had threatened seven European teams with sporting sanctions if they wore it at the World Cup with the federations backing down.
Simon, who did not specify if he was referring to local organisers or FIFA in his reference to the tournament director, said the other six nations then decided to "show solidarity" and not wear it.
Updates from Sunday's World Cup matches.
Belgium edged ahead of France to take outright top spot in FIFA's world rankings released on Thursday while tiny Gibraltar were the biggest risers.
Former captain Zafar Iqbal believes it won't be easy for India to reclaim the hockey World Cup title after a hiatus of 47 years as the hosts are placed in a tough pool alongside Spain, England and Wales.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A group of current and former Iranian sportspeople say they have no choice but to turn on their own country, citing what they called state-sponsored violence and discrimination against ordinary Iranians, especially women.
Uruguay made light of the absence of striker Luis Suarez to recover from a goal down and beat 2015 Copa America hosts Chile 2-1 in a friendly in Santiago.
Title contenders Germany and Nigeria on Monday qualified for the quarter-finals of the FIFA Women's Under-17 World Cup from Group B with wins over New Zealand and Chile respectively.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
The investigatory chamber of world soccer body FIFA's ethics committee has recommended a two-year ban and a fine against former German Football Association president Wolfgang Niersbach.
The Indian football team has re-entered the top-100 of the FIFA world rankings and is now placed at 99th at the latest chart released on Thursday.
Britain's BBC faced a mounting crisis as a row over football presenter Gary Lineker's criticism of government migration policy led to a presenter mutiny.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Claude Arpi captures the fan's passion for football in an ongoing e-mail exchange with Ivan Crasto, Rediff.com's Sports Editor.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'We know how to differentiate between when it's family and when we are manager and player'
