Cristiano Ronaldo hit his first goal of the 2014 World Cup to lift Portugal to a 2-1 victory over Ghana in Brasilia but both sides bowed out of the tournament as Germany and USA advanced to the last 16.
Veteran Germany striker Miroslav Klose arrived in Brazil with the most World Cup goals record in his sights but any hopes he had of a helping hand from coach Joachim Loew to break it were dashed on Sunday.
And what an exciting week it has been, with players returning to packed stadiums, some memorable individual and team performances and a medical incident which had the world on edge.
Spain are still favourites to finish top of Group E above Sweden, Poland and Slovakia but, after struggling to break down conservative sides such as Georgia and Greece in March, they know coming first will not be a procession.
Paulo Roberto Falcao's appeal is the latest in a series of efforts by leading current and former Brazilian footballers to help the South American nation cope with the effects of COVID-19.
Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has been 'deeply affected' by last week's Paris attacks and might not be in the right frame of mind to play in Saturday's Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion, manager Arsene Wenger has said.
It was rain of footballing gods as former stars Pele, Kaka, David Beckham and Carles Puyol graced the final.
British daily The Times splashed "In the hands of God" with the image of Maradona celebrating after beating West Germany in the final of the 1986 World Cup.
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the very best players from what has been an outstanding tournament.
Stephan Schmidling has made a sculpture bearing the footprints of the German football players at Euro 2008.
Albania qualified for Euro 2016, their first ever major tournament, when a 3-0 away win over Armenia clinched second place in Group 'I' above Denmark on Sunday sparking wild celebrations across the country.
Aleksander Ceferin, the president of Slovenia's football federation, was overwhelmingly elected as the new head of European soccer's governing body UEFA at an extraordinary Congress on Wednesday.
A summary of Sunday's action in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers across Europe.
Former organising chief Franz Beckenbauer denied any wrongdoing on Saturday in an affair involving the 2006 World Cup in Germany and said he knew nothing of a multi-million payment to a disgraced former FIFA official in Qatar.
'We are like his home. We are like his family ... We are going to help him to feel good'
Liverpool, five-times European champions and last season's Champions League runners-up, eased past the Bavarians and into the quarter-finals with two goals from Sadio Mane and one from Virgil van Dijk after a goalless first leg at Anfield.
Manuel Neuer became the first goalkeeper since 2002 to make the final short list for the FIFA world player of the year award on Monday when he was included alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the final three.
He said more than one crore children have sent him 'their Mann Ki Baat' via postcards which have come from many parts of the country and even from abroad.
'So, clearly, getting out of the group and winning a knockout game would be a real sign of progress. And if you win one, you win more'
Senegal became the first team in World Cup history to be eliminated on yellow cards after finishing level with Japan on points, goal difference and goals scored in Group H on Thursday.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has called on Germany's World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer and his panel of soccer experts to try to come up with an alternative to penalty shootouts to settle drawn matches.
Paolo Rossi described his performance at the 1982 World Cup, where he etched his name into football folklore, as 'personal redemption'
Germany's Lukas Podolski will receive an appropriate farewell when the world champions meet England in a high-quality friendly on Wednesday with the winger having become one of the country's all-time greats, coach Joachim Loew said on Tuesday.
The ECA, an organisation representing 220 soccer clubs, opposes the world governing body's decision which Rummenigge, the former Germany international who is also Bayern Munich's chief executive, has previously dismissed as "nonsense".
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.
Real Madrid's playing and coaching staff have voluntarily agreed to take a wage cut of between 10 and 20 percent this year to help the club deal with the stoppage caused by the coronavirus outbreak, the La Liga side said in a statement on Wednesday. While Bundesliga club Schalke 04 have asked season ticket holders to waive their right to a rebate and help the cash-strapped club through the lockdown due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
Brazil named Dunga as their manager for the second time on Tuesday, two weeks after they were hammered 7-1 by Germany in the World Cup semi-finals which led to the resignation of former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.
The former Boca Juniors and Napoli player coached Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, where his team were beaten 4-0 by Germany at the quarter-final stage
Best quotes of the day from the Football World Cup
Having knocked out Real Madrid with a 4-1 win at the Bernabeu in the previous round, Ajax came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin and complete a remarkable 3-2 aggregate win in their quarter-final.
"It is clear that there was a slush fund for the German World Cup bid," Zwanziger told Der Spiegel magazine, which first reported the allegations last week.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Nations League.
Bayern Munich have appointed former Germany international Matthias Sammer as their sports director after parting ways with Christian Nerlinger following two seasons without a trophy, the Bavarians said on Monday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Germany beat France in a penalty shootout after their thrilling Women's World Cup quarter-final ended 1-1 after extra-time.
India jumped six places to 141 in the latest world football rankings issued by the game's governing body, FIFA, on Thursday.
On Sunday the Ukrainian Tennis Federation urged the sport's governing body the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to immediately expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation and ban Russia from team and individual tournaments. Also, athletes from Ukraine and other nations have called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend Russia and Belarus and ban their athletes from events immediately.
Karim Benzema, who is under investigation for alleged blackmailing, should not be called up to the France squad, French Prime minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday.
Some English clubs may consider vaccine status of transfer targets
