Rhian Brewster struck a sensational hat-trick, his second in as many matches, as England handed pre-tournament favourites Brazil a stunning 3-1 defeat to cruise into their maiden FIFA U-17 World Cup final, in Kolkata, on Wednesday.
Irrepressible AS Roma captain Francesco Totti scored twice to haul the Serie A title challengers back from two goals behind against arch-rivals Lazio and earn them a 2-2 draw in a pulsating derby on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City cannot afford another defeat on Tuesday at home to Barcelona, who thumped them 4-0 two weeks ago, having taken just one point from their last two Champions League Group C matches.
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved a penalty and Andrea Pirlo curled in a trademark free kick late in the game to give the Serie A leaders a dramatic 1-0 win at Genoa on Sunday.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane denied his side were facing a crisis after they drew 1-1 at home to La Liga minnows Eibar and racked up a fourth consecutive draw for the first time in more than 10 years.
Virtually assured of a quarterfinal spot after their morale-boosting win against Argentina, a buoyant India will face world number two side the Netherlands in a tough pool B clash in the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday. After a close 3-2 win over Ireland in their opening match, India suffered a disappointing 1-2 loss against the reigning Olympic champions Germany but bounced back to notch up a 2-1 win against Argentina to remain among the top four in the six-team pool. The target now will be to finish the league stages as high as possible in the points table so as to avoid the world number one Australia in the last eight fixture.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
India squandered their hard-earned lead on two occasions as they slumped to their second successive defeat losing 2-4 to World Cup bronze medallists Argentina.
Spain, chasing an unprecedented third successive European Championship title and looking forward to facing Germany or Slovakia in the next round, have the upper hand in recent history, having not lost a competitive match against Italy since the 1994 World Cup.
It will have made uneasy viewing for coach Jorge Sampaoli and emphasised more than ever how reliant his side are on their talisman Messi, who has been struggling with a muscle problem.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Manchester City's Kompany out of Liverpool clash with calf injury
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Philippe Coutinho scored a spectacular first-half goal for Brazil in their World Cup Group E opener on Sunday, only for Steven Zuber to cancel it out after the break.
A round-up of Thursday night's matches from the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
Cameroon overpower Ecuador; Nigeria score late to draw with Sweden
A man who tried to rob Arsenal players Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac at knifepoint in a failed North London carjacking last July was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Friday.
The women's World Cup final between the United States and Japan on Sunday may not rival the Super Bowl, but soccer fans, wild with excitement.
Barcelona hit out at the referee and his assistants for failing to award Lionel Messi's first half 'goal' in an action-packed 1-1 draw at Liga title rivals Valencia on Sunday.
Rupinder Pal Singh struck twice as drag-flickers ruled the roost to help India register a fighting 3-2 win over Ireland in their opening match of the men's hockey competition at the Olympics, in Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Roelant Oltmans, the Indian men's hockey team's chief coach, says the new competition format of having quarter-finals in place of direct semi-finals at the upcoming Rio Olympics is not only beneficial for the Men in Blue but all small teams too.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski netted the Bundesliga's fastest hat-trick on his way to a sensational five-goal haul as a halftime substitute in their 5-1 demolition of VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
England's World Cup 2018 team, and remarkable similarities emerge between the XI expected to start the semi-final against Croatia
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga remains the club's first choice but manager Maurizio Sarri is still uncertain if the Spaniard will be recalled to the starting team for Sunday's Premier League trip to Fulham.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers played on Thursday
Real Madrid produced a gutsy performance to earn a 1-0 win at Sevilla, on Sunday, which took them level on points at the top of La Liga
Italy will even be back to four teams in the Champions League group stage this season -- although that is thanks to a controversial re-formulation of the competition by UEFA rather than a significant improvement in performances by Serie A clubs.
The second edition of the Hockey India League gets underway on Saturday with Punjab Warriors taking on Delhi Waveriders in the opening match at the newly-built International Hockey Stadium in Mohali.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
Check out India's report card on the third day of the 2016 Olympics.
The age-old malady of inconsistency remained unaddressed but Indian hockey did take baby steps towards global success in 2017, a year which reaffirmed the nation's continental supremacy in the sport.
Coach Harendra defends junior players' selection for World Cup
Chile have never beaten Argentina in open play in 27 Copa America meetings in 100 years yet have twice in 12 months dashed the hopes of Lionel Messi's team of lifting a major trophy.
Hungary made their first appearance at a European Championship for 44 years a memorable occasion by grabbing their goal chances to score a 2-0 win over old rivals Austria in a Group F clash on Tuesday. Austria, riding a wave of national euphoria following an impressive qualifying run, were the better side for most of the game but left the pitch still dreaming of their first-ever win in the finals. The two teams, meeting for the 138th time, started the tournament with reasonable hopes of emerging from a group that also features Portugal and Iceland who meet later on Tuesday in St Etienne.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
The Indian hockey team's stand-in captain and goalkeeper P R Sreejesh says the Champions Trophy in England and the following six-nation hockey tournament in Spain will give his side the opportunity to test players' mental strength ahead of the Rio Olympic Games.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
