Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri made a winning start to life in the Premier League as his team enjoyed a 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday.
Les Bleus' average age is 26 years old -- like England -- and Kylian Mbappe is 19, but it was he who ran riot after France fell 2-1 behind early in the second half.
Messi opened the scoring after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal of his career, slipping the ball through Thibaut Courtois' legs from a tight angle.
Leicester City's Riyad Mahrez has given the Premier League champions a boost by telling the owners he wants to stay at the club next season, British media reported on Thursday.
Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy has been voted Footballer of the Year by the Football Writers' Association (FWA).
Trailing 1-0 from the semi-final first leg, Chelsea turned the tie on its head with goals by N'Golo Kante and Eden Hazard in the first half but Fernando Llorente struck for Spurs in an enthralling Stamford Bridge duel.
Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the Ballon d'Or for world player of the year on Thursday for a joint-record fifth time, going level with eternal rival and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi as the player to have won the prize the most times.
Tottenham Hotspur gained a slender advantage in their League Cup semi-final against London rivals Chelsea as Harry Kane's penalty earned them a gritty 1-0 first-leg win.
His first overseas coaching adventure -- Maurizio Sarri has chosen a devilishly difficult league to try and make it happen and a club not exactly known for its patience.
RB Leipzig scored twice in the opening 13 minutes but had to survive a late comeback from Manchester United to cling on to a 3-2 win on Tuesday that sent them into the Champions League knockout stage and eliminated the English side.
Watford equalised seconds before halftime through Abdoulaye Doucoure and in a rampant spell of attacking football went ahead four minutes after the break when Roberto Pereyra tapped home a Richarlison cross.
Crowds of cheering French soccer fans began gathering in Paris on Sunday, draped in red, white and blue and singing the Marseillaise, as excitement was building ahead of the France-Croatia showdown at the World Cup final in Moscow.
World Cup: When wingers gave Croatia flight
Jezreel Pannikot reveals life lessons the stars of the 2018 World Cup taught us.
After playing the most soporific game of the World Cup so far, France will feature in a seismic last-16 clash of former champions with a resurgent Argentina on Saturday, and they will have to drastically improve if they are to stop Lionel Messi.
France showed the full range of their attacking weapons as they continued their preparations for the World Cup in convincing fashion with a 3-1 win over Italy in a friendly on Friday.
Leicester City head of recruitment Steve Walsh has said the newly crowned Premier League champions will focus on signing players with a strong work ethic in the close season to bolster a squad preparing to fight on two fronts.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has urged his players to stick around for next season after helping the club to a remarkable English Premier League triumph.
Former Manchester United full-backs Gary and Phil Neville slammed the club's "garbage" defending after Sunday's crushing 4-0 defeat to Chelsea in the English Premier League.
Chelsea kept up their pursuit of the Premier League's top three clubs with a 1-0 win away to London rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday, thanks to a strike by N'Golo Kante early in the second half.
Chelsea moved within three points of clinching the Premier League title with a 3-0 victory that condemned Middlesbrough to relegation on Monday after goals from Spaniards Diego Costa and Marcos Alonso plus a tap-in by Nemanja Matic.
Included in Barcelona squad to face Dortmund
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Rattled by embarrassing domestic defeats, Chelsea looked jittery before Olivier Giroud settled their nerves with a close range tap-in shortly after halftime at StamfordBridge following good work by N'Golo Kante and Willian in the build-up.
Much-maligned Olivier Giroud struck twice to help attack-minded France sink Scotland 3-0 in a final warm-up game on Saturday before they launch Euro 2016 on home soil next week.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
European champions Portugal spurned a two-goal lead against Tunisia, stumbling to a 2-2 draw, as France, one of the World Cup favourites, flexed their muscles with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in warm-up friendlies on Monday.
France realise how dangerous Iceland can be from long throw-ins and have been working on ways to counter that weapon when they face the surprise packages of the European Championship in the quarter-finals, coach Didier Deschamps said on Saturday.
Manchester United's Jose Mourinho, humbled for the second time this season in front of the Chelsea fans who once idolised him, did not go quietly on Monday as he declared that he remains the London club's number one manager.
'It's like now with Lamela or Vertonghen, how you sit in the chair and cry because you miss someone... But the competition does not allow you to cry. You have to move on quick. It's a bit cruel, but you have to move on and try to win the next game'
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
Buoyant Chelsea extended their Premier League lead and calmed nerves at Stamford Bridge with a 4-2 win over Southampton on Tuesday that moved them seven points clear of their nearest pursuers Tottenham Hotspur.
A summary of Sunday's Premier League matches
Chelsea brushed aside London rivals West Ham United with a 2-1 away win that restored their 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Monday.
Chelsea have signed Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world record 80 million-euro ($92.8 million) fee from Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Irresistible Chelsea go into the Christmas round of fixtures knowing they can end the year by re-writing the record books.
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