Spain strolled to a 4-1 win at home to Israel, while Italy survived some first-half scares on the way to a 2-0 win and Ukraine registered a 1-0 home win over Ukraine in an action-packed game.
The Argentine forward's glittering resume has one major omission -- a World Cup winner's medal.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Brazil, the only bidding country, were named as the host nation of the 2014 World Cup finals by FIFA, world soccer's governing body, on Tuesday.
With immense pressure on him to match the late great Diego Maradona and send the trophy back to Buenos Aires, Lionel Messi has lit up the Qatar tournament while others in the superstar stratum - Neymar, Cristiano Ronaldo - have underwhelmed and gone home.
Legendary Argentine World Cup winner Diego Maradona died following a heart attack on Wednesday, aged 60.
Saudi Arabia, FIFA's 51st ranked team and who have suffered 5-0 and 8-0 World Cup defeats down the years, roared back to claim an astonishing 2-1 victory that will go down as one of the greatest shocks in any sport ever.
Infantino travelled to Washington to discuss the establishment of a FIFA headquarters in the US
Bach warns athletes against 'political demonstrations' on podiums
Former Brazil striker Pele dismissed talk he is depressed and reclusive on Thursday and assured fans he is doing well and maintaining a busy schedule. Pele's son Edinho told Globo in an interview published on Monday that the three-times World Cup winner was depressed and reluctant to leave his house because he cannot get around properly due to hip problems.
How the 32 teams are placed in the league stage of the 2014 Football World Cup.
Here is what you need to know about their route to the final
The most impressive players at the FIFA World Cup 2022 after Round One.
'On doctor's advice he will dedicate his time to his health and have two operations, on his shoulder and his knee'
Saudi Arabia stunned Lionel Messi's Argentina 2-1 with brilliant individual goals from Saleh Al-Shehri and Salem Al-Dawsari during the FIFA World Cup Group C match on Tuesday.
The third of a five part history of the World Cup from Uruguay in 1930 up to the preparations for the 2014 finals in Brazil.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The total number of Games-related COVID infections has risen to 67 with the addition of nine more cases to the official list.
Zidane's remarks came after Real Madrid's Champions League clash against Inter Milan. Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win in the match.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Pele told his fans he was happy and healthy and pleased to be reaching the landmark with his lucid mental state.
Neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, psychologists Carlos Diaz, Dahiana Madrid and Ricardo Almiron, doctor Nancy Forlini and nurse coordinator Mariano Perroni were last week charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Maradona was a uniquely gifted player who rose from the tough streets of Buenos Aires to reach the pinnacle of his sport.
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.
European countries will be able to bid to host the 2026 World Cup only if none of the eligible candidates are good enough, soccer's governing body said on Friday.
Maradona was worshipped like a god for his genius with the ball.
The 1970 Brazil side, led by Pele and featuring names such as Gerson, Tostao, Rivelino and Carlos Alberto, is frequently rated the greatest team of all time. They won all seven of their matches in Mexico, culminating with a 4-1 over Italy in the final at the Aztec stadium. The life-size statue of Pele, dressed in the strip worn by the 1970 team, bore a close resemblance to the former Santos and New York Cosmos striker, unlike many of the statues of famous footballers unveiled recently around the globe.
With exactly 10 days to go for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Local Organising Committee chairman Praful Patel, on Tuesday, declared that India is "100 per cent ready" to host the event.
Morocco has lodged a last-minute bid to host the 2026 soccer World Cup and will compete against a three-way bid from the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Here's what you must know about the youngest scorer, youngest hat-trick scorer, youngest final player and youngest final scorer in football World Cup history.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cunningham, an LGBT campaigner who works with England's football authorities, is one of only a handful of openly gay England fans who have made the trip to Russia where gay activists have been detained for taking part in demonstrations.
This will be the second FIFA tournament India will be hosting, after the Under-17 men's World Cup in 2017.
Mexico's Oribe Peralta and Alex Morgan of the United States were named winners of the inaugural CONCACAF Male and Female Player of the Year awards on Friday.
Xavi, who won the World Cup with Spain in 2010 and is seeing out his career in Qatar with top-flight club Al Sadd, said 48 teams would not be the right option for 2022, however.
'I don't like the title, and if I don't like the title I am not going to like the film. Don't go and see it'
Sporting world lost some of its favourite stars this year.
The Dutch football team has been made an offer that is out of this world and quite literally so!
The Paris St Germain forward was both architect and executioner for Brazil, who inflicted a seventh straight last-16 exit on the central Americans, sliding home in the second half and then teeing up Roberto Firmino late on.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
