Germany, fuelled by a second half double from Thomas Mueller, thrashed long-standing rivals England 4-1 in a controversy-filled encounter on Sunday to book a spot in the last eight of the World Cup.
France's World Cup campaign descended into chaos on Sunday with a row between captain Patrice Evra and a fitness coach, a boycott of a training session and the resignation of a senior team official.
Football-frenzied fans in India were slow on catching up with the excitement as the FIFA World Cup 2010 kicked off in Johannesburg on Friday. But when they did get into the act, TV-viewership rates shot up from previous highs.
South Africa woke up with a smug satisfaction on Saturday despite only drawing in the opening World Cup match.
France failed to rise to the occasion again on Friday when a lacklustre performance in a tepid 0-0 draw with Uruguay handed the initiative to their lesser-ranked World Cup Group A rivals.
A stunning goal from Siphiwe Tshabalala almost gave hosts South Africa the perfect start to the World Cup before they were held to a 1-1 draw in front of almost 85,000 fans at Soccer City on Friday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
The pair exchange gifts for the cameras when they met in Tunis on Monday with Bennaceur handing the former Argentina skipper a framed photo of himself, Maradona and Shilton, who captained England, before the match at the Azteca Stadium.
Triple World Cup soccer winner Pele is putting some 2,000 items up for auction, including his three World Cup medals and a one of a kind Jules Rimet trophy that could fetch up to one million dollars, auctioneers said on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
With three straight victories, Portugal look equipped to mount a serious title challenge in the last 16 stage.
England midfielder Michael Carrick has been forced to withdraw from the squad to play Slovenia and Scotland after sustaining an injury in training, the Football Association (FA) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi, who turns 23 on Thursday, captained his country for the first time on Tuesday and gave another virtuoso performance as Argentina beat Greece 2-0 to reach the second round of the World Cup.
Lionel Messi, who turns 23 on Thursday, captained his country for the first time on Tuesday and gave another virtuoso performance as Argentina beat Greece 2-0 to reach the second round of the World Cup.
South Africa became the first host country in the FIFA World Cup history to crash out in the opening round despite a 2-1 victory over France, who also ended their miserable campaign with 10 men after Yoann Gourcuff was sent off in a Group A match in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.
Luis Fabiano's second goal against Ivory Coast at the World Cup was not with the Hand of God as the Brazilian claimed, Diego Maradona said on Monday.
'The Impostors', 'Disgraceful', 'Pathetic' were among the headlines on Friday thrown by French media at national team Les Bleus who are heading for a World Cup early exit after a 2-0 Group A defeat by Mexico.
'Frankly, I am relieved today; the French team should not have got the 'divine' (Thierry Henry's hand) qualification in the first place.'
Those who suggested France should not be at the World Cup in the first place might allow themselves a smug smile that they will probably not stay very long.
Argentina coach Diego Maradona will see a familiar foe in the opposing dugout when his side face South Korea in their second Group B match at Soccer City on Thursday.
Former world champions France and Uruguay battled their way to a goalless stalemate in a dour match dominated by defences in Group A of the World Cup on Friday.
Lacklustre France failed to turn their superior possession into chances and could ultimately pay a heavy price as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in an uninspired World Cup Group A clash on Friday.
New blood and a change of formation paid dividends for France as debutant Mathieu Valbuena netted the winner in a 2-1 World Cup warm-up win over Costa Rica on Wednesday.
Indian shooter Ravi Kumar won the bronze medal in the men's 10m air rifle event at the 21st Commonwealth Games, in Gold Coast, on Sunday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Albin Ekdal does not care about criticism that they are too defensive and dependent on long balls.
A strong Indian archery contingent will look to grab all the 10 gold medals on offer when they open their campaign with the qualification round in the 12th South Asian Games at the Jawaharlal Sports Complex Polo Ground on Friday. Former world No 1 and India's Olympic medal hope Deepika Kumari will lead the country's charge in the women's recurve section along with another Olympian in Laishram Bombayla Devi, who will be joined by Madhu Vedwan and Laxmirani Majhi who won the national ranking final last month. Asian Games silver medalist Tarundeep Rai will look to defend his title in the individual recurve section, which will also have the experience of Jayanta Talukdar besides the youngster duo of Binod Swansi and Gurucharan Besra.
Give us your take on Wednesday's games in the World Cup!
Lionel Messi scored within two minutes of coming on as a substitute to help Barcelona complete a 3-1 comeback win over Mexico's Atlante in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday and reach the Club World Cup final against Estudiantes. Forward Guillermo Rojas put the CONCACAF champions ahead in the fifth minute and midfielder Sergio Busquets equalised for Barcelona after 35 minutes.
England bowling coach Chris Silverwood has been named the head coach of the men's team replacing Australia's Trevor Bayliss, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said on Monday.
Germany kick off their title defence on Sunday with their Group F opener against Mexico.
Goals by substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay gave the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over Chile on Monday that put them top of World Cup Group B and likely to avoid a second-round meeting with Brazil.
Brazil coach Dunga has been given a provisional four-match touchline ban in friendlies by the country's disciplinary tribunal after being sent off against Mexico in September. He was dismissed in the 3-1 win over the Mexicans in a friendly for persistant dissent.
Rathore said the government was 'leaving no stone unturned' to train 200 elite athletes for the 2020 Olympics
Cristiano Ronaldo struck the winning goal to help Real Madrid become European champions, while Marin Cilic made an impressive comeback after a ban to claim the US Open crown in September. Also, Germany defeated Argentina to become football world champions. Rediff.com brings you the last instalment of the Best Sports Photos of the Year!
Team India's Narain Karthikeyan finished second in the sprint race but had to pull out of the feature race following a crash and finished the A1GP World Cup of Motorsports in 12th position with 19 points, in Brands Hatch, Great Britain, on Sunday.
Italy need to improve in defence, midfield and attack if they are going to make up the ground they lost on a delightful night for the Dutch in the Swiss capital.
Ace Indian archer Deepika Kumari crashed out of the World Championships as India's campaign in both recurve and compound individual events ended on Thursday on a disappointing note in Belek.
Chen scores world record for massive lead over shocked Hanyu
Mexican media called on Sven Goran-Eriksson to quit as national coach on Thursday, a day after his side lost to Honduras and avoided an early World Cup exit by the skin of their teeth.
