Gonzalo Higuain burst into life by scoring a hat-trick in the final half hour, his first league goals of the season, to help Rafael Benitez's erratic Napoli thrash Verona 6-2 in Serie A on Sunday.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo curled in a sizzling late free kick to strike the first hat-trick of the 2018 World Cup and grab his side a point in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Spain on Friday as the Group B blockbuster lived up to the hype.
Tim Cahill would love nothing better than to join the select company of Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose by finding the net in a fourth World Cup over the next few weeks but first the Australian actually needs to get on the pitch.
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.
The 2014 World Cup was a captivating carnival of football with high drama and Germany displayed their credentials as worthy champions.
Officially timed at 52 seconds, Jose Batista remains the fastest sending off in World Cup history.
The Real Madrid forward was superb in Portugal's 3-3 World Cup draw with Spain on Friday, giving his team the perfect start with a penalty, putting them 2-1 ahead and popping up at the death, cool as you like, to whip home a free-kick and complete a magnificent hat-trick.
Napoli's Manolo Gabbiadini netted a precious second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 away draw at Lazio in the first leg of their Italian Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
AS Roma qualified for the Champions League group stage in the best possible style on Monday, booking their place with a last-gasp 2-1 win over neighbours and bitter rivals Lazio in a passionate Rome derby.
Marta breaks Klose record in Brazil win
Sports events produce a multitude of highly amusing and crazy celebrations. Individual and team players have various way of celebrating victory, a goal or point. Some do it with a high-five, blow a kiss, cartwheel or dance. And on the soccer field, it's a soccer ball baby!
Lazio survived a storming Napoli fight back, including a missed penalty, as they won 4-2 on Sunday to finish third in Serie A and qualify for the Champions League playoff round after both teams finished with 10 men.
Not much has thwarted the predatory instincts of Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller and Robert Lewandowski this season but even that dynamic duo will have their work cut out to pierce the rock-solid Juventus defence on Tuesday.
Lazio thumped Empoli 4-0, their eighth successive league win, to go second in Serie A on Sunday and Napoli ended their dismal run with a 3-0 win over Fiorentina despite being denied a clear goal.
Mats Hummels scored with a header in the 14th minute to give Germany a 1-0 victory over France in the first quarter-final of the World Cup at the Maracana, in Brazil, on Friday.
German soccer star Mesut Ozil said on Sunday he would no longer play for the national team because he faced 'racism and disrespect' because of his Turkish roots.
AC Milan clung on to beat Parma 5-4 away in Serie A on Sunday despite an dreadful defensive display which included Mattia De Sciglio scoring an extraordinary own goal from near the halfway line late in the match.
A brilliant performance from Angel Di Maria spurred Argentina to a crushing 4-2 friendly win over world champions Germany on Wednesday in an entertaining rematch of July's World Cup final.
Playmaker Kaka breathed new life into struggling AC Milan by scoring twice and 18-year-old Bryan Cristante claimed his first professional goal as they beat Atalanta 3-0 on Monday for only their fifth league win of the season.
Carlos Tevez scored twice to give Serie A leaders Juventus a 3-2 win over Fiorentina on Wednesday but Lazio prevented them from celebrating the title by thumping bottom club Parma 4-0, which condemned their opponents to Serie B.
AS Roma coach Rudi Garcia succeeded where his three predecessors failed by taking his team to a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Lazio on Sunday and maintaining their 100 percent record in Serie A alongside Napoli who won 2-1 at AC Milan.
Defending champion Germany suffered a shocking defeat, while Brazil, Spain and Argentina -- the other pre-tournament favourites -- managed just draws in their opening round matches.
World Cup winners Germany are no mood to experiment against minnows Gibraltar in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday, promising a goal bonanza to make amends for recent poor results.
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
Napoli kept their hopes of a first Serie A title since 1990 alive with an epic 4-2 win over 10-man Inter Milan after a Carlos Tevez hat-trick had put leaders Juventus six points clear with a 4-0 rout of Sassuolo on Sunday.
New coach Luciano Spalletti failed to inspire AS Roma as they were held 1-1 at home by bottom club Verona on his debut on Sunday and Juventus notched their 10th Serie A win in a row by hammering Udinese 4-0 away.
Anyone who has watched the Argentine in recent years knows he can do things with a football that seem to defy the laws of physics and he does not fit into the mould of a traditional striker.
The 'sleeping giant' woke up to a new dawn with the Indian Super League putting Indian football on the global map, but the national team continued to paint a grim picture, plummeting to its worst-ever rankings in an eventful year for the sport.
'Living in Brazil, I had internalised the football mythology of that country, the way I had learnt Mahabharata stories in my childhood. The tragedy at the Maracana stadium in 1950, when a confident Brazil had lost to Uruguay in the finals. They tell the story of this debacle, this 'Hiroshima' that hit them, like the Shias lament the death of Ali. It led to the Brazilian team burning their white uniforms and switching later to Yellow and blue symbolising their national colours,' says Ambassador B S Prakash, India's former envoy to Brazil.
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