The following factbox details five times a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) made an impact at the World Cup.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches.
Senegal, nicknamed the Lions, lost 1-0 to their South American opponents, despite being the better side in the first half and having a penalty decision overturned. Senegal lost out on a second spot in the group to Japan because of a worse disciplinary record.
Chelsea are banking on a lavish shopping spree to give them more bite up front and much-needed solidity in defence after coach Frank Lampard spent last season relying heavily on a crop of inexperienced home-grown players.
Spain's strong show of unity after the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui was almost enough to secure victory in their World Cup opener against Portugal on Friday, but Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal took some gloss off a superb performance.
Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Johanna Konta progressed to the Italian Open semi-finals on Friday, but Roger Federer and Naomi Osaka were forced to withdraw with injury problems. World number one Osaka pulled out of her quarter-final meeting with Kiki Bertens due to a thumb injury before 37-year-old Federer announced his withdrawal because of a problem to his right leg.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
Japan produced the first upset of the Olympic Games when they beat potential gold medallists Spain 1-0 at Hampden Park, Glasgow on the opening day of the men's soccer competition on Thursday.
While that may not differ too much from the scenario in many group stage matches pairing the big beasts of the game against those nations who occupy lower rungs of the FIFA rankings, the X-factor in Kazan could be Carlos Queiroz.
The Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has asked FIFA why the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was not used to review two key decisions they believe hindered their side during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Switzerland.
'But this was our first match point, if we compare this to tennis, our second match point comes against Portugal. We're still alive and dreaming'
The home side spurned two chances to extend their advantage before the break but Barca levelled in the 52nd minute when Luis Suarez glanced in Lionel Messi's free kick.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal won on Saturday to set up an Italian Open final meeting
The Spanish football federation (RFEF) said on Twitter that the news conference would take place at the team's World Cup base in Krasnodar at 0930 GMT (1230 local time).
Justice Mukul Mudgal was on Thursday elected as head of FIFA's governance committee at the world football governing body's 67th Congress in Bahrain's capital city of Manama.
Panama and Tunisia have been the fall-guys in the two top-scoring matches of World Cup 2018, but both teams will hope to show they have learnt some lessons from their efforts in Russia before they head home after their Group G match on Thursday.
Nadal avenged his defeat to the 20-year-old Greek at the same stage of the Madrid Open a week ago
"We have food, wine, cheese from Portugal. We set up a table, share it with people, and talk about our cultures."
Lionel Messi scored twice to earn Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol and send them 13 points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Lionel Messi returned from international suspension to score the winner in Argentina's 1-0 victory over Brazil in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Spain's decision to sack coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup will have little impact on the quality of the 2010 world champions' game, Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said on Thursday.
Real Sociedad midfielder Carlos Vela was called up by Mexico for November tour friendlies on Tuesday after turning his back on his country since March 2011.
Brazilian striker Ronaldo may retire from soccer following his latest serious knee injury, the 32-year-old said on Wednesday. Ronaldo ruptured a tendon in his left knee playing for AC Milan in February and made his return earlier this week when he appeared for just 22 minutes in a charity match in Morocco.
The neighbourly rivalry and the intriguing prospect of a duel between Real Madrid team mates Sergio Ramos of Spain and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo meant the Group B match was always going to be one of the highlights of the opening round.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Sweden's footballer of the year for the ninth time and although his eighth victory in a row came as no shock, his acceptance speech showing a more sensitive side surprised many.
Prakash Bhandari salutes the spirit of Abebe Bikila who twice won the Olympic Marathon in record times.
Real Madrid have won a small victory in their dispute with FIFA over the illegal signing of under-age foreigners after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) temporarily lifted its ban on appeal.
The Indian men and women's teams made winning starts to their campaign in the 43rd Chess Olympiad, in Batumi, Georgia, on Tuesday.
Three South American sides have accounted for almost half of all World Cup titles but their worst overall performance since 2002 has raised the question: Is South American football on the wane?
Fourth seed Carlos Moya continued his impressive run at the Swedish Open on Friday by easily dispatching local hope Robin Soderling 6-2 6-4 in the quarter-finals.
The Tokyo 2020 Olympics torch lighting ceremony in ancient Olympia will be the first in more 35 years to be held without spectators after organisers introduced tighter measures to protect against the coronavirus. Here is a list of international sports events hit by the coronavirus outbreak.
The Indo-Czech pair beat Morocco's Younes El Aynaoui and Sultan Khalfan of the host country.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Tunisia fear facing England's 'most dangerous weapon'" - attacking midfielder Dele Alli - but the North Africans will be pushing for an upset in their opening game on Monday, said coach Nabil Maaloul.
The Indo-US pair beat the French-Venezuelan combination of Camille Pin and Milagros Sequera for a place in the final of the US $145,000 Tier IV Morocco Open.
Roger Federer began the defence of his Dubai Open title with a 7-6, 6-3 win over compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka
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