The 2-2 draw in Kaliningrad was thrilling for neutrals but exposed huge vulnerabilities in the 2010 world champions, who had to come from behind twice after careless mistakes gifted two goals to already-eliminated Morocco.
European champions Portugal were let off the hook by Morocco's wasteful finishing and another Cristiano Ronaldo moment as they notched up a fortuitous victory in the World Cup on Wednesday. Yet, the reactions of the respective coaches suggested a different result.
Diogo Jota and Joao Felix both scored their first international goals in the second half before Bruno Petkovic pulled one back and Andre Silva then added a fourth.
Real Madrid's decision to sell midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria left many scratching their heads and consecutive La Liga defeats as well as a reverse to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup set alarm bells ringing at the Bernabeu.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will return to action for Real Madrid's La Liga game with Villarreal on Wednesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
Stand-in defender Vlad Chiriches atoned for an early blunder by scoring his first Serie A goal to help Napoli come from behind and beat Chievo 3-1 in Serie A on Saturday, putting them level at the top with Juventus.
Andre Agassi and world number four Novak Djokovic need to work together for at least a month if the American's coaching is to have a long-term impact on the struggling Serb's game, three-times Wimbledon champion John McEnroe said.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Mbappe struck in the 74th minute to put PSG on 80 points from 29 games and on the brink of retaining the title with second-placed Lille, who beat Nantes 3-2 away earlier on Sunday, still 20 points behind having played a game more.
European champions Portugal came up against a superior version of themselves as they were knocked out of the World Cup by Uruguay on Saturday. Although Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will grab the headlines -- the former for his two brilliantly goals and the latter for what could well be his World Cup farewell -- Uruguay owed their 2-1 win to a superb all-round performance.
Coach Fernando Santos blamed a lack of pace and a failure to stay calm in the frantic final minutes for Portugal's inability to beat rank outsiders Iceland in their Euro 2016 opener on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo's agent has defended the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner after he was criticised for throwing a lavish 30th birthday party on Saturday hours after Real Madrid's 4-0 La Liga drubbing at Atletico.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
High drama ensued during the English Premier League matches on Wednesday as Spurs manager Jose Mourinho was booked while Brighton stunned Chelsea via Alireza Jahanbakhsh's superb equaliser to deny the Blues victory. Here is all the EPL action in IMAGES from Wednesday's matches.
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.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane shrugged off his first setback since taking over from the sacked Rafa Benitez after his new team could only manage a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in La Liga.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
The Portuguese forward, who also scored a treble in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu, and five goals across that tie, is revelling in the central striker's role he has adopted this season.
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
Spain defeated Australia 3-0 in their final World Cup Group B game on Monday, giving a modicum of respect to the defending champions' poor campaign.
'There is no advantage. I always prefer to play in front of supporters even away from home because that's what football is all about, but that's the situation we face'
Marcus Rashford's penalty and a deflected strike from Mason Mount helped England come from a goal down to overcome top-ranked Belgium 2-1 at Wembley on Sunday and climb above them in their UEFA Nations League group.
Gareth Bale made up for the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring twice to inspire Real Madrid to come from two goals down and win 3-2 at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. Real managed to edge to the top of the table despite Ronaldo missing his first league game of the season with a muscle strain although they also suffered another scare before their Champions League semi-final next week with a suspected injury to Karim Benzema. Real had found themselves two behind within 14 minutes as Adrian Embarba scored from close range in the seventh minute before Rayo's Venezuelan striker Miku pounced on more poor defending from the visitors. Bale started the revival, heading in from a 35th minute corner before Zinedine Zidane's side drew level six minutes after the break through substitute Lucas Vazquez. Welshman Bale then completed the comeback nine minutes from time, collecting a misplaced pass from a Rayo defender before powering the ball past goalkeeper Juan Carlos.
Chelsea surged to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home win over Stoke City thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard and Willian at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Real Madrid's Spanish record 22-match winning streak ended in a 2-1 La Liga defeat at Valencia on Sunday with Nicolas Otamendi heading in the second-half winner.
Shirt sponsor Zoopla has warned West Bromwich Albion it will cancel a 3 million deal with the club if Nicolas Anelka plays against Everton in the Premier League on Monday, British media reported.
Real Madrid will have their combative Spain centre back Sergio Ramos available for Saturday's "clasico" against Barcelona but Wales winger Gareth Bale is out, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Friday.
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to rekindle some of the magic they once served up under Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday when they face their old coach in the latest edition of Real Madrid's rivalry with Bayern Munich.
Portuguese coach Fernando Santos said his hardest task will be keeping his 'kids' grounded after they advanced to the semi-finals with a win over Poland on Thursday.
South Africa's friendly win over Spain last week will be considered a full international despite the world and European champions fielding more than the permitted number of substitutes, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Thursday.
There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice to earn Arsenal a 3-2 Premier League win over Everton on Sunday, extending the Gunners' unbeaten start to 2020 and moving them back into the battle for European places. The win lifts Mikel Arteta's Arsenal side up to ninth place in the league with 37 points, while Everton remain without a victory at the Gunners in 24 years and a point adrift in 11th.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane cursed his side's carelessness after the European champions threw away a two-goal lead against Legia Warsaw and needed a late equaliser from Mateo Kovacic to salvage a 3-3 draw on Wednesday.
The past week saw a lot of brilliance in sports. It started with Juventus and Barcelona lighting up the Champions League with their inspiring football and, later in the week, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg stoked the F1 circuit in Spain, capping a brilliant win to cut teammate Lewis Hamilton's lead to 20 points. Rediff.com has this, and many more memorable moments snapped right here.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane warned that it was still all to play for in their Champions League last-16 clash against Napoli after the holders strolled to a 3-1 win in the first leg on Wednesday.
James Rodriguez will return to Real Madrid's starting lineup for Sunday's La Liga game at home to Granada after being out for two months with a broken bone in his foot, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.
After teetering on the brink of first-round elimination and being involved in the most boring match of the tournament, there is now a real chance Portugal could muddle their way through to the Euro 2016 final. A kind draw has left Portugal with an eminently winnable quarter-final against Poland which would be followed by a semi-final against Wales, Hungary or Belgium.
With a fifth world player of the year award safely tucked away in the trophy cabinet, Lionel Messi can set his sights on one of the next milestones in his remarkable career: reaching 500 goals for club and country. The Barcelona and Argentina forward can add to his jaw-dropping tally of 479 in 609 official games -- 430 for Barca and 49 for his national team -- in Sunday's La Liga match at home to Athletic Bilbao. The 28-year-old from Rosario, who picked up the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, is looking close to his best following a two-month injury layoff late last year and netted a hat-trick when second-placed Barca crushed Granada 4-0 at the Nou Camp last weekend in their most recent outing in Spain's top flight.
