Images from Tuesday's action in the English Premier League
India has a population of 1.3 billion but the nation's obsession with and success on the cricket pitch has left it a massive underachiever on the football field.
France will play Argentina, who are also looking to win the World Cup for the third time, in Sunday's final at the Lusail Stadium.
There was however still some drama. Croatia were awarded a penalty in the 16th minute when Andrej Kramaric's toe was clipped by Yannick Carrasco and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot.
Here is a quick guide to the eight games which get underway on Saturday.
A summary of Thursday's South American World Cup qualifiers.
Veteran striker Girelli, 33, replaced 16-year-old midfielder Giulia Dragoni in the 83rd minute and needed only four minutes to make an impact
Images from the FIFA World Cup third place playoff match between Croatia and Morocco on Saturday.
The South Koreans, meanwhile, secured their first win in Group B as Paulo Bento's side saw off Lebanon in Suwon.
It was, possibly, the biggest takeaway from France's victory. They can win when Mbappe does not shine or score, and his reaction to Giroud's goal proved Deschamps's point when he said he did not need to manage the Paris St Germain forward's ego.
Bayer Leverkusen won their first trophy in 31 years with five matches left in the season, snapping Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga.
A summary of Thursday's World Cup qualifiers.
Iran handed Cambodia a record-breaking 14-0 thrashing on an historic day in Tehran as goals flowed in World Cup qualifiers across Asia with Japan, South Korea and Australia securing comfortable wins on Thursday.
Carlos Queiroz's players will now fancy their chances after an impressive display
Lionel Messi made a rousing debut for Major League Soccer's Inter Miami as he scored a stoppage-time winner to beat Liga MX's Cruz Azul 2-1 on Friday in their Leagues Cup opener in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
A winless India must beat Bangladesh on Monday if they want to jump to third spot in Group E standings and keep themselves afloat for a direct berth in the Asian Cup third qualifying round.
India head coach Igor Stimac on Wednesday said his team has a "couple of players" with few injury issues but that will not stop them from going all out in an attempt to secure full points against Uzbekistan in the AFC Asian Cup in Doha on Thursday.
Not only the senior team but the young Blue Colts also emerged victorious in the SAFF Men's U-19 champions after hammering Pakistan in the final and clinching a vigorous 3-0 victory.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Group F match between Morocco and Croatia on Wednesday.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
Mirabai Chanu's show was below her personal best.
Brazil fought back from a goal down to score three times in the second half and record a 3-1 win over Venezuela that maintained their 100 percent record in qualifying matches for the 2022 World Cup.
Brazil required an untidy second half goal from Roberto Firmino to beat Venezuela 1-0 and extend their 100% record to three wins from three in a lacklustre World Cup qualifier in Sao Paulo on Friday.
Summary of World Cup qualifiers played across the world on Thursday
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifiers matches.
aka was excellent in the opening minutes and it was his cross that was headed into the net by Martinelli for the opener, but he went down injured shortly afterwards after a challenge from Forest's Renan Lodi. Saka tried to continue but came off after 27 minutes.
Indian football saw a big jump in the FIFA rankings on Thursday, rising 24 places to go up to 147 spot.
England will head to the World Cup on the back of a six-match winless sequence but with at least some pride and confidence restored after a thrilling 3-3 draw at home to Germany in the Nations League on Monday.
Images and summary of all the World Cup 2022 qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
It took Giroud, who owed his place in the starting lineup to Benzema's absence, 115 international appearances to score his 51 goals, while Henry needed 123 from 1997-2010.
Mbappe scores late penalty to secure PSG 2-1 win over Strasbourg
'We have played just two matches, and we have played well, that too against two powerful teams. It gives us that added motivation and confidence that in football, anything is possible'
Araujo to miss Uruguay friendlies due to thigh injury
Tite likes Tottenham striker Richarlison, saying "he only has eyes for the goal" while Gabriel Jesus, who failed to score in five appearances at the 2018 World Cup, appears to now be vying with the likes of Raphinha and Antony for a wide role in the Selecao.
Olympic and world champion Neeraj Chopra finished second at the Doha Diamond League meeting javelin throw event as his big final effort of 88.36m fell short by two centimetres of Jakub Vadlejch's winning effort in Doha on Friday.
Croatia's head coach Zlatko Dalic said as he prepares his side for Thursday's decisive Group F showdown.
Christian Pulisic has had a season to forget for Chelsea but in the blue shirt of his beloved United States he scored the goal that gave them their first win at the 2022 World Cup and a spot in the last-16.
A former employee of Qatar's 2022 World Cup bid has accused FIFA investigators of violating confidentiality promises made when she agreed to provide evidence of alleged corruption related to the bid.
Former France defender Mikael Silvestre, who played for Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC in the inaugural edition in 2014, feels that football is growing fast in India.
Earlier in the day, Bolivia beat Venezuela 3-1 at home and Uruguay and Paraguay drew 0-0 in Montevideo.
