FIFA has put to bed the thorny subject of World Cup hosting for the foreseeable future and will now have time to ponder its own path forwards after a tumultuous couple of months.
Hinata Miyazawa scored her fifth goal of the tournament as Japan beat Norway 3-1 in a clash of former champions on Saturday to reach the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup.
All 23 of the World cup-winning squad including Jenni Hermoso, as well as 32 other squad members, said they would not play internationals while Luis Rubiales remains head of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday backed calls for a public holiday if its team win the Women's World Cup.
Police raided the Frankfurt headquarters of Germany's football association (DFB) on Tuesday and searched the homes of officials to investigate suspected tax evasion linked to the awarding of the 2006 World Cup, prosecutors said.
A tongue-in-cheek "Brazilian 2014 Calendar" making the rounds on Facebook jokes that, because of the soccer World Cup, an unusually late Carnival, other holidays and a presidential election, real work will only be possible during three months next year.
Sepp Blatter, the former president of world soccer's governing body FIFA, said on Tuesday he was in Moscow 'to enjoy the World Cup'.
Japan survived early pressure from Zico's Iraq to beat them 1-0 at home on Tuesday, taking a significant step towards qualifying for the 2014 soccer World Cup in Brazil.
Soccer fans at the almost alcohol-free World Cup are ready to pay high prices for a beer, a few have tried to smuggle booze into stadiums but most simply accept that drinking is off limits at the first tournament in a Muslim country.
Germany's players, however, must not only process their first ever loss to Japan, they are also under fire back home for their handling of a diversity armband affair
Awarding the 2022 soccer World Cup to Qatar was a 'mistake' and the tournament will probably have to be held in the winter because of the heat, FIFA president Sepp Blatter has said.
France's national soccer team returned from Qatar to the acclaim of huge crowds in Paris on Monday, after their heroic defeat to Argentina in the World Cup final.
France will be bidding to become the first team since Brazil in 1962 to retain the title.
The football extravaganza has not even begun but the crazy fans are already making heads turn.
Sarina Bolden headed the winner as the Philippines spoiled co-hosts New Zealand's party
Thousands of excited township dwellers gathered in Cape Town's sprawling Khayelitsha on Friday to catch a glimpse of soccer's World Cup trophy at the start of its South Africa tour. Construction workers, civil servants and the unemployed thronged to be photographed with the gold trophy in the city's largest black township before the world's most-watched sporting spectacle kicks offs on June 11.
The United States and Iran severed formal relations in 1980 after the Revolution and ties were hostile when their soccer teams clashed in the 1998 World Cup.
Satadru Dutta's rise was swift and ambitious. But that journey took a dramatic nosedive on Saturday.
Croatia beat Brazil in the quarter-finals, but for Dalic, Saturday's bronze medal game was the highlight of their tournament.
Croatia's road to Sunday's World Cup final, where they will play France for a chance to lift the trophy for the first time:
Maradona wore Argentina's No. 10 shirt in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final against England in Mexico.
Canada took a deep breath on Thursday and prepared for their moment in the Women's World Cup spotlight.
Midfielder Marco Verratti said North Macedonia's goal in added time was a "real nightmare".
Tehran's streets were filled with thousands of Iranians celebrating their men's national soccer team's qualification for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, defying threats by Islamic State to launch more extremist attacks in the country.
The football world gathered in the Qatari capital on Friday as the draw ceremony for the World Cup finals got under way with music and dance.
Malaysia have been issued with a formal warning and a raft of other sanctions from soccer's world governing body FIFA after their World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia last month was abandoned because of crowd trouble.
The city of Leizpig will hand out World Cup "first aid" packages including condoms and tissues to soccer fans.
Frankfurt's state prosecutor will look into bribery allegations concerning the 2006 soccer World Cup after a magazine report suggested a slush fund had been used to buy votes for the German bid in 2000, an official said on Monday.
Wales' 33-year-old all-time top scorer came to the rescue, using all his drive and experience to win a penalty against a tiring US defence and then converting it brilliantly.
More than 2,500 Indians, including fans and journalists, are expected to travel to Brazil for perhaps the most anticipated sporting event on this year's calendar. Take a look at the top 10 places to visit during the quadrennial sporting extravaganza.
They all spoke of their disappointment at the decisions, given the historic moment of it being held in the Middle East.
France's progression to Sunday's World Cup final has included arguably the tournament's most boring and most exciting matches.
Police staffing is so stretched in several Russian cities as officers are deployed to bolster security at soccer World Cup venues that one union leader says criminals could benefit.
European football's governing body UEFA has urged FIFA to stop pushing its plan for a two-year World Cup and instead to engage in "genuine consultation" over reform of the international match calendar.
On Friday, Federation Football Australia FFA chief Frank Lowy rejected criticism of Australia's failed bid for the 2022 World Cup, saying the country ran a "clean campaign".
On World Cup game days, many Brazilians get time off work to pack into bars and restaurants or gather for home barbecues to watch the games, rooting for a national team seeking its sixth world champion title in Qatar.
Banned former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he feels the soccer World Cup underway in Moscow is a little bit like "my World Cup" because he has been so well received on his visit to Moscow.
The Women's Twenty20 World Cup gets underway when hosts and defending champions Australia meet India in Sydney on Friday and hopes are high that the seventh edition of the tournament will prove transformational for the game.
The U.S. Soccer team has provided a ready-made excuse letter for any U.S. fans who want to skip work on Thursday to watch the crucial World Cup match.
