Germany have four players and Argentina three in the 10-man FIFA shortlist for the adidas Golden Ball, which is awarded to the World Cup's most outstanding performer.
The 29-year-old Ozil announced his international retirement in July after Germany crashed out of the World Cup group stage in Russia. He said he had faced "racism and disrespect" because of his Turkish roots.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
Real Madrid's Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the best soccer player in the world for the second year running at FIFA's The Best awards gala on Monday.
Star footballers Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award, have been selected by their peers for the 2014 FIFPro World XI team.
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has signed a six-year deal to join Real Madrid from Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga club confirmed on Thursday.
Arsenal and Manchester City face monumental tasks when they visit European powerhouses Bayern Munich and Barcelona looking to overturn 2-0 deficits in the second legs of their Champions League last-16 ties.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
Manchester United have agreed a deal to sign Bayern Munich midfielder Toni Kroos and are set to make a stunning move for his team-mate Arjen Robben.
Images from the Champions League Round of 16, first round matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Belarussian side BATE Borisov caused one of the biggest shocks ever seen in the Champions League when they stunned last season's beaten finalists Bayern Munich 3-1 on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich left more than 50 million eurosworth of new signings on the bench, yet still managed to destroy shoddy VfB Stuttgart 6-1 in an embarrassingly one-sided Bundesliga contest on Sunday.
Flawless Bayern Munich struck twice in three minutes to beat Schalke 04 2-0 on Saturday and stay top of the Bundesliga with four wins from four as rivals Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 at Hamburg SV to end a 31-match unbeaten run.
Bayern Munich continued their astonishing scoring run by demolishing Hertha Berlin 6-0 away on Saturday with Arjen Robben scoring a hat-trick as the Bavarians took their tally to 20 goals in three matches.
Bayern Munich needed a stoppage-time winner from Bastian Schweinsteiger to beat VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 and successfully kick off their Bundesliga title defence on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ronaldo, who won the award last year, topped the scoring charts with 15 goals in the competition as Real Madrid won a third consecutive European crown.
Ten-man Bayern Munich opened a six-point advantage at the top of the Bundesliga on Friday, a 3-0 win over Cologne ensuring they will go into the winter break as leaders.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
Bayer Leverkusen needed a second-half goal from defender Manuel Friedrich to earn a 1-1 draw with visitors Borussia Dortmund on Friday and move a point clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will resume their perennial battle to be crowned the world's best footballer after they headed the shortlist of 30 players for the 2016 Ballon d'Or announced on Monday.
Bayer Leverkusen struck three times in a decisive 15-minute spell to set up a 4-2 win over Mainz and move back to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
German players have no interest in thinking about past losing battles against Italy as they prepare to face them in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals on Saturday, with midfielder Toni Kroos sounding confident they will finally emerge victorious. The Germans have lost all knockout tournament matches against Italy stretching back to 1970 but playmaker Kroos was in no mood to discuss them.
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.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has not recovered sufficiently from a knee injury and has been left out of the squad for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Juventus, the holders said on Monday.
A late Leon Goretzka goal salvaged a 2-2 draw for Germany against Hungary on Wednesday night, in a whip-saw contest that sets the Germans up for a June 29 Round of 16 match against England at Wembley.
Germany are not used to being outsiders in major tournaments but that may not necessarily be a bad thing when the three-time European champions kick off their Euro 2020 campaign.
Substitute Toni Kroos hit a last-gasp winner as four-times European champions Bayern Munich came from behind to win 3-2 at Red Star Belgrade in the UEFA Cup.
Real Madrid moved back to the top of La Liga as Vinicius Junior scored both goals in a 2-1 victory at Elche on Saturday.
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
Real also have an outstanding defence, conceding only 25 times last year, and are well covered in every position.
The Frenchman nodded home an Isco cross after 55 minutes against a well-organised Granada side that attacked with pace.
'A minor setback is not a bad thing to bring the team closer together'
Sunday's World Cup defeat by Mexico should not really be seen as a surprise, defender Mats Hummels
Neuer made the squad despite playing in just one official game, a friendly against Austria on Friday, since breaking a bone in his foot in September but talented 22-year-old Sane was the biggest name to miss out.
Heavyweight trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent starts to the Premier League season this weekend.
Subdued atmosphere at the Nou Camp after the deadly attacks in the Catalan capital and the town of Cambrils.
Winger Marco Reus was left out of World Cup winners Germany's final Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday over injury concerns, coach Joachim Loew said.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Zinedine Zidane's side joined Atletico Madrid on 66 points and moved top of the table
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