'Our defence system starts with our first four and that's why we have a solid defence. People look to Brazil and always try to find players who score or dribble but we have many other qualities. With our goalkeeper and defenders, we have a solid defence' 'It's pretty exciting for us and we are looking to do something great here'
With this win Italy have extended their unbeaten run to 29 games, the last 10 coming off wins where they have scored 31 goals and conceded none.
Defending champions Portugal and the last two World champions, France and Germany, were thrown together in what German coach Joachim Loew described as the group of death following a lop-sided and complicated Euro 2020 draw on Saturday.
Belgium and England have already met during the World Cup in a match both teams seemed reluctant to win and on Saturday they will face each other again in a game they both seem reluctant to play. The two sides must pick themselves up and dust themselves down after suffering the crushing disappointment of semi-final defeats to play for the modest prize of third place in a fixture often criticised as pointless.
Maharashtra quarter-miler Aishwarya Mishra is giving a torrid time to authorities as she has "disappeared" after winning a gold in the Federation Cup National Championships, last month.
France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ozil, who plays for English Premier League club Arsenal, was criticised for having his photograph taken with Turkey's authoritarian President Tayyip Erdogan in May.
Spain's late substitute Joselu struck two quick-fire goals on his debut to seal a 3-0 win over Norway
France will host Euro 2016 after finishing ahead of close rivals Turkey and rank outsiders Italy in a UEFA vote on Friday. France President Nicolas Sarkozy appeared at the ceremony to support his country's bid as the French, who have also hosted two World Cups, were awarded the tournament for the third time.
Returning to action after a break, double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu saw off Turkey's Neslihan Yigit in straight games to join compatriots Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma in the second round of the Denmark Open in Odense on Tuesday.
Chopra expressed his disappointment a day after Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president PT Usha came down heavily on the wrestlers for hitting the streets to resume their protests instead of approaching its athletes' commission to lodge their complaints against Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) chief Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said the government will not have any say on whether India should participate in next month's Davis Cup tie in Pakistan as the event is not a bilateral engagement.
France substitute Kylian Mbappe engineered two late goals to rescue a 2-2 draw against Iceland and spare the blushes of the world champions in their friendly.
As the curtains fall on another year, Rediff.com brings you all the action from the sports field that defined 2019.
When Netherlands striker Robin van Persie put away a spectacular diving header against world champions Spain on a balmy afternoon at last year's World Cup it set them on the way to a 5-1 win and the promise of glory.
Defender Thiago Silva has criticised Brazil coach Dunga and star player Neymar after claiming neither of them told him he was no longer Brazil captain.
Aseem Chhabra rates the movies he's watched in 2023, and tells you where you can watch them!
Now only Inter stand in the way of a treble that would match Manchester United's still unique feat of 1999.
Ozil's agent shuns Bayern president's critical remarks
Portugal rested Cristiano Ronaldo and still overcame new-look Italy 1-0 in their opening Nations League match on Monday, giving visiting coach Roberto Mancini plenty to think about. Forward Andre Silva scored three minutes after halftime in the League A Group 3 game to give the Portuguese their first win over Italy in a competitive match since 1957.
World champions Germany are to meet Ukraine, Poland and Northern Ireland in Group C.
Grappler Sandeep Tulsi Yadav created history by winning India's first-ever medal in the Greco-Roman category of the Senior World Wrestling Championships after beating Serbia's Aleksandar Maksimovic in the 66kg division in Budapest on Sunday.
Turkey lined up a semi-final with holders France after knocking the world champions out.
Images from football friendlies played on Wednesday.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Danny Blind was named the new coach of the Netherlands, replacing Guus Hiddink who resigned this week after a run of poor results.
Former Brazil international Zico has expressed a desire to run for president of FIFA.
Ronaldo threw off the captain's armband and headed for the tunnel when his effort was cleared by Serbia defender Stefan Mitrovic after it had crossed the line
Germany's federal cartel office on Tuesday launched an investigation into the German football association's (DFB) sale of tickets for the national team's matches at Euro 2016.
Here we bring you all the sporting action from last week in this stunning photo feature.
Indian Grandmasters Vidit Gujarathi and Sahaj Grover maintained a clean slate, defeating Tomas Laurusas of Lithuania and Vyacheslav Lozhnikov of Kazakhstan respectively in the second round of the World Junior Chess Championship in Kocaeli, Turkey.
Spain and Portugal played out an entertaining 0-0 draw on Friday as both sides prepared for this month's European Championship.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Former World No 3 Paul Casey was among a trio of players sharing the lead and Tiger Woods trailed six shots off the pace when darkness fell in the rain-hit Turkish Airlines Open first round on Thursday.
German soccer star Mesut Ozil said on Sunday he would no longer play for the national team because he faced 'racism and disrespect' because of his Turkish roots.
The unheralded Ramkumar, ranked 222 in the world, brushed aside the Austrian's challenge 6-3, 6-2 in only 59 minutes to make it to the last eight of the $439,000 prize-money tournament.
Shakhtar Donetsk have sold their all-time leading scorer Luiz Adriano to AC Milan for eight million euros (6 million pounds), the Ukrainian club announced.
Croatia's elated coach Zlatko Dalic lauded his captain Luka Modric who missed a penalty in extra time but then scored another in a shootout victory over Denmark on Sunday that put them in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov was in bullish mood ahead of their final Group A showdown with Uruguay on Monday, dismissing suggestions his men under pressure because of their status as World Cup hosts.
