England booked their place in next year's World Cup finals as captain Harry Kane scored twice in a 5-0 romp away to Latvia on Tuesday to ensure they will win qualifying Group K.
Mauricio Pochettino's gameplan worked a treat in the United States' 4-1 win over Paraguay in their World Cup opener on Friday, the hosts showcasing an attacking fluidity and positional interplay that overwhelmed the South Americans.
A summary of Saturday's action in the FIFA World Cup 2026 UEFA Qualifiers.
The result was only their second two-goal defeat in a qualifier, the last being the infamous 5-1 home thrashing by England in 2001.
Indian shooting ace Elavenil Valarivan settled for the bronze medal after leading for a good part of the women's 10m air rifle final on the first competition day of the ISSF World Cup in Munich on Tuesday.
Pranati Nayak secured a bronze medal in the Vault Final at the FIG Artistic Gymnastics Apparatus World Cup in Antalya, Turkey.
Meanwhile, the recurve archers continued to disappoint.
India face Vietnam in their opening match of the AFC Women's Asian Cup, with concerns over India's lack of international game time.
World champion Aditi Swami also exited in the last-eight stage, losing 147-152 to Mexico's second-seeded Andrea Becerra.
India is set to host the Asia Cup archery tournament in Delhi in 2027, marking the return of major international archery events to the country after 22 years. Ahmedabad will host the Asian Para Archery Championships in September, and Kolkata will host the South Asian Archery Championships in 2026.
Italian football is experiencing a significant crisis following the failure of its clubs in European competitions and the national team's continued absence from the World Cup.
The trophy was unveiled during a colourful opening ceremony which was attended by Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and FIDE chief Arkady Dvorkovich.
Iran's men's national soccer team wore black armbands and held schoolbags as their anthem played ahead of a match in Turkey on Friday, in what a team official said was a protest over the killing of schoolgirls on the first day of the Iran war.
The AIFF defends its preparation for the AFC Women's Asian Cup despite India's group-stage exit, citing extensive overseas exposure and matches. An inquiry has been ordered into a kit controversy.
Pranati Nayak, who represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics, came up with a total score of 13.417 in the vault final to finish third, behind American duo of Jayla Hang (13.667) and Claire Pease (13.567).
The Indian men's and women's badminton teams face challenging draws in the upcoming Thomas and Uber Cups, with both teams grouped alongside defending champions China.
India's men's and women's badminton teams face a challenging draw alongside defending champions China in the 2026 Thomas and Uber Cup, to be held in Horsens, Denmark.
With two wins from two games, Spain top Group E on six points, while Turkey and Georgia follow with three apiece.
Sardar Azmoun, one of Iran's top football players, has been expelled from the national team for a perceived act of disloyalty to the government, Iranian media has reported.
The Indian trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Swami grabbed their third successive Archery World Cup gold medal, beating Turkey 232-226 in a lopsided compound women's team final at the stage two event in Yecheon (South Korea), on Saturday.
Sarabjot Singh opened India's account at the ISSF World Cup in Munich with a gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event.
Anna Muzychuk of Ukraine will replace Koneru Humpy in the Candidates Tournament in Cyprus after Humpy withdrew due to safety concerns related to the region's proximity to the West Asia conflict.
Sheetal shines, but recurve concerns linger in Indian Archery 2025
FIDE, the world chess governing body, has rejected calls to move the Candidates Tournament from Cyprus despite security concerns arising from regional conflicts. The tournament is scheduled to begin on March 28.
Barcelona defeated Atletico Madrid, extending their lead in La Liga after Real Madrid's loss to Mallorca. Key goals from Lewandowski and Rashford secured Barcelona's victory, while Muriqi's late goal sealed Mallorca's win against Real.
The women's compound team thus has been unbeatable this season, having won the World Cup Stage 1 and Stage 2 gold medals in Shanghai and Yecheon in April and May respectively.
Holders France got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to a disappointing start with a 1-1 draw at home to Ukraine
The Indian trio of Jyothi Surekha Vennam, Parneet Kaur and Aditi Swami ousted World No. 4 USA 233-229 in the semi-final.
Esha's effort came as India wrapped up engagements in the 10-Olympic events on schedule at the World Championships, with a historic haul of one gold, three silver and three bronze medals.
Two-time gold medallist Nikhat Zareen has put behind the disappointment of missing out on a third World Championships medal, and is now focussed on collecting maximum ranking points by winning the top prize in the upcoming World Boxing Cup Finals.
Top seed Arjun Erigaisi scored a convincing victory over compatriot R Praggnanandhaa in the first round of the Tata Steel Masters.
Nodirbek Abdusattorov of Uzbekistan clinched the Tata Steel Masters title with a black-piece victory against out-of-form Arjun Erigaisi while world chess champion D Gukesh emerged as the best Indian with a joint eighth finish as the tournament concluded Wijk Aan Zee on Monday.
Debutant Minakshi, who out-punched Paris Olympics bronze medallist Nazym Kyzaibay of Kazakhstan in the 48kg final, for gold at the Worlds said she had set her sights on the World Cup in India in November.
Nupur storms into final, Abhinash enters semis at World Boxing Cup
Tata Steel Masters: Gukesh slumps to another defeat against Giri
India stormed into the final of the men's recurve team event for the first time in nine years after registering three wins at the Archery World Cup Stage 1.
The United States continued their solid build-up to the World Cup with a 2-1 win over Turkey on Sunday, raising expectations of a good showing in Brazil.
Valencia, who was taken off for the last 15 minutes of Sunday's Group A game, has had a decade-long career in the Ecuador side, starting off as a winger but being converted to a striker in the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup.
Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva turned pantomime villain at the Australian Open on Friday after beating Turkey's qualifier Zeynep Sonmez in the third round.
World champion D Gukesh resigned on his 37th turn against Germany's Matthias Bluebaum at Tata Steel Masters Chess.
