Images from the Under-19 World Cup final between India and Bangladesh, at Potchefstroom, on Sunday
Defending champion Germany suffered a shocking defeat, while Brazil, Spain and Argentina -- the other pre-tournament favourites -- managed just draws in their opening round matches.
India made a shock exit from the FIH Men's World Cup after losing to New Zealand in sudden death in their must-win crossover match.
The United States closed in on their third world title by beating perennial rivals Norway 1-0 in the quarter-finals.
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
Moscow erupted in street celebrations on Sunday as the World Cup hosts booked a place in the quarter-finals, defeating Spain on penalties at Russia's flagship stadium.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz clash in the Australian Open final with history on the line as Djokovic chases a record 25th Slam and Alcaraz eyes a career Grand Slam.
From the debate-arousing introduction of VAR to maximum number of Penalties to the superb Ronaldo, here are the A to Z of the ongoing 2018 World Cup
A brisk start marked Turn 1 as the Indian attackers took charge of the proceedings. Three batches in the Nepal women were out by simple touches on 7 occasions, putting 14 points to India's kitty.
A European nation is set to win the World Cup for the fourth time in a row this Sunday and in doing so confirm an unprecedented dominance for the Old World over their once mighty rivals in South America.
India's top archer Deepika Kumari came tantalisingly close to winning the World Cup final before she went down to Olympic double gold medallist Bo Bae Ki to settle for a silver in the recurve women's individual event at Hibiya Park in Tokyo on Sunday.
Reigning champions Bangladesh bounce back against Canada.
The Aston Villa 'keeper saved three penalties in the 2021 Copa America semi-final and Argentina went on to lift the trophy. Now he's stopped two more in a World Cup quarter-final and this could just be a good omen for Messi!
After being sacked by England, Kevin Pietersen will appear at the World Cup after all, although he will swap his bat for a microphone after being signed up as a BBC radio pundit.
The first Women's Cricket World Cup was held in England in 1973, two years before the first men's world cup in 1975.
India will aim for their first podium finish in 48 years in the men's Hockey World Cup as they begin their campaign with a tricky match against Spain in Rourkela on Friday.
From Brian Lara to Virat Kohli, Ben Stokes to Steve Smith, the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup has never fallen short of showcasing cricket's brightest young stars. More than 30 years have passed since the world's top talents first announced themselves on the big stage, with the 1988 Youth Cricket World Cup a ground-breaking step in bringing ability to the fore.
Hosts Bangladesh defeated a valiant Nepal by six wickets after a tense run-chase to storm into the semi-finals of the ICC under-19 World Cup on Friday, giving the nation its maiden appearance in the last four of a world event.
The 2-2 draw in Kaliningrad was thrilling for neutrals but exposed huge vulnerabilities in the 2010 world champions, who had to come from behind twice after careless mistakes gifted two goals to already-eliminated Morocco.
Croatia made heavy weather of beating Denmark in their worst performance of the tournament, but will seek to rediscover their fluency in a weekend showdown against Russia for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
Hosts Japan sailed into the Davis Cup quarter-finals for the first time with a 3-1 victory against injury-plagued Canada on Sunday.
Beaten and bored by "ordinary" Argentina, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots said he was less than impressed by a team that ended his side's World Cup hopes on Saturday.
At least one person died on Thursday when an unfinished overpass collapsed in World Cup host city Belo Horizonte, overshadowing the buildup to the first quarter-finals in which France face Germany and Brazil take on Colombia.
Brazil and Argentina have ousted Spain as the top picks for World Cup champions, according to a global field of 100 football fan economists polled by Reuters.
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his North Korean teammates as the national anthem echoed around Ellis Park, proud striker Jong Tae-se let the tears flow as it dawned on him his World Cup dreams had come true.
A promising start to their World Cup campaign will raise hopes of a quarter-final berth.
Aston Villa striker Marcus Rashford scored twice in a 3-0 defeat of second-tier Preston North End in their FA Cup quarter-final at Deepdale on Sunday to earn a Wembley semi-final against fellow Premier League team Crystal Palace.
Angel Di Maria has claimed his former club Real Madrid put pressure on Argentina not to play him in the World Cup final in another bitter chapter in his departure from the Spanish giants.
Holders India begin their Under-19 World Cup defence with a clash against Sri Lanka on January 19, at the Mangaung Oval, in Bloemfontein, South Africa.
Paul, the Octopus, is not the only creature predicting World Cup results. A parakeet, a long tailed parrot, named 'Mani' has also been forecasting match results.
Besides the 90,000 plus fans lending their noisy support, most of the 22 players involved in the final of the World Cup 2015 will have support in the shape of their families and spouses.
France is slowly but gaining momentum when it mattered most.
Sri Lanka and South Africa progressed to the quarter-finals of the ICC Under 19 World Cup after recording contrasting victories in Dubai.
Lack of strategic thinking behind Pakistan's loss in World Cup.
Join Prem Panicker on the Rediff World Cup Chat on Monday, March 23, 2015, at 12 noon IST to discuss the final stages of cricket's finest championship.
Colombia have scored more goals than Argentina and notched as many as the highly-rated Brazilians
When the defending champion India take on Pakistan in their potentially high-octane campaign opener of the ICC Cricket World Cup on February 15 at the Adelaide Oval, the awe-inspiring Sachin Tendulkar would be conspicuously absent for the first time in a match between the two arch-rivals in the showpiece event.
Brazil's Kaka has bowed out of the World Cup for the second time in a row with the frustration of failing to produce his best on the biggest stage.
A look at some of India's best victories over Pakistan in ICC tournaments.
