But says pressure is on under-performing George Bailey
Real will play Japanese champions Kashima Antlers in Sunday's final in Yokohama, looking to become world champions for the second time in three years and earn a record 21st international title.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said overseas players would, from January 1 2019, become eligible to play for England after living in the country for three years rather than a previous seven.
Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar picked India as one of the top contenders to win the 50-overs World Cup to be played in Australia-New Zealand next year.
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.
Shaun Pollock says the ICC Cricket Committee is working towards giving bowlers "bit more leeway on wides" as the current rule is "very strict on them"
A rampant France smashed South Korea out of sight on Friday to open their women's soccer World Cup campaign in irrepressible style with a 4-0 victory that sent a warning to all other teams with a design on the trophy.
From the planet's costliest player Neymar to 'tiki-taka' kings Xavi and Iniesta to the ultimate sorcerer Ronaldinho, the FIFA Under-17 World Cup has been the cradle for many of world football's household names.
Real Madrid laboured to a 1-1 Club World Cup draw against a spirited Al-Hilal in searing heat on Wednesday
Iraq want their World Cup qualifier against Palestine next month moved from the Jordanian capital of Amman, having also knocked back a Palestinian proposal to stage the match just outside Jerusalem.
Will it be Naryanswami Srinivasan or Mustafa Kamal?
Russia will still stage the 2018 World Cup finals despite the continuing blight of racism in the country's soccer, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said on Sunday.
Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Thursday his country's doping scandal was payback from those unhappy Russia had won the rights to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Promising a corruption-free World Cup, the International Cricket Council on Monday said it has struck partnerships with law enforcement agencies in Australia and New Zealand in its endeavour to prevent bookies from associating with the players.
With his century in Rawalpindi on Monday, Rachin Ravindra became the first player to score a century on debut in both the ICC World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy.
FIFA's executive committee approved a package of planned reforms on Thursday aimed at cleaning up soccer's scandal-plagued world governing body, proposing integrity checks and term limits for senior officials and a new separation of policy and management positions.
The World Cup final between Russia and Croatia in Moscow was briefly interrupted when three intruders ran onto the pitch before they were hauled off by stewards.
The pacer, who was on the road to recovery from an ankle injury, has suffered a flare-up in his right knee, potentially delaying his return to competitive cricket.
India and Pakistan are scheduled to meet on June 16 at the Old Trafford in Manchester.
Germany will retain their World Cup title in Moscow to equal Brazil's record of five wins in the tournament, according to a Reuters poll of financial specialists more used to predicting market moves.
The report said there was no corruption in bidding process. It criticised England's bid for the 2018 tournament for "inappropriate requests" from former CONCACAF president Jack Warner, a FIFA powerbroker at the time, in what it said was "an apparent violation of bidding rules". However, the report said ethics investigator Michael Garcia intended to open formal investigations against individuals, who were not named.
Debutants Afghanistan will aim to continue their impressive rise in white-ball cricket, while South Africa will once again attempt to shed the 'chokers' tag when the two sides kick-off their Champions Trophy campaign in Karachi on Friday.
Yerry Mina's header secured Colombia a 1-0 win over Senegal in Samara on Thursday to clinch their safe passage to the last 16 as they finished top of Group H, while Senegal missed out to Japan on a fair play tiebreaker.
Croatia clinched a place in next year's World Cup finals on Sunday after holding Greece to a goalless draw at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium in Athens to complete a 4-1 aggregate victory in their playoff tie.
Dele Alli has promised to not fall foul of new FIFA regulations introduced for the World Cup which allow referees to punish players retrospectively for infringements during a match.
Ravichandran Ashwin, a keen observer of the game, believes the balance between bat and ball has been irrevocably skewed, questioning the very future of the 50-over format.
Australia are still pondering over their final selection for the game at Bristol.
Qatar's construction industry is rife with abuse of migrant workers who are "treated like cattle" and live in squalid accommodation exposed to overflowing sewage, Amnesty International said in a report on Sunday.
Embattled England captain Jos Buttler will spend the next few weeks analyzing whether he is "part of the problem or the solution" before taking a call on his future as the team's leader following the Champions Trophy ouster after a stunning defeat to Afghanistan.
A round-up of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
Germany's World Cup hopes suffered a severe blow on Saturday when midfielder Marco Reus was ruled out of the tournament due to an ankle injury sustained in their final warm-up game.
Experienced Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will miss the World Cup finals through injury, the Dutch football federation said on Wednesday.
Injured England off-spinner Graeme Swann revealed that he has battled for long with the back problem that put him out of the One-Day series against Australia, but insisted he will be fit for the upcoming World Cup in the subcontinent.
Arsenal's Calafiori secures 1-0 win at Manchester United; Crystal Palace hold Chelsea to 0-0 draw.
Asia's top Olympic official ruled out the possibility of the 2022 Winter Olympics being shifted from its traditional February time-slot to avoid clashing with the football World Cup, saying FIFA needs to sort out its own problems.
Lungi Ngidi ruled out for 'at least a week to 10 days'; Amla recovering well
Regular captain Pat Cummins, fellow quick Josh Hazlewood and all-rounder Mitch Marsh have been ruled out with injuries, while Marcus Stoinis withdrew himself after his shock decision to quit ODIs on Thursday.
Magnus Carlsen feels he's still better than the young generation of chess players, but the Norwegian great is ruling out a comeback at the classical world championship.
He also wants the ICC to consider changes to ensure 'doosra' stays in the sport
Kanwar, the uncapped 26-year-old left-arm spinner, had played for Gujarat Giants in this year's Women's Premier League (WPL), snaring 10 wickets from eight matches at an economy of 7.13.
