Samama Rahman

France will take on Argentina in the opening round of 16 clash today well aware of their own shortcomings, but also with the assurance that they have all the tools in their arsenal that they need to see off their South American opponents.

The group stages of the World Cup are finally done with and while teams such as England, Spain and France will now be turning their attention to adding a second star and denying Uruguay or Argentina a third or even Brazil their record sixth, there will be a few that will quietly be hoping to add a maiden World Cup trophy to their cabinet.

The group stages of the World Cup are finally done with and while teams such as England, Spain and France will now be turning their attention to adding a second star and denying Uruguay or Argentina a third or even Brazil their record sixth, there will be a few that will quietly be hoping to add a maiden World Cup trophy to their cabinet.

Eyes all over the globe are glued to television sets and online streams with the World Cup in full swing, but for those ardent fans who follow their club teams round the season year after year, there is a special meaning to every match and performance in Russia.

A football marathon in Russia over the past 10 days has given fans everything that they could have desired, from late winners and fantastical upsets to virtuoso solo performances and heartbreaks.

Captain Eden Hazard's admission that Belgium 'want to reach the final' of the 2018 World Cup coupled with dominant performances that have yielded nine goals over two games has seemed to strengthen opinion that perennial dark horses Belgium could finally step up and join the big boys at this World Cup.

As Messi walked off the pitch at half time, he wiped an undeserved bead of sweat from his forehead -- undeserved because he had less touches (20) than Argentina goalkeeper William Caballero (22) up to that point.

Brazil fans will be encouraged by today's result in the Germany-Mexico match, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Mexicans. Not only can Brazil fans celebrate the loss for the team that so cruelly and ruthlessly sent them crashing out of their home World Cup with an unforgettable 7-1 annihilation, they can also salivate at the prospect of an early revenge and focus on mission hexa.

After Russia's annihilation of Saudi Arabia in Moscow on the opening day of the World Cup, the tournament well and truly hit top gear on the second day when a sublime hattrick from Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo ensured a 3-3 draw against Spain in a thrilling encounter.

Over the next month, Russia will serve up a football stroganoff spiced with enthralling matches, a dash of the world's finest players and the biggest prize in the sporting world -- the FIFA World Cup.

After Manchester United suffered a humiliating 2-1 defeat at home to Sevilla in their Champions League round-of-16 second leg, a match they had gone into with a 0-0 result in the away leg, manager Jose Mourinho's press conference features his best form of defence -- deflection.

Why Spend: Having fallen behind Real Madrid, whose quintuple last year was punctuated by the Champions League and

Having been born and brought up in Lalmatia, the community there has been one that I grew to love over the past 24 years.

In Wednesday night's marquee Champions League encounter between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, filled to the brim with

Paris Saint-Germain kept their perfect streak in the French League intact as two own goals saw them notch their sixth win from as

When Paris Saint-Germain paid 222 million euros to lure Neymar away from Barcelona, it shook the footballing world and gave voice to many -- be they former footballers, pundits or even club officials -- who admonished the 'crazy market' with renewed vigour.

The Spanish La Liga began last night, but the race for the title will only commence on Sunday. Although Atletico

As Arsenal's usher in the new Premier League season against Leicester City at the Emirates today, there remain numerous questions

Paris Saint-Germain have perhaps escaped UEFA sanctions over their 222-million-euro acquisition of Brazilian superstar Neymar, but

The past week was a busy one in the world of sports with the start of the Euro 2016, continuation of the Copa America Centenario and records set in local hockey.