Fans were hoping for Wales to turn up at the World Cup in high spirits after an agonising 64-year wait but the team stumbled at the first hurdle as the ageing "Golden Generation" of Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey failed to deliver.

The United States triumphed on the pitch over longtime political adversary Iran on Tuesday in a World Cup match overshadowed by protests raging in Iran and laced with decades of tension between the two countries.

Christian Pulisic was hailed by his teammates on Tuesday after his first-half strike sent the United States through to the World Cup knockout rounds, with the effort landing him in hospital with an abdominal injury.

Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand admitted on Tuesday that “emotions are very, very high” for their must-win World Cup clash against a dogged Australia.

France will look to keep their World Cup momentum going when they face Tunisia even though they have qualified for the knockout stages, and coach Didier Deschamps will likely make changes for the game on Wednesday.

Wales captain Gareth Bale vowed to keep playing for the national team amid doubts over his future after they were knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage with a 3-0 defeat by England in Tuesday's so-called "Battle of Britain".

Argentina, Mexico and Poland may all have been fancied to progress from Group C at the World Cup ahead of Saudi Arabia, but after their stunning win over the Argentines, the Saudis are firmly in the mix ahead of their Wednesday game against Mexico.

Iranians had been hoping for a repeat of their 1998 World Cup victory over the United States but their 1-0 defeat in Qatar on Tuesday plunged Tehran into disappointed silence as they exited the tournament.

Two of the most intimidating strikers in world football, Argentina’s 35-year-old Lionel Messi and Poland’s 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski, line up against each other on Wednesday with a last 16 place at stake in the World Cup.

"You are not supposed to be here! Your jersey is in the wrong place, wrong crowd, not good at all," almost all of them had bombarded me with such remarks at the 974 Stadium. 

Two of the most intimidating forwards in world football, Argentina's 35-year-old Lionel Messi and Poland's 34-year-old Robert Lewandowski, line up against each other on Wednesday with a last 16 place at stake in the World Cup.

Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski head into Wednesday's showdown between Argentina and Poland with the futures of what could be their final World Cup adventures hanging in the balance.

Brazil might be fretting about the state of Neymar's ankle, but if a successful World Cup campaign is built on a solid defence then the foundations are there for Tite's side to win the title in Qatar.

Marcus Rashford is a player transformed for England, manager Gareth Southgate said after the forward's double strike against Wales on Tuesday propelled England into World Cup last 16.

Christian Pulisic could not even celebrate scoring against Iran after he injured himself as the United States beat Iran 1-0 on Tuesday in an entertaining Group B decider to storm into the last 16 of the World Cup.

Marcus Rashford's second-half double propelled England to a 3-0 win over neighbours Wales on Tuesday that sent them into the World Cup last 16 as Group B winners and ended Welsh hopes of reaching the knockout stage.

Australia’s summer of cricket starts in earnest on Wednesday as the top-ranked Test side begin a two-match series against West Indies, albeit amid little fanfare after three months of continual white-ball matches across the country.

For tens of thousands of World Cup fans, home base in Qatar is a concrete complex on the edge of the desert, next to a slaughterhouse and a set of high-voltage electrical wires.

When the book is closed on the current generation of footballers, no individual player will have generated greater debate than Neymar. Very few who have a modicum of understanding about football would dispute his talent. Yet, in spite of scoring over a hundred goals for three separate clubs and being two goals shy of becoming Brazil’s all-time leading scorer, many feel that he doesn’t always apply himself fully to the sport.

Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes has long played second fiddle to team mate Cristiano Ronaldo but on Monday he stepped out of the superstar’s shadow by scoring two goals to steer his team past Uruguay and into the World Cup Round of 16.