Sports

The chief of the German Football Association (DFB) on Thursday rejected accusations of racism by Mesut Ozil, but admitted he should have done more to protect the midfielder against discriminatory abuse.

Arsenal boss Unai Emery said Mesut Ozil has nothing but respect from his team-mates after his decision to quit Germany's national team claiming racism sparked uproar in his home country.

German champions Bayern Munich hit three second-half goals as they beat French titlists Paris Saint-Germain, 3-1, on Saturday in a friendly in Klagenfurt, Austria.

A 25-member Indian U-20 football team will leave for Valencia, Spain on Saturday to participate in the COTIF International tournament scheduled to begin on July 29. The U-20 national team consists of boys who represented India in the FIFA U-17 World Cup...

Mario Mandzukic scored the winning goal deep in extra time as Croatia beat England 2-1 in an utterly gripping World Cup semi-final in Moscow on Wednesday to set up a final date with France.

Cristiano Ronaldo has opted to leave Spanish giants Real Madrid for Italian champions Juventus for the next -- and possibly final -- chapter of one of the greatest careers the game has seen.

Manager Gareth Southgate has largely stuck to his guns in terms of England's tactical approach at this tournament but the challenge of a World Cup semi-final against Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday poses him a tricky dilemma.

France will go into their World Cup semi-final against neighbours Belgium with a "hunger to win" and a desire to show their 1998 World Cup winner Thierry Henry that he picked the wrong side, forward Olivier Giroud said on Sunday.

Croatia beat hosts Russia 4-3 on penalties after the teams were level at 2-2 following extra time in their World Cup quarter-final on Saturday and will meet England in the semi-finals. Croatia defender Domagoj Vida put them 2-1 ahead from a Luka Modric co...

Denmark coach Age Hareide said his side's World Cup last-16 match against Croatia could boil down to who comes out on top in the midfield battle between Christian Eriksen and Luka Modric.

Luka Modric comes from a "different planet" and is the best Croatian player in history, according to his team-mate and Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic.

Japan and Poland were booed from the pitch in Volgograd after a farcical end to their final Group H match which saw the Blue Samurai qualify for the last 16 despite a 1-0 defeat.

Uruguay captain Diego Godin is the leader of the only defence yet to concede a goal in the World Cup and the Atletico Madrid defender's wealth of experience in facing Cristiano Ronaldo will come in handy in his side's last 16 clash with Portugal.

Radamel Falcao, Yerry Mina and Juan Cuadrado scored their maiden World Cup goals as stylish Colombia boosted their last 16 hopes with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Poland on Sunday.

World Cup hosts Russia are surfing a wave of national euphoria as they head into Monday's encounter against two-time champions Uruguay after delighting their fans with a scintillating start to the tournament.

Toni Kroos said his last-gasp winner to seal a dramatic 2-1 win for Germany over Sweden made amends for his earlier mistake and kept the holders' World Cup dreams alive.