African footballers based at European clubs, especially those travelling back to the continent from international duty, began on Friday to feel the backlash from fears over the Ebola virus outbreak.

US Open champion Martin Kaymer sank an eight-foot birdie putt at the first extra hole to beat Bubba Watson in the four-man PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the La Liga season to a phenomenal 13 goals in six appearances with his third treble of the campaign as Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.

Coritiba forward Joel Tagueu's goal celebration went spectacularly wrong when he jumped over an advertising hoarding and disappeared into a hole during a Brazilian championship match.

We bring you a fresh collection of offbeat, quirky stories from around the world.

Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.

Manchester United's new winger Angel Di Maria will not change the course of their troubled season straight away following his British record transfer from Real Madrid, manager Louis van Gaal said on Tuesday.

Former Barcelona and Chelsea veteran Samuel Eto'o may be heading to Anfield.

The medal table of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Cameroon are to investigate claims that seven of their players were involved in match-fixing at the World Cup, the country's football federation FECAFOOT said on Monday.

Here are some of those players who have seized the opportunity in Brazil to put themselves firmly on the radar as transfer targets in the weeks and months ahead.

Veteran Mexico midfielder Carlos Salcido will replace the suspended Jose Juan Vasquez in Sunday's World Cup second-round match against the Netherlands, coach Miguel Herrera said on Saturday.

Now facing Chile in the first game of the tournament's knockout round, Brazil will be encouraged by recent history. They easily knocked out Chile at the same stage in the last two World Cups "La Roja" (The Red) featured in, 1998 and 2010.

How the 32 teams are placed in the league stage of the 2014 Football World Cup.

Argentina's Lionel Messi continued his World Cup dual with Neymar by scoring twice in a 3-2 win over Nigeria while Switzerland's Xherdan Shaqiri got in on the act with a magnificent hat-trick in a 3-0 win over Honduras on Wednesday.

Neymar's two-goal performance against Cameroon on Monday made it hard to believe that barely one year ago there were serious doubts as to whether he was mature enough to lead Brazil's challenge for a sixth World Cup.

FIFA TV, which provides live World Cup images for the global television audience, displayed the wrong graphic which indicated Brazil's third goal in their 4-1 win over Cameroon was offside, it said on Tuesday.

Brazil's poster-boy striker Neymar flicked and tricked and along came the goals for Brazil.

Brazil's poster-boy striker Neymar fulfilled a nation's expectations to score twice in a 4-1 destruction of Cameroon on Monday while the Netherlands again showed their potential to win the World Cup with a third straight win.

Photos of the World Cup match between Cameroon and Brazil being played in Brasilia

Javier Hernandez came off the bench to help Mexico reach the last 16 of the World Cup as their watertight defense and swift counter attacks gave them a 3-1 win against Croatia on Monday to emerge from Group A as runners-up behind Brazil.

Red-hot striker Neymar helped fire Brazil into a World Cup second-round meeting with Chile when he scored twice in the first half as the hosts survived an early scare against already-eliminated Cameroon to win 4-1 and top Group A on Monday.

Brazil striker Neymar scored the 100th goal of the 2014 World Cup when he netted his side's first goal in their final Group A game against Cameroon on Monday.

The permutations, combinations and number crunching has begun. While some teams are hanging on to outside chances to advance others have gone through to the last 16 without a fuss. With the final round of games set to start in the World Cup groups, there is plenty to play for and a plethora of permutations for many of the 32 teams competing for glory in Brazil. Here are the main possibilities based on the latest standings...

Croatia coach Niko Kovac knows his side face an uphill task against Miguel Herrera's side in Recife in the wake of Mexico's confidence-boosting draw with Brazil.

Ecuador have been blessed with the form of striker Enner Valencia since he took on the goal-scoring mantle from the late Christian Benitez last year, coach Reinaldo Rueda said on Sunday.

Hosts Brazil will look to clinch their berth in the last 16 of the World Cup as they host already-eliminated Cameroon in their final Group A match at the National Stadium in Brasilia.

Cameroon went down fighting - off the ball and amongst themselves - as they exited the World Cup on Wednesday with Alex Song adding a red card to the ill-disciplined African nation's long list in a thumping 4-0 defeat by Croatia.

Croatia gave themselves a fighting chance of reaching the World Cup knock-out phase when they thrashed a toothless Cameroon 4-0 on Wednesday.

Midfielder Luka Modric and available-again striker Mario Mandzukic will spearhead Croatia's effort to keep alive their hopes of reaching the World Cup last 16 when they face Cameroon on Wednesday, coach Niko Kovac said.

Goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa made two outstanding saves to deny Neymar as battling Mexico held Brazil to a 0-0 draw in their World Cup Group A match on Tuesday, ending the hosts' 10-game winning streak in the process.

World Cup hosts Brazil are back in the spotlight with the chance to get one foot in the last 16 when they face Mexico in Fortaleza on Tuesday.

Mexico got just rewards for their attacking intent when Oribe Peralta's 61st minute strike gave them a 1-0 win over Cameroon in their World Cup opener at a rain-saturated Dunas arena on Friday.

Shrugging off two contentious off-side calls in the first half, a tenacious Mexico rode on Oribe Peralta's solitary second half strike to beat Cameroon 1-0 in a Group A match in Natal.

Mexico and Cameroon would be prime contenders for the title of most fortunate qualifiers for the World Cup but both will fancy their chances of progressing from Group A if they can win their opening encounter on Friday.

These stars won the hearts of fans and pundits with their form at the club level and during the World Cup qualifiers. Rediff.com gives you a quick glance of the players who could light up the tournament in Brazil.

Jennifer Lopez, who along with Pitbull and Brazil's Claudia Leitte has sung the official FIFA World Cup song, will not perform at the tournament's opening ceremony, FIFA said in a statement on Monday.

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.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally ended Lionel Messi's four-year reign as soccer's best player in 2013 and a starring role for Portugal at the World Cup finals would cap another stellar season for the astonishing forward.