Despite an abundance of individual talent, Argentina have looked anything but impressive during Sampaoli's year in charge and their 1-1 draw against the World Cup debutants, including a missed Lionel Messi penalty, was another frustrating afternoon.
A round-up of Wednesday's night's UEFA Chmpions League matches.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said there would be "consequences", including potentially for himself, after the holders' shock elimination from the World Cup on Wednesday, but that he needed time to reflect.
Data and measurement company Nielsen Sports which ranked 30 countries according to the percentage of the population who described themselves as interested in football, showed that UAE tops list of soccer crazy nations.
The two lowest-ranked teams will kick off the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14.
Indian hockey eves eked out a hard-fought 2-1 win over lower-ranked Chile in a play-off match to avoid the wooden-spoon and finish seventh in the FIH World League Round 3, in Rotterdam on Saturday.
Readers from acrros the globe share their pics from the Ganeshotsav.
Barcelona's last Champions League triumph came in 2015, and since then they have failed to get beyond the quarter-finals while Real Madrid have monopolised the trophy.
Barcelona's last Champions League triumph came in 2015, and since then they have failed to get beyond the quarter-finals while Real Madrid have monopolised the trophy.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Brazil were booed by their own fans after stumbling to a 2-2 draw with Chile in their first friendly at a 2014 World Cup stadium on Wednesday.
Uruguay forward Luis Suarez is being investigated by FIFA for allegedly punching Chile defender Gonzalo Jara during a South American World Cup qualifier last month.
These 22 bizarre photos are perfect examples of the weird and sometimes hilarious world we live in.
Images from the third day at the US Open, the final Grand Slam tournament of the year, in New York, on Wednesday:
Chile beat Ecuador 2-1 in their closing South American qualifier in Santiago on Tuesday as both went through automatically to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
The injury to the Chile forward, who was left out of the squad for Tuesday's Champions League victory over Young Boys, "will require further investigation to confirm its severity", the club added.
The 33-year-old Real Madrid forward's individual brilliance has glossed over Portugal's dour performances in their first two matches and Fernando Santos's side have mostly appeared like a one-man team.
Messi memes quickly sprung up on the internet.
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Goals by substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay gave the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over Chile on Monday that put them top of World Cup Group B and likely to avoid a second-round meeting with Brazil.
Argentine referee Nestor Pitana will take charge of Thursday's opening World Cup match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia in Moscow, FIFA said on Tuesday.
'Next season will be better for him, but he is learning how to play with us and we are learning how to get the best out of him'
Although the first woman to hold the position of chief economist at IMF, it would be wrong to see her appointment through the lens of gender
A stoppage-time goal from Miranda gave Brazil a 1-0 win over South American rivals Argentina in a foul-strewn friendly, while Netherlands secured a 1-1 draw at neighbours Belgium.
New Manchester United signing Alexis Sanchez can act as a catalyst in the development of fellow forward Marcus Rashford, manager Jose Mourinho said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
Why keep it boring when you can ring in the New Year in style?
List of French Open men's singles champions:
Talented photographers from across the world have been named as winners of diverse open categories at the Sony World Photography Awards -- and the champions were judged on just a single image. Faced with hundreds of thousands of entries, the judges have chosen a winner for each of ten categories that include architecture, culture and landscape. Also announced were the winners of the National Awards. Chosen from the same pool of images as the open competition, the National Award recognises the best entrant from each of 62 countries.
Get ready to pack your bags!
Having started the year in the 129th position, the Sunil Chhetri-led team end the year at 105th spot in the FIFA rankings
Amit Masurkar's black comedy didn't make it to the next round.
The 'wounds' of 2014 will probably never heal, concedes Lionel Messi but the Argentine superstar is hopeful that 2018 will bring with it the World Cup that football 'owes' him.
A summary of Tuesday's play at the French Open.
Satyarup Siddhanta is the youngest mountaineer in the world to climb both the Seven Summits and the Seven Volcanic Summits.
Argentina's Lionel Messi is used to being hacked down by desperate defenders but his statue in Buenos Aires has suffered even rougher treatment for the second time this year.
A new study examines the the link between asthma and infertility.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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