Hosts Russia have exceeded expectations after advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals with a win on penalties over Spain but they will need more firepower if they are to give Croatia a run for their money on Saturday.
Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert made sure of that with a gripping doubles win that keeps France's hopes against Croatia alive in the last final to be staged in the event's traditional format.
After the match between Argentina and Iceland, an Argentine journalist hands over to Messi a red ribbon at a post-match press briefing.
The 29-year-old's composure on the ball, ability to pick a pass and tough tackling paid dividends at both ends of the pitch in the must-win game against Nigeria.
Already-qualified France played out an uninspiring goalless draw with Denmark in their final World Cup Group C match at Moscow's Luzhniki stadium on Tuesday, which was enough to ensure that both teams advance to the knockout stage.
"It's about playing to your strengths and trying to win."
Stones headed England in front in the eighth minute, losing his marker to angle home a Kieran Trippier corner before captain Kane made it 2-0 in the 22nd minute with his third goal of the tournament, an emphatically struck penalty after Jesse Lingard was pushed over in the box by Fidel Escobar.
Three South American sides have accounted for almost half of all World Cup titles but their worst overall performance since 2002 has raised the question: Is South American football on the wane?
Messi memes quickly sprung up on the internet.
Croatia were in dreamland on Thursday after advancing to the knockout phase of the World Cup for the first time in 20 years with a 3-0 rout of Argentina that left a subdued Lionel Messi and his team mates facing yet another flop.
With Argentina looking dysfunctional and under-performing throughout the qualifiers, Messi's dream of matching Maradona in Russia always looked a tall order.
Kane takes to world stage as England edge past Tunisia
A diving header from Mario Mandzukic took a deflection off the Nigerian midfielder and crept into the goal for a deserved lead as Croatia dominated the count of chances created in the first 45 minutes.
'Strengthen hospital capacity, look after patients who need care, primarily ICU care...' 'Train doctors, get PPE, get ventilators, have treatment protocols in place.'
Sheep eyeball juice, frog smoothies and fruit bat soup... Which one do you find yucky?
Uruguay will head to the World Cup on a winning note after beating Uzbekistan 3-0 in a chilly warmup in front of their own fans on Thursday.
Argentina have cancelled their final World Cup warmup match against Israel, striker Gonzalo Higuain said on Tuesday, as political pressure grew ahead of Saturday's scheduled fixture in Jerusalem.
Professional soccer leagues around Europe are gearing up for a return to action following the novel coronavirus stoppage, but some are more advanced than others.
Argentina will play at Jerusalem's Teddy Kollek Stadium on Saturday night in a World Cup warm-up match that has attracted huge interest among the Israeli fans, mainly because of Messi's planned participation. But the Palestinians are not happy that the match will be held in Jerusalem and Palestinian FA chief Jibril Rajoub wrote to Claudio Tapia, the head of the Argentinian FA, last week accusing Israel of using the match as a "political tool".
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.
Hosts Russia will kick off next year's World Cup finals versus Saudi Arabia in Moscow and defending champions Germany will start against Mexico after Friday's draw threw up some mouthwatering clashes.
Southampton took the lead at St Mary's in the 18th minute after Dusan Tadic finished off a fine team move but, just before the break, Everton levelled with a bolt from the blue as Iceland's Gylfi Sigurdsson thundered a strike from distance in off the crossbar, his first league goal for the club.
The low fares will come with a discernible sea-change in service quality and minus the luxury which comes as an essential part of any long-haul travel
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday
Manchester United battled back from two goals down to beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday as a 90th-minute winner from Alexis Sanchez completed a spirited comeback to ease the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho.
Here are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
India, which was listed 78th last year, has improved its ranking, figuring at 75th position with a visa-free score of 51
In the UK, he will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Sterling has scored six goals in five starts for City this season and has impressed with his overall contribution to Guardiola's prolific attack which has struck 29 goals in eight Premier League games.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The World Happiness Report published on Wednesday ranked 156 countries by happiness levels, based on factors such as life expectancy, social support and corruption.
A round-up of Saturday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
The best camera is the one you have in your pocket. Ever since the release of the first iPhone, the iPhone Photography Awards, now in its 11th year, highlights the best of the best. This year's winners were selected from thousands of entries and from photographers in 140 countries. The winning image, taken by Jashish Salam of Bangladesh and titled "Displaced," shows a crowded refugee camp with Rohingya children watching a film about sanitation. Other awards included prizes for photographer of the year and 18 other categories like Nature, Children and Travel. Check out the winning images.
A round-up of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
Uruguay, with 3.3 million people, are into a quarter-final with Argentina's conquerors France after four straight wins including a stunning 2-1 knockout victory over Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.
'I just want to say that we too are fighting, working hard, day in and day out for India'
Stanislav Cherchesov is getting the big graffiti treatment in Russia after coaching the home team to the second round of the World Cup for the first time in 32 years.
'Many of us hope that India will soon play well enough to be part of truly global sporting tournaments like the football World Cup and the Olympics,' says Aakar Patel.
According to a UN report, people live long, healthy lives in these 12 countries.
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