Tunisia coach rues influence of “optimal striker” Kane

A stoppage-time header from two-goal Harry Kane gave England a 2-1 win over Tunisia in their opening World Cup Group G match on Monday.

Japan's Kei Nishikori beat Matthias Bachinger of Gemany in straight sets to advance to the second round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle in Germany.

South African athletics' golden girl, Caster Semenya, is challenging the I-double-A-F's rule change on testosterone levels in the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Portugal striker Andre Silva believes the European champions are well equipped to beat Morocco ahead of their upcoming World Cup group stage clash in Moscow.

Jose Mourinho lauded an "amazing day for football" after heavyweights Germany and Brazil failed to win their opening World Cup fixtures on Sunday but the Manchester United manager expects them both to rebound from sluggish starts.

Tommy Fleetwood fired a U.S. Open record-tying seven-under-par 63 on Sunday to rocket up the leader board but the Briton's final round surge came up agonisingly short when he finished just one stroke behind champion Brooks Koepka.

The Junior Springboks will return home with the bronze medal from the World Rugby Under 20 Championships in France.

A curling free kick from captain Aleksandar Kolarov in the 56th minute secured a 1-0 victory for Serbia over Costa Rica in the opening World Cup Group E match in the Samara Arena on Sunday.

Brazil's stuttering performance stemmed from anxiety at playing their first World Cup game, coach Tite said after their 1-1 draw with Switzerland in Group E on Sunday.

A second-half header from Steven Zuber cancelled out a sensational early goal from Philippe Coutinho as Switzerland and Brazil drew 1-1 in a tight Group E World Cup opener on Sunday.

Belgium see far beyond Monday's World Cup opener against debutants Panama but need a solid win to settle nerves and rack up goal difference as a "golden generation" of club greats seek finally to deliver as a team.

Sweden play South Korea in a Group F match in Nizhny Novgorod on Monday.

Belgium play Panama in a Group G match in Sochi on Monday.

Germany were stunned 1-0 by Mexico in the opening game of their World Cup defence on Sunday as Hirving Lozano finished off a sharp counter-attack that exposed the ragged defending that the four-times winners had displayed in their warm-up games.

Aleksandar Kolarov produced a moment of captain's inspiration, curling home a superb free kick as Serbia got their World Cup Group E campaign up and running with a 1-0 victory over Costa Rica on Sunday.

Five-times World Cup winners and tournament favourites Brazil play Switzerland in a Group E match on Sunday. Where: Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don Capacity: 45,000 When: Sunday June 17, 2100 local (1800 GMT/1400 ET) Key stats: – Brazil are the narrow favourites to lift the trophy for what would be a record-extending sixth time. They are targeting […]

Brazil have shown all the signs they can rule the world yet again in Russia but they must make their excellent preparations count in their World Cup Group E opener against a resilient Switzerland side on Sunday in Rostov.

When shy youngster Sadio Mane turned up in Dakar far from his home town, nobody imagined that one day he would become a globally renowned forward for Senegal and Liverpool.

Croatia midfielder Luka Modric suggested that his team's 2-0 victory over Nigeria on Saturday had turned up the heat on Group D favourites Argentina who were held to a tame 1-1 draw by Iceland earlier in the day.

An own goal and a penalty gave Croatia a comfortable start to their World Cup campaign as they beat a limp Nigeria 2-0 in their Group D clash at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Saturday.

World champions Germany know they must up their game when they kick off their world title defence against Mexico on Sunday if they are to confirm their status as tournament favourites. The Germans played a perfect qualification winning all 10 games, conceding just four goals in the process, and also clinched the Confederations Cup IN […]

World champions Germany play Mexico in a Group F match in Moscow on Sunday.

Serbia and Costa Rica begin their World Cup campaigns on Sunday with the teams likely to adopt contrasting approaches to making the most of their limited resources at the tournament.

Yussuf Poulsen bounced back from conceding a penalty to score the goal that gave Denmark a hard-fought 1-0 win in their World Cup Group C clash against a Peru side who were left to rue Christian Cueva's costly spot-kick miss in the first half.

Costa Rica play Serbia in a World Cup Group E match in Samara on Sunday.

Argentina were too ponderous in midfield and lacked creativity, coach Jorge Sampaoli said in a blunt assessment of their failure to beat Iceland in their opening World Cup match on Saturday.

With Egypt and Morocco failing to register wins in their opening Fifa World Cup matches, the spotlight from the African perspective will be on Nigeria.

Dark horse Croatia take on spirited Nigeria in a World Cup opener on Saturday that could leave one side fighting for their tournament lives in the Group of Death.

Nigeria was the first nation to qualify from Africa for the 2018 tournament, finishing top of a group featuring Cameroon, Zambia and Algeria.

Peru's long-awaited return to the World Cup could turn sour at the Mordovia Arena against Denmark on Saturday if they cannot keep playmaker Christian Eriksen in check and fail to nullify their opponents' height advantage.