Ever since the draw for the tournament was made in April, the Group B game between the US and Iran has stood out as one of the highlights of the first phase in Qatar.

US Soccer sparked uproar over the weekend after posting an Iranian flag without its Allah symbol on the federation's social media feeds in what it said it was a gesture of solidarity with Iranian women protesters.

The five-time World Cup winners knew a second straight win in Group G on Monday would clinch their place in the knockout phase with a game to spare.

Kade Ruotolo clearly doesn’t believe in long layoffs, as he is already preparing for his first defense of the ONE Lightweight Submission Grappling World Championship after only winning it in October.

ONE Middleweight and Light Heavyweight World Champion Reinier “The Dutch Knight” de Ridder is set to return to the ONE Championship Circle in the main event of ONE Fight Night 5 on Dec. 3 at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila.

Anything other than victory against Croatia on Thursday could see the world's second-ranked side heading home after the group stage.

Rigobert Song's team looked almost dead and buried after goals from Strahinja Pavlovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic gave Serbia a 3-1 lead early in the second half.

Five-time world champions Brazil could secure a spot in the knockout phase with a win over the Swiss depending on the outcome of the day's early game between Serbia and Cameroon.

A 30-year-old Frenchman is running 100 marathons in as many days to raise awareness of the carbon footprint left by major sporting events.

The world's second-ranked side will have to beat 2018 runners-up Croatia on Thursday to be sure of a last-16 place after their 2-0 loss at the Al Thumama Stadium.

Former coach Vahid Halilhodzic cut him out of the team in a dispute over his willingness to play, but when the Bosnian was sacked in August, his replacement Walid Regragui welcomed the Chelsea player among others back into the Atlas Lions' fold.

Elsewhere, 2018 runners-up Croatia crushed Canada 4-1 to eliminate their opponents while Costa Rica claimed a shock win over Japan.

Tall midfielder Amadou Onana will start in the place of Youri Tielemans having impressed off the bench in the 1-0 win over Canada, while Thorgan Hazard, brother of captain Eden, comes in for Yannick Carrasco. Right back Thomas Meunier was preferred to Leander Dendoncker.

Japan, who shocked four-time champions Germany 2-1 in their opener in Qatar, could have taken a giant stride towards the last 16 with a win.

Klinsmann, a member of FIFA's seven-member technical study group that is analysing the World Cup in Qatar, took aim at Iran's antics following their 2-0 Group B win against Wales on Friday.

Mbappe, who will celebrate his 24th birthday two days after the Dec. 18 final, took things into his own hands at the 974 Stadium with two goals after the break, even though he might have been a tad too selfish in the first half.

In the twilight of a career played out in the larger-than-life shadow of Maradona - who won the 1986 World Cup almost single-handedly - Messi is desperate to also lift the trophy on his fifth and final attempt.

Belgium, who finished third at the tournament in Russia in 2018, are still ranked second in the world but many of the much-vaunted "Golden Generation" are now in their 30s.

While Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have one final shot at winning the World Cup, Mbappe is chasing his second title at just 23 -- and is surely the player who will dominate the sport for years to come.

Defeat to outsiders Saudi Arabia in their opening Group C match in Qatar had left Argentina on the brink, knowing another loss would spell the end of their tournament chances.

Ronaldo won, and then converted, a 65th minute penalty to hand Portugal the lead -- and become the first man to score at five World Cups -- as they went onto win their Group H game.

The record five-time winners had toiled at times in the first half but improved after the break at the Lusail Stadium and were rewarded when Tottenham Hotspur striker Richarlison followed in to score the opener in the 62nd minute after a Vinicius Junior shot was saved.

The 37-year-old striker won and converted a penalty to break the deadlock in what was ultimately a thrilling 3-2 win over Ghana on Thursday, becoming the first player to score at five World Cup finals.

The Spurs attacker and South Korean skipper had surgery earlier this month after suffering a fracture around his left eye in a collision during a Champions League game.

Brazil will be wary of a dangerous Serbian side when the teams meet at Lusail Stadium, especially after seeing Argentina suffer a shock defeat against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday at the same venue and Germany lose to Japan on Wednesday.

After Argentina and Germany lost their opening games, Belgium came close to suffering another major upset but the team who finished third at the 2018 World Cup top the group by two points from Croatia and Morocco.

"No. We won't resort to using excuses. That would be too easy for us," Flick said when asked if his players had lost focus after the "OneLove" rainbow armband debate dominating the lead in to Germany's opening match.