Despite being holders, Germany were eliminated at the group stage four years ago in Russia and they are desperate to avoid a repeat when they play Costa Rica in Group E.

Defender Leander Dendoncker, wing-back Yannick Carrasco and attacking midfielders Leandro Trossard and Dries Mertens come into the side in a major shake-up from Martinez that sees Kevin De Bruyne wear the skipper's armband. 

Les Bleus, who face Poland in the last 16 on Sunday, underperformed at the Education City stadium and only after Kylian Mbappe, Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele came off the bench did they pose any threat.

The 37-year-old Portugal captain missed Wednesday's practice and stayed at the gym to do recovery and specific exercises and, with his team already through to the knock-out stages, he could be rested against South Korea even if fit.

A sense of euphoria was in the air in the country, particularly in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Palermo, where thousands of jubilant fans crowded to watch the match on a giant screen in the park.

Despite being holders, Germany were eliminated at the group stage four years ago in Russia, and they are desperate to avoid a repeat when they play Costa Rica in Group E.

ONE interim heavyweight world champion Anatoly Malykhin is going for gold yet again when he challenges two-division king Reinier De Ridder for his light heavyweight throne in the main event of ONE Fight Night 5 on Saturday.

Two games into Brazil's bid to win a record sixth World Cup, the Selecao have not conceded a goal and have not even given away a shot on target in victories over Serbia and Switzerland that saw them clinch qualification for the last 16 with a group game to spare.

Poland top the standings on four points and will advance with a win or a draw. But they would be knocked out by a defeat coupled with a victory by Saudi Arabia over Mexico. 

There was no replay of the street celebrations last Friday, when people danced after Iran beat Wales.

The 25-year-old forward played a starring role as Gareth Southgate's men wrapped up their Group B campaign in style on Tuesday to progress to the last 16, where they will play Senegal.

Expectations for Wednesday’s meeting with Tunisia in their last group game in Qatar are very different, with the powerful French side through to the last 16 and expected to sweep the African team aside, but there is sure to be an edginess to the contest, born of the colonial links between the countries.

The Americans earned a second round meeting with the Netherlands after Christian Pulisic bundled the ball into the net in the 38th minute of an absorbing contest in Doha. 

The man identified as Mario Ferri also wore a T-shirt with the words "Respect for Iranian Woman" on the back and "Save Ukraine" on the front.

The Real Madrid striker pulled out of the France squad with an injured left thigh on the eve of the tournament and departed their team hotel in Qatar soon afterwards.

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.