Some tightened their lungis in the inimitable Bangladeshi style while getting ready for the next ball, a few were wearing three-quarter pants and all were bare-chested during the cricket match on a barren paddy field under fading daylight. This was the scene a few days ago in a remote village of Netrokona.

The 2018 version of the Telstar football features redesigned panels that are pixelated for durability and propellor-shaped to help flight

Spain dramatically sacked coach Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday and appointed federation sporting director Fernando Hierro -- just two days before the team's opening game at the World Cup.

It has been like rainbow after rain in Moscow for the last couple of days as fans from across the world have thronged the Russian capital and other cities in their thousands ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off at the Luzhniki Stadium today.

The Seleccao are among the favourites going into the World Cup and while some may boil that down to the presence of Neymar, there

It was 8:30pm, but light of day still lingered over the Red Square in Moscow on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Despite it being a public holiday, there were swarms of inside the square, and overflowing the surrounding streets, cafes and restaurants. The presence of huge number of fans from around the world for the FIFA World Cup added an extra tinge of festivity to Russia's national day.

Nobody would have hand-picked the tournament's two worst teams to launch the 2018 World Cup, but when Russia and Saudi Arabia meet on Thursday form will be irrelevant as the world's biggest sporting festival explodes into life in Moscow.

Over the next month, Russia will serve up a football stroganoff spiced with enthralling matches, a dash of the world's finest players and the biggest prize in the sporting world -- the FIFA World Cup.

Spain named federation sporting director Fernando Hierro as its World Cup coach to replace Julen Lopetegui, who was sensationally sacked after his appointment as Real Madrid manager.

The greatest show on the earth will begin June 14 with the opening ceremony of the World Cup and ahead of the grand festivities Russia prepared to show off their culture and traditions through dancers, performers and other big-name headline acts in front of the world.

Egypt's Mohamed Salah gave his countrymen a World Cup boost as he join a squad training session at their Grozny base.

Brazil's former legendary player Roberto Carlos believes that Brazil have lost their essence under manager Tite but acknowledges that the team is more solid now.

Jose Mourinho predicts a stunning clash between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the final of the World Cup 2018 -- the two greats of this generation, but he leaves the final outcome of the game to the imagination of the football fans.

Brazil are looking for their sixth world title and according to former Selecao legend Ronaldo, the country's hopes lie with Neymar.

The World Cup is arousing high passions in Bangladesh, where machete-wielding fans of Brazil and Argentina have clashed in the streets and flags of the two countries are so ubiquitous that some people want to ban them.

Two strikes from captain Robert Lewandowski followed by goals from Dawid Kownacki and Jakub Blaszczykowski give Poland a 4-0 victory over Lithuania in their final pre-World Cup friendly in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Russia is all set to host the biggest show on Earth, the football world Cup that returns every four years to captivate the world sport fraternity.

Moscow authorities are pleading with locals not to drive in the run-up to Thursday's World Cup opening match to avoid causing gridlock

England landed in Russia on Tuesday hoping a talented young World Cup squad spearheaded by captain Harry Kane can shake off the disappointments of recent tournaments.

Belgium made light of injury to Eden Hazard in their last warm-up before the World Cup on Monday, the Chelsea star limping off in the 4-1 defeat of Costa Rica in Brussels.