With his arms cross and a face bursting with pride, Argentina superstar Lionel Messi towers above all those on the main street of Bronnitsy, a town of 20,000 residents some 50 kilometres from Moscow.

World Cup hopefuls France salvage a late 1-1 draw against the United States in their final friendly before the tournament, while fellow title favourites Spain also score a late goal as they edge past Tunisia 1-0.

In a dusty workshop on the outskirts of Hanoi, workers busily mould, set and spray hundreds of replica World Cup trophies as orders flood in ahead of next week's tournament.

Much chaos and controversy has followed Argentina in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup but superstar Lionel Messi still believes his country can go all the way.

River Plate midfielder Enzo Perez will replace the injured Manuel Lanzini in Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad, the country's football association said on Saturday.

Joachim Loew has slammed Germany fans who booed Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan during Friday's 2-1 World Cup warm-up victory over Saudi Arabia.

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah told Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi he was well on the road to recovery following a

Spain coach Julen Lopetegui has warned his players that they must be ready to adapt to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system during the World Cup in Russia.

Colombia left-back Franck Fabra limps out of the World Cup

Midfielder Enzo Perez replace the injured Manuel Lanzini in Argentina's 23-man World Cup squad

Ilkay Gundogan booed by German fans in their warm-up game against Saudi Arabia ahead of FIFA World Cup.

The Brazil legend Rivaldo insists that Lionel Messi is yet to reach the same level as Diego Maradona in the eyes of the Argentinean fans as he lacks international success.

France coach Didier Deschamps backs star midfielder Paul Pogba ahead of Saturday's final World Cup warm-up against the United States.

Timo Werner impresses as Germany give themselves a pre-World Cup boost by breaking their five-match winless streak with a nervy 2-1 victory over Saudi Arabia in their final warm-up game.

England and Portugal enjoyed comfortable home wins in their final World Cup warm-up matches on Thursday, beating Costa Rica 2-0 and Algeria 3-0 respectively.

Dressed in a patriotic red and white suit and a golden crown adorned with small footballs, Andrzej Bobowski is getting ready to attend his 11th World Cup.

While Neymar seems to be finishing his injury recovery and is set to play in Brazil's last pre-World Cup friendly at Austria on Sunday, midfielder Fred left Thursday's training in pain after a tackle.

Argentina midfielder Manuel Lanzini will miss the World Cup after injuring a knee in training on Friday.

Head coach Bert van Marwijk will personally pay the salaries of eight assistant coaches and analysts to help Australia prepare the way for this month's World Cup in Russia, local media reported Friday.

The French have won one world contest before their players even fly to Russia for the World Cup, with more blue jerseys sold across the globe than any other national strip, even more than the famous yellow shirt of Brazil.