Despite sacking their coach just 71 days before the World Cup, Japan will attempt to prove their doubters wrong on Tuesday against a Colombia side sweating on the fitness of star midfielder James Rodriguez.

Captain Harry Kane came to the rescue with two goals, the second a dramatic injury-time winner, as England began their World Cup Group G campaign with a stuttering 2-1 win over Tunisia yesterday.

Robert Lewandowski and Sadio Mane face off in a mouthwatering World Cup match between two of European football's most lethal

Mohamed Salah has been declared fit ahead of Egypt's crunch game against Russia on Tuesday and coach Hector Cuper is optimistic his star striker will play. But Russia boss Stanislav Cherchesov believes the World Cup hosts have figured out a way to rein Salah in when the two sides meet in Saint Petersburg.

It is still too early to say whether Germany will suffer the same fate that Spain and Italy had in previous versions of the FIFA World Cup. Italy and Spain, champions of the 2006 and 2010 World Cups respectively, were embarrassed in the subsequent defence of their titles, making early exits from the first rounds.

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.

Belgium's creativity and power prove too much for World Cup debutants Panama as the Group G favourites overcome the heroics of goalkeeper Jaime Penedo and a massed defence to run out 3-0 winners on Monday.

Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic has been sent home from the World Cup after refusing to come on as a substitute in the team's opening game against Nigeria, coach Zlatko Dalic said.

Mexico's win over Germany has seen their odds to top the group increase, while celebrations from Hirving Lozano's goal triggered an artificial earthquake in Mexico City.

Neymar, who had a rough night yesterday as Brazil only managed a draw in their Group E fixture against Switzerland has told the referees to do their job properly.

Andreas Granqvist converts from the spot as Sweden get their World Cup campaign to a winning start with a 1-0 win over South Korea on Monday.

South Korea’s manager Shin Tae-yong made his players wear different shirts in pre-World Cup friendlies to confuse 'Swedish spies'.

Croatia are obviously going to have a scheme to thwart Argentina captain Lionel Messi from having as little influence in the outcome of the match as possible. However, the schemes to work, their needs to be ideas.

Diego Maradona says Lionel Messi's second-half penalty miss was not the reason Argentina failed to defeat Iceland at the World Cup on Saturday.

Neymar bore the brunt of the aggression from Switzerland players and in turn he became part of a World Cup record.

A young England side are set to start their 2018 World Cup campaign against Tunisia at Volgograd Arena. The match is scheduled to start at 12:00 am in Bangladesh time. Let’s look at some statistics ahead of the thrilling encounter.

Mexicans jumping in jubilation on Sunday shook the ground hard enough to set off earthquake detectors and throngs danced in the streets after their team scored a surprise victory over World Cup defending champion Germany.

Brazil join the host of big guns who have failed to fire in their opening World Cup game as lax defending from a corner allowed Switzerland to cancel out Philippe Coutinho's spectacular curling strike and grab a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Brazil fans will be encouraged by today's result in the Germany-Mexico match, which ended 1-0 in favour of the Mexicans. Not only can Brazil fans celebrate the loss for the team that so cruelly and ruthlessly sent them crashing out of their home World Cup with an unforgettable 7-1 annihilation, they can also salivate at the prospect of an early revenge and focus on mission hexa.

Argentina legend Diego Maradona lists Brazil's wealth of talent and the secret weapon that is coach Tite