Cristiano Ronaldo was upset when he was left out of Portugal’s starting lineup against Switzerland but the conversation to drop him was completely normal and it is high time the world stopped focusing on the matter, coach Fernando Santos said on Friday.

Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez said "passion and heart" propelled his side into the World Cup semi-finals -- and he was delighted to bring joy to his struggling country.

All eyes will be on Kylian Mbappe once again as France take on England in a mouthwatering World Cup quarterfinal clash but the defending champions must hope their lack of options from the bench will not be exposed on Saturday.

Grant Wahl, a prominent U.S. soccer journalist who was outspoken in his opposition of Qatar hosting the World Cup, died Friday while covering the tournament in Doha. He was 48.

It is short odds that there will be a penalty shootout at the World Cup over the next two days. There has been at least one in the quarterfinals of the last nine tournaments, peaking in 1986 when three of the four matches went to penalties.

Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal hailed the efforts of his squad in fighting back from two goals down to force their World Cup quarter-final against Argentina into a penalty shootout even though their ultimate exit proved to be painful.

Lionel Messi said Argentina have felt the presence of the late, great Diego Maradona throughout their World Cup campaign, including on Friday when they beat the Netherlands on penalties to reach the semi-finals.

Souq Wasif is probably one of the most happening places in all of Qatar as it juxtaposes the past with the present and draws thousands of tourists every day for its eateries, artefacts and old buildings. It is a set of alleys lined by centuries-old buildings on both sides, with modern skyscrapers at one end and a river near the other.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic pledged “this is not the end” after his team sensationally dumped Brazil out of the World Cup on penalties at the quarter-final stage on Friday.

Argentina goalkeeper Emi Martinez saved penalties from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis before Lautaro Martinez scored the winning spot kick to secure them a 4-3 shootout win over the Netherlands on Friday after their World Cup quarter-final finished 2-2 after 120 minutes.

Brazil star Neymar hinted he might quit international football on Friday, saying he could not "100 percent" guarantee he would play for the national team again.

Tite confirmed that it was the "end of a cycle" for him as coach of Brazil after the favourites were dumped out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals on penalties by Croatia on Friday.

Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic pledged "this is not the end" after his team sensationally dumped Brazil out of the World Cup on penalties at the quarter-final stage on Friday.

However tempting the prospect of an Argentina-Brazil semifinal may have seemed to the neutrals, the average Argentines were apparently against that idea, and Brazil's defeat against Croatia in the quarterfinals visibly left them relieved, if not outright happy.

Defender Lisandro Martinez comes into the Argentina side in place of winger Alejandro Gomez as the only change for Friday's World Cup quarter-final against the Netherlands.

Despite the ongoing FIFA World Cup taking the centre stage in the sporting world but Bangladesh cricket team grabbed some limelight by playing quality cricket against India to seal the three-match ODI series with a game in hand.

I have to admit that one of the biggest surprises for me in this World Cup was finding out that Olivier Giroud is the highest scorer in the history of French men’s football, but I guess it should not come as that much of a shock.

The T-shirt on sale at Doha’s main market declares “Our blood is Arab”, and that is the mood buoying Morocco as it prepares to become on Saturday the first Arab nation to play a World Cup quarter-final.

Brazil’s team of superstars were left ruing what might have been and flexing every sinew of stoicism on Friday after a heart-breaking World Cup quarterfinal loss on penalties to Croatia which left them sobbing on the turf.

Despite leading Portugal to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 2006, Fernando Santos finds himself in a difficult situation with his team up against Morocco tomorrow.