Australia beat Honduras 3-1 in the second leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday to qualify for next year's World Cup in Russia.

Denmark's Christian Eriksen scores a hat-trick in a 5-1 thrashing of a disjointed Ireland in their playoff second leg to secure the final European berth at next year's World Cup.

Five Ecuadorian football players have been suspended from the national side for indiscipline after sneaking out of their team hotel ahead of a 3-1 World Cup qualifying defeat to Argentina in Quito, the Ecuadorian Football Federation says.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah converted a stoppage-time penalty to give Egypt a dramatic 2-1 win over Congo Brazzaville and a place at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Argentina's stumbling 2018 World Cup qualification campaign faces another awkward hurdle as the misfiring South American giants take on in-form Peru in Buenos Aires.

Lionel Messi and Argentina will seek to maintain the pressure on Chile with a victory over Venezuela on Tuesday as South America's 2018 World Cup qualifying race enters the home stretch.

Carlos Queiroz was once Alex Ferguson's formidable number two at Manchester United, now he carves out a new reputation: the man who can take your team to the World Cup.

Marcello Lippi's China vows to fight on after their 2018 World Cup hopes were all but destroyed when Syria's late equaliser left them bottom of their qualifying group and with their captain in tears.

England manager Gareth Southgate says his team's last-gasp 2-2 draw against Scotland demonstrated the kind of mental fortitude he is trying to instill in his players.

Danny Blind was sacked as Netherlands coach on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat to Bulgaria left the team's chances of reaching the World Cup finals hanging by the slenderest of threads.

Japan defender Maya Yoshida said he was "buzzing" after leading his side to a 2-0 victory in Thursday's World Cup qualifier against United Arab Emirates in place of injured skipper Makoto Hasebe.

Chinese authorities have stepped up security for Thursday's tense World Cup qualifier against South Korea, whose fans will receive a police escort after protests over Seoul's decision to deploy a controversial missile defence system.

Mali has been suspended from international football after the West African country's sports minister sacked the executive committee of its football federation, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Friday.

Veteran forward Diego Souza was called up to replace injured Manchester City star Gabriel Jesus as Brazil made three changes to their squad for upcoming 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Paraguay on Friday.

Video assistance for referees could be a reality at next year's World Cup finals despite teething problems when they were tested at the Club World Cup, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Friday.

Former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against his 10-year ban from football, the tribunal said on Tuesday.

FIFA on Monday said it was confident problems plaguing the pitch at the new Saint Petersburg stadium will be fixed in time for the Confederations Cup in June.

President Donald Trump's controversial immigration policies could hurt an expected U.S. bid to host the 2026 World Cup although plenty of time remains for concerns to ease before the decision by world soccer's governing body FIFA.

Chinese soccer clubs spent over $450 million on international transfers last year, around 2-1/2 times more than the year before, according to a FIFA subsidiary report released on Friday.

FIFA warned Liverpool on Monday they cannot play Joel Matip unless Africa Cup of Nations participants Cameroon give the Premier League title-chasers permission.