Argentina defender Marcos Rojo's form for Manchester United has earned him a recall to a 26-man squad for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Bolivia later this month.

Footballers in Argentina pushed ahead with a strike on Friday over unpaid wages, forcing the year's first league games to be suspended despite a $22 million government payout, officials said.

Fans at next year's World Cup and this year's Confederations Cup in Russia will need special identity cards before they can watch matches, soccer's governing body said Thursday.

Top-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic held off Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) on Saturday to book a title clash with Jack Sock at the ATP Delray Beach Open.

Five times World Cup winners Brazil will play Australia in a friendly at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on June 13, giving the Socceroos the toughest of warm-ups for the Confederations Cup later that month.

Lionel Messi could not be happier than at Barcelona, and can crown his status as an all time great by winning the World Cup with Argentina, national coach Edgardo Bauza told AFP on Wednesday.

Former US Open champ Juan Martin Del Potro got his season off to another successful start at the Delray Beach Open, defeating Kevin Anderson in straight sets and overcoming an opening set tumble in the process.

Japanese top seed Kei Nishikori lost a sixth successive final on Sunday when he was defeated by Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in the Buenos Aires clay-court title match.

Javier Maschernao has hailed Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi as “the best player in the history of the game” and fully expects him to extend his contract with the club.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi postponed a visit to Egypt to promote a campaign to fight Hepatitis C in the wake of Barcelona's defeat by Paris Saint-Germain, Egypt's tourism ministry said Wednesday.

Ernesto Vecchio, the first coach of Lionel Messi when the budding superstar was a young rookie in Argentina, has died at the age of 65, the Newell's Old Boys club announced Friday.

On-going fitness issues have forced Juan Martin del Potro out of next month's Australian Open and his planned warm up event in New Zealand, organisers of the Auckland Classic announced Saturday.

Lionel Messi's beaten Copa America finalists Argentina end the year top of FIFA's world rankings while France were named 'mover of the year'.

Barcelona striker Luis Suarez hopes teammate Lionel Messi will follow his lead by signing a long-term contract to see out the remainder of his prime years at the Camp Nou.

Brazil and Argentina are set to play a South American "Superclassico" gala match in Australia next year, it was reported Tuesday.

Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino defended midfielder Dele Alli from accusations of diving and revealed that when he was a youngster in Argentina, he and teammates even practised diving to win penalties.

Argentina's Davis Cup champions returned to a heroes' welcome in Buenos Aires on Tuesday after clinching their maiden title with a stunning 3-2 win over Croatia at the weekend.

A charter plane carrying a Brazilian football team which crashed in the mountains in Colombia late Monday killing 76 people so far flew Lionel Messi and his Argentina national team two weeks ago, according to media reports.

Argentina lift their first Davis Cup title after Juan Martin Del Potro and Federico Delbonis win Sunday's reverse singles to complete the South American nation's spectacular comeback in a 3-2 victory over hosts Croatia in the final.

For football great Diego Maradona, Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was more than a friend and fellow Latin American legend, he was "a second father."