Peru captain Paolo Guerrero lashed out at the referees following their slender 1-0 defeat against reigning world champions Argentina in Buenos Aires on Tuesday, claiming that the Albiceleste skipper Lionel Messi received special treatment while fouls against the Peruvian players went unnoticed.

Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw against Venezuela on Thursday in Lionel Messi's return to international duty in South America's World Cup qualifiers.

India coach Igor Stimac condemned what he called an "irregular" goal in a 2-1 defeat at Qatar that ended his team's World Cup 2026 qualifying hopes, saying: "It shouldn't happen."

Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera has found one positive in the team's 4-0 defeat against Lebanon in Qatar on Tuesday in what was the last World Cup Qualifier fixture for the Men in Red and Green.

Indonesian fans and leaders hailed their football team after they booked a place in the third round of the FIFA World Cup qualifiers for the first time after beating the Philippines on Tuesday.

The Tokyo foreign ministry "strongly requests the general public to refrain" from attending the match on March 26, the first for the two sides in North Korea since 2011.

Bangladesh football team landed in Kuwait on Sunday for their World Cup Qualifying round match against Palestine on March 21 after a two-week training camp in Saudi Arabia which included a couple of warm-up matches against higher ranked Sudan.

Three new inclusions -- Syed Shah Quazem Kirmanee, Rabby Hossain Rahul, and Taj Uddin – featured in Bangladesh national football team's 28-member preliminary squad for their World Cup Qualifiers fixtures upcoming next month, head coach Javier Cabrera announced on Wednesday.

Bangladesh national football team will have a two-week residential camp in Saudi Arabia before playing back-to-back matches of the World Cup Qualifiers against Palestine, informed Bangladesh Football Federation’s vice-president Kazi Nabil Ahmed.

Brazilian police and football authorities traded blame Wednesday after a brawl broke out ahead of Brazil's match against arch-rivals Argentina, leaving several injured in what fans called a "tragedy foretold."

Former Bangladesh national team star forward Alfaz Ahmed wants national players to showcase an attitude similar to the one they had yesterday in future fixtures as well, after the men in red and green confirmed their place in the World Cup Qualifiers for the third time in a row with a 2-1 win over Maldives in the second leg of the preliminary round on Tuesday.

Messi missed Inter's 4-1 defeat to Chicago on Wednesday as he continues to struggle with his fitness -- he has played just 37 minutes for the club since September 3.

Messi, who has had a hectic schedule with his club Inter Miami, watched his teammates from the bench but was not listed as a substitute, having complained of tiredness after scoring the winner in Thursday's 1-0 victory over Ecuador.

Coach Lionel Scaloni's 32-man squad also features stalwarts including Angel Di Maria, who returned to Benfica this year, and defender Nicolas Otamendi.

Brazil have omitted West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta from their squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers amid media reports that the English FA and FIFA have opened an investigation into potential betting rule breaches.

Hosts Zimbabwe and former champions Sri Lanka are in prime position to clinch the final two qualifying spots for this year's Cricket World Cup, while two-time winners the West Indies risk missing the tournament for the first time.

Two-time world champions West Indies recovered from the early loss of openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers as four players hit half-centuries as they made 297 all out off 49.3 overs.

The poor performances of the Caribbean side, who have slipped to 10th in the ICC's ODI rankings, mean that they must compete with six other teams for the two available places in the 2023 World Cup in India from October.

Ireland will need to win all three matches of the series including a big-margin win in one of those to have a chance of directly qualifying for this year's ODI World Cup.

The World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil suspended last year will not be replayed, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Tuesday.