From its early days, crime at the Fifa World Cup has mostly been restricted to petty theft; from the tabloid adventures of a black and white mongrel named Pickles, who sniffed out the stolen Jules Rimet trophy at the 1966 World Cup in England, to players falling under the long arm of the law, most famously Bobby Moore — who was arrested in Columbia ahead of the 1970 Mexico World Cup for allegedly stealing a bracelet.

Uefa decide on Friday the host nation for the 2016 European Championship with a clear choice between the tried and tested in Italy or France against the apparently more risky option of Turkey.

Mohun Bagan successfully defended their Calcutta Football League title, edging past Chirag United 1-0 at the Salt Lake Stadium on Tuesday. The game was marred by a 24-minute partial blackout and unruly scenes following a controversial penalty.

Defender William Gallas was declared fit to play the World Cup for France and midfielder Lassana Diarra, who has been ruled out by illness, will not be replaced, coach Raymond Domenech said on Monday.

A spectacular solo strike from Glen Johnson lit up an otherwise workmanlike performance from England as Fabio Capello’s side notched up a 3-1 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Mexico at Wembley on Monday.

Australia snatched a last-minute 2-1 win over New Zealand in their World Cup warm-up match on Monday.
The All Whites looked set to spoil Australia’s farewell bash in front of 55,659 fans before substitute Brett Holman scored the winner in the fourth minute of injury time after the Socceroos had trailed for much of the match.

The England team will have to negotiate some deadly serpents at their World Cup base, Rustenburg, in South Africa. Killer pythons, spitting cobras, puff adders and black mambas are in abundance around the Bafokeng Sports Campus in Rustenburg. The Royal Bafokeng Sports Hotel and Complex will be England’s World Cup

Sporting Clube de Goa are positive of avoiding relegation as they prepare to take on Chirag United in their final round of I-League match on Friday in Kolkata.
Four teams will fight the battle of survival on the same day in three different regions of the country.

Asian teams go into the World Cup in South Africa looking to reaffirm the region’s growing stature, but they have their work cut out with none handed an easy draw.
Australia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea are the Asian Football Confederation teams flying the flag, with New Zealand enjoying their first outing at the World Cup since 1982 after qualifying via a play-off.

Fabio Capello will discover on Monday whether he has to rip up his World Cup master plan and go back to square one in his quest to deliver England’s first major trophy in 44 years.