Soccer

The second leg of the final of the Copa Libertadores was billed as a glorious highlight in the tournament's history — the first ever meeting of age-old rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate.

Each year Chinese youth teams send members to a Brazilian academy for 10 months of soccer coupled with regular school lessons, including classes in Portuguese.

Females are more likely than males to suffer measurable impact on their brains as a result of heading the ball during soccer.

Mesut Ozil was criticized after he posed for a photo in May with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose," he said.

This is the first time the World Cup has used video replay to make official calls. Some say it has made for a cleaner game, but soccer purists claim it's ruined the event.

The Brazilian soccer player is the focus of an onslaught of mockery for his habit of hurling himself to the ground and rolling to cry foul. But some Brazilians have come to his defense.

Bounding onto a field in Australia's capital, the marsupial caused players to scatter and then wait around for a grand exit.

Until Tuesday, this World Cup hadn't seen zero matches in which both teams failed to score. That set a record, but didn't make it any easier to watch France and Denmark play pat-a-cake for 90 minutes.

South Korea's men's soccer team tried to confuse scouts from Sweden's team by swapping jerseys so their opponent couldn't tell the players apart. But could a strategy like that actually work?

You'd be forgiven for confusing airport tarmacs of Russia for the catwalks of Milan: From street-ready kits to swank trophy cases to entire teams in matching suits, the World Cup aims to impress.

The soccer tournament kicks off in Moscow on Thursday. From new stars to controversial stadiums, here's our guide on what to follow.

The tournament in London, wrapping up on Saturday, brings together 16 teams from nations, ethnic minorities and regions not part of the World Cup's geography.