France will be among the top seeds for next month s World Cup draw after they climbed to seventh in the FIFA rankings published on Monday. The draw for next year s finals will be held in Moscow on Dec. 1 when the 32 eventual finalists will be divided into four pots according to their position in the rankings announced on Monday. The seven top-ranked teams plus hosts Russia go into in pot one, the next eight ranked teams in pot two and so on.

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane highlighted the threat posed by Tottenham Hotspur s Harry Kane as the English side travel to the European champions on Tuesday battling for top spot in Champions League Group H. Kane has scored as many goals (43) this year for club and country as Cristiano Ronaldo but in fewer games, sparking rumours Real could try to poach another rising star from Spurs after taking Luka Modric and Gareth Bale to the Bernabeu in recent years.

Watford striker Troy Deeney called Arsenal s mentality and spirit into question after scoring in a 2-1 victory over Arsene Wenger s side in the Premier League on Saturday. Arsenal took a 1-0 first-half lead thanks to Per Mertesacker s 39th-minute header, but Watford turned the tables in the second period and claimed victory through substitute Deeney s 71st-minute penalty and Tom Cleverley s 92nd-minute winner.

Ahly are expected to enjoy a smooth ride against lowly Ragaa in Monday s Egyptian Premier League game, after which they will turn their attention to the much more important African Champions League semi-final clash against Etoile du Sahel. The Red Devils recovered from a disappointing 1-1 draw with Talae El-Geish in their opening game of the season to secure an easy 2-0 win over Ittihad of Alexandria last week.

Egypt intend to add five or six players to their current roster before meeting Ghana in their last World Cup qualifier, experimenting with some new faces after reaching next year s Russia finals with one match to spare in Group E, their assistant coach said on Wednesday. Bassem Morsi is one of the players who are expected to be recalled, with the Zamalek striker falling out of favour for leaving the stadium when he was substituted during a vital World Cup qualifier at home to Ghana in November 2016, Osama Nabih told an Egyptian radio station.

Swiss federal prosecutors have announced a criminal case for suspected bribery linked to World Cup broadcast rights against Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the Qatari president of Paris Saint-Germain. The investigation concerns alleged bribes offered to former FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke to award 2026 and 2030 World Cup rights to Qatari-owned BeIN Media Group, the office of Switzerland s attorney general said on Thursday.

The Egyptian national team s assistant coach Usama Nabih has revealed that his side would prefer to face Brazil in the group stage of the World Cup rather than Germany or Spain. "Brazil plays open football that would allow us to use empty spaces in the field to make counter attacks, but Germany or Spain are more organised tactically," Nabih told an Egyptian sports show on Tuesday.

List of countries assured of places in the 32-team field for next year s World Cup finals in Russia after Tuesday s qualifiers: EUROPE Russia (Qualified as hosts) France Portugal Germany

Egypt will be looking to progress beyond the group stage when they make their third World Cup appearance at the Russia finals next year, coach Hector Cuper said. "We are looking to qualify for the second round [round of 16] and pass the group stage," the 61-year-old said in an interview with ONSport TV late on Monday.

Egyptian FA president Hany Abo Rida said the Pharaohs will start their preparations for the 2018 World Cup starting from their upcoming game against Ghana in the final round of the the qualifiers. "Our qualification for the World Cup took us to new heights. We will need to make more efforts to make Egypt proud and we will immediately start our preparations. Our game against Ghana will be the first step in our campaign towards the World Cup," Abo Rida told the EFA website after the game.

Egypt s President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi received the Egyptian national football team at Cairo s El-Ittihadeya Palace on Monday, following Sunday s victory, which put Egypt through to the World Cup finals for the first time since 1990, state-run news agency MENA reported.

After his longtime dream of reaching the World Cup became a reality on Sunday night, Egypt s veteran goalkeeper, Essam El-Hadary, joked that his goal was actually the 2022 event, not the coming 2018 one for which he and his team had just qualified in their victory over Congo. Sunday s match sends Egypt to their first World Cup finals since 1990. The 2-1 home win was a dramatic and nerve-jangling clash with a superb appearance from the Pharaohs evergreen goalkeeper.

Mohamed Salah proved Egypt s hero, scoring twice including a last-gasp penalty to send the Pharaohs to their first World Cup finals since 1990 following a 2-1 home win over Congo in a dramatic and nerve-jangling clash on Sunday. More than 80,000 supporters at Alexandria s Borg El-Arab erupted into ecstasy when Salah broke the deadlock three minutes past the hour mark as Egypt looked close to realizing a long-held dream, having made the last of their two World Cup appearances 27 years ago in Italy.

Egypt qualified for next year’s World Cup finals after beating Congo 2-1 on Sunday to move into an unassailable position at the top of their group with one match still to complete.

Former Barcelona favourite Hristo Stoichkov on Thursday backed the independence referendum in Catalonia and denounced the violence that marred the banned vote. "The leaders of Catalonia and the people who voted decided that the moment has come to separate and I will back them," Stoichkov, a Bulgarian, told his country s public broadcaster BNT.

Legendary German coach Jupp Heynckes will replace sacked Carlo Ancelotti as Bayern Munich s manager until the end of the season, according to Sport Bild newspaper. The interim appointment would see 72-year-old Heynckes return to his beloved Bayern which he famously led in 2013 to win the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble -- the only German club to achieve the feat.

Under-fire Gerard Pique on Wednesday expressed his pride at playing for Spain, insisting he would continue with the Spanish national team despite his outspoken defence of the independence referendum in Catalonia. "It is not incongruous," said Pique of his intention to carry on despite his views on the wealthy northeastern Spanish region s right to self-determination.

Having already lost Bernard Mendy and Laurent Koscielny France saw another defender pull out of their crucial World Cup qualifiers after PSG s in-form Layvin Kurzawa cut his knee in training. The left back would likely have started for France as they take on Bulgaria on Saturday and Belarus three days later knowing they may still need all six points to book a direct berth for the 2018 World Cup.

Gareth Bale has been ruled out of Wales s final two crucial World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Ireland, the Football Association of Wales said on Tuesday. Bale s fitness has been a source of concern for the national side since he suffered a calf muscle strain against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League last week.

After returning to the ATP Tour in style by beating Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-4 at the Japan Open on Tuesday, Milos Raonic called for a review of the tennis circuit. It was Raonic s first match following a seven-week absence after left-wrist surgery. The big-serving Canadian has withdrawn from five events this year, and conceded walkovers at two others. It s been very frustrating, said Raonic, who started the year at No. 3 and has slipped to No. 12 in the rankings. I ve had more than a dozen different injuries and reasons that have kept me away from tournaments. That hasn t been fun because I haven t been able to focus on tennis, I ve been focusing on Can I play today or can t I? rather than, What do I need to do with my tennis game?

Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola expressed dismay on Monday at the violence that marred Catalonia s independence vote, which he said should have led the club to postpone their match against Las Palmas. Barcelona beat Las Palmas 3-0 in an empty Nou Camp stadium on Sunday afternoon, after club president Josep Maria Bartomeu decided to play behind closed doors in protest at widespread police violence against voters.