Forget weary Wembley’s limp and half-hearted response to England’s recent qualification for Russia, forget those cynics who say international football doesn’t matter - anyone wanting to get a real flavour of what the World Cup really means should take a look at what happened on an historic night in Cardiff.

Tottenham striker Harry Kane has been named on a 30-man shortlist to win the 2017 Ballon d'Or.

Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill is not worried that his side are unlikely to be seeded in the World Cup qualifying play-offs after losing to Norway.

Northern Ireland celebrated a World Cup qualifying play-off place despite a 1-0 defeat in Norway as Scotland's bid ended in heartache.

Northern Ireland's joy at reaching the play-offs was tempered by Chris Brunt's wild own goal in Norway ensuring the likes of Portugal could stand between them and a place in Russia next summer.

England once again disappointed in victory as Gareth Southgate's men stuttered against Lithuania in the final competitive match before next summer's World Cup.

The Republic of Ireland now know that a win away to Wales tomorrow guarantees them at least a World Cup play-off spot.

Keano’s superpower might have been football, but he discovered another along the way in his magnetism. And how a nation hangs on every word he utters, or is uttered about him, writes Larry Ryan.

England 1 Slovenia 0

Record-breaking Poland striker Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win over Armenia on his way to becoming his country's all-time leading scorer.

Harry Kane fired England to next summer's World Cup but his last-gasp winner cannot paper over the cracks after Gareth Southgate's men limped to victory against limited Slovenia.

Scotland's 2018 World Cup hopes remain alive after a sensational late winner in the victory over 10-man Slovakia at Hampden Park.

Hibernian boss Neil Lennon claims John McGinn is ready to boost Scotland's World Cup hopes after scoring a stunning double in the 2-2 draw with Celtic at Parkhead.

Dele Alli could face a suspension after FIFA opened disciplinary proceedings over his obscene gesture during England's World Cup qualifier against Slovakia.

Gareth Southgate has completed his formal interview to become England’s next manager and could be appointed by the end of the month.

Wayne Rooney accepts the England captaincy no longer comes with a guaranteed starting spot after Gareth Southgate made the bold decision to drop him for tonight’s clash with Slovenia.

Substitute James McArthur rescued a World Cup point for Scotland with a late headed equaliser against Lithuania at Hampden.

Noel King has challenged his Republic of Ireland Under-21s side to go out with a bang as they look to end their qualifying campaign with victory over Serbia.

Gareth Southgate’s passion for the game remains undimmed despite the interim England manager’s clear unease about aspects of the football industry.

Jurgen Klopp spoke about his anger at half-time after Liverpool fought back to pile the pressure on beleaguered Swansea manager Francesco Guidolin.

Cork City 4 Bray Wanderers 0: Red hot Cork City made it 13 goals in three games as they moved to within one point of leaders Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League premier division with an emphatic victory over Bray Wanderers at Turners Cross last night.

Paul O’Donovan has maintained a steady course for a second medal in a fortnight, winning his heat in Rotterdam yesterday to qualify for the Lightweight Men’s Single Sculls final at the World U23 Rowing Championship.

Seb Larsson is certain Sweden’s win over Ireland in the last qualifying campaign gives them a psychological edge for Monday’s Euro Group E opener.

Perhaps it was the absence of their beloved Zlatan and the lack of goals which combined to provoke the Malmo crowd into booing the Swedish side on Monday night but Celtic defender Mikael Lustig is certain the fans and team will unite for the Euros.

Sweden 0 Slovenia 0: Sweden drew a blank last night in their penultimate pre-Euro friendly but Martin O’Neill shouldn’t get too excited as talisman Zlatan Ibrahimovic was kept in reserve.

Northern Ireland 1 Slovenia 0: Northern Ireland eclipsed Billy Bingham’s team of the mid 1980s by stretching their unbeaten run into double figures, as they beat Slovenia 1-0 in their friendly in Belfast last night.

Plotting a route through the professional ranks in the shadow of his famous father has never been a chore for the newest Ireland U21 recruit, Niall Keown.

Ireland’s U21 Euro ambitions are in disarray after Italy inflicted a heavy defeat on Noel King’s side last night despite them racing into an early lead.

‘Unheard-of’ idea discussed as 14 people die off coast of Turkey.

With Slovenia threatening to become the latest EU country to fence off its borders against refugees, Commission president Jean Claude Juncker will try to prevent the Union’s open borders policy from completely disintegrating at a meeting tomorrow.

Slovenia’s given its army new powers to help police guard its state borders as thousands of migrants continue to pour into the country from Croatia.

Row escalates in blame game over exodus that has shaken EU

The Balkans was struggling yesterday with a growing backlog of migrants after Hungary sealed its southern border and Slovenia tried to impose a limit, leaving thousands stranded on cold, wet borders where tempers frayed.