There have been some remarkable stories in the World Cup over the years but this one you really couldn’t make up.

Irish football fans won’t have had too much trouble coming up with a comparison for 24 hours which saw World Cup challengers Spain come close to total meltdown just two days before their opening Group B game against Portugal in Sochi.

It will either be the setback that brings Spain players closer than ever before, bound together by adversity; or it will be the moment their World Cup dream ended before it had even begun.

Daniel Storey selects 10 young players who can propel their careers to the next level during the World Cup.

Fernando Hierro will manage Spain during the World Cup, the Spanish Football Federation has announced.

Spain’s World Cup preparations are in turmoil after the sacking of head coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the tournament.

Newly-appointed captain Harry Kane wasted little time setting out his stall by expressing his belief England can win this summer’s World Cup.

Atletico Madrid forward Diego Costa has said he would ‘love’ for team mate Antoine Griezmann to stay at the La Liga club beyond the next transfer window.

The line-up for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is close to completion after Australia became the 31st nation to book their place at the finals.

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says he is ready to stand down from Spain duty if he is deemed a "problem" by national team coach Julen Lopetegui or the Spanish Football Federation as a result of his support for Catalan independence.

David Villa is not only loving life with Patrick Vieira's New York City FC but his outstanding Major League Soccer form has earned a dream Spain recall at the age of 35.

“To succeed you have to become nastier” Mark Hughes told Tore Andre Flo, soon after the young Norwegian arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 1997.

"Right now I'm at Chelsea, I'm happy there and the league has started. I hope Atleti do very well like last season and win some titles."

Champions League Group G

Xavi Hernandez is determined to end his Barca career in Berlin tomorrow by collecting his 25th trophy in 17 remarkable years; but measuring his contribution to Barcelona history in silverware alone, even bearing in mind those remarkable statistics, doesn’t even come near to over-estimating his influence on the most successful team of the 21st century.

Bayern Munich 6 Porto 1 (Bayern win 7-4 on aggregate): Pep Guardiola’s reputation as the world’s greatest football coach, under threat this week amid rumours could be jettisoned by Bayern Munich in the summer, has been spectacularly and emphatically revived by a breathtaking 6-1 victory over Porto in the Champions League that sends his side into the semi-finals and keeps the Treble dream alive.

Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg

This evening’s 2014 Ballon D’Or ceremony in Zurich brings an end to a long build-up period to the award which seems to have started almost as soon as Cristiano Ronaldo won the 2013 prize last January, writes Dermot Corrigan.

Spain must trust in their philosophy but trust their youth to enact it