World Cup-winning captain Cafu has sensationally claimed that he was thrown out of the Brazil dressing room after their 7-1 thrashing by Germany.

USA captain Clint Dempsey appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday night in a further indication of the rise in popularity of football in America.

Brazil star Neymar could not hold back the tears as he revealed he had come within a few inches of being paralysed. Neymar, giving his first press conference after being hospitalised with a fractured vertebrae in Brazil’s World Cup quarter-final win over Colombia, also said he disagreed with his agent for calling coach Luiz Felipe Scolari 'a repulsive and conceited old jerk'.

The 2014 FIFA World Cup final is almost upon us, and adidas have released their advert to mark the showdown at the Maracana.

Southend United manager Phil Brown became an unexpected talking point on Twitter on Sunday night after Sky Sports News selected him to be a pundit on the World Cup final.

NEIL ASHTON AT THE MARACANA: Germany have been regarded as the best prepared team at the tournament for some time: Best players, best training ground, best coach, best everything.

MARK WEBSTER: Mike Ingham, a familiar voice on BBC Radio 5 Live for three decades, delivered his last commentary as Germany beat Argentina to win the World Cup on Sunday night. As ever, he found the right words for the occasion.

Fred has retired from international football at the age of 30 after Brazil's disappointing World Cup campaign came to an end. He scored 18 goals in 39 games.

I'm lucky to live at home with my parents so this is why I just need to earn around £100 a week to pay the bills I need to per month. But should I earn more to get in the system for the state pension?

The weekly paid seem to be the most vulnerable to losing a qualifying year. Should they register as unemployed or play class 3 contributions so they don't miss out?

My mum has always worked (some years part time) and raised three children. She is now separated from my dad. The amount she receives is way short of the full state pension.

My husband has a pension pot of around £380,000 which we don't want to use at present and is still being invested. We don't want an annuity as we would like our children to inherit.

I am 51 now and would like to retire at 60. I realise I need to be looking long term, but at the moment I just see thousands slipping away. Is there anything I can do to protect my pension pot?

The deadline for me to take a decision on the full lump sum without paying tax is due in summer 2021. Anything after that date, I have to pay up to 40 per cent tax on the lump sum if I take it out.

CRAIG HOPE: Newcastle United are in talks with Amanda Staveley over the sale of the Premier League club. So is this finally the end of Mike Ashley's 13-year reign as owner?

EXCLUSIVE BY MIKE KEEGAN AND CRAIG HOPE: Sources have disclosed that all the necessary paperwork has been lodged, and that the potential deal now awaits their approval.

A deal worth £300million from Saudi Arabia's Private Investment Fund, Amanda Staveley and the Reuben Brothers to take control of the club from current owner Mike Ashley is close to being finalised.

Mike Ashley's 13-year ownership of Newcastle is nearing the end. His £300m sale of the club is now in the hands of the Premier League, and he is 'closer than ever' to getting his wish.

OLIVER HOLT - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: Let us disregard the succession just for a moment and agree that if Mike Ashley departs Newcastle United, it will be a reason to celebrate. 

HELEN CAHILL - CITY CORRESPONDENT: Saudi fund boss Yasir Al-Rumayyan is in the final stages of taking over as chairman of Newcastle United, sources told Sportsmail.

A huge £200million will be handed to Newcastle boss Steve Bruce by the club's prospective new owners as part of an ambitious plan to return the Geordie club to Champions League contenders.

The prospective new owners - a consortium backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund - are on the cusp of tying up a £300m that would rocket the club to the top of the financial charts.

EXCLUSIVE BY MARTIN SAMUEL: The deposit paid by the Saudi Arabian consortium is non-refundable, meaning Newcastle owner Ashley gets richer even if the takeover is not ratified.

England cricket legend Andrew Flintoff has recalled how Newcastle boss Steve Bruce once bailed him out of a sticky situation at a restaurant after his credit card had maxed out.

The Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Oliver Dowden has been slammed for failing to intervene in the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by a Saudi-led consortium.

It is the news Newcastle fans have been dreaming about for years - a big-money takeover and the possible departure of Mike Ashley. But how does a deal actually happen? Our expert reveals all.

Newcastle's proposed takeover would rocket them into the bracket of the world's wealthiest sports club. Temuri Ketsbaia feels the spending would have to be ruthless from day one.

The BBC, another key Premier League partner, has also complained to the European Commission about Saudi Arabia regarding TV piracy, which could scupper state's bid to buy Newcastle.

The £300m deal is awaiting the League's approval but that process is understood to have been held up given the complexity of broadcast piracy allegations against the Saudi state.

Assuming the takeover goes through, Newcastle's spending power would be transformed with former Tottenham manager Pochettino seen as the man to deliver a potential title challenge.

LAWRENCE BOOTH IN MOHALI: England appeared to be losing their battle to stay in with a chance of series success after Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Ashwin helped India dominate day three.

England were made to toil on day three of the fifth and final Test in Chennai as Lokesh Rahul hit 199. LAWRENCE BOOTH casts his eye over the day's action at the Chidambaram Stadium.

England's first Test with India is on a knife-edge heading into day four at Edgbaston. Here, Sportsmail's LAWRENCE BOOTH takes a look at the major talking points from the day's play.

Belgium stars Michy Batshuayi and Thorgan Hazard had a go at playing the bagpipes ahead of their clash with Scotland on Tuesday. The duo also dressed in kilts ahead of their Euro 2020 qualifier.

STEPHEN McGOWAN AT THE KING BAUDOUIN STADIUM: As manager of Scotland Steve Clarke can't wave his arms and turn water into wine. Coaching is his thing, not miracles.

ADAM SHERGOLD: Gareth Southgate believes England's forward line is as exciting as any other team in the world. But how does his attacking options measure up against some of the world's best?

The winger joined Real Madrid in a £150million deal from Chelsea in the summer but has failed to meet expectations. He arrived in Madrid carrying extra weight and has struggled to shift it.

Mick McCarthy says he is happier knowing Ireland have to beat Denmark on Monday to qualify for Euro 2020 - and he is considering using Spurs teenager Troy Parrott in the high-profile match.

MLS have announced that they have suspended their league season for the next 30 days due to the coronavirus outbreak - delaying David Beckham's first home game as Inter Miami owner. 

Sony's comic-book adaptation Bloodshot, with Vin Diesel, grossed an estimated $9.3million from 2,861 venues from Friday to Sunday in the US and Canada.

A man furiously sprayed anti-bacterial disinfectant on his coffee cup before grabbing from the ledge of a drive-thru window at a Tim Horton fast food restaurant in Canada.

Former cam girl Bella French, of Montreal, Canada, explained sex workers enter the industry for a variety of reasons, including some who feel trapped by their parents' expectations.

Mark Weir had been out riding his snowmobile with friends in Newfoundland, Canada, when they saw the moose fall into a deep pit and decided to help it.

Keelan Charlton, 28, from Somerset, spent months planning his romantic proposal to Elley Bugler, 24, but she told FEMAIL they are now stuck in Australia too scared to book flights home.

The Irish actor, 64, rushed to be at her bedside but didn't arrive until a day after her death on March 3, his sister and co-star Eilish revealed on Saturday.

The touching photographs were taken in the minus 40 degree temperatures of Wapusk National Park, in Manitoba, Canada.

Larah Bross, who runs the Bross Bagels shop in Edinburgh, asked landlord Mario Aydemir Demirezen for alternative rent arrangements, a request he branded 'typical Jewish behaviour'.

Meghan Markle has returned to her old stomping grounds of Los Angeles, as she intends to take over Hollywood.

Two-thirds of severely ill coronavirus patients in the US, Canada, Europe and Japan improved after taking remdesvir, a US-made Ebola drug, while China canceled phase III of it trial

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW BY CRAIG HOPE: There are just two guests left in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Downtown Montreal amid Canada's coronavirus lockdown - Thierry Henry and Luis Binks.