With tears streaming down his face after being kneed in the back, Neymar was carried off the field on a stretcher.

He won't be coming back. Not to this World Cup, anyway.

Joyous Brazilians jumped in the ocean, threw beer in the air and launched fireworks after their football team took a step closer to a dream World Cup final.

From Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach to packed bars in Sao Paulo and the capital Brasilia, Brazilians leaped and kissed each other after the 2-1 quarter-final victory over Colombia, setting up a semi-final against Germany.

Mats Hummels headed Germany to a 1-0 victory over old rivals France on Friday, and took his country to the World Cup semi-finals for a record fourth straight time.

The center-back's powerful 13th-minute header decided the nervy encounter between two sides who have traditionally produced sensation matches. 

Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic will clash in a titanic showdown for the Wimbledon title after crushing an uprising from the next generation in the semi-finals on Friday.

Seven-time champion Federer demolished Milos Raonic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his ninth Wimbledon final, while top seed Djokovic defeated Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (9/7) as the threatened overthrow of the established order fell flat.

Spanish top flight club Valencia have appointed former Portuguese goalkeeper Nuno as their new coach, the La Liga side confirmed.

"Valencia Football Club have reached agreement with Nuno Espirito Santo for a contract until June 30, 2015 with an option for a further season depending on results," the club said on their website.

It wasn't the World Cup in Brazil with fans streaming in from around the globe. But the world was definitely represented when U.N. ambassadors took to the soccer field against U.N. correspondents — with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon taking the ceremonial kickoff.

The match in a park on New York's Upper East Side on Wednesday afternoon ended with about 10 minutes left to play when a torrential thunderstorm drenched the teams and the spectators. The ambassadors, with help from a few diplomats and U.N. officials, were winning, 3-2.

Seven Germany players have been struggling with illness ahead of Friday's World Cup quarterfinal against France, although coach Joachim Loew is not expecting any of them to miss the match.

Loew says, "One-third of our squad has been complaining about a sore throat. ... But yesterday and today all players have been training and none were feeling exhaustion. I just hope that stays stable until tomorrow."

Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari believes the lack of bad blood between his side and Colombia will allow for an attractive spectacle when the two sides clash in their World Cup quarter-final on Friday.

Scolari's men needed penalties after a bruising 120 minutes to overcome Chile in the last 16 which left many of the Brazil squad in tears at the end of the match.

Liverpool have officially completed the signing of midfielder Emre Can from Bayer Leverkusen, the Premier League side confirmed Thursday.

Liverpool had agreed a £10million (12.5m euros, $17m) deal for the Germany Under-21 international last month but had to wait until the transfer window opened on July 1 to finalize the move.

Susie Wolff will on Friday become the first woman in 22 years to drive a Formula One racing car in an official competitive session when she takes the wheel of a Williams in the opening practice for Sunday's British Grand Prix.

Wolff, 31, a Scot who is married to Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff, believes she has a chance not only to prove that women deserve a chance at the highest level of motor racing, but that she has the talent to challenge for a racing seat in the future.