SOCHI, Russia -- Age is just a number, right? We've been told enough times that it must be true. But perhaps it's more accurate to say age is relative.

Julian Draxler is 23 but has already been through more than most players go through in an entire career. At 17, he was starting a Champions League semifinal. At 18, he was a key player on a side that finished third in the Bundesliga. At 19, he was making his debut for Germany. At 20, he became the youngest player to reach 100 German league appearances....

MOSCOW, Russia -- It can't be easy being Claudio Bravo, but by all accounts, the Chile and Manchester City goalkeeper is a tough character who doesn't care too much about the criticism and ridicule that has come his way over the past 12 months.

Once you earn a reputation for being erratic, unreliable and, in Bravo's case, error-prone, it is surprising how quickly word spreads. Even in Moscow, they know about Bravo's eccentricities to the point that he was sarcastically cheered in the second half...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Whisper it quietly, but this Confederations Cup might just prove to be exactly the transformative fortnight Portugal had wanted. While there is little gain in getting carried away by a 4-0 win over New Zealand, the European champions are gathering momentum and the identities of two players who made decisive impacts in steering them to the semifinals give cause for optimism.

While Cristiano Ronaldo was named man of the match for the third time in a row -- having started...

KAZAN, Russia -- One of the few positives to emerge from Russia's Confederations Cup exit for Stanislav Cherchesov is that he has managed to get the country behind his team once again.

Whether the same can be said for the domestic media is another matter, judging by the first question thrown the coach's way in the postmatch news conference after Mexico's 2-1 win in Kazan had confirmed Russia's group stage elimination.

"Our sources told us that, if Russia went out of this tournament before...

KAZAN, Russia -- Three quick thoughts from Mexico's 2-1 win over Russia in the Confederations Cup group stage:

1. Mexico weathers Russian storm

Mexico has been behind in all three of its Confederations Cup games so far but is through to the semifinal, finishing as runner-up in Group A following its 2-1 victory over Russia on Saturday in Kazan.

This was a case of Mexico getting the job done in front of 41,585 home fans in Kazan Arena and Russia provided a stern test, especially in the first half.

The...

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- Four-and-a-half months ago, Vincent Aboubakar caused shockwaves by volleying a marvellous winner to give Cameroon an unlikely Africa Cup of Nations title in Gabon. It was a goal from nothing, the kind of bolt from the blue that bears replaying for years. Faced with a much simpler chance in St. Petersburg, after 56 minutes and with his side a goal up against Australia, he blazed a shot off-target from in front of the posts. With that opportunity, his country's Confederations...