Pepe enhanced his reputation as one of soccer's biggest nutcases on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey clash against Barcelona. In the 69th minute of Real Madrid's 2-1 defeat at the Bernabeu, the Portugal international deliberately  stamped on the foot of Lionel Messi while he was lying on the ground. He had already been yellow carded and had referee Cesar Muniz Fernandez  spotted it, a red would undoubtedly have followed.

Fifa's World Rankings for January 2012 were published yesterday at FIFA HQ in Zurich , Switzerland. 2010 World Cup winners Spain remain on top followed by the Netherlands, Germany and Copa America champs Uruguay. England are in 5th. Ranking Team 1 Spain 2 Netherlands 3 Germany 4 Uruguay 5 England 6 Brazil 7 Portugal 8 Croatia 9 Italy 10 Argentina 11 Denmark 12 Chile 13 Russia 14 Greece 15 France 16 Switzerland 17 Sweden 18 Côte d'Ivoire 19 Bosnia-Herzegovina 19 Japan Full world rankings Previous Fifa World Rankings Bet with Bet 365 Soccer betting tips Soccer Books & DVDs Tags Soccer News soccer football fifa

Scotland manager Craig Levein is confident he has the players at his disposal to challenge for World Cup qualification.

Over 15,000 people have applied to be volunteers for the World Cup, which kicks off in less than a year and you still have a chance to apply if you are interested in getting up close to the event. If you are interested in volunteering for the 2010 World Cup you can either ring 0800 52 52 52, if you are in South Africa or you can email volunteerprogramme@2010oc.com (mailto:volunteerprogramme@2010oc.com) for further information and details on how to apply.

Morocco is set to become the first African country to host the Club World Cup.

Two goalless draws and a surprise 2-0 win for Air India were the highlights of Sunday's 10th round of India's I-League.

Tottenham striker Emmanuel Adebayor has defended Chelsea strikers Didier Drogba and Fernando Torres.

Former Real Madrid midfielder Guti said he will make a decision on his future during the course of the coming week.

Arsene Wenger believes the signing of Patrick Vieira helped him to win over the fans at Arsenal.