United News of Bangladesh

Inter Milan has another Champions League final to look forward to. Once the players catch their breath, that is. In the end it took extra time, two astonishing comebacks and 13 goals to separate Barcelona and Inter and see the Italian club — which was a mere seconds away from elimination — prevail 7-6 on aggregate after winning another rollercoaster encounter 4-3 on Tuesday, AP reports. Substitute Davide Frattesi was the extra-time star for Inter, firing home in the 99th minute to leave the Barcelona players slumped to the ground while his Nerazzurri teammates — including those on the bench — were racing to celebrate with him. “I don’t know what happened tonight. I’m lucky I managed to finish the game, I screamed so much (in celebration) that I saw everything black,” Frattesi told Italian broadcaster Sky. Moments earlier, he'd been encouraging the already loud San Siro crowd to make more noise and the atmosphere grew more feverish after Frattesi delivered on his super-sub reputation again. “That’s part of my career," the midfielder said. “I wasn’t given so much incredible talent, but I am always the last one to give up and the first one to believe we can do it. At 3-3, I told Marcus (Thuram) that we would go through.” Three-time European champion Inter, which lost the 2023 final to Manchester City, will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31 for the title. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London last week in their first match. The return leg is Wednesday in Paris. Inter coach Simone Inzaghi thinks his squad has shown in wins over Barcelona in the semis and Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals that it can compete against the very best. “My players have been extraordinary, they've put out there two monstrous performances to get to this final,” he said. "We have to continue. The final will be played against a really great team, whether it's Arsenal or PSG. Barcelona and Bayern are probably the best teams in Europe at the moment, but it will still be difficult." Cristiano Ronaldo’s son gets first Portugal under-15 call-up There was little sign at halftime of the drama to play out. Inter was comfortably leading 2-0 after Lautaro Martínez scored and earned a penalty, which was converted by Hakan Çalhanoğlu. But Barcelona had been in that position before, having gone 2-0 down early last week in the first leg before securing a thrilling 3-3 draw. And Eric García scored nine minutes after the break before Dani Olmo headed in the equalizer six minutes later. Raphina appeared to have secured the win for Barcelona when he put the Spanish club ahead two minutes before full time, tucking away the rebound after Yann Sommer had saved his initial shot. However, 37-year-old Francesco Acerbi astonishingly leveled in stoppage time — with his first goal in European competition — to add another 30 minutes of time. Frattesi had proved crucial off the substitutes' bench before, both for Italy and Inter, and so he was again, controlling Mehdi Taremi's pass and beating Pau Cubarsí before curling past Wojciech Szczęsny. Barcelona almost leveled again but Sommer made a fingertip save to push Lamine Yamal's shot past his post. Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said he told his players “I know everyone is disappointed … but at the end we can be proud of our performance.” “I’m proud of my team," he said. "We have to accept it and we start again next season.”

Cristiano Ronaldo’s eldest son has received his first international call-up, being named in the Portugal Under-15s squad for an upcoming youth tournament. Cristiano Ronaldo Jr, aged 14, is currently based in Saudi Arabia where he plays for Al-Nassr's youth side, mirroring his father’s club career after the Portuguese great joined the Saudi Pro League outfit in December 2022. The legendary forward, 40, shared a proud moment on social media, posting a picture of the squad list featuring his son's name along with the caption: "Proud of you, son." Yamal thrives but misses late chance as Barcelona exits Champions League in semifinals Ronaldo Jr has been selected to represent Portugal in a youth tournament taking place in Croatia between 13-18 May. Portugal are scheduled to face Japan, Greece, and England during the competition. Cristiano Ronaldo Sr, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, remains an active Portugal international with a record-breaking 136 goals for his country — the most by any male footballer in history. He famously captained Portugal to their first major tournament victory at Euro 2016, though he watched most of the final from the sidelines after suffering a 25th-minute injury. He later led the team to another trophy at the Nations League in 2019. In March this year, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star scored but missed a penalty as Portugal edged past Denmark to reach the semi-finals of the Nations League. The Al-Nassr forward is also father to four other children — twins Eva and Mateo, aged 7, Alana Martina, 7, and Bella, 3. A Journey Across Football Academies Ronaldo Jr’s football journey has mirrored his father's globe-trotting career, having featured in the youth academies of Real Madrid, Juventus, Manchester United, and now Al-Nassr. During his time with Juventus, reports suggest he scored an impressive 58 goals in a single season. He also briefly played alongside Kai Rooney — son of Wayne Rooney — during their fathers' overlapping stints at Manchester United. Clips of the teenager recreating his father’s iconic ‘Siu’ celebration while playing for Al-Nassr have frequently gone viral on social media. While Ronaldo Jr is now set to represent Portugal at youth level, he is also eligible to play for the United States — his country of birth — and potentially Spain, due to time spent living there during his father’s spell at Real Madrid. Source: With inputs from BBC  

Almost six minutes into stoppage time, Lamine Yamal entered the area with the ball in front of him and only the goalkeeper to beat. The teenage sensation was being challenged by a defender, but looked in good position to find the net. Instead of scoring the goal that would likely take Barcelona to its first Champions League final in a decade, Yamal couldn’t manage more than a weak left-footed shot that went straight into the hands of Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer. The 17-year-old Spain forward had another strong performance Tuesday, creating chances and being a constant threat, but it wasn't enough to lead the Catalan club to its first Champions League final in a decade. Yamal’s missed opportunity at the end of regulation proved costly, leaving the score even at 3-3 before Inter Milan prevailed 4-3 in extra time to advance to the final 7-6 on aggregate score. Yamal had scored an amazing goal in the first leg in Barcelona, but couldn’t find the net this time to help Barcelona in the return match in San Siro. Inter and Barcelona boosted in attack for Champions League semifinal Another left-footed effort in extra time looked promising but Sommer made a fingertip save to preserve the 4-3 lead. “Which save will I remember?” said Sommer, the game’s most valuable player. “The last one on Lamine Yamal. He is a great player and fortunately it didn’t go in. Many teams would have given up after going down 3-2 but we didn’t and managed to come back.” Sommer was speaking to Sky Italia in quotes reproduced by UEFA. Sommer had already made a few saves to stop Yamal during the match, including a diving, one-handed deflection to parry away a long-range strike by the young forward in the 77th with the score 2-2. Yamal’s missed opportunity at the end of regulation came only minutes after Inter had equalized with a goal by Francesco Acerbi. Raphinha had put Barcelona ahead in the 87th in another thrilling match between the clubs. Bangladesh team reach Arunachal Pradesh for SAFF U-19 C'ship, hoping to clinch title Yamal appeared to be in disbelief after he couldn’t get the ball past Sommer. After the referee blew the whistle at the end of regulation, he briefly raised his shirt in front of his face. A trip to the final would have added to the sensational start of Yamal's career, both with Barcelona and with Spain’s national team, where he has been setting records and earning praise from across the soccer world. Barcelona was trying to reach the final for the first time since it won its fifth Champions League title in 2015.

Inter Milan and Barcelona both have their key forwards back for the second leg of their Champions League semifinal on Tuesday. The teams are tied at 3-3 after their rollercoaster match last week set up a must-see sequel in Milan. Inter captain Lautaro Martinez — Inter’s record goal-scorer in the Champions League — had to come off at halftime in that match with a thigh muscle injury and was considered a major doubt for the second leg. But the Argentina World Cup winner has recovered quicker than expected and Simone Inzaghi has opted to start him against Barcelona. Nottingham Forest draws at Crystal Palace as Champions League hopes fade Lautaro has 21 goals and six assists for Inter across all competitions this campaign. Barcelona is also getting a boost in attack with the return of Robert Lewandowski, who was sidelined for about two weeks because of a thigh injury. Lewandowski will start from the bench, however. The 36-year-old Lewandowski is having one of his best seasons with Barcelona, having scored 40 times, including 11 in the Champions League. Barcelona is aiming to reach the final for the first time since 2015, when it won the last of its five titles. The La Liga leader is also bidding for a treble in its first season under Flick, having already won the Copa del Rey. Inter, which has seen its own treble hopes evaporate after being eliminated in the Italian Cup semifinals, is hoping to reach a second Champions League final in three seasons. It lost to Manchester City in 2023. The winner will face either Paris Saint-Germain or Arsenal in Munich on May 31. PSG beat Arsenal 1-0 in London last week in their first match.

Canadian professional footballer Shamit Shome has received clearance from FIFA Players Status Committee to play for Bangladesh national football team. The 27-year-old midfielder, who currently plays for Cavalry FC in the Canadian Premier League, is now eligible to represent Bangladesh in international competitions, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) confirmed on Tuesday. His debut is expected in the upcoming Asian Cup Qualifier against Singapore, scheduled to be held in Dhaka on June 10. He is set to feature alongside English Premier League footballer Hamza Dewan Choudhury. Ankle injury ruled out Taskin from action for another month  The process of naturalising Shome to play for Bangladesh began in April. He obtained his birth certificate on April 20, followed by a clearance certificate from the Canada Soccer Association on May 1. He received his Bangladeshi passport on May 5 and finally secured approval from the FIFA Players’ Status Committee on May 6. Born and raised in Canada to Bangladeshi parents, Shome previously played two international matches for the Canadian national team in 2020. Earlier on March 25, Hamza Choudhury made his debut for Bangladesh in a match against India.

Bangladesh U-19 Football team safely reached the Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh Tuesday noon Via Kolkata to compete in the six- nation SAFF U-19 Men's Championship’2025 in a hope to clinch the title The regional youth soccer meet will be held from May 9-19 at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia. Bangladesh team, studded with two foreign players, have not any training session today (Tuesday), They will make their first training session on Wednesday at 3 pm local time. Left wingers Abdul Kadir of Italy and forward Farzad Syed Aftab of USA included in the Bangladesh U-19 side for the first time. All the players of Bangladesh team are now in sound health, said a BFF media release Tuesday evening.  Bangladesh team put in Group A of the regional youth soccer meet with Bhutan and the Maldives while the Group B team comprises hosts India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Nazmul Huda Faysal named as the captain of 30- member Bangladesh team,  consists of 23 booters and seven officials. Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Bangladesh coach Golam Rabbani Chotan said: "Our countrymen wants to be the champions in the meet and we also want to do this." Ankle injury ruled out Taskin from action for another month  Bangladesh will play the Maldives in the opening match on May 9 at 4 pm while hosts India will encounter Sri Lanka in the other opening day's fixture at 7:30 pm. In the remaining group match, Bangladesh will face Bhutan on May 11 also at 4 pm at the same venue. Top two teams from each of the two groups will play in the semifinals on May 16 while the final match billed for May 18.

All the 18 rebel national women's footballers of the SAFF Women's Champions Bangladesh Football team finally signed a six-month contract with Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) recently . With the inclusion of 18 rebel booters, all the preliminary selected 53 women's footballers, are now under the BFF payroll in different categories. Earlier in the first phase in February, thirty five preliminarily selected women's footballers signed six-month contract with BFF. Eight national booters out of 18 are now in national training camp in Dhaka under the team's Head Coach Peter Butler. The rest 10 booters, now in Bhutan,to play in the Bhutan Women's National Football League, signed contract with BFF recently from Bhutan, Chairman of the BFF Women’s Wing  Mahfuza Akter Kiron confirmed. A record ten players will play together in the Bhutan national women’s league beginning on May 10. BCL Football: Arambagh KS beat BFF Elite Academy by 2-0 goals Four players --Bangladesh captain Sabina Khatun, SAFF's best player Ritu Porna Chakma, reliable national booters Monika Chakma and Matsushima Sumaya will play for Paro FC. national defender Masura Parvin, SAFF's best goalkeeper Rupna Chakma and Krishna Rani Sarkar will play for the Transport United while Maria Manda, Sanjida Akter and Shamsunnahar Sr will play for Thimphu City. Of the above 10 national booters, nine booters except Matsushima Sumaya, signed contract with BFF in the highest Grade A of Tk 55,000, Tk 5000 more than the previous contract along with another  four other players The four other Grade A footballers are : Tahura Khantun. Sheuly  Azim, Shamsun Nahar Jr and Nilufa Yesmin Nila        The BFF is conducting women's national training camp under head coach Peter Butler ahead of their two international friendly matches against Jordan on May 31 and with Indonesia on June 3, both the matches will be held in Jordan.  Earlier in January 30,  18 rebel national women's footballers boycotted the national training camp under head coach Peter Butler raising some allegations against him.

Nottingham Forest’s hopes of securing a Champions League spot took a blow on Monday after a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in the Premier League. Despite spending much of the season in the league’s top three, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side has managed just one win in its last four matches. That poor run of form has seen them slip behind rivals Chelsea, Newcastle, and a resurgent Manchester City in the standings. Bangladesh team fly for India on Tuesday to take part in SAFF U-19s A victory over Palace would have brought Forest level on points with Chelsea and Newcastle, but settling for a draw leaves them in sixth place — just outside the top five, which secures qualification for next season’s Champions League. The game itself was scrappy at times, with eight players booked in a match that lacked rhythm and clear control from either side. Crystal Palace broke the deadlock just past the hour mark. After a VAR review, goalkeeper Matz Sels was ruled to have brought down Tyrick Mitchell in the box, and Eberechi Eze calmly converted the resulting penalty. Forest responded swiftly, equalizing within four minutes when Murillo managed to deflect Neco Williams’ shot past the Palace keeper. Palace came close to reclaiming the lead late on, with Eze striking the post in the final moments and Eddie Nketiah seeing a stoppage-time goal ruled out for offside. The result extends Palace’s winless run in the league to five matches. “We were a bit unlucky at times — hitting the post, the offside decision — but the players showed great spirit,” said Palace head coach Oliver Glasner. “Creating so many chances against a side like Forest isn’t easy, so I’m really happy with how we played.”    

Bangladesh U-19 Football team will fly for Indian State of Arunachal Pradesh Tuesday morning to participate in the six- nation SAFF U-19 Men's Championship 2025 in a hope to clinch the title The regional youth soccer meet will begin on May 9 at the Golden Jubilee Stadium in Yupia. Bangladesh is in Group A of the regional youth soccer meet with Bhutan and the Maldives, while the Group B team comprises hosts India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Golam Rabbani Faysal will lead the 30-member Bangladesh team, which consists of 23 booters and seven officials. "Our countrymen want to see us as the champions in the meet, and we also want to do so," Bangladesh coach Golam Rabbani Chotan said in a press conference on Monday. Bangladesh will play the Maldives in the opening match on May 9 at 4 pm while hosts India will encounter Sri Lanka in the other opening day's fixture at 7:30 pm . In the remaining group match, Bangladesh will face Bhutan on May 11 at the same venue. The top two teams from each of the two groups will play in the semifinals on May 16, while the final match is billed for May 18.

The “curse” has been lifted. Harry Kane can finally celebrate his first career title after Bayern Munich became Bundesliga champion with a little help from Freiburg on Sunday. Freiburg drew with second-placed Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 to leave Bayern an unassailable eight points clear of the 2024 champion with two rounds of the German league remaining. Kane had never won a title in a career of runner-up finishes and individual top scorer awards with Bayern, Tottenham and England, leading some to speak of a “curse” against a player considered one of the world’s best forwards. Kane's arrival as Bayern's record signing in 2023 was followed by the club's first trophyless season since 2012. Kane was ready to celebrate Saturday when Bayern looked set to win 3-2 in Leipzig. But Yussuf Poulsen equalized with the last kick of the game for Leipzig to draw 3-3 and postpone Bayern’s party. “Next week, Harry!” teammate Thomas Müller wrote on Instagram. He didn’t have to wait that long. Leverkusen played without conviction in Freiburg, knowing that second place was already secured and that it only had a mathematical chance of defending its title with Bayern having a far superior goal difference. Maximilian Eggestein fired the home team ahead before the break and an own-goal from Piero Hincapie after it put Freiburg firmly in control. Leverkusen had to wait till the 82nd minute for Florian Wirtz to pull one back with his team’s first shot on target. Jonathan Tah equalized with the next in stoppage time, but it made no difference for the new league champion. It’s Bayern’s record-extending 34th German championship including the first for the club in 1932. All the others came after the Bundesliga’s formation in 1963. Champions League fight heats upFreiburg's draw kept it fourth in the final place for Champions League qualification, just a point ahead of a resurgent Borussia Dortmund and two ahead of Leipzig. Third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt stayed four points clear of Freiburg with a 1-1 draw at Mainz in the late game. Only the top four teams qualify for Europe's premier club competition. Earlier, Holstein Kiel boosted its hopes of avoiding the drop with a 3-1 win at Augsburg. It moved Kiel one point behind Heidenheim, which occupies the relegation playoff place. Kiel next plays Freiburg, then Dortmund.