United News of Bangladesh

Goalkeeper Matz Sels was the hero for Nottingham Forest as he saved the last penalty in a shootout to take his team past Ipswich Town and into the quarterfinals of the FA Cup on Monday. The teams were tied 1-1 after 90 minutes and extra time and the first nine takers all converted their penalties in a nail-biting finale. Then Sels dived to his left to stop Jack Taylor’s kick and guarantee Forest a last-eight tie at Brighton. The shootout followed a gripping game at City Ground that was tighter than the teams' Premier League positions suggested. The home side has been the league’s surprise package and sits third on the table, above Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United. But it was Ipswich, third-to-last in the league, that took the lead eight minutes into the second half when George Hirst converted a back post header. BAR vs RSO: Barcelona crush 10-Man Real Sociedad to return to the La Liga summit Forest got back on level terms when Ryan Yates met Anthony Elanga’s inviting cross from the right and headed home. Yates had a second goal disallowed just minutes later, and Callum Hudson-Odoi hit the bar with a long-range effort seven minutes from time. Although both sides pushed forward for a winner, especially in the end-to-end half hour of extra time, it went to penalties. “It was the only penalty I was in the right corner (for)!" Sels said. "In penalties, one of the goalkeepers is going to be the hero. I am happy. Looking forward to the weekend now.”

The long serving general secretary of South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Anwarul Haque Helal of Bangladesh resigned from the hot seat of the regional football. Experienced football organizer Helal, who renewed his contract as the SAFF general secretary early this year, suddenly resigned from the post showing personal reasons. Pakistan's international soccer ban lifted in time to contest Asian Cup qualifiers Helal, who submitted his resignation letter on February 28 and which will be effective from the first day of April this year. Helal served as the SAFF general secretary since 2015 SAFF president Kazi M Salahuddin said “Helal resigned from GS post and he will explain the reason better than me”.

Pakistan is set to rejoin international soccer in time for Asian Cup qualifiers later this month after FIFA lifted a ban it imposed on Feb. 6. The Pakistan Football Federation was last month hit by a third international suspension in less than eight years after rejecting FIFA’s recommended amendments to its constitution. At an extraordinary congress in Lahore last week, the PFF unanimously voted to accept the reforms in time to be eligible to contest qualifying for the 2027 Asian Cup. BAR vs RSO: Barcelona crush 10-Man Real Sociedad to return to the La Liga summit Pakistan is scheduled to kick off Group E of qualification against Syria on March 25. “We thank FIFA and the (Asian Football Confederation) for their continued support of Pakistan football and extend our heartfelt congratulations to the Pakistan football community” the PFF said in a social media post responding to Sunday's decision. The AFC had earlier informed Pakistan soccer administrators that the ban had to be lifted by March 4 for the men’s national team to be allowed to participate in 2027 Asian Cup qualification.    

On Sunday (March 02, 2025), Barcelona secured a commanding 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.  Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Sociedad—three of La Liga’s strongest teams—faced Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona in the same week. After Real Madrid failed to overcome the challenge, Atlético Madrid took full advantage. Barcelona easily secured their win as Real Sociedad were reduced to 10 men. A Dominant Display at the Olympic Stadium The match turned heavily in Barcelona’s favour just 15 minutes in when Sociedad captain Aritz Elustondo received a straight red card, leaving his team with 10 players. Taking advantage, Barcelona quickly gained control, with fullback Gerard Martin and midfielder Marc Casado scoring in the 25th and 29th minutes, respectively. In the second half, Ronald Araújo and Robert Lewandowski added two more goals in the 56th and 60th minutes. Read more: San Diego FC makes its home debut before a sellout crowd in a city hungry for top-level soccer With this victory, Barcelona reclaimed the top spot in the league with 57 points from 26 matches (18 wins, 3 draws). Atlético Madrid dropped to second with 56 points, while Real Madrid slipped to third with 54.

A match decades in the making finally happens Saturday night when San Diego FC debuts on its home field in front of a sellout crowd of fans starved for elite professional sports — and particularly hungry for top-level soccer. San Diego's first Major League Soccer club began competition as the league's 30th franchise last week, and made an immediate splash by beating the defending MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy on their home field. A week later, San Diego formally christens Snapdragon Stadium, the new arena built on the Mission Valley ground once occupied by the oft-renamed home of MLB's Padres and the NFL's Chargers. The night is a dream come true for generations of San Diego soccer fans, who have watched while products of their extensive youth systems advanced to all levels of the international game. San Diego's year-round sunshine and location on the border with Mexico make it a soccer haven, but after years of failed attempts to get a serious team in a top North American league, those fans finally have a well-organized, well-funded team to call their own. Danish winger Anders Dreyer, who scored both goals in San Diego's 2-0 victory over the Galaxy last week, already has a feeling for his new town's passion for the sport. He hopes San Diego FC will send a message immediately. "Hopefully it's going to be a magical night, and we want to make it that for the fans and for the city," Dreyer said. “You can really feel the energy from the fans and the passion about now having a football team in San Diego. We need that 12th man at home.” San Diego's home debut against St. Louis SC will be in front of a boisterous crowd in a soccer-crazed city eager for another pro sports franchise to cheer in what has become a bit of a sports desert. San Diego FC arrives to fill a significant vacuum. When the NFL's Chargers moved 90 miles north to Los Angeles in 2017, only the Padres were left among the continent's most popular pro sports for the San Diego area's 3.2 million people, although the NWSL's San Diego Wave also began play in 2022. Ronaldo and Al-Nassr chase Asian glory as Saudi clubs dominate Every other U.S. metropolitan area with more than 2.7 million people had at least two teams in North America's major pro sports — except the Lakers-and-Dodgers-loving Riverside/San Bernardino area, which is considered a separate metro area from Los Angeles by demographers. The well-to-do San Diego market was ripe for new sports, but its lack of a world-class indoor arena has quashed any ambitions for an NBA or NHL franchise. San Diego also didn't have a top-quality outdoor arena besides the Padres' Petco Park, which is why the Chargers left town. But the city's sports rebirth started when it tore down the former Jack Murphy Stadium in early 2021 and sold the land to San Diego State University, which built and opened Snapdragon Stadium in 2022. San Diego FC was already more than a dream at that point, but it got serious just a few weeks after Snapdragon opened. That's when Egyptian-born British billionaire Mohamed Mansour joined the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation in a bid for an MLS franchise. The group paid a $500 million expansion fee to secure the league's 30th team in May 2023. Less than two years later, a team led by Mexican star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano and Dreyer is on the field and generating excitement.

Cristiano Ronaldo can take a major step towards the Asian Champions League elite title in Iran on Monday, though Al-Nassr is not the only Saudi Arabian club in contention for the big prize. Ronaldo has yet to win a major trophy since signing for the Riyadh club in December 2022 and victory over Esteghlal of Tehran in the two-legged Round of 16 tie would mean a place in the last eight for Al-Nassr. The 40-year-old has won five UEFA Champions Leagues while Al-Nassr has yet to win one in Asia. Domestically Al-Nassr is off the pace and its latest setback — a 2-1 defeat at Al-Orubah on Friday — saw it slip into fourth in the Saudi Pro League and increase the pressure on coach Stefano Pioli. “We had many chances but could not score,” said Pioli. “We have a lot of games in a short period of time and only had two days rest before this game and now we have to get ready for another one in the Asian Champions League.” Ronaldo has been in good form in Asia scoring six goals in the group stage, helping Al-Nassr finish third in a 12-team group behind two other Saudi Arabian clubs. Al Hilal seeking fifth ACL title Nassr’s Riyadh rival Al-Hilal won the group stage and continues its quest for a record fifth continental title against Pakhatkor of Uzbekistan. Jose Mourinho banned for four matches and fined after Turkish referees comment With talent such as Joao Cancelo and Ruben Neves of Portugal as well as Brazilian stars Marcos Leonardo, Kaio Cesar and Malcom, Hilal is the strong favorite to beat the Central Asian team who won only one of eight games in the group stage. Al-Ahli finished second in the group and meets Qatar’s Al-Rayyan. Former English Premier League star Ivan Toney in fine form as he scored a hat trick on Friday as Al-Ahli won 3-2 at Al-Hilal. Elsewhere, two-time champion Al-Sadd of Qatar faces Al-Wasl from the United Arab Emirates. Japanese clubs rising in the east None of the eight teams in the eastern zone, the tournament is divided into two geographic zones until the quarterfinal stage, have won the tournament before. Argentina’s Racing wins at Brazil’s Botafogo to secure its 1st Recopa Sudamericana title The three Japanese teams strolled through the group stage however. Yokohama F. Marinos will meet former coach Kevin Muscat, now in charge of Shanghai Port. Kawasaki Frontale travels to Shanghai Shenhua and Vissel Kobe hosts Gwangju FC, South Korea’s sole representative. The remaining tie is a Southeast Asian affair as Buriram United of Thailand meets Malaysia’s Johor Darul Tazim. The final will be held in the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah on May 4.

The touring Bangladesh national women's football team will face the host United Arab Emirates (UAE) national women's national team in their second and last international friendly football match on Sunday. The match will kick off at 8:00 pm UAE time and 10 pm Bangladesh time at pitch number 1 of the UAE Football Association complex in Dubai. Jose Mourinho banned for four matches and fined after Turkish referees comment Earlier, the English head coach Peter Butler's youthful and new-look Bangladesh women's team suffered a 1-3 defeat against hosts UAE Women's National team in the first match of the two-match FIFA International Friendlies Series at the same venue Wednesday night. This was the first match between the two national sides, although Bangladesh women's beat the UAE women's team several times in different age group competitions. In Wednesday's first match, forward Georgia struck twice, and another forward, Elizabeth, netted the other goal for UAE, while captain Afeida Khandakar scored the only goal for the Bangladesh team from a penalty. Ahead of the Sunday's match, the Bangladesh women's team made practices in the last two days, focusing on match strategy, team combination, and set piece practices. Bangladesh Women's Football team concede defeat against hosts UAE in first match The Bangladesh team were determined to put in a stronger performance and is working hard to win the last match, overcoming the lapses in the first match.

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho was given a four-match ban and fined by the Turkish Football Federation following his comments about Turkish referees after a match at Galatasaray. The Turkish federation on Thursday fined the 62-year-old Portuguese coach 1.6 million Turkish lira ($44,000) after he criticized the match officials in a media conference following a 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday. Mourinho served one of his suspended four games on Thursday when he was absent from the bench for Fenerbahce's 4-1 Turkish Cup win at Gaziantep. Britain's Sky Sports News said Fenerbahce had appealed the four-game ban. It means that if Fenerbahce’s appeal is unsuccessful, he will miss their next three domestic games. In his post-match interview on Monday, Mourinho welcomed the decision to bring in a foreign referee for the game and also praised Slavko Vincic of Slovenia for a “top performance.” Endrick fires Real Madrid to 1-0 win in first leg of Copa del Rey semifinals Mourinho said he’d gone to see the referee and thank him following the game. When he saw the fourth official — a Turkish referee — Mourinho said he told him: “If you are the referee ... would be a disaster.” Asked about a challenge early in the match, he said a Turkish referee would have reacted with a yellow card “after the big dive and their bench jumping around like monkeys.” The Turkish federation said the ban and fine were instituted due to “derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee” and accusations of chaos and disorder in Turkish football. It said Mourinho’s remarks violated sports ethics, promoted violence and disorder and could incite fan incidents. Fenerbahce issued a statement on Tuesday defending Mourinho, saying his comments were taken out of context and deliberately distorted. Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mourinho has previously been fined and suspended for his comments about Turkish match officials. Lionel Messi strikes early, Inter Miami beats Sporting KC 3-1 to advance in Champions Cup On Wednesday, former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba supported his former coach and said Mourinho “is not a racist and history is there to prove it.”

Argentina’s Racing Club beat Brazil’s Botafogo 2-0 on Thursday to win the Recopa Sudamericana title by 4-0 on aggregate. The Recopa Sudamericana is played between the winners of the latest Copa Sudamericana and of the more prestigious Copa Libertadores. It was Racing's first Sudamericana title. Weaver out for the Thorns' season with a right knee injury Matias Zaracho opened the scoring for the visitors in the 50th minute. Bruno Zuculini scored the second goal at the Nilton Santos Stadium in Rio de Janeiro in the 69th minute. On Wednesday, two fans from Argentina were shot by a thief at a beach in Rio’s west side. Both survived.

Bangladesh national women' s football team suffered a  1-3 goals defeat against hosts United Arab Emirates Women's National team in the first match of the two-match FIFA International Friendlies Series at Pitch 1 of the UAE Football Association complex in Dubai Wednesday night. This was the first match between the two national sides, although Bangladesh beat UAE women's teams several times in different age group competitions. In Wednesday's first match, forward Elizabeth put the hosts UAE team ahead in the 18th minute (1-0) while another forward Gorgia doubled the margin in the 28th minute (2-0)  Bangladesh defender and newly appointed captain Afeida Khandakar reduced the margin in the 34th minute from a penalty (2-1) to go for first half break. In the 2nd half, Gorgia further sounded the UAE margin in the 74th minute scoring her 2nd goal. Earlier, Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) announced a 23-member national women’s football team excluding captain Sabina Khatun-led rebelling 18-senior national footballers just few hours after the SAFF-winning Bangladesh women's football team received Ekushey Padak from Chief Adviser. Only eight players of the last SAFF winning 30-member Bangladesh women's team were included in the squad. They are: Afeida Khandakar, Kohati Kishu, Munki Akter, Shaheda Akter Ripa, Iirin Khatun, Yearzan Begum, Sapna Rani and Mili Akter, Despite Wednesday's result, the Bangladesh team gained valuable experience and is now fully focused on making a strong comeback in the next and last match on March 2, said a BFF media release Thursday afternoon  To aid recovery and ensure peak performance, the team held a recovery session this (Thursday) morning from 10 am to 11 am at their training session. The session focused on light exercises, stretching, and rehabilitation. The rest of the day has been dedicated to complete recovery as the squad prepares for their upcoming challenge. After the day's lunch, Fahad Karim, Vice Presidents of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF), visited the team at their hotel.  He met with the players and coaching staff, offering words of encouragement and motivation as they gear up for the next match. His visit lifted the team’s spirits and reinforced their determination to perform better in the upcoming fixture. The second and last match of the series is set for March 2 at 8:00 pm  UAE time (10 pm Bangladesh time). The team remains determined to put in a stronger performance and is working hard to improve ahead of the next match.