Bangladesh’s first and only English Premier League-playing footballer Hamza Dewan Choudhury left the country for Manchester Thursday noon by a Bangladesh Biman flight, to join his club Sheffield United. He left Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka for Sylhet at 9:45am and from there he again flew for Manchester at 11:45am by the same flight. On the eve of  his departure, Hamza Choudhury thanked the soccer crazy Bangladeshi fans for their warm reception and said he will come again Bangladesh to play their AFC Asian Cup qualifiers home match against Singapore on June 10. Bangladesh football team returns home from India on Wednesday after playing  AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers Hamza arrived in  Sylhet on March 17 amid huge enthusiasm among the soccer loving fans to play for Bangladesh national football team in the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against India in Shillong on March 25 and spent 10 days in Bangladesh and India with celebrating mood. After reaching the Sylhet Airport on March 17 at noon, Hamza directly moved to his village home in Shnangath under the Bahubal Upazilla of Habiganj on the same day. On the following day (March 18), Hamza left Habiganj for Dhaka to join the national team’s camp, he addressed the Bangladesh team’s official press on March 19 at a local hotel alongside head coach Javier Cabrera  and captain Jamal Bhuyan before flying for Indian hill city on Shillong on March 20. AFC Asian Cup: Hamza's Bangladesh dominate India in Shillong but waste chances as game ends goalless Hamza was the main inspiration and engine of the Bangladesh team in their first and away Group C match of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against India last Tuesday which ended in a goalless draw after spoiling four to five good chances. In the match, Hamza also guarded properly Indian celebrated footballer Sunil Chhetri, who returned back to the Indian national team from retirement to play against Bangladesh and made him inactive all through the match as result Sunil Chhetri was replaced in the 81st minute of the match.

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has been appointed to the board of directors for the 2028 European Championship, which will be hosted by Britain and Ireland. Mings, 32, is the only player among the three independent non-executive directors overseeing the tournament’s organization. Having played for Aston Villa since 2019, he has earned 18 caps for England and was part of the squad at the 2021 Euros. However, injuries have sidelined him for much of the past two seasons, and at 35, he is unlikely to feature in the England squad for Euro 2028. His role was confirmed alongside the announcement of the official tournament delivery company, UK & Ireland 2028 Limited. English Football Association chair Debbie Hewitt will also chair the Euro 2028 board. UEFA’s decision to award the tournament to the UK and Ireland was largely influenced by England’s modern stadiums, which promise strong matchday revenues. This follows the financially challenging Euro 2021, which was played across 11 countries with limited spectators due to the pandemic. Arsenal stages 3-goal comeback against Real Madrid to reach WCL semis UEFA’s cash reserves fell to €360 million after the pandemic, but Euro 2028 is expected to restore that amount beyond the governing body’s €500 million target. The men's European Championship, held every four years, remains UEFA’s primary source of revenue, funding development grants for its member associations. Among the selected venues is Everton's new waterfront stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which is set to open next season. It will replace Goodison Park and was included in the list of Euro 2028 venues announced in April 2023. The stadium is currently hosting test events ahead of its official launch. Who qualified for the 2026 World Cup? Meanwhile, Casement Park in Belfast, which was initially listed as a host venue, has been dropped after the British government failed to secure the necessary funding for redevelopment. UEFA has yet to announce where Belfast’s allocated matches will now be played. Source: With input from agency 

Bangladeshi pace sensation Nahid Rana said representing country is always the priority over franchise leagues like the Pakistan Premier League (PSL) to him. "To me, representing my country is always the priority over franchise leagues like the PSL," he said. He made the remarks while opening a business establishment in his hometown Chapainawabganj on Thursday. Since his debut for the national team, the Chapainawabganj Express has been showcasing exceptional bowling skills and his blistering pace has already drawn the attention of the international cricketing fraternity in a short time. Following this impressive performance, he has now been drafted into the popular PSL. Pakistani franchise Peshawar Zalmi picked the speedster from the draft and is expected to share the field with stars like Babar Azam and Saim Ayub. Phil Simmons confirmed as Bangladesh head coach until 2027 World Cup Nahid has already applied for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) to participate in the PSL, set to begin on April 11. The speedster said that he has sought permission for the entire PSL season. However, Bangladesh is scheduled to play two Test matches against Zimbabwe in April, raising uncertainty over his full participation in the league. He informed that BCB would decide on his availability after he plays one match. Ashutosh Sharma’s heroics secure dramatic one-wicket win for Delhi over Lucknow in IPL If Nahid gets the green light to play in the PSL, it will be a significant milestone in his career, the tournament providing him with an opportunity to showcase his talent on the international stage.

Alessia Russo scored twice and Arsenal staged a remarkable comeback to reach the Women’s Champions League (WCL) semifinals with a 3-0 win over Real Madrid. Mariona Caldentey scored the other as Arsenal grabbed three goals in 13 minutes to overturn the team’s 2-0 loss in the first leg of the quarterfinal in the Spanish capital last week. Caldentey, who used to torment Madrid while playing for Barcelona, wheeled away in delight after leveling the tie three minutes after Russo pulled a goal back as Arsenal couldn’t have had a better start to the second half. Russo fired Arsenal in front for the first time in the tie with an acrobatic finish in the 59th. It proved to be the winner in the 3-2 victory on aggregate. The England star might have had a hat trick only to be denied by a VAR call for offside, then by Madrid goalkeeper Misa in a one-on-one, then by another offside call. Arsenal needed a save from goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar in stoppage time to prevent Madrid star Linda Caicedo from sending the match to extra time. Arsenal will face last season’s beaten finalist Lyon as it seeks to win the trophy for the second time after success in 2007. Lyon advances Kadidiatou Diani scored one goal and set up two more as Lyon outclassed Bayern Munich 4-1 in the second leg of their quarterfinal earlier. The French powerhouse needed a wake-up call before reaching the semifinals for the 13th time. Klara Bühl opened the scoring in the 33rd minute off the far post to claw a goal back for Bayern after losing the first leg 2-0 in Munich. Who qualified for the 2026 World Cup? Lyon, the eight-time champion, emerged reinvigorated after the break and went on to wrap up a 6-1 victory on aggregate with Diani scoring and setting up goals for Melchie Dumornay and Tabitha Chawinga, who both scored in Munich last week. Dumornay played in Ada Hegerberg to seal the rout with a flourish by shooting the ball through Bayern goalkeeper Maria-Luisa “Mala” Grohs ’ legs in stoppage time. Bayern will be left to rue defensive blunders for undermining its comeback hopes. The other quarterfinal second legs are scheduled for Thursday, with defending champion Barcelona in a comfortable position after a 4-1 win over Wolfsburg in Germany, and Chelsea needing goals as it hosts Manchester City after losing the first leg 2-0. Barcelona defeated Lyon in last year’s final.

Bangladesh football team returned home from India Wednesday afternoon after playing the high voltage Group C match of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers against their traditional rivals India at the floodlit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong. Bangladesh team arrived Hazrat  Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka Wednesday afternoon via Guwahati and Kolkata airports. The much talked about match between two arch rivals host India and touring Bangladesh ended in a goalless draw in the Indian hill city of Shillong Tuesday evening. Who qualified for the 2026 World Cup? Bangladesh-origin English Premier League playing midfielder Hamza Dewan Choudhury made his debut for Bangladesh national team in Tuesday's match and was very much the team's engine with his box-to-box performance. On the other hand,  India's celebrated footballer Sunil Chhetri, who returned back to the Indian national team again from retirement to play against Bangladesh, failed to make any good and visible impact for the Indian team and finally was replaced in the 81st minute of the match. Bangladesh, which started their four-team Group C campaign of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers with an away match against their giant neighbor India Tuesday evening, will face Singapore in their first home and the 2nd group match in Dhaka on June 10. Hamza Choudhury, who arrived Bangladesh in March 17 and joined the national team camp on the next day, will returned England on Thursday (27) . AFC Asian Cup: Hamza's Bangladesh dominate India in Shillong but waste chances as game ends goalless He will again come to Bangladesh to join the national team before the AFC Asian Cup  match against Singapore in Dhaka  Other players of the Bangladesh team back to home or in their club from airport.

The 2026 World Cup will have a record 48 teams, and defending champion Argentina on Tuesday became the first South American team to secure a spot. Iran also clinched a berth. New Zealand qualified on Monday, five days after Japan became the first nation excluding the three hosts to secure a spot. Next year’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada kicks off on June 11 and the final will take place on July 19. Forty-three teams will get their spots through their continent’s qualifying process. Another two will secure their berths in the international playoffs featuring six teams and scheduled for March 2026. What is the breakdown of berths? Asia will have eight direct berths and one in the intercontinental playoff. Africa has nine direct spots plus one for the intercontinental playoff. Argentina beats Brazil 4-1 after securing its place at the 2026 World Cup North and Central America plus the Caribbean get three direct berths and another two spots in the intercontinental playoffs. South America has six direct spots and will send another team to the intercontinental playoffs. Oceania for the first time has a guaranteed spot at the World Cup, and New Zealand clinched that with a 3-0 win over New Caledonia in Auckland. It could add another with New Caledonia going into the intercontinental playoffs. Europe will have 16 teams sure to play in the next World Cup. Who has qualified so far? The three host countries automatically qualify — and thus occupy three of the CONCACAF spots Host nations United States, Mexico, Canada Asia Japan (qualified on March 20 by beating Bahrain 2-0) Iran (qualified on March 25 in 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan) Oceania New Zealand (qualified on March 24 by beating New Caledonia 3-0) South America Argentina (qualified on March 25 after Bolivia failed to beat Uruguay)

Defending champion Argentina had to put the celebrations on hold for a while after securing a place at the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday before kickoff against archrival Brazil. Bolivia’s failure to beat Uruguay meant Argentina had enough cushion in South American qualifying to secure one of the continent’s six direct spots for the 48-team World Cup set to be co-hosted next year by the US, Canada and Mexico. After Bolivia's 0-0 draw with Uruguay at El Alto, Argentina beat Brazil 4-1 in front of 85,000 fans at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium despite the absence of Lionel Messi. Brazil's worst deficit in South American World Cup qualifying history compounded pressure on coach Dorival Júnior, who took over in January of last year. Brazil is in fourth place in South American qualifying with 21 points, 10 behind Argentina but only two behind second-place Ecuador, which was held to a 0-0 draw by Chile. Third-place Uruguay and fifth-place Paraguay also have 21 points, and Colombia is one point behind them in sixth. Seventh-place Venezuela has 15 points after a 1-0 win over 9th-place Peru. AFC Asian Cup: Hamza's Bangladesh dominate India in Shillong but waste chances as game ends goalless Brazil was missing three regular starters — goalkeeper Alisson, defender Gabriel Magalhães and midfielder Bruno Guimarães — and wasn't really competitive from start to finish. It's the first time Argentina has won both matches against Brazil in a World Cup qualifying tournament. The home victory was also Argentina's first against the Brazilians since qualifying for the 2006 World Cup. Argentina has led South American qualifying from the start, with few hiccups and major away wins at Brazil and Uruguay. But coach Lionel Scaloni has not fielded 37-year-old Messi in several games, which still raises doubts on whether the star will play at the World Cup next year. Messi has an injury to his adductor and was not included in Argentina’s squad for the two latest matches. Argentina scored its two first goals in only 12 minutes of play, both thanks to accurate passing and some clumsy Brazilian defending. Julián Alvarez netted the first in the 4th minute after Marquinhos, Murillo and Guilherme Arana failed to reach the ball. The Argentina striker shot between the legs of goalkeeper Bento from close range. Argentina scored again eight minutes later with Enzo Fernández, once again from close range after a low cross by Gonzalo Molina. Brazil got one back via Matheus Cunha in the 26th after a mistake by Cristian Romero, who lost the ball to the Brazilian by the edge of the box. Enzo Fernandez found Alexis Mac Allister bursting into the penalty box unmarked 11 minutes later to make it 3-1 to Argentina. During the break, Brazil sought to get some grip by boosting its presence in the midfield with Joao Gomes and the substitution of Murillo and striker Rodrygo. But it was to no avail, with Giuliano Simeone scoring for Argentina in the 71st minute. “All of us can do better than this. It isn't only about Dorival,” Brazil's captain Marquinhos said. “This is not only the coach's fault, it is the players too. We need to have our heads in the right place. They (Argentina) also had tough times before and they overcame it. We can do it too.”

The high voltage and much talked-about Group C match of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers between two traditional rivals India and Bangladesh ended in a goalless draw at the floodlit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Shillong Tuesday evening. Bangladesh dominated over their upper ranked giant rivals India for most of the proceedings and spoiled at least five good chances, including three in the first half. But hosts Indian reorganised themselves in the 2nd half and hit back with a series of attempts, which were foiled by Bangladesh's defenders. Bangladesh-origin English Premier League playing midfielder Hamza Dewan Choudhury made his debut for Bangladesh national team in the day's match and was very much the team's engine with his box-to-box performance. On the other hand India's celebrated footballer Sunil Chettri, who returned back to the Indian national team again from retirement to play against Bangladesh, failed to make any good and visible impact for his team and finally was replaced iin the 81st minute of the match. Bangladesh started their four-team Group C campaign of the AFC Asian Cup with an away match against their giant rival India and shared points with their giant rivals India in a debut match of English Premier League booter Hazma Choudhury for Bangladesh. In the day's match, Bangladesh managed two good chances in the first 12 minutes following the lapses of Indian custodian Vishal Kaith. Hamza Choudhury set for landmark debut as Bangladesh face India in Asian Cup Qualifier Midfielder Mojibor Rahman Jonny missed the first chance just 30 seconds into the match as he failed to connect the ball properly from close range while defender Mohammad Ridoy missed the 2nd opportunity in the 12th minute failing to place the ball home from the danger zone. Bangladesh forward Shahriar Emon came close to scoring in the 18th minute but his header from a Morsalin pass went outside with the frustration of Bangladesh fans. In the 55th minute, India were deprived of a goal as their celebrated footballer Sunil Chhetri failed to make his header count from a vintage position, off a Liston Colaco pass. Bangladesh skipper Topu Barman left the field with injury in the 22nd minute of the match leaving Bangladesh in deep trouble. Indian defender Subashish Bose made a good attempt but Sunil Chhetri failed to convert it. Earlier 21-year-old Bangladesh custodian Mitul Marma made two brilliant saves. Another attempt for Bangladesh by Foysal Ahmed Fahim in the 88th minute was brilliantly saved by the Indian custodian while forward Rakib Hossain missed the target narrowly in the added time.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has confirmed the extension of Phil Simmons’ tenure as head coach of the national men’s team, with the former West Indies batter set to remain in charge until the ICC ODI World Cup in 2027. Simmons, 61, initially joined Bangladesh in October 2024 on a short-term deal that ran through to the end of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Following a positive impression during that period, which included series against South Africa, Afghanistan, and the West Indies, as well as the Champions Trophy campaign in Pakistan and the UAE, the BCB has now opted to continue with him on a long-term basis. “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to work with Bangladesh cricket on a long-term basis,” Simmons said in a media release issued by the BCB. “The talent within this team is undeniable, and I believe we have the potential to achieve great things together. I am looking forward to the journey ahead,” he added. Simmons praised the players he has worked with so far, highlighting their “skill and passion” and expressing confidence in the team’s future. Shakib cleared to bowl again, eyes return to competitive cricket “My time with the Bangladesh team over the past few months has been incredibly rewarding. The energy, commitment, and ability within this group have been nothing short of impressive. I’m excited to continue helping these players reach their full potential,” he added. A veteran coach with nearly two decades of experience, Simmons has previously led several international sides. After a playing career that included 26 Tests and 143 ODIs for the West Indies between 1987 and 1999, he transitioned to coaching, starting with Zimbabwe in 2004. He then led Ireland from 2007 to 2015, steering them to three ICC World Cups and a historic win over England in 2011. He had two stints as West Indies head coach and was at the helm when they lifted the ICC World T20 title in 2016. Simmons also coached Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019.

Tonight, the journey begins. Bangladesh are taking on India on Tuesday evening at the Nehru Stadium in Shillong in a high-stake AFC Asian Cup 2027 qualifying match. In this match, Hamza Choudhury set for a landmark debut for Bangladesh. The game, kicking off at 7 PM local time, is being billed as more than just a qualifier—it’s going to be a symbolic showdown between past dominance and fresh hope. Born in England to a Bangladeshi mother and Grenadian father, Hamza's decision to represent Bangladesh has already stirred nationwide excitement. From fans lighting flares at Sylhet airport to his warm reception at his ancestral village in Snanghat, the Premier League midfielder’s arrival has brought new life into a struggling football nation. Currently on loan at Sheffield United from Leicester City, Hamza is the most high-profile player ever to wear Bangladesh’s red and green. With 57 Premier League appearances and an FA Cup medal, his pedigree brings a level of experience rarely seen in South Asian football. Thousands welcome football star Hamza Choudhury home to his village in Sylhet Hamza’s debut adds fresh intrigue to Bangladesh’s clash against India—an opponent that has haunted them for over a decade, primarily through the brilliance of Sunil Chhetri. The Indian captain, who recently reversed his international retirement, has scored six goals in six appearances against Bangladesh, including match-winners and late heartbreakers. Chhetri’s influence remains formidable, but Hamza offers Bangladesh something they’ve never had before: a midfielder capable of dictating play at the highest level. “We have to help him. He is obviously the best player in South Asia,” Bangladesh captain Jamal Bhuyan said recently to the reporters. Jamal, an expat himself, has led the national team through years of underachievement. He believes Hamza’s inclusion could signal a shift in Bangladesh’s footballing identity, opening the door for other diaspora players to join. The buzz around Hamza’s arrival has already begun paying dividends. The Bangladesh Football Federation recently secured a five-year sponsorship deal with United Commercial Bank—its first long-term sponsor—partly credited to the increased visibility Hamza has brought to the national team. In training, Hamza has quickly gelled with teammates. “Hamza has adapted very quickly to the squad. It feels like he has been playing with us for a long time,” said midfielder Sohel Rana. Hamza Choudhury cleared by FIFA to play for Bangladesh Defender Topu Barman echoed the sentiment. “He is fit, and so are we. Our mental approach this time is different. We’re travelling with a winning mentality,” Topu said. India, however, will not make it easy. After a long winless streak, they found form last week, beating Maldives 3-0. Chhetri returned with a goal, and players like Liston Colaco and Ayush Dev Chhetri impressed in attack. Coach Manolo Marquez will be wary of Hamza’s impact but confident in his team’s depth and set-piece strength. For Bangladesh, the stakes are clear— break the Chhetri curse, make a statement in Asian football, and ride the wave of Hamza Choudhury’s arrival into a new era. For Hamza, it’s not just about playing for Bangladesh—it’s about inspiring a generation that dreams of seeing their nation rise on the global stage.