Bangladesh’s happy run in home ODI series has finally come to an end with a 132-run massive defeat to England on Friday in Mirpur. In response to England's total of 326 for seven, Bangladesh tumbled for 194 in 44.4 overs and lost the match by a big margin. Bangladesh lost three early wickets, including two golden ducks by Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto, while replying and could never recover from that damage. In the first over of their innings, Sam Curran removed Litton and Shanto. In his second over, Curran scalped the wicket of Mushfiqur Rahim as well. At this point, the onus was on Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan to guide the team to a safe position. They tried to do so, but did not succeed. After three early wickets, Shakib and Tamim added 79 runs to the board, but it was not enough for the Tigers to climb the huge target set by the tourists. Mahmudullah Riyad and Afif Hossain had a good start each, but they failed to capitalize on that against a quality bowling attack of the tourists. Read more: 2nd ODI: Roy, Buttler power England to 326 against Bangladesh Curran ended up taking the wicket of Taijul Islam, Bangladesh's last wicket, returning impressive figures of four wickets for 29 runs in 6.4 overs. Adil Rashid also bagged four wickets for England. Earlier, Jason Roy's outstanding century and Jos Buttler's useful 76 helped England reach a formidable total of 326. With this batting effort, England set themselves up to clinch the ODI series with one match in hand. This was England's highest-ever total in Bangladesh in ODIs. Ironically, Bangladesh's last home ODI series loss seven years ago was also to England. England's batting approach on the tricky Mirpur surface seemed to work well as they scored steadily throughout the innings without being overly aggressive until the last few overs. Taskin Ahmed was the most successful bowler for Bangladesh, taking three wickets, but he conceded over 60 runs in his ten overs, including 15 runs in the last over of the innings. Mehidy Hasan Miraz also struggled with the ball, conceding more than seven runs per over in his ten overs and taking only two wickets. Mustafizur Rahman once again raised concerns about his form, conceding 66 runs in 10 overs without any luck. To win this match, Bangladesh needed to set a new record for their highest successful chase at Mirpur. Their previous best was in 2012 when they chased down India's target of 290, thanks to fifties from Tamim, Jahurul Islam, and Nasir Hossain, with contributions from Shakib and Mushfiqur. To keep the hope of winning the series alive, Bangladesh needed a similar team effort on Friday, but they failed to do that. The third and final match of the ODI series will take place in Chattogram on March 6. After that, both teams will lock horns in a three-match T20 series.

After a third shot at a major tournament ended in disappointment, Gareth Southgate wants time to consider his future as England coach. Southgate is under contract until December 2024, but after the 2-1 loss to France in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, he could not guarantee he would stick around until then. “Whenever I’ve finished these tournaments I’ve needed time to make the correct decision because emotionally you go through so many different feelings and the energy that it takes through these tournaments is enormous,” Southgate said after the match at Al Bayt Stadium. “I want to make the right decision, whatever that is for the team, for England, the FA. I think it is right to take time to do that.” Southgate’s bosses at the English Football Association are certainly delighted with the progress the national team has made since he was hired in 2016. Back then, England was in crisis after a humiliating loss to Iceland in that year’s European Championship. Sam Allardyce took over but lasted just one game and 67 days in charge after being filmed by undercover journalists offering advice on how to sidestep an outlawed player transfer practice and trying to cash in on his job with speaking engagements. Read: England out to stop World Cup’s ‘irresistible force’ Mbappé The FA turned to Southgate and hasn’t looked back. England made it to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018 and lost on penalties to Italy at Euro 2020. The quarterfinals exit against France is the earliest Southgate has been knocked out of a tournament. “They could not have given any more. But, of course, tonight we have come up short. And we felt we could come here to win the tournament,” he said Saturday. “Tonight is probably the best, I think, we’ve played against a major nation across the period I’ve been in charge. In the end, the scoreline is all that matters, so that’s very hard to take.” Southgate was jeered by England fans after a 4-0 loss at home to Hungary in June — its worst home defeat since 1928. He has also been criticized for being too cautious in the biggest games. But England dominated possession and chances against defending champions France — and if Harry Kane had converted his 84th minute penalty to tie the game, it could have been a different story. Read: England vs France Quarter-final Preview: FIFA World Cup 2022 Kane had already struck once from the spot following Aurelian Tchouameni’s opening goal for France. But he fired his next effort over the bar after Olivier Giroud had restored France’s lead. “We had better spells, better chances but football comes down to small details — as the captain and the one who missed the penalty, I take responsibility for that,” Kane said. “The team is in a really good place and there will be highs in the future. Standing here now, we are gutted it has come to an end as we had full belief we could go all the way.” With Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka emerging as two of the standout stars of the World Cup, England has a core of young players to build around for Euro 2024. The question is whether Southgate will be there to lead them. “I know, in the past, how my feelings have fluctuated in the immediate aftermath of tournaments,” he said. “To go again is a lot of energy and you’ve got to make sure that you’re ready for that.”

Respect achieved. Wins await. American players wanted more than a 0-0 draw with England on Friday night, likely the most-watched match of their lives. The U.S. shut out a European opponent in the World Cup for the first time since 1950 yet left the tent-like stadium in the Arabian desert knowing a win in Tuesday’s politically charged matchup with Iran is a must to reach the knockout stage. “We dominated the game. We had the more clear-cut chances. Obviously, it sucks that we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net,” said midfielder Weston McKennie, standing out with red, white and blue streaks in his hair. “There’s a lot of people that obviously thought we were going to get blown out.” Read more: US frustrate England again at a World Cup in 0-0 draw The British tabloid The Sun ran a headline calling the result “Yawn in the USA.” England supporters booed loudly at the final whistle and American fans cheered. “I guess that’s a positive sign,” U.S. star Christian Pulisic said. “Back home watching, I hope we made a lot of people proud.” Playing before what figured to be a huge Black Friday television audience, the former Colonies remained unbeaten in three World Cup matches against Ye Olde Country, a run that includes the famous 1-0 upset at Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 1950 and the 1-1 draw at Rustenberg, South Africa, in 2010. The U.S. had conceded goals in 19 consecutive Cup matches against European opponents until Matt Turner matched Frank Borghi’s clean sheet of 72 years earlier. American fans outcheered England supporters, too, including a cheeky serenade of “It’s called soccer!” in the 40th minute. “Now I’ll go back and I don’t think my Leeds teammates can say anything with all the banter they were saying before,” midfielder Brenden Aaronson said. “I think it does show that were going to get respect out of this game.” In 2010, England dominated 14-10 in shots and 6-4 in corner kicks. This time the U.S., using five starters from Premier League clubs, led 10-8 in shots and 7-3 in corners. Read more: Southgate reminds England it hasn’t beaten US at World Cup McKennie had the best U.S. chance, putting an open 9-yard attempt wide from Tim Weah’s cross in the 26th minute. Seven minutes later, Pulisic bent a shot with his weaker left foot around Kieran Trippier and Bukayo Saka, and the ball glanced off a fingertip of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and against the crossbar. England’s best opportunity came in second-half stoppage time, when Harry Kane sliced a header wide from Luke Shaw’s free kick. The U.S. wore blue tie-dyed uniforms in Bayt Stadium, which has a tent-shaped roof with an underside in a red-and-black carpet pattern. The interior is filled with the sadu pattern of the Bedouin. Coach Gregg Berhalter made just one change from the 1-1 draw against Wales, replacing forward Josh Sargent with Haji Wright in just his fifth international appearance. Usually wedded to a 4-3-3 formation, Berhalter switched to a 4-4-2 that was first practiced Wednesday, according to Aaronson, who referred to it as an “amoeba.” “Regarding changing the way the world views American soccer, we’re chipping away at it, and you need games like tonight to be able to do that,” Berhalter said. “I talked before the World Cup about how seriously the team is taking, the staff is taking this responsibility to gain momentum in this sport in America, and good performances will do that. We want to capture the public’s attention. We want to perform at a high level. We want to give them something to be proud of, and a night like tonight helps, but there has to be more to come.” Still, the U.S. has five losses and five draws against European teams at the World Cup since beating Portugal in 2002. Looking ahead to the Iran match likely will be the huge topic of Saturday’s Thanksgiving dinner with players, family and friends. Iran upset the U.S. 2-1 at Lyon, France, in the second game of the 1998 World Cup, eliminating the Americans. Team Melli is coming off Friday’s 2-0 upset of Wales and would advance with a win, or with a tie if Wales fails to beat England. “All we can ask for is to have destiny in our own hands,” Turner said, “and we have that.”

Unfortunately for Argentina fans, it wasn’t just a bad dream. Their team really did lose 2-1 to Saudi Arabia in one of the biggest shocks in the World Cup’s 92-year history. Now the pressure is on Lionel Messi and Argentina, who cannot afford to lose their next match against Mexico on Saturday if they want to keep their World Cup hopes alive. “It’s time to be united, turn the page and no longer think about what happened,” Messi said after the humiliating defeat against Saudi Arabia, the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament. “Take reflections, take the positives to improve what we did wrong and think about Mexico. We always said we were going to look to win every game and now more than ever.” So much for Argentina arriving in Qatar in ideal shape to win a third World Cup, having won the Copa America last year and been on a 36-game unbeaten run. Now there are doubts springing up everywhere. Are key players fit enough? Does Lionel Scaloni — Argentina’s accidental coach — have the experience to handle the pressure of a World Cup? And can Messi, now 35, still carry Argentina to the one prize in soccer still to elude him? Worryingly, Messi spoke of “anxiety” that crept into his team. Read: Are Argentina still genuine contenders? “The goal so early (in the second half) hurt us, it made us confused,” Messi said. “We knew it could happen in the first game, if we didn’t play in the best way we were doing, and I think that happened to us. We didn’t find the performance or the game that we’ve been demonstrating for a long time.” In some ways, the loss to the Saudis was a freak result. They scored with two of their three shots on goal, all of which came in the second half. Argentina could easily have been two or three goals ahead by halftime if it wasn’t for a couple of marginal offside calls only discovered by video review. And Argentina created enough chances late in the game to take at least a draw. Yet, there were enough problems to make even the most optimistic Argentina fan concerned. Some players clearly weren’t at peak fitness. Cristian Romero, the center back rounded too easily by Saleh Alshehri for the first goal, hasn’t played for the last month at English club Tottenham because of a muscle injury and didn’t look ready. Similarly, Leandro Paredes and striker Angel Di Maria have played limited minutes since October after injuries. That Romero and Paredes were substituted soon after Saudi Arabia’s second goal in the 53rd was an indication something was not right. Center midfielder Rodrigo De Paul and right back Nahuel Molina are not regulars for Atletico Madrid and lacked sharpness. De Paul, in particular, ended up struggling with the Saudis’ unexpected intensity and physicality. Read: From Jordan to Qatar, Arab fans celebrate Saudi victory over favourite Argentina Giovani Lo Celso, a favorite of Scaloni but out of the World Cup because of injury, was missed in midfield. Center back Nicolas Otamendi started against Saudi Arabia, but Scaloni may opt for Lisandro Martínez against Mexico, given his improving form for Manchester United this season. There was already a fragile look to Argentina’s defense in the first half, under limited pressure from the Saudis. That was exposed throughout the second half, forcing Messi to drop deeper in search of the ball. Messi insisted the day before the game that he was in good shape, despite training individually two days last week and being pictured with padding around his right ankle. He was still a joy to watch in Tuesday’s game with the ball at his feet and when given space but he found himself crowded out in the second half. At 35, he could find it difficult to play intense matches every four days at the World Cup. Argentina has three days to sort things out before they return to Lusail stadium, where the Saudis caused one of the World Cup’s biggest upsets, to play Mexico. The 89,000-seat stadium will also stage the World Cup final on Dec. 18, Read: ‘Now's the time to be more united than ever’: Messi after Argentina's shocking defeat to Saudi Arabia Goalkeeper Emi Martinez said that Argentina will go into the Mexico game as if they were playing for the title. “Saturday is our first World Cup final,” he said, adding the early defeat may help galvanize the team. “If we want to be world champions, it’s good to have a stumble,” he said. “A stumble is not a fall.”

Leave it to Serena Williams to not want to go quietly, to not want this match, this trip to the U.S. Open, this transcendent career of hers, to really, truly end. Right down to what were, barring a change of heart, the final minutes of her quarter-century of excellence on the tennis court, and an unbending unwillingness to be told what wasn’t possible, Williams tried to mount one last classic comeback, earn one last vintage victory, with fans on their feet in a full Arthur Ashe Stadium, cellphone cameras at the ready. The 23-time Grand Slam champion staved off five match points to prolong the three-hours-plus proceedings, but could not do more, and was eliminated from the U.S. Open in the third round by Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Friday night in what is expected to be her final contest. “I’ve been down before. ... I don’t really give up,” Williams said. “In my career, I’ve never given up. In matches, I don’t give up. Definitely wasn’t giving up tonight.” She turns 41 this month and recently told the world that she is ready to start “evolving” away from her playing days — she expressed distaste for the word “retirement” — and while she remained purposely vague about whether this appearance at Flushing Meadows definitely would represent her last hurrah, everyone assumed it will be. “It’s been the most incredible ride and journey I’ve ever been on in my life,” Williams said, tears streaming down her cheeks shortly after one final shot landed in the net. “I’m so grateful to every single person that’s ever said, ‘Go, Serena!’ in their life.” Asked during an on-court interview whether she might reconsider walking away, Williams replied: “I don’t think so, but you never know.” A little later, pressed on the same topic at her post-match news conference, Williams joked, “I always did love Australia,” the country that hosts the next Grand Slam tournament in January. With two victories in singles this week, including over the No. 2 player in the world, Anett Kontaveit, on Wednesday, Williams took her fans on a thrill-a-minute throwback trip at the hard-court tournament that was the site of a half-dozen of her championships. The first came in 1999 in New York, when Williams was a teen. Now she’s married and a mother; her daughter, Olympia, turned 5 on Thursday. “Clearly, I’m still capable. ... (But) I’m ready to be a mom, explore a different version of Serena,” she said. “Technically, in the world, I’m still super young, so I want to have a little bit of a life while I’m still walking.” With 23,859 of her closest friends cheering raucously again Friday, Williams faltered against Tomljanovic, a 29-year-old Australian who is ranked 46th. Williams gave away leads in each set, including the last, in which she was up 1-0 before dropping the final six games. Tomljanovic is unabashedly a fan of Williams, having growing up watching her play on TV. “I’m feeling really sorry, just because I love Serena just as much as you guys do. And what she’s done for me, for the sport of tennis, is incredible,” said Tomljanovic, who has never been past the quarterfinals at any major. “This is a surreal moment for me.” Then, drawing laughs, Tomljanovic added: “I just thought she would beat me. ... She’s Serena. That’s that’s just who she is: She’s the greatest of all time. Period.” Asked what she planned to do on the first day of the rest of her life Saturday, Williams said she’d rest, spend time with Olympia and then added: “I’m definitely probably going to be karaoke-ing.” Her performance with her racket Friday showed grit and featured some terrific serving, but it was not perfect. Read: Serena Williams not done yet; wins 1st match at US Open On one point in the second set, Williams’ feet got tangled and she fell to the court, dropping her racket. She finished with 51 unforced errors, 21 more than Tomljanovic. Williams let a 5-3 lead vanish in the first set. She did something similar in the second, giving away edges of 4-0 and 5-2, and requiring five set points to finally put that one in her pocket. From 4-all in the tiebreaker, meaning Williams was three points from defeat, she pounded a 117 mph ace, hit a forehand winner to cap a 20-stroke exchange, then watched Tomljanovic push a forehand long. Momentum appeared to be on Williams’ side. But she could not pull off the sort of never-admit-defeat triumph she did so often over the years. “Oh, my God, thank you so much. You guys were amazing today. I tried,” Williams told the audience, hands on her hips, before mentioning, among others, her parents and her older sister, Venus, a seven-time major champion who is 42. “I wouldn’t be Serena if there wasn’t Venus. So thank you, Venus,” Williams said. “She’s the only reason that Serena Williams ever existed.” They started in tennis as kids in Compton, California, coached by their father, Richard, who taught himself about the sport after watching on television while a player received a winner’s check. He was the central figure in the Oscar-winning film “King Richard,” produced by his daughters. The siblings lost together in the first round of doubles on Thursday night, drawing another sellout. And on Friday, as during the younger Williams’ other outings this week, there could be no doubt about which player the paying public favored. When Tomljanovic broke to go up 6-5 as part of a four-game run to take the opening set, one person in her guest box rose to applaud — and he was pretty much on his own. Otherwise, folks applauded when Tomljanovic double-faulted, generally considered a faux pas for tennis crowds. They got loud in the middle of lengthy exchanges, also frowned upon. They offered sympathetic sounds of “Awwwwww” when Williams flubbed a shot, and leapt out of their seats when she did something they found extraordinary. A rather routine service break was cause for a standing ovation. Tomljanovic draped a blue-and-white U.S. Open towel over her head at changeovers, shielding herself from the noise and distractions. “Just really blocked it out as much as I could. It did get to me a few times, internally. I mean, I didn’t take it personally because, I mean, I would be cheering for Serena, too, if I wasn’t playing her,” Tomljanovic said. “But it was definitely not easy.” After Williams struck a swinging backhand volley winner to take a 4-0 lead in the second set, her play improving with every passing moment, the reaction was earsplitting. Billie Jean King, a Hall of Famer with 39 total Grand Slam titles across singles, doubles and mixed doubles, raised her cellphone to capture the scene. “You’re everywhere!” yelled Williams’ husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, from a courtside guest box that also contained power couple Ciara and Russell Wilson. When Williams drove two consecutive forehand winners to lead 5-2 in the second set, she screamed and leaned forward after each. She could not sustain that level. Williams entered the night having won 19 times in a row in the U.S. Open’s third round of singles competition, including reaching at least the semifinals in her most recent 11 appearances in New York. Talk about a full-circle moment: The only other third-round loss she’s ever had at Flushing Meadows (she is 42-0 in the first and second rounds) came in 1998, the year Williams made her tournament debut at age 16. She would win her first major trophy 12 months later at the U.S. Open. And now she said goodbye in that same stadium.   “It’s been a long time. I’ve been playing tennis my whole life,” Williams said Friday night, after performing one last twirl-and-wave move usually reserved for victories. “It is a little soon, but I’m also happy because, I mean, this is what I wanted, what I want.”

Bangladesh lost 2-1 against upper ranked Turkmenistan in their keenly contested 2nd Group E match of the AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. The match was locked in 1-1 goals in the first half. The latest FIFA International ranking of Central Asian country Turkmenistan is 134 against Bangladesh's current ranking 188. With the 2nd consecutive defeats, Bangladesh are almost eliminated from the meet. Also read: AFC Asian Cup qualifiers: Bangladesh lose 0-2 to Bahrain Bangladesh put in strong Group E of the AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers with Bahrain, Turkmenistan and hosts Malaysia, will play hosts Malaysia on June 14 in the remaining group match. It was also the 2nd successive defeat for Bangladesh against Turkmenistan after suffering 1-3 goals loss in their last meeting in the Busan Asian Games in 2002. In the day's match, Bangladesh fought equally with their giant rivals, specially in the first half with captain Jamal Bhuiyan displaying his brilliance. But, in the 2nd half, Turkmenistan reorganised themselves and created strong pressure over Bangladesh to score the match winner. Although Bangladesh lost the match by a narrow margin, they displayed their best form and fighting speed till the last whistle. The result of the match would have been different if Sazzad Hossain and Tutul Hossain Badsha of Bangladesh did not spoil two easy opportunities, one in each half. In the day's keenly contested match, Defender Altymyrat Annadurdyyev put Turkmenistan ahead in the 7th minute by a cool placing shot from melee, off a corner kick (1-0). But, their leading joy was short-lived as Bangladesh midfielder Mohammad Ibrahim leveled the margin in the 12th minute by a good header from close, utilizing a long throw-in of Bishwanath Ghosh, who came his way from a back header of Rakib (1-1). This is the first goal for Bangladesh national team in their 5th match under new head coach Javier Cabrera. Also read: AFC Asian Cup: Bangladesh to play stronger Bahrain on Wednesday Super sub Amanov Arsalan scored the match-winning goal for Turkmenistan in the 77th minute by an easy placing shot from close (2-1). In the opening Group E match of the ongoing Asian Cup Qualifiers last Wednesday, Bangladesh conceded 0-2 goals defeat against their 99 ranked superior gulf nation Bahrain to repeat their previous results (0-2) after 43 years in tbe President Cup Football in Seoul in 1979. Earlier, Bangladesh came to the limelight forcing 29 ranked superior and hosts Indonesia to play goalless draw in a FIFA International Friendly in Bandung recently, and they also made a good fight with their 99 ranked superior Bahrain, except conceding two goals in span of only eight minutes.

Touring Bangladesh’s Under-19 team suffered the second consecutive defeat in the five-match Youth ODI series losing to their Sri Lankan counterpart by narrow one run in the 2nd match at Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium in in the Island nation on Monday. Bangladesh, which made a frustrating start in Lankan tour losing the first match by 42 runs, will play the Island nation in the remaining matches on Oct 20, 23 and 25 at the same venue.  Winning the toss, the Sri Lankan Under-19 side batted first and scored moderate 228 runs for 8 in stipulated 50 overs, featuring two half centuries by opener Sadeesh Jayawardena and Pawan Pathiraja. READ: Bangladesh to take on Oman in crucial clash Tuesday   After the departure of opener Jeewaka Shashen (3) for 11 runs in three overs, another opener Sadeesh Jayawardena pairing with one down Shevon Daniel contributed  66 runs in the 2nd wicket stand.  Sadeesh Jayawardena scored the team highest 58 runs off 94 deliveries featuring four fours, number four Pawan Pathiraja contributed 51 runs off 68 balls, hitting four boundaries while Shevon Daniel made 34 runs in 58 balls with two fours and one six.    Ripon Mondal grabbed three wickets for 49 runs while Ashukur Rahman bagged two for 54 runs. In reply, Bangladesh youth team were dismissed for 227 in 49.3 overs, despite they needs only two runs in the three balls with one wicket in hand. But, the successful bowler of Bangladesh and tail-ender batter Ripon Mondal fell victim to run-out by Pathiraja in 49.3 overs to concede the 2nd defeat in a row. Replying to Lankan’s moderate total, Bangladesh made a good start scoring 57 runs in the first wicket stand in 10.4 overs. Opener Mahfujul Islam hammered the match highest 75 runs off 96 deliveries featuring eight fours and one six, another opener Ifftikher Hossain scored 31-ball. READ: ‘Heart destroyed seeing two defeats yesterday’: Mashrafe    36 runs hitting five fours and six and captain SM Meherob made 47-ball 33 runs with two boundaries and one over boundary. Matheesha Pathirana claimed three wickets for 26 runs, Dunith Wellalage also took three wickets for 30 runs while Treveen Mathew snatched two wickets for 47 runs.

Giannis Antetokounmpo believes the Milwaukee Bucks did the right thing by standing pat at the trade deadline.