The 2024 UEFA Champions League final will take place at Wembley Stadium in London, England, on 1 June 2024. The two finalists are German club Borussia Dortmund and Spanish club Real Madrid.  In this 69th season of Europe's premier club football tournament, Real Madrid will fight for their 15th Champions League trophy. On the other hand, Borussia Dortmund will look to add a 2nd UCL trophy to their cabinet, after their 1st one in 1997.  Road to the Final: How the finalists got there Stats of Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 Table: Match Results of Real Madrid in the ongoing Champions League So Far Round Opponent Home/Away Result Group Union Berlin Home 1-0 Win Napoli Away 3-2 Win Barga Away 2-1 Win Barga Home 3-0 Win Napoli Home 4-2 Win Union Berlin Away 3-2 Win Round of 16 RB Leipzig Away 1-0 Win RB Leipzig Home 1-1 Quarter-Finals Manchester City Home 1-1 Manchester City Away 3-3 Semi-Finals Bayern Munich Away 2-2 Bayern Munich Home 2-1 Win Real Madrid had an incredible run this season. They are yet to be beaten in this season’s Champions League. They were drawn into a group with Napoli, S.C. Braga, and Union Berlin, where they topped the group winning all the matches, the only team other than defending champions Manchester City to do it this season.  Read more: FIFA World Ranking: Bangladesh drops to 184th In the knockouts, they faced RB Leipzig in the round 16, winning the tie 2-1 on aggregate. Their quarter-final tie was their toughest this time when they clashed with Manchester City. After an exhausting tie of two legs which finished 4-4 on aggregate, they got the edge over City on penalties. They won the semi-finals in the most Real Madrid manner possible.  After getting a 2-2 draw from Allianz Arena, they trailed by 1-0 in the Santiago Bernabeu until the 88th minute. Then Joeslu scored two in a matter of 3 minutes to take them to the finals.  Stats of Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League 2023-24 Table: Match Results of Borussia Dortmund in the ongoing Champions League So Far Round Opponent Home/Away Result Group PSG Away 2-0 Loss AC Milan Home 0-0 Newcastle Away 1-0 Win Newcastle Home 2-0 Win AC Milan Away 3-1 Win PSG Home 1-1 Round of 16 PSV Eindhoven Away 1-1 PSV Eindhoven Home 2-0 Win Quarter-Finals Atletico Madrid Away 2-1 Loss Atletico Madrid Home 4-2 Win Semi-Finals PSG Home 1-0 Win PSG Away 1-0 Win Borussia Dortmund was drawn into the group of death this season with PSG, AC Milan, and Newcastle. They started their campaign with a 2-0 loss against PSG and a 0-0 draw against Milan but gradually gained momentum. They won their next three games and ended the group stage with a 1-1 draw against PSG to top the group.  Read more: SAFF U-16 Women's Champs: Bangladesh come from behind to beat India on penalties in final Later they came away with an aggregate 3-1 win against PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16. Their quarter-final battle was against Atletico Madrid. Atletico won the first leg by 2-1. But Dortmund turned things at home with a 4-2 win to proceed to the semi-finals where they were facing PSG. PSG had the upper hand in the group games between these two. But Dortmund fought all the odds and beat PSG by 1-0 in both legs to advance to their 3rd ever UEFA Champions League final. It is their first one since 2012-2013. Stats of Previous Finals  Table: Performances of the 2024 UEFA Champions League Finalists in Previous Finale Matches  Team Previous Final Appearances Wins  Borussia Dortmund 2 (1997, 2013) 1997  Real Madrid 17 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1981, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022) 14 (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022) Note: Final matches until 1992 were in the European Cup era. Since 1993 the finals were in the UEFA Champions League era. Read more: FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Bangladesh concede 0-1 goal defeat against Palestine in last moment debacle H2H Records between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund So Far in UEFA Champions League Table: Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund Head-to-Head Records Matches Played Real Madrid Win Draw Borussia Dortmund 14 6 5 3 Table: Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund Goal Records Goals Scored Real Madrid Borussia Dortmund 24 19 Full Squads of Real Madrid Goal Keepers: Thibaut Courtois, Andriy Lunin, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Diego Piñeiro, Fran González, and Lucas Cañizares. Read more: Real Madrid will be out for revenge against Man City in the Champions League. Expect fireworks Defenders:   Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba, Nacho, Fran García, Antonio Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Rafel Obrador, Alvaro Carrillo, Marvel, Vinicius Tobias, Edgar Pujol, and Jacobo Ramón.  Midfielders: Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, Eduardo Camavinga, FedericoValverde, Lucas Vázquez, Aurélien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos, Brahim Díaz, Arda Güler, Mario Martín, Nicolás Paz, and Théo Zidane.  Forwards:  Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo, Joselu, Álvaro Rodríguez, and Gonzalo.  Read more: FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: Bangladesh to play Lebanon in Qatar June 11 Full Squads of Borussia Dortmund Goal Keepers: Gregor Kobel, Silas Ostrzinski, Alexander Meyer, and Marcel Lotka. Defenders:   Nico Schlotterbeck, Ramy Bensebaini, Mats Hummels, Ian Maatsen, Emre Can, Niklas Süle, Julian Ryerson, Lion Semic, and Guillermo Bueno.  Midfielders: Salih Özcan, Felix Nmecha, Jadon Sancho, Marco Reus, Julien Duranville, Marius Wolf, Julian Brandt, Marcel Sabitzer, Abdoulaye Kamara, Kjell-Arik Wätjen, and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens. Forwards: Sébastien Haller, Niclas Füllkrug, Youssoufa Moukoko, Donyell Malen, Karim Adeyemi, Paris Brunner, and Samuel Bamba. Read more: César Luis Menotti, coach who led Argentina to its first World Cup title in 1978, dies at 85 Key Players for Real Madrid: Vinicius Junior Vinicius is a player who is made for big occasions and is a difference-maker for such games. He scored 5 and assisted 5 in this campaign. But 2 of his 5 goals came against Bayern in the semis and one came against Leipzig in the Round of 16. Similarly, 4 of his 5 assists came against Manchester City and Bayern Munich in the quarter and semi-finals. He has been the guy for Real Madrid to deliver at the big moments and he has to do it once again. Andriy Lunin The Ukrainian shot-stopper has been saving almost everything that has been thrown at him. He is a big factor for Real Madrid coming this far despite having all the injuries in the squad. He has the third most saves in this UCL. He has to step up in the final also. Key Players for Borussia Dortmund Gregor Kobel Borussia Dortmund has been progressing so far thanks to their defensive grit and resilience. Their Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel had played a big part in it. He conceded only 8, the lowest among keepers, playing at least 10 matches this season. He also has the most clean sheets and saves this season. Against a team with such attacking prowess as Real Madrid, Kobel surely has to bring out his best to win it for his team. Read more: Maradona's 1986 Golden Ball heads to auction Mats Hummels Borussia Dortmund conceded the 2nd least amount of goals amongst clubs who have reached at least the quarter-finals. Their defense has driven them to the finals this season. Mats Hummels is the leader of this defense.  He is the player with the most balls recovered, most tackles, most tackles won, and most clearances attempted. Therefore, if Dortmund is to win the game, he has to play a big part in it. Prediction and Final Words Real Madrid won 14 matches out of 17 finale matches so far. In the UEFA Champions League era, started in 1993, Real Madrid did not lose any final matches. Therefore, they always had the upper hand against any team in the Champions League because of their pedigree. Nobody has mastered the art of winning this competition like them. Not to mention, they are the favorites in the 2024 UEFA Champions League finale.  However, Borussia Dortmund cannot be written off as well for the performance and determination they have shown during this UCL 2023-24 season.  Therefore, it will be a tough battle and the winner is to be seen on the 1st of June. Read more: From fan to hero, super sub Joselu lifts Real Madrid past Bayern and into Champions League final

Ousmane Dembélé has agreed to sign a new contract with Barcelona through June 2024. The deal on Thursday comes a day after club president Joan Laporta said Dembélé would stay on during the presentation of new signing Raphinha. Dembélé, now 25, joined Barcelona in 2017 on a then club-record transfer from Borussia Dortmund that with variables was set to reach 147 million euros (then $173 million) as the club sought a young talent after the unwanted exit of Neymar. Read: Barcelona reaches deal to sign Raphinha; Dembélé staying After suffering serious injuries early in his stay at Barcelona, Dembélé consolidated himself as one of its most irreplaceable players thanks to his speed and playmaking. The new contract concludes a drawn-out negotiation between player and club that appeared to have broken down in January when Dembélé rejected Barcelona's renewal offer, prompting the club to tell his agent to find the France winger a new club. Dembélé continued to play well for coach Xavi Hernández and remained one of his most used players. But with his contract expiring this summer, it appeared he would leave. Dembélé was linked to possible moves to England’s Premier League or to Paris Saint-Germain, the team of Neymar and former Barcelona great Lionel Messi. Now he will be considered one of Xavi’s pillars as the coach tries to build a winning side following a season without a title. Also read: Barcelona edges Sevilla to move into 2nd in Spanish league The forward has 32 goals and assisted on 34 more in 150 appearances for Barcelona.   As usual, Barcelona did not make his salary public. It is reported Dembélé had one of the highest wages on the squad under his previous contract. Barcelona has successfully convinced several players to take a wage cut as it tries to reduce its enormous debt.

Gio Reyna is following his father to the U.S. national team.

He's 19 years old, plays for Borussia Dortmund and can't stop scoring.

Berlin, Oct 28 (AP/UNB) — Borussia Dortmund's declaration of a challenge for the Bundesliga title is not exactly being backed up on the field.