When Italy missed out on the last World Cup, it was a disaster for soccer in the country. Missing another? There are really no words to accurately describe it. “NOOOOOOOOO!” screamed the headline on Friday in the Tuttosport newspaper, with all nine of those Os stretching all the way across the front page. The Italians, who won the European Championship only eight months ago, can really only blame themselves for missing out on this year’s World Cup in Qatar. The team failed to convert dozens of chances in the 1-0 semifinal playoff loss to North Macedonia on Thursday, with Aleksandar Trajkovski scoring in injury time to secure a shocking victory for a country ranked 67th in the world. “Into hell,” Corriere dello Sport blared on its front page. Gazzetta dello Sport called it “Out of this world.” Read: Barcelona stuns Madrid 4-0 at Bernabéu to end losing streak The loss in Palermo certainly came as a surprise to many, but it was also predictable for a team that has been in rapid decline since beating England on penalties to win the Euro 2020 title last July. The team that set records for winning last year had won only two of its eight matches since, including losing its first match in more than three years to Spain in the Nations League. “Our triumph at the Euros was fully deserved. But then some of the fortune we had in the tournament transformed into total and complete bad luck,” Italy coach Roberto Mancini said. “It almost feels like conceding a last-minute goal was fitting. “I don’t know what to say. Maybe we shouldn’t even have got to this point.” Here’s a look at where it went wrong for Italy this time: MISSED CHANCES

Lionel Messi was among the scorers as Argentina beat rival Uruguay 3-0 on Sunday, hours after Brazil's run of consecutive wins in South American World Cup qualifying ended in a 0-0 draw with Colombia. Brazil leads the qualifying competition with 28 points from nine wins and the draw, six points clear of second-place Argentina after 10 matches. Brazil's tally so far would have been enough to qualify for all World Cups directly since 2002. Ecuador remains in third spot with 16 points, marginally ahead of Uruguay based on the number of victories. Colombia is in fifth place with 15 points. All three have already played 11 matches. The top four teams earn direct entry to the World Cup in Qatar next year. The fifth-place team can still qualify via an inter-continental playoff. All teams in South American World Cup qualifiers will play again on Thursday. Read: South America World Cup 2022 Qualifiers: Argentina, Brazil to face Uruguay in October ARGENTINA 3, URUGUAY 0 Messi’s team was preparing for a long, tense night at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires. Uruguay coach Óscar Tabárez selected a back-five tasked with stopping Argentina's powerful offense and his team created most of the best early opportunities, with Luis Suárez hitting the post once. But a stroke of luck helped Argentina in the 38th minute. Messi gave an overhead pass in an attempt to assist Nico Gonzalez, who failed to touch it. But the ball gently and unexpectedly passed by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, into the right corner. Luck once more was on the Argentinian side in the 44th. A series of passing mistakes by both teams gave a clear opportunity to Lautaro Martinez on the edge of the box. Lautaro failed to hit it cleanly, but it was enough to move the ball into the path of a Rodrigo de Paul. The second half started with Uruguay trying to charge up front with substitutes Edinson Cavani and Darwin Nuñez, but once again Argentina scored. Messi found de Paul on the right flank, and the midfielder sent a low cross into the penalty box. Lautaro Martinez scored from close range. “I think we are growing a lot in the level of our game,” Messi said. “We are now used to having the ball. Tonight was a tough match and we had to win it. It all came out perfectly.” Argentina's next challenge will be against Peru. Uruguay will travel to Brazil. COLOMBIA 0, BRAZIL 0 Brazil had the best opportunities of the encounter and forced Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina to make three key saves. The most important was in the 84th minute in a close range finish by substitute Antony. Neymar returned to the Seleção after a suspension, but was off pace, missing several passes and running with apparent difficulty. He left the pitch immediately after the final whistle. Brazil coach Tite said in a news conference too much is expected from his star player all of the time. “He is an exceptional player because he makes exceptional plays, he does it exceptionally and not ordinarily,” Brazil's coach said. “He is a special player, we know it. And he was also well marked, sometimes by two players.” Read: Brazil wins and Argentina draws away in World Cup qualifiers Tite tested out lineup or formation changes, as he promised. His defensive midfield was Fabinho and Fred for the first time. He also used wingers Raphinha and Antony in the second half, following their impressive performances in the 3-1 win at Venezuela. Colombia's next match will also be at home against Ecuador. Also on Sunday, third place Ecuador lost 2-1 at Venezuela. Enner Valencia opened the scoring for from the spot in the 37th, but Venezuela turned its fortunes with goals by Darwin Machis late in the first half and Eduard Bello in the 64th. Ecuador remains on 16 points and last-place Venezuela has seven. Ninth-placed Bolivia frustrated seventh position Peru with a 1-0 win at La Paz. Ramiro Vaca scored the only goal of the encounter in the 85th. Peru remained on 11 points and Bolivia improve to nine points in the standings. Eight-placed Chile beat sixth place Paraguay 2-0 to reach 10 points in the standings and maintain its chances of qualifying. Ben Breteton opened the scoring in the 68th and Mauricio Isla added a second in the 72nd. Paraguay remains in sixth place with 12 points.    

Leaders Brazil and second-place Argentina had uninspiring performances in their World Cup qualifying matches on Thursday, but gained key competition points as they try to secure their direct spots for Qatar next year. Playing without Neymar, Brazil won 3-1 at Venezuela, and Argentina had a goal less draw at Paraguay. Brazil trailed bottom-of-the-table Venezuela until the 71st minute, when Marquinhos leveled the match in Caracas. Gabriel Barbosa scored the second goal from the spot in the 85th minute and substitute Antony scored the third from close range in added time. Also read: South America World Cup 2022 Qualifiers: Argentina, Brazil to face Uruguay in October Lionel Messi was not enough for Argentina to break Paraguay's powerful defensive line. The two goalkeepers, Argentina's Emiliano Martinez and Paraguay's Antony Silva, were the best on the pitch. Brazil leads with 27 points and Argentina has 19. Uruguay has 16 in third place after a 0-0 draw with Colombia. Ecuador can also reach 16 points if it tops Bolivia at home. The top four teams secure a spot at next year’s World Cup in Qatar. The fifth-place team will enter a playoff against a team from another confederation. VENEZUELA 1, BRAZIL 3 Brazil coach Tite picked a starting lineup with many new players he wanted to test. But left-back Guilherme Arana and midfielders Fabinho and Gerson were below par for most of the match. Venezuela's goal came in the 11th minute, when Yeferson Soteldo crossed from the right towards Eric Ramirez. Two Brazilian defenders, Fabinho and Marquinhos, slipped at the same time and gave the Venezuelan a clear chance to head the ball to the right of goalkeeper Alisson. Brazil struggled in creation until the break, but things improved after Everton Ribeiro left for Raphinha. The winger was key for the Seleção to become more dynamic in the second half. Also read: PSG vs. Man City 2021: Messi Scores as Paris Saint-Germain Beat Manchester City Raphinha took the corner kick that landed on Marquinhos' head to level the scoring in the 71st minute. He then started the play that ended in Barborsa being fouled in the penalty box. And then he gave the low cross that allowed Antony to score near the final whistle. “We started in much worse shape than we could,” Marquinhos said. “But as we can see set pieces can make all the difference in a match, and it did today.” Brazil's next match will be at Colombia. Venezuela will face Ecuador. PARAGUAY 0, ARGENTINA 0 Argentina had three opportunities in the first 12 minutes of the encounter in Asuncion, which indicated a win was on the way for the Copa America champions. But Paraguay's Silva made key saves to keep his team in contention. The second half was very different, with both teams creating chances. Argentina had the best one from a long-distance shot by Papu Gomez, but it was stopped by Silva. It was the 11th draw between the teams in South American World Cup qualifying history. “We failed to score, especially in opportunities that were very clear,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said at a news conference. “What matters is that the team never relaxed and kept trying.” Argentina will face rival Uruguay on Sunday. Paraguay, with 12 points and so far out of qualifying spots for the World Cup, will travel to Chile. Ecuador will face Bolivia and Peru will host Chile later on Thursday

Bangladesh's national football team is currently competing in the Asia section of the 2022 World Cup qualifications. As usual, Bangladesh have no chance of qualifying for the World Cup final because they have yet to win a match in the second round. Bangladesh have lost four out of six matches in this World Cup qualifying round thus far. The remaining two World Cup qualifiers are crucial for Bangladesh. The outcome of the two matches will determine whether Bangladesh will be able to compete in the next Asia Cup. What Bangladesh football team can achieve in World Cup 2022 qualifiers is discussed in this article. Bangladesh's current standings in the AFC World Cup qualifying round The Bangladesh national team are currently in the fifth position in Group E of the second round of World Cup 2022 qualifiers, meaning they are at the bottom of the points table with only two points. India are in fourth place with only one point ahead of Bangladesh. Afghanistan (5) are in the third position, Oman (12) in second, and Qatar are topping the Group E points table. Read Ballon d'Or 2021: Who Will Win the Prestigious Award? Bangladesh drew one match against two neighbors, India and Afghanistan in the group stage. On the other side, Bangladesh have lost two matches to Qatar, one match to Afghanistan, and one match to Oman. Bangladesh only have two more matches to play in the World Cup qualifiers. So, Bangladesh will not be able to advance to the next round. Qatar have secured the next round with 19 points. While Oman, who are in the second position with 12 points, are already on the verge of clinching a spot in the next round. As a result, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and India are battling for a place in the third round of Asia Cup 2023 qualification.  The outcome of the last two round matches will determine which team will play directly in the next round of the Asian Cup 2023. Bangladesh's next two matches are crucial in this regard.  Read FIFA, AFC qualifiers: Bangladesh face India Monday Bangladesh's chances of qualifying for the Asian Cup 2023 There are a total of eight groups in the AFC World Cup second round qualifiers. The best team from each group will play in the Asian Cup 2023. Besides, the top four runner-up teams across all groups of the second round will be guaranteed a spot in the Asian Cup in 2023. In addition, the remaining four runner-up teams and third-place teams in each group will advance to the Asian Cup 2023 third qualifying round. On the other hand, the top four fourth-place teams from each group will advance to the Asian Cup's third qualifying round. The four fourth-place teams and the bottom teams in each group will advance to the third qualifying round of the Asian Cup 2023. Read BCL Football: Swadinata KS beat Farashganj 2-1 Bangladesh will need to win both of their remaining matches to finish in the top three of Group E. Bangladesh will face India on Monday (June 7) and Oman on Tuesday (June 15). Bangladesh will have 8 points if they win these two games. In that case, Bangladesh's chances of finishing in the top three will increase apart from securing a spot in the top four of the group. Furthermore, Bangladesh will rise to the top of the points table if they lose one match and India lose their final two matches. They must finish in the top three in order to directly qualify for the Asia Cup 2023 third qualifying round. Otherwise, Bangladesh will be forced to compete in the Asia Cup qualifying play-off round. Verdict Bangladesh have yet to show that they are capable of competing in a major tournament like the World Cup. However, Bangladesh's national football team is considerably more matured and capable of battling now than it was before. The Bengal Tigers are able to put up a strong resistance against the big oppositions in Asia if they can play with their best. Bangladesh will keep their chances of playing in the Asia Cup if they win their last two matches of the second round of World Cup 2022 qualifiers. So the team tigers will need to perform well in the remaining group stage matches.  Read Women's Football: Ataur Rahman College thump Suddopuskorini 6-0

Bangladesh National Football team, now in Qatar's Doha to play Group E 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers, took part in a half-an-hour fitness training at the team hotel Monday. Bangladesh will play against Afghanistan, India and Oman in their remaining three Group E qualifiers on June 3, 7 and 15 at the Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Doha. After taking the field in the last two days at the Qatar University Ground in Doha, Bangladeshi booters took a rest this afternoon as they had no outdoor training session today. However, the team will resume preparations Tuesday at the same venue. Earlier, the Bangladesh football team reached Doha on a Qatar Airways flight Friday with 23 players and 9 officials. Soon after reaching Doha, the Bangladesh team gave their samples for the Covid-19 test and all of the team members tested negative. Also, they tested negative for the second time Monday. Meanwhile, striker Mohammad Ibrahim, who failed to accompany the national team last Friday, left Dhaka for Qatar today. He is expected to join the team's practice session Tuesday.

The training of the national football team for next month's Group E 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2023 AFC Asian Cup joint qualifiers began Monday at Bangabandhu National Stadium. Bangladesh will play against Afghanistan, India and Oman in their remaining three Group E qualifiers on June 4, 7 and 15 at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium in Qatar's Doha. The national side is expected to leave the capital on May 21. All the 33 booters of the preliminary squad, except injured Bashundhara Kings defender Bishwanath Ghosh, joined Monday's training session under head coach Jamie Day and other coaches. Also read: BPL Football: Arambagh KS pull off biggest upset outplaying Sheikh Jamal DC 3-1 Bangladesh team will also take the field for training Tuesday at the same venue. Earlier last week, Bangladesh Football Federation initially picked 33 footballers to form a national team for the heavyweight meet. All the 31 players, who earned a call-up to the national camp for the recently concluded tri-nation tournament in Nepal, except Tutul Hossain Badsha, were again recalled to the Qatar-bound preliminary squad. Also, defender Topu Barman, Bangladeshi origin Finland booter Tariq Raihan Kazi and winger Mohammad Ibrahim returned to the team.  A maximum of nine players from champions Bashundhara Kings made it to the squad.  Preliminary squad Anisur Rahman Zico, Rimon Hossain, Topu Barman, Masuk Miya Jony, Biplu Ahmed, Mahbubur Rahman Sufil, Matin Miah, Mohammad Ibrahim, Tariq Raihan Kazi (Bashundhara Kings) Shahidul Alam Sohel, Sohel Rana, Saaduddin (Dhaka Abahani), Rahmat Miya, Riadul Hasan,Yeasin Arafat, Jamal Bhuiyan, Abu Shahed, Imran Hasan Rimon, Faisal Ahmed Fahim (Saif SC), Mehedi Hasan, Mehedi Hasan Royal, Mohammad Emon (Muktijoddha SKC) Also read: BPL Football: Baridhara taste 2nd victory crushing Brothers 3-0 Ashraful Islam Rana, Mohammad Abdullah (Sheikh Russel), Manik Hossain Mollah, Rakib Hossain (Ctg Abahani), Habibur Rahman Shohag, Atiquzzaman (Mohammedan), Rezaul Karim (Sheikh Jamal), Mitul Marma, Sumon Reza (Uttar Baridhara) and Mohammad Jewel (Police FC)

Hosts Bangladesh need a draw to win the two-match Mujib Borsho FIFA International Series 2020 against Nepal in the series-deciding match at Bangabandhu National Stadium on Tuesday.