football
Haaland sends Man City to the top of the Premier League
Erling Haaland fired Manchester City to the top of the English Premier League after beating Southampton 1-0 on Saturday.
Haaland scored in the fifth minute at Etihad Stadium to send City two points clear of Liverpool, which plays Arsenal on Sunday.
Aston Villa missed the chance to go third after Evanilson scored in the sixth minute of added time to earn Bournemouth a 1-1 draw.
Bryan Mbeumo also scored in the sixth minute of added time to seal a 4-3 win for Brentford against Ipswich. Brentford trailed 2-0 early and then blew a 3-2 lead before Mbeumo's winner.
Winless Wolverhampton staged a dramatic fightback of its own by scoring in the 88th and stoppage time to salvage a 2-2 draw at Brighton.
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Bangladesh to play Bhutan, Nepal face India in SAFF semis Sunday
Both the semifinals of the seven-nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship 2024 will be held on Sunday at the Dashrath Rangasala (Stadium) Kathmandu of Nepal.
Defending champions Bangladesh will play Group B runners-up Bhutan in the first semifinal at 1:45 pm (Bangladesh time), while Group B champions and hosts Nepal will face Group A runners-up and the five-time champions India at 6:45 pm at the same venue.
The final match between two winning semifinalists will be held on October 30.
Ahead of Sunday's semifinal, Bangladesh women's team conducted their final training session Saturday afternoon from 2 pm to 3 pm at the Army Headquarters ground, focusing on tactical drills and strategic play.
After the training session, the Bangladeshi women's took an ice bath at the team hotel for recovery and to ensure peak readiness.
During the day's training session, Bangladesh vice-captain Maria Manda said, "We beat Bhutan by 8-0 goals earlier, but this time they are a different team, stronger than previous occasions; they drew goalless with hosts Nepal, so we are prepared to face them.".
Bangladesh Women’s Football team make first practices in Kathmandu
Bhutan, which never won a match against Bangladesh women's and suffered a 0-8 goal defeat against Bangladesh in the last SAFF Women's Championship in 2022 in Kathmandu, this time proved their worth to qualify for the semifinal as the unbeaten team for the first time and finished Group B runners-up, toppling Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
On way to the semis, Bhutan outplayed the Maldives by 13-0 goals and beat Sri Lanka by 4-1 goals after playing a goalless draw with hosts Nepal in the group affairs.
Bangladesh smartly booked a seat for the semifinal as the Group A champions with an unbeaten run shocking five-time champion India by 3-1 goals in the last group match last Wednesday.
This was the second consecutive victory for Bangladesh women's against the Indian women's in the SAFF Championship after beating them by 3-0 goals in the last SAFF Women's Championship held in 2022, also in Kathmandu.
Despite the day's frustrating 1-3 goals defeat, India also reached the semifinal as the Group A runners-up, outplaying Pakistan by 5-2 goals in the tournament opener.
Earlier, Bangladesh luckily stayed in the semifinal race after playing a 1-1 draw with Pakistan by a Shamsunnahar Jr.'s equalising goal in the added time (90+1 minute) in their first match.
Nepal emerged Group B champions to reach the semis with an unbeaten record by virtue of a better goal difference, outplaying the Maldives by 11-0 goals and beating Sri Lanka by 6-0 goals after playing a goalless draw with Bhutan.
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Tabith Awal elected as Bangladesh Football Federation president
Four newcomers were elected as vice president, while two national footballers conceded defeat in four vital posts of the vice presidents in the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) Election 2024 held today (Saturday) at a local hotel in the capital.
Two-time vice president, BNP leader, and businessman Tabith Awal elected the new president of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) with a huge margin, beating AFM Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury, a grassroots organiser and coach from Dinajpur District, by 23-5 votes in the day's BFF Election '2024.
Former footballer Tabith Awal, who elected BFF vice president in the BFF Election in 2012 and 2016 during the Kazi Salahuddin regime, ended the long 16-year, four-term tenure of Kazi M Salahuddin, who quit the election this time.
President of BPL football champions Bashundhara Kings Imrul Hasan elected senior vice president (SVP) unopposed as his rival businessman and sports organiser Tarafder Md Ruhul Amin withdrew his candidature in the dying moment.
BFF Election: Tabith Awal emerging as frontrunner to replace Salahuddin
He will replace long serving BFF senior vice president, national booter, and former parliament member Abdus Salam Murshedy.
Six candidates competed in the four vice president posts of BFF.
Nasser Shahriar Zahedee, a grassroot level organiser of Jashore Shamsul Huda Academy elected the first vice president polling 115 votes, Wahiduddin Chowdhury Happy of Luxmipur District Football Association and elder brother of former BNP MP Shahiduddin Chowdhury Annie elected vice president securing 108 votes.
Sabbir Ahmed Arif, member secretary of the Brothers Union Club, polled 90 votes to finish 3rd, while sports event management businessman Fahad Mohammad Ahmed Karim got 87 votes to be the 4th and last vice president.
Former national footballer Syed Rumman Wali Bin Shabbir polled 66 votes, and another national footballer, cum coach Shafiqul Islam Manik, got 42 votes to concede defeat in the post of vice president.
The annual general meeting of BFF was also held at the same venue Saturday morning with outgoing president Kazi Md Salahuddin in the chair.
A total of 128 councillors out of 133 exercised their voting rights on Saturday from 2 pm to 6 pm to elect a 21-member BFF executive committee, including one president, one senior vice president, four vice presidents, and 15 executive committee members, among the 46 intending candidates.
Thirty-seven competed in the 15 executive committee members of BFF; counting of member votes was in progress till the last report was received.
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Lionel Messi's every move shown on TikTok during his winning Inter Miami playoff debut
Lionel Messi's every move was on display in his Major League Soccer playoff debut.
Every touch. Every shot attempt. Even when he wasn't doing anything at all, it was shown.
There was a “Messi-cam” focused on the Inter Miami superstar throughout his team's playoff-opening, 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Friday night. Nothing but the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner livestreamed on MLS' TikTok account for the duration of the match.
It captured the excitement surrounding Inter Miami, which surged in popularity when Messi arrived midway through the 2023 season.
The stadium was packed with Messi fans and familiar faces, including Miami Dolphins wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr., former NFL player Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson and actor Idris Elba.
“The Messi effect has been awesome. It's been very awesome,” Johnson said in a televised interview. “From a global aspect, having Messi here in the States and being able to grow the game as much as we've been trying to grow the game and make it more popular here, being that we have so many different sports. ... Especially for me, not having to travel to Spain anymore to watch him play has been a joy.”
Messi didn’t score but assisted on Jordi Alba’s go-ahead goal in the 60th minute. He had several chances that were denied by Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who had five saves on Messi Friday night.
Inter Miami is the No. 1 seed in the playoffs after setting MLS records for points (74) and winning percentage (.765).
Messi, coming off a hat trick in the regular-season finale, is in contention for league MVP despite missing nearly half the MLS season because of injury and commitments to Argentina's national team. He finished with 20 goals and 16 assists. Luis Suarez also scored 20 goals, joining Messi to become the first pair of MLS teammates to reach that milestone in a season.
The 37-year-old smiled and hugged his teammates when Suarez scored the opening goal less than two minutes into the match.
He was shown blowing past a defender and with one swift touch firing a strike from outside the box, which Guzan pushed over the crossbar, and later placing both hands on his head and looking up into the stands when Guzan denied him again.
Messi and Inter Miami finish with best record in MLS history, roll past New England 6-2
Fans stood for most of the first half. And those closest to the pitch leaned forward with their phones stretched up as far as their arms would allow to capture photos and video of Messi when he got close.
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U-17 Asian Cup Qualifiers: Bangladesh crushes Macau 7-0 to stay in race
Bangladesh kept its hopes alive in the Group B race of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup 2025 Qualifiers, crushing Macau 7-0 at Prince Stadium in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on Friday.
This emphatic win marked Bangladesh's second consecutive victory in their third group match. After a narrow 0-1 defeat against host nation Cambodia in their opening game, Bangladesh rebounded with a 1-0 win over the Philippines on Wednesday.
In Friday’s match, Bangladesh took a 1-0 lead in the first half and exploded with six more goals in the second half. Captain and midfielder Nazmul Huda Faysal led the charge, scoring four times in the 40th, 74th, 81st, and 84th minutes, securing a hat-trick plus one.
Bangladesh Football team make their gym, practice session in Thimphu
Mohammad Manik and Rifat Kazi also contributed to the scoreline, netting goals in the 65th and 71st minutes, respectively. Macau defender Tin Tang inadvertently extended Bangladesh’s lead with an own goal in the 73rd minute.
Bangladesh will face Afghanistan in their final Group B match on October 27 at 3:00 p.m. at the same venue.
Following Friday’s games, Afghanistan and Cambodia currently top Group B with six points each from two matches. Bangladesh, with six points from three matches, is also in the hunt, while the Philippines holds three points from three matches, and Macau remains at the bottom with no points after four games.
The path to the final round next year includes the top team from each group and the five best runners-up across all groups.
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SAFF Women's Champs: Bangladesh to face Bhutan in first semifinal on Sunday
Defending champions Bangladesh will face Group B runners up Bhutan in the first semifinal of seven -nation South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship' 2024 on Sunday (October 27).
The match will kick off at 1:45 pm Bangladesh time at the Dashrath Rangasala (Stadium) in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu on Sunday.
In the Sunday's other semifinal, Group B champions and host Nepal will play Group A runners-up and the five-time champions India at 6:45 pm Bangladesh time at the same venue.
The final match will be held on October 30.
In the day's Group B match, Bhutan crushed the Maldives by 13-0 goals this evening to reach the semifinal as the Group B runners -up securing seven points from all the three group matches.
In the day's other Group B match, hosts Nepal emerged Group B champions to reach the semis by virtue of better goal difference also collecting seven points from three outings, outplaying Sri Lanka by 6-0 goals Thursday evening,
Earlier, Bangladesh emerged unbeaten champions of Group A shocking five times champions India by 3-1 goals in the last Group A match last Wednesday.
This was the 2nd consecutive victory for Bangladesh women' s against the Indian women's in the SAFF Championship after beating them by 3-0 goals in the last SAFF Women's Championship held in 2022 also in Kathmandu.
Despite the day's frustrating 1-3 goals defeat, India also reached the semifinal as the Group A runners -up outplaying arch-rivals Pakistan by 5-2 goals in tournament opener.
Bangladesh luckily stayed in the semifinal race after playing 1-1 draw with Pakistan by a Shamsunnahar Jr's equalizing goal in the added time (90+1 minute) in their first match.
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AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Bangladesh to play Macau in third group match Friday
Bangladesh will play Macau in their 3rd Group B match of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup' 2025 Qualifiers on Friday (October 25) in Cambodia.
The match will kick-off at 3: pm Bangladesh time at the Price Stadium in Phnom Penh.
Ahead of the Friday's match, Bangladesh made their practices on Thursday.
In the remaining group match, Bangladesh will play Afghanistan on October 27 also at 3pm at the same venue.
Bangladesh, which conceded 0-1 goal defeat against hosts Cambodia in their first match, returned to winning run beating Philippines by 1-0 goal in their 2nd Group B match on Wednesday to stay in the final round race.
Shafiq Rahman scored the match-winning goal for Bangladesh in the 18th minute against the Philippines
After the latest group matches, Afghanistan and Cambodia dominated the Group B securing six points each from two ties while Bangladesh and Philippines followed the leaders collecting three points each playing two and three matches respectively.
Macau remained at bottom in the five team group B without any point playing three matches.
Shafiq Rahman scored the match-winning goal for Bangladesh in the 18th minute of the match (1-0).
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'Freak' Haaland scores outrageous goal for Man City in the Champions League
Erling Haaland scored an outrageous backheel volley in the Champions League on Wednesday to issue a timely reminder of his own credentials as a potential Ballon d'Or winner.
A day after Vinicius Junior hit a hat trick for Real Madrid, Haaland scored an early contender for goal of the season with his acrobatic effort in Manchester City's 5-0 win against Sparta Prague.
Vinicius Junior is the favorite to win soccer's most prestigious individual prize when it is presented at a gala ceremony in Paris on Monday. But Haaland, who came runner-up to Lionel Messi for last year's award, once again showcased his scoring prowess with two goals as City set a new Champions League record of 26 games unbeaten.
Haaland's volley in the 58th minute at the Etihad Stadium was a moment of individual brilliance. From around six meters (20 feet) and with his back to goal, the Norway striker leaped in the air and flicked the back of his foot to meet Savinho's cross from the right. Connecting powerfully with his heel, the ball shot down into the turf and bounced high into the top corner beyond Prague goalkeeper Peter Vindahl.
“If I tried to do that I’d pull my groin. I don’t know how he did it, I just think it’s just his long legs. He’s a freak isn’t he?” Haaland’s City teammate Phil Foden said. “It shows he has this talent that no one else can do.”
City manager Pep Guardiola said the goal was not normal “for a human” and likened the forward to Sweden great Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
“It’s unbelievable this talent that this guy has,” he said.
Haaland scored his second in the 68th to take his season's total to 13 goals in 12 games in all competitions. His record in the Champions League is now 44 goals in 42 games.
Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in European club soccer's elite competition with 141 goals. Messi is second on 129. Haaland is 17th and rising quickly.
But he is expected to miss out on this year's Ballon d'Or with Vinicius Junior seen as the man to beat, ahead of Haaland's City teammate Rodri.
Haaland, however, is likely to contend for years to come if he continues his goal scoring exploits, with Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe leading a new generation after Messi and Ronaldo dominated the award for more than a decade.
Neither of those soccer greats, who won 13 titles between them, were nominated this year, appearing to usher in a new era.
2 days ago
AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Bangladesh beat Philippines by 1-0 to keep hopes alive
Bangladesh beat Philippines by 1-0 goal in their 2nd Group B match of the AFC U-17 Asian Cup' 2025 Qualifiers at the Olympic Stadium in Phenom Penh, Cambodia on Wednesday night.
Bangladesh, which suffered a 0-1 defeat against hosts Cambodia in their first match, returned to winning form in the day's second match to stay in the race for the final round.
After the day's matches, Afghanistan and Cambodia dominated Group B, each securing six points from two matches, while Bangladesh and the Philippines followed with three points each from two and three matches, respectively. Macau remained at the bottom of the five-team Group B without any points after three matches.
In the day's match, Shafiq Rahman scored the match-winning goal for Bangladesh in the 18th minute (1-0). Bangladesh fielded their Australian-born player Arham, which drew significant attention from the opposing players.
Bangladesh earned a free kick at the top of the box in the 17th minute when an opponent defender fouled the onrushing forward Arham. Shafiq Rahman converted it into a goal with a well-placed shot.
Earlier, custodian Alif Rahman saved Bangladesh from conceding a goal by stopping a penalty in the 15th minute. Alif also thwarted numerous Philippine attacks, enabling Bangladesh to secure a creditable win.
In the remaining group matches, Bangladesh will face Macau on October 25 and Afghanistan on October 27.
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Bangladesh beats India 3-1 to secure semifinal spot in SAFF Women's Championship
Defending champions Bangladesh secured a dominant 3-1 victory over five-time champions India in their final Group A match of the 2024 South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Women's Championship at Dashrath Rangasala Stadium in Kathmandu on Wednesday, earning their place in the semifinals.
This win marked Bangladesh's second consecutive triumph over India in the SAFF Women's Championship, following their 3-0 victory in the 2022 edition, also in Kathmandu.
Bangladesh, undefeated in Group A, will now face the runners-up of Group B in the first semifinal on October 27. Despite the 3-1 loss, India advanced to the semifinals as Group A runners-up, thanks to their 5-2 win against arch-rivals Pakistan in the tournament opener. India will meet the Group B champions in the other semifinal, also on October 27. The final is scheduled for October 30.
Bangladesh dominated the first half against India, taking a 3-1 lead. Forward Tohura Khatun was the star of the match, scoring twice, while defender Afeida Khandoker added a goal for the defending champions. India's captain, Bala Devi, netted a consolation goal for her team.
Bangladesh took the lead in the 18th minute when Afeida Khandoker scored with a well-placed shot over the Indian goalkeeper, capitalizing on a corner kick (1-0). Tohura Khatun doubled the lead in the 29th minute, tapping in from close range after a precise cross from Ritu Porna Chakma (2-0). Tohura then added her second goal in the 42nd minute with a powerful shot from outside the box, again assisted by Ritu Porna (3-0). For her outstanding performance, Tohura was named Player of the Match.
India's frustration was evident after trailing 0-3, but captain Bala Devi managed to score a face-saving goal in the 44th minute with a header from close range, following a cross from Manisha (3-1).
AFC U-17 Asian Cup: Bangladesh take on Philippines in 2nd group match Wednesday
Bangladesh's defense, led by goalkeeper Rupna Chakma, held firm, as Chakma made several key saves to deny India's attempts at a comeback.
The victory was met with praise from football fans, as Bangladesh continues its quest to defend their SAFF title.
3 days ago