United News of Bangladesh

U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie was reportedly targeted with racist abuse after Juventus secured a 2-0 season-opening win over Parma in Serie A, the Italian club said Sunday. Juventus said in a social media statement that McKennie faced “discriminatory racist remarks by individuals in the away section” while warming down with teammates on the pitch. “Juventus strongly condemns this incident and any form of racism, and will ensure full cooperation with the sporting justice authorities to identify those responsible,” the club added. McKennie, who joined Juventus in 2020, came on as a late substitute in the Turin match, where Canadian forward Jonathan David scored in his Serie A debut for the club. In 2023, Fiorentina faced a suspended partial stadium ban after fans directed racist and discriminatory chants at McKennie and other Juventus players. Sunday’s incident adds to a growing list of racism allegations in European football. FIFA President Gianni Infantino last week described alleged racist abuse in German Cup games as “unacceptable,” including incidents involving Schalke’s Christopher Antwi-Adjei and a Kaiserslautern substitute. Separately, British police arrested a spectator on suspicion of racially abusing Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo during a Premier League match on Aug. 16.

Real Madrid maintained their flawless start in La Liga with a 3-0 victory at newly promoted Oviedo on Sunday, thanks to two goals from Kylian Mbappé and a late strike from Vinícius Júnior. Coach Xabi Alonso initially kept Vinícius on the bench, handing Rodrygo his first competitive start since June’s Club World Cup opener. Madrid dominated early, registering 17 shots in the first half, and broke through eight minutes before the interval when Mbappé controlled Arda Güler’s pass and drilled in a low finish. After replacing Rodrygo in the 63rd minute, Vinícius quickly made an impact—winning possession in midfield and setting up Mbappé for his second goal seven minutes from time. He then sealed the win himself in stoppage time after a swift counterattack. Read more: Mbappé withdraws harassment case against PSG, pursues reconciliation Madrid are one of three clubs with maximum points after two rounds, though Villarreal sit top after crushing Girona 5-0. Canada international Tajon Buchanan scored a hat trick in that game, while Rafa Marin and Nicolas Pepe added the other goals. Girona remain pointless with a -7 goal difference. Elsewhere, Osasuna edged Valencia 1-0 at home with Ante Budimir’s early header, while Real Sociedad battled back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Espanyol. Pere Milla and Javi Puado had put Espanyol ahead before Sociedad hit back through Ander Barrenetxea and Orri Steinn Óskarsson. Source: Agency 

Bangladesh’s U-17 girls shook off the sting of their loss to India with a solid 3–0 victory over Nepal on Sunday in Thimphu, keeping themselves very much in the hunt at the SAFF Championship. It wasn’t pretty at first. For nearly 40 minutes, Bangladesh looked flat, their passes going astray and chances slipping away. Souravi Akand even missed a one-on-one in the 35th minute. But just before halftime, the game turned. Thwinu Marma met a Mamoni Chakma cross in the 41st to break the deadlock. Moments later, a long shot spilled out of Nepal keeper Laxmi’s hands, leaving Souravi an easy finish. Two up at the break, Bangladesh had breathing space. Nepal came hard after the restart, with Sahara Limbu rattling the post and later finding herself clear on goal — only to be denied by keeper Iarzan Begum. Bangladesh wasted chances of their own, Souravi twice striking the woodwork. Still, the third came deep in stoppage time when Riya pounced inside the box to settle it. With two wins from three matches, Bangladesh sit second in the table on six points. India, who routed Bhutan 8–0 earlier in the day, top the group with nine. Bangladesh face Nepal again on Wednesday, knowing there is little room for slip-ups.

Thomas Müller converted a penalty kick deep into second-half stoppage time to give the Vancouver Whitecaps a dramatic 3-2 victory over St. Louis City on Saturday night. Müller, making his first start and only his second appearance for Vancouver (14-6-7) since joining from Germany’s Bayern Munich, scored from the spot in the 14th minute of stoppage time after Mathias Laborda was brought down by Mykhi Joyner. St. Louis struck first in the 14th minute when Eduard Löwen, set up by Conrad Wallem, netted his fourth goal of the season. Vancouver pulled level just before halftime as Brian White converted from the spot in stoppage time after Tristan Blackmon was fouled by Chris Durkin. It marked White’s 14th goal of the season and eighth in six career matches against St. Louis. João Klauss restored St. Louis’ lead in the 73rd minute with his eighth goal, assisted by Sang Bin Jeong. But substitute Daniel Ríos equalized just two minutes after coming on, scoring in the 79th off Sebastian Berhalter’s sixth assist of the season. Cristiano Ronaldo makes history with 100 goals for four clubs Goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka finished with two saves for Vancouver, while Roman Bürki had four for St. Louis, which fell to 1-10-3 on the road this year. The Whitecaps, aiming for a third consecutive playoff appearance, currently sit third in the Western Conference with seven games left. They next host the Philadelphia Union on Sept. 13. St. Louis (5-16-6) will face Houston Dynamo at home next Saturday. Source: Agency 

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score 100 competitive goals for four different clubs on Saturday, but Al-Nassr lost to Al-Ahli in a penalty shootout after the Saudi Super Cup final ended 2-2. Ronaldo, 40, reached the milestone with a first-half goal at Hong Kong Stadium for Al-Nassr, the Saudi club he joined in December 2022. This adds to his 450 goals for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, and 101 for Juventus, surpassing the three players who had scored 100 goals for three clubs: Isidro Langara, Romario, and Neymar. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner, who remains without a major trophy in Saudi Arabia, is also the top international scorer with 138 goals for Portugal. FC Goa describes face-off with Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr as a ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ moment Ronaldo put Al-Nassr ahead in the 41st minute with a penalty, but Franck Kessie quickly equalized for Al-Ahli. Marcelo Brozovic restored Al-Nassr’s lead with seven minutes remaining, only for Brazilian defender Ibanez to head in a late equalizer, sending the match to a penalty shootout. Ronaldo scored again from the spot, but his teammate Abdullah Al-Khaibari missed, and Al-Ahli won 5-3 to claim the first trophy of the Saudi Arabian season.

Tottenham continued their strong start to the Premier League season under new coach Thomas Frank with a convincing 2-0 win at Manchester City on Saturday, thanks to goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha. It was a difficult day for City goalkeeper James Trafford. Spurs had previously won 4-0 at the Etihad last season, and this time they celebrated a 2-0 victory as Palhinha, on loan, scored after a mistake by Trafford shortly after Johnson’s opener. While Tottenham earned praise for their performance, much of the attention focused on Trafford, who returned to City this summer in a £27 million ($36.5 million) move from Burnley. Johnson’s goal was difficult to stop, but Trafford could have been sent off for a reckless challenge on Mohammed Kudus before his costly error allowed Palhinha to score in first-half stoppage time. Ederson, returning from illness, watched from the bench amid ongoing speculation about his future and City’s possible interest in PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. City also faced injury problems as recent signing Rayan Ait-Nouri went off midway through the first half, replaced by Nathan Ake. Tottenham then doubled their lead when Pape Matar Sarr flicked a header to Richarlison, who crossed for Johnson to score. Initially ruled offside, VAR later confirmed the goal, prompting wild celebrations for the visitors. City’s troubles continued when Trafford passed short in his own box, allowing the ball to reach Palhinha, who scored Spurs’ second goal. PSG completes late comeback to defeat Tottenham in penalties and claim UEFA Super Cup Elsewhere on Saturday, Leeds faced Arsenal, while earlier matches included Bournemouth vs. Wolverhampton, Brentford vs. Aston Villa, and Burnley vs. Sunderland.

Harry Kane netted a hat trick as Bayern Munich began its Bundesliga title defense with a commanding 6-0 victory over Leipzig on Friday. Bayern dominated the match except for a brief 15-minute spell after halftime when Antonio Nusa came close for the visitors and had a goal disallowed. Kane’s goals were supported by Michael Olise, who scored twice, and Luis Díaz, who netted once and assisted two on his league debut. “We wanted to make a statement and that’s exactly what we did,” Kane told Sky TV. “Leipzig are a strong team, but today we controlled all areas and were clinical when needed.”   Olise opened the scoring in the 27th minute, followed by Díaz’s strike five minutes later after a slick move involving Kane and Serge Gnabry. Olise added his second goal shortly after, assisted by Gnabry, who created space past two defenders. Olise was deployed centrally due to Jamal Musiala’s injury absence. Harry Kane set to return for Bayern Munich next week after injury Leipzig improved after halftime under new coach Ole Werner, one of six managers making their Bundesliga debuts this weekend, but Bayern continued to dominate. Kane scored his fourth goal in the 64th minute, then added two more in the 74th and 78th minutes, completing his first hat trick of the season, with Díaz assisting on two of the goals. Kane also praised his teammates’ contributions. “Michael has been outstanding, and Lucho has quickly built a strong connection with me. It was a big team performance,” he said.      

Ousmane Dembélé missed a penalty but Fabián Ruiz struck the winner as Paris Saint-Germain beat Angers 1-0 in their first Ligue 1 home match of the season on Friday. Dembélé, seen as a frontrunner for next month’s Ballon d’Or, fired his spot kick over the bar after João Neves earned the penalty midway through the first half. Dembélé, Chloe Kelly among Ballon d'Or nominees PSG kept control of the match and broke the deadlock five minutes after the restart, when Fabián finished from the center of the area in the 50th minute. The victory extended PSG’s winning streak at home against Angers to 11 matches. Luis Enrique’s side has now won all three games this season, bouncing back strongly after losing last month’s Club World Cup final to Chelsea. They recently lifted the European Super Cup with a penalty shootout win over Tottenham and also opened their league campaign with a 1-0 win at Nantes. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was again left out of the squad, with new signing Lucas Chevalier starting between the posts. Donnarumma confirmed his departure from PSG ahead of the Super Cup clash.      

Bangladesh’s U-23 looked lively in the first half but ended up slipping to a 4–2 defeat against Bahrain in a practice match Friday night.   The match, played behind closed doors in Manama, had official Tier-2 status under FIFA.   Mirajul Islam struck twice to give Bangladesh a 2–1 lead at the break. But the hosts turned it around after halftime, scoring three unanswered goals to seal the win.   It was Bangladesh’s second game on tour — they had lost the first 1–0 earlier in the week. The two fixtures were arranged as part of preparations for next month’s AFC U-23 qualifiers in Vietnam.   Assistant coach Atikur Rahman Mishuk tried to take the positives.   “These two matches have been good preparation for us. All 24 players in camp got playing time, which was important,” he said, thanking the federation for arranging the trip.   The team is scheduled to return to Dhaka on Sunday before heading to Vietnam. Two players, Cuba Michel and Fahmidul, will join directly from Italy.     

President Donald Trump on Friday announces that the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington. He makes the announcement alongside FIFA President Gianni Infantino and U.S. Vice President JD Vance during an event in the Oval Office. The United States will co-host the tournament next year along with Canada and Mexico. The draw at the Kennedy Center will decide the groupings for the tournament and determine which teams play each other in the opening round. Trump, who has recently taken control of the Kennedy Center, has appointed himself chair and replaced the board of trustees with loyalists. He also hints at possibly renaming the venue the Trump/Kennedy Center. When asked if he might personally draw the team names, Trump suggests it “might not be a bad idea,” with Infantino appearing to agree, though final details have yet to be confirmed. Japan, first team to qualify for 2026 FIFA World Cup In a rare move, Infantino brings the World Cup trophy to the Oval Office. Traditionally, players are warned not to touch the trophy before their team actually wins, believing it may bring bad luck. Infantino reminds Trump, “It’s for winners only,” but adds, “And, since you are a winner, of course you can as well.” Trump lifts the trophy, commenting, “It’s pretty heavy,” later calling it “a beautiful piece of gold” and joking about keeping it on display in the Oval Office, which he has redecorated with his signature gold-hued style. The announcement marks a key milestone for the 2026 World Cup, which will be jointly hosted across North America, as anticipation builds for the tournament’s group stage.   Source: Agency