Amsterdam, Sep 7 (AP/UNB) — Memphis Depay stole the show Thursday by scoring both Dutch goals as the Netherlands beat Peru 2-1 in a friendly billed as a farewell to record midfielder Wesley Sneijder.

The match was the 134th and final international for Sneijder, the 34-year-old former Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Ajax star. It was also an important warmup for the Netherlands' first UEFA Nations League match - on Sunday against World Cup champion France at Saint-Denis.

The Dutch were sloppy in the first half and Pedro Aquino outjumped Daley Blind for a corner to give Peru a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.

Depay equalized on the hour after Frenkie de Jong, making his international debut as a second-half substitute, won the ball and drilled a quick pass to the Olympique Lyon striker.

Sneijder was substituted immediately after the goal, hugging all his teammates as he left the pitch to cheers of "Wesley thanks!" from the crowd at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

"It's over, it's done. My last match ... in the orange shirt," Sneijder said. "Everything comes to an end."

Depay then ensured Sneijder's finale would be a win by volleying home Quincy Promes' blocked shot in the 83rd minute.

At a ceremony after the match, fans slapped their heads, mimicking Sneijder's celebration when he scored a header winner against Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinal in South Africa.

Faro, Sep 7 (AP/UNB) — With Cristiano Ronaldo absent and Luka Modric in action, Portugal and Croatia drew 1-1 in a friendly Thursday.

In its first game since reaching the World Cup final, Croatia got on the board with forward Ivan Perisic's goal and defender Pepe equalized before halftime.

The Portuguese had most of the scoring chances but could not break through the Croatian defense at Algarve Stadium in southern Portugal.

Coach Fernando Santos did not call up Ronaldo saying the player needed more rest following a busy summer that included a transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus.

Modric, a finalist with Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah for the FIFA player of the year award, was substituted in the second half.

Portugal was eliminated by Uruguay in the round of 16 of the World Cup. Croatia lost the final to France.

Defending European champion Portugal will make its UEFA Nations League debut against Italy on Monday. Croatia will open at Spain on Tuesday.

Europe's newest international soccer tournament started Thursday with a whimper rather than a bang.

Germany and France headlined the opening night of the UEFA Nations League — the 2014 world champion against this year's winner — but the upshot was a 0-0 draw most memorable for France goalkeeper Alphonse Areola's saves.

Germany coach Joachim Loew said the Nations League wasn't a big enough stage for his team to redeem itself after crashing out of the World Cup in the group stage.

"It would be naive to think that we could put a World Cup like that behind us with one game," he said. "In the end, we can only rehabilitate ourselves at a major tournament."

France took a relaxed approach compared to the high-intensity style of its victorious World Cup campaign, though Germany showed more of a competitive edge to put debutant Areola's goal under siege in the final half-hour.

Germany forward Leroy Sane, controversially omitted from the World Cup squad, was back in the team but limited to a role as an 83rd-minute substitute.

On a mixed opening night for the new competition, the Wales team coached by Ryan Giggs swept past Ireland 4-1, while Ukraine beat the Czech Republic 2-1 after a delay for a floodlight failure.

The Nations League was meant to replace friendlies with more meaningful games, but Croatia and Portugal showed that the friendly format still has some mileage.

In its first game since losing the World Cup final to France, Croatia drew 1-1 with European champion Portugal in a game scheduled head-to-head with Germany and France's Nations League opener.

Ivan Perisic put Croatia ahead with a fierce shot in the 18th minute before Portugal defender Pepe responded with a header in the 32nd.

After missing out on a World Cup spot, the Netherlands showed grit in Thursday's friendly against Peru, coming back from a goal down to win 2-1 as veteran midfielder Wesley Sneijder marked his 134th and last international game.

WALES ON FORM

In the second tier of the Nations League, Wales needed just six minutes to score in its first competitive game under Giggs, who was appointed in January to succeed Chris Coleman.

Tom Lawrence blasted the ball past goalkeeper Darren Randolph to get Wales started, before Gareth Bale made it 2-0 with a curling shot. Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts added further goals as the Welsh gained a measure of revenge over Ireland, whose 1-0 win last year ended their World Cup qualifying hopes.

In Thursday's other League B fixture, Oleksandr Zinchenko's stoppage-time goal gave Ukraine the win over the Czechs. The 21-year-old Manchester City midfielder is a key figure in Ukraine's attempt to rebuild its squad after missing out on the World Cup.

HOW DOES THE NATIONS LEAGUE WORK?

UEFA has had a tough time explaining why Europe needed its new competition, or how it works.

It's a hybrid between a traditional tournament — stretched out over a whole season — and a European Championship qualifier.

There's a group stage, after which the top-tier winners will play a "final four"-style playoff to be overall Nations League champion. Group winners from all four divisions can earn places in qualifying playoffs in 2020, with a European Championship spot on the line.

There will still be a traditional qualifying competition for the European Championship, starting next year. FIFA hopes there will eventually be Nations Leagues worldwide feeding into a global competition.

OUTSIDERS AIM FOR 2020

For many of Europe's lower-ranked countries, the Nations League is likely to be their best shot of qualifying for the European Championship, since at least one team from each tier is guaranteed a place.

League C's early front-runners include Norway, which hasn't reached a major tournament since 2000 and beat Cyprus 2-0. Bulgaria, last seen at the European Championship in 2004, won 2-1 against Slovenia.

In the lowest level, League D, Georgia started strongly Thursday with a 2-0 win over Kazakhstan. The 19-year-old Georgian midfielder Giorgi Chakvetadze scored the first-ever goal in the Nations League with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.

Andorra earned a rare point in a competitive game by drawing 0-0 away to Latvia, the only one of League D's 16 teams ever to have played a major tournament.

GIBRALTAR AT HOME

Gibraltar, the smallest member of UEFA, played its first-ever competitive game on home soil, losing 2-0 to Macedonia in League D.

Gibraltar joined UEFA in 2013 but had to play all its home qualifying games for the 2016 European Championship and 2018 World Cup at a venue in Portugal because its own stadium wasn't considered up to the required standard.

After some upgrades, Gibraltar is now playing at its 2,000-capacity Victoria Stadium for the Nations League. Local media reported the game against Macedonia was sold out.

Dhaka, Sep 7 (UNB) - Bangladesh will need a draw against visiting Nepal on Saturday’s match to reach the semifinal in the seven-nation SAFF Suzuki Cup 2018.

The must-win game for Nepal’s semifinal berth will begin at 7 pm at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Bangladesh are now atop the four-team Group ‘A’ collecting all-win six points from two outings, staring their campaign with a 2-0 win against already-eliminated side Bhutan before getting a 1-0 goal victory against Pakistan in the second game.

Nepal started their journey with a 1-2 defeat against Pakistan in the tournament opener before stunned Bhutan by 4-0 goals to keep their hope for last four berth alive and to hold the second slot by virtue of goal difference.

In another match of Saturday, if Pakistan is beaten by Bhutan, Bangladesh will reach semifinals, even if suffer a loss against Nepal.

If Pakistan can manage a win against Bhutan, Bangladesh will need at least a draw against Nepal to confirm its last-four berth.
Ahead of the match day, Bangladesh boys’ had a two hours practice session at Birshrestha Shaheed Sepoy Mohammad Mostafa Kamal Stadium in Kamlapur in the afternoon.

In the last three editions, Bangladesh made their exit from the group stage. The host side had a successful campaign in the SAFF Championship 2003 with a 1(5)-1(3) win in a penalty shootout against the Maldives in the final at Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Bangladesh are hosting the event for the third time after 2003 and 2009, since its inception in 1993.

Points table: (Group A)
Team               Matches       Position        GF       GA      GD      Points   
Bangladesh      2                      1                3          0          +3        6
Nepal               2                      2                 5          1          +4       3
Pakistan           2                      3                2          1          +1        3                     
Bhutan             2                      4                0          6          -6         0
Bangladesh squad: Ashraful Islam Rana, Shahidul Alam Sohel, Anisur Rahman, Topu Barman, Nasiruddin Chowdhury, Bishwanath Ghosh, Tutul Hossain Badsha, Waly Faisal, Susanta Tripura, Masuk Miah Zony, Mamunul Islam Mamun, Emon Mahmud Babu, Faisalo Mahmud, Sohel Rana, Biplu Ahmed, Atiqul Islam Fahad, Jamal Bhuiyan, Shahkawat Hossain Rony, Mahbubur Rahman Sufil and Saaduddin.
 

Jhenaidah, Sept 6 (UNB) - Jhenaidah Pourashava Eleven beat touring Kalyani Pourashava team of Nadia district of India by 1-0 goal in a friendly U-18 football match at the local Bir Shreshta Hamidur Rahman Stadium on Thursday. 

The winners scored the match decider in the 2nd half from a penalty.

Deputy Commissioner of Jehnaidah Saroj Kumar Nath distributed the trophies as the chief guest.

Mayor of the Jhenaidah Pourashava Saidul Karim Mintu, Additional Police Super Milu Miah Biswas along with Coordinator of the visiting team Milon Ghosh and Coach Devabrata Biswas were also present at the match witnessed by several thousand local soccer fans.