Forward Rakib Hossain said that India are strong, but Bangladesh are now a more organised side compared to the past.

Sunil Chhetri's decision to come out of retirement to play for India again came as no surprise given the forward's outstanding performances in the Indian Super League this season, Bengaluru FC's Spanish midfielder Alberto Noguera has said.

Chris Wood scored a hat-trick of headers as New Zealand moved to within one win of the World Cup with a 7-0 demolition of Fiji on Friday.

Son Heung-min said he "let my team-mates down" after South Korea stumbled in World Cup qualifying with a 1-1 home draw against Oman.

Kane has also scored 76 goals in just 82 games for German giants Bayern Munich.

Germany are in prime position to host the final stage of the tournament after coming from behind to beat Italy 2-1 in Milan while Rasmus Hojlund fired Denmark into a slender first-leg lead against Portugal.

Hojlund, on as a substitute, slotted home the deciding goal before copying former Man United and Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo's celebration.

The five-times world champions had taken a sixth-minute lead in Brasilia through a Raphinha penalty only for Luis Diaz's fine 41st-minute strike for Colombia to level the game.

The second leg is in Dortmund on Sunday.

The team took off yesterday morning and, after a four-hour layover in Kolkata, landed in the hilly northeastern city in the afternoon.

Thomas Tuchel has urged England to play without fear after claiming they were "afraid" in a scathing assessment of their run to the Euro 2024 final under his predecessor Gareth Southgate.

The executive committee of the Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) approved a proposed budget of Tk 61.80 crores on Thursday for the current year, about four-and-half months after the BFF’s annual general meeting refused to approve the proposed expenditure. 

Paulo Dybala is set to miss the rest of the season after Roma announced on Thursday that the Argentina forward would go under the knife in the hope of resolving a thigh injury.

Japan became the first team to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after second-half goals from Daichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo gave them a 2-0 win over Bahrain on Thursday.

It was a huge boost for Tony Popovic's men in the race to come second in Asian Group C behind runaway leaders Japan and automatically qualify for the 48-team tournament in North America next year.

Bangladesh’s experienced midfielder Sohel Rana praised Hamza Choudhury, who plays for Sheffield United in the English Premier League, for quickly adjusting to the national team after just one practice session on Wednesday at the Bashundhara Kings Arena.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann emphasised the importance of building a winning mentality ahead of their clash against Italy at San Siro on Thursday.

Brazil coach Dorival Jr insists they are making progress despite sitting fifth in the standings ahead of crucial World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Peru.

Martinez joins Argentina's growing list of absentees, including captain Lionel Messi, sidelined with a muscle strain, along with Gonzalo Montiel, Giovani Lo Celso, and Paulo Dybala.

"It's been completely normal for us. He is following his precepts, his rules, as he is following them at his club (Barcelona)," De la Fuente said during a press conference ahead of Spain's first-leg tie in Rotterdam.