The Iranian national team are continuing to prepare for the World Cup finals and have no intention of pulling out of the tournament even if they will not travel to the United States, football chief Mehdi Taj said on Wednesday.

Harry Kane said Bayern Munich had nothing to fear in taking on Real Madrid after setting up a quarterfinal clash with the European giants by beating Atalanta on Wednesday.

The Philippines reached next year's World Cup in Brazil after scoring twice in five minutes to beat Uzbekistan 2-0 in the Women's Asian Cup playoffs on Thursday.

With the second legs of the Champions League round of 16 done and dusted, the full list of fixtures for the quarterfinals is now known.

While most people in Bangladesh will be busy over the next week, celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr with their families and friends, three separate national football teams of the country will be away from home, preparing for crucial international assignments.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi bagged the 900th goal of his glittering career on Wednesday but could not prevent Inter Miami from crashing out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup on away goals after a 1-1 draw with Nashville.

Barcelona hit Newcastle United for seven to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Liverpool overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Galatasaray in their last-16 tie and both Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid advanced to the next round.

Bangladesh open their SAFF U-20 Championship campaign against Pakistan on March 24, before facing defending champions India in their final Group B match on March 28.

Football is a cruel poet. It can reduce an entire epic to a single line.

Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha struck twice each for the Catalan giants at Camp Nou.

Two members have remained in Australia, but the rest of the team completed a long journey back on Wednesday via Malaysia, Oman and then to Istanbul and Turkey's overland Gurbulak-Bazargan border crossing with Iran.

Having featured in four matches for Bangladesh so far, the midfielder admitted his experience with the national team has exceeded expectations.

Jeremy Doku believes Manchester City demonstrated enough quality while being knocked out of the Champions League to show that Pep Guardiola's men could yet enjoy a successful season.

While Australia have had to fight hard to reach the final, it has been a far easier ride for Japan.

A clinical Japan swept past South Korea 4-1 on Wednesday to set up a Women's Asian Cup final against hosts Australia, with the two-time champions putting on a masterclass.

Iranian women's national football squad arrived in eastern Turkey and headed to the Iran border on their way home Wednesday, among them several players who withdrew an asylum bid in Australia.

Senegal have condemned the decision to strip them of the Africa Cup of Nations title, labelling it “unfair, unprecedented, and unacceptable”, and saying it casts a shadow over African football.

Does the World Cup belong only to the big teams and superstar footballers? A glance through history suggests that the real drama often lies with sides that arrive with limited expectations -- or none at all.

Pep Guardiola believes a new-look Manchester City need time to match the feats of his earlier years in charge after bowing out of the Champions League to Real Madrid for the third consecutive season.

"It will be a tough game tomorrow. They're a physical team, aggressive man-to-man, in transition they are fast players," said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.