The flags, which numbered in the hundreds, were deemed to be "provocative messages of an offensive nature", UEFA said in a statement

Italy only needed the draw in a game played in Leverkusen, Germany, in order to qualify but a defeat against their direct rivals in Group C would have left their fate to be decided in play-offs next March.

The football star donned these shirts during the first halves of the group-stage rounds against Saudi Arabia and Mexico, as well as later games against Australia, the Netherlands and Croatia -- and the final against France.

Bruno Fernandes and Ricardo Horta netted the goals for Roberto Martinez's Portugal, with Cristiano Ronaldo not on the scoresheet, to end with 10 wins from 10 matches in Group J.

Les Bleus set a new record margin of victory in European qualifying and a national record in Nice.

England midfielder Jude Bellingham has been awarded the 2023 Golden Boy award after a stunning start to life at Real Madrid.

Ivory Coast crushed Seychelles 9-0 in Abidjan on Friday to create a record winning margin for a World Cup qualifier in Africa.

Albania also qualified on Friday, drawing 1-1 in Moldova to ensure they would finish in the top two in Group E.

Tahitian football club AS Pirae and French side US Thionville Lusitanos took going the extra mile to the next level when they undertook round-trips of around 33,000 kilometres for their Coupe de France seventh round matches.

Liverpool's Diaz scored two goals in five minutes as Colombia came from behind to stun Brazil.

It was Lionel Messi and Argentina's first defeat of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign

This is Bangladesh’s joint worst result in the Qualifers, as they had earlier lost by the same margin in the 1994 Qualifiers against the UAE.

Even though Bangladesh coach Javier Cabrera is eager to show improvement of his charges, the men in red and green will probably look to avoid embarrassment in their opening World Cup Qualifiers fixture against Australia at the AAMI Park in Melbourne today.

Despite losing the country's top scorer, Diniz is not expecting a new hero to emerge in a young team brimming with talent set to face Colombia on Friday, 6am Bangladesh Time, and world champions Argentina on Wednesday (6.30am, Bangladesh Time).

"It's a very proud thing for me to have as an owner, to have a player like that, the best player in the world, in our team."

Bangladesh defender Bishwanath Ghosh said that everyone from goalkeeper to strikers have to combine in organising the defence when his team face a vastly superior Australia in a World Cup Qualifier fixture in Melbourne on Thursday.

The handover of the renovated ground of the Bangabandhu National Stadium is set to be deferred by a few more weeks after the joint inspection team of National Sports Council (NSC) and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) yesterday found some shortcomings around the newly-laid drainage system.

Former Ghana striker Raphael Dwamena died on Saturday after suffering a heart attack during an Albanian league match between KF Egnatia and FK Partizani, according to a statement by the Albanian football federation.

Bangladesh national football team concentrated on recovery from 20-hour of journey after reaching Melbourne last night ahead of Tuesday’s World Cup Qualifying fixture against Australia.

United had suffered five defeats in their previous 10 home games this season, their worst start to a campaign at Old Trafford since 1930-31 when they also lost five of 10 and were relegated from the top flight.