Croatia booked their ticket to the 2026 World Cup in North America with an unconvincing 3-1 win over the in-form Faroe Islands on Friday as the Netherlands all but booked their spot in the finals too.

Germany forward Nick Woltemade scored twice in the second half to give the four-time world champions a hard-earned 2-0 win over Luxembourg in their penultimate 2026 World Cup qualifier on Friday, leaving them on the brink of automatic qualification.

Football icon Lionel Messi created the first goal and scored the second as world champions Argentina beat Angola 2-0 in an international friendly in Luanda on Friday.

Tuchel is convinced he has created a strong sense of purpose and unity among his squad since taking charge in January.

Ronaldo will miss Sunday’s match against Armenia, where Portugal aim to seal qualification for next summer’s tournament.

Bangladesh now turn their focus to the crucial Asian Cup Qualifier against India on November 18, with both players expected to be available barring any setbacks.

Coach Didier Deschamps also underlined that reaching the finals was simply where Les Bleus are expected to be.

Portugal fell behind on 17 minutes after Liam Scales headed a fizzed-in corner back across goal and Parrott could not miss.

Qatari club Al-Sadd on Thursday announced that they had hired former Manchester City and Italy boss Roberto Mancini as their new coach.

Bangladesh’s display, built around brief flashes of quality from Hamza, again exposed familiar flaws -- inconsistency, defensive fragility, and the inability to close out matches.

Brazil goalkeeper Ederson said he had already attempted to leave Manchester City the season before last, with unhappiness at the Premier League club weighing on him after struggling with injuries.

Jaws dropped and hands landed on heads as Bangladesh star Hamza Choudhury produced a moment of sheer brilliance that left spectators breathless -- not only at the National Stadium but also in front of TV screens, bringing Bangladesh back into the game in their FIFA friendly against Nepal yesterday. In a match that had offered little to cheer for the home side, the Leicester City midfielder delivered a one-man show, drawing Bangladesh level at 1-1 just a minute after the restart with an outrageous bicycle kick. Hamza then followed it up with an audacious Panenka penalty in the 50th minute to give the hosts a 2-1 lead, and ultimately, their second victory of the year. Hamza now boasts four goals in five matches for Bangladesh. Earlier, Rohit Chand fired Nepal into the lead with a thunderous strike in the 29th minute. Photo: STAR

The match kicks off at 8:00 pm and will be live telecast on T Sports.

The first round follows a familiar format, with 12 groups of four or five teams, and the section winners securing World Cup slots

Portugal will reach the 2026 World Cup finals with a victory and Ronaldo said if the crowd focused on him it could take pressure off his team-mates.

Brazil midfielder Oscar suffered a major cardiac scare after collapsing and losing consciousness during a physical test at Sao Paulo’s training centre on Tuesday.

The president, who was in charge at the time of Messi's departure, said he did not regret what happened because "Barca is above everything".

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates will attempt to overcome the disappointment of missing out on an automatic berth at next year's World Cup when they face off on Thursday for another shot at keeping their qualification dreams alive.

On Friday, November 13, 2015, a series of attacks in Paris and around the Stade de France during a friendly match between Les Bleus and Germany left a total of 130 people dead.

Bangladesh will look to find the right combination and fine-tune their strategy for the upcoming India fixture when they face Nepal in an international friendly at the National Stadium today.