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.

As Bangladesh gear up for their crucial Asian Cup Qualifiers fixture against India, captain Jamal Bhuiyan likened the excitement surrounding Hamza Choudhury’s homecoming to that of a global superstar.

But ahead of Thursday's first-leg clash in Croatia, Mbappe said he was "delighted to be back with the group".

Hamza Choudhury, the biggest name in Bangladesh football, spent a busy day in Dhaka on Wednesday

India faced off against Maldives today in Shillong in a friendly match ahead of their upcoming Asian Cup Qualifiers clash against Bangladesh and won the tie by a convincing 3-0 margin with the returning Sunil Chhetri also getting into the score sheet.

The public outcry over the departure of Italy-based Bangladeshi footballer Fahamedul Islam from the national team carried over to the second day with the sports adviser Asif Mahmud and Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) president Tabith Awal having to weigh in on the issue today.

Italy will be without striker Mateo Retegui for both legs of their UEFA Nations League quarter-final against Germany because of a thigh injury, Italy's football association (FIGC) said on Wednesday.

Son Heung-min dismissed concerns about his form and fitness on Wednesday as he looks to forget his Tottenham woes by firing South Korea to the World Cup.