Have you ever heard the sound of sixty thousand hearts breaking simultaneously? It sounds like, well… nothing. Just a vast, sudden, emptiness where there once was a wall of noise.
It’s eerie.
On Monday, Jamal Bhuyan, captain of the Bangladesh national football team, all swagger and smirking confidence, had promised he’d break Indian hearts. On Tuesday, he did just that. It was his wicked delivery that Gurpreet Singh Sandhu flapped at, that Saad Uddin turned in to give Bangladesh the surprise lead…
On Tuesday, in a crucial World Cup qualifier, India salvaged a 1-1 draw against Bangladesh with a last-gasp goal from a corner. From the high of Doha, Indian football seems to have returned to its normal resting state: oh-no-not-this-again.
Fort…
Adil Khan’s late equaliser helped India avoid a shock defeat against lower-ranked Bangladesh in their third group game of the FIFA World Cup and AFC Asian Cup qualifiers at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Tuesday. Despite an improved second-half performance, the hosts will rue their poor start, and particularly some sloppy defending that cost them two points in a game they were favourites to win.
Report: Adil saves India’s blushes against Bangladesh
Positives
After a disappointing first…
Tuesday’s 2022 World Cup qualifier between North Korea and South Korea is set to take place in Pyongyang’s Kim Il-sung Stadium.
South Korea may be one of the most technically advanced countries in the world, but football fans are facing the prospect of having to follow Tuesday’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against North Korea in Pyongyang by fax.
Tensions between the two countries, which are technically still at war, remain high and while North Korea has agreed to host the game, negotiations to broadcast the action live in the south came to nothing.
In a joint statement issued on Monday, South Korea’s three major terrestrial…
If Ashique Kuruniyan’s value to the Indian team could be captured in one phase of play, look no further than the first half India played against Thailand at the AFC Asian Cup in January 2019, in Abu Dhabi.
Sunil Chhetri sprinted over to take a throw-in, and as he looked around for support, Ashique, who had started the match in attack in a surprise promotion ahead of Jeje Lalpekhlua, sprinted up to get in line with the central defender marking him. Chhetri released the ball deep into the corner,…
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has announced that Iranian women will be able to watch men’s football from October 10th, 2019.
Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe discuss public perception surrounding the USWNT’s class action lawsuit and Rapinoe’s chat with Gianni Infantino.
Iranian women have snapped up tickets for Thursday’s World Cup qualifier against Cambodia in Tehran after they were released for sale online.
Iranian authorities had assured world governing body FIFA that women would be allowed to attend the game and have set aside sections of the stadium for women.
The semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA said the 3,500 tickets set aside for women sold out within minutes of going on sale on Friday morning.
– World Cup 2022 qualifying: All you need to know
FIFA…
Alejandro Moreno examines how Lionel Messi impacted the game during the final 30 minutes of Barcelona’s scoreless draw against Dortmund.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi each have five Ballons d’Or, but does the Portugal star have an argument to deserving more?
The Argentina football federation has appealed a three-month ban CONMEBOL handed to Lionel Messi this past summer during Copa America.
AFA is seeking to have the ban reduced to two months so that Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni can have Messi available for friendlies in Europe against Germany on Oct. 9 and Ecuador on Oct. 13. As it stands now, Messi would only be able to return to action on Nov. 3. A decision is due by Oct. 3.
Messi was banned for three months from international matches and…
FIFA has urged Iran to lift their 40-year ban on women in football stadiums.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has described Iran’s stadium ban for women as “unacceptable,” calling on the country to lift restrictions ahead of their next home game.
Attention on the ban intensified when a 29-year-old activist, Sahar Khodayari, died this month after setting herself on fire. She had been detained for dressing as a man to enter a football stadium.
Infantino said in a statement: “Now is the moment to change things and FIFA is expecting positive developments starting in the next…
Sunil Chhetri, who missed featuring in India’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar in Doha on September 10 due to illness, admits he lost his voice from celebrating after India played out a goalless draw against the reigning Asian champions. Chhetri added that watching former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez chew his nails in nervous tension was one of the most memorable sights for the Indian team.
“He [Xaxi] coaches there now, and is a big influence behind why Qatar play the Barcelona…
Sunil Chhetri, who missed featuring in India’s World Cup qualifier against Qatar in Doha on September 10 due to illness, admits he lost his voice from celebrating after India played out a goalless draw against the reigning Asian champions. Chhetri added that watching former Spain and Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez chew his nails in nervous tension was one of the most memorable sights for the Indian team.
“He [Xaxi] coaches there now, and is a big influence behind why Qatar play the Barcelona…