Sport
Messi named FIFA player of 2022, England women rewarded for Euro campaign

Lionel Messi was named FIFA player of the year 2022 on Monday as Argentina scooped all major men’s awards after winning a vintage World Cup final last December, Reuters reported.
The 35-year-old forward scored two goals in the final against France, with the South Americans emerging triumphant on penalties following a 3-3 draw after extra time in Qatar.
“It’s amazing. It was a tremendous year and it is an honour for me to be here tonight and win this award”, said Messi, who sat next to France forward and Paris St Germain team mate Kylian Mbappe throughout the ceremony at Paris’s Salle Pleyel.
According to Reuters Mbappe, also nominated for the highly anticipated award of the night, netted a hat-trick in the World Cup final but his achievement was overshadowed as Messi finally won the most coveted trophy in world football.
“I want to express my thanks to (coach Lionel) Scaloni and my team mates, without them I would not be here,” Messi added.
“I achieved a dream I had been hoping for so long and finally I achieved it. It’s a dream for any player, very few people can achieve that and I was lucky enough to do so.”
His compatriots Lionel Scaloni and Emiliano Martinez won the coach of the year and keeper of the year awards respectively, and their supporters even got the best fans prize, while England were rewarded for their victorious women’s Euro 2022 campaign.
Mary Earps was named keeper of the year and England’s Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman received the accolade for best coach of a team who had four players in the year’s World 11 – Beth Mead, Lucy Bronze, Leah Williamson and Keira Walsh, read the report.
Spain’s Alexia Putellas, who won the Ballon d’Or last year, was named women’s player of the year after inspiring Barcelona to a third consecutive national title in 2022.
Polish amputee Marcin Oleksy won the Puskas prize for best goal of the year for a spectacular acrobatic volley with Warta Poznan against Stal Rzeszow.
Sport
AFC Asian Cup 2027 Qualifiers: Myanmar defeat Afghanistan 2-1

Afghanistan’s national football team went down 2-1 to Myanmar in their first match of the third round of the 2027 AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers.
The match was held on Tuesday at the stadium in Yangon, the capital of Myanmar.
The only goal for Afghanistan was scored in the 14th minute by Omid Popalzay.
Afghanistan is in Group E along with Myanmar, Pakistan, and Syria.
The national team’s next match will be on June 10 against Syria. The venue is still to be decided.
Sport
Afghanistan eliminated from Asian Beach Soccer Championship

Afghanistan’s national beach soccer team was defeated 6-4 by Indonesia in their third and final match of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.
The match took place on Tuesday in Thailand.
In their first and second games, Afghanistan lost to the United Arab Emirates and Iran, respectively.
Sport
ACB name U19 team for Nepal tour and World Cup Asia Qualifiers

Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee this week finalized the Afghanistan National U19 team squad for the upcoming Youth ODI Series against Nepal, as well as the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers scheduled for next month in Nepal.
The selection process for the National U19 Team included rigorous training and preparation camps over the past five months.
The final phase of the team’s training concluded in Khost province, where the top 19 players engaged in skill development, fitness training, and multiple practice matches.
The squad is set to depart for Nepal later this month, where they will meet the home U19 side in three Youth ODIs from April 3 to 9 in Mulpani.
The team will then proceed to the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers, which will take place from April 13 to 19 in the same country.
The Future Stars are scheduled to face Oman, Hong Kong, the UAE, and the host nation Nepal in a round-robin format.
The team that finishes at the top of the table will qualify for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Interim Chief Selector, Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil: “Qualification for the U19 World Cup is our ultimate goal. Keeping this in mind, we have prepared our squad through rigorous training and multiple preparation phases, which helped us finalize the 17-man squad.
“The boys have shown great enthusiasm and readiness to perform at the international level, and we are confident that they will do well in both events.”
Afghanistan Squad for the Nepal Youth ODI Series and the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup Asia Qualifiers: Mehboob Khan (Captain & Wicket-Keeper), Khalid Ahmadzai (WK), Uzair Khan, Faisal Khan, Barakatullah Ibrahimzai, Nazeef Amiri, Aziz Miakhil, Wahidullah Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen, Hafeez Zadran, Abdul Aziz Khan, Nasratullah Nooristani, Khatir Stanikzai, Salam Khan, Izat Noor Shirzad, Kamal Khan and Rohullah Arab.
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