Sport
Saturday’s Matches: Lionel Messi plays in 1,000th career match
Argentina’s star player, Lionel Messi, played in his 1,000th game in his professional career and led his team to a 2-1 victory over Australia in their round of 16 match at the Fifa World Cup 2022 in Qatar on Saturday.
The legendary No 10 scored and starred in Argentina’s eventually tense 2-1 win to set up a quarterfinal clash against Netherlands, who defeated USA 3-1 on the same day.
Messi commanded the stage again on Saturday night and scored Argentina’s opening goal. It was Messi’s ninth World Cup goal and his first in the knockout stages of the tournament.
While Argentina progressed to a quarter-final clash against the Netherlands, football commentators have said the team was far from convincing and Australia nearly snatched an equalizer in the closing seconds.
Critics have also pointed out that Argentina is still far too reliant on their aging superstar to dig them out of trouble.
For the Netherlands, Memphis Depay’s early goal got the Europeans off to an ideal start before Daley Blind’s strike on the stroke of half-time left the Americans with a huge task. Haji Wright halved the deficit on 76 minutes to tee up a tense finish, but Denzel Dumfries confirmed the win soon after.
The USA’s tournament is now over, having only scored three goals in four matches, and they will hope that the sport will continue to develop in their country in time for 2026, when they will host the tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.
Where to watch
Afghan fans need not miss out on any of the excitement of this year’s tournament which is being broadcast live and exclusively by Ariana Television in Afghanistan.
For the full broadcast schedule CLICK HERE
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.
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.
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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