Bangladesh have achieved their biggest-ever leap in the FIFA Women’s World Ranking, climbing 24 places to reach 104th, up from 128th. This dramatic rise follows their historic qualification for the AFC Women’s Asian Cup 2026 — the first time Bangladesh have reached the continental finals.

In the latest rankings released by FIFA, the Bengal Tigresses earned 1179.87 points — the highest gain among all nations in this cycle, with a net increase of +80.51 points. The improvement reflects the team’s consistent performances, especially against higher-ranked opponents, during the Asian Cup qualifiers held in Yangon, Myanmar.

Coached by Englishman Peter Butler, Bangladesh emerged as group champions, defeating host nation Myanmar (ranked 55th at the time), Bahrain (ranked 36 places higher), and Turkmenistan. The team maintained a perfect winning record throughout the campaign, showcasing tactical discipline, defensive strength, and attacking flair.

With this boost, Bangladesh are now ranked 19th among AFC (Asian Football Confederation) nations. Within the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF), they are now third, only behind India (63rd) and Nepal (87th) — a significant milestone that highlights their growing stature in regional football.

The qualifiers marked a turning point for Bangladesh women’s football, with the team demonstrating resilience and a growing maturity on the international stage.

Their rise in the rankings signals a strong step forward for South Asian women’s football and sets high expectations for their Asian Cup debut.

Meanwhile, Spain — runners-up in the recent UEFA Women’s Euro — have reclaimed the top position in the global standings, pushing the United States down to second. However, Bangladesh’s 24-place climb remains the most remarkable gain in this update.

With momentum on their side, the Tigresses now look ahead to making a bold statement in the 2026 AFC Women’s Asian Cup.

The same PSG that defeated clubs like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to reach the final was brought down by Chelsea. On Sunday (July 13) at midnight, Chelsea beat the in-form PSG 3-0 to win the FIFA Club World Cup.

Although PSG dominated possession throughout the match, Chelsea led in attacks, build-up play, and creating scoring chances. They reaped the rewards as early as the 22nd minute, when Cole Palmer found the net from a pass by Gusto inside the box.

Just eight minutes later, Palmer scored again—this time assisted by Colwill. Trailing by two goals, PSG began to lose composure, and Chelsea took advantage. In the 43rd minute, João Pedro scored the third goal. It was his third goal since joining Chelsea.

While PSG couldn’t create any notable chances in the first half, they began pressing for opportunities early in the second half. However, Dembélé and his teammates couldn’t break Chelsea’s solid defense. As the match began slipping out of PSG’s hands, frustration started to show.

In the 85th minute, PSG’s Portuguese star João Neves received a red card for pulling Chelsea defender Cucurella’s hair. In the 87th minute, Ousmane Dembélé was shown a yellow card for arguing with the referee. Ultimately, Chelsea walked off the field with a convincing 3-goal victory. After the match, players from both sides clashed physically, and PSG coach Luis Enrique also lost his temper and got involved.

Thus, PSG’s dream of a perfect season came to an end. After winning the treble, they were the hot favorites to win the Club World Cup. They even made it to the final, but couldn’t secure the title. On the other hand, Chelsea, who had earlier won the Conference League, ended their season with another trophy. This marks their second Club World Cup title. They first won it in 2021 by defeating Brazilian club Palmeiras.

Sagorika’s brilliant hat-trick saw defending champions Bangladesh get off to a flying start in the South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) U-20 Women’s Championship 2025 today, Friday. Bangladesh women thrashed Sri Lanka by 9-1 goals in their first match of four-nation tournament held at the Bashundhara Kings Arena in Dhaka.

From the very outset, Bangladesh looked very sharp, hungry and in complete control of the match. Dominating possession and dictating the tempo, they pegged Sri Lanka deep into their own half with a series of attacks.

Apart from Sagorika’s hat-trick with three goals in the 37, 53 and 58 minutes, Munni Akhter struck twice in the fifth and 48 minutes while Sapna Rani, Sinha Jahan Sikha, Rupa Akter and Shanti Mardi supported them with lone goals in the second, 50, 86 and 90+4 minutes respectively for Bangladesh in the one-sided affairs. Layansika Jasotharan scored a consolation goal for Sri Lanka in the 90+2 minute of the match.

Bangladesh will play their next match against Nepal while Sri Lanka will meet Bhutan Sunday at the same venue. Four South Asian nations- Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and host Bangladesh- are taking part in the 11-day meet on round robin league basis.Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is organising the SAFF U-20 Women’s Championship 2025.

Bangladesh’s inability to go big after promising starts once again came under scrutiny following their seven-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka in their first T20I in Pallekele on Thursday. Despite a solid start, the Tigers stumbled in the middle overs and ended with a below-par 154 for five, a total Sri Lanka chased down with ease and an over to spare.

Bangladesh played an eleven with four openers at the top, two of whom, Mohammad Naim (32) and Parvez Hossain Emon (38), scored 30-plus knocks, while Mehidy Hasan Miraz scored 29, but none could reach the fifty-mark. However, for the hosts, Kusal Mendis struck a half-century (73 off 42) and Pathum Nissanka played a rapid 42 off 16 balls, which exposed the Tigers’ poor batting approach. Spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed believes the batters’ failure to turn 30s and 40s into bigger scores was a decisive factor in the match.

‘When a batsman is in form and gets 30s or 40s, the next challenge is to convert those into 70s and 80s,’ Mushtaq told reporters after the game.

He pointed to Sri Lanka’s Kusal as a model of consistency. ‘That’s what Kusal did — he consistently made those big scores, and that’s why he troubled our bowling attack. For us, one of our batsmen needs to do the same,’ While Bangladesh showed gleams of aggression — including a reverse-sweep six by Shamim Hossain — Mushtaq said execution in crucial moments was missing.

‘Shamim showed positive intent with that reverse-sweep six right after coming in. But to post winning totals on challenging pitches, you need to bat long and convert those starts into bigger scores.’

Openers Emon and Tanzid Hasan Tamim were once again among the runs but failed to push on to play a match-defining knock. Bangladesh scored 54 runs during the first powerplay but found themselves at 116-4 after 16 overs, eventually ended up with a total that Mushtaq had identified as a below-par score on the surface.

‘Good partnerships and the ability to bat longer will take us a long way,’ Mushtaq said, noting that building innings and batting deep remain key goals for the side.

Mehidy and Naim added 61 runs off 52 balls in a steady stand, but the slow batting left questions about intent with power-hitting ability. Skipper Liton Das was the only batter unable to reach double figures, dismissed lbw after scoring six. He also called for the batting unit to improve.

‘We didn’t get many runs. It’s not just today’s game, last 7-8 matches, I think the batters who are in have to take responsibility,’ Liton said in the post-match presentation.

Bangladesh will play the second T20I against Sri Lanka at the Dambulla International Stadium on Sunday.

Chelsea must somehow try to stop an irresistible Paris Saint-Germain side from adding the Club World Cup trophy to their UEFA Champions League title as the final of the first edition of FIFA’s expanded competition takes place on Sunday. PSG travelled to the United States fresh from becoming European champions with a stunning 5-0 demolition of Inter Milan in Munich in late May, and they have lived up to their favourites tag at the Club World Cup.

Luis Enrique’s side put four goals past Atletico Madrid in the group stage, four more past Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the last 16, and then proved too strong for Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.They appeared to hit new heights as they tore apart Kylian Mbappe’s Real Madrid in the last four, when their 4-0 winning margin could have been far greater.

The Parisians now stand on the verge of an extraordinary achievement, as they look to complete a clean sweep of trophies in this marathon 2024/25 season and add the world title to their French and European crowns.

‘That is the objective we have had since the beginning but it is always very difficult to achieve these things — very few teams can do what we are trying to do,’ said Luis Enrique after the semi-final.

PSG are therefore overwhelming favourites for the game which will be played at the 82,500-capacity MetLife Stadium in New Jersey — with the Manhattan skyline as a backdrop — and which is set to be attended by Donald Trump.

However Desire Doue, one of their standout performers during a remarkable campaign, insisted there were no concerns about complacency.

‘We are not over-confident, not at all,’ France international Doue told reporters before PSG trained at Rutgers University, south of New York City, on Friday.

‘We have been favourites for most matches in this competition and throughout this season, but what matters is what we do on the pitch.’

Chelsea have plenty of reason to believe too, with Sunday’s game finally wrapping up a campaign in which they won the UEFA Conference League and also finished fourth in the Premier League to qualify for the Champions League.

While PSG lost to Botafogo during the group stage, Chelsea were also beaten by Brazilian opposition in Flamengo.

However, they have gone on to defeat Benfica as well as two other Brazilian teams, Palmeiras and Fluminense, to reach the final.

‘If everyone thinks we are going to lose, then we have nothing to lose. We have to go out there and play our football, be confident and hopefully try to surprise everyone,’ defender Levi Colwill said on Friday.

PSG’s record against English opposition in 2025 shows the size of task facing Chelsea — the French club faced four Premier League teams in the Champions League and beat them all, from Manchester City and Liverpool, to Aston Villa and then Arsenal.

‘It is a super high-level game. They are one of the hottest teams in the world at the moment but this is the final, a one-off game,’ said Reece James.

‘Everyone has them down as strong favourites but I have been in many finals before where we have been favourites and we have not come out on top.

‘I don’t really care that everyone is bigging up the opposition. We are just preparing in the right way and we are going out to win.’

The match brings down the curtain on a month-long competition that FIFA is already hailing as a huge success.

But concerns over the heat of an American summer have plagued the tournament, with Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez saying Friday that playing in the middle of the afternoon was ‘very dangerous’

Whatever happens in the final, the tournament has already been a huge success for the participants from a financial viewpoint.

Chelsea and PSG are assured to go home with over $100 million in prize money, with the definitive amount to become clear after the final — that money will be particularly welcome for Chelsea after they were recently fined by UEFA for breaching financial rules.