Bangladesh women's national football team successfully advanced to the SAFF Championship semifinals after securing an impressive opening victory against the Maldives.

Maria Manda's team secured their spot in the semifinals of the Women's SAFF Championship with a 4-2 victory over Maldives at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Goa, India.

With this consecutive loss, Maldives has been eliminated from the tournament.

Key Match Highlights

Historic Goal: Swedish-expatriate Anika Rania Siddique scored just 11 seconds into the match. This is believed to be the fastest goal in Bangladesh's football history.

The Victory: Bangladesh won the match 4-2, securing their path toward a consecutive third title.

Key Goalscorers: Anika Rania Siddiqui, Umehla Marma, Sauravi Akanda Pritty, and Kohati Kisku netted the goals for Bangladesh.

Next Challenge: Bangladesh will face hosts India on May 3 to decide the group champion.

END/ASA

Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batter Mushfiqur Rahim is set to feature for Fortune Barishal in the forthcoming Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).

Mushfiqur had played for Sylhet Strikers in the last edition. His price was fixed at 80 lakhs in the players' draft according to the category. Which means he was in 'A' category.

The top category player will play along with other star players like Tamim Iqbal, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, and Khaled Ahmed in Fortune Barishal.

Neymar said he was relishing “new challenges and opportunities in new places” after he joined Saudi Arabia’s Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year deal Tuesday, becoming the latest big name lured to the oil-rich Gulf state.

The Brazil forward, 31, ends a six-year stay in the French capital and follows in the footsteps of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Sadio Mane in swapping Europe for the Middle East.

“I have achieved a lot in Europe and enjoyed special times, but I have always wanted to be a global player and test myself with new challenges and opportunities in new places,” Neymar said in a statement from the Saudi Pro League.

“I want to write new sporting history, and the Saudi Pro League has tremendous energy and quality players at the moment,” he added.

Neymar was “in negotiations” on Sunday to become the latest football superstar to decamp for Saudi Arabia, leaving Paris Saint-Germain just as Kylian Mbappe was brought back in from the cold by the French champions.

A source close to PSG told AFP that 31-year-old Neymar “no longer figures in the club or manager’s plans” with the Brazilian immediately linked to Al-Hilal in the Gulf kingdom.

Another source in Saudi Arabia said that “direct negotiations” between Neymar’s agents and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) were ongoing.