MUNICH (AP) — Another thriller is on the cards when Bayern Munich hosts Paris Saint-Germain for round two of their free-scoring Champions League semifinal.
PSG edged their encounter 5-4 in the first leg in Paris last week, giving the defending a champion a slim advantage going into Wednesday’s decisive second leg.
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Munich's Jonathan Tan attends a press conference in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique attends a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Munich players attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Munich's Lebbart Karl, left, and Michael Olise attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
But Bayern is confident after fighting back from 5-2 down in that game and developing a habit of comebacks in its last three matches including two in the Bundesliga.
Bayern, which had already secured the league title, fought from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 before its trip to Paris, then twice came from behind to draw with Heidenheim 3-3 last weekend.
The winner will face Arsenal in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on May 30, after the Gunners defeated Atletico Madrid 1-0 on Tuesday to progress 2-1 on aggregate.
PSG and Bayern are the top-scoring sides in the competition with 43 and 42 goals, respectively. It’s the first time two teams have scored more than 40 in the same season.
The German club has won five of its last seven meetings with PSG in Munich, and is going for a repeat of the Champions League, Bundesliga and German Cup treble of titles that it won in 2020 and 2013.
But PSG has good memories of Munich. The city was the scene of PSG’s triumph in the final last season when it demolished Inter Milan 5-0 to fulfill its Qatari owners’ quest to become European champion for the first time. A relatively unchanged team has been charged with delivering the second title.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Munich's Jonathan Tan attends a press conference in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
PSG's head coach Luis Enrique attends a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Munich players attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
Munich's Lebbart Karl, left, and Michael Olise attend a training session in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, ahead of the Champions League semifinal second leg soccer match between FC Bayern and PSG. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)
KIGALI, Rwanda (AP) — The players struck their crutches against each other as they chased a soccer ball, as well as a larger dream of competing at the global level. Children shrieked in joy as they watched a goalie dive to block an attempt with her remaining hand.
Amputee football, a seven-a-side version of the game in which players roam the field on crutches and goalkeepers have one arm, has grown steadily in Rwanda over the past decade. Players say they have found a community on the field after embracing a sport some never imagined they could play. For many, it offers not only physical rehabilitation but also a sense of belonging.
In the capital Kigali, amputees play to foster healing and social cohesion after traumas that include the country's darkest period: the 1994 genocide, in which about 800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus were massacred by the majority Hutu population over a 100-day period.
Nyiraneza Solange was born two years after the genocide and lost her leg at the age of 5 after falling and developing an infection. She said the resilience shown by people who lost limbs during the genocide attracted her to amputee football.
She was encouraged by the former coach of the country's first amputee football team, who told her she could use her crutches to play. She quickly left any fear behind.
“I don’t even think about I don’t have a leg,” said Solange, explaining that she feels free while playing and has overcome the stigma that accompanies being an amputee.
Rwanda is estimated to have more than 3,000 lower-limb amputees. Some are victims of the genocide. Others are survivors of road accidents or illness.
Louise Kwizera, the vice president of the Rwanda Amputee Football Federation, said the sport enables players to learn to trust again, building unity in a society that “was once divided.”
“In communities affected by conflict or trauma, the playing field becomes a place of peace. People who may have different pasts come together as teammates,” Kwizera told The Associated Press.
Rwanda hopes to take part next year in the second women’s amputee football World Cup, an invitational event expected to be held in Poland or Brazil. Rwanda was represented by only a single player at the first edition of the competition in 2024.
The sport, governed by the World Amputee Football Federation, is played in more than 50 countries. Rwanda now has five women’s professional teams and 10 for men.
Haitian women’s amputee football team manager Fred Sorrels, who visited Rwanda to help develop the local program, said he was rooting for the East African country to host a World Cup. But the country's sports ministry said it has yet to make a formal bid.
Sorrels said he has seen the benefits of the sport.
“It’s a win psychologically and mentally for these ladies to have an opportunity to experience wholeness and wellness again,” he said.
Gilbert Muvunyi Manier, the Rwandan sports ministry's director general of sports development, called the sport a “powerful tool” for healing, reconciliation and social cohesion.
Players acknowledged limitations in strategy.
“It’s hard to save the ball when it goes to the side with the receding hand,” goalkeeper Nikuze Angelique said. Like Solange, she described a sense of community found on the field.
As players took selfies after a game, Angelique said she is hopeful they will reach the World Cup.
“It will be a dream come true,” she said.
For more on Africa and development: https://apnews.com/hub/africa-pulse
The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find the AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team play in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
A soccer player on the Rwanda Amputee team takes part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team pose for a selfie after a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team take part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team take part in a training session in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
Soccer players on the Rwanda Amputee team play in Kigali, Rwanda, on Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga)
