Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini is backing Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman to win the 2024 Ballon d’Or award. Lookman is the only African player among the 30 contenders for the award, in recognition of his outstanding displays at Atalanta last season. The Nigeria international scored a hat-trick in the final of the UEFA Europa League against Bayer Leverkusen to earn Atalanta their first-ever European title, capping an impressive season in which he scored 17 goals. He was also in top form at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), scoring three goals as the Super Eagles reached the final…
By Kayode John Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali and defender Bruno Onyemaechi have made jest of Libya following Friday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying clash at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo. The North Africans were beaten 1-0, but before Fisayo Dele-Bashiru’s 86th minute goal they had resorted to time-wasting, rolling on the floor at the slightest contact, particularly goalkeeper Murad Al Woheshi, who collapsed to the turf several times while the score was still 0-0. He was cautioned in the 57th minute of the game by the referee who had delivered a warning to him earlier. Also,…
By Kayode John Ikorodu City recorded their first win of the 2024/2025 Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) season on Saturday, beating Bendel Insurance 3-0 in Lagos. Also, Sunshine Stars inflicted the second defeat of the league season on champions Enugu Rangers with a 1-0 victory in Akure. Ikorodu City are enduring a rough start to their first-ever campaign in the Nigerian top flight, with four defeats in their first five matches. The precarious situation forced the exit of coach Bright Ozebagbe, who had led them to promotion from the Nigeria National League (NNL) last season. But they put three goals…
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has expressed grief and commiserated with families of the three persons who were killed by kidnappers in an ambush on the Ihiala-Orlu Road in Anambra State, on Tuesday. There were initial reports on Thursday that seven journalists were kidnapped by gunmen on their way to Uyo for the Africa Cup of Nations qualifier between the Super Eagles and Libya, with six of them eventually rescued and one missing. The latest information on Saturday is that the gunmen opened fire on the bus in which the SuperSport crew were travelling, with staff and security personnel on…
Jannik Sinner secured the year-end world No.1 men’s tennis ranking by beating Czech 30th seed Tomas Machac 6-4, 7-5 in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals on Saturday, capping a year where the Italian has won two Grand Slam titles. Machac made a promising start by winning the opening two games before Sinner got on the board, with the top-seed turning the set around before closing it out in 44 minutes as his opponent begun to rack up the errors. Machac stepped back up and provided an even sterner examination in the second set, but Sinner proved too solid for his…
By Kayode John Super Eagles captain William Troost-Ekong has warned his teammates against complacency and encouraged the team to go for victory always following the hard-fought 1-0 win over Libya in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifying clash in Uyo on Friday. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru came from the bench to score the only goal of the game in the 86th minute to help the Super Eagles maintain their lead at the top of Group D with seven points from two matches. “It’s never done until the fat lady sings, they say. It’s a good start for us. We knew…
By Kayode John Super Eagles interim coach Austin Eguavoen has promised to address Victor Boniface over his goal drought in the team following the 1-0 win over Libya in a 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Uyo on Friday. It took substitute Fisayo Dele-Bashiru to rescue Nigeria from playing back-to-back draws in the qualifiers with his late winner at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium. Eguavoen had on Thursday backed Boniface to score against the North Africans, and the Bayer Leverkusen striker got the nod to start in the game in the absence of Victor Osimhen. Boniface however failed to score…
By Kayode John Super Eagles interim coach Austin Eguavoen has described the narrow 1-0 win over Libya in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Uyo on Friday as a relief for him and his players. The Libyans deployed defensive and time-wasting tactics in the game to the frustration of Nigerian players, coaches and fans at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, but substitute Fisayo Dele-Bashiru scored the only goal of the game in the 86th minute. “It’s a huge win for me and the boys obviously. Three points was important and we got it, I wanted us to score…
Mohamed Salah was on target to help Egypt maintain their 100% record in 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying with a comfortable 2-0 home win over Mauritania, but Tunisia slipped to a shock 1-0 home defeat to Comoros in their fixture on Friday. Salah added to an opener from Trezeguet in Cairo as Egypt toiled for almost 70 minutes before they broke down the Mauritania defence to move six points clear at the top of Group C at the midway point of the qualifiers. Tunisia were heavy favourites after starting their campaign with two wins, but despite 15 goal attempts…
By Nurudeen Obalola The Super Eagles secured a hard-earned 1-0 victory over Libya in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Uyo on Friday. The visiting Mediterranean Knights frustrated the three-time African champions for 87 minutes until substitute Fisayo Dele-Bashiru popped up with the backbreaking goal. The Lazio midfielder, who replaced Alex Iwobi on 73 minutes, latched on to a low cross from Simon Moses to find the back of the net, sending the tense Godswill Akpabio Stadium into loud cheering. The Libyans had sought out to limit the Super Eagles with their ultra-defensive tactics, and were largely successful…