Author: Nurudeen Obalola
The Falconets of Nigeria are confident of reaching the quarter-finals of the 2024 FIFA Women’s World Cup as they arrived in Bogota, the Colombian capital, on Tuesday. The two-time finalists will battle Japan in the round of 16 in the early hours of Friday Nigerian time in Bogota, five days after beating Venezuela 4-0 in their final group phase match in Cali. “The girls have worked very hard to get to this stage, and we are proud of their efforts,” Falconets head coach Chris Danjuma said as the team landed in Bogota. “We will be taking the knockout stages one…
Former British boxer, Amir Khan, is backing his countryman, Tyson Fury, to level the series with Oleksandr Usyk, when their world title rematch takes place later this year. Fury and Usyk will fight for a second time on December 21, with heavyweight glory on the line once again. Both boxers faced off back in May this year, with the Ukrainian emerging triumphant in the epic battle. After making an excellent start, Fury lost steam in the latter stages of the fight, as he was given a standing count by Usyk before losing on points. Khan, 37, has been a…
By Nurudeen Obalola Former Super Eagles forward Victor Moses has made a surprise return to England to sign for Luton Town. The Championship club confirmed on Tuesday that the former Crystal Palace, Wigan, Liverpool, West Ham and Chelsea star has joined them as a free agent. “We are excited to announce the signing of free agent Victor Moses on a permanent contract, subject to international clearance,” Luton Town, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, confirmed on their official website. “The 33-year-old former Nigeria international has most recently been playing his football in Russia with Spartak Moscow, who…
By Kayode John Former Nigeria assistant coach, Sylvanus Okpala, has urged the Super Eagles to avoid a defeat if they cannot secure a win against Rwanda in Tuesday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier. The Eagles have started their campaign to reach Morocco next year on a good note, beating Benin Republic 3-0 at Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Saturday. Ademola Lookman’s brace and a lovely acrobatic finish from Victor Osimhen did the magic for the three-time African champions, who have been below-par of late. Speaking on Monday ahead of the clash, Okpala, who was one of late…
Heavyweight contenders in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers struggled on Monday with Ghana held to a draw while Morocco and Senegal scraped narrow wins over unfancied opposition. But for Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, victories continued their positive start to the campaign which kicked off last week. Ghana gave away a late goal as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Niger while Senegal needed a penalty to edge Burundi 1-0. Morocco left it late to beat Lesotho with Real Madrid attacker Brahim Diaz scoring a superb individual effort in stoppage time for a 1-0…
By Kayode John Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, has said the team is in Rwanda to pick all the three points in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers on Tuesday. The Eagles kick-started their campaign with a win 3-0 over Benin Republic last Saturday, to put an end to their winless run since the end of the 2023 AFCON in February. On their part, Rwanda faced Libya in their opening group game last week, but could only secure a draw against the North African side, with the game ending in a 1-1 draw last Wednesday. Playing in front…
By Kayode John Interim head coach of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen, has said his players can adapt to new systems and will counter whatever tactics Rwanda deploy in their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifier in Kigali on Tuesday. The Eagles started their campaign to reach the next AFCON with three points and a clean sheet last Saturday, at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo. Goals from Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen ensured Nigeria revenge their 2-1 loss to the Cheetahs of Benin Republic, who inflicted on them their only defeat in the Group C of the…
By Nurudeen Obalola Former Super Eagles and Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi has provided some clarity regarding the transfer fiasco involving Victor Osimhen. The Nigeria striker ended up joining Galatasaray on loan from Napoli after proposed moves to Chelsea and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli broke down on European transfer window deadline day August 30. Osimhen would have spent at least four months on the sidelines until the January window as Napoli excluded him from their Serie A squad, but Galatasaray took advantage of the extended Turkish window to seal a loan deal. While many, depending on the reports they believed, have…
Falconets head coach Christopher Danjuma is confident the team will be ready for their round of 16 clash against Japan in the 2024 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Colombia. The Falconets thrashed Venezuela 4-0 on Saturday to qualify for the knockout phase of the competition, to book a date with the Asian side. The Nigerian team went into the encounter with the South Americans needing a positive result having defeating Korea Republic 1-0 in their first game, but lost 3-1 to Germany in their second group clash. The Falconets bounced back from that Germany defeat, with Omowunmi Bello, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu,…
Athletes that are set to represent Edo State at the National Youth Games are raring to go and and are upbeat about their chances of a successful outing. The National Youth Games began on Monday at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, Delta State, with the opening ceremony set for Wednesday. The athletes have been in a training camp for weeks preparing for the biennial event, which tests the abilities of the best youth athletes across Nigeria. Head coach of the judo team, Lucky Esezobor, expressed confidence in the team, stressing that the state government provided all their training requirements.…