Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Nigeria’s Flamingos were in ruthless form on Thursday, trouncing Niger Republic 9-0 in the second match of this year’s WAFU U-17 Girls Cup, taking place in Ghana. Shakirat Moshood netted four of the goals, with Janet Akekoromowei adding three. Asisat Animashaun and Peace Effiong scored the other goals. The Flamingos started brilliantly, with Animashaun scoring after only five minutes, following an cross by Mary Mamudu. FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup starlet Moshood made it 2-0 with a screamer from 35 yards in the 17th minute. Six minutes later, Moshood scored her second and Nigeria’s third, assisted by Animashaun, and in the…
By Nurudeen Obalola Six Nigerian players and teams are still in the race for prizes at the 2024 CAF Awards, with Ademola Lookman and Chiamaka Nnadozie up for the biggest honours. The CAF Awards will be held in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday, with Super Eagles and Atalanta forward Lookman favourite to succeed his compatriot Victor Osimhen as African Player of the Year. The 27-year-old is on the final five-man shortlist along with Simon Adingra of Cote d’Ivoire, Achraf Hakimi of Morocco, Serhou Guirassy of Guinea and Ronwen Williams of South Afrca. Super Falcons and Paris FC star Nnadozie is a…
Pep Guardiola refused to be despondent even after watching helplessly as his Manchester City side lost 2-0 to Juventus in their UEFA Champions League clash in Turin on Wednesday night. Guardiola’s side have now won only one of their last 10 matches across all competitions, losing a staggering seven, and languish in 22nd place in the 36-team Champions League table, only three places out of automatic elimination from the competition with two games remaining. “We played good, really really good,” Guardiola told reporters after the defeat. “So we missed the last pass, the last action, of course, some transitions happen,…
A group of Manchester United fans have been arrested as part of a dawn-raid operation following shocking violence earlier this season. The Red Devils took on Dutch side FC Twente back in September – the game finishing in a 1-1 draw following strikes from Christian Eriksen and Sam Lammers. The match proved to be one of Erik ten Hag’s final in charge as he was sacked the following month. Away from the football, there were shocking scenes between two sets of supporters. Two groups of around 40 balaclava-wearing individuals clashed in Lower Broughton, Salford, the day before the game. No weapons were used, with each clutch…
Swedish prosecutors have confirmed that they have dropped a rape investigation that was reportedly launched in connection with Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappe’s visit to Stockholm in October. Mbappe visited Sweden on October 10 during an international break after he was omitted from the France squad ahead of two UEFA Nations League fixtures. It was reported at the time by Swedish media that the 25-year-old was seen in a nightclub in Stockholm and he was subsequently linked to the allegations involving an incident at The Bank Hotel. Police allegedly responded to an accusation of rape and sexual molestation at the same hotel where Mbappe stayed, and the…
Arsenal, AC Milan and Barcelona all earned important UEFA Champions League victories on Wednesday night, while Manchester City’s poor streak of results was continued with a defeat at Juventus. Bukayo Saka once again was the key man for Arsenal as his brace helped secure a comfortable 3-0 home victory against AS Monaco that took the Gunners close to the knockout stage. Mikel Arteta’s side began the fixture outside the top eight in the expanded 36-team league stage but are now third, among a cluster of clubs on 13 points. England forward with Nigerian heritage Saka took his season’s tally to…
Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup, FIFA has confirmed, while Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be joint hosts for the 2030 tournament. The world football governing body announced Saudi Arabia as the 2024 World Cup hosts on Wednesday, with no other country submitting a bid for the event. Three matches in the 2030 tournament will also be held in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay to mark 100 years of the competition. The hosts for both World Cups were confirmed at Wednesday’s Extraordinary FIFA Congress meeting following a vote. All 211 of FIFA’s member nations were represented at the meeting…
Tiger Woods will play with his son Charlie, 15, at next week’s PNC Championship in Orlando, Florida, organisers of the tournament said on Tuesday. The event, scheduled for December 21 to December 22 at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, is a 36-hole tournament with a field made up of 20 major champions and a family member. Woods, who underwent microdecompression surgery for nerve impingement on his lower back in September, and his son have competed in the PNC Championship in each of the last four years and finished runners-up in 2021. “I’m very excited to head back to the PNC Championship next week with…
By Nurudeen Obalola Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman was once again Atalanta’s best player on Tuesday night, but despite his best efforts they were beaten 3-2 by holders Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League clash in Bergamo. Lookman, who was brilliant all game, struck with a fine low shot in the second half to cut down Real Madrid’s two-goal lead, but the visitors held on for a nervy victory, as the Nigeria international’s superb cross in the dying seconds was not turned in by Mateo Retegui. Real Madrid opened the scoring with only the second goal conceded by Atalanta…
Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere has included FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup scorers Shakirat Moshood and Harmony Chidi in a squad of 20 players for the WAFU B U-17 Girls’ Cup. The competition is scheduled to kick off on Thursday in Ghana. Goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma, defenders Taiwo Adegoke and Ayomide Ibrahim, midfielder Faridat Abdulwahab, and forwards Peace Effiong and Mary Lucky Nkpa are also in the squad. The Flamingos are in Group B of the two-week competition, alongside Niger Republic and Cote d’Ivoire, while hosts Ghana will face Benin Republic in Group A, following the withdrawal of Burkina Faso. Togo…