Author: Nurudeen Obalola
Defending champions Manchester City will face Juventus in the group stage of the FIFA Club World Cup next summer, while Chelsea meet Brazilian side Flamengo. Pep Guardiola’s City, who beat Brazilian side Fluminense to win the tournament for the first time in 2023, begin their title defence against Morocco’s Wydad and also play Al Ain of the United Arab Emirates in Group G. Chelsea, winners of the 2021 final, were also drawn alongside Mexico’s Club Leon and Tunisian side Esperance Sportive de Tunisie in Group D. The revamped FIFA Club World Cup, which has been expanded to 32 teams, will…
By Nurudeen Obalola Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi continued his recent fine form on Thursday night by scoring twice to inspire Fulham to a 3-1 English Premier League victory over Brighton at Craven Cottage. Also on Thursday night, Kelechi Iheanacho netted Sevilla’s third goal in their 3-1 win at UE Olot in the second round of the Copa del Rey. Nigeria international Iwobi has now made five goal contributions (three goals and two assists) in his last four Premier League appearances. Iwobi opened the scoring in the fourth minute when he took advantage of an errant pass by Brighton goalkeeper…
By Nurudeen Obalola Several Nigerian players and teams, including Chiamaka Nnadozie, the Super Falcons and Edo Queens, have been included in the top five shortlists of different categories of the 2024 CAF Awards. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the top five nominees in each of the women’s categories on Wednesday, with the awards ceremony set for December 16 in Marrakech, Morocco. The 2024 CAF Awards cover the period from January to October this year. Nnadozie is shortlisted in two categories: the Women’s Player of the Year and the Women’s Goalkeeper of the Year, which she won last year.…
Arsenal scored twice from corner kicks to hand Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim his first defeat in English football on a busy Wednesday night of Premier League football. In other fixtures, Manchester City ended their miserable run of seven matches without victory by beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium, while Newcastle snatched a last-gasp 3-3 draw with Liverpool and Joe Aribo scored for 10-man Southampton as they slumped 5-1 at home to Chelsea. Defenders Jurrien Timber and William Saliba did the damage at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal cut Liverpool’s lead to seven points. The Gunners are…
Manchester United abandoned plans to wear a jacket supporting the LGBTQ+ community before Sunday’s win over Everton because a player refused to wear it. The Athletic said defender Noussair Mazraoui declined to take part in the initiative, citing his Muslim faith. United declined to confirm the identity of the player when approached by BBC Sport. Mazraoui’s agent also declined to comment. LGBTQ+ supporters’ club Rainbow Devils said it was a “great disappointment” but United said players are “entitled to hold their own individual opinions”. Rainbow armbands are being worn as Premier League clubs show support for LGBTQ+ inclusion in sport…
Tiger Woods still has the passion to compete and is working to get his body back in shape for next year, he said on Tuesday at the Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas, after another injury curtailed his 2024 season. Woods has not played since July and he underwent surgery for nerve impingement on his lower back in September, an injury that he said took him by surprise and caused him tremendous pain. He was widely expected to take one of three exemption spots for the tournament he has hosted since 2000, an unofficial event that features 20 of…
Super Eagles striker Victor Osimhen will not leave Galatasaray until the end of the season despite speculation that he could take advantage of the break clause in his contract to join another club in January. The Nigeria international is on a season-long loan from Napoli to the Turkish giants after summer bids from Chelsea and Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli fell through. The 25-year-old has been in good form in Turkey, scoring nine goals in his opening 11 games in all competitions. According to Italian transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio, Osimhen has no interest in leaving Galatasaray midway through the season.…
By Nurudeen Obalola There were victories for three Super Eagles stars across Europe on Tuesday night, with Samuel Chukwueze and Nathan Tella scoring for AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, while Wilfred Ndidi played a pivotal role for Leicester City. Chukwueze struck twice at San Siro as Milan decimated second-tier Sassuolo 6-1 in their third-round Coppa Italia clash. The Super Eagles winger opened the scoring in the 12th minute off Tijjani Reijnders’ assist, needing two attempts to get the ball in the net. Making his eighth start in all competitions this season, Chukwueze netted again nine minutes later to make…
Trials of a low-cost alternative to football’s video assistant referee are to be extended, with the pilot system allowing managers two challenges per game. Rule maker International Football Association Board (IFAB) has been encouraged by results of early tests of the ‘football video support’ set-up at the Women’s Under-17 World Cup in October. It is designed for use in competitions where matches are covered by up to four cameras, rather than the huge multi-camera systems used in the major leagues. That would include matches in the English Football League and National League. IFAB has yet to decide where the trials,…
Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere has invited 25 players to camp ahead of the WAFU B U-17 Girls’ Cup scheduled for Ghana from December 12 to December 26. The squad is mainly made up players that not only reached the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic few weeks ago, but also won the FIFA Fair Play Trophy of the competition. The Flamingos lost 2-0 to eventual bronze medallists USA in the quarter-finals. Top of the list is midfielder Shakirat Moshood, who scored four goals at the tournament. First-choice goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma, defenders Taiwo Adegoke,…