IN NIGERIA

Ahead of the Super Eagles’ 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, qualifying games against Benin Republic and Rwanda on 7th and 10th September, the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, is set to announce a 23-man squad this week to execute the two matches.

Sources within the NFF revealed that the embattled reigning African Footballer of the Year, Victor Osimhen, made the forty-players provisional list, alongside Ola Aina, Alex Iwobi, Ademola Lookman, Calvin Bassey, Nwabali, Semi Ajayi, Victor Boniface and others.

NFF’s Technical Director, Austin Eguavoen, who has been drafted to serve as interim Super Eagles coach, is expected to select twenty-three players from the forty-man provisional list to execute the two games.

Falconets’ Head Coach, Christopher Danjuma say the team will go all the way in search of triumph over their Mexican counterparts, when both sides clash in a friendly game in Bogota on Monday.

Danjuma said the team need another victory to sustain their winning mentality.

Danjuma’s squad from the qualifiers was now boosted by the presence of a number of players from the Super Falcons, including defenders Jumoke Alani, Rofiat Imuran, Comfort Folorunsho and forwards Opeyemi Ajakaye, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu and Flourish Sabastine.

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The coach who led Rivers Hoopers to their inaugural Basketball Africa League Playoffs appearance, Ogoh Odaudu, has signed a short-term contract with Rwanda Energy Group Basketball Club.

Rivers Hoopers confirmed Odaudu’s departure on their official ‘X’ account.

The club announced that Odaudu will return after the conclusion of his short-term deal.

The club also noted that Odaudu will rejoin Rivers Hoopers after his loan deal ends to prepare for the upcoming 2024 Nigeria Premier Basketball League season.

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Super Eagles star, Alex Iwobi who plays for Fulham, has closed in on Kanu Nwankwo’s Premier League record after scoring in Fulham’s two-one victory over Leicester City.

Iwobi who fired home the winning goal, has now scored for ten consecutive seasons in the English Premier League.

The versatile midfielder is now the second Nigerian to achieve the feat.

Kanu scored in twelve consecutive Premier League seasons during his stint with Arsenal, West Bromwich Albion and Portsmouth.

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ENGLAND

Chelsea star Noni Madueke’s hat-trick gave the team their first Premier League victory of the season as they beat Wolves six-two in a pulsating and chaotic encounter.

Chelsea took the lead after ninety-eight seconds when Nicolas Jackson nodded in at the back post, before Cole Palmer scored Chelsea’s second goal.

Madueke’s three goals were nearly identical as the winger scored with low angled shots from inside the area, assisted by Palmer on each occasion.

Joao Felix netted Chelsea’s six goals while Wolves’ two goals were scored by Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

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Chelsea winger, Noni Madueke has been given the freedom of Wolverhampton, after insulting the city.

It came after Madueke, who has 991,000 followers, was jeered from the start by the home fans following an Instagram post in which he offensively mocked the city.

Madueke shared his location as Wolverhampton in the post but quickly deleted it and used his post-match interview to apologise.

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Liverpool manager, Arne Slot’s first Premier League home game in charge of the team ended in victory as the Reds continued their winning start to the season against Brentford.

Luis Diaz’s clinical 13th-minute finish on his 100th appearance for the club since joining from Porto in 2022 set them on their way.

Liverpool sealed the points when Mohamed Salah clipped home with his left foot, the Egypt forward’s second goal of the season.

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Bournemouth player, Dango Ouattara has a stoppage-time goal controversially ruled out in a dramatic finale as the team had to settle for a draw against Newcastle.

Marcus Tavernier had given Bournemouth a deserved first-half lead when he turned in Antoine Semenyo’s cross.

Newcastle had been flat for large periods of the match but they improved in the closing stages and, after Neto kept out Joelinton’s header, Gordon got the equaliser when he prodded in Harvey Barnes’ cross at the far post.

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OTHER LEAGUES

Real Madrid have secured their first La Liga victory of the season with a hard-fought three-nil home win against Real Valladolid.

The champions were frustrated for vast periods of the game in Kylian Mbappe’s home debut but hit their attacking stride when the game opened up following Federico Valverde’s second-half breakthrough.

Brahim Diaz and Endrick scored a goal each for Real Madrid to make it three-nil.

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Bayern Munich star, Serge Gnabry scored a late winner for the team as manager Vincent Kompany’s first Bundesliga game in charge ended in a hard-fought three-two victory against Wolfsburg.

Bayer Munich’s first goal was scored by Jamal Musiala before an own goal from Jakub Kaminski, while Wolfsburg’s two goals were scored by Lovro Majer.

Meanwhile, Thomas Muller set a new record for Bundesliga appearances for Bayern when he came off the bench as a second-half substitute, overtaking legendary goalkeeper Sepp Maier with his 474th league outing for the club.

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Celtic began life without Matt O’Riley with a comfortable three-nil Scottish Premiership win away to St Mirren.

The Denmark international midfielder was left out of Brendan Rodgers’ squad for the trip to Paisley as he closes in on a move to Premier League side Brighton.

Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnston scored a goal each for Celtic.

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Aberdeen have made it eight straight wins this season as Pape Habib Gueye’s headed double against a disappointing Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

Derek McInnes’ visitors have now won just one of their nine games, sit bottom of the table without a point and looked a tired outfit after Thursday’s Conference League play-off defeat in Copenhagen.

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Napoli have agreed a fee in the region of twenty-five point four million pounds with Manchester United for midfielder Scott McTominay.

Although personal terms are still to be agreed and McTominay is yet to agree to the move to the Italian Serie A side, it is the second successive year United have shown a willingness to sell the academy graduate.

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OTHER SPORTS

In Tennis, British number one, Jack Draper says he had a difficult time after having his integrity questioned following last week’s Cincinnati Open.

The 22-year-old beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in controversial circumstances when the umpire failed to spot the ball hitting the floor as Draper struck it.

Replays appeared to back up Auger-Aliassime’s argument that the ball had hit the frame of Draper’s racket and then the floor on match point – but there was no replay technology available at the event.

Draper insisted he had not seen it happen and would have perfect replayed the point had it been called.

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In Formula one, McLaren’s Lando Norris fought back to take a dominant victory in the Dutch Grand Prix despite losing the lead to Max Verstappen’s Red Bull at the start.

Norris, for whom starts and first laps have been a weakness in recent races, was passed almost immediately when he had too much wheel spin off the line.

Norris was in total control once in front and he crossed the line 22.8 seconds ahead of Verstappen for one of the most dominant wins of the season.

He rubbed in his crushing form by setting the fastest lap on the final tour, taking it away from Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton by just 0.067secs.

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In Athletics, Jakob Ingebrigtsen obliterated the 28-year-old three thousand metres world record by more than three seconds before Armand Duplantis broke his own pole vault world record at the Diamond League meeting in Silesia.

Norway’s Ingebrigtsen looked in disbelief as he crossed the finish line in seven minutes 17.55 seconds, breaking the previous record of 7:20.67 set by Kenya’s Daniel Komen in 1996.

In the pole vault, Sweden’s Duplantis cleared 6.26 metres, one centimetre higher than his previous best set as he won Olympic gold in Paris earlier this month.

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RESULTS OF THE MATCHES PLAYED OVER THE WEEKEND.

IN ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Brighton 2 – 1 Manchester United

Fulham 2- 1 Leicester City

Manchester City 4 – 1 Ipswich Town

Tottenham Hotspur 4 – 0 Everton

Aston Villa 0 – 2 Arsenal

FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Setting a goal is not the main thing. It is deciding how you will go about achieving it and staying with that plan…words from Tom Landry