IN NIGERIA
Super Eagles caretaker coach, Augustine Eguavoen says the team’s priority is to secure maximum points against Benin Republic and Rwanda.
Eguavoen said the focus of the team is to win and get their qualifying campaign up and running.
He said the players are committed to pick the six points in both matches.
The team would hope to do better in the 2025 AFCON qualifiers as they will take on Benin Republic on matchday 1 in Uyo on Saturday, before facing Rwanda on Tuesday.
Saturday’s match will kick off at 5pm inside the Godswill Akpabio Stadium.
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Super Eagles winger, Moses Simon says the team is condemned to beat Benin in Saturday’s 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The Nantes star stated that the Super Eagles would be desperate to overcome the Cheetah, to put a smile on the faces of Nigerians.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles midfielder, Fisayo Dele–Bashiru said the three-time Africa champions would be fully ready to face Benin Republic.
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Former Nigeria international, Brown Ideye says the current Super Eagles players are more talented than the squad that won the 2013 AFCON.
Ideye was a member of the Super Eagles squad that were crowned African champions in South Africa under the late Stephen Keshi.
Despite the top stars that clinched Nigeria’s third AFCON title, Ideye believes the current squad has more talent.
He, however, said what the current players lack is heart, which the 2013 squad had.
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Super Eagles goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye believes Rangers have what it takes to retain the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL. title.
The former Watford goalkeeper stated that he’s a fan of the club.
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Former Italy defender, Fabio Cannavaro says he turned down the chance to coach the Super Eagles.
The 50-year-old was among the expatriates approached by the Nigeria Football Federation to coach the Super Eagles.
Cannavaro stated that his immediate priority for now was not to work in Africa.
The former Juventus and Real Madrid centre-back said he was awaiting offers from clubs in Europe and Italy.
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Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigress has secured a dominant victory against Zimbabwe, 100-30, in a huge 70-margin to boost their chances to qualify to the knockout stage at the 2024 FIBA U18 Afrobasket women’s tournament in South Africa.
The girls, who lost to Egypt 72-60 by a 12-point margin in their opening match, redeemed themselves, trashing Zimbabwe in a thrilling encounter.
The victory places Nigeria at the top of the group, alongside Egypt and Zimbabwe at the second and third positions.
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ENGLAND
The duo of Chelsea players, Cole Palmer and Ben Chilwell are among four senior players left out of the team’s twenty-five man Conference League squad.
England forward Palmer, midfielder Romeo Lavia and defender Wesley Fofana have been purposely left out to manage their workload.
The decision was made to rest star man Palmer in the league phase of Europe’s third tier competition, with Lavia and Fofana working their way back from long-term injuries.
Chelsea can re-register the trio for the knockout rounds on 6th February when squads can be re-submitted.
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Tottenham have left defenders Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon out of their Europa League squad.
They could only name twenty-three players instead of the usual twenty-five because of a lack of club-trained options.
Spence is back in the first-team fold after loan spells at Leeds and Genoa, but Reguilon could leave the club.
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Professional Footballers’ Association, PFA, chief executive, Maheta Molango says Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah’s brilliant early-season form illustrates why footballers must get proper rest periods.
In their first three Premier League matches of the 2024-25 campaign, Manchester City striker Haaland has scored seven times and Liverpool forward Salah has three goals and three assists.
Neither player featured in post-season major tournaments and were highlighted as case studies by the association, as a new player workload monitoring report of one thousand, five hundred footballers by global union Fifpro was released on Thursday.
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Former Manchester United and Chelsea midfielder, Juan Mata has joined A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers on a one-year contract.
The 36-year-old Spaniard has been a free agent since leaving Japanese team Vissel Kobe in January 2024.
Mata left England in 2022 to join Galatasaray, where he won the league in his only season in Turkey.
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Chelsea Women players will stop giving autographs and photos at their Kingsmeadow ground, with the club saying doing so is no longer safe or sustainable.
The London club say a fan advisory board and the women’s side’s supporters’ group have reviewed the decision and given their support.
Increased attendances across the women’s game have made it less feasible for players to be able to stop at the end of fixtures.
The supporters’ group said it was a tough decision but an essential one.
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United States women, boss Emma Hayes says the men’s game is not ready to appoint female managers.
Hannah Dingley was appointed Forest Green Rovers caretaker manager in 2023 but a woman has never been permanently appointed manager of a men’s team in the top five tiers of English football.
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The USA superstar, Alex Morgan, who has won two Women’s World Cups and an Olympic gold medal with the United States, has announced her retirement from professional football.
Morgan who confirmed her decision to retire in a video posted to social media, also said she was pregnant with her second child.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Portugal star, Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first player to score nine hundred top-level career goals as the team kicked off their Nations League campaign with victory over Croatia.
Ronaldo volleyed in from the edge of the six-yard box in the 34th minute to double Portugal’s lead from Nuno Mendes’ deep cross.
It was a record-extending one hundred and thirty-one goal for Portugal, while he has also scored at club level for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and current club Al-Nassr.
The veteran sank to his knees in an emotional celebration.
Diogo Dalot scored Portugal’s first goal, while Croatia’s only goal was scored by Portugal player Diogo Dalot.
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Republic of Ireland assistant boss John O’Shea has insisted he has given no thought to what effect Declan Rice would have had on the team had he not switched allegiance to England.
Arsenal’s Rice, who represented the Irish in three friendlies in 2018 before opting to play for the country of his birth, is in line to face his former international side in Saturday’s Nations League opener in Dublin.
Former Republic of Ireland Under-21 player Jack Grealish is also in the England squad for the Aviva Stadium contest.
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Wales captain Aaron Ramsey says he never considered international retirement after the disappointment of missing out on Euro 2024, and instead wants to keep playing until the 2026 World Cup.
Ramsey was an unused substitute as Wales lost their Euros play-off final to Poland on penalties in March, with then manager Rob Page criticised for not bringing him on.
The Cardiff City midfielder admits that experience had eaten away at him but, now Craig Bellamy has replaced Page as Wales boss, Ramsey is excited about the team’s future.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis, Home favourite Jessica Pegula staged a stunning comeback to set up an enticing US Open final against world number two Aryna Sabalenka.
American Pegula came back from a set, break and break point down to see off Karolina Muchova 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 and reach a first major singles final.
She will now face Sabalenka, who powered into the final for the second year in a row with a 6-3, 7-6 victory over American Emma Navarro 6-3, 7-2.
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In Cricket, Brendon McCullum expects Ben Stokes to be all in after the New Zealander extended his England contract by two years to take control of both the Test and white-ball teams.
McCullum transformed England’s Test cricket since he became head coach two years ago and will combine leadership of the limited-overs side from January.
Test captain Stokes came out of one-day international retirement to play in the 50-over World Cup last year, but has not played white-ball cricket for England since.
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Still on Cricket, England captain Jos Buttler has been ruled out of the three-match T20 series against Australia and is a doubt for the five one-day internationals that follow.
Buttler has not played since the T20 World Cup in June because of a calf injury.
In his absence, Phil Salt will captain England for the first time in the T20s, while Harry Brook is in line to step up if needed in the ODIs.
The T20 series begins on Wednesday in Southampton, with the ODIs starting on 19th September.
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In Athletics; Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei has died days after being doused in petrol and set on fire by a former boyfriend.
The 33-year-old Ugandan marathon runner, who competed in the recent Paris Olympics, had suffered extensive burns after Sunday’s attack.
The authorities in north-west Kenya, where Cheptegei lived and trained, said she was targeted after returning home from church with her two daughters.
Her father, Joseph Cheptegei, said he had lost a very supportive daughter.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
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IN CAF AFRICA CUP OF NATION QUALIFIERS
Morocco vs Gabon
Egypt vs Cabo Verde
Togo vs Liberia
Sierra Leone vs Chad
Ivory Coast vs Zambia
Congo DR vs Guinea
Mali vs Mozambique
Kenya vs Zimbabwe
South Africa vs Uganda
Senegal vs Burkina Faso
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IN UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE
Belgium vs Israel
France vs Italy
Kosovo vs Romania
Kazakhstan vs Norway
Slovenia vs Austria
Wales vs Turkey
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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IN CAF AFRICA CUP OF NATION QUALIFIERS
ON SATURDAY
Mauritania vs Botswana
Nigeria vs Benin
Cameroon vs Namibia
ON SUNDAY
Gambia vs Tunisia
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IN NIGERIA PROFESSIONAL FOOTBAL LEAGUE
Sunshine Stars vs Bayelsa United
Kwara United vs Niger Tornadoes
Plateau United vs Katsina United
Heartland Owerri vs Enyimba
Abia Warriors vs Remo Stars
Bendel Insurance vs Rivers United FC
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IN UEFA NATIONS LEAGUE
ON SATURDAY
Georgia vs Czech Republic
Republic of Ireland vs England
Greece vs Finland
Germany vs Hungary
ON SUNDAY
Croatia vs Poland
Portugal vs Scotland
Sweden vs Estonia
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
STRENGTH DOES NOT COME FROM PHYSICAL CAPACITY. IT COMES FROM AN INDOMITABLE WILL….WORDS FROM MAHATMA GANDHI.
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