Super Eagles’ hopes of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers has been brightening after Zimbabwe held Benin to a two-all draw.
The draw between Zimbabwe and Benin has kept Super Eagles hope of qualifying for the Mundial alive, as a victory against Rwanda on Friday would push Nigeria’s point to six.
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Super Eagles head coach Éric Chelle has declared his team’s readiness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against the Amavubi of Rwanda.
Chelle stated that the Super Eagles are determined to defeat the Amavubi, emphasising that the players are eager to fight on the field and play for the fans to bring joy to Nigerians.
The Malian reckoned their opponent would be desperate for a win too, but stated that his players are ready for battle.
It will be Chelle’s first game in charge of the Super Eagles.
The three-time African champions will be up against the Amavubi at Amahoro Stadium, Kigali on Friday at five in the evening.
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Super Eagles Captain William Troost-Ekong says his teammates have confidence in new head coach Eric Chelle as he prepares for his first assignment since his appointment.
Troost-Ekong stated that the players are determined to give their best for the new coach, emphasising that there was a heightened level of focus and that all the players have great respect for him.
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Nigeria-born Oldham Athletic U-19 Head Coach, Chukwuma Akuneto, says the Super Eagles must approach Friday’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Rwanda with caution and composure to avoid conceding an early goal.
Akuneto emphasised that, given the importance of the match to Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for their seventh FIFA World Cup finals, the team must remain disciplined, as the Amavubi may adopt a counter-attacking strategy.
He labelled the fixture a must-win for the Super Eagles.
The Confederation of African Football has announced the details of the dates, kick-off times and venues for the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2025 fixtures.
The 15th edition of the continental showpiece will be contested by 16 nations between 30th March and 19th April, 2025.
A total of four stadiums will play host to matches during the tournament, namely the El Bachir Stadium in Mohammedia, the Larbi Zaouli Stadium and the Berrechid Stadium, which are both Casablanca, and the El Abdi Stadium in El Jadida.
Proceedings get underway at the El Bachir Stadium on Saturday, 30th March when tournament hosts Morocco play East African champions Uganda.
Bendel Insurance FC of Benin coach, Greg Ikhenoba, said his team won’t feel complacent as they go through this year’s President Federation Cup, after advancing to the round of 32.
The 2023 winners defeated NLO side, Dandidi Babes of Jigawa 5-0 in the round of 64 game at the Lafia City Stadium in Nasarawa State to book their spot in the next round.
Uche Collins opened the scoring for the Benin Arsenals in the 8th minute, Skipper Meyiwa Oritseweyinmi doubled the lead in 13 minutes before Michael Enaruna made it 3-0 in the final minute of first half.
Insurance dominance continued in the second half as substitute Chinedu Onyejekwe headed home the fourth goal for the Benin Arsenals in the 57th minute. He sustained a head injury and had to leave the game
IN ENGLAND
Chelsea has completed the double signing of Sporting midfielders Geovany Quenda and Dario Essugo for a combined fee of about sixty-two point four million pounds.
Winger Quenda will join Chelsea for a fee of up to forty-four million pounds but will remain in Lisbon until the end of the 2025-26 season.
The teenager has broken into Sporting’s first team this season and made his Champions League debut in September.
Essugo, a 20-year-old defensive midfielder, will move to Stamford Bridge in the summer following a loan spell at Las Palmas.
Brazilian Estevao Willian and Ecuadorian Kendry Paez will also move to Chelsea in the summer.
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England manager Thomas Tuchel says he wants the team to play with a hunger to win and not a fear to lose as he prepares for his first match in charge of the Three Lions.
England begin their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Albania at Wembley on Friday before facing Latvia on Monday.
Under former boss Gareth Southgate, England reached back-to-back European Championship finals but Tuchel was critical of their style of play at Euro 2024.
England captain Harry Kane says it feels like now is the time to take the next step and win a tournament.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Japan has become the first nation to book their place in the 2026 World Cup through qualifiers by beating Bahrain two-nil in Saitama.
Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada and Real Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo scored in the second half as the Japanese progressed with three games to spare in the third round of the qualification campaign in Asia.
Canada, Mexico and the United States were already guaranteed a place in next year’s expanded World Cup as the hosts but the Samurai Blue are the first to do so via the qualifiers.
The Asian Football Confederation is guaranteed eight spots in the 48-team tournament with an additional place available through inter-continental play-offs.
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OTHER SPORTS
Zimbabwe’s sports minister Kirsty Coventry has been elected as the new president of the International Olympic Committee, becoming the first woman and first African to hold the role.
The 41-year-old former swimmer, who won two Olympic gold medals, will replace Thomas Bach – who has led the IOC since 2013 – and be the youngest president in the organisation’s 130-year history.
World Athletics boss Lord Coe was among the favourites to win Thursday’s election in Greece, but Coventry secured a majority of forty-nine of the ninety-seven available votes in the first round.
Runner-up Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior won twenty-eight votes while Coe secured eight.
France’s David Lappartient and Japan’s Morinari Watanabe earned four votes each, while Prince Feisal al Hussein of Jordan and Sweden’s Johan Eliasch both took two.
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In Tennis, Jacob Fearnley’s career continues to reach new heights after his maiden ATP Masters win put him on course to become the new British men’s number two.
The 23-year-old battled through physical issues to beat France’s Benjamin Bonzi in the Miami Open first round.
Fearnley, currently ranked 83rd in the world, struggled with a leg injury in the second set before recovering to win 7-6, 2-6, 6-4.
He will climb above Cameron Norrie to become Britain’s second leading men’s player – behind Indian Wells champion Jack Draper – when the ATP rankings are updated after Miami.
Norrie lost 6-4, 6-2 to Chinese world number 69 Bu Yunchaokete in his first-round match.
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Also, Coach Vladimir Platenik says his very brief partnership with Emma Raducanu ended because the Briton was feeling stressed and under a lot of pressure.
Platenik told Journalists he was absolutely surprised but not angry when the 22-year-old called off the arrangement after only two weeks.
The conversation took place after ten days of training and on the eve of the British number two’s first-round match at the Miami Open.
Platenik said Raducanu’s father Ian, with whom he exchanges messages from time to time, asked him at the end of last month whether he could recommend a coach.
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In Cricket, the 2025 Indian Premier League, the world’s biggest T20 franchise tournament starts on Saturday, 22rd March.
The 18th edition of the competition features ten teams battling for the title, currently held by Kolkata Knight Riders.
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In Rugby, Great Britain Sevens player Jade Shekells will make her XV-a-side international debut on Sunday after being named on the bench for England’s Women’s Six Nations opener against Italy in York.
Gloucester-Hartpury’s Shekells, is joined among the replacements by another of the four uncapped players in John Mitchell’s 37-woman squad, Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Flo Robinson, 23.
Shekells was part of the Great Britain squad at last year’s Olympics in Paris and, if brought on, is set to appear in the centres.
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In Golf, Former major champion Angela Stanford will captain the United States at the 2026 Solheim Cup in the Netherlands.
The 47-year-old served as an assistant captain in the biennial women’s team event against Europe on three occasions, most recently in 2024 under Stacy Lewis and made six appearances as a player between 2003-2015.
Stanford featured in the last American team to win the Solheim Cup away from home, in Germany ten years ago, where she earned the winning point with a 2&1 victory over Suzann Pettersen.
The US lifted their first Solheim Cup since 2017 at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Club last September and will travel to Bernardus Golf from 11th to 13th September 2026 to face the Anna Nordqvist-led European team.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN CAF WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Burkina Faso vs Djibouti
Ethiopia vs Egypt
Congo Democratic Republic vs South Sudan
Rwanda vs Nigeria
South Africa vs Lesotho
Niger vs Morocco
Burundi vs Ivory Coast
Botswana vs Algeria
Guinea vs Somalia
Equatorial Guinea vs São Tomé
Ghana vs Chad
IN UEFA WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Malta vs Finland
Poland vs Lithuania
Cyprus vs San Marino
Romania vs Bosnia
England vs Albania
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
ON SATURDAY
Togo vs Mauritania
Sudan vs Senegal
ON SUNDAY
Eswatini vs Mauritius
Kenya vs Gabon
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Driven by the moral imperative of paying the price to be great…words from Vince Lombardi.
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