IN NIGERIA
Russia will welcome Nigeria to the iconic Luzhniki Stadium on Friday evening in what marks the first-ever senior-level meeting between the two nations.
The international friendly promises intrigue, with both sides looking to test their mettle under vastly different circumstances.
For the hosts, this match represents another step in their effort to remain competitive on the international stage, having been sidelined from official tournaments since their suspension in early 2022 due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Nigeria arrive in Moscow in buoyant mood, riding a six-match unbeaten run across all competitions.
The Super Eagles recently claimed the Unity Cup title after edging out Jamaica in a dramatic penalty shootout, following a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Super Eagles star William Troost-Ekong says the team are ready for battle against Russia.
Troost-Ekong reckoned the hosts would make things difficult for his side.
The three-time African champions will take on Valery Karpin’s side in a friendly at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow on Friday.
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Former Nigerian international Obinna Nsofor has disclosed that the international friendly match between the Super Eagles and Russia will be a great game to watch.
Nsofor stated that he will be in the stands to watch the encounter on Friday.
He said the current Nigerian team was a good team with a lot of good players, especially forwards.
Former Nigerian international John Utaka has described Super Eagles striker Cyriel Dessers as a good finisher.
Utaka stated that Dessers deserves to be given more opportunities to prove his worth in the Super Eagles.
Dessers has netted four times in seven appearances for Nigeria, all in non-competitive fixtures.
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Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade remains optimistic about the team’s chances of a successful campaign at the tournament.
Ajibade stated that the team was in a positive mood heading into the tournament.
Nigeria will face Tunisia, Botswana, and Algeria in Group B at WAFCON 2024, scheduled to take place in Morocco from 5th to 26th July.
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The management of Abakaliki FC has settled the controversial ‘half-pay’ issue with the players after their impressive showing against Godswill Akpabio United in the Matchday 18 clash of the 2024/2025 Nigeria National League in Uyo.”
Spokesman for Abakaliki FC, Ogbonna Chukwuma, said the players’ half-salary issue was part of an agreement between the players and the management some time ago.
Chukwuma said the club’s Chairman, Obinna Ogba, has ordered the restoration of the players’ pay after he was impressed by the team’s strong performance in Uyo against Akpabio United, despite the team’s one-nil loss.
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Saudi club Al-Hilal is expecting an answer from Super Eagles star Victor Osimhen by Friday after establishing contact with his representatives.
The Blues Waves made an attempt to lure away the Nigeria international from Napoli in January 2023 but the powerful striker rejected their approach.
The 27-year-old agreed to join another Saudi club, Al-Ahli last summer, only for Napoli to ask for more money.
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Barcelona is weighing up a move for Super Eagles star Ademola Lookman, who plays for Atalanta.
Manager Hansi Flick has personally endorsed the move.
Lookman, who has one-year left on his contract with Atalanta is open to leaving La Dea this summer.
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AC Milan and West Ham United have expressed interest in Super Eagles midfielder Raphael Onyedika, who plays for Club Brugge.
West Ham are looking to replace Tomas Soucek this summer, amid interest from within the Premier League.
AC Milan view Onyedika as a potential replacement for Tijjani Reijnders.
Onyedika is presently in Moscow with the Super Eagles ahead of Friday’s international friendly against Russia.
The 12th edition of the Golf & Tour Charity tournament ended in Minna, Niger State with Oba ASK Makinde emerging as the overall winner.
The two-day event, which was the 12th in the series, began at the Minna Cantonment Golf Club.
The annual golf competition, staged twice every year, saw no fewer than 150 golfers competing for honours in the different categories.
IN ENGLAND
Liverpool has rejected an approach from Barcelona to speak to forward Luis Diaz.
The 28-year-old joined Liverpool from Porto in January 2022 and has a contract with the club until 2027.
He scored thirteen goals and made seven assists in the league as Liverpool won the title by ten points.
Diaz attracted interest from Manchester City last summer and also has admirers in Saudi Arabia.
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Manchester City defender Ruben Dias says he is optimistic the team will win the fast-approaching Club World Cup.
The Portuguese international stated that the ultimate goal of the team was to win the tournament.
After a trophyless season, City have the chance to end the campaign still triumphant by winning the newly-expanded Club World Cup.
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Chelsea is in talks with AC Milan over signing France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
The Italian club value Maignan at about twenty-five million pounds but the Blues do not want to meet that price and are in talks about a lower fee.
The 29-year-old has been a regular for Milan since joining on a five-year contract from Lille in 2021.
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Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze is hopeful the team will keep their place in next season’s UEFA Europa League.
The London club earned a place in the competition after overcoming Manchester City in the final of the FA Cup.
That spot is now under threat due to UEFA’s multi-club ownership rules.
Crystal Palace’ s minority owner John Textor also owns Ligue 1 club Olympic Lyon.
Lyon has also qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
Palace are now in talks with UEFA about the situation.
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Referee Bobby Madley says he hates the video assistant referee technology in football because it takes the emotion away from the game.
Madley officiates matches in the English Football League (EFL) and is a fourth official for Premier League games.
The EFL does not use VAR in regular league games, whereas it has been employed across matches in England’s top flight since the start of the 2019-20 season.
Madley refereed ninety-one Premier League matches between 2013 and 2018 until he was sacked by Professional Game Match Officials Limited after sending a video mocking a disabled person to a friend.
He took charge of one Premier League game in 2022-23 and another the following season but did not referee a top-flight match in 2024-25.
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Chelsea women defender Millie Bright has had a knee operation a day after the England international made herself unavailable for selection for this summer’s European Championships.
The 31-year-old centre-back withdrew from the Euros, saying she was unable to give perfect mentally or physically in what she described as one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.
Bright added that it had been a successful op and now the road to recovery begins.
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England women manager Sarina Wiegman says there is no crisis despite a chaotic ten days which has seen three high-profile senior players either retire from international football in the build-up to Euro 2025 or withdraw from the tournament.
Wiegman named a 23-player squad on Thursday for the tournament in Switzerland, which starts on 2nd July, where England are defending champions.
She will be without goalkeeper Mary Earps and midfielder Fran Kirby, who have both retired from international football, while defender Millie Bright, who captained the side to the World Cup final in 2023, withdrew from selection to focus on her mental and physical wellbeing.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Spain star Lamine Yamal scored twice as the team produced a superb display to beat France five-four and set up a Nations League final with Portugal.
The 17-year-old Barcelona forward, one of the contenders to win the Ballon d’Or for the best player in the world this season, helped his side into four-nil and five-one leads in Stuttgart.
But they were nearly pegged back as France staged a thrilling fightback, scoring three times in the last eleven minutes in a desperate attempt to take the game into extra time.
France’s four goals were scored by Kylian Mbappe, Rayan Cherki, Randal Kolo Muani and own-goal from Dani Vivian.
Spain held on and they will face Portugal in the final in Munich on Sunday, while France take on Germany in Stuttgart in the third-fourth play-off.
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Former Scotland defender, Russell Martin says he is not going to make any promises after becoming the Rangers’ new head coach but insists they must win early and win while developing.
Martin signed a three-year contract to become one of the key early appointments at start of a fresh era at Ibrox.
A US-based consortium, led by Andrew Cavenagh and including the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers, completed a takeover of the club last week.
Former Southampton and Swansea City boss Martin who had a short stint as a player at Ibrox was the standout choice to lead the team after a prolonged recruitment process.
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German football association sporting director, Rudi Völler believes Bayer Leverkusen forward Florian Wirtz will thrive at Liverpool.
Voller stated that he was convinced Wirtz would be successful at Anfield if he eventually joins the club.
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Wales head coach Craig Bellamy says he has been having sleepless nights as his side aim to avoid embarrassment against minnows Liechtenstein in Friday’s World Cup qualifier.
Only five teams in the world are ranked lower than Liechtenstein in 205th, so 29th-place Wales are expected to make light work of extending their opponents’ winless run to 36 competitive matches in Cardiff.
Wales are second in Group J having beaten Kazakhstan and drawn with North Macedonia in their opening two matches, but top seeds Belgium – who Bellamy’s side face on Monday – have not yet started their campaign.
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Scotland head coach Steve Clarke says the new players he has called up are embracing being part of the squad.
Clarke said he would not be experimenting with his side too much in the friendlies against Iceland and Liechtenstein.
He called up seven uncapped players for the matches on Friday at Hampden and in Vaduz on Monday.
Clarke said his side would have a familar look against Iceland.
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A professional footballer Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, who imported six hundred thousand pounds worth of cannabis from Thailand to the UK has been jailed for four years.
Emmanuel-Thomas, orchestrated the smuggling of a sixty kilograms drugs haul that was found at London Stansted Airport, Essex, on 2nd September.
He was sacked by Scottish club Greenock Morton after being arrested, having previously played for Arsenal, Aberdeen and England at youth level.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Basketball; BYU has signed men’s basketball coach Kevin Young to a long-term contract extension following the program’s first run to the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 in 14 years.
Terms of the deal announced Thursday were not released, with the school saying only that the contract would keep Young in Provo for the “foreseeable future.”
Young was hired last year after coach Mark Pope left to become Kentucky’s head coach.
Former super-middleweight world champion Carl Froch, says Anthony Joshua has completely lost his soul and confidence in boxing.
The 35-year-old Joshua is currently recovering from elbow surgery and is likely to be back in action at some stage between October and December, with a string of potential opponents lined up.
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In Tennis, World number one Aryna Sabalenka has moved a step closer to a maiden French Open title by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek in a blockbuster semi-final.
Sabalenka will meet second seed Coco Gauff in Saturday’s showpiece after the American ruthlessly ended French wildcard Lois Boisson’s incredible run.
Belarus’ Sabalenka earned a 7-6, 4-6, 6-0 victory to end fifth seed Swiatek’s 26-match winning run at the tournament.
Gauff, runner-up to Swiatek in 2022, won 6-1, 6-2 against world number 361 Boisson, who was appearing in her first Grand Slam main draw.
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Also, the LTA has pledged to introduce equal prize money at Queen’s and Eastbourne by no later than 2029.
The total prize fund for the WTA event at Queen’s Club which begins on Monday, will be one point four-three million pounds, with the LTA voluntarily increasing the standard prize money by a third.
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In Cricket, England selector Luke Wright has stopped short of backing incumbent number three Ollie Pope after Jacob Bethell was included in the squad for the first Test against India.
Bethell returns after missing the defeat of Zimbabwe while at the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
Before that match, Test captain Ben Stokes appeared to suggest Bethell would make an immediate return to the eleven when available.
After vice-captain Pope made a sparkling century at Trent Bridge, Stokes clarified that he was referring to Bethell returning to the squad and claimed his earlier comments had been twisted to suit an agenda.
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In Rugby, English rugby’s top coaches say they are determined to revel in the pressure of leading their sides into do-or-die Premiership semi-finals this weekend.
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In Athletics, Great Britain’s Seamus Derbyshire says becoming the fifth-fastest British man ever to run the four hundred metres hurdles is mind-boggling.
The 25-year-old clocked 48.47 seconds at a meeting in Prague on Monday to not only smash his personal best but also make the qualification standard for the World Championships in Tokyo later this year.
Kriss Akabusi set the British record of 47.82 set at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992.
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In Cycling, Kim le Court got the better of Kristen Faulkner in a two-up sprint finish to win the first stage of the Tour of Britain Women.
The pair attacked and went clear of the peloton with thrity kilometres to go and then held off the chasing pack.
Mauritian Le Court, launched her sprint from the front with just over two hundred metres to go and outlasted the American Olympic road race champion to the line.
Lorena Wiebes led home a much-reduced bunch in third, five seconds behind, while British riders Cat Ferguson and Millie Couzens finished fifth and sixth.
Two-time champion Lizzie Deignan finished 20th as she races in Britain for the final time before retiring.
Friday’s second stage is over a one hundred and fourteen point three kilometres route between Hartlepool and Saltburn-by-the-sea.
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TODAY’S FIXTURES
IN UEFA World Cup Qualifiers
Estonia vs Israel
Norway vs Italy
North Macedonia vs Belgium
Wales vs Liechtenstein
Czech Republic vs Montenegro
Gibraltar vs Croatia
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
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IN UEFA World Cup Qualifiers
ON SATURDAY
Malta vs Lithuania
Finland vs Netherlands
Bosnia-Herzegovina vs San Marino
Austria vs Romania
Andorra vs England
Albania vs Serbia
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UEFA Nations League
In Third Place Final
Germany vs France
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For Final
Portugal vs Spain
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
What makes something special is not just what you have to gain, but what you feel there is to lose…words from Andre Agassi.
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