IN CLUB WORLD CUP
Manchester City star Erling Haaland scored his three hundred top-level career goal to help the team easily beat Juventus five-two in the heat of Orlando to top Group G at the Club World Cup.
Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, Savinho scored a goal each, and own-goal from Pierre Kalulu for Manchester City, while Juventus’ two goals were scored by Teun Koopmeiners and Dusan Vlahovic
They will face Al-Hilal in the last 16 on Tuesday, after the Saudi Arabian side finished second in Group H.
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Real Madrid and Al Hilal have qualified for the knockout stages of the 2025 Club World Cup after a convincing victory against their respective opponents.
Vinicius Junior scored one and set up another as Real Madrid secured a three-nil victory over RB Salzburg on Friday to seal the top spot in Group H and advance to the Club World Cup round of 16.
The victory lifted Real Madrid to the top of Group H and Alonso’s side would now face Juventus in the Club World Cup round of 16.
In the other game, Al-Hilal beat Mexico’s Pachuca two-nil to reach the knockout stage of the Club World Cup on Friday.
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Uefa executives will meet on Friday to decide whether Crystal Palace will be allowed to play in next season’s Europa League.
The Eagles won the FA Cup to qualify for Europe for the first time in their history but Uefa must decide if they have breached its multi-club ownership rules.
The expectation is that the outcome of the hearing will be announced by Friday.
Palace are under threat of losing their spot in Europe on the basis of Textor’s involvement at the club, but the team insisted that Textor has no significant control at Palace despite his shareholding at the club.
Uefa has been considering whether Palace breached its multi-club ownership rules which bars linked clubs from competing in the same European competition.
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Liverpool has taken its summer spending to about one hundred and seventy million pounds with the signing of left-back Milos Kerkez from Bournemouth in a deal worth forty million pounds.
The 21-year-old Hungary international signed a five-year contract with the Reds.
Kerkez is Liverpool’s third major signing of the transfer window, following the arrival of attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz and right-back Jeremie Frimpong, both from Bayer Leverkusen.
Liverpool will also sign Georgia goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili this summer, having agreed a deal to sign him from Valencia for a fee of £25m plus £4m in add-ons last summer.
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England defender Myles Lewis-Skelly says he wants to create a legacy at Arsenal after signing a new five-year contract with his boyhood club.
Lewis-Skelly broke into the first team last season and established himself as a regular under Mikel Arteta, making thirty-nine appearances in all competitions.
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Arsenal is in talks to sign defender Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia.
The Gunners want to make a defensive signing this summer and the 20-year-old Spaniard, who can play at centre-back and right-back, is emerging as their favoured option.
Arsenal has shown interest in Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace, but the England international may be reluctant to join given that he may find opportunities limited behind Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba.
Arsenal are also imminently expected to complete the signing of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea.
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Burnley has signed Netherlands left-back Quilindschy Hartman from Feyenoord on a four-year deal.
The 23-year-old defender is the second arrival of the summer, following goalkeeper Max Weiss, at the Clarets, who won promotion back to the Premier League for next season by finishing second in the Championship.
The team has also signed centre-back Axel Tuanzebe on a free transfer following the expiry of his contract with Ipswich Town.
Tuanzebe made forty-five appearances in all competitions for the Tractor Boys and was influential in their promotion to the Premier League during the 2023-24 campaign.
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Relegated Premier League side Ipswich Town will face League Two Bromley for the first time in their history in round one of the Carabao Cup.
All three of the relegated Premier League sides have away trips in the first round, which takes place in the week commencing 11th August.
Southampton go to Northampton, while Leicester City travel to Huddersfield.
Premier League teams not playing in Europe will join the competition in the second round, while clubs involved in Uefa competitions enter in round three.
There are four all-Championship first-round ties – Watford host Norwich City, Hull City travel to Wrexham, Birmingham City host Sheffield United, while West Bromwich Albion take on Derby County at The Hawthorns.
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Wrexham’s first second-tier match for forty-three years will be at Southampton on Saturday, 9th August, a day after Birmingham City open the Championship season by hosting Ipswich Town.
Leicester City’s return to the second tier begins at home against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday, 10th August.
League One play-off final winners Charlton Athletic mark their return to the Championship after a five-year absence with a home game against Watford.
Sheffield United start the campaign against the Bristol City.
The Championship season starts a week after the League One and League Two campaigns and seven days before the Premier League campaign begins.
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England Under-twenty-one defender Charlie Cresswell has backed the team to handle the Euro 2025 pressure and ease 59 years of hurt.
The Toulouse centre-back is chasing his second European title after lifting the trophy two years ago.
The Young Lions face Germany in Saturday’s final after beating the Netherlands two-one in Bratislava.
The senior side have not won a trophy since the World Cup in 1966 and Cresswell believes the Under-twenty-one can shake off any final pain.
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IN NIGERIA
Super Eagles goalkeeper, Stanley Nwabali has expressed optimism that Nigeria would qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The three-time Africa Cup of Nations champions currently occupy fourth position in their World Cup qualifying group.
Eric Chelle’s men would need to take maximum points from their remaining fixtures to stand a chance of clinching the sole ticket.
The Chippa United goalkeeper stated that the team would approach each game as it comes.
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Super Falcons has arrived, Casablanca, Morocco, for their final preparations ahead of the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Twenty-two players and team officials made the trip to Casablanca from Lisbon, Portugal.
Bay FC striker Asisat Oshoala and China-based forward Folashade Ijamilusi arrived Casablanca on Tuesday.
Justine Madugu’s side battled Portugal to a goalless draw in a friendly in Lisbon.
The nine-time African champions will be up against eternal rivals Black Queens of Ghana in another friendly on Sunday.
The Super Falcons will begin their WAFCON 2024 campaign against Tunisia on Sunday, 6th July, at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca.
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Blank Queens of Ghana head coach Kim Lars Björkegren says the upcoming friendly against Super Falcons will test his team’s readiness for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The two games served as an opportunity to assess the team’s current standing and identify areas for improvement.
The 43-year-old emphasised that the game against the Super Falcons will be a significant test for his team.
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Former Nigeria international Ifeanyi Udeze has described Super Eagles winger Moses Simon a legend of Nantes following his departure from the French Ligue 1 outfit.
After spending six years at Nantes, Simon has now signed for newly promoted Paris FC.
The 29-year-old signed a three-year deal with the Paris FC as they prepare for their first season in the French top-flight since 1978-1979.
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Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare says he will relish the chance to play for Manchester United.
The Nigerian international, who netted twenty-one goals in thirty-eight games last season for Genk, has been linked with a move to Old Trafford.
Arokodare stated he was a big fan of the Red Devils and will take his time to decide his future.
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Former Flying Eagles forward Abdul Jeleel Ajagun has sealed a move to Jordanian club, Al Faisaly.
Ajagun moved to Al Faisaly from another Jordanian club Al Hussein.
The 32-year-old signed a three-year contract with his new club.
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The Disciplinary Committee of the Nigeria Football Federation will sit in Abuja on Tuesday, 1 July 2025, to examine various petitions brought forward by some Nationwide League One clubs over issues that arose during the 2025 NLO playoffs across the country.
The Nationwide League One Secretariat, invoking its summary jurisdiction role, sanctioned some clubs over alleged involvement in match manipulation.
Among the sanctioned clubs is Campos FC of Owerri, penalised over alleged complicity in a match-fixing scandal following their 15-2 triumph over A&A Kiviasennus Palvelut FC in Awka.
Similarly, Cynosure FC of Abakaliki petitioned the NLO, alleging a match-fixing incident involving Liberty Lions and E-World FC in Calabar.
Likewise, Positive Football Academy submitted an appeal to the NLO challenging its ruling in a similar match-fixing allegation.
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Rivers Angels head coach Tosan Blackson is looking forward to a difficult duel against Nasarawa Amazons.
The two teams will clash in the final of the President Federation Cup at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, Onikan, Lagos on Saturday.
Rivers Angels won the title last season edging past Naija Ratels one-nil in a keenly contested encounter.
Blackson declared that his team is highly motivated to claim a second consecutive title.
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The Nigeria Basketball Federation has announced the preliminary squad for the senior women’s national team, D’Tigress, as the team officially commences preparations to defend its title.
As part of the roadmap to the championship, the team will open training camp with a series of structured activities, including their much-anticipated homecoming Games.
The exhibition matches will serve both as a celebration of the team’s success and a key element in evaluating player performance as the technical crew works towards final roster selection.
The Federation remained committed to assembling the strongest possible team to represent Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of defending their continental dominance and bringing home yet another AfroBasket title.
The 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Championship is set to take place in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
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Nigeria’s Oluwafolayemi Akinyosoye has delivered a standout performance by upsetting top seed and Olympic silver medallist Fares Farjani of Tunisia in the men’s individual sabre preliminaries of the African Fencing Championships.
Akinyosoye who switched allegiance from England to Nigeria, edged Farjani five-four in a tense bout that thrilled local supporters.
In the round of 16, Akinyosoye maintained momentum, defeating Algeria’s Lotfi Ibrihen with a dominant 15-9 victory to reach the quarterfinals, but losing 15-8 to sixth seed Ahmed Ferjani of Tunisia in a hard-fought contest.
Also, Nigerian Inkosi Brou, a bronze medallist at the African Junior Championships, narrowly missed a podium finish in the same event.
Brou, impressed early but lost 15-11 to Niger’s fifth seed Evann Girault in the round of 16.
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In the women’s individual épée, Nigeria’s Sarah Idongesit and Adebodunrin progressed past the group stage into the knockout rounds.
They were eventually eliminated in the round of 32 by more experienced fencers from Morocco and Algeria.
Their progress, highlighted the rising depth of talent within Nigeria’s women’s fencing ranks.
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OTHER LEAGUES
Al-Nassr star, Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a new two-year contract with the team, that means he will stay with the Saudi Pro League club until beyond his 42nd birthday.
The Portugal captain, joined the Riyadh-based team in December 2022 after leaving Manchester United in acrimonious circumstances.
In a post on X, Ronaldo said a new chapter begins with the same passion and the same dream.
Ronaldo scored thirty-five times in forty-one matches across all competitions last term and was the league’s top scorer for a second consecutive season.
He has managed ninety-nine goals in one hundred and eleven appearances overall for Al-Nassr and is well on his way to reaching one thousand senior goals in his career, with a current tally of nine hundred and thirty-eight for club and country.
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Argentine midfielder Camilo Nuin has died during knee surgery.
The 18-year-old played for second division side San Telmo since 2022 following spells at the Boca Juniors and Independiente youth academies.
The cause of death has not yet been disclosed.
President of the Argentine Football Association, Claudio Tapia, shared heartbreaking news on X, describing it as a deeply saddening event that has shaken the entire football world.
Tapia and executive committee, expresses its sorrow at the death of Camilo Nuin and extends its condolences to the player’s family.
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OTHER SPORTS
In Tennis, Britain’s world number seven hundred and nineteen Oliver Tarvet has reached the Wimbledon singles main draw – which will contain the highest number of home players for 41 years.
Tarvet upset Belgian world number 144 Alexander Blockx 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the final round of qualifying on Thursday.
Tarvet’s victory means there will be twenty-three British players, eleven men and twelve women in the singles draw when Wimbledon begins on 30th June.
Earlier, British world number 550 Hamish Stewart fell 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Swiss Leandro Riedi.
Emily Appleton also missed out on a main-draw spot, losing 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 to Veronika Erjavec of Slovenia.
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In Rugby, Dan Sheehan has challenged his British and Irish Lions team-mates to match the passion of the Western Force underdogs in Saturday’s tour opener in Australia.
Sheehan will captain a Lions team with only two starters – Sione Tuipulotu and Tadhg Beirne – who were in the XV for the defeat by Argentina on Friday.
Western Force were the lowest-ranked Australian side in this year’s Super Rugby Pacific, but their head coach Simon Cron said much of their preparation had involved impressing on the players the magnitude of the opportunity.
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In Cricket, Jofra Archer is in line for a first Test appearance in more than four years after being named in England’s 15-man squad for next week’s match against India at Edgbaston.
The 30-year-old made a thrilling start to international cricket in 2019 but has not played a Test since 2021 after a series of injuries.
A recurring stress fracture in his elbow has required multiple operations, while a stress fracture in his back ruled him out of an entire summer in 2022.
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In Athletics, the new president of the International Olympic Committee IOC, Kirsty Coventry, says its members have shown overwhelming support to protecting the female category in sport.
Coventry said the IOC must play a leading role in discussions on gender eligibility.
At her first news conference since taking over the role earlier this week, the Zimbabwean revealed a working group on the issue made up of experts and international federations would ensure that we find consensus.
Coventry said the IOC also planned to set up a second working group looking at when Olympic host cities should be named.
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Also, Faith Kipyegon fell short in her bid to become the first woman in history to run a sub-four-minute mile.
The Kenyan, clocked four minutes 06.42 seconds in perfect conditions at Stade Charlety in Paris, a time 1.22 seconds faster than her world record – in pursuit of the momentous feat.
The time will not be recognised as an official record because Kipyegon was assisted by a team of male and female pacemakers and wore technologically advanced kit and shoes at the Nike-sponsored ‘Breaking4’ event.
Kipyegon’s official women’s mile record of 4:07.64, set in July 2023, remains almost five seconds faster than any other female athlete in history has run for the distance.
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In Cycling, Four-time Olympic medallist Elinor Barker has announced her 2025 season is over because she is pregnant for the second time.
The 30-year-old Welsh competitor told social media followers the news after finishing 16th in the British National Road Championships in Ceredigion, more than five minutes behind winning compatriot Zoe Backstedt.
Barker will also miss the Women’s Road World Championships in September, including the time trial.
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SOCCER ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND
IN FIFA Club World Cup – ROUND OF SIXTEEN
ON SATURDAY
Palmeiras vs Botafogo
Benfica vs Chelsea
ON SUNDAY
PSG vs Inter Miami
Flamengo vs Bayern Munich
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
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