IN NIGERIA
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Super Eagles coach, Eric Chelle says Wednesday’s friendly against the Super Eagles will afford Portugal the opportunity on how to approach their World Cup group K clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

On the thought of coming up against a star-studded Portuguese side, Chelle expressed his delight that his players will be up against a potential World Cup champion.

Chelle said the most important goal and objective was to improve in every game.
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Super Eagles captain, Wilfred Ndidi has described Wednesday’s international friendly against Portugal as a valuable test for the team.

Éric Chelle’s men head into the encounter in impressive form, having recorded four wins and two draws in their last six outings.

The Super Eagles also suffered just one defeat in regulation time in twenty-four matches since Chelle took charge of the team in January 2025.

Despite acknowledging the quality of their opponents, Ndidi believes Nigeria is fully prepared for the challenge.

Ndidi credited head coach Chelle for the team’s remarkable progress, praising the Malian tactician for transforming the Super Eagles into a formidable force on the international stage.

Ndidi also expressed optimism about the future of the Super Eagles, insisting the team is determined to move forward after the disappointment of missing out on qualification for the FIFA World Cup in the last two editions.

The Beşiktaş midfielder said the current squad was focused on building a successful future and ensuring Nigeria returns to the biggest stage in world football.
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Former Nigerian international, Mutiu Adepoju has disclosed that the Portugal duo of Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes will be the Super Eagles’ biggest threat in the international friendly game.

Adepoju noted that the sheer determination and world-class quality of both players make them dangerous.
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Former Super Eagles coach, Jo Bonfrere says Victor Osimhen’s absence from Nigeria’s international friendly against Portugal has denied football fans the opportunity to witness a potentially thrilling duel with Cristiano Ronaldo,

The Dutch tactician believes a contest featuring two of world football’s most influential strikers on the same pitch would have been a fascinating spectacle.

Bonfrere lamented Osimhen’s unavailability for the high-profile fixture, insisting it would have been a spectacle watching the two influential forwards face each other for the first time.

He also pointed out that missing the World Cup finals on two consecutive occasions was too bad for Nigeria and deprives great players like Osimhen and other Super Eagles players of the opportunity to measure themselves against the world’s best.

Wednesday’s clash will be only the second meeting between the two countries at senior level, with the Portuguese claiming a four-nil victory in their first encounter in Lisbon.
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Portugal head coach, Roberto Martinez is expecting a stern test when his side takes on the Super Eagles in an international friendly on Wednesday.

Martinez described the Super Eagles as a formidable opponent with considerable tactical versatility, insisting that the encounter will provide valuable preparation for the challenges ahead.

The former Belgium manager believes Éric Chelle’s men possess the quality and adaptability needed to help his team fine-tune their approach before the World Cup.

Martinez also spoke about his team selection for the eagerly anticipated encounter.

The fixture is particularly significant for Portugal, who are set to face another African side, the Democratic Republic of Congo, during the group stage of the tournament.
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Nigeria striker Gift Orban is on the radar of Serie A new Boys Venezia.

Orban spent last season on loan with Hellas Verona from Bundesliga outfit Hoffenheim.

The 23-year-old scored seven goals and provided three assists in twenty-eight league appearances for Verona.

The Yellow and Blues opted against exercising the option to make the former Olympique Lyon forward’s loan move permanent.
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IN ENGLAND
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England coach, Thomas Tuchel says Bukayo Saka needs to be carefully steered back to full fitness as England head into a World Cup where they must dare to dream.

Tuchel pointed out that history was against 1966 winners England.

Tuchel said Saka, who has scored fourteen goals in forty-eight appearances for the Three Lions, still requires careful attention before the tournament which has raised some concerns given he is a key player.

He said he must assess Saka and the rest of his England squad before deciding who starts the final warm-up match against Costa Rica on Wednesday.
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Former U.S Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has lashed out after the Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entry into the United States after being selected to officiate at the FIFA World Cup.

Clinton shared the story on her X account and slammed the U.S. for being backward and flippantly barring officials arriving in the U.S. to do a job.

Somalia has been listed among the nations subject to new travel restrictions by the Trump administration.

Still, the Somali embassy in Kenya claimed that Artan was issued a visa to travel to the U.S. last week.
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Somali referee, Omar Artan says he was subjected to an 11-hour immigration interview before being denied entry to the United States for the World Cup despite holding the right papers and right visa.

Artan, who was set to be the first Somali to referee at a World Cup finals, was dropped from the list of officials on Monday after he was barred from entering the country at Miami International Airport.

No reason for Artan’s repatriation has been issued by U.S immigration authorities, but Somalia is one of several countries on a travel ban list introduced by President Donald Trump’s administration.

After speaking to the U.S authorities, world governing body Fifa said Artan will miss the tournament.
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England captain, Harry Kane believes this is the country’s best chance to win the World Cup.

Kane is coming off a staggering 2025-26 season with Bayern Munich, where he netted over sixty goals across all competitions.

Combining his current peak fitness with a squad featuring talents like Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka, the skipper, feels fully confident that they can end England’s 60-year trophy drought.
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England women have produced an impressive performance to Ukraine three-nil but missed out on automatic qualification for the Women’s World Cup so must now take the longer route to Brazil 2027.

Sarina Wiegman’s side needed group leaders Spain to lose or draw in Iceland, but the world champions raced to a six-one victory to book their finals place.

Only the top team in the qualifying group secured an automatic spot, meaning England will have to navigate two rounds of play-offs later this year.

England finished League A3 as runners-up, below Spain because of their inferior head-to-head record, and will find out their play-off opposition on Thursday, 18th June.
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West Ham co-owner, David Sullivan has been banned from having contact with the club’s women’s and youth teams for the last three years because of safeguarding concerns.

The Football Association opened a safeguarding investigation in 2023 after receiving allegations about the conduct of Sullivan, the co-owner and then the co-chair, of West Ham United.

In response, a safeguarding group made up of the club, the FA and the local authority decided to prevent Sullivan from having access to his own club’s youth and women’s teams.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran has announced that its official eight percent World Cup ticket allocation for its three group-stage matches in the United States was abruptly revoked, days ahead of the tournament.

The Federation released a statement calling the revocation discriminatory and contrary to the principles of equality governing international sports, suggesting it is tied to non-sporting and political factors.

The sudden withdrawal leaves thousands of Iranian fans, who had already purchased tickets and arranged travel and accommodation, unable to attend their matches.
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Real Madrid have had a one hundred and thirty million pounds offer for striker Julian Alvarez rejected by city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Real president Florentino Perez last week pledged to make a one hundred and fifty million euro offer for an unnamed galactico player if re-elected to his position.

Having successfully retained control on Sunday, Perez made good on his promise.

However, the move for the 26-year-old Argentina forward was turned down by his club, who cited Alvarez’s release clause of four hundred and thirty million pounds.

Atletico quoted the Real Madrid statement on X alongside a series of laughing emojis.
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Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid have announced that their one hundred and fifty million euros bid for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez has been rejected.

Alvarez is also believed to be a top target for Barcelona, who are looking to add to their attacking ranks following the signing of Anthony Gordon.

Atletico accused Barcelona of running a smear campaign amid reports of a potential bid for the Argentine.
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino is targeted with a revived criminal complaint in France by his former boss Michel Platini, who seemed destined to lead FIFA until being implicated in a financial wrongdoing case in 2015.

Platini, who was acquitted again last year after a second Swiss court trial, asked lawyers in Paris to file a criminal complaint against Infantino and five other Swiss football and prosecution officials.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis, Serena Williams rolled back the years at Queen’s with a winning performance on her comeback to tennis after 1,375 days away from the sport.

Fans with the hottest ticket in town packed out the Andy Murray Arena on Tuesday evening to watch one of the greatest players of all time return to action.

Playing doubles alongside Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko, the 44-year-old American didn’t look a touch out of place as the pair won 7-6, 6-2 to upset third seeds Erin Routliffe and Nicole Melichar-Martinez.
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Also, Emma Raducanu is hopeful her commanding first-round win over Anna Blinkova at Queen’s can serve as a really good stepping stone for her Wimbledon preparations.

British number one Raducanu was dominant for most of the contest, winning the first eight games without reply before going on to complete a 6-0, 6-3 victory over the Russian qualifier.

It was the 23-year-old’s first win since 6 March, when she beat qualifier Anastasia Zakharova in the Indian Wells first round.
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In Cricket, Australia suffered only their second one-day international defeat by Bangladesh and first for 21 years in a comprehensive humbling in the series opener in Mirpur.

Australia, without a host of first-team players for the tour, dropped six catches, including four to reprieve all-rounder Mosaddek Hossain as he made 86 in Bangladesh’s 284-8.

The tourists slipped to 2-2 in reply as they lost Matt Short, to the first ball, and Marnus Labuschagne.

Australia laboured to 191-9 before a storm ended play and sealed a 86-run defeat under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.

Alex Carey made 47 and Cameron Green 52 not out.

The pacy Nahid Rana took 4-41, including Carey and stand-in captain Josh Inglis, while spinner Mosaddek claimed 2-37 on his first appearance for four years.

Bangladesh’s only other ODI win over Australia came at Cardiff in 2005 in a tri-series involving England.

The second ODI also takes place at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on Thursday.
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In Rugby, Saracens wing Tobias Elliott is among the prospects called up for a small-scale, England training camp, with Northampton, Bath, Exeter and Leicester players absent as they prepare for this weekend’s Prem semi-finals.

After an injury-affected start to the season, Elliott, who scored seven tries in 16 league games last term, impressed during Saracens’ late surge into play-off contention.

With loosehead prop Ellis Genge working to recover from a calf complaint, Harlequins’ 23-year-old Will Hobson, who was part of the England A squad this year, is involved in the senior set-up for the first time.

Nathan Jibulu covers for injured Sale team-mate Luke Cowan-Dickie at hooker.

Gloucester flier Ben Redshaw, who co-captained England Under-20s at their age-grade world championship last summer, is also among the 26 players called up.

The focus for the three-day camp is England’s non-cap warm-up match against a France XV in Vannes on 19th June.
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In Cycling, Elliot Rowe says the abrupt way his mum’s cycling career ended has taught him to make the most of it every time he gets on his bike.

The 20-year-old Scot will make his Commonwealth Games debut in Glasgow next month.

Mother Sarah pulled on the Team Scotland colours at the 1994 Games in Canada before representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
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In Athletics, A temporary extension of the north stand of Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium will be named after Great Britain’s four hundred metres runner Matthew Hudson-Smith.

The structure, which will remain until the conclusion of the European Athletics Championships in August, honours the Olympic silver medallist, who was born in nearby Wolverhampton.

The 31-year-old attended a surprise unveiling of the Matthew Hudson-Smith Stand, with his family present, plus his first coach Sharon Morris, Team GB four by four hundred metres team coach Martyn Rooney and local dignitaries.

He started his 2026 outdoor season last month with a second place in the 400m in the Diamond League at Rabat.

The European Athletics Championships, the first to be held in the United Kingdom, will run from 10th to 16th August in Birmingham.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.

A team is where a boy can prove his courage on his own. A gang is where a coward goes to hide… words from
Famous Baseball Player, Mickey Mantle.