IN NIGERIA
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Super Eagles star Akor Adams’ late strike saw the Super Eagles complete a dramatic comeback to force Russia to a three-all draw in the international friendly at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.
Also on target for the Super Eagles were Kelechi Iheanacho, who was making a return and Benfica 19-year-old debutant Peter Edokpolor.
It is now back-to-back draws for the Super Eagles against Russia, after their first encounter, also a friendly, ended one-all in 2025.
The draw halted Russia’s run of four straight wins, scoring fourteen goals without conceding.
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Super Eagles head coach, Eric Chelle has revealed that a tactical switch in his team’s attack led to their fight back in the three-all draw with Russia in the friendly encounter.
Speaking after the game, Chelle said the game was good for both teams, Russia had momentum towards the end of the first half, and in the beginning of the second half it was the same.
Chelle handed debuts to a lot of the players no thanks to withdrawals by most of the Super Eagles first team stars.
Following the impressive performance by some of the debutants, the Malian hinted that some of them could be invited for the 2027 AFCON qualifier with Tanzania in November.
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Former Nigerian international, Nduka Ugbade has expressed satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ resilient display following their dramatic three-all draw against Russia.
Ugbade pointed out that the team’s lack of extended training time made the spirited 90-minute display all the more commendable.
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The Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has charged Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets, to fly high at the WAFU B Under-seventeen Championship to qualify for the Under-seventeen AFCON and ultimately end the FIFA Under-seventeen World Cup qualification drought.
Head Coach, Eboboritse Uwejamomere, leads the Golden Eaglets at the 2026 WAFU B U-17 Championship which gets underway in Burkina Faso from 10th to 23rd October 2026.
Olopade gave the charge during a morale-boosting visit to the team’s training camp at the FIFA Goal Project pitch in Abuja.
He urged the players to embrace the responsibility of representing Nigeria and begin their journey to reach the FIFA Under-seventeen World Cup by winning the WAFU B tournament.
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Flamingos head coach, Akeem Busari has named a twenty-one-player squad for the 2026 FIFA Under-seventeen Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Team captain Harmony Chidi leads the squad, alongside defenders Elizabeth Adesuyi and Esther Stephen, midfielders Mary Dustan and Favour Nkwocha, and forwards Tosin Rafiu, Queen Joseph, Precious Oscar and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi.
Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside Poland, Puerto Rico and North Korea.
The Flamingos will begin their World Cup campaign against Poland on 17th October, before taking on Puerto Rico on 20th October and North Korea on 23rd October in their remaining group-stage fixtures.
The Nigerian delegation, comprising players and officials, is scheduled to depart the country for Morocco on Wednesday, 7th October, ahead of the tournament.
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MK Dons Women captain Favour Omenazu has received a late invitation to join the Super Falcons squad for Nigeria’s 2028 Olympic Games qualifying double-header against Comoros.
Interim head coach Augustine Eguavoen called up the versatile midfielder following the withdrawal of some of the players initially invited for the second-round qualifying fixture.
The call-up marks the first time the 24-year-old has been selected to represent the Super Falcons.
Omenazu was eligible to play for both England and Nigeria but has opted to represent the 10-time African champions at international level.
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Kano Pillars travel to the Lekan Salami Stadium on Wednesday to face Shooting Stars in a rescheduled NPFL Matchday 3 fixture, with one clear target: a first point away to the Oluyole Warriors since 2017.
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IN ENGLAND
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England star Harry Kane has celebrated his record-equalling 125th England cap with two goals in a comfortable Uefa Nations League victory against the Czech Republic at Wembley.
Kane made it a remarkable tally of ninety-one goals for England on the night he drew level with Peter Shilton and is now firmly on course to become the first player to reach a century for his country.
England built on the win against the Czech Republic in Prague and the outstanding seven-nil victory in Croatia with another convincing display to delight head coach Thomas Tuchel and the home support.
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Queens Park Rangers might be without midfielder Glen Kamara for Friday’s Championship game against West Ham United, if Fifa is asked to intervene in a club versus country dispute.
The Football Association of Finland says Kamara, was withdrawn from international duty by QPR, before Tuesday’s Uefa Nations League game against Hungary.
Fifa rules state a player released for international duty must be available to their nation for the entire window, unless an earlier return is separately agreed.
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OTHER LEAGUES
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Spain star Mikel Merino came off the bench to score twice as world champions Spain fought back from a goal down to beat Croatia two-one in the Nations League and reach the quarter-finals.
Coach Luis de la Fuente’s Spain went into this game looking to record their 11th consecutive win, but they fell behind in the 17th minute when Ivan Perisic headed in.
Spain are top of League A – Group 3, three points ahead of England who comfortably beat the Czech Republic three-nil.
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Disjointed Scotland has unravelled in the second half as Slovenia came from behind to inflict back-to-back Nations League home defeats on head coach Sebastien Pocognoli at Hampden.
On a night that started with the return of his three predecessors Gordon Strachan, Alex McLeish and Steve Clarke for a presentation marking Andy Robertson’s 100th cap, the Belgian’s promised intense and energetic style failed to show.
The Slovenes who showed a slickness which was missing in the goalless draw in Ljubljana last Saturday capitalised on poor defending and structural confusion.
It leaves the Scots staring at pot three and likely a harder qualification group in the 2028 European Championships draw later this year.
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Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo says he is not retiring from international football but deserves to be punished for walking out on Portugal even though head coach Jorge Jesus broke his word to him.
The 41-year-old captain left his country’s Nations League camp after being an unused substitute against Norway and then finding out he would not start against Denmark.
In a lengthy statement, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United player said he should be held accountable for his actions.
Ronaldo’s statement comes after Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus said there was no rift with the captain, following claims the five-times Ballon d’Or winner had refused to train.
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Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand has warned Portugal coach Jorge Jesus to apologise to Cristiano Ronaldo or risk losing his job.
Ferdinand said this on his X, following ongoing dispute between Ronaldo and the new Portugal boss, which saw the 41-year-old storm out of the national team camp last week.
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South Korea captain, Lee Gi-hyuk has apologised for gloating about avoiding mandatory military service after winning gold at the Asian Games.
His side beat hosts Japan one-nil in the final and, afterwards, Lee held up his gold medal and triumphantly announced he was not going to the military.
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Former Germany striker Oliver Bierhoff has backed Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz to make a future move to FC Barcelona.
Bierhoff stated in Sport Bild that Wirtz would be an ideal fit for Barcelona under German manager Hansi Flick.
He noted that Wirtz would find plenty of space and brilliant teammates in the Catalan setup.
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Uefa has confirmed it is investigating the half-time incident during Sunday’s Nations League game between Republic of Ireland and Israel following an accusation of spitting.
The teams clashed at half-time in the one-all draw behind closed doors in Serbia, with the Irish Times, reporting that Republic of Ireland head of athletic performance Damien Doyle alleged he had been spat at by an Israel player.
On Tuesday, Uefa confirmed it was opening an investigation following a review of the official reports.
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Celtic manager Martin O’Neill says he is the man to lead Celtic forward after a time of reflection” during the ongoing international break.
The 74-year-old signed a one-year deal to stay at Parkhead after two interim spells last season culminated in a league and Scottish Cup double.
Following two defeats by Rangers last month either side of a three-one home defeat by Ferencvaros in the Europa League, O’Neill said it might be time to wrap it up, in reference to his managerial career.
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Meanwhile, Northern Ireland midfielder Shea Charles says he could not be happier following the side’s unbeaten Nations League window.
Charles said everyone in the country is buzzing at the moment.
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OTHER SPORTS
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In Tennis, Novak Djokovic claimed the 102nd title of his astonishing career as Alex de Minaur retired injured from the China Open final.
The 39-year-old led De Minaur a player 12 years his junior – 7-6, 0-1 when the Australian was forced to quit with an apparent left thigh problem.
Both players took a medical timeout after a 68-minute first set, but De Minaur managed just one game on their return before shaking hands.
It is the 21st year in a row that Djokovic has won at least one singles title.
Djokovic is on a 34-match winning streak at the China Open, having claimed the trophy seven times.
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In Cricket, India batter Harmanpreet Kaur has left her role as national team captain across all three formats of international cricket.
Harmanpreet led India in five Tests, 51 one-day internationals and 155 T20 internationals and took her country to their first global title, winning the 50-over World Cup last year.
The 37-year old last captained her country on 22 September, when she helped secure a second successive Asian Games title against Sri Lanka.
She will be replaced by opener Smriti Mandhana, who has already skippered the side in limited-overs games.
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In Athletics, the International Olympic Committee, IOC, has confirmed South Africa have shown an interest in becoming the first African host of the summer Olympics in 2036.
Hungary, India, Qatar and Turkey are also working towards becoming first-time hosts, while Germany and South Korea are in discussions with the IOC having held previous summer Games.
The IOC stated that the seven countries are engaged in continuous dialogue with the governing body and have set a deadline of 31 October for submissions of stated interest.
Virtual presentations will be given by interested parties to the body’s future host commission in November, with IOC feasibility assessments to be carried out by March 2027.
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In Golf, United States captain Jim Furyk says his team will be underdogs when they attempt to end more than 30 years of pain on European soil in next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor.
The Americans have not claimed an away Ryder Cup victory since 1993, losing all seven contests in Europe since that victory at The Belfry.
Furyk, who oversaw a 17-10 loss to Europe in France in 2018, was handed a second stint as captain earlier this year following Keegan Bradley’s team’s defeat to Luke Donald’s Europe at Bethpage Black in 2025.
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT.
Democracy is based upon the conviction there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people…words from Harry Emerson Fosdick.
