Sports

*S/Eagles Must Wallop Visiting Benin 3-0, While Rwanda Draw Bafana For Nigeria To Qualify *Tuesday Is D-Day For Top 3 The Super Eagles were lucky to go home with maximum points following a 2-1 win over Lesotho at Peter Mokaba Stadium on Friday, 10 October. While the Nigerians were not at their very best, they collected maximum points on the road and kept themselves in contention to go to the global tournament. Nigeria Dominate Play But Slim Win In The End Despite enjoying the lion's share of possession in the first half, the Super Eagles struggled to break Lesotho's defence.…

*'We Believe S/Eagles Can Still Qualify For 2026 World Cup' By Ed Aarons When William Troost-Ekong wanted to set up his own foundation, there was only one place it could be located. Having first visited his father’s home town of Uyo in Akwa Ibom State as a child, the Nigeria captain was given a particularly special welcome when he returned last summer for a charity tournament he had organised. “My surname, Ekong, really resonates with them because it’s from a very specific place,” says the former Watford defender, who plays for Al-Kholood in Saudi Arabia, the eighth country he has…

Sir Jim Ratcliffe insists he will not take a “kneejerk” decision to sack Ruben Amorim and has indicated he will afford the head coach three years to demonstrate his capabilities at Manchester United. Amorim has been under pressure, having struggled to turn the club around. The 40-year-old has been in charge for 11 months but is yet to win back-to-back league games and the team sit 10th. United have picked up 37 points from his 34 league games, finished 15th last season, and were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Grimsby in August. Amorim has faced questions over his…

*Haaland Sweeps Brentford Aside To Give Man City Momentum Sevilla thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Sunday, 5 October, ending the champions’ unbeaten start in La Liga and denying them an opportunity to return to the top of the table. Hansi Flick, Barcelona’s manager, said: “Today, I have to accept this defeat, and I’m looking positive, in a way. We also see the negative points in our game, which we have to change. The first half wasn’t good … we had no solutions to play out, it was really not good. "But in the second half, the reaction, I appreciate a lot.…

*Manchester Utd 2 Sunderland 0 Mason Mount has said Manchester United’s players are “100% behind” Ruben Amorim after their 2-0 victory against Sunderland on Saturday, 4 September. United’s third win of the season was secured thanks to goals from Mount and Benjamin Sesko, to give Amorim some respite with his future under scrutiny. United have now won three in a row at Old Trafford and also secured a first clean sheet of the campaign. United will travel to Liverpool after the international break, seeking consecutive wins under their Portuguese head coach for the first time. “We’re 100% behind the gaffer,”…

Call it the sweetest red card of Enzo Maresca’s managerial career. Chelsea were 2-1 up deep into stoppage time and Stamford Bridge was in a state of disbelief when Maresca was ordered down the tunnel by ref Anthony Taylor. Estêvão Willian, the Brazilian sensation popularly known as Messinho (or Little Messi) had just scored his first goal for the club and his head coach had received a second booking after running down the touchline to celebrate with his players. Has a yellow card ever been more worth it? Liverpool are looking up rather than down for the first time under…

A big lift came for Israeli leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his country as global football governing body FIFA refused to bar Israel from international competitions, including next year's World Cup in North America. This came on the heels of intense pressure by many Arab nations, some African countries and others seeking soccer isolation for the Middle East nation over what they described as the atrocities committed by Israeli troops in Gaza. The FIFA Council decided on Thursday, however, to chose unity over division, avoiding any radical measures against Israel. Mundo Deportivo (MD) reported that no action was taken against Israel…

*Lost At Home Thursday, No Win Since Hired Ange Postecoglou finds himself in an ominously tight spot after just 23 days on the job. As Midtjylland streamed forward on the counterattack in the 88th minute, the Nottingham Forest manager rested his hands on his head, convinced how the next few seconds would play out. Forest, as he feared, would concede for a third time but, presumably, he did not anticipate the vociferous and vicious backlash that followed. The scenes were close to extraordinary on a sobering evening, thousands of home supporters singing: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” Then the…

The Big Winners The Viewers.Barcelona v Paris Saint-Germain was the final many wanted last season. Wednesday’s group-stage meeting showed why. The fixture did not disappoint, even if, with red tape delaying the opening of the renovated Camp Nou, it was played in the less atmospheric Lluís Companys Stadium. Luis Enrique’s young Parisians staged a comeback in Catalonia, thanks to their coach’s expert use of his squad. Senny Mayulu, 19, upstaged Lamine Yamal by scoring the equaliser – Wednesday was the first match this season Yamal had failed to either score or contribute to a goal. Instead, the resurgent Marcus Rashford…

*No La Liga Team Won *Man City Pegged Back *Newcastle Win Away The goal that won Wednesday night's game for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) was a portrait of how it had been played: all in, all the way to the end. A move that started deep in PSG's half with Lee Kang-in chased backwards, turning, escaping and going at the same opponents who had been pursuing him, ended in the Barcelona penalty area with Gonçalo Ramos slotting past Wojciech Szczesny. There were six seconds left, it was the 26th shot of an exhausting and enjoyable night, and now it really was…