Sports

Manchester United winger Amad Diallo scored a superb 90th-minute winner on Sunday, 14 June, as Cote d'Ivoire beat Ecuador in Philadelphia, US, becoming the first African nation in this year's World Cup to win a match so far. Last Thursday, in the tournament's opening game, at the iconic Azteca Stadium, South Africa's Bafana Bafana fell 0-2 to co-hosts Mexico and bagged two red cards to the bargain. On Saturday, Morocco were held by tournament favourites Brazil to a 1-1 draw. It was a stunning finish as substitute Amad opened his left foot to divert the ball into the corner after…

*Vinicius Jr Saves Ancelloti's Men So it turns out that Carlo Ancelotti is no miracle worker. It's just as well too as it turned out on 11 June that a panicky South Africa Bafana Bafana, which lost the tournament's opening game 2-0 to co-hosts Mexico, decorated Africa with a double red carded paint of indiscipline and poor showing. After watching his side, on Saturday night (Nigeria time) fall behind to Ismael Saibari’s brilliant opening goal, the Brazil manager needed a big favour from Vinícius Júnior to ensure the five-time World Cup winners’ first match of the 2026 edition did not…

By Thomas L. Murray Despite losing 2-1 in a World Cup friendly against Portugal on Thursday, it still might feel good to be Maduka Okoye, according to a report in the New York Post of Friday, 12 June. The paper reported that since the pregame presentation, Okoye has been going viral across the internet, in particular because soccer fans across the world are finding out how attractive he is. When the broadcast camera panned over to the Nigerian National Team, the Super Eagles, fans who don’t regularly watch the team got a glimpse of Okoye. Within 24 hours, after the…

By Felix Durumbah, Abuja After yesterday's losing start to their first World Cup outing in about 20 years, being hit 2-0 by co-hosts Mexico, the mood inside South Africa temporarily shifted from xenophobic monitoring of African nationals for forced exits, to the match result, as the media tore their national team coach Hugo Broos, to shreds today. Having topped Africa Group C, featuring, among others, Nigeria's Super Eagles, Bafana Bafana automatically qualified for the World Cup on a high, exuding tonnes of optimism of a happy outing in this year's mundial, being co-hosted by US, Mexico and Canada. However, in…

Cristiano Ronaldo, playing against Nigeria for the first time in his glittering career, did not get on the score sheet as Portugal narrowly defeated Super Eagles 2-1 in an international friendly match on Wednesday. Akor Adams had restored parity after Pedro Neto gave Portugal the lead in the first half, but Francisco Conceicao scored a second half winner to seal the win for the European side. Portugal rounded off their preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where they will face Nigeria's conquerors en route to the mundial, Democratic Republic of Congo; Uzbekistan; and Colombia in the group stage. Nigeria…

To the delight of many, Pope Leo XIV kicked off the Barcelona leg of his week-long visit to Spain with a few words in Catalan, calling on the faithful who had gathered in the city’s cathedral today “to build harmony and communion beyond all polarisation." The Catholic Pontiff’s familiar and commendable plea for people to set aside their differences may, however, have come a little late. Three days earlier, while chatting to journalists on the flight to Spain, Pope Leo had made an awkward confession. Asked whether he supported Real Madrid or their Catalan rivals FC Barcelona, he had artfully…

As the World Cup kicks off 11 June, hospitality and food service workers in several US cities hosting World Cup games also seek a bite of the massive, low hanging financial pie inherent in the mundial. They have warned of looming labour disputes and possible strikes ahead of the largest single sport tournament in the world. Cashiers, dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, concessions workers and food attendants at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, could walk off the job at any time. Diaspora research, demographic reports, and workforce data estimate that thousands of Nigerians work in the US hospitality and leisure sector. About 2,000…

By Sylvia Kodilichukwu, Enugu Reward for honest hard work came as Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State gifted players and management of Rangers International Football Club with plots of land and the sum of N150 million for winning the 2025/2026 NPFL title. Mbah announced the gifts during a dinner reception he hosted in honour of the players, technical crew and management of the team at Government House, Enugu, on Tuesday night. Rangers FC won the league for a record-equaling ninth time and also for a second time in three years under the Mbah administration following a 2-1 win over Ikorodu…

Paris police deployed thousands of officers to control crowds at some of the city’s hotspots, using teargas and arresting more than 130 people, after Paris Saint-Germain (PSG)'s win over Arsenal in Saturday’s Champions League final. By 9pm BST (9pm Nigeria time), police had made more than 130 arrests, Paris police said. A police spokesperson told Reuters that six vehicles and two storefronts had been damaged. Footage aired on the news channel BFM showed scenes of tensions and brief skirmishes around PSG’s Parc de Princes stadium in western Paris, where more than 40,000 people watched the club win its second consecutive…

By David Hytner, at the Puskas Arena, Budapest It was a showpiece that held the football world in its grip, the tension mounting exponentially, everything on the line. For Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), there was the opportunity to make it clear that this is a dynastic team; the rarity of retaining a Champions League title -something only Real Madrid has accomplished. For Arsenal, it was simple. Never mind the Invincibles. They stood to be immortal, a first triumph in this competition to follow their first Premier League triumph in 22 years; the thing that has changed everything about the mood around…