Sports

Estêvão’s Stardust Gives Maresca Dilemma Chelsea fans have fallen hard for Estêvão Willian. They want the Brazilian prodigy to play as much as possible but Enzo Maresca has tried not to rush him. The head coach has handed the 18-year-old four league starts this season and could put him back on the bench when Chelsea host Arsenal on Sunday. The more exciting move, though, would be to throw Estêvão in from the start after his wonder goal against Barcelona. The youngster is fearless. There is a logic to going with more experience against Arsenal, however, and Estêvão is one hell…

By John Brewin The Big Winners *Bayern Munich’s unbeaten run and claim to be the best team in European football were both punctured at the Emirates. Arsenal were rampant against an opponent who had handed them so much pain in the past. The Gunners opened the scoring through their habitual set-piece goal, Jurriën Timber fulfilling the role of the absent Gabriel Magalhães. Lennart Karl, the 17-year-old, showed off his chops with a fine goal; from within Bayern have found the player they desired when they were thwarted in moving for Florian Wirtz. After that, Declan Rice and Eberechi Eze took…

This was billed as a clash of two of the best teams in Europe and for most of a cold evening in north London on Wednesday night, it felt like it. An absorbing game that ebbed and flowed throughout had Bayern Munich’s rising teenager Lennart Karl cancel out Jurrien Timber’s opening goal from a corner before substitutes Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli sealed a deserved win for the home side. It maintains their 100% record in the Champions League and sends them top of the table. Harry Kane let it slip in the buildup that scoring against Arsenal gives him…

By Sam Tyav, Makurdi Benue State Government has assured fans of Lobi Stars FC that their darling club would soon start playing their home matches in Makurdi, the State capital. Speaking with some members of Sport Writers Association (SWAN) in Makurdi, after inspecting work on McCarthy stadium, the State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Creativity, Hon. Tiza Isaac Imojime said that efforts were being made to sandfill the pit at the stadium preparatory to the Lobi Stars home matches being played in Makurdi. Imojime explained that the pit was excavated for pillars to be mounted for spectators, but they needed…

Citing emotions and heat of the moment, Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle has apologized to players and officials of DR Congo after he made allegations of voodoo in their 4-3 penalty win over Nigeria in Sunday's World Cup Africa final playoff in Rabat, Morocco. The game ended 1-1 after 120 minutes, with Mechak Elia cancelling out Frank Onyeka’s early goal. Calvin Bassey, Moses Simon, and Semi Ajayi all missed for the Eagles, with Chelle clashing with the DR Congolese bench at the end of the shoot-out. After the game, Chelle told reporters that someone in the opposing technical area had…

Nigeria will not play at the 2026 World Cup after they were beaten 4-3 on penalties by DR Congo in a play-off in Rabat, Sunday night,16 November,2025. In reflection, Nigeria had qualified for six of the seven World Cups between 1994 and 2018. After failing to qualify in 2022, tonight's defeat means they will miss consecutive World Cups for the first time since 1990. When it is considered that there could be double the amount of African teams next summer than there were in Qatar, this is a huge failure from Eric Chelle and his players. Nigeria's game tonight was…

As Nigeria battles DR Congo's Leopards tomorrow in the final Africa playoff of 2026 World Cup, it could be a mistake to assume the victors over Cameroun are pushovers. The Leopards boast an array of stars who ply their craft in Europe's top leagues and will be expected by their countrymen to put in a massive shift to undo seeming favourites, the Super Eagles. Their squad has big-name stars who can humiliate any opponent on a good day. They include: *Cédric Bakambu, a forward who plays for Real Betis in La Liga. He is an experienced goalscorer and a key…

There was gloom in Gabon after yesterday's thumping 4-1 loss to Nigeria's Super Eagles in the penultimate Africa qualifying playoff towards World Cup 2026, but the leadership of the Panthers quickly moved to raise sunken morale among the players and citizens of the country. The match was the first of two games played in Rabat, Morocco. In the second match, DR Congo narrowly edged Cameroun 1-0, to set up a thrilling matchup against the Super Eagles on Sunday. Victory for either country in that match does still not give qualification to the World Cup as there remains a last game,…

Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off on Thursday, 13 November, as Troy Parrott fired the Republic of Ireland to a sensational 2-0 victory against Portugal to set up a qualifying showdown with Hungary. The 40-year-old Portugal captain was dismissed for elbowing defender Dara O’Shea off the ball with a little more than 30 minutes remaining at the Aviva Stadium, but Heimir Hallgrímsson’s men were already well on their way to a win over the side ranked fifth in the world. AZ Alkmaar striker Parrott’s first-half double ultimately did the damage, but it was a collective performance of true character which laid…

*Nigeria Plays DRC Next,On 16 Nov For the avoidance of any doubts, Nigeria still has two more steps to qualify for the 2026 World Cup in US, Canada and Mexico. This is because with DR Congo overcoming Cameroun tonight in the other African playoff, the Super Eagles of Nigeria will then lock horns with DR Congo on 16 November, also in Morocco. The winner of this Moroccan mini-tournament of the African Zone qualifiers will secure the ticket for the final round of the intercontinental playoff, next March, with the winner finally qualifying for the World Cup (June-July,2026). To qualify to…