Sports

*Riyad Mahrez, Others Left Helpless, Made To Look Like Inferior Professionals *Golden Boot Race Underway: Messi 3, Mbappe, Haaland 2 Each *Argentine Is First Player To Compete At Six World Cups By Felix Durumbah, Abuja, with additional report from Reuters Without mincing words, seriously, is there really a footballer on the planet currently better than Messi? He’s nearly 39 and still the best player in the world! Easily the greatest. Too old? Too lazy? Too complacent having won the mundial in 2022? Not a chance. What a show he put on in early hours (Nigeria Time) of Wednesday, 17 June…

It was dubbed the 'Battle of African Teams' because of the sheer number of blacks in both the French and Senegal squads. However, that's where the similarities end as the final scoreline of France 3 Senegal 1 saw a second African team, after South Africa, lose its opening match in World Cup 2026. The development means only Cote d'Ivoire has won from Africa so far, beating Ecuador 1-0 even as Morocco, Cape Verde and Egypt all drew. Kylian Mbappe became France's all-time leading goalscorer with a superb double as Les Bleus beat Senegal in their Tuesday World Cup opener in…

*Sub Lukaku Saves Belgium From Egypt's Hands By Sid Lowe, at Atlanta Stadium, and Jeff Reuter, at Seattle Stadium They screamed in joy so much that it was like they had won the World Cup itself. Such was the emotion on the faces of Cape Verde players as the final whistle sounded on Monday in their first ever World Cup. And who were their opponents? Spain, of all teams, one of the favourites to lift the World Cup! Wow, just wow. At 1.57pm Atlanta time, 3,291 miles from home, the final whistle went on Cape Verde’s first game in a…

*Riches From Money-Spinning Sport By Felix Durumbah, Abuja There is a Nigerian strand to the ongoing overwhelming celebrations in the United States (US) following the emergence of New York Knicks as US professional National Basketball Association (NBA) champions after 53 years. They beat San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 on Saturday, 13 June 2026 --in a match watched on TV by hundreds of millions across the world ---to return as a force to reckon with in the eye-popping riches-strewn NBA. Basketball is big business in the US and has provided a platform for many youths to live the American Dream…

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…