Sports
CAF U20 AFCON: Dare Commends Flying Eagles’ Third Place Finish in Egypt
The Sports Minister, Sunday Dare has commended the Flying Eagles for their third place finish at the CAF U20 AFCON in Egypt.
Nigeria defeated Tunisia 4-0 on Friday to clinch the bronze medal, setting a record of finishing on the podium in the competition a record 13 times.
Describing the bronze medal as better than nothing, the Minister charged the team to put to good use the lessons learnt at the tournament as they prepare for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia in May.
“We were disappointed we couldn’t play in the final or win this competition as we planned to but this convincing victory over Tunisia today(Friday) has redeemed some of the pain we felt last Monday after the Gambia game. A bronze medal is better than nothing.
“Now we have to also focus on doing a lot better at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Indonesia in May. There is very little time left but I believe the coaches now know where their focus should be in improving the team,” Dare added.
Minister Congratulates Osimhen For Winning ‘Best Foreign Athlete’ Award
Sports Minister, Sunday Dare has congratulated Super Eagles striker, Victor Osimhen for clinching the prestigious ‘Best Foreign Athlete’ Award in Italy.
Osimhen who plies his football trade with Italian Serie A side Napoli has scored 19 goals in 21 games already this season.
Dare in a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Toyin Ibitoye described it as a “remarkable achievement”.
“The award is well deserved owing to the hard work, dedication, discipline and professionalism demonstrated by Victor Osimhen this season.
“He is a great ambassador of Nigeria and a role model to the youth.
“His achievements have shown that you can get to the top of the ladder in your career if you believe in yourself and stay focused.
“Victor Osimhen is on the verge of inspiring his club Napoli to their first Serie A title in three decades.
“We are proud of all he has achieved. He should not relent,” Ibitoye quoted Dare as saying.
The Italian Footballers Association (AIC) also named Victor Osinhen Serie A Player of the Month for February.
He netted four goals in four league appearances for Napoli last in Febraury.
Osimhen is also in the running for the Lega Serie A Player of the Month.
With 13 games to go, Napoli are odds-on for Serie A glory, having a huge 15-point advantage over second-placed Inter Milan.
Some street hawkers are already selling mementoes in Napoli colours and with a “three” on them in anticipation of a third title.
Shops are also selling cakes and Easter eggs decorated with Osimhen’s trademark face mask, which he wears on the pitch following a face injury.
Osimhen is in his third season at Napoli after previous stints in the Bundesliga with Wolfsburg and in Ligue 1 with Lille.
Despite Postponement,African Games To Retain “Accra 2023” Branding
Postponed African Games will still be known as “Accra 2023”, despite being postponed until next year on new dates in March which have been announced.
The African Union Sports Council coordinator Decius Chipande revealed that the Games is now scheduled to take place from March 8 to 23 next year.
In spite of this, the original name will be maintained.
“The Games will still remain ‘Accra 2023’ despite the new date in 2024,” Kwaku Ofosu-Asare, executive chairman of the Local Organising Committee, said.
“We have the example of Tokyo 2020.
“A lot of discussions went into this and we have agreed to retain Accra 2023.”
In addition to the developments, an Ad-hoc Technical Committee to oversee preparations the Games is due to be set up.
Representatives from the African Union (AU), who are the organisers of the event, met with counterparts of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA), and the Association of African Sports Confederations to sign the establishing agreement at its headquarters in Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.
The Committee will chaired by AU Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development Minata Samate Cessouma.
ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf and AASC President Ahmed Nasser Moustafa Kamal Mohamed will serve as deputy chairs.
The agreement will also see ANOCA and AASC receive a percentage of the revenue generated from Accra 2023 marketing and sponsorships.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 36th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the Union.
The build-up to the Games has been overshadowed by an economic crisis which is currently affecting Ghana, although inflation did drop for the first time in almost two years in January, down to 53.6 per cent.
Prior to the postponement, former Ghana President John Mahama led calls for the cancellation of the event, although Ofosu Asare claimed in response that it would cost Ghana just as much not to host the Games as it will to stage them.
Saudi League: Ronaldo Suffers First Defeat With Al Nassr
Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo lost for the first time in the Saudi Pro League.
Ronaldo was on the losing end of a league game this week, when title rivals Al-Ittihad beat his Al-Nassr by a single goal.
The 1-0 scoreline was enough to take them to the top of the table, instead of Al-Nassr.
The 38-year-old was unable to have much influence on the game, despite having a few chances to score.
Al-Ittihad are managed by former Tottenham and Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.
EPL: Rashford Equals Salah’s Player Of The Month Record
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, 25, has been named Premier League Player of the Month for the third time this season, equalling a record held by Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah.
Salah set the bar for most Player of the Month awards in a single season in 2017-18.
Rashford won the award in September, January and February, scoring four goals in five games last month.
Rashford has now been named Player of the Month four times in his career and topped a six-man shortlist for February which included Kelechi Iheanacho, Bernd Leno, Emerson Royal, Manor Solomon and Ollie Watkins.
He has scored 26 goals and nine assists across all competitions this season and is the first player to win the award in consecutive months since Ilkay Gundogan did so in January and February 2021.
The Red Devils were unbeaten in February, taking 10 points from four games, and sit third in the Premier League.
Ten Hag, who also won the manager’s award in September, led the club to their first trophy in six years when they won the EFL Cup.
Manchester City’s Norwegian striker #09 Erling Haaland (centre right) celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal, City’s fourth during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and Ipswich Town at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, north west England, on August 24, 2024. (Photo by Darren Staples / AFP)
Matches were played on Saturday in the fifth round of the English FA Cup with Manchester City seeing off giant killers Plymouth.
Languishing in the Championship relegation zone, Plymouth had stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool in the fourth round after beating top-flight side Brentford in the third round.
Pep Guardiola’s men were in danger of becoming Plymouth’s latest famous scalp when Maksym Talovierov gave the visitors the lead in the first half at the Etihad Stadium.
But Manchester-born O’Reilly, making just his sixth start for City, emerged as the unlikely hero with a brace that ensured his troubled team would avoid their lowest moment in a turbulent season.
English FA Cup Fifth Round Results
Below are the results for the fifth round of the English FA Cup matches:
Bournemouth 1 (Evanilson 30) vs Wolves 1 (Cunha 60) aet, Bournemouth won 5-4 on penalties
Crystal Palace 3 (Tanganga 33-og, Munoz 40, Nketiah 81) vs Millwall 1 (Harding 45+3)
Manchester City 3 (O’Reilly 45+1, 76, De Bruyne 90) vs Plymouth 1 (Taloverov 38)
Preston 3 (Brady 31, Osmajic 44, Keane 73) vs Burnley 0
Played Friday
Aston Villa 2 (Asensio 68, 80) vs Cardiff 0
Playing Sunday
Newcastle vs Brighton (13:45), Manchester United vs Fulham (16:30)
Playing Monday
Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich (19:30)
AFP
Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish branded the challenge by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts that left Jean Philippe-Mateta in hospital as “the most reckless” he has ever seen.
Roberts was sent-off just eight minutes into Saturday’s FA Cup fifth round tie, which Palace won 3-1, after catching Mateta’s head with his boot as he raced out to clear the ball.
Referee Michael Oliver only issued a red card after a VAR review.
Mateta received lengthy treatment, including oxygen, on the pitch before being stretchered to an ambulance and transported to hospital.
“What we know, he’s got a bad gash behind his ear and a head injury. Obviously he’s at the hospital. So, we hope for the best,” Parish told the BBC.
“That is the most reckless challenge on a football pitch I think I’ve ever seen and I think he needs to have a long hard look at himself, that lad, because he’s endangering a fellow professional, maybe in his life, with a challenge like that.”
Palace manager Oliver Glasner confirmed Mateta is conscious but that he has suffered a serious injury to his ear.
“He is conscious and he is in hospital. His ear looks terrible. It’s a very serious injury so we hope all the best for him,” said Glasner.
“We are not really happy, we can’t be really happy. Of course, it’s a great win and into the quarter-finals but when you lose a player, especially with a foul like this, you have two different feelings in your stomach.”
Mateta had scored eight goals in his previous nine games and has 15 in total for Palace this season.
The 27-year-old also netted five times as France won silver at the Paris Olympics last year.
Parish drew comparisons to the famous clash between German goalkeeper Toni Schumacher and French forward Patrick Battiston at the 1982 World Cup.
“It’s difficult for me to think about anything else at the moment with JP (Mateta) in hospital,” added Parish.
“Somebody mentioned there was one in the World Cup in 1982 like it, but it’s a dreadful challenge. And why the referee needed to go to the screen, I’ve got no idea.”
Palace made use of the man advantage for virtually the whole game to book their place in the quarter-finals.
Japhet Tanganga’s own goal broke the visitors resistence before Daniel Munoz prodded in a second.
Wes Harding pulled a goal back for the Lions, 13 minutes into first-half stoppage time added on for Mateta’s treatment.
Palace were made to wait until 82 minutes to secure progress when Eddie Nketiah’s looping header found the far corner.
Ex-Nigerian international, Jay Jay Okocha has dismissed Jamie Carragher’s comments about the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) pedigree, saying no father would want his son to have a football career as the former Liverpool man.
Carragher landed himself in controversy after he suggested s that Mohamed Salah is disadvantaged in the yearly debate for the Ballon d’Or over his not being able to win a ‘major’ international tournament – in his eyes, the Euros, Copa America, or the World Cup with the Egyptian National team.
“There are some players that will say something; you just overlook it. If you look at their careers, if you look at the type of football that they played, you can understand. I mean, you wouldn’t want your son to be like Carragher.”’Okocha said during an interview on Thursday.
So, he can never appreciate African football or the talents that come from Africa.”
A member of Nigeria’s AFCON-winning side of 2013, John Obi Mikel also condemned Carragher’s statement on his Obi One Podcast, calling the remarks “disrespectful.”
“The Africa Cup of Nations is as big as the Euros. I’ve played in it and won it. It’s not in his f*ing place to discredit the AFCON. He sits there week in, week out, teaching and coaching people on how to win the Premier League, and he never won it!”
He wrote: ‘The point I was trying to make yesterday was that MO Salah is at a disadvantage playing for Egypt in terms of him winning the Ballon d’Or”
‘If Salah had an average season at LFC but won the AFCON & was MVP I don’t think he would win the Ballon d’or.”
‘Because I don’t think AFCON carries the weight of other tournaments. But if Mbappe had an average season at Real Madrid but won the World Cup/Euros he would still have a great opportunity”
‘It’s not just about certain tournaments, Shevchenko (Ukraine) and Lewandowski (Poland) were never going to win the WC/Euros to help their case for the prize. I don’t think it’s controversial at all really it’s just a fact.”