Sports

How Eagles rated against Egypt

Published

4 years ago

January 12, 2022

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Fans hail Super Eagles

Maduka Okoye

It was a proud outing for the Sparta Rotterdam keeper but unexpectedly, the 22-year-old had a quiet outing on his AFCON debut. He made two good saves. He also denied Mohamed Salah a goal in the 70th minute with his.

RATING: 6

Ola Aina

The Torino wing-back played one of his best games in an Eagles shirt. He was involved with all of the Eagles’ play from the right flank and rarely put a foot wrong. He should have an assist for his efforts but Kelechi Iheanacho’s heavy touch denied the Leicester City forward a simple tap-in in the 74th minute.

RATING: 8

Kenneth Omeruo

With little to occupy him defensively, the Leganes defender pushed forward, got on the ball plenty and distributed it well. He made two interceptions to deny Mohamed Salah from scoring. He partnered William Troost-Ekong well in central defence before was replaced in the 79th minute after copping an injury. RATING: 6

William Troost-Ekong

Posted a decent performance but his blushes were saved by Okoye after he was beaten with a pass from Ahmed Sayed, which Salah failed to take advantage of.

RATING: 6

Zaidu Sanusi

The FC Porto defender churned out a disciplined performance as they restricted Liverpool winger Salah to just one shot at goal.

RATING: 6

Wilfred Ndidi

The Leicester midfielder was full of energy and made numerous runs to support the attack. He provided an option and created scoring opportunities for the team as they launched attacks on several occasions.

RATING: 6

Joe Aribo

Made the assist for Iheanacho’s opener in the 30th minute and helped the Eagles keep possession in midfield. The Glasgow Rangers midfielder formed a good partnership with Ndidi in the heart of the Eagles midfield.

RATING: 7

Kelechi Iheanacho

Deployed in his favourite position playing off the main striker, Iheanacho posed a danger wherever he popped up. He scored the winner for the Eagles on the half-hour mark, an early contender for goal of the tournament, but was guilty of some misses.

RATING: 8

Samuel Chukwueze

A tough night for the Villarreal winger as he was ineffective in the encounter and hardly created chances.

RATING: 4

Moses Simon

He will be criticised for failing to deliver a final ball or two, but the flip side of the same coin is that Simon, time, after time threatened the Egyptian right-back and was a menace to the Egyptian defence all through.

RATING: 7

Taiwo Awoniyi

The Union Berlin striker was full of energy on his AFCON debut and was unlucky not to have scored with a header. He gave Mahmoud El Wensh and Ahmed Hegazy a torrid evening before he was replaced by Sadiq Umar.

RATING: 7

Substitutes

Kelechi Nwakali: Replaced Kelechi Iheanacho with 10 minutes left and added steel to the Eagles midfield. RATING: 5

Semi Ajayi: Came on for the injured Omeruo and helped shore up the Eagles defence as the Egyptians piled on the pressure late on. RATING: 4

Chidera Ejuke: Had an instant impact coming on for Chukwueze in the 72nd minute and was denied two goals by Egyptian keeper Mohamed El Shenawy. RATING: 5

Umar Sadiq: Made his debut for the Eagles, replacing the impressive Awoniyi but did not get a chance to show his worth. RATING: 3

Alex Iwobi: The Everton midfielder came on for Simon in the 90th minute and did not do much to be rated.

Meanwhile, Nigerian fans have continued to hail the overall performance of the Super Eagles.

The Eagles were the better side, amassing 58 per cent possession with a total of 10 shots, six of them being on target as opposed to the Pharaohs, who only managed three shots with just one of them being on target.

Reacting to the game, fans hailed energetic winger, Moses Simon, Ola Aina, Wilfred Ndidi as well as interim coach, Autin Eguavoen for their superb display.

Television personality Frank Idoho, in a tweet hailed the team’s outstanding performance and their ability to hold Salah.

“The Super Eagles actually thwarted the Egyptian Team and gave a good account of themselves. I’m very impressed by the way we played and curbed Mo Salah. More importantly, I am relieved that Ndidi did not suffer an injury. Well done, Super Eagles!”

Adewale Adetona wrote on Twitter, “Moses Simon deserves all the credit he can get for that wonderful work from the flank leading to that goal. Iheanacho did incredibly well with the ball control and the shot too.”

Kelechi Anyikude wrote,“Congrats Super Eagles of Nigeria. Local man is so happy.”

Fans have also hailed the coaching impact of Eguavoen in the game.

Biola Akinbode wrote, “The players were exciting; it was as if I was watching the Super Eagles of old. Eguavoen’s master plan worked, we dominated totally and won deservedly.”

“Eguavoen got it right! Nice attack! Defence and team play! If they maintain this form they will go far! Best match so far in this tournament, although I saw it coming!” @Fanklyz Tweeted.

Sports

Nine African teams in World Cup last-32 round

Published

2 weeks ago

June 28, 2026

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Following the conclusion of the group stage, nine African countries have confirmed their places in round 32 of the 2026 World Cup.

Algeria and DR Congo are the latest teams from the continent to seal their last-32 ticket at the ongoing competition.

They join Morocco, South Africa, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Cape Verde, Ghana and Senegal in the business end of the competition, breaking the previous record of just two African teams at a World Cup knockout round.

Tunisia is the only country on the continent to qualify for the World Cup, but failed to progress beyond the group stage.

DR Congo qualified after earning their first-ever World Cup victory, 3-1 over Uzbekistan, in their last group stage match on Saturday in Atlanta. Yoane Wissa’s brace and Fislon Mayele’s strike helped the Leopard turn around a game that started disastrously for them.

The victory takes DR Congo to the top of the eight best third-placed teams, and they will face England next on Wednesday.

Algeria also managed to squeeze into the last 32 through the best losers’ route. A 3-3 draw against Austria in their final group game ensured they displaced Iran for the final slot.

Ghana also clung to the third-placed ladder to advance despite their 2-1 loss to Croatia in their last Group game. The Black Stars will face Colombia in the next round on July 3.

ROUND OF 32 FIXTURES (All Nigerian time)

South Africa vs Canada — June 28 — 8 pm — Los Angeles Stadium

Brazil vs Japan — June 29 — 6 pm — Houston Stadium

Germany vs Paraguay — June 29 — 9:30 pm — Boston Stadium

Netherlands vs Morocco — June 30 — 2 am — Estadio Monterrey

Ivory Coast vs Norway — June 30 — 6 pm — Dallas Stadium

France vs Sweden — June 30 — 10 pm — New York New Jersey Stadium

Mexico vs Ecuador — July 1 — 2 am — Mexico City Stadium

England vs DR Congo — July 1 — 5 am — Atlanta Stadium

Belgium vs Senegal — July 1 — 9 pm — Seattle Stadium

United States vs Bosnia and Herzegovina — July 2 — 1 am — San Francisco Bay Area Stadium

Spain vs Austria — July 2 — 6 pm — Los Angeles Stadium

Portugal vs Croatia — July 3 — 12 am — Toronto Stadium

Switzerland vs Algeria — July 3 — 4 am — BC Place, Vancouver

Australia vs Egypt — July 3 — 7 pm — Dallas Stadium

Argentina vs Cape Verde — July 3 — 11 pm — Miami Stadium

Colombia vs Ghana — July 4 — 2:30 am — Kansas City Stadium

Sports

Athletics Open: Amusan wins gold, sets new record in Taiwan

Published

1 month ago

June 6, 2026

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Nigerian and world women’s 100m hurdles world record holder, Tobi Amusan,on Saturday won the women’s 100m hurdles gold at the New Taipei Athletics Open in Taiwan.

Amusan struck gold ahead of Taiwanese duo Bo Ya Zhang, who settled for second place in 13.17s, and Yi Po-an took third place in 13.37s.

The 29-year-old’s winning time of 12.72s is also a new meeting record, chalking off 0.08s off the previous mark of 12.80s held by Nia Ali, US Olympic silver medalist and former world champion.

Amusan was dominant in the qualifiers for the final, blowing away the field in Heat 2, and continued the form in the final to deliver a swashbuckling race that thrilled the crowd.

She took the lead outright after the fourth hurdle, leaving Zhang behind.

The three-time Senior Africa Athletics Championship winner crossed the finish line before the last competing athlete cleared the final hurdle, to the amazement of screaming spectators.

It is the second consecutive race Amusan will break a meeting record this athletics season, she also broke her meeting record in the women’s 100m hurdles event at the Rabat Diamond League.

She has won three of five races this season, and has not failed to claim a podium finish.

Sports

Arsenal win EPL title after 22 years

Published

2 months ago

May 19, 2026

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Arsenal are English Premier League (EPL) champions after Manchester City failed to win at Bournemouth.

Pep Guardiola’s Man City drew 1-1 with Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium to hand Arsenal an unassailable four-point lead with just one match remaining to the end of the season.

The Gunners win the EPL title for the first time in 22 years, since the legendary Invincible side won it in the 2003/04 season.

In the club’s 100th season without relegation from the EPL, the club will celebrate its centenary participation with a league title won on the back of a record 28 EPL wins that surpassed the 26 wins recorded by the Invincibles. The defence prevented opponents from registering a shot on target in six matches, equaling a 23-year league record, and also scored a record 17 goals from corner kicks.

Mikel Arteta’s tough side has led the table for most of the season before a late mini-collapse, and Man City’s late surge in form nearly threatened their title ambition for a second season in a row.

City’s late resurgence, however, was initially stunned by Everton in early May and completely collapsed against Bournemouth.

Guardiola’s side visited the Vitality Stadium aware that any result other than a victory would seal Arsenal’s title. But they lacked the execution for the mission after falling to a wonderful strike from Junior Kroupi in the first half.

City were only kept in the game by Bournemouth’s profligacy in front of goal. When Erling Haaland’s equaliser was squeezed home in the eleventh hour of the game, even the most faithful City supporter knew it was too little, too late.

Arsenal and Arteta secured the league earlier than they would have predicted, giving City a prodigious title run-in.

The league triumph is Arteta’s second major title with the North London club since joining in December 2019, adding to the English FA Cup trophy won within six months of his tenure in May 2020.

The 44-year-old Spaniard wins his fourth title overall and can win his fifth — and third major trophy — with victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League final next weekend.