Connect with us

Sports

Messi to the rescue: Hope alive for Argentina after beating Mexico

Published

on

 

Stunning goals from Lionel Messi and Enzo Fernandez saw Argentina defeat Mexico and keep their World Cup hopes alive.

Lionel Scaloni’s side would have been eliminated from the competition had they lost this clash following their shock opening day defeat to Saudi Arabia, while Mexico themselves are now on the brink of an exit having been held to a scoreless draw by Poland in their opening game.

It was a first half which was wonderfully scrappy but devoid of any flair, creativity, rhythm or generally quality. It was dominated by sloppy passes, late challenges and nerves. The opening half produced no shots on target and 16 fouls.

Argentina improved after the break and won the game with the encounter’s only true moment of quality; Messi’s strike from outside the area beating Guillermo Ochoa and finding the corner of the net.

Scaloni’s side wrapped up the vital victory late on with a stunning strike from substitute Fernandez. Mirror Football analyses the five main talking points from an emotional clash at the Lusail Stadium.

See also  Some BDC operators arrested with over $6m - EFCC

Maradona pulled his nation to a sensational World Cup triumph in 1986, with his legacy of propelling Napoli to their only ever two league titles in their history also ensuring that his level of achievement is unlikely to be surpassed.

This will be Messi’s last World Cup – he will be a 39-year-old by the time the 2026 edition comes around – and football’s most prized asset has continued to allude him. Nobody can doubt the star’s all-time status among the greats, yet glory on this stage would have been the ultimate crown in a stunning career. His dream lives on after his part in this clash.

Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni made wholesale changes to his starting line-up from Argentina’s shock opening day loss against Saudi Arabia. Only one of those changes was enforced – as Lisandro Martinez replaced Cristian Romero in the heart of defence.

Scaloni changed both his full-backs with Sevilla pair Gonzalo Montiel and Marcos Acuna coming in, while Guido Rodriguez replaced Leandro Paredes at the base of the midfield while Brighton ’s Alexis MacAllister came in for Papu Gomez.

See also  Bashir Tofa, MKO Abiola’s opponent in 1993 dies

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

WrestleMania 42: Nigerian wrestler Oba Femi beats 10-time WWE Champion Brock Lesnar

Published

on

By

Nigerian professional wrestler, Isaac Odugbesan, popularly known as Oba Femi, defeated 10-time WWE Champion, Brock Lesnar, on his WrestleMania debut on Sunday.

The clash, one of the headline matches at WrestleMania 42, ended on a dramatic note as the 27-year-old Nigerian overpowered the veteran.

Lesnar left his wrestling gear in the ring after the match — a gesture widely regarded in professional wrestling as a sign of retirement.

Oba Femi, also known as “The Ruler,” is a former NXT champion and has spent just three months on WWE’s main roster.

The contest began with both wrestlers testing each other’s strength before Lesnar briefly seized control with a series of offensive moves.

However, Femi absorbed the pressure and responded with a dominant display, shifting momentum in his favour.

Lesnar delivered an F5, but Femi quickly recovered, hitting a chokeslam before finishing the contest with his “Fall From Grace” sit-out powerbomb for the pinfall victory.

See also  Some BDC operators arrested with over $6m - EFCC

The bout quickly became a major talking point on social media, with fans reacting to the upset win.

Femi, a former shot put athlete, is a two-time NXT Champion and a one-time NXT North American Champion.

Born in Lagos, Odugbesan competed in track and field during his school years before signing with WWE in 2021 through its NIL programme.

He went on to win the 2023 NXT Men’s Breakout Tournament and the 2024 Men’s Iron Survivor Challenge.

During the WrestleMania Sunday post-show, Femi sent a message to Roman Reigns, popularly known as the “Original Tribal Chief,” drawing a loud reaction from fans as he hinted at a possible title challenge before the end of the year.

Continue Reading

Sports

BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

Published

on

By

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has overturned the result of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals and declare MOROCCO the winner of the title.

Senegal beat Morocco 1-0 in the final on 18 January in a match which was overshadowed when the Senegalese players refused to play after the hosts were awarded a stoppage-time penalty with the match goalless.

Following a delay of around 17 minutes, the players did eventually return and Brahim Diaz’s penalty was saved before Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored an extra-time winner.

However, that result has now been overturned by CAF.

A statement by the African Football’s Governing Body said that Senegal are “declared to have forfeited the final match” with the “result of the match being recorded as 3-0 in favour” of Morocco.

See also  Rude shock: Saudi Arabia stun Argentina in dramatic fight back
Continue Reading

Sports

FG  fulfils promises as D’Tigress receive national honours, house documents

Published

on

By


The Federal Government has fulfilled its outstanding promises to the senior women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, delivering National Honour certificates and title documents for houses in Abuja.

The presentation took place in Lyon, where the African Champions are currently participating  at  the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.

The move follows a directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at clearing a backlog of promises made to the team following their 2023 Afrobasket victory in Kigali, Rwanda.

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Shehu Dikko, led the delegation alongside the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade. Speaking during the handover, Dikko characterized the prompt delivery as a “clear departure” from previous administrations, where state-promised rewards often faced multi-year delays.

“This is a prompt fulfilment of promises made by a President who leads with action,” Dikko stated. “Mr. President is giving every Nigerian athlete a renewed confidence that sports is a serious business capable of changing lives.”

See also  Twitter ban sends wrong message to investors, US tells Nigeria

While the physical assets (housing and honours) have been delivered, the NSC Chairman confirmed that the cash rewards promised to the squad are currently in the final stages of administrative processing. He assured the players that disbursement into their respective bank accounts is imminent.

The Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, noted that the current administration of President Tinubu  is institutionalizing a “reward system” modelled after developed sporting nations to ensure high-performance outcomes.

President of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Engr. Musa Kida, credited the Presidency for prioritizing athlete welfare, citing it as a “legacy of a lifetime” for the sports sector.

Head Coach Rena Wakama and Captain Amy Okonkwo formally accepted the documents, affirming that the timely delivery of these incentives would serve as a catalyst for the team’s upcoming international qualifiers.

Continue Reading

Trending News