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Final heartbreak as Spain beat England to win Euro 2024 trophy

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England’s quest to end 58 years of pain and disappointment ended in failure as they were beaten by Spain in the Euro 2024 final at Berlin’s Olympiastadion.

Gareth Southgate’s side were sunk by Mikel Oyarzabal’s late winner to leave England heartbroken again in a second successive European Championship fina and unable to end the long wait for success for the men’s team.

Spain’s young star wingers combined to give them the lead two minutes after the break as Lamine Yamal’s pass opened up space for Nico Williams to beat England keeper Jordan Pickford with a powerful low finish.

 

England captain Harry Kane was out of sorts once more and was substituted on the hour and it was Cole Palmer – on for Kobbie Mainoo – who raised hopes of another dramatic comeback with a composed left-foot strike after 73 minutes.

It was Spain, however, who snatched the win four minutes from time as Oyarzabal slid home Marc Cucurella’s cross to leave England the nearly men once more.

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England’s hopes of crossing the great divide that has separated them from the major prizes were snatched away by a superior Spain side on a tough night in the German capital.

The iconic stadium was a sea of white as the massed ranks of England supporters vastly outnumbered their Spain counterparts, in the belief that the near misses of previous years were about to end.

 

And when Palmer’s smooth finish against the run of play 17 minutes from time drew England level, confidence surged. Many will have felt that Southgate’s side were about to mount the sort of comeback that rescued them against Slovakia, Switzerland and the Netherlands earlier in Euro 2024.

This time there was to be no escape, with England being opened up clinically for Oyarzabal’s decisive strike that gave Spain the success their performances throughout the tournament merited.

 

And just to compound England’s agony, Declan Rice and Marc Guehi both saw headers cleared off the line in the closing moments, firstly by keeper Unai Simon and then Dani Olmo, who celebrated like it was a trophy-winning moment – which it effectively was.

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England’s misery was confirmed seconds later, meaning that for all the progress and optimism of Southgate’s eight-year reign, tangible success has escaped them. They have lost successive European Championship finals – to Italy three years ago and now an excellent Spain side – plus a World Cup semi-final in 2018 and a World Cup quarter-final in Qatar in 2022.

 

It remains to be seen whether Southgate stays in charge for the next World Cup, but it may well be that this proves to be one disappointment too far for England’s manager.

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

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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.

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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.

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BREAKING: CAF overturns Afcon final result, declares Morocco winner

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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.

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

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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.”

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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.

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