Connect with us

Sports

England defeat Spain on penalties to retain trophy

Published

on

 

The Lionesses’ Chloe Kelly fired the decisive spot kick as England beat Spain 3-1 in a penalty shootout to win Euro 2025 on Sunday, successfully defending the title they won three years ago after an enthralling encounter that ended 1-1 after extra time.

Spain dominated possession and made the breakthrough in the 25th minute as Ona Batlle crossed and the England defence was caught flat-footed, allowing Mariona Caldentey to head the ball past Hannah Hampton.

 

However, England levelled in the 57th minute, with Alessia Russo heading home from a Kelly cross. Spain continued to monopolise the ball but could not find another goal before the end of normal time, and the story continued through extra time as they probed and probed, but could not break through the English defence as the game finished 1-1.

The Spaniards got the shootout off to a great start when Cata Coll saved Beth Mead’s effort, but England keeper Hannah Hampton stepped up and saved from Caldentey and then from Aitana Bonmati to put England in the driving seat.

See also  95 killed in southeast Spain, as flash floods sweep away walls and cars

 

Coll got Spain back into it with another one-handed stop to block Leah Williamson, but Spain substitute Salma Paralluelo then fired her kick wide of the target.

That set the stage for Kelly to repeat her 2022 heroics, when she scored the extra-time winner over Germany that won them the title at Wembley.

Kelly made her trademark prancing run-up before smashing the ball into the net and peeling away in ecstasy to celebrate with the rest of the players in front of the England fans.

“I’m so proud, so proud of this team, so grateful to wear this badge, and I’m so proud to be English … I was cool, I was composed and I knew I was going to hit the back of the net,” Kelly said.

The final was the first time since the inaugural edition in 1984, in which England were beaten by Sweden, that the game was decided by a penalty shootout.

See also  HEARTBEAK FOR ENGLAND AS ITALY WIN EURO ON PENALTIES

 

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Your email address will not be published.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  Bankruptcy claims: Disclose what you Inherited, Obi tells FG

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  World Cup: England beat Senegal to set up France quarter-final
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  ABIDEMI RUFAI: Court orders interim forfeiture of funds in banks and properties, including Lekki home

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