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Osimhen’s hattrick seals World Cup playoffs slot for Nigeria

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria have qualified for the African playoff for the 2026 World Cup. 

The team defeated the Benin Republic 4-0 on Tuesday at the Godswill Akpabio stadium to secure one of the four slots for the best second-placed teams in the playoffs.

Nigeria occupies the third position of the playoff slots and cannot be displaced mathematically by any team.

Following Eritrea’s withdrawal from the qualification, countries vying for playoff spots will have the results against the sixth-placed teams in their various groups subtracted from their total point accumulation.

Nigeria earned only two points against Zimbabwe, who finished sixth in Group C.

For the playoff spots, Nigeria had 15 points with a +7 goal difference, surpassing Burkina Faso and Niger.

A hat-trick from Victor Osimhen and a vital strike from Frank Onyeka sealed the playoffs for the Eagles.

Osimhen put Nigeria ahead in the third minute after a through pass from Samuel Chukwueze. He doubled the lead shortly before halftime with a powerful header off another assist from Chukwueze.

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The 27-year-old then completed his hat-trick in the second half courtesy of an inventive header off a free-kick.

With minutes to the final whistle, substitute Onyeka stole into the Benin Republic area to score the all-important fourth goal.

The Super Eagles will be one of the four best runner-up teams competing in the African playoffs to be held in Morocco in November.

The winner will advance to the inter-confederation playoff, which will determine the final two qualification slots for the 2026 World Cup.

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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.

See also  Breaking: Super Eagles thrash Sudan, zoom into AFCON's knockout stage
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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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BREAKING: Ex-Eagles captainHenry Nwosu dies aged 62

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Henry Nwosu, a former Nigerian international footballer and member of the 1980 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winning team, has passed away.

He was 62.

His death was confirmed by fellow ex-international Segun Odegbami in a Facebook post on Saturday.

According to Odegbami, Nwosu passed away at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) in Ikeja after a five-day battle for his life.

He also revealed the details of Nwosu’s final days, stating that the man he fondly called “Youngest Millionaire” died at 4:00 a.m. after being in intensive care since Wednesday.

“After 5 days in hospital battling for his life, the one I call ‘Youngest Millionaire’ passed on at 4:00 am this morning at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos where he had been in Intensive Care since Wednesday,” he wrote.

“It is with deep pain in my heart that I have to be the conveyor of the news of the death of Henry Nwosu MON. May he rest peacefully with our Creator in Heaven.”

See also  Super Eagles storm Ghana for World Cup play off

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