Author: Adejuyigbe Francis

China earned their first victory at the 2023 Women’s World Cup by beating Haiti in Group D, despite playing for more than an hour with only 10 players. The win for China means England, who beat Denmark 1-0 earlier on Friday, have not qualified for the last 16 yet. Midfielder Zhang Rui was sent off after 29 minutes for a dangerous knee-high challenge on Haiti’s Sherly Jeudy. But Wang Shuang scored the only goal, converting a 74th-minute penalty after Ruthny Mathurin fouled Zhang Linyan. England would have advanced to the knockout stages with a match to spare if China had drawn…

England are on the brink of last-16 qualification in the Women’s World Cup after a much-improved performance saw off Denmark – though they lost key midfielder Keira Walsh to a worrying injury. Lauren James announced herself on the global stage with a superb strike from the edge of the box just six minutes into her first World Cup start and it proved to be the decider in Sydney. However, a serious-looking injury to Barcelona midfielder Walsh dampened what was a positive, attacking performance from the Lionesses after a scrappy 1-0 win over Haiti in their opening group match. Walsh went down under little contact…

Barcelona have been provisionally cleared to play in the 2023-24 Champions League amid a Uefa investigation into allegations the club made payments to a referees’ chief. In March, European football’s governing body confirmed it was looking into claims of payments made by Barcelona for favourable refereeing decisions. Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing. While Barcelona have been allowed in Europe, Uefa reserved the right to punish the club in the future. The Uefa investigation came after a criminal investigation was brought by the Barcelona public prosecutor’s office on 10 March. It was alleged that Barcelona paid 8.4m euros (£7.4m) to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira,…

Super Falcons media officer, Oluchi Tobechukwu has dispelled fears some of the team’s key stars might miss Monday’s last group game against Republic of Ireland as a result of injury. Dependable midfielder, Halimat Ayinde limped off the pitch with what look like an ankle problem in the second half of Thursday’s clash against Australia. Right-back Michelle Alozie also picked up a knock in the game, while Osinachi Ohale also sustained an injury. Tobechukwu, however, stated that the players are in good shape and will be fit for the match against the Republic of Ireland. “They are good, a lot of…

Plateau State Governor, Caleb Mutfwang has approved the appointment of former Super Eagles captain, John Mikel Obi as his Honorary Adviser on Sports. Mikel’s appointment was contained in a statement issued by the Governor’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Gyang Bere. The 36-year-old was born in Jos, the capital of Plateau State. The former Chelsea star started his career at local club, Plateau United, before moving to Norwegian outfit, Lyn Oslo at the age of 17 in 2004. Mikel had an illustrious career winning multiple titles with Chelsea, including the UEFA Champions League and Europa League. The former midfielder…

Argentina manager German Portanova told his team to “play with the love that optimises our football” before they produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to draw with South Africa. South Africa were on course to pick up a first ever Women’s World Cup victory in a pulsating encounter in Dunedin but in the end they had to settle for their first point after Argentina scored twice within five second-half minutes. Knowing defeat would take Argentina to the brink of elimination, they threw everything at Desiree Ellis’ side in the second half and were rewarded for their endeavour. Substitute…

Former Manchester City playmaker David Silva has announced his retirement from football. The 37-year-old Spanish great spent a highly successful decade at City and won four Premier League titles before joining Real Sociedad in 2020. However, Silva suffered a serious knee injury during pre-season and has decided to call time on his 19-year playing career. “Today is a sad day for me,” Silva said on social media. “Today it is time to say goodbye to what I have dedicated my whole life to. Today it is time to say goodbye to my colleagues, who are like family to me. I will…

Barcelona and Nigeria Forward, Asisat Oshoala was among the goal scorers as Nigeria secured a hard fought 3-2 win against co-hosts Australia on Thursday in the Women’s World Cup, a win that saw Nigeria move to the top of Group B. Australia jumped ahead in the first half with a beautiful goal from Emily van Egmond following a quick series of decisive passes through the Nigerian defense. Cortnee Vine played in a perfect cross to fellow aussie Caitlin Ford who laid it on For Emily to finish. But Nigeria equalised soon afterwards with Uchenna Kanu’s fast reaction to a loose…

Telma Encarnacao scored one goal and assisted on another as Portugal defeated Vietnam 2-0 on Thursday in the Women’s World Cup, a win that ensured Vietnam will not advance to the knockout stage. Portugal jumped ahead in the seventh minute following a quick series of decisive passes through the Vietnamese defense. Lucia Alves dropped in a perfect cross to Encarnacao at the top of the six-yard box for a simple finish. Portugal still has a shot to advance out of the group stage but will need to win or draw against the United States, with a Netherlands loss next Tuesday against Vietnam. In the 21st minute, Portugal turned a goal kick…

The Nigeria Professional Football League has announced that the winners of the 2023-24 season will smile to the bank with a jumbo prize of N150 million. The winning prize for the last season was N100 million which was won by Enyimba. The Chairman of the NPFL, Gbenga Elegbeleye disclosed this at the inaugural meeting of the newly appointed board. He also declared that the new NPFL season will kick-start on August 26. Enyimba won their ninth NPFL title at the Super Eight playoffs in Lagos last month. Remo Stars came second in the campaign.

Real Betis have signed former Sevilla and Real Madrid midfielder Isco on a one-year contract. He has been a free agent since December when Sevilla terminated his contract four months after joining. The 31-year-old has 38 Spain caps, the last coming in 2019, and scored one goal in 19 games for the La Liga club. More than 10,000 fans attended Isco’s presentation as a Sevilla player in August, before coach Julen Lopetegui was sacked in October. His move to Sevilla followed nine successful years at Real Madrid, where he won the Champions League five times and three La Liga titles. Isco…

Captain Lindsey Horan came to the rescue of defending champions the United States after the Netherlands had threatened an upset at the Women’s World Cup. New Manchester City signing Jill Roord put the Dutch on course for a famous win after a clinical finish from the edge of the box. The Stars and Stripes have been a superpower on the world stage, winning their previous 13 matches spanning three tournaments, but they struggled to break down a resolute Netherlands defence until Horan equalised with a header from a corner. In a repeat of the 2019 final – which the USA…