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5 Nigerian Female Wrestlers Close In On Paris Olympics Appearance

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Team Nigerian wrestlers continued their conquest in the sport after the African Games and African Championships feats as five of them have qualified for the semi-finals of the Africa/Oceania Paris 2024 Olympic qualifying tournament currently taking place in Alexandria, Egypt.

They are Mercy Genesis, 50kg, Christinah Ogunsanya, 53kg, Esther Kolawole, 62kg, Blessing Oborodudu, 68kg and Hannah Reuben, 76kg.

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President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Dr. Daniel Igali told Sports Vanguard moments ago from the tournament venue in Alexandria that the five wrestlers will hit the mat from 5 p.m. local time in Alexandria today.

READ ALSO: Police, Soldiers Rescue 20 Abducted Edo Travellers

They all wrestle at 5 p.m. local time in Alexandria, Egypt to punch Olympic tickets. Winners of the semi-finals will qualify in each weight class”, he said, adding “fingers crossed. Good luck team.”

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No Messi Or Ronaldo: Trump Names His Greatest Footballer Of All Time

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United States President Donald Trump has weighed in on the debate over the greatest football player of all time.

Trump was in attendance at the Club World Final on Sunday at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, as Chelsea overwhelmed Paris Saint-Germain in the first half and beat the European champions 3-0 on Sunday in the final of the first expanded Club World Cup.

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Asked after the game during a DAZN broadcast to name his all-time favourite footballer, Trump named Pelé as the greatest of all time.

READ ALSO:Chelsea Thrash PSG 3-0 To Win FIFA Club World Cup

Trump also reminisced about Pelé’s time in the United States, especially his stint with the New York Cosmos in the now-defunct NASL, where the Brazilian legend played from 1975 until his retirement in 1977.

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He said, “Many years ago, when I was young, they brought a player named Pele to play, and he played for a team called the Cosmos.

“He was the inspiration we had, and this place was packed. It was an earlier version of this stadium, but right here in the Meadowlands, and it was Pele.

READ ALSO:Chelsea Sign Brazilian Joao Pedro From Brighton

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“I don’t want to date myself, but that was a long time ago. I was a young guy, and I came to watch Pele, and he was fantastic. And I would, I’d say, probably go old-fashioned. That’s like saying Babe Ruth, but I would say Pele was so great.”

Trump has openly expressed his intention to use this year’s Club World Cup and the management lp, will align with the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.

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Club World Cup Final Scuffle ‘Should Have Been Avoided’ Says Luis Enrique

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Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said he was “just trying to separate the players” after being caught up in a scuffle on the pitch at the end of his team’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.

Television footage showed the PSG boss raising his arm to the neck of Joao Pedro, who had earlier scored Chelsea’s third goal following a Cole Palmer brace at the MetLife Stadium.

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There was pushing and shoving, a lot of tension and pressure. The situation obviously should have been avoided,” Luis Enrique told reporters.

My intention was clearly to just try to separate the players.”

READ ALSO:Chelsea Thrash PSG 3-0 To Win FIFA Club World Cup

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He admitted that Chelsea were deserved winners as he urged his team to enjoy a short summer break at the end of a remarkable campaign.

Defeat for PSG denied them what would have been a stunning clean sweep of trophies as they failed to add the Club World Cup to the UEFA Champions League and French league and cup double they claimed in May.

“I think over the course of the game they deserved their win. They played very well,” Luis Enrique said.

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I said beforehand that Chelsea were a very good team and they deserve their victory and the trophy.”

READ ALSO:Club World Cup: PSG Crush Inter Miami 4-0 To Reach Quarter-final

A historic season for PSG ends after 11 months and 65 matches, and they now have exactly one month before returning to action in August — there will be another trophy on the line in their next game, against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Super Cup.

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“I think is important for us to enjoy our holidays. They will be very short. But we need to make the most of them,” he said.

PSG’s victory in this year’s Champions League also means they will have another crack at winning the Club World Cup when they participate in the next edition, which is due to take place in 2029.

I think this tournament was born out of the need to know who the best team in the world is. I think it is an interesting format and I think it could become a real top-level competition,” said the Spaniard.

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There is just the difficulty of finding space for it in the current calendar, but I think it is an interesting tournament — we had the chance to win it but there was another team who were better than us in the final.”

 

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Chelsea Thrash PSG 3-0 To Win FIFA Club World Cup

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Cole Palmer scored two goals and made another as Chelsea stunned Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the Club World Cup on Sunday, beating the European champions 3-0 at the MetLife Stadium to win the first edition of FIFA’s new competition.

PSG were the favourites for a game attended by Donald Trump after coming to the United States fresh from winning the UEFA Champions League and having destroyed Real Madrid 4-0 in the semi-finals.

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But having been three goals ahead midway through the first half in the semis, this time the roles were reversed as PSG found themselves 3-0 down by the break.

Palmer opened the scoring midway through the first half and struck again to make it two on the half-hour mark, before taking advantage of passive defending to set up Joao Pedro for the third on 43 minutes.

A bad day for PSG was summed up when Joao Neves was shown red following a VAR review four minutes from the end for pulling Marc Cucurella by the hair off the ball.

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READ ALSO: Full List: UEFA Fine Chelsea, Barcelona, Three Others For Breaking Financial Rules

It was a scoreline that few could have predicted as Chelsea capped what has been a long but memorable season — they are the first ever winners of the 32-team Club World Cup having also won the UEFA Conference League and finished fourth in the Premier League.

They will also take away around $125 million in prize money, meaning the prospect of a drastically curtailed summer break before returning for next season will surely feel worth it.

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For PSG, meanwhile, the financial rewards are similar but there will be genuine disappointment at falling short of adding this title to their Champions League triumph and French league and cup double.

Nevertheless, conquering Europe was always the main aim this season for Luis Enrique’s team, who now have exactly a month to digest this and take a holiday before returning to action in the UEFA Super Cup against Tottenham Hotspur.

Trump in attendance –

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There was a real sense of occasion at the MetLife Stadium, with the backdrop of the Manhattan skyline and with President Trump in attendance along with First Lady Melania Trump in a crowd of 81,118.

READ ALSO: Chelsea Sign Brazilian Joao Pedro From Brighton

There was even the first-ever half-time show at a FIFA tournament, adding a Super Bowl feel to a final played at the home of NFL sides the New York Giants and New York Jets.

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As for the football, for the second time in six weeks PSG found themselves involved in a final that quickly turned into a one-sided affair.

The club claimed a historic 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final, but here they were ripped apart by Chelsea on another hot afternoon.

Palmer almost put Chelsea ahead inside the opening 10 minutes, before PSG should have scored at the other end only for Desire Doue to try to pass to Achraf Hakimi rather than shoot inside the box, allowing Cucurella to block.

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It was Chelsea who struck in the 22nd minute as Malo Gusto got the better of Nuno Mendes down the right before seeing his shot blocked by Lucas Beraldo. The ball came back to Gusto and he teed up Palmer to finish into the bottom-left corner.

READ ALSO: Chelsea Agree Deal To Sign Brighton Forward Joao Pedro

Palmer has been the face of Chelsea on billboards in the United States during the tournament and he lived up to his star billing by scoring again on the half-hour.

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Released on the right with PSG left-back Mendes out of position, Palmer advanced towards the box before stroking a low shot into the same corner.

Joao Pedro played a part in the build-up to that goal and the Brazilian, signed during the tournament from Brighton, then got his name on the scoresheet to make it 3-0.

Scorer of both goals against Fluminense in the semi-finals, he clipped a shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma after being supplied by Palmer.

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PSG had conceded a single goal in their previous eight matches and they never really looked like producing a comeback, even if Neves headed just wide in first-half stoppage time.

Substitute Liam Delap almost got a fourth for Chelsea midway through the second half, before Neves was shown red to complete a bad day for PSG.

 

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