Sports

AFCON U-20: Nigeria Beat Hosts Egypt 4-1 In Shootout To Win Bronze

Published

7 months ago

May 18, 2025

The Flying Eagles of Nigeria secured third place at the CAF U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Egypt 2025 with a dramatic 4-1 victory in a penalty shootout against tournament hosts, Egypt, on Sunday.

The third-place clash, held at the 30 June Stadium in Cairo, ended 1-1 after regulation time.

With no extra time in the playoff fixture, the match was decided on penalties, where the Flying Eagles showed composure to claim their fifth bronze medal in U-20 AFCON history.

Both teams were eager to finish the tournament on a high note after falling short of a place in the final.

Egypt got off to a blistering start, taking the lead just three minutes in when Osama Omar pounced on a cut-back from Mahmoud Labib to fire home from close range.

Despite the early setback, Nigeria found their rhythm and began dominating possession.

They created several opportunities, with Clinton Jephta and Precious Benjamin forcing saves from Egyptian goalkeeper Abdel Monem Tamer, while Israel Ayuma’s long-range efforts narrowly missed the target.

Nigeria’s persistence paid off shortly after the break.

A well-weighted through ball from Divine Oliseh sliced open Egypt’s defence and found Bidemi Amole, who calmly slotted in the equaliser in the 47th minute.

The Flying Eagles continued to press for a winner, injecting fresh energy with the introduction of Tahir Maigana and Kparobo Arierhi.

Egypt, however, nearly snatched victory in added time, with Mohamed El Sayed rattling the crossbar and Mohamed Haitham striking the post in a tense finale.

With the scoreline unchanged after 90 minutes, the match headed straight to penalties.

Nigeria were flawless from the spot, converting all four of their kicks through Emmanuel Chukwu, Ayuma, Arierhi, and Maigana.

Egypt faltered under pressure, with Mohamed Atef and Ahmed Kabaka both denied by Nigeria’s 15-year-old goalkeeper, Ebenezer Harcourt, who delivered a heroic performance beyond his years.

The victory not only secured Nigeria’s 14th podium finish in U-20 AFCON history but also extended their strong record against host nations in the tournament, having beaten Egypt on home soil for the second consecutive edition.

Sports

JUST IN: Full Draw For 2026 World Cup Group Stages Confirmed

Published

2 days ago

December 5, 2025

Editor

The draw for the group stage of the 2026 World Cup has been conducted.

It took place at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., with US President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino in charge.

There will be 48 teams at next year’s tournament, to be played across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

All the participating countries were grouped into 12 groups of four.

Here is the full draw:

Group A: Mexico, South Africa, South Korea, Winner Play-off D
Group B: Canada, Winner Play-off A, Qatar, Switzerland
Group C: Brazil, Morocco, Haiti, Scotland
Group D: United States, Paraguay, Australia, Winner Play-off C
Group E: Germany, Curaçao, Ivory Coast, Ecuador
Group F: Netherlands, Japan, Winner Play-off B, Tunisia
Group G: Belgium, Egypt, Iran, New Zealand
Group H: Spain, Cape Verde, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay
Group I: France, Senegal, Winner Play-off 2, Norway
Group J: Argentina, Algeria, Austria, Jordan
Group K: Portugal, Winner Play-off 1, Colombia, Uzbekistan
Group L: England, Croatia, Panama, Ghana

Sports

EPL: Mikel Obi Reveals Why Chelsea Failed To Beat Arsenal in 1-1 Draw

Published

5 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Former Super Eagles midfielder, John Mikel Obi, has claimed Chelsea failed to defeat Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday, because of an early red card to Moises Caicedo.

The two London rivals played out a pulsating 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge.

Caicedo was sent off in the 38th minute following a VAR check.

But it was Chelsea who took the lead after the break, thanks to Trevor Chalobah’s header.

But the Gunners equalized through Mikel Merino.

So far this season, Chelsea have received seven red cards in 20 games across all competitions this season.

“That’s four red cards this season; it’s not good enough. I’ve spoken about it; the manager needs to talk with the players, because it’s costing us games as well,” Mikel Obi said on his podcast.

“If you look at that game, if we finished with eleven men, I think we could’ve won. Maybe not easily, but comfortably, we could’ve secured a win.”

Sports

EPL: Slot Reveals When Salah Will Leave For AFCON

Published

5 days ago

December 2, 2025

Editor

Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, has revealed that Mohamed Salah was “not happy” to be dropped for their 2-0 win at West Ham on Sunday.

Salah was named on the bench at the London Stadium for the Premier League fixture.

Slot took the bold decision, as he looked to arrest a poor run of form, that saw the Reds lose nine of 12 matches.

Salah was not summoned from the bench for the entire 90 minutes, as goals from Alexander Isak and Cody Gakpo sealed victory.

“It was a normal reaction for a player who is good enough to play for us,” Slot said.

“I say that mildly as he’s been so outstanding for this club and will be in the future. He wasn’t happy he wasn’t starting but he wasn’t the only one.”

Salah could yet return to the starting line-up as Liverpool host Sunderland in the Premier League on Wednesday night.

The 33-year-old will remain available for the next four matches, before he leaves to join Egypt’s squad for the African Cup of Nations.

“It’s 15 December,” Slot confirmed.

“But always in these situations there is the player and the national team involved and there are always talks about what is best for all three of us.”