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Bayern Get Away With Shock Loss As Leverkusen Fall To Defeat

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A 10-man Bayern Munich got away with a shock 3-2 home defeat to Bochum on Saturday after title chasers Bayer Leverkusen were beaten 2-0 by Werder Bremen.

Despite the loss, just Bayern’s second of the season, the Bavarians still hold an eight-point lead over defending champions Leverkusen with nine games to play.

Leverkusen’s woes were deepened with an injury to star midfielder Florian Wirtz, who limped off after a rough challenge having played just 14 second-half minutes.

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With an eye on Tuesday’s return leg in the Champions League last 16 against Leverkusen, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany named a heavily changed XI, including leaving striker Harry Kane on the bench.

READ ALSO: Barcelona’s Clash With Osasuna Postponed

Bayern midfielder Raphael Guerreiro’s 14th minute goal, when the Portuguese hammered a loose ball into the net, had Bayern on track before Serge Gnabry missed a 21st-minute penalty.

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With Kane, who has converted his past 30 penalties in a row, sitting on the bench, Gnabry stepped up but hit the ball against the post.

Guerreiro however scored again with a rare header on the 28-minute mark, just three minutes before Bochum’s Jakov Medic pulled one back with an unstoppable rocket.

Ibrahima Sissoko headed Bochum level six minutes into the second half and Matus Bero put the underdogs in front 71 minutes in, going the length of the field to knock in a Philipp Hofmann pass.

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READ ALSO: EPL: Liverpool Come From Behind To Edge Southampton, Go 16 Points Clear

Bochum’s surprise victory, their first win in Munich since 1991, took them three points clear of the automatic relegation placings.

“There are no excuses — we lost,” Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said, adding “even with 10 men, we should at least have the expectation of avoiding defeat.”

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Leverkusen were down after just seven minutes when Romano Schmid tapped in from close range.

With Leverkusen failing to click, coach Xabi Alonso brought Wirtz from the bench at halftime, but the Germany midfielder was brutally fouled eight minutes afterwards and limped from the field and left the arena on crutches.

READ ALSO: UEFA Champions League: Bayern Hopeful Kane Fit For Celtic Clash

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Any injury to Wirtz, the club’s talisman and best player this season, would be a serious blow to Alonso’s side, particularly ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against Bayern, who hold a 3-0 lead from the first leg.

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Alonso said after the match, adding “we don’t have any results yet.”

Bremen’s Mitchell Weiser, who fouled the Germany midfielder, apologised after the match, saying “I hope it’s not that bad — I’m lucky it wasn’t a red card.”

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Borussia Dortmund’s slim chances of reaching the top four took a hit with a 1-0 home loss to Augsburg, with Jeffrey Gouweleeuw’s first half header the only goal in the game.

READ ALSO: 18-yr-old Former Bayern Munich Player Suffers ‘Brain Death’ After Collision

Dortmund were toothless in attack and offered little against an in-form Augsburg, who have conceded just three goals in the league in 2025 — the best mark in Europe.

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Dortmund, last season’s Champions League finalists, sit 10th in the league, seven points off the top four.

Elsewhere, St Pauli scored their first goal in five matches in a 1-1 draw at Wolfsburg, going two points clear of the relegation playoff spot.

Fellow promoted side Holstein Kiel also picked up a point with a hard-fought 2-2 home win over Stuttgart.

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Later on Saturday, Freiburg host RB Leipzig.

AFP

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FIFA U-20 World Cup: Argentina Crush Nigeria 4-0

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Argentina produced a commanding performance to beat Nigeria’s Flying Eagles 4-0 in a knockout-stage match at the U-20 World Cup on Wednesday.

Alejo Sarco opened the scoring after just two minutes, tapping in from a Dylan Gorosito cross.

Maher Carrizo doubled the lead with a superb left-footed free-kick on 23 minutes and added a second shortly after the interval (53′) to make it 3-0.

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Mateo Silvetti capped the scoring with a low finish on 66 minutes, finishing off a move created by Gianluca Prestianni.

The Flying Eagles huffed and puffed but rarely threatened the match rhythm. Daniel Daga saw a close-range effort saved before half-time, and Kparobo Arierhi rattled the post in stoppage time of the first half.

READ ALSO:Nigeria Vs Lesotho: What Super Eagles Must Do To Qualify For 2026 World Cup

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But none of their attacks could find a way past Argentina’s goalkeeper Santino Barbi or break down a disciplined defensive unit.

Meanwhile, Ebenezer Harcourt produced several important saves to limit the damage early on.

Tactical changes came early in the second half as Nigeria’s coach shuffled his pack, introducing Auwal Ibrahim, Abduljelil Kamaldeen, Emmanuel Ekele and Charles Agada in a bid to spark a revival, but Argentina’s control of the midfield and clinical finishing rendered the substitutions ineffective.

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Details later…

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Salah Scores Twice As Egypt Qualify For 2026 World Cup

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Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored twice to help Egypt beat Djibouti 3-0 in Casablanca on Wednesday and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The 33-year-old has now netted nine times in a marathon qualifying campaign that began two years ago, and victory for Egypt gave them an unassailable five-point lead over Burkina Faso in Group A.

Twice African Footballer of the Year, Salah helped Liverpool win the Premier League a record-equalling 20th time last season, and captured the Golden Boot award with 29 goals.

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But the Egypt captain has lost his spark with Liverpool this season, scoring just three goals in nine matches in all competitions.

After Ibrahim Adel put Egypt ahead on eight minutes against opponents 158 places lower in the world rankings, Salah netted six minutes later and again on 84 minutes.

READ ALSO:Nigeria Vs Lesotho: What Super Eagles Must Do To Qualify For 2026 World Cup

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While Egypt have won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times, they have been less successful in the World Cup, qualifying just four times in 15 attempts — in 1934, 1990, 2018 and now 2026.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was among the goals as Ghana trounced the Central African Republic 5-0 in Meknes, and need one point from their final Group I match at home to Comoros to qualify.

Mohammed Salisu, Alexander Djiku, captain Jordan Ayew and Kamaldeen Sulemana were the other scorers for the Black Stars, who led 1-0 at half-time.

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Ghana have 22 points and a vastly superior goal difference than Madagascar, who are three points behind. Mali, seeded to win the group, are out of contention with 15 points.

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Cape Verde came from two goals behind in Tripoli to draw 3-3 with Libya and edge closer to a first World Cup appearance.

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The island nation of about 550,000 inhabitants off the coast of Senegal will clinch first place in Group D if they defeat Eswatini in Praia on Monday.

Known as the Blue Sharks, the Cape Verdeans are two points ahead of Cameroon, who beat Mauritius 2-0 in Saint-Pierre with Manchester United striker Bryan Mbeumo scoring.

Cape Verde have 20 points after nine rounds, two more than Cameroon, the eight World Cup appearances in an African team.

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– Disastrous start –

Roberto Lopes, a defender with Republic of Ireland club Shamrock Rovers, conceded a first-minute own goal as Cape Verde made a disastrous start.

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Telmo Arcanjo levelled for the islanders before goals either side of half-time from Ezoo el Mariamy and Mahmoud al Shalwi gave the Mediterranean Knights a 3-1 lead.

Sidny Cabral reduced the deficit and Willy Semedo equalised on 82 minutes to set up a tense finish as Cape Verde sought a fourth goal and qualification.

A match-winner did not materialise, but they will be expected to beat Eswatini, who remained winless in the group after surrendering a two-goal advantage in a 2-2 draw with Angola in Lobamba.

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READ ALSO:W’Cup Qualifiers: Super Eagles Edge Rwanda 1-0 To Revive Qualification Hopes

Cameroon had to secure maximum points in Mauritius to keep alive their hopes of overtaking Cape Verde, but needed 92 minutes to ensure success.

Dynamo Moscow midfielder Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu put the Indomitable Lions ahead on 57 minutes and Mbeumo struck in added time with his fourth goal of the qualifying campaign.

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Cameroon complete their schedule at home to Angola in Yaounde and must win to have any hope of automatic qualification.

Should Cape Verde come first, Cameroon would hope to finish among the four best-ranked runners-up and qualify for play-offs in November.

READ ALSO:W’Cup Qualifiers: Super Eagles Edge Rwanda 1-0 To Revive Qualification Hopes

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The winners of the African mini-tournament, comprising single-match semi-finals and a final, advance to six-nation inter-continental play-offs next March with two World Cup places up for grabs.

Eswatini looked set to end an eight-match winless run in the mini-league when South Africa-based Justice Figuareido pounced on long passes to score twice in the second half.

Angola, with French coach Patrice Beaumelle in charge for the first time after the sacking of Portuguese Pedro Goncalves, halved the deficit through Jonathan Buatu.

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Then, slack Eswatini marking at a corner enabled Papel Ary to head the equaliser with 10 minutes of regular time remaining.
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Nigeria Vs Lesotho: What Super Eagles Must Do To Qualify For 2026 World Cup

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The Super Eagles of Nigeria face a win-or-bust clash against the Crocodiles of Lesotho on Matchday 9 of the CAF 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Nigeria were handed a lifeline following FIFA’s decision to dock South Africa three points and three goals for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in their qualifier against Lesotho.

The ruling has reshaped the complexion of Group C and reignited Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup. However, while the development favours the Super Eagles, the race to qualify for the World Cup rests on the team getting maximum points in the last two games, and hope South Africa drops points in their fixtures.

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READ ALSO: Group Throws Weight Behind Benin Monarch’s Decision On Iyaloja

After the reshuffle, Benin Republic now tops the group with 14 points and a +4 goal difference. South Africa sit second, also on 14 points but with a +2 goal difference. Nigeria remain third with 11 points and a +2 goal difference, followed closely by Rwanda, who have 11 points and a 0 goal difference.

With two matches left, away to Lesotho and at home to Benin Republic, the path to qualification is narrow but still open. Here’s what Nigeria must do to keep their World Cup dream alive.

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Lesotho, though second-bottom of the group, have proven stubborn opponents. They famously held Nigeria to a 1–1 draw in the reverse fixture at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo, on November 16, 2023.

Nigeria must avoid defeat against Lesotho on Friday, as a loss would automatically end hopes of reaching the World Cup. However, a win, and a convincing one, will keep the team firmly in contention ahead of the decisive final game against Benin Republic, which could ultimately be a winner-takes-all showdown.
(VANGUARD)

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