Category: ⚽Supers Sport

Super Eagles have again dropped from fourth to fifth in Group C of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers without kicking a ball after Lesotho shocked Zimbabwe 2-0 away from home in their third game of the group on Friday.

Two first-half goals from Rethabile Rasethuntsa and Jane Thaba Ntso did the job for Lesotho as they temporarily moved from fifth to the top of the table with five points.

Rasethuntsa opened scoring in the 21st and the second came 10 minutes later from Ntso. It was the first win for Lesotho in the series which began on a promising note for them with a 1-1 draw against Nigeria in Uyo last November.

Nigeria will have the chance to topple Lesotho this evening when they take on bitter rivals South Africa in their third game of the series at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo by 8 pm.

The Eagles must, however, win by two goals at least, to stand a chance of leapfrogging Lesotho ahead of their next game against Benin Republic on Monday.

Benin had also beaten Rwanda 1-0 for their first win of the series on Thursday to move to third in the group.

A win for Nigeria against Bafana Bafana will take them to five points, level on points with Lesotho.

After facing Bafana today, the Eagles have another tricky test against the Squirrels in Ivory Coast on Monday while South Africa will play Zimbabwe.

Manchester United (Man United) on Wednesday, announced that seven players have left the Premier League club.

They include Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane, who departed at the end of their contracts.

United released their retained list to confirm the future of certain players.

Martial and Varane already bid an emotional farewell to Old Trafford on the penultimate match of the season.

Joining them out of the exit door is academy graduate Brandon Williams. The defender spent last season on loan with Ipswich.

Fellow academy graduates Charlie McNeill, Marcus Lawrence and Kie Plumley are all set to leave.

Veteran midfielder, Tom Huddlestone, is also leaving. The 37-year-old moved to Old Trafford in August 2022 to act as a player-coach for the Red Devils’ U-21 side.

Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton are in talks over possible new contracts.

Napoli on Wednesday morning appointed former Chelsea boss, Antonio Conte as their new manager.

Conte signed a contract with the Serie A side that will see him remain at the club until June 30, 2027.

Reacting, Napoli president, Aurelio De Laurentiis said, “I’m so proud that Antonio Conte is Napoli’s new coach.

“Antonio is a top coach and a leader, so I’m convinced that we will be able to rebuild the foundations in the way that we need to follow the conclusion of the cycle that led us to Scudetto glory last year after many years at the top of Italian football.”

Conte had coached the likes of Chelsea, Juventus and Tottenham Hotspur in the past.

On his part, Conte said:

“Napoli is a club of huge importance on the international stage.

Popular club, Barcelona president, Joan Laporta has said that France international star, Kylian Mbappe’s decision to join arch rivals, Real Madrid is “not good news.”

Los Blancos have confirmed that the former Parus Saint Germain, PSG forward will be joining the club as a free agent this summer.

During a recent interview, Laporta said:

“As a Barça fan, it’s not good news to see Mbappé to Real Madrid.

“But to be honest, I prefer our strategy to trust a project with players produced and made in La Masia. I respect our rivals but I keep our Philosophy.”

Recall that,

Barcelona president, Joan Laporta, has said the club is in the market for a winger and a midfielder.

Laporta was responding to links with Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich and Martin Zubimendi of Real Sociedad.

He insisted Barca are not planning to bring in big names this summer.

“I don’t think we will go for big names, as well, we don’t plan to sell our stars.

“We’re looking for a new winger and a new midfielder.

“We also have our own talents who could cover those positions,” Laporta said.

 

 

Famous club, Barcelona have sacked manager Xavi with former Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick set to replace him.

Xavi will take charge of Barcelona for the final time on Sunday, when they host Sevilla in their last La Liga match of the season.

The 44-year-old, who had been contracted until 2025, was informed of the club’s decision during a meeting with club president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco on Friday.

Former Spain midfielder Xavi announced in January that he would leave the Camp Nou, but he was persuaded to stay by Laporta in April.

But recent comments from Xavi, in which he opened up about the club’s financial struggles, are said to have angered Laporta.

Barcelona said they would like to “thank Xavi for his work as a coach” since taking charge in 2021.

Former heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, has sent a chilling warning to potential next opponent, Daniel Dubois, as both fighters are in talks for a Wembley showdown, The PUNCH reports.

Dubois won the interim IBF heavyweight title last weekend with a stunning eighth-round TKO victory over the previously undefeated Filip Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia.

SunSport reports that Joshua and Dubois are now in talks over a huge domestic dust-up at Wembley on either September 20 or 21.

Joshua, 34, was ringside for the biggest victory of Dubois’ career but has warned him he’ll suffer another setback in his world title hopes when they throw down.

Taking to Instagram to share a photo of himself watching the fight, Joshua wrote, “The hardest part about my job is realising you have to ruin someone else’s dream to achieve yours.”

Dubois, 26, suffered heartache in his first crack at heavyweight gold against undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk last August and he’s vowed to demolish Joshua on his way to a second crack at a world title.

He said, “That’s what I’ve been hearing (that Joshua could be next), so let’s see. (Being world champion) is a dream.

“From challenging for the world title to getting the chance to win the damn thing outright, that’s what I want. I’ll demolish Joshua. I’ll get even better from here.”

Joshua has rediscovered himself with four wins on the bounce, the most recent being his brutal second-round KO of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou.

However, he’s refusing to overlook Dubois, who bounced back from his TKO loss to Usyk with successive stoppages of Jarrell Miller and Hrgovic.

The former two-time unified heavyweight champion said, “I’ve got to pick them off one by one.

“It’s not going to be easy, but that’s my mentality. So come one, come all… He (Dubois) has been in tougher fights, so he becomes hardened.

“He has worked his way up the ladder, we’ll see what happens in the near future. Wembley, O2, York Hall – wherever they put me, I’m happy to fight. Any venue, I’ll turn up and do my job.”