Tag: Football - Page 27 - African News Today

Ahmed Musa on the Verge of Joining West Brom

25Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Sports

Ahmed Musa on the Verge of Joining West Brom

Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa is on the verge of joining Premier League club West Bromwich Albion on a short-term deal. Musa has been without a club since departing his former club, Al Nassr in October 2020. Daily Mail reports that English side have requested for a visa for the 28-years-old winger and he is billed for a medical on Wednesday. The Eagles forward’s career has been on a downturn since he left Russian club, CSKA Moscow in 2016. He bagged 55 goals in 167 appearances for the Russian side before he signed for Leicester City in the summer of that year. The Nigerian international who has been capped 95 times struggled to make his mark at the King Power Stadium, as he made just seven league starts in 21 appearances. Musa signed for the Foxes after they had lifted th...

Former Nigerian Goalkeeper, Joe Erico is Dead

22Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Sports

Former Nigerian Goalkeeper, Joe Erico is Dead

Joe Erico, former Nigerian goalkeeper and assistant coach of the Super Eagles has died. Erico, widely known as ‘Jogo Bonito Exponent,’ was the goalkeeper of Electricity Connectors of Nigeria (ECN) and for Green Eagle of Nigeria during his time. He promoted the ‘Jogo Bonito’ – an aesthetic football philosophy that is based on the tip-tap playing pattern similar to that of Brazilian Samba. He introduced the style of play in Nigeria in the 90s’ – while still the coach of Julius Berger FC aka Adewale Bridge boys. Erico alongside late coach Shuaibu Amodu and late Stephen Keshi qualified the Super Eagles for the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup, but they were dismissed before the tournament. The former goalkeeper’s death was confirmed on Thursday morning by the Super Eagles media office...

Nigeria Suffer Defeat in U17 WAFU B Final Despite Late Fightback

19Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Cote d'Ivoire, News, Nigeria, Sports

Nigeria Suffer Defeat in U17 WAFU B Final Despite Late Fightback

Nigeria lost 3-2 to C Côte d’Ivoire in the final of the 2021 WAFU U-17 championship at the Stade Kegue in Lome, Togo on Monday. The who beat Burkina Faso to secure a place in the final and qualification for CAF U17 African cup of Nations failed to clinch the ultimate trophy. The Ivorian side who were unbeaten since the group stages bagged the first goal from a corner kick in the 15th minute. They almost doubled in the 32nd minute, but Eaglets goalkeeper Destiny Umuwahen saved a goal-bound shot from attacker Charles Likpa. The Eaglets came close to equalising in the 42nd minute, but a long-range shot from Christian Nwachukwu sailed over the bar. In the 59th minute, the Baby Elephants doubled their lead through Abdrumane Konate, who tapped in from close range. Seydou Traore...

Ekong Lauds Golden Eaglets After AFCON Qualification

17Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Sports

Ekong Lauds Golden Eaglets After AFCON Qualification

William Troost-Ekong, Super Eagles assistant captain, has congratulated Nigeria’s representatives at the 2021 WAFU B tournament, the Golden Eaglets for reaching the final. The U17 side qualified for the final of the WAFU B U17 tournament and also secured a place at the U17 Afcon in Morocco with a 1-0 win over Burkina Faso on Friday. The team won the match with a strike in the 77th minutes by Michael Emmanuel Papo to book a place in the final. The Fatai Amoo’s side qualified for the Semi-finals of the tournament in Togo thanks to a superior goal difference over Ghana after Cote d’Ivoire beat Ghana in the last match of the group stage. Ekong took to his social media handle immediately after the match to congratulate the team. He wrote, “Well done boys! Keep making us proud! Ne...

WAFU B Tourney: Golden Eaglets Tackle Burkina Faso For Final Ticket

15Jan

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

Africa, Nigeria, Sports, Youths

WAFU B Tourney: Golden Eaglets Tackle Burkina Faso For Final Ticket

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets will take on Burkina Faso on Friday (today) in the semi-final of the WAFU B tournament at the Stade De Kegue, Lome. Fatai Amoo’s side came second in Group B behind Cote d’l voire who did them a big favour by edging out Ghana 3-1 on Tuesday. The Eaglets started the competition with a 1-0 loss to the Ivorians before battling to a 1-1 draw against perenial rivals Ghana. Burkina Faso on the other hand thrashed Benin Republic 5-1 in their opening game and played a 0-0 draw against Niger in their second Group A fixture. With the Eaglets scoring once in two games and wasting a number of chances coach Amoo hopes his side will discover their scoring boots this time around. “They (Burkinan Faso) are one of the favourites from what I saw of them. T...

Iwobi Ends 15-month EPL Barren Spell For Everton

14Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

English Premiership, News, Nigeria, Sports

Iwobi Ends 15-month EPL Barren Spell For Everton

Super Eagles forward, Alex Iwobi ended his barren spell in front of goal in the premier league when he scored in Everton’s win over Wolves o Tuesday. The Nigerian scored the opening goal as Everton got the better of Wolverhampton Wanderers, winning 2-1 at the Molineux to maintain good standing in the Premier League. The goal marked his first in the Premier League since September 2019 and also his second goal in 19 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees this season. He scored with just 6 minutes into the match after he latched on to Lucas Digne’s low cross and fire past Rui Patricio in goal for Wolverhampton. However, the lead was cut short after 9 minutes, as Wolves hit back through Ruben Neves who volleyed home from Pedro Neto’s cross. Everton kept searching and go...

U-17 WAFU Zone B: Golden Eaglets Qualify For Semi-finals

13Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, News, Nigeria, Sports

U-17 WAFU Zone B: Golden Eaglets Qualify For Semi-finals

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria have secured a semi-finals qualification at the U-17 WAFU Zone B qualifiers in Lome, Togo. The Nigerian team, coached by Fatai Amoo qualified for the next round after Cote d’Ivoire beat Ghana 3-1 in their second Group B game on Tuesday. The Eaglets earlier lost 1-0 to Cote d’Ivoire in their first game before playing out a 1-1 draw with Ghana in their second match. With the results, Nigeria needed Cote d’Ivoire to beat Ghana by a wider goal margin before the Eaglets could progress to the last four. Cote d’Ivoire finished the group as winners while the Nigerian side trailed as second with one point. Nigeria advanced to the semi-finals despite having a point each with Ghana due to superior goals difference. The Eaglets scored a greater number of go...

I Will Continue Applying For Jobs With Nigeria’s National Teams – Finidi

12Jan

By Chinedu IbeakanmaNo Comments

Nigeria, Sports, Youths

I Will Continue Applying For Jobs With Nigeria’s National Teams – Finidi

Former Super Eagles winger Finidi George insists he will continue to apply for jobs with Nigeria’s national teams despite being overlooked twice. Finidi has failed to get the nod for the U-17 job twice. “I’m very disappointed but I understand the Nigerian system quite well,” Finidi told BBC Sport Africa. “It’s a matter of having the patience. So I’m open continue to improve myself with the hope of getting a chance to coach one of the country’s youth teams. “When you have the right qualifications, attitude and professionalism, you can only aim for the best and it may even be a chance with the senior side, the Super Eagles, we shall see.” George is not only continuing his search for a coaching role but is also keen to continue improving himself as he splits his time ...

Osimhen Returns Second COVID-19 Positive Result After Fresh Test

12Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

Covid-19, News, Nigeria, Sports

Osimhen Returns Second COVID-19 Positive Result After Fresh Test

Nigerian striker, Victor Osimhen has returned a second COVID-19 positive result after a new coronavirus test was conducted on him on Monday, Napoli confirmed. The Italian side disclosed this on their official Twitter handle. The 22-year-old Nigerian who was a record-signing for the Italian giants first tested positive for COvID-19 upon return to the club on New Year’s Day, after he had spent time in Nigeria, where he allegedly attended a birthday party and contravened COVID-19 safety protocols. Osimhen was captured on camera dancing without a facemask, while his guests also breached COVID-19 protocols, which elicited condemnation from Napoli coach, Gennaro Gattuso and the club’s fans. However, the Nigerian remains positive after spending 10 days in isolation. Napoli wrote o...

Enyimba Dumped Out of CAF champions League

7Jan

By Obiajulu Joel NwoluNo Comments

News, Nigeria, Sports

Enyimba Dumped Out of CAF champions League

Nigeria’s sole representative at the CAF Champions League, Enyinma have crashed out of the competition despite securing a 2-1 victory over Sudanese opponents, El Merrikh, in the second leg of their playoff on Wednesday. The Aba side failed in their quest to overturn the 3-0 defeat suffered in the first leg in Sudan two weeks ago despite rallying to a 2-1 victory. The team managed by Fatai Osho has not been enjoying the best of times in front of goal in recent weeks and failed to score more goals that could secure their qualification against El Merreikh at the Abab Stadium on Wednesday. The two-time African champions were beaten on 4-2 goal aggregate. Enyimba made the tie more difficult than it already was by conceding an early goal which meant they needed to score five goals wi...