Category: Sports

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Nwabali posts cryptic message amid Eagles controversy

Super Eagles goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali has posted a cryptic message on Instagram days after tense on-field clashes with teammates during Nigeria’s 4-0 win over Benin Republic as Maduka Okoye returns from his two-month suspension, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Chippa United stopper wrote on his Instagram story on Friday, “I never fake care anyone. What I give, I give from my heart. Choose a good heart. People change so fast…King VO9.”

The post comes just days after Nwabali was involved in flash incidents with his own teammates during the World Cup qualifier in Uyo.

First, he pushed Wilfred Ndidi, who tried to calm him down after he confronted a Benin player. At half-time, as the players trudged off the pitch, he was seen arguing with Calvin Bassey.

Victor Osimhen scored a hat-trick as the three-time African champions secured their place in the continental playoffs, but there were criticisms aimed at Nwabali and some of his antics, especially after his mistakes in a 2-1 win over Lesotho last week.

While a lot of observers called for Nwabali to be dropped, head coach Eric Chelle kept faith with him for the Benin game.

The goalkeeper’s cryptic message has sparked speculation about possible tensions within the squad, though the reference to “King VO9” suggests the post may have been supportive of Osimhen rather than critical.

Nwabali has faced scrutiny in recent months, with his form becoming increasingly erratic. Flashes of his AFCON-era composure have been replaced by inconsistency and avoidable confrontations.

His judgment in high-pressure moments has often been questioned, and several on-field outbursts have only added to concerns about his temperament, though referees’ leniency has spared him disciplinary action.

The 28-year-old tragically lost both parents within a two-month span earlier this year, and he may still be dealing with the emotional toll of those losses.

Meanwhile, Okoye is poised to make his long-awaited return to the Udinese squad after serving a two-month suspension for betting-related offences.

The Düsseldorf-born goalkeeper, who had established himself as a reliable figure in Friuli before his ban, is now being backed to bounce back stronger as the Serie A side resume domestic duties.

Okoye’s return to club action inevitably raises questions about Nigeria’s goalkeeping situation ahead of the crucial World Cup playoff matches in November.

The 25-year-old could offer a calming presence that the Super Eagles have lacked in recent outings. His display against Russia in June, in what was a very intimidating atmosphere inside the Luzhniki Stadium, was a testament to his ability under pressure.

However, Nigeria can ill afford disruption ahead of November’s World Cup playoff semi-final against Gabon. Any shift in the goalkeeping hierarchy would risk unsettling a squad already chasing stability.

The more logical window for such a reassessment would be December’s pre-AFCON camp, when Chelle and his staff will have ample time to evaluate both men closely before making a definitive call. (Punch)

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Djokovic withdraws from Paris Masters after quitting exhibition with an injury

Novak Djokovic is withdrawing from next week’s Paris Masters, he announced on social media on Tuesday, just days after he stopped playing in an exhibition event because of a leg injury.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has competed infrequently this season, appearing in only eight ATP Tour events outside of the four majors.

Djokovic, who is 38, reached the semifinals at the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open this season. From late May to late September, the only tournaments he entered were those last three Slams.

At his most recent official tournament, the Shanghai Masters, Djokovic was slowed by a sore hip during a semifinal exit.

He was one of the half-dozen men invited to the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia last week. After an opening bye, Djokovic lost to Jannik Sinner, then faced Taylor Fritz to determine the third-place finisher but stopped playing after one set.

The ATP Finals, which Djokovic qualified for but skipped in 2024, are Nov 9-16 in Turin, Italy. (JapanToday)

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Ronaldo scores 949th career goal as Al Nassr thrash Al Fateh 5-1

Cristiano Ronaldo continued his astonishing goalscoring form on Saturday, netting his 949th career goal as Al Nassr cruised to a 5–1 victory over Al Fateh in the Saudi Pro League.

The Portuguese scored a stunner in the 60th minute, less than a minute after losing a spot kick.

Joao Felix also bagged another hat-trick as Kingsley Coman scored in the second half to take the table-toppers four points clear on the Saudi Pro League summit.

PUNCH Online had reported that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner is on the verge of achieving a milestone no male footballer has ever reached: 1,000 career goals.Al Nassr’s next game is on Wednesday against Goa in the AFC Cup. (Punch)

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PSG hit seven, Barcelona, Arsenal run riot as Champions League rains goals

Paris Saint-Germain scored seven and both Barcelona and PSV Eindhoven hit six in big victories while Arsenal crushed Atletico Madrid 4-0 on a prolific night of Champions League action on Tuesday.

Erling Haaland was among the scorers in Manchester City’s 2-0 win at Villarreal as a total of 43 goals rained down across nine games.

However, it was champions PSG who stole the show with their 7-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

Desire Doue scored twice in between goals by Willian Pacho and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia for PSG in a first half which saw Alejandro Grimaldo miss a penalty and Aleix Garcia net from the spot for Leverkusen.

Both sides had a man sent off in the opening period, with Robert Andrich seeing red for Leverkusen and Illia Zabarnyi walking for the visitors.

Nuno Mendes got the French side’s fifth goal shortly after the break and Garcia pulled it back to 5-2.

Ousmane Dembele, on his return from injury and first appearance since winning the Ballon d’Or, got PSG’s sixth and Vitinha completed the scoring at the death.

“I am not yet at 100 percent. I wanted to play at the weekend and the coach told me to wait a bit, but I felt great,” Dembele told broadcaster Canal Plus.

It is the first time PSG have scored seven goals away from home in a Champions League game, and they are top of the standings after three outings in the league phase, with a maximum nine points and the best goal difference.

Inter Milan and Arsenal are the other teams with a 100 percent record after three outings, with the Italians easing to a 4-0 victory at Union Saint-Gilloise in Brussels.

Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez both netted late in the first half before Hakan Calhanoglu added a penalty soon after the restart and Pio Esposito completed the scoring.

Meanwhile Premier League leaders Arsenal hammered Atletico at the Emirates Stadium, as Mikel Arteta’s side made it three straight wins all with clean sheets in Europe this season.

All the goals came in the second half, with Gabriel putting them ahead and Gabriel Martinelli getting the second before Viktor Gyokeres struck twice to end a run of seven club appearances without finding the net.

“Hopefully it’s the start of some beautiful sequence now,” said Arteta of the Sweden striker.

Haaland put City ahead against Villarreal in Spain and Bernardo Silva got their second goal before half-time as Pep Guardiola’s team moved on to seven points from three outings.

Norway superstar Haaland kept up his remarkable record in front of goal this season and he has now found the net 15 times in 11 appearances for City in all competitions.

“I see that things are looking good, we are playing a little bit better day after day and that’s a good sign,” Guardiola told broadcaster Movistar.

Felix Nmecha hit a brace as Borussia Dortmund won 4-2 away to FC Copenhagen, with Ramy Bensebaini converting a penalty and Fabio Silva also scoring.

Waldemar Anton’s own goal had brought the Danes back level at one point in the first half, while Viktor Dadason got their other goal late on. They are yet to win in the league phase.

Beaten at home by PSG last time out, Barcelona bounced back to thump Olympiacos 6-1 at Montjuic as Fermin Lopez starred with a hat-trick.

Lamine Yamal got his name on the scoresheet with a penalty and Marcus Rashford scored twice, with Ayoub El Kaabi’s spot-kick scant consolation for the Greeks.

Newcastle United got their second straight win in the competition by easing to a 3-0 victory against Benfica at St James’ Park.

Anthony Gordon got the opener and Harvey Barnes emerged from the bench to score twice in the second half, leaving Jose Mourinho’s Benfica as the only team to have no points having played three games.

PSV claimed a stunning 6-2 home win against Italian champions Napoli, despite Scott McTominay giving the visitors the lead in the first half.

An Alessandro Buongiorno own goal restored parity and Ismael Saibari put PSV ahead before Dennis Man scored twice and both Ricardo Pepi and Couhaib Driouech also found the net.

McTominay pulled another one back for Napoli, who had Lorenzo Lucca sent off.

The night’s other game ended in a 0-0 draw between rank outsiders Kairat Almaty and Pafos of Cyprus in Kazakhstan. (JapanToday)

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Gusau: Super Eagles will qualify for World Cup ticket

NFF president Ibrahim Gusau has expressed confidence Nigeria will qualify for the 2026 World Cup via the Playoffs, while also backing Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle.

On Tuesday, the Super Eagles kept World Cup hopes alive when they qualified for the continental Playoffs next month in Morocco, where they will battle Gabon, DR Congo and Cameroon for a ticket to next year’s Intercontinental Playoffs in Mexico to produce two more qualifiers for the Mundial.

“We have started preparations (World Cup Playoffs), but the most important thing is the commitment and zeal of the players,” Gusau said while expressing his confidence in Nigeria featuring at next year’s World Cup.

“They have now realised that going to the World Cup is important to their careers, more than even how Nigerians look at it.

“We are getting all the cooperation we need for the government to ensure we are ready for the Playoffs and I know we will move on to the Intercontinental Playoffs.”

He said coach Eric Chelle has justified his appointment as Super Eagles coach by winning four of six World Cup qualifiers.

“Had we had a little resemblance of that record, we would not have been where we are today,” he said. (Nation)

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Postecoglou fired; Haaland scores 2 more for Man City and Arsenal profits again from a corner

Around 20 minutes.

That’s how long it took Nottingham Forest to fire manager Ange Postecoglou after losing to Chelsea 3-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.

As for Erling Haaland, he did his damage in a devastating five-minute spell in the second half, scoring twice more for Manchester City in its 2-0 win over Everton to move to 11 goals in eight league games.

City jumped to second place and was three points behind Arsenal, a 1-0 winner at Fulham thanks to another set-piece goal.

Postecoglou was removed after just 39 days in charge of Forest, which didn’t win any of its eight matches under the Australian after he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo on Sept. 9.

In a terse 39-word statement issued while the City Ground was emptying following the defeat to Chelsea, Forest said Postecoglou was “relieved of his duties as head coach with immediate effect” after “a series of disappointing results and performances.”

British media had already been linking former Burnley and Everton manager Sean Dyche with the beleaguered Postecoglou’s job. On Saturday, The Athletic reported that former Man City and Italy coach Roberto Mancini has been contacted by Forest.

Goals early in the second half by Josh Acheampong and Pedro Neto, and another by Reece James in the 84th minute, earned Chelsea a victory that prompted loud jeers inside the City Ground at fulltime and signaled the end for Postecoglou.

Postecoglou had been in defiant mood in recent weeks, even delivering a five-minute monologue on Friday in which he rejected talk that he was a “failed manager” and promised to win a trophy at Forest — just like he did at Tottenham last season before being fired.

However, Forest lost six and drew the other two of its eight games under Postecoglou. That included four losses from five in the league, scoring just one goal in the process, to leave Forest rooted in the bottom three.

Malo Gusto became the fifth Chelsea player to be sent off this season after collecting a second yellow card in the 87th.

Haaland has 23 goals in 13 games for club and country this season, having just come off a hat trick for Norway against Israel in a World Cup qualifier last week.

The striker has said he is in the best form of his career and it seemed inevitable he would make no mistake when Nico O’Reilly teed up a cross from the left in the 58th. Haaland leapt high and buried his header.

Five minutes later, Haaland peeled away from his marker in the box and met a cut-back from Savinho with a shot that went through the legs of defender James Tarkowski and past the unsighted Jordan Pickford in goal.

“He’s our key man, what can I say?” City manager Pep Guardiola said. “But at the same time, we cannot rely and do good things just with Erling.

“So our wingers, attacking midfielders and our other players have to make a step up.”

Jack Grealish wasn’t able to play for Everton under the terms of his loan move from City.

Make that 37 goals Arsenal has scored from corners since the start of the 2023-24 season.

The league leader’s 58th-minute winner at Fulham came from a familiar source, as Bukayo Saka swung in the corner, Gabriel Magalhaes flicked it on and Leandro Trossard converted at the back post.

It was a sixth win in eight games for Arsenal, which is seeking a first league championship since 2004 after being runner-up in the last three campaigns.

Fresh off his debut for France, Jean-Philippe Mateta scored a hat trick — including an equalizer from the penalty spot in the seventh minute of stoppage time — in a breathless 3-3 draw against Bournemouth.

Nick Woltemade’s latest goal for Newcastle — a deft flick between his legs into the corner — proved to be in vain in a 2-1 loss at Brighton, which had a goal in each half from Danny Welbeck.

Burnley beat Leeds 2-0 and Sunderland won at home to Wolverhampton 2-0. (JapanToday)

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Verstappen wins U.S. Grand Prix; McLaren’s Norris pulls closer to teammate Piastri in F1 title hunt


Red Bull’s Max Verstappen continued his late-season charge with a victory Sunday at the Formula 1 United States Grand Prix, while McLaren’s Lando Norris took a huge chunk out of teammate Oscar Piastri’s championship lead by finishing second.

Piastri was a distant fifth, which allowed Norris to pull within 14 points with five grand prix and two sprint races to go.

Verstappen, who got his third victory in four races, is also closing fast and now trails Piastri by 40 points in third.

Piastri and Norris are chasing their first career drivers championship. Verstappen is hunting his fifth in a row, and his dominant form of late has given him a real chance to get it. He also won Saturday’s sprint race after the two McLarens ran into each other on the first turn and crashed out.

Norris’ late pass of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for second earned him a crucial position as he chases Piastri and hopes to hold off Verstappen over the final stretch of the season.

Verstappen started on the pole Sunday and was never challenged for the lead. He built a 10-second lead by the halfway point as Norris and Leclerc drove a furious battle for second.

Piastri’s day never got going. He started sixth and quickly made up a spot in the first few corners but was stuck there for the rest of the race.

Piastri’s lead is rapidly shrinking under pressure. He hasn’t won since the Dutch Grand Prix on Aug 31 and hasn’t finished on the podium the last three races. Piastri started the race with a 22-point lead over Norris and 55 points over Verstappen.

The series next heads to Mexico City, where Verstappen has five career victories at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez. (JapanToday)

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Manchester United beats Liverpool 2-1 with Maguire’s late goal in big boost for Amorim

After nine painful years, and at the 11th time of asking, Manchester United ended its Anfield hoodoo with a 2-1 win against Premier League defending champion Liverpool on Sunday.

Harry Maguire’s header in the 84th minute sealed one of United’s most significant wins under coach Ruben Amorim and consigned Liverpool to a fourth straight defeat in all competitions.

The frustration of so many miserable experiences on Merseyside appeared to pour out of Maguire as the defender celebrated in front of United’s traveling fans.

“It means everything. They’ve had the better of us over the last few years and we know that and it hasn’t been good enough for our club,” Maguire said. “The old cliche is that it is only three points, but it definitely isn’t. It means a lot more than that for the club, the boys and the fans.”

Maguire’s goal came late in another frenetic and thrilling match involving Liverpool in a season of dramatic finales for Arne Slot’s team.

That’s three league games in a row in which Liverpool has been beaten by a goal scored in the last 10 minutes of regulation time or beyond. Before that, it had scraped to late wins of its own in six of the first seven games.

So while Maguire’s headed goal maintained the losing trend, perhaps the biggest surprise was that there wasn’t another twist in the tale.

There might have been when Cody Gakpo headed wide with an open goal to aim at and the fourth official indicated there would be eight minutes of added time.

The Dutch forward had already got Liverpool back on level terms in the 78th – poking in from close range after Bryan Mbeumo had fired United ahead inside two minutes.

United’s last win at Anfield came back in 2016 when Wayne Rooney scored the only goal of the match. Since then there have been some humiliating defeats, notably the 7-0 rout in 2023 and a 4-0 loss a year earlier.

Not only has Amorim ended that bitter run, but he also collected back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since taking over at United last November.

The Portuguese coach has been under increasing pressure, with speculation mounting over his position after a troubled start to his first full season in charge. While United is ninth in the standings, it is only two points off the top four and such a morale-boosting performance could finally prove a turning point for Amorim.

Defeat for Liverpool raises more doubts about its wobbling title defense, leaving it fourth and four points behind leader Arsenal.

That is not an insurmountable gap but the run of four straight defeats extends what was already Slot’s worst run as Liverpool coach and further highlights weaknesses in his team.

Liverpool has only kept two clean sheets in 12 games in all competitions this season and a creaking defense continues to be breached late on in games.

In attack, Mohamed Salah’s only goal in his last seven league games was a penalty against Burnley, while British record signing Alexander Isak has only scored one goal in seven appearances since joining from Newcastle.

“We have to stick together. Not just as players but the fans and everyone,” said Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk. “First and foremost we have to stay humble, and stay working. We need to keep our confidence high and stay very calm.”

Emi Buendia’s curling shot sealed a 2-1 comeback win for Aston Villa against Tottenham.

The victory continued Villa’s resurgence after a desperate start to the season and denied Spurs the chance to provisionally move up to second in the standings.

Buendia shimmied his way across the edge of the box in the 77th minute at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before sweeping a perfect shot low into the bottom corner.

It was Villa’s fifth-straight win in all competitions after failing to pick up a victory in its first six games of the campaign.

It ended Spurs’ seven-game unbeaten run that looked set to continue when Rodrigo Bentancur fired the home team ahead after just five minutes.

Morgan Rogers leveled the game in the 37th before Villa went on to take all three points and consign Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to his second league loss since taking over in the summer. (JapanToday)

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FIFA hopes 2026 World Cup cities will be ready despite Trump’s remarks

FIFA said on Wednesday it hoped all 16 host cities would be “ready” to stage games at the 2026 World Cup finals after US President Donald Trump suggested matches could be moved for security reasons.

“We hope every one of our 16 host cities will be ready to successfully host and fulfil all requirements,” a FIFA spokesperson said.

“Safety and security are the top priorities at all FIFA events worldwide.”

The spokesperson, however, added that, “Safety and security are obviously the government’s responsibility, and they decide what is in the best interest for public safety.”

Trump said Tuesday that FIFA president Gianni Infantino would support moving World Cup games from US cities if necessary.

In September, Trump raised the possibility of moving matches amid his crackdown on Democratic-run cities.

“If somebody is doing a bad job and if I feel there’s unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the head of FIFA, who’s phenomenal, and I would say, let’s move it to another location. And he would do that,” Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if games could be moved from Boston, one of the host cities.

“Very easily he would do it,” Trump added.

The US president suggested that, if necessary, events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics could also be moved.

Republican Trump’s administration has deployed national guard troops to Democratic-run US cities this year over the objections of local and state leaders, saying they are needed to counter crime and left-wing activism.

Boston is scheduled to host seven games at next year’s World Cup. San Francisco and Seattle are both hosting six matches each at the tournament while Los Angeles is hosting eight.

The United States is staging the World Cup jointly with Mexico and Canada, but will be hosting the bulk of the games in the tournament, which has been expanded to include 48 teams.

Eleven of the 16 host cities are in the United States for the June 11 to July 19 tournament.

Trump earlier this year appointed himself as chairman of a White House task force for the World Cup. (Punch)

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Super Eagles set for Gabon clash in World Cup play-offs

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will square off against Gabon in the semi-finals of the African zone play-offs for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, following the conclusion of the group stage on Tuesday.

The three-time African champions stormed into the play-offs with an emphatic 4–0 thrashing of Benin Republic, sealing second place in their qualifying group. Gabon also booked their spot after a 2–0 win over Burundi, aided by Ivory Coast’s victory against Kenya, which left the Panthers in second place in Group F.

Elsewhere, DR Congo edged Sudan 1–0 to finish runners-up to Senegal in Group B, while Cameroon clinched second place in Group D behind Cape Verde, rounding out the four best runners-up heading to the play-offs.

The mini-tournament will be held in Morocco from November 13 to 16, featuring Nigeria, Gabon, Cameroon, and DR Congo. The format will see the two semi-final winners face off in a single-leg final for a ticket to the inter-confederation play-offs in March 2026, where one African team will have a final shot at qualifying for the World Cup in Canada, Mexico, and the United States.

According to the seeding arrangement, Nigeria—projected to remain Africa’s highest-ranked team among the four when FIFA releases its updated rankings on October 23—will face Gabon, the lowest-ranked side of the quartet. Cameroon and DR Congo will meet in the other semi-final.

Both semi-finals are scheduled for November 13, with the final taking place three days later. All matches will be single-leg encounters, with extra time and penalties to decide the outcome if necessary.

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) is expected to confirm the host cities and venues in the coming days.

While Africa’s nine group winners have already secured direct qualification for next year’s expanded 48-team World Cup, the play-offs offer the continent one more pathway to add an extra representative via the inter-continental route. (Vanguard)