Sports
NFF Summons Keshi, Others
The Nigeria Football Federation has summoned the Super
Eagles coaching crew led by Stephen Keshi to an emergency meeting.
This, it was
gathered, followed the 1-1 draw with Burkina Faso in their first game of the
ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
Nigeria
took the lead in the 23rd minute through Emmanuel Emenike’s strike, but in what
has become customary, the Super Eagles conceded a last minute goal.
It
was a last minute goal conceded against Guinea in Abuja in October 2011 that
denied Nigeria the qualification for the 2012 Africa Nations Cup. It also cost
Coach Samson Siasia his job.
Before
him, the Super Eagles in their 2010 World Cup qualifying match against Tunisia
also conceded a last minute goal that set qualification back until the last
match day.
Even
in the 2014 World Cup qualifier against Malawi last June in Blantyre, the Super
Eagles again conceded a last minute goal.
Pressure
on Keshi could be increasing by the day, as the team prepares for its next game
against the defending champions, Zambia.
The
NFF seems not to be satisfied with Keshi’s approach to the game, and as a
result summoned Keshi’s coaching crew to the emergency meeting.
“NFF
top shots have summoned Keshi to an emergency meeting here in Nelspruit,’’ a
source revealed.
“The
meeting lasted several hours and the NFF is not happy with the outcome of
Monday’s game,’’ the source added.
Nigeria
will play Zambia on Friday in the next game of the Group in Nelspruit, and an
outright victory is Keshi’s target.
Sports
New Coach Promises Trophies At Barça
Hansi Flick has said that Barcelona’s desire to always win trophies is why he is at the cub during his official unveiling as the club’s new head coach.
The former Bayern Munich and Germany coach signed a two-year deal with the LaLiga giants and said: “Before signing my contract I had a dinner with the president and I felt from the first second that I was arriving at an impressive club.”
“The squad has worked very hard from the first day in training. Each player wants to give 100% to show that they can play. The quality of the 16 or 17 year olds from La Masia is incredible.”
Two of the most recent standout products from Barça’s fabled academy are Lamine Yamal and Ansu Fati, two players who find themselves in very different situations.
On his 17-year-old star man, Flick was complimentary but also had words of warning.
“In the last year he has improved a lot. What he did in the Euros was incredible,” he added.
Sports
Chelsea Will Concede Goals This Season – Coach
Chelsea manager, Enzo Maresca says his side “are going to concede goals this season playing out from the back” after two defensive errors in a 2-2 draw with Wrexham in his first game in charge.
Midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu scored an 82nd-minute equaliser in Santa Clara, California, cancelling out two second-half strikes by the League One side.
A sharp finish in the penalty box from Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring in the 35th minute of Chelsea’s opening friendly on their pre-season tour of the United States.
But Wrexham took a surprise lead after both teams made wholesale changes at half-time with Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott scoring following mistakes.
The defensive errors were part of a weak second-half performance as Chelsea adapt to Maresca’s possession-based approach.
Wrexham impressed – adding to their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth on Saturday in a half-empty Levi’s Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
It is the Welsh club’s second consecutive US pre-season tour, capitalising on their popularity under co-owners, Hollywood actors, Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, with Phil Parkinson’s side preparing for third tier football for the first time since 2005.
Maresca was asked about conceding goals through his playing philosophy, which included more patient build-up from back to front.
Sports
France’s Olympics Come Alive With Les Bleus Victory
The French starting 11 was worth more than $250 million. Their home crowd was stirring, waving flags, chanting “Allez Les Bleus.” Their fearsome front three alone had played more than 300 games in the English Premier League. They entered these 2024 Olympics as the men’s soccer gold medal favourite, and an early candidate to bring the Games to life.
And on Wednesday in Marseille, they did just that, beating the United States 3-0.
For an hour in Marseille, on opening night, a feisty American team stood up to them.
But in the 61st minute of Paris 2024’s first prime-time headliner, Alexandre Lacazette struck, and the Stade Vélodrome erupted. Kids kissed the French Football Federation badges on their shirts. Thousands of blue, white and red flags twirled.
Until that moment, the game had been somewhat dormant. And the Games, more broadly, were still waiting to awake. In Paris, many locals have escaped the craziness of the Olympics. Areas around the River Seine are all but locked down to prepare for today’s opening ceremony. Tuesday and Wednesday, in some ways, felt like normal Parisian nights, sans buzz.
The best cure for all of that was France’s most popular sport, the one that led the media’s front pages on Tuesday in a non-Olympic context, just three days before the official start of the Olympics.
This, of course, was not a full French soccer team. The Games are a mostly under-23 tournament. But it was still a French soccer team. And it was, by Olympic men’s soccer’s JV standards, stacked.
It came from Bayern Munich and Sevilla, RB Leipzig and Crystal Palace, in the German Bundesliga and throughout France’s Ligue 1. There were players valued at 25 million euros stuck on the bench. There were athletes all over the field whom, unlike many Olympians, the French public knows.
And the two biggest stars among them ignited the public. Lacazette, a veteran striker, one of three over-age picks, broke through the United States resistance.
Michael Olise, a 22-year-old creator who recently signed with Bayern, scored the second.
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