Sports
WAFCON Defeat: Morocco Won, Nigeria Stole Our Hearts -Football Fans
Supporters across Africa have joined to praise Nigeria’s Super Falcons despite losing 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regular and extra-time to hosts Morocco in the semi-finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.
The Super Falcons’ journey was ended at the Complexe Sportif Prince Moulay-Abdellah in Rabat when striker Ifeoma Onumonu missed the decisive kick after the Atlas Lionesses goalkeeper Khadujah Er-Rmichi guessed right to save her effort.
This was after Nigeria had played the last 30 minutes of the thrilling game plus extra-time with nine players, after Halimatu Ayinde and Rasheedat Ajibade were red carded in the 48th and 70th minutes, respectively.
Fans have taken to social media to commend Nigeria’s gallant fight, insisting the Super Falcons were robbed by the match officials and deserved to reach the final.
“Morocco won but Nigeria won our heart,” said Evakeys Denis Yaah while reacting to a post on a Facebook page, while Ayomide Ojo wrote: “The girls gave their all,” adding: “If this Moroccan team were any good, they should have won playing against nine for 50 minutes.
“Final or no final, the Super Falcons are the best team in African women’s football.”
“It was an incredible run from the Super Falcons,” said Temi Dayo accompanying his comment with the fire emojis. “They are wonderful, they are massive, they are passionate, they are the best in Africa.”
Ayotollah Ruhullah Muhammad Ali said: “Nigeria tried, despite all odds and managed to reach that level. Moroccans were actually not bad players and they were lucky,” while T Daniel Flames opined: “Nigeria women holding on with two players down is something rare you will see… they deserve to win but penalties cannot be predicted.”
Akintade Ayobams praised the Super Falcons and compared them to their men’s counterpart, the Super Eagles: “We were down to nine women,” started Ayobams adding: “In fact these Nigerian girls should be called the Super Eagles while the boys should be called Falcons.”
He went further to explain his thinking behind the name change: “If the Super Eagles are down to 10 men, they start giving up.”
Meanwhile, another set of supporters blamed Nigeria’s defeat to poor officiating and bias from African body CAF towards the host nation.
“It explains why Africans hardly go far in world tournaments,” stated Catier Ishaya Paul, adding: “You always see some favours given to the host team for the huge amount they spend to host the competition but it’s a disgrace to see it become so obvious in the field of play… truthfully Nigeria was a better team tonight.”
Udeme Sato wrote: “For what just happened to the Nigeria team tonight [Monday], it’s obvious that Africa football will never get better till God comes.
“It is so shameful.”
“This is really painful… God punish Caf officials and that referee,” wrote Darius Dunamis, while Ejikeme Igwe opined: “Nigeria robbed! Zambia robbed! CAF is fixing her competitions.”
Augustine Kapembwa wrapped up the debate: “African football is a disgrace, it’s like these matches are decided by Caf and referees, from the inception they know whom they want to win the competition, poor officiating and that’s why these teams won’t perform well at World Cup because everything is compromised.”
Nigeria will face Zambia in the third place play-off while Morocco will take on South Africa in the final with both teams looking to clinch the title for the first time.
…Zambia call for replay of semi-final after VAR penalty (2)
Zambia’s football association (Faz) has requested a replay of its Women’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against South Africa, citing complaints about refereeing decisions.
The Copper Queens were beaten 1-0 on Monday after Linda Motlhalo converted a contentious 94th-minute penalty, which was awarded following a video assistant referee (VAR) check.
Ethiopian referee Lidya Tafesse consulted her pitchside monitor and decided that Martha Tembo had fouled Jermaine Seoposenwe.
Zambia coach Bruce Mwape queried the purpose of VAR after the match, while the country’s President Hakainde Hichilema said it was a questionable penalty.
Faz has lodged an official complaint with Wafcon organisers the Confederation of African Football, highlighting six key incidences as grounds for a replay.
“We wish to contest the decision of the referee to award such a penalty as we call for a serious review of the game,” Faz’s letter of appeal said.
“We call for the penalty to be cancelled, that a replay be ordered and that the referee be barred from handling any [further] games.”
Faz general secretary Adrian Kashala added that Zambia had also “noted with great concern the poor officiating that characterised the tournament”.
Mwape was very disappointed with the way the penalty was given and that the VAR decision was harsh on his frustrated players.
“In the future, people will start saying it will be pointless to have referees if the cameras can decide,” he told Tidesports source.
“They should just be firm, because it’s high time the referees improved in terms of officiating games.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was also critical of the officiating as the Super Falcons had two players sent off, both after the intervention of VAR in their last-four defeat on penalties by Morocco.
“The officiating was not really OK,” she said.
Nnadozie also claimed Moroccan fans did everything to distract her side, with Nigerian players targeted by laser pens during their shootout.
“Since I’ve been playing football, this is the worst match I’ve ever played in my life,” she added.
There were no South African appeals when Seoposenwe went over just inside the box in the 89th minute of their game in Casablanca.
Replays showed Tembo had blocked an attempted pass before the momentum of Banyana Banyana forward Seoposenwe took her into the Zambia defender.
Three minutes later, after studying replays, Tafesse deemed the challenge was worthy of a penalty and Motlhalo netted her second goal of the tournament to put Desiree Ellis’ side through.
Mwape admitted that Zambia wasted chances to put the game beyond South Africa, especially in the first half, but he was adamant his side were let down by the VAR controversy.
“Even the assistant also didn’t see anything, so making decisions by VAR sometimes doesn’t augur well,” he added.
“It can be like that [VAR to improve the game], but the rate at which we are going I don’t think it is improving the game.
“I can say this [semi-final] is not the first time we’ve had decisions go against us because even in the other games that we won, some decisions were not the way they were supposed to be.”
Zambia have qualified for the 2023 Women’s World Cup after reaching the semi-finals at Wafcon, and will now face Nigeria in the third-place play-off at Wafcon on Friday.
Sports
La Liga: Atletico Bring Real Back To Earth

Atletico Madrid scored five goals against city rivals Real for the first time in nearly 75 years when they fought back from behind in a pulsating derby.
It was only the fourth time Atletico had scored at least five in a Madrid derby, the last occasion being a 6-3 victory in November 1950.
Real lost for the first time this season, having won all six of their opening La Liga matches as well as their first Champions League tie, a 2-1 victory over Marseille.
The last time Real conceded as many in La Liga was a 5-1 defeat by Barcelona in October 2018.
Robin le Normand’s header had given Diego Simeone’s side an early lead that was overturned by superb goals from Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler.
But Alexander Sorloth levelled the game at 2-2 in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
And the hosts took charge after the break when Julian Alvarez, who had hit the post in the first half, converted from the penalty spot before curling home a brilliant free-kick.
Atletico went into their shell, but held their cross-city rivals at bay until Antoine Griezmann grabbed their fifth goal deep into stoppage time.
The result maintained an impressive record against Real in La Liga for Simeone’s side, who have not lost in their past six league encounters with Los Blancos.
PSG Regain Top Position In France (7)
Paris St-Germain returned to the top of Ligue 1 with a comfortable victory over Auxerre at the weekend.
Illia Zabarnyi scored his first goal for the club since his summer move from Bournemouth when he volleyed in at the back post from Vitihna’s cross at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
The home side doubled their lead when Lucas Beraldo headed home from Senny Mayulu’s cross.
PSG moved above Marseille, who beat them on Monday, as they made it five wins from their opening six league matches.
Auxerre had their chances, with a fierce shot from Kevin Danois striking the woodwork and Sekou Mara having a header cleared off the line.
There were further opportunities for Luis Enrique’s side but Achraf Hakimi’s dink was ruled out for offside and Bradley Barcola sent a header over the bar.
Auxerre are 13th in the table with four defeats from six matches.
PSG travel to Barcelona on Wednesday in their second Champions League group stage match.
Before the PSG match, Marseille scored two late goals to move level on points with hosts Strasbourg and go top of Ligue 1 on goal difference.
Strasbourg looked on track to move four points clear at the top until the 78th minute as Abdoul Ouattara’s goal had them ahead.
But former Arsenal and Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed the equaliser, and Amir Murillo completed the turnaround as the clock ticked into added time.
Aubameyang was first to the rebound following his own shot to level the score after goalkeeper Mike Penders spilled the initial shot.
Penders, on loan from Chelsea, seemed to have done better in stoppage time when he tipped substitute Robinio Vaz’s header onto the crossbar, but the rebound landed with Murillo.
Marseille were top with five teams all on 12 points, including Strasbourg who were in fifth place.
Kane Sets Elite Scoring Record With Bayern (5)
Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s win over Werder Bremen last Friday to become the fastest player this century to reach 100 goals for a club playing in one of Europe’s top five leagues.
The England captain won and converted a penalty on the stroke of half-time, before firing home from close range in the 65th minute to reach the century mark in just 104 games.
The previous record of 105 games was set by Cristiano Ronaldo while playing for Real Madrid in 2011, and matched by Manchester City striker Erling Haaland last year.
Former Liverpool winger Luis Diaz had opened the scoring when he deflected in a Jonathan Tah flick from a corner, while Konrad Laimer slipped home a late fourth as leaders Bayern preserved their unbeaten start to the season.
Kane broke two other records in his side’s 4-1 victory against Hoffenheim last weekend, during which he scored a hat-trick.
He reached 70 Bundesliga goals in just his 67th game in the competition, faster than anyone else in the league’s history.
Previously, the 32-year-old broke the record for the most goals scored in 50 Bundesliga games (54 goals), and the fewest number of games needed to reach 50 goals in the competition (43 matches).
On Friday, Kane also became the first player in Bundesliga history to convert their first 18 penalties, as well as score 18 consecutive spot-kicks.
Kane was the first player in Bundesliga history to finish top scorer in both his first two seasons, and the only player to score 25 or more goals in their first two campaigns in the competition.
He has started this campaign with 15 in eight games in all competitions – including two hat-tricks in five Bundesliga games, with Vincent Kompany’s side top of the league table with a 100% record.
Kane is the highest scoring Englishman in Champions League history (42 goals), and scored against all 20 teams he has faced in the Bundesliga.
Only Miroslav Klose has played against more sides, while scoring against all of them (28).
Kane joined Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur in a £100m transfer in 2023, having scored 280 goals in 435 games in all competitions for the Premier League club.
He has two years remaining on the four-year contract he signed with the Munich outfit, although he has recently been linked with former club Spurs and Manchester United.
But when asked on Friday if he was thinking of a Premier League return, Kane said: “No, not at the moment. I’m really happy here. I have two years left on my contract.
“I’m enjoying every moment. That is not in my thought process. I’m enjoying it with the team, with the coach, and hopefully we continue to be successful.”
Sports
Forest Still Looking For Winning Formula

Ange Postecoglou’s difficult start to life as Nottingham Forest head coach continued as Omar Alderete’s first-half goal gave Sunderland victory at the City Ground.
The former Spurs boss, appointed on 9 September, has now lost three and drawn two of his first five games in charge, with Saturday’s loss coming in his first home game with Forest.
But the hosts will feel aggrieved by the manner of Sunderland’s winner, with the visitors awarded a free-kick when Nicolas Dominguez was penalised for simulation when he clashed with Trai Hume while attempting to clear.
Grant Xhaka sent the ball in from the set-piece and Alderete was there to direct it into the net.
Dan Ndoye came close to equalising just before the break with a deflected effort before Chris Wood headed over.
Elliot Anderson curled a shot just over the bar as Forest pushed for the leveller in the second half, while Robin Roefs, who has been excellent for Sunderland so far this season – saved well from Omari Hutchinson, Wood and a long-range Anderson effort.
But despite the pressure, Forest could not find a goal as promoted Sunderland’s third win of the season moved them up to third in the table.
Forest, meanwhile, are 16th with just one win from their first six Premier League games.
Sports
Man Utd Lose, Again

Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes had a second-half penalty saved as Ruben Amorim’s side slipped to a Premier League defeat at Brentford at the weekend.
United were trying to fight their way back after Igor Thiago capitalised on some shambolic United defending inside the first 20 minutes to give the home side a two-goal cushion.
Benjamin Sesko pulled one back with his first goal since making a £74m summer move from RB Leipzig.
Fernandes was given the chance to level when Bees captain Nathan Collins dragged former Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo back inside the area.
After a delay of almost five minutes, which included a video assistant referee red card check against Collins and Brentford making two substitutions, Fernandes’ low effort was turned away by Caoimhin Kelleher.
Brentford wrapped it up deep in stoppage time when Mathias Jensen drove a high shot past United goalkeeper Altay Bayindir from the edge of the area.
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