Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin has withdrawn from the Spain under-21 squad after missing training on Tuesday and been replaced by Javier Manquillo. Bellerin, 21, missed the Gunners’ Champions League win against Ludogorets last week but returned to play 90 minutes in the North London derby on Sunday. The Spanish Football Federation confirmed the news via Twitter but did not give an official reason for his withdrawal. On Wednesday morning Bellerin posted a picture of his bruised right ear on Snapchat with the caption: “Ear doesn’t look too good after the game.” Spain U21 face Austria under-21 on Friday and Tuesday…
Author: David Folami
Edgardo Bauza has defended his decision to exclude Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero from Argentina’s starting XI in their CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier away to Brazil. Despite the fierce rivalry between the two South American giants, Bauza has decided to name is starting XI early, and has opted for a four-man attack comprising Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Enzo Perez. His decision to field Perez ahead of Aguero has surprised onlookers but the 58-year-old tactician explained that he is doing so to add more physicality in Belo Horizonte. “I opted for Di Maria and Enzo Perez because…
England interim boss Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will captain the side for Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Scotland and said the Manchester United forward is “in a better place” than the last international break. Rooney, 31, has endured a difficult season but has started three of United’s last four games, scoring in the 2-1 defeat to Fenerbahce and then helping set up two goals in the 3-1 win over Swansea City at the weekend. Rooney started in Southgate’s first game in charge last month but was booed as England laboured to a 2-0 win at home to…
Sir Alex Ferguson says he did not rule by fear at Manchester United, claiming he only used his infamous “hairdryer” treatment six times in his 27 years at Old Trafford. Ferguson oversaw an unrivalled period of domination at United in which he led the club to 38 trophies, including two Champions League titles, before finally calling time on his reign in 2013. The 74-year-old had a reputation for delivering verbal volleys at his players so intense it earned the nickname “the hairdryer,” with Wayne Rooney saying in his book that there was “nothing worse” than experiencing it. However, Ferguson was…
Everton striker Romelu Lukaku will have to leave Everton to realise his full potential, his manager Ronald Koeman said on Wednesday. The 23-year-old Belgium international joined the Premier League club on loan from Chelsea in 2013 before making the move permanent in an Everton record £28 million deal in 2014. British media reported that Lukaku asked for a transfer this year but he remained at Goodison Park and has scored seven league goals this season. “His potential is greater and higher than Everton as a final destination,” Koeman told Belgian newspaper HLN. “If Romelu was to play at Everton until…
European Golden Shoe winner Luis Suarez said negotiations to extend his contract with Barcelona until 2021 were running smoothly. The 29-year-old, who claimed the award for a second time after finishing top scorer across Europe last season, originally joined Barcelona on a five-year deal from Liverpool in 2014. “Negotiations are moving along nicely in the right direction,” Suarez told a press conference in Uruguay, where he is preparing for a World Cup qualifier with Ecuador on Thursday. “Both parties want this deal to go through,” said the centre-forward, who scored 40 Liga goals in 35 games last season and 59…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has apologised for the booking that earned him a suspension for Manchester United’s clash with Arsenal. Ibrahimovic was shown his fifth yellow card of the season for a second half incident with Swansea’s Leroy Fer in United’s 3-1 win at the Liberty Stadium on Sunday. The Swedish striker scored twice in the victory, but his booking means he will be serving a one-game ban when the Gunners visit Old Trafford in the Premier League on November 19. “You know what? Every time I try to play my game by being strong and going into the tackles, or whatever…
Henrikh Mkhitaryan will stop at nothing to nail down a place in Manchester United’s starting line-up following a lacklustre start to the Armenian international midfielder’s career at Old Trafford. Mkhitaryan was expected to play a major role in the club’s bid to recapture its glory days after joining in the close season following a successful three-year stint with German side Borussia Dortmund. “It is true that I get little time on the field but I am not going to give in,” Mkhitaryan told reporters after being appointed as goodwill ambassador for the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) in Armenia. The…
Nigeria will line up a new goalkeeper against Algeria when they lock horns in a Match Day Two 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on November 12. After Carl Ikeme withdrew from the team due to injury, the onus fell on Eagles gaffer Gernot Rohr to find a replacement for the Wolves man. He decided to go with Chippa United’s Daniel Akpeyi to fight for a starting berth with youngster Dele Alampasu and FC IfeanyiUbah’s Ikechukwu Ezenwa. Akpeyi and Ezenwa are veterans of sorts and have been involved with the national set-up for some…
Kanu Nwankwo believes the Nigeria’s Super Eagles have a great chance of beating Algeria’s Desert Warriors in Saturday’s 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifier in Uyo. The two sides meet toe to toe at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium with a win for Nigeria guaranteeing them top spot in Group B after match day two. Kanu says the attitude and body language of the players fills him with enormous confidence that a win could be on the cards for the Super Eagles on Saturday. “I can see the joy and happiness in our Super Eagles players,that’s sign of good team spirit and…
The Professional Footballers’ Association has voiced concerns over Jose Mourinho’s criticism of Manchester United defenders Chris Smalling and Luke Shaw, urging the manager to show more empathy towards players with “personal problems”. Mourinho condemned Shaw and Smalling over the pair’s apparent unwillingness to play through the pain barrier in Sunday’s Premier League win over Swansea City, saying they were not “brave” enough to feature. “I was disappointed by that because, knowing the individuals, they are both highly thought of. They’ve got personal problems which I don’t need to relay,” PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor told Sky Sports. “Sometimes a manager…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is sure he will win the Premier League with Manchester United and says his performances will improve once he picks up the rhythm of the English game. The 35-year-old has scored six league goals since the start of the season, including two against Swansea City at the weekend that ended a two-month league drought. United have stuttered in the first months of Jose Mourinho’s reign at Old Trafford and are sixth in the table, and while not giving up on the title, Ibrahimovic said the team need to improve to challenge the likes of early pace setters Liverpool…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has said that the election victory of US President-elect, Donald Trump came as an answer to his prayers. Fayose also said that Trump would help to end the hopelessness in Nigeria. The governor made the comments via a statement released by his media aide, Lere Olayinka on Wednesday, November 9. The statement reads: “Now that Trump has won, it portends hope for Nigerians that the excesses of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led federal government will stop as the road has ended for those who conspired to impose Buhari on Nigerians.” “Trump presidency symbolizes different things to…
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness at the deaths of 36 miners who were killed by unknown gunmen in Zamfara State. The miners were killed in the Maru Local Government Area of the state during an ambush attack on Monday, November 7. “I commiserate with the government and people of Zamfara on the cold-blooded murder by armed bandits of 36 persons at Bindin in Maru Local Government Area,” Buhari said via Twitter on Tuesday, November 8. “These killings are utterly condemnable. I am in touch with Gov. Abdulaziz Yari and being briefed on on-going investigations,” he added. Meanwhile, the police…
The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has congratulated US President-elect, Donald Trump on his election victory. The group also said that America would become great against under Trump’s leadership. IPOB made the comments via a statement released by spokesperson, Emma Powerful. The statement reads: “The IPOB under the command structure of Mazi Nnamd Kanu the director of radio and Biafra television thank the good people of America and Republican party who challenged the incumbent president of Barack Obama and the democratic party to a standstill and defeated them to the landslide winning.” “Furthermore, we thank God Almighty (Chukwu okike Abiama)…
Former presidential aide, Doyin Okupe has said that Hillary Clinton lost the US elections because she wanted to edit the Bible. Okupe also said that only God could have caused President-elect, Donald Trump to defeat Clinton. Read his statement below: “Trump contested against the entire American establishment, against virtually all the mainstream media, against all the living past American presidents, against majority of world leaders including the current American president, and the celebrated Clinton machinery, and he won! Only God can do this.” “Hilary Clinton, her husband Bill and the Democrats are the protagonists of liberalism in America. They encourage…
Former Chairman of the House of Representatives Appropriation Committee, Abdulmumin Jibrin has denied reports that he fled Nigeria to avoid prosecution. Jibrin earlier said that he left the country because his life was being threatened but his claim was dismissed by colleague, Herman Hembe who alleged that Jibrin had fled because the anti-corruption agencies were about to arrest him. The embattled lawmaker made the denial via a statement. It reads: “My attention has been drawn to series of media reports that I fled Nigeria for the fear that the EFCC is closing on me. This is far from the truth…
Nigerian president, Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his willingness to work with the United states’ president-elect, Donald Trump. In a statement signed by Femi Adesina, his special assistant on media and publicity, President Buhari congratulated Trump on his victory over Hillary Clinton, the Democratic candidate. The statement reads: “On behalf of the government and people of the federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari congratulates President-elect Donald Trump on his victory in the United States presidential election,” the statement read. “President Buhari also congratulates American citizens on the outcome of the election, which was keenly observed by all true lovers of…
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, has advised women in Plateau to empower themselves by embracing Federal Government’s Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). She gave the advice on Wednesday when she paid advocacy visit to Jos to sensitise women on the benefits of availing themselves of the programme. She said that GEEP was aimed at reducing poverty amongst women, adding that it would also help to rebuild the economies of rural areas. She said: “GEEP will help rebuild the Nigerian economy; it will complement other economic empowerment strategies of the federal and state governments. “It…
President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees as Justices of the Supreme Court have been screened by the Senate. In a report by Punch Newspaper, the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters screened the two judges on Wednesday, November 9, 2016. The Senator David Umaru-led committee screened Justice Sidi Dauda Bage (North-Central) and Justice Paul Adamu Galinje (North-East) in a plenary session. This is coming days after the Senate screened and confirmed the nominations of Justice Ejembi Eko (Benue) and Justice Amina Augie (Kebbi) as Justices of the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National…