Sport
Rwanda Shocks South Africa 2-0, Comoros Humble Ghana in World Cup Qualifiers.
The Amavubis of Rwanda on Tuesday at the Huye Stadium humbled the Bafana Bafana of South Africa with a stunning 2-0 win in a vital Group C Qualifier of the 2026 world cup just as Lesotho succumbed to a goalless draw with the Squirrels of Republic of Benin in the same group clash.
Incidentally, the Huye Stadium located where the relics of the Rwanda Genocide wars are locked up in a Museum is where the Super Eagles lost face with the vast Nigerian Football supporters for forcing the less fancied Warriors of Zimbabwe to 1-1 draw last Sunday. Is Huye Stadium of Africa fast becoming a venue where giants are humbled?
The South African match ended with the first half as Innocent Nshuti could not prove to be a South African friend when he scored from a Byiringiro connect in the 12th minute and Gilbert Mugisha got a connect from Mutsinzi to score the second goal in the 28th minute.
The South African Coach was distracted with his one man protest of alleged misdemeanor by the Warriors of Zimbabwe shouting that CAF and FIFA should actually ban the country. The protest made him lose sight of statistical advantages his wards acquired with ball possession of 37-63% meaning they were in control of the game to do ‘shine shine bobo’; they could not take advantage of their 6 corner kicks to Rwanda’s 2 while Rwanda kept shooting at sight blasting 7 shots 4 on target and 2 off target shots while South Africa blasted 5 with 2 on target and 5 off target shots.
Burdened with 2 yellow cards, Rwanda employed long balls 44 in the first half and 91 in the second half making 44% to diffuse South Africa that could only play 9 long balls in the first half and 48 in the second half making a pediatric 19% to put South Africa in a tight corner to qualify.
The Lesotho versus Benin Republic draw shot Rwanda on top of Group C after Day 2 of 10 matches as the country has 4 points with 2 goals for; South Africa with her only win has 3 points scoring 2 goals and conceding 3 to place second; Nigeria is 3rd with 2 points, 2 goals for and 2 against; Lesotho is 4th with 2 points, 1 goal for and 1 against; Zimbabwe is 5th with 1 goal for and 1 against while Benin rocks the bottom with a point, a goal scored and 2 conceded.
The implication of this is that if the Nigerian football community can calm down and their football officials as well as the players upgrade, Nigerian can conveniently fly to the 2026 world cup finals.
Rwanda had played four of their last five matches in the AFCON series. Forced Benin to 1-1 draw on 22nd March 2023; lost to Benin on their soil 0-3 on 29th March 2023; lost again to Mozambique 0-2 on 18th June 2023; played 1-1 with the Teranga Lions of Senegal on 9th September 2023 while the country played goalless with Zimbabwe on Day 1 of the world cup qualifier played 16th November 2023.
Rwanda did not qualify for the AFCON finals in Ivory Coast to be held January to February next year, so the country will resume her world cup campaign on 5th June 2024 against Benin Republic; play Lesotho on 8th June 2024; tackles Nigeria on 17th March 2024 and again play Lesotho on 24th March 2024.
South Africa was busy with International friendly matches, played goalless with Namibia on 9th September 2023; defeated Congo DR 1-0 on 12th September 2023; drew goalless with Eswatini on 13th October 2023 and earned a 1-1 draw with the Elephants of Cote D’Ivoire in Abidjan on 17th October 2023 while she defeated Republic of Benin 2-1 on Day 1 of the world cup matches.
South Africa will be on parade in Ivory Coast for the AFCON finals playing against Mali on 16th January; against Namibia on 21st January and Tunisia on 24th January before coming to Nigeria for the crucial winner takes all world cup match on 5th June 2024.
In some other matches played today, Botswana beat Guinea 1-0; Ethiopia lost to Burkina Faso 0-3; Lesotho played goalless with Benin Republic; Somalia with 10 men lost to Uganda 0-1; Tunisia piped Malawi 1-0; Eswatini lost to Cape Verde 0-2.
Also today, Togo played goalless with Senegal; Comoros shock Ghana 1-0; South Sudan played goalless with Mauritania; Mauritius and Angola played goalless; Libya played 1-1 with Cameroon while Sao Tome lost 0-2 to Namibia.
Two matches are slated for 2000 hours, Niger versus Zambia and Tanzania versus Morocco.
Yesterday Monday, Djibouti lost to Guinea Bissau 0-1; Gambia lost to Ivory Coast 0-2; the match between Eritrea and Congo was cancelled; Liberia that just changed political leadership outing former world best player George Weah lost to Equatorial Guinea by a lone goal with ten men; Kenya bashed Seychelles 5-0; Mali played 1-1 with CAR and Chad lost to Madagascar 0-3.
By Eniola Olatunji
Cole Palmer is set to withdraw from the England squad, with Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo also doubts to join up with Thomas Tuchel‘s camp.
Palmer, who was recalled by Tuchel last week after he was left out of England’s squad for the World Cup, is reportedly dealing with a small injury, though he completed Chelsea’s 3-0 defeat to Brentford on Friday night.
The 24-year-old has featured in all five of Chelsea’s Premier League matches this term but struggled with injuries in a disrupted campaign last season, recently saying during a Twitch stream that he “had one leg for 10 months”.
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick confirmed Rashford picked up an “issue” when during the 1-1 draw at Fulham on Sunday, with the forward substituted while appearing to be struggling with his hip – which was a persistent issue over the summer.
Midfielder Mainoo, who travelled to this summer’s World Cup but did not play a single minute of the tournament under Tuchel, was also substituted during the closing stages of the draw at Craven Cottage.
England will play four matches over the newly expanded three-week international break, kicking off against World Cup winners Spain at Wembley on Saturday 26 September. That is followed by trips to Czech Republic and Croatia, before concluding the set of Nations League games against the Czech Republic at Wembley on Tuesday 6 October.
Former Super Eagles striker, Obafemi Martins, has announced plans to organise a youth football tournament in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 campaign.
Martins disclosed this during an interview on TVC on Thursday, saying the tournament, which he described as the “Renewed Hope tournament,” would be held in November.
According to the former Inter Milan and Newcastle United striker, the tournament will involve teams from the six geopolitical zones, with additional teams expected to participate.
“There’s a tournament that I’m doing for His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu that I’m doing for his campaign, the renewal youth tournament, and I’m doing it with, I think, the geopolitical zone, which is six, and I’m adding more two to three teams with it,” Martins said.
He said the initiative was aimed not only at supporting Tinubu’s campaign but also at creating opportunities for Nigerian youths.
“I think I’m just happy to do it for the president with all his hard work and all that. And that is not just for the president, it’s for the Nigerians and the Nigerian youth as well; how we can help them,” he said.
Martins said he was funding the tournament himself and confirmed that it would take place in November.
“Yes, I’m doing it in November,” he said when asked if the initiative was self-funded.
Spanish second-division side Eldense say Argentina great Lionel Messi has reached a “preliminary agreement” to become the club’s majority shareholder.
Eldense will become the second Spanish club Messi has invested in, having bought Catalan side Cornella in April.
The 39-year-old former Barcelona forward currently plays for Inter Miami and recently retired from international football after Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the 2026 World Cup final.
Eldense said: “A preliminary agreement has been reached with Lionel Messi for the acquisition of the shares currently owned by Grupo TH Soluciones, which would make him the club’s majority shareholder.
“The transaction is currently subject to the completion of the remaining legal and contractual procedures, including the due diligence process, as well as the required authorisation from the Spanish National Sports Council (CSD).”
The club, based in Alicante, have two points from four games this season and, sitting 20th in La Liga 2, parted ways with head coach Claudio Barragan earlier this week.
Cornella are in the fifth tier of Spanish football and in April said Messi’s ownership “reinforces his close ties to Barcelona and his commitment to the development of sport and local talent in Catalonia”.
-
Health & Wellness1 year agoPresident Tinubu Directs Cut in Dialysis Cost from ₦50,000 to ₦12,000
-
News1 year agoPICTURE: In Lagos Couple Sentenced to 22½ Years for Cannabis Trafficking
-
Business6 months agoDangote Refinery Reduces Petrol Gantry Price To ₦1,200 Per Litre
-
Business2 years ago
Dangote; We Did Not Fix ₦600/Litre Petrol Price
-
Business2 years agoHeritage Bank Customers’ Path to Securing ₦5m Insured Funds: A Step-By-Step Guide by NDIC”
-
International News6 months agoIndian Police Arrest Nigerian Over ₦290m Drug Haul
-
Trending News1 year agoNELFUND Disburses ₦86bn To 449,000 Beneficiaries
-
Business6 months agoAfter Plea Bargain, Court Discharges Stella Oduah of ₦2.5bn Fraud