By Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi Africa’s football heavyweights have all secured their place in the knockout stage of the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Morocco, and will continue their journey with the round of 16 dates. Nigeria and Algeria emerged as the only two nations with a perfect record, while the likes of Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, and the Ivory Coast also finished top in their groups with an unbeaten record. DR Congo, Cameroon, and Mali also finished the group campaign with unbeaten records but as runner-ups, with the first two recording as many points as their group winners, while Mali didn’t…
Author: Kehinde-Hassan Afolabi
Unai Emery finally succumbed to his first Emirates defeat as a visiting manager, ending a run of four games unbeaten away at Arsenal, and his historic eleven-game winning run with Aston Villa, level with the club record. The win for Arsenal, albeit massive – the biggest margin win between two teams starting the gameweek in the top three since Man City against Arsenal in April 2023, also 4-1, is little consolation given the context of the Gunners’ season. Unai Emery’s charge ended Arsenal’s 18-game unbeaten run at the start of December, when Emiliano Buendia’s last-gasp goal took Villains three points…
AFCON 2025 Second Round: Heavyweights meetings deliver, as too strong Nigeria, Algeria and Egypt reach the knockouts Nigeria, Algeria, and Egypt secured their places in the knockout stages of this year’s African Cup of Nations following impressive wins against their toughest group opponents in the second round, continuing their perfect start so far. In a decisive round, all the main fixtures did not fail to live up to expectations, with the goals flowing in, and underdogs taking advantage of the favourable fixtures to achieve new milestones. Mozambique beat Gabon in a thriller to secure their first-ever AFCON win, while Sudan’s…
The 35th edition of the AFCON is well underway in Morocco, and it has so far been a worthy spectacle for fans who have traveled to North Africa and those watching from other destinations. The opening fixtures saw a lot of historical stakes, with the so-called favourites having a jinx to break while the underdogs weren’t in it to save faces but to kickstart a fairytale, the dream of such nations in every outing. However, round 1 of the group games held no prisoners. The football was lively, the majority of it competitive, as every nation wishes to start with…
AFCON 2025 power rankings, featuring Morocco and top 9 other favourites Who are the favourites to win the 35th edition of the African Cup of Nations, kicking off in Morocco this month? From the West to the North, we take a look at the top 10 nations with the best shot at glory in AFCON 2025. The odds are already stacked heading into Africa’s biggest football event, and with some historical statistics backing some campaigns, others will be keen to rewrite the narratives. Nevertheless, 2025 has been some year for CAF teams, with a new format of World Cup qualifiers…
Laliga teams continue to struggle in the Champions League. Five teams in Europe’s premier club competition is a sign of a standout league, but six games into the season, LaLiga is only standing out as the worst of the top five European leagues playing in the Champions League. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Villarreal, and Athletic Club have all struggled in this season’s Champions League, with their few wins coming against teams outside the top European leagues. Their struggles are both comical and frustrating. Especially given that these teams are the showstoppers in their domestic league, with four of the…
Mohamed Salah was left out of the Liverpool squad for the Champions League trip to Inter on Tuesday night as the club imposes disciplinary measures following the Egyptian’s explosive interview after being dropped from the starting XI for the third straight game. The winger has struggled since the end of Matchday five, a drop of form that coincided with the club’s poor performances, and since then, they have gone from first place to mid-table in the league, while things are not going well on the continent either. Liverpool have won just two of their last 10 Premier League games, placed…
Barcelona are bracing up for Robert Lewandowski’s summer exit after four years since his famous move from Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich, which made him the first to make such a move since Patrik Andersson in 2001. The move has been a success for Barcelona’s plans as it helped the club make up for some of the goalscoring burden left by the departure of Lionel Messi the previous summer before the Pole arrived. Lewandowski helped Barcelona to the league title in his first year, claiming the Pichichi with 23 goals and assisting seven others in 34 LaLiga games. It was revealed…
I was fortunate to see a Nigerian Premier League match for the first time this season, and a lot hit me, as I found the league I thought had moved 20 years closer to the elite leagues to be 40 years behind. As a fan, my live experience of the Nigerian top-flight league had been limited to the Southwestern part of the country, where stakeholders are pressured into moulding their clubs into the company of the best around. From Remo Stars to Shooting Stars, Ikorodu City, Sporting Lagos, and the likes, they leave fans anticipating every home game not only…
New Chelsea, better Arsenal Stamford Bridge will play host to the fiercest Premier League fixture this season as second-place Chelsea entertain leaders Arsenal as the London rivals battle in a decisive match on the back of impressive wins. The Londoners have emerged as two of the best sides in the world currently, and after their most recent wins, Chelsea against Barcelona, and Arsenal against Bayern Munich, in the Champions League, it wouldn’t be blasphemy to tag them the two best teams in the world. Talk of form, both have been on special runs, with Chelsea winning five and drawing one…