Category: Sports

Former Nigeria captain and coach Sunday Oliseh has praised the offensive capabilities of Super Eagles forwards Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, and Akor Adams.

Since the commencement of the 2025–2026 season, Osimhen, Lookman, and Adams have collectively netted 51 goals for their respective clubs and the national team—28 for Galatasaray’s Osimhen, 12 for Sevilla’s Adams, and 11 for Atletico Madrid’s Lookman.

While the attacking talent of Nigeria has been evident on the field, their recent performances unveil a troubling reality.

The Super Eagles’ remarkable journey in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations conceals the disappointment of failing to qualify for consecutive World Cups, despite possessing world-class strikers.

Although Oliseh commended Nigeria’s attacking trio, he emphasized that the Super Eagles still encounter considerable obstacles as they approach the 2030 World Cup qualifiers.

In a discussion on Global Football Insights With Oliseh, the two-time World Cup participant remarked, “Let us examine the facts. We currently have world-class dominance from Victor Osimhen, Akor Adams, and Ademola Lookman.

“It is a pleasure to witness these players in action. They are effectively dismantling European defenses. They serve as our driving force at present, but even the finest fuel is ineffective if the engine is malfunctioning.”

Oliseh cautioned that many members of Nigeria’s current squad may not be available for the next World Cup and urged the Nigeria Football Federation to begin preparations for the future.

‘It’s joy to watch them perform” – Sunday Oliseh hails three Super Eagles stars

The Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, has confirmed that goalkeeper Arthur Okonkwo is set to make his debut for the Super Eagles at the forthcoming Unity Cup tournament, which is scheduled for next month.

Okonkwo has recently finalized his change of international allegiance from England to Nigeria after having represented England at various youth levels.

Having played for England at U16, U17, and U18 levels, the former Arsenal goalkeeper received Fifa approval on Monday to compete for Nigeria at the senior level.

An official from the NFF, who spoke to ESPN, indicated that Okonkwo showed considerable enthusiasm regarding his switch, which facilitated the process for the federation.

The official also mentioned that Super Eagles head coach Eric Chelle is eager to include the goalkeeper in his plans leading up to the tournament.

“He was very enthusiastic about switching allegiance and playing for Nigeria, and that made things easier for us,” the official stated.

“The coach, Eric Chelle, wants him and would like to have him in the squad as soon as possible.”

Okonkwo’s remarkable performances this season have further bolstered his case for a national team call-up.

The 24-year-old has made 42 appearances across all competitions and achieved 10 clean sheets in 37 Championship matches, positioning him among the top-performing goalkeepers in the league.

The Super Eagles are anticipated to commence their Unity Cup campaign against Zimbabwe on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, at The Valley, the home ground of Charlton Athletic in England.

Nigeria, the reigning champions of the tournament, secured victory in the previous edition by defeating Jamaica on penalties after a 2-2 draw in regular time.

NFF confirms England-born goalkeeper, Okonkwo now set for Nigeria call-up

Paris Saint-Germain manager, Luis Enrique, has released his squad to clash with Liverpool in the Champions League quarter-final first leg fixture on Wednesday night.

The Champions League encounter will be played at the Parc des Princes in Paris.

Enrique opted to include the likes of Ousmane Dembélé and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia to lead his attack line against the Premier League giants.

The Spaniard also includes Achraf Hakimi and Marquinhos to lead the defense, while Vitinha and Lucas Beraldo lead the midfield.

PSG head to the game after beating Toulouse 3-1 in their last game at the weekend.

PSG’s squad against Liverpool in full:

2 – Achraf Hakimi
4 – Lucas Beraldo
5 – Marquinhos
6 – Illia Zabarnyi
7 – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia
9 – Gonçalo Ramos
10 – Ousmane Dembélé
14 – Désiré Doué
17 – Vitinha
19 – Kang-In Lee
21 – Lucas Hernandez
24 – Senny Mayulu
25 – Nuno Mendes
27 – Dro Fernández
30 – Lucas Chevalier
33 – Warren Zaïre-Emery
39 – Matvey Safonov
49 – Ibrahim Mbaye
51 – Willian Pacho
87 – João Neves
89 – Renato Marin

UCL: Luis Enrique releases PSG’s squad against Liverpool

Nigerian youngster Zadok Yohanna is attracting the interest of Europe’s top clubs like Chelsea and Ajax Amsterdam.

Zadok moved to Swedish club, AIK in June 2025, signing a contract until December 31, 2029.

The youngster turned heads following his goal and standout display in AIK’s 2-1 win over Halmstads BK on Sunday.

Zadok scored in the 83rd minute of the encounter.

AIK will reportedly demand around €15m for the former Ikon Allah Academy star.

More European clubs are expected to join the queue for the exciting talent.

Transfer: Chelsea, Ajax track Nigerian youngster Zadok

Liverpool icon, Jamie Carragher, has cast doubt on the Gunners’ chances of winning the Premier League after their narrow 1-0 win against Sporting CP in the Champions League quarter-final first leg tie on Tuesday.

Recall that Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time strike gave Mikel Arteta’s side a first leg advantage against the Portuguese side.

However, while acknowledging the importance of the result, particularly after two prior defeats, Carragher wasn’t impressed with the performance itself.

Speaking on CBS Sports, he said: “It was a big result for Arsenal but it wasn’t a great performance.

“The real question is: if they play like that for the rest of the season, will they win the league? We’ll see.”

UCL: Carragher casts doubt on Arsenal winning EPL title after display against Sporting

Barcelona defender, João Cancelo, has put Lamine Yamal among the top three most talented players in the world.

Cancelo spoke at his pre-match press conference ahead of Barcelona’s UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg clash with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night.

“Lamine Yamal is in the top three most talented players in the world,” the Portuguese said as quoted by Fabrizio Romano.

Yamal has been a revelation since he was promoted into Barcelona’s first team under Xavi a few years ago.

The Spain international finished in second place in the Ballon d’Or rankings last year behind Ousmane Dembele.

He led Barcelona to win the LaLiga title last season and has been impressive so far this term, scoring 14 goals and providing 9 assists in 25 appearances.

UCL: Cancelo puts Yamal among top three most talented players in the world

Wikki Tourists technical adviser, Evans Ogenyi, has described his team’s position on the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, as unfortunate.

The Bauchi Elephants occupy 19th position on the NPFL table with 37 points from 33 matches.

Wikki Tourists failed to give their relegation survival a boost following a 2-2 draw with Enyimba on Monday.

Ogenyi admitted that he is yet to have enough time to imbibe his philosophy on the team.

“It’s unfortunate that we are in these situation and all we have to do is just for us as a team to keep working hard,” Ogenyi told gongnews.

“Don’t forget I took over not up to a month ago. I am just managing what I have.

Ogenyi insisted that they won’t stop working hard to improve on their position on the NPFL table.

“For now the team will not stop working hard but we are going to ensure that our hard work will yield positive result for us to escape the drop.”

NPFL: Ogenyi laments Wikki Tourists’ unfortunate relegation battle

Remo Stars technical adviser, Usman Abdallah has revealed that his team must fight to avoid defeat in their remaining fixtures in the Nigeria Premier Football League, NPFL, this season.

The Sky Blue Stars are battling to escape relegation after a difficult campaign.

The title holders currently occupy 17th position on the log.

Remo Stars will face Abdallah’s former club, Kano Pillars this weekend.

The former Super Eagles assistant coach is expecting a difficult duel.

“Kano is a very competitive place to be, now every single match we have to achieve something from the game,” Abdallah told Remo Stars media.

“We don’t need to drop any points until the end of the season and in our home ground we must ensure we get the maximum points in the games, If not it’s going to be very difficult.”

NPFL: Remo Stars must win remaining five games to escape relegation – Abdallah

Nigeria’s Falconets have resumed camping ahead of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final qualifying round tie against Malawi, DAILY POST reports.

The players and their officials converged in Abuja on Monday, and had their first training session on Tuesday morning.

Nigeria will host the first leg on Saturday, May 2, while the reverse fixture will hold in Blantyre a week later.

Moses Aduku’s side defeated hard-fighting Senegal in the second round, while Malawi edged past Guinea-Bissau.

Since the competition started in 2002, the Falconets have qualified for every single edition.

Poland will host the competition in September.

U-20 WWCQ: Falconets return to camp for Malawi showdown

Jose Mourinho has insisted that he wants to stay with Benfica, even though he admits the team has lost hope of winning the league title.

A 1-1 draw with Casa Pia on Monday, means they can no longer catch up in the league standings.

Mourinho is currently signed with Benfica until June 2027, but there is a clause in his contract that lets him leave at the end of the season.

When asked about his future, Mourinho said, “Jorge Mendes is my agent, but I make my own decisions. My choice is to stay in Benfica.”

Mourinho came back to Portugal last September after coaching in other countries for 21 years.

Mourinho confirms club he’ll coach next season as Benfica title hopes end