Transfer: Nigerian striker joins Turkish club, Sivasspor 

Wilfred Ndidi has declared he is ready to take up his new role with the Super Eagles, DAILY POST reports.

Ndidi was officially appointed the new Super Eagles captain last week.

Former captain William Troost-Ekong announced his retirement from international football on December 4.

Ndidi will lead the Super Eagles when they face the Taifa Stars of Tanzania in their opening fixture at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations on Tuesday.

The Besiktas midfielder insisted that taking up the captaincy will not put him under pressure.

“I’ve been here learning from the former captain Troost-Ekong, so there’s no pressure at all,” he told reporters in Fès, Morocco on Monday.

AFCON 2025: Super Eagles captaincy not a big deal – Ndidi

Senegal head coach, Pape Thiaw has insisted that Africa’s image is at stake as his team prepares to face Morocco in the AFCON final on Sunday night.

Thiaw spoke during his pre-match press conference, calling on spectators and match officials not to spoil the AFCON final.

Senegal and Morocco had defeated Egypt and Nigeria, respectively, at the semi-final stage.

“Today, it is the image of Africa that is at stake,” Thiaw said at his pre-match press conference.

“We must not spoil it. Playing the host nation is never easy because of the crowd, but on the pitch, it is 11 against 11.”

This comes as the Confederation of African Football, CAF, on Saturday, responded to Senegal’s complaints against Morocco ahead of the AFCON final on Sunday night.

AFCON final: ‘Africa’s image at stake’ – Senegal coach, Pape Thiaw

El Chiringuito pundit, Jota Jordi has hit out at Argentina captain Lionel Messi over his choice of voting during the 2025 FIFA Best Awards.

Recall that Messi had voted Paris Saint-Germain forward Ousmane Dembele as his first choice to win the FIFA Best award for men’s category.

The Inter Miami forward then voted Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe as his second choice and Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal as his third choice.

However, Jordi was not pleased with Messi as he highlighted how the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner chose Mbappe, a Real Madrid player, over Yamal.

“This is a stab in the back to Lamine Yamal, a betrayal,” Jordi said as quoted by Sportskeeda while speaking on Messi voting Mbappe ahead of Yamal.

“One plays for Real Madrid and the other wears the 10 at Barça. I’m saying this very seriously; this is very significant.”

Meanwhile, Yamal also finished second in the 2025 Ballon d’Or rankings behind Dembele after helping Barcelona to win a domestic double last season.

FIFA Best Awards: You’ve betrayed Yamal – Jordi slams Messi over voting choice