Nottingham Forest’s struggles in the Premier League continued on Saturday as they went down 3-0 at home to Chelsea, extending manager Ange Postecoglou’s winless run to eight matches.

Taiwo Awoniyi made his first start of the season. Forest started the game well and had a few chances, including one for Elliot Anderson, who was crowded out in the box after a Chelsea error.

Morgan Gibbs-White also missed a close-range volley, and Andrey Santos fired just wide after a neat ball from João Pedro.

Chelsea, missing key players like Cole Palmer and Moisés Caicedo, looked quiet in attack in the first half but came alive after half-time. Pedro Neto ran down the left and set up Josh Acheampong to score the opener. Three minutes later, Neto scored a free-kick to make it 2-0.

Forest’s defence continued to struggle, with Igor Jesus seeing a header from Callum Hudson-Odoi hit the bar and post. Reece James added a late third from a half-cleared corner. A late red card for Malo Gusto slightly spoiled the win for Chelsea.

The defeat leaves Forest under serious pressure. Owner Evangelos Marinakis had left his seat long before the final whistle, and Postecoglou’s future looks uncertain. Chelsea, meanwhile, has now won four of their last five visits to Forest, continuing their recent dominance over the Reds.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have climbed four spots to 41st in the latest FIFA Men’s World Rankings, making a return to the top five football nations in Africa.

The updated rankings, released on Friday by FIFA, mark a significant boost for Nigeria, which rose from 45th place thanks to recent strong performances in its 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign.

The three-time African champions also moved ahead of the Ivory Coast, now ranked 42nd in the world.

Nigeria’s rise in the rankings follows a strong run in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, which included a 2–1 victory over Lesotho in Polokwane and a convincing 4–0 win against the Benin Republic in Uyo.

Those results not only boosted their ranking points but also secured Nigeria’s place in the continental playoffs for the 2026 World Cup.

The Super Eagles are now set to face Gabon, currently ranked 77th in the world and 15th in Africa, for a place in the final playoff round, where either Cameroon or DR Congo could await.

On the continental stage, Morocco remains Africa’s highest-ranked team despite slipping one place to 12th in the world.

Senegal follows in second place on the continent and 18th globally, while Egypt (32nd) and Algeria (35th) complete Africa’s top four, with Nigeria rounding out the top five.

Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Mali, Cameroon, and South Africa complete Africa’s top ten.

Globally, Spain remains the team to beat at the top of the FIFA world ranking, strengthening their position with successive World Cup qualifying wins over Georgia and Bulgaria.

France is also well placed to secure a ticket to the tournament in North America, but will have to wait a little longer after following up a 3–0 victory over Azerbaijan with a 2–2 draw against Iceland.

World Cup holders Argentina took advantage of Les Bleus’ slip by climbing back into second place with friendly successes against Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

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Portugal and Al Nassr striker, Cristiano Ronaldo, is on the verge of achieving a milestone no male footballer has ever reached: 1,000 career goals.

According to Sky Sports on Wednesday, following his recent brace against Hungary in the World Cup qualifiers, the Portuguese legend has now scored a staggering 948 goals across club and international competitions, 805 at club level and 143 for Portugal.

He also became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifying history, surpassing Carlos Ruiz on 39, with Lionel Messi third in the list on 36.

Ronaldo turned 40 in February, but he continues to rack up impressive numbers at club level as well as internationally, albeit against weaker opposition in Saudi Arabia, where he has scored 104 goals in 117 appearances across four seasons with Al-Nassr.

With 32 goals already for club and country in 2025, he is maintaining a remarkably consistent level of productivity in front of goal. Ronaldo has averaged more than 50 goals per calendar year since 2010.

His highest scoring year came in 2013, when he smashed 69 goals and won the Ballon d’Or.

Amazingly, his total has only dipped below 39 goals once in a calendar year in the last decade and a half.

With Portugal set to qualify for next summer’s World Cup, and with two years to go on his Al-Nassr contract, Ronaldo is projected to become the first player in recorded history to reach the 1,000-goal mark in October 2026 based on his current scoring rate.

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