Connect with us

Sports

Flying Eagles face Ghana in WAFU B opener

Published

on

Nigeria will begin the defence of their WAFU B U-20 Championship title against arch-rivals Ghana in a repeat of the last edition’s final in Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast, on Monday (today), PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Flying Eagles defeated the Black Satellites 2-1 in the 2024 final at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé, Togo, to successfully retain the title they first won in Niamey in 2022. Isa Ladan Bosso guided Nigeria to the 2022 triumph, while Aliyu Zubairu led the team to a successful title defence two years later.

Monday’s encounter will mark the first competitive game in charge for new head coach Abdu Maikaba, a former assistant coach of the Flying Eagles, who is targeting a winning start to Nigeria’s title defence.

“We are going for an outright victory against Ghana because our objective is to retain the trophy and we have to start winning our matches from Day One,” Maikaba said ahead of the clash.

The match will kick off at 2 p.m. local time (3 p.m. Nigeria time) at the Lycée Scientifique de Yamoussoukro.

Nigeria head into the tournament on the back of a 2-1 victory over Athlétique Club de Zenuola in a friendly match on Thursday.

The rivalry between Nigeria and Ghana dates back to 1951 and has produced several memorable contests across senior, youth and women’s football.

Victory over Ghana would put the seven-time African champions in a strong position to qualify for the semi-finals, with Group B fixtures against Togo and Burkina Faso still to come.

Nigeria will face Togo on July 30 at the same venue before rounding off their group campaign against Burkina Faso on August 2. Both matches are scheduled to kick off at 2 p.m. local time (3 p.m. Nigeria time).

See also  Lagos ready to host 2026 CAF Awards – Sanwo-Olu

Hosts Ivory Coast are in Group A alongside Benin Republic and Niger Republic.

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Almería donate ticket revenue to late Jesús de Miguel’s family

Published

on

Spanish Club UD Almería have announced that they will donate all ticket sales revenue from their home match against CD Tenerife to support the family of Jesús de Miguel.

The initiative was established by club president Mohammed Al Khereiji as the Spanish club seeks to provide financial assistance to the bereaved family following their loss.

Announcing the decision, the club expressed its sympathy and acknowledged that no amount of financial assistance could make up for the loss of a loved one.

As reported by ESPN on Wednesday, the club was quoted as saying, “We are fully aware that nothing can ever compensate for the loss of a loved one, and that no form of support, whether financial or emotional, can ease the pain caused by a tragedy of this kind.”

Despite recognising the limitations of the gesture, UD Almería hope that donating the entire proceeds from the match will provide some support to Jesús de Miguel’s family during this difficult period.

The initiative comes under the leadership of Al Khereiji, who is the club’s president.

It also puts the spotlight on UD Almería’s ownership, with Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo having acquired a 25 per cent stake in the Spanish club earlier this year.

Source: punchng.com

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

WHATSAPP CHANNEL

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

See also  WAFU B: Flying Eagles brace for tough Elephants final test
Continue Reading

Sports

SEE FULL LIST: Highest-scoring matches in Champions League history

Published

on

Borussia Dortmund’s 8-4 victory over Legia Warszawa remains the highest-scoring match in UEFA Champions League history, while Como’s 9-1 demolition of Lens has joined the competition’s list of most prolific encounters.

The Dortmund-Legia encounter produced 12 goals during the 2016/17 group stage, with the German side emerging victorious in a remarkable contest.

According to the UEFA website on Wednesday, the match featured five goals in the opening 32 minutes, including a spell in which three goals were scored within four minutes.

FULL LIST: Highest-scoring matches in Champions League history

Aleksandar Prijović gave Legia a 10th-minute lead, but Shinji Kagawa scored twice in quick succession to put Dortmund ahead.

Marco Reus also registered a brace, while three goals were scored in the closing 10 minutes to complete the 8-4 result.

Como’s 9-1 victory away to Lens on November 4, 2026, also entered the record books, with the 10-goal encounter ranking among the highest-scoring matches in the competition.

Bayern Munich’s 9-2 victory over GNK Dinamo in September 2024 and Monaco’s 8-3 win against Deportivo La Coruña in November 2003 are other notable entries on the list.

Barcelona’s 8-2 defeat of Bayern Munich in the 2019/20 campaign also features among the highest-scoring Champions League matches.

Bayern thrash Barca 8-2

Full list of highest-scoring Champions League matches

• Borussia Dortmund 8-4 Legia Warszawa — November 22, 2016 (12 goals)

• Bayern Munich 9-2 GNK Dinamo — September 17, 2024 (11 goals)

• Monaco 8-3 Deportivo La Coruña — November 5, 2003 (11 goals)

• Barcelona 2-8 Bayern Munich — August 14, 2020 (10 goals)

See also  Messi scores on injury return as Argentina beat Iceland in World Cup warm-up

• Lens 1-9 Como — November 4, 2026 (10 goals)

• Paris Saint-Germain 7-2 Rosenborg — October 24, 2000 (nine goals)

• Lyon 7-2 Werder Bremen — March 8, 2005 (nine goals)

• Villarreal 6-3 Aalborg — October 21, 2008 (nine goals)

• Tottenham Hotspur 2-7 Bayern Munich — October 1, 2019 (nine goals)

• Manchester City 6-3 Leipzig — September 15, 2021 (nine goals)

• Paris Saint-Germain 7-2 Maccabi Haifa — October 25, 2022 (nine goals)

• Benfica 4-5 Barcelona — January 21, 2025 (nine goals)

• Bayer Leverkusen 2-7 Paris Saint-Germain — October 21, 2025 (nine goals)

• Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle United — March 18, 2026 (nine goals)

• Paris Saint-Germain 5-4 Bayern Munich — April 28, 2026 (nine goals)

• LASK 3-6 Liverpool — October 14, 2026 (nine goals)

Full list of highest-scoring Champions League draws

UEFA also identified four matches that ended in 4-4 draws, each producing eight goals.

• Hamburg 4-4 Juventus — September 13, 2000

• Chelsea 4-4 Liverpool — April 14, 2009

• Bayer Leverkusen 4-4 Roma — October 20, 2015

• Chelsea 4-4 Ajax — November 5, 2019

Source: punchng.com

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

WHATSAPP CHANNEL

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

INSTAGRAM

Continue Reading

Sports

SEE FULL LIST: Como join Liverpool, Madrid in Champions League victory record

Published

on

Como have joined Liverpool and Real Madrid in recording the biggest winning margin in UEFA Champions League history after thrashing Lens 9-1 in their Matchday 4 encounter on Tuesday night.

The Italian side’s nine-goal haul secured an eight-goal victory margin, equalling Liverpool’s 8-0 defeat of Beşiktaş in 2007 and Real Madrid’s 8-0 triumph over Malmö in 2015.

According to the UEFA website on Wednesday, Como also became only the second team after Bayern Munich to score nine goals in a Champions League match.

Tasos Douvikas scored a hat-trick in the encounter, while six other Como players also found the net as the competition debutants recorded the biggest away victory in the tournament’s history.

Liverpool were the first team to achieve an eight-goal winning margin when they defeated Beşiktaş 8-0 during the 2007/08 group stage.

Crouch scores two joining Yossi Benayoun who scored hatrick. Ryan Babel also netted a brace and captain Steven Gerrard scored the eight goal

Yossi Benayoun scored three goals, while Ryan Babel and Peter Crouch each contributed two. Steven Gerrard completed the scoring as Liverpool secured the record victory despite having collected just one point from their opening three group matches.

Real Madrid matched the feat on December 8, 2015, when they overwhelmed Malmö 8-0 at home.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals, setting what was then an individual group-stage record of 11 goals, while Karim Benzema registered a hat-trick.

Ronaldo nets four in Malmö thrashing

Bayern Munich also feature prominently in the record books after defeating GNK Dinamo 9-2 on September 17, 2024, establishing a new record for the most goals scored by a team in a single Champions League match.

Harry Kane scored four goals in the encounter, while Michael Olise added two.

See also  Portuguese football federation backs Ronaldo to continue with Portugal

Full list of biggest Champions League victories

Eight-goal winning margin

1. Lens 1-9 Como — November 4, 2026

2. Liverpool 8-0 Beşiktaş — November 6, 2007

3. Real Madrid 8-0 Malmö — December 8, 2015

Seven-goal winning margin

1. Bayern Munich 9-2 GNK Dinamo — September 17, 2024

2. Juventus 7-0 Olympiacos — December 10, 2003

3. Arsenal 7-0 Slavia Praha — October 23, 2007

4. Žilina 0-7 Marseille — November 3, 2010

5. Valencia 7-0 Genk — November 23, 2011

6. Bayern Munich 7-0 Basel — March 13, 2012

7. BATE Borisov 0-7 Shakhtar Donetsk — October 21, 2014

8. Bayern Munich 7-0 Shakhtar Donetsk — March 11, 2015

9. Barcelona 7-0 Celtic — September 13, 2016

10. Maribor 0-7 Liverpool — October 17, 2017

11. Liverpool 7-0 Spartak Moscow — December 6, 2017

12. Manchester City 7-0 Schalke — March 12, 2019

13. Manchester City 7-0 Leipzig — March 14, 2023

14. Paris Saint-Germain 7-0 Brest — February 19, 2025

Continue Reading

Trending