FOOTBALL - The African Mirror

Oct

07

2023

‘Arsenal are back’ and will be title contenders again, Man City’s Guardiola says

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ARSENAL were Manchester City's biggest rivals last season and the London club will once again be contenders for the Premier League title, City boss Pep Guardiola said. Arsenal led the league for several months last season before City caught up on the home stretch and snatched the title away from them en route to a historic treble. But Mikel Arteta's side beat City to win the Community Shield and are one of two unbeaten teams in the league this season. Arsenal sit third in the table, a point behind leaders City ahead of Sunday's game at Emirates Stadium. "Arsenal was…

Oct

06

2023

By AHMED ELJECHTIMI

Moroccans ‘honoured’ to co-host soccer 2030 World Cup

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MOROCCANS welcomed the announcement that their country would co-host the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, after years of failed attempts. FIFA on Wednesday made a surprise announcement confirming Spain, Portugal and Morocco as hosts after another bid dropped out, but said the three opening matches would be played in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. After five failed attempts to become World Cup hosts, the announcement that Morocco will share the honours will lift spirits in the north African country, a month after a devastating earthquake that killed nearly 3,000 people. Soccer is a big part of Moroccan life, with…

Oct

05

2023

By JULIEN PRETOT

Wahi finding his stride as Lens rediscover their touch

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RC Lens got off to a catastrophic start to the 2023-24 campaign, but Tuesday's 2-1 victory against Arsenal in the Champions League confirmed that last season's Ligue 1 runners-up are now back on track with striker Elye Wahi getting into his groove. The Sang et Or picked up only one point from their first five matches in Ligue 1, but a hard-fought 1-1 draw at Sevilla in their Group B opener served as a trigger. They followed up with two wins against Toulouse and RC Strasbourg and striker Wahi, who joined from Montpellier during the close season to replace Lois…

Oct

05

2023

By The African Mirror

Man Utd can still reach Champions League knockout phase: Ten Hag

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MANCHESTER United are still in the running for a place in the Champions League round of 16 despite Tuesday's 3-2 defeat by Galatasaray leaving them bottom of Group A, manager Erik ten Hag said. United, who lost 4-3 at Bayern Munich in their opener last month, twice took the lead against the Turkish champions through Rasmus Hojlund but were pegged back by goals from Wilfried Zaha and Kerem Akturkoglu before Mauro Icardi scored the winner. "Everything is open. There are still four games to go and we have a double (game) with Copenhagen," Ten Hag told TNT Sports after United lost for a sixth…

Oct

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Osimhen says unwavering love for Napoli following row

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NAPOLI striker Victor Osimhen's love for his club is unwavering, the Nigeria international said to end a row over mocking videos the club posted on social media. The Serie A champions came under fire after posting a video on TikTok with a high-pitched voice showing Osimhen missing a penalty in a 0-0 draw against Bologna last week. The club said on Thursday they never intended to offend their striker but stopped short of apologising to him. "Coming to the city of Naples in 2020 was a wonderful decision for me," said Osimhen on his Instagram account. "The people of Naples have shown me so…

Oct

03

2023

By The African Mirror

Talking points from European soccer

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Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues: GERMANY UNION MUST END LOSING RUN A year ago Union Berlin was launching what would become their most successful Bundesliga season, culminating in a fourth-place finish and a spot in this season's Champions League. But their 1-0 loss at promoted Heidenheim on Saturday confirmed the Berliners are now in freefall with their fifth straight defeat in all competitions. Having dropped to 11th with six points from six games, Urs Fischer's team have little time to recover as they host Braga in the Champions League on Tuesday and then visit Borussia Dortmund…

Oct

02

2023

By The African Mirror

VAR officials replaced after offside error in Liverpool defeat

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VIDEO Assistant Referee (VAR) officials Darren England and Dan Cook have been replaced for two games this matchweek after Liverpool wrongly had a goal disallowed in their 2-1 Premier League defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. Liverpool went down to nine men as Curtis Jones and Diogo Jota were sent off in the feisty clash before an own goal by Joel Matip sealed a stoppage-time win for Spurs. The Merseyside club thought they had taken the lead in the first half through Luis Diaz who got behind the defence and fired into the bottom corner past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario. However, the goal…

Oct

06

2023

By ROHITH NAIR and DANIELA DESANTIS

FIFA WORLD CUP IN AFRICA: Morocco, Spain and Portugal to host 2030 World Cup

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IN a surprise announcement a year earlier than planned FIFA allocated the 2030 World Cup to Morocco, Spain and Portugal but also said Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay will host three matches to mark the tournament's centenary. FIFA said the joint bid from Morocco, Portugal and Spain was the sole candidate to host the tournament. The inaugural World Cup in 1930 was held in Uruguay and won by the hosts after they defeated Argentina in the final in Montevideo. Spain was awarded the World Cup weeks after their disgraced former chief Luis Rubiales was forced to step down following his allegedly unsolicited…

Oct

02

2023

By The African Mirror

Brilliant Akliouche’s brace gives Monaco 3-2 win over Marseille

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AS Monaco beat Olympique de Marseille 3-2 to move top of Ligue 1, thanks to a brace from French midfielder Maghnes Akliouche and a powerful strike from Folarin Balogun. Marseille appointed Italian coach Gennaro Gattuso this week but he could not earn a debut victory and his side remained eighth in the table after their second defeat of the season. Marseille took the lead 30 seconds into the game when Iliman Ndiaye's goal caught the hosts off guard, only for them to respond minutes later when midfielder Akliouche fired a low shot past Pau Lopez. The visitors regained the lead…

Sep

30

2023

By The African Mirror

Napoli say they never intended to offend Osimhen amid row

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NAPOLI said they never intended to offend their striker Victor Osimhen with mocking social media videos, but the Serie A champions stopped short of apologising to the Nigeria international. The Italian side posted a video on TikTok with a high-pitched voice showing Osimhen missing a penalty in their 0-0 draw against Bologna on Sunday, which was later deleted. Osimhen's agent Roberto Calenda later threatened legal action, while the 24-year-old player removed all images of himself in a Napoli shirt from his social media accounts. "To avoid any potential exploitation of the matter, Napoli would like to explicitly state that the club never intended to…