Sports
Nigeria, Cameroon Qualify for Women’s World Cup Round of 16
The Super Falcons on Thursday qualified for the knockout stages of the Women’s World Cup for the first time in 20 years.
The Falcons have reached the knockout stages of the Women’s World Cup just once before now, a quarter-final appearance in the competition in the United States in 1999.
They will confront former champions Germany in the last 16 of the 2019 Women’s World Cup in Grenoble on Saturday.
The Falcons qualified as one of the best losers to the round of 16 after finishing third in Group A behind France and Norway but had to endure a torrid time before confirming their place in the last 16 of the event.
The African champions had ended their Group A campaign with three points, courtesy of a 2-0 win over Korea Republic and losses to former champions Norway (3-0) and hosts France (1-0).
But they had to wait three days later after their final group game on Monday to know their fate.
And the Nigerians were almost left frustrated after Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses beat New Zealand 2-1, meaning they (Falcons) had to slip from third on the best third-placed teams table, to fourth.
A 3-0 win for Chile over Thailand would have ended the Falcons dreams of qualification but having led 2-0, the South Americans lost a penalty late on in dramatic fashion to hand the Nigerians a spot in the knockout stage.
Cameroon also qualified as one of the third best-placed teams, thus making it the first time two Africans will reach the knockout stages of the competition.
The Punch
Super Eagles winger, Ademola Lookman, has been named the CAF Footballer of the Year for the past year.
Lookman was announced as the winner at an elaborate event in Marrakech, Morocco on Monday night.
The Atalanta star won the prize ahead of Ivory Coast’s Simon Adingra and PSG’s Achraf Hakimi, Guinea striker Serhou Guirassy and South Africa goalkeeper Ronwen Williams.
It has been an incredible year for Lookman, who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League/UEFA Cup final since 1975, netting the three goals within 26 minutes against Bayer Leverkusen.
Lookman was included in the Team of the Year for the Europa League, and ended the season having had a direct hand in 18 top flight goals for La Dea.
The 27-year-old was ranked the 14th best player during the Ballon d’Or gala on October 28.
The Swedish Prosecution Authority announced today that the inquiry into rape allegations against French footballer Kylian Mbappé has been closed due to a lack of sufficient evidence to proceed.
This is according to multiple reports on Thursday morning.
The allegations had drawn international attention, casting a shadow over the football star’s career.
Mbappé, who had consistently denied the allegations, has yet to make an official statement regarding the decision
His legal team had previously emphasised his commitment to due process.
Mbappe was “linked to rape investigation in Sweden” and that he intended to reserve any explanations for the Swedish justice system “if necessary,” according to his lawyer, Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard.
“He prioritises providing his explanations, if required, to the Swedish judiciary,” Canu-Bernard told AFP, while strongly condemning “media allegations suggesting that Kylian Mbappé had commented on the events of his trip to Stockholm.”
The case, which began earlier this year, involved accusations stemming from an alleged incident in Stockholm. The prosecutor’s decision not to press charges marks the end of months of scrutiny and speculation.
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