Sports

Flying Eagles Crash Out of U-20 World Cup, Lose to South Korea

Published

3 years ago

June 5, 2023

Eric

The Flying Eagles’ quest to win their first-ever U-20 World Cup ended in the quarter-final stage on Sunday, after they lost 1-0 to South Korea at the Santiago Del Estero.

An extra-time goal by Choi Seok-hyeon was the difference as the Asians progressed to the semi-final of the U-20 World Cup in Argentina, where they face European champions, Italy.

Ladan Bosso made one change to the side that defeated hosts Argentina on Wednesday as Samson Lawal made way for Victor Eletu, who provided the assist for the second goal against the South Americans four days earlier.

Nigeria started the encounter as the better side and almost got the opener just two minutes into the game.

After dribbling past two opponents, Daniel Bameyi floated a nice cross into the Korean area, but the ball, intended for Ibrahim Muhammad, was blocked and cleared into safety following frantic defending by the Asians.

Bosso’s boys continued their dominance and in the eight minute, Abel Ogwueche almost broke the deadlock.

A well-taken corner-kick by Tochukwu Nnadi was headed straight into the hands of goalkeeper Kim Jun-hong by Ogwueche.

The Flying Eagles continued their dominance and were able to contain the pacy and skilful Red Devils.

At the start of the second half head coach Kim Eun-jung sent in Bae Jun-ho to replace Kang Seong-jin as he added more threat to his attack.

Despite the early change from the coach, the Nigerians remained the team looking likely to score and captain Bameyi drew out a fine save from Jun-hong after hitting a long-range shot with venom, but the goalkeeper was equal to the task to keep the score level.

After an hour of action, South Korea began to look more dangerous and had their first shot of the game, with Lee Seung-joon’s curler beating Kingsley Aniagboso, in goal for Nigeria, but narrowly missed the target.

In response, Bosso made two quick changes as he sent in Umeh Emmanuel and Kehinde Ibrahim for Fago Lawal and Muhammad respectively.

Bameyi then missed the opportunity to give Nigeria the late winner after winning the ball from Park Hyun-bin on the edge of the box in the 86th minute, but he dragged his shot just wide as the game headed into extra time.

And just four minutes into extra time, South Korea took the lead with their first shot on target in the encounter, Lee Young-jun’s corner-kick headed in by Choi Seok-hyeon.

With just 10 minutes left, Emmanuel squandered a glorious chance to hand Nigeria an equaliser after he volleyed his shot way high beyond the posts from inside the box.

The South Koreans held onto their slender lead as they sealed a spot in the semi-finals and will face Italy on Thursday.

Sports

FIFA Lists Six Females Among 52 Referees for 2026 World Cup

Published

4 weeks ago

April 10, 2026

Eric

FIFA on Thursday unveiled its list of match officials for the June 11-July 19 World Cup, including 52 referees, six of whom are women.

Football’s governing body will also take 88 assistant referees and 30 video match officials, who hail from all six confederations and 50 member associations.

“The selected match officials are the very best in the world,” said Pierluigi Collina, FIFA’s chief refereeing officer.

“They were part of a wider pool of officials that was identified and monitored over the past three years. They have attended seminars and officiated at FIFA tournaments.

“In addition, their performances in domestic and international matches were regularly assessed.”

The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be the biggest in history, with a 48-team line-up and 104 matches to be played.

There are 41 more match officials than at Qatar four years ago, where 32 teams played 64 matches.

“The fact that six women match officials have been selected continues a trend that was started four years ago in Qatar as we aim to further develop women’s refereeing,” Collina said, with six women having already refereed in 2022.

AFP

Sports

AFCON 2025: CAS Overturns CAF Verdict

Published

1 month ago

March 25, 2026

Eric

African football has been plunged into fresh uncertainty after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) provisionally suspended a controversial ruling that stripped Senegal of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarded it to Morocco.

In an interim decision issued on Monday, CAS accepted Senegal’s appeal against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Appeals Board and ordered a “freeze” on the implementation of its verdict.

The move effectively places the 2025 AFCON title in legal limbo pending a full hearing.

The dispute stems from a chaotic final played in January 2026, where the Teranga Lions of Senegal defeated the hosts, the Atlas Lions of Morocco, 1–0 after extra time. The match took a dramatic turn late on when a contentious penalty was awarded to Morocco.

Although the spot kick was missed, Senegal’s players briefly walked off the pitch in protest, prompting confusion before play eventually resumed, and the match was concluded. Weeks later, Morocco’s federation challenged the outcome, citing provisions within AFCON regulations relating to match forfeiture.

On March 17, CAF’s Appeals Board ruled in Morocco’s favour, declaring that Senegal’s walk-off constituted a breach severe enough to forfeit the match. The result was overturned to a 3–0 victory for Morocco, with Senegal stripped of the title.

Senegal swiftly condemned the decision as unjust and escalated the matter to CAS, arguing that the sanction was disproportionate and undermined the integrity of the on-field result.

CAS has now sided, at least temporarily, with Senegal’s request for urgent intervention.

By granting provisional measures, the tribunal signalled that enforcing CAF’s ruling before a full hearing could cause irreparable harm, particularly in a case involving the revocation of a major continental title.

The immediate consequence is that AFCON 2025 currently has no officially recognised champion. The trophy remains unassigned while legal proceedings continue.

Sports

AFCON 2025: George Weah Urges CAS to Overrule CAF’s Verdict

Published

2 months ago

March 21, 2026

Eric

African football legend George Weah has criticised the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for stripping Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and awarding it to Morocco.

CAF’s Appeal Board overturned Senegal’s 1–0 victory in the Rabat final after ruling that the team’s walk-off during a late penalty incident constituted a forfeit. The result was subsequently recorded as a 3–0 win in favour of Morocco, crowning the hosts as champions.

Reacting to the decision, Weah, a former Ballon d’Or winner and three-time African Player of the Year, argued that match outcomes should be determined on the pitch, not in post-match rulings.

“In football, the referee on the pitch is the final authority. Once a match is completed, the result obtained on the field must stand,” he said.

Weah warned that overturning completed matches sets a dangerous precedent for the sport.

“There is no sporting justification to nullify a match completed under the referee’s authority.

Otherwise, we risk a slippery slope where committee decisions override on-field calls,” he added.

The former AC Milan forward further stated that the ruling undermines the integrity and credibility of African football, raising concerns over fairness and consistency.