Sports
Nigeria Draws Cameron in AFCON Round of 16
Nigeria and Cameroon will renew their rivalry again in the Round of 16 stage of the ongoing 34th Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire on Saturday.
Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions who denied the Super Eagles three AFCON titles by the championship game in 1984, 1988 and 2000, defeated The Gambia 3-2 in their last Group C clash last night to upstage Guinea to the runner up spot of the group.
Defending champions Senegal trounced Guinea 2-0 to finish on maximum nine points on top of the group.
Both Guinea and Cameroon finished on four points each but superior +5 goals advantage gave the Indomitable Lions the edge over the Syli Nacional.
Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Monday night similarly finished on same seven points with Equatorial Guinea but missed the top spot due to the superior goals difference of the team from Malabo.
The Syli Nacional however, look certain to be among the best four third placed teams to progress to the Round of 16.
Defending champions Senegal’s Teranga Lions, winners of all group matches, will wait for the third best placed teams from Groups A, B or F to know who they
will play in the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, Super Eagles stand-in Captain, William Troost-Ekong has said he will be back in training later this week after a knee injury sidelined him out of the team’s final AFCON group game against Guinea Bissau.
The PAOK central defender suffered the injury in the Eagles 1-0 win over AFCON hosts Cote d’Ivoire.
Eagles who observed yesterday as rest day will resume training today ahead of their Saturday clash with the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.
The team’s major injury doubt remains Antwerp midfielder Alhassan Yusuf, who has yet to return to full team training after the thigh injury that forced him out of the opening group game against Equatorial Guinea.
The 23-year-old box-to-box midfielder has himself said he hopes to be back for the knockout rounds of the competition after a scan showed the injury was not as serious as first feared.
ThisDay
Sports
CAF Crowns Ademola Lookman As African Footballer of the Year
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.
Sports
Panel Clears Mbappe of Rape Allegation
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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