Nigeria’s road to U20 World Cup almost complete

Nigeria is the only African nation to qualify for every edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, since the competition began in 2002. afnews.co.za

by Marabou News Agency

The Nigeria U20 women’s national team, the Falconets has stepped up training ahead of this year’s edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup tournament in Poland, from September 5-27.

Nigeria, Tanzania, Benin and Ghana will represent Africa in the biennial competition. No African team has ever won the FIFA U20 women’s World Cup title in the tournament’s 24-year history, with the four teams now having the burden of re-writing history.

The Falconets are by far the most successful African team in the tournament, having finished runners up against Germany in both 2010 and 2014. Other past African representatives included Ghana and DRC who exited in the group stage.

In Abuja, the Nigerian squad is going through the paces to be ready, with residential training having commenced four weeks ago.
Moses Aduku, the team’s head coach in an interview with Marabou News Agency believes it is possible for Nigerian or any other African team to win the World Cup.

Their target, is coming back with the World Cup trophy despite it being a tough task.

“I think mentality is important right now and we have been working on that, and the girls are getting it right. We are telling them that it is possible to win the World Cup. Yeah, training is good but the mentality must be 100% and we have been working hard with them, and I think one game at a time,” the coach said.

Captain Joy Igbokwe said they will go to Poland and give their best with a view of making Nigerians and Africans proud.

“Our goal is to go to Poland and give our best and come back with the Cup. We have great peers in the team, from the U17 to the U20 and we are good to go. We are young, we are determined, we are focused.”

The Falconets secured qualification to the U20 World Cup after an impressive qualifying campaign. They registered a 5-0 aggregate win over Rwanda in the second round before edging Senegal 3-2.

They then sealed their ticket to Poland with a 3-2 aggregate victory over Malawi in the final qualifying round. Nigeria is the only African nation to qualify for every edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, since the competition began in 2002.

Marabou News Agency

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Le Paris Saint-Germain lance officiellement sa nouvelle saison avec un premier trophée en jeu. Les Parisiens affrontent Aston Villa ce mercredi soir à Salzbourg, à l’occasion de la Supercoupe d’Europe, qui oppose les vainqueurs de la Ligue des champions et de la Ligue Europa.

Pour cette affiche, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia sera particulièrement attendu. Le Géorgien a bénéficié d’une préparation plus longue cet été et semble déjà en pleine possession de ses moyens, comme l’a souligné Marquinhos.

« J’ai dû défendre sur lui à l’entraînement, et je vous assure que c’était très difficile. Il est plus frais que moi après les vacances ! », a expliqué le capitaine parisien.

Le PSG cherchera donc à bien démarrer cette nouvelle campagne avec un premier titre à décrocher face à une équipe d’Aston Villa qui disputera sa première Supercoupe d’Europe depuis 1983. Le coup d’envoi est prévu à 19h00 gmt.

The post Supercoupe d’Europe PSG- Aston Villa : Marquinhos séduit par la forme de Kvaratskhelia appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

New Zealand Herald rugby writer Gregor Paul says the days of fiercely contested tour matches against strong provincial sides are gone.

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Paul argues that nostalgia for the All Blacks’ previous visits to South Africa has created unrealistic expectations around their four Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry tour matches against the country’s URC teams.

“The romanticists want to take themselves back to the period in which mid-week games were epically brutal and demanding because the local provincial or composite side had the players, time and motivation to be a serious opponent,” he writes.

“But those days are gone, and they are not coming back.”

According to Paul, professionalism and the demands of the modern rugby calendar have made it virtually impossible to recreate the provincial clashes that became such an important part of traditional tours.

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South Africa’s situation is particularly complicated, he argues, because the country’s clubs compete in northern-hemisphere competitions while the Springboks’ international season remains aligned with the south.

As a result, the four URC teams must face the All Blacks without their current Springboks and during their pre-season.

Paul highlighted the Stormers’ effort in Friday night’s 38-21 defeat in Cape Town, when they were level at 14-14 after 66 minutes.

“The Stormers were able to produce a defiant performance in what was not just their first game since playing Leinster in the semi-final of the URC in early June, but their first contact session as they get ready for the September restart of their new season.

“But that really was against the odds.”

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Paul believes those circumstances should also frame expectations for Tuesday night’s clash between the Sharks and All Blacks in Durban.

“These games are not peak All Blacks versus peak club teams and everyone in South Africa knows it, which is partly why ticket sales for these games have been difficult.

“The hype machine will say otherwise – and push the narrative that the clock has been wound back to the good old days – and try to sell this as a fearsome Natal team ready to soften up the All Blacks.

“But no one should buy that.”

FULL COLUMN

Photo: Roger Sedres/Gallo Images

The post ‘Midweek tour matches romance is dead’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Dix jours après l'arrivée massive de migrants dans l'enclave espagnole de Ceuta, son président Juan Jesús Vivas a appelé lundi 10 août à « confiner » les migrants encore présents sur le territoire. Si la majorité d'entre eux sont repartis très rapidement, selon Madrid, le sort des migrants encore sur place fait l'objet de vives discussions politiques entre le gouvernement central, de gauche, et le président de Ceuta, membre du principal parti de droite, le Parti populaire.

Nottingham Forest tient son nouveau défenseur central. Le club anglais a annoncé ce mardi la signature d’Ousmane Diomande, qui arrive du Sporting Portugal contre une indemnité de 40 millions d’euros.

À seulement 22 ans, l’international ivoirien s’apprête à découvrir la Premier League après trois années passées au Portugal. Il a signé un contrat de quatre ans, avec une année supplémentaire en option.

Diomande avait rejoint le Sporting en 2023 après un passage par Midtjylland. Rapidement devenu un élément important de la défense lisboète, il a notamment participé au parcours européen du club en Ligue des champions la saison dernière.

Présent avec la Côte d’Ivoire lors du Mondial 2026, le défenseur compte déjà 15 sélections. Son arrivée représente un investissement important pour Nottingham Forest, qui renforce ainsi son secteur défensif avec un joueur encore appelé à progresser.

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