Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets were imperious as they dominated and eventually overpowered hosts Ghana 4-2 on Saturday in the opening match of this year’s WAFU B U17 Championship taking place in Cape Coast, Ghana.

The five-time world champions started off from where the country’s U20 Boys, Flying Eagles left off against Ghana’s Black Satellites at the WAFU B U20 Championship in Niger Republic last month, where the wards of Coach Ladan Bosso hammered their Ghanaian counterparts in the opening match on their way to the title.Wing back Emmanuel Michael set the Golden Eaglets on the way with a ferocious free-kick from some 23 yards in the 12^th minute, which the Ghanaian goalkeeper, Ahmed Amadu Dembaram, had no answer to

Nigeria’s advantage was extended further in the 51^st minute by Jubril Opeyemi Azeez, but the Starlets reduced the deficit seven minutes later when substitute Abdul Razak Salifu got the better of goalkeeper Richard Odoh.

The Eaglets would not relent and in the 77^th minute, midfielder Ebube Wisdom Okere netted to make it 4-1 for Nigeria.

A momentary loss of concentration in the vital area led to Nigeria conceding a penalty with two minutes to the end, which was put away and cut Nigeria’s advantage to two goals.

With the victory, the Eaglets top Group A of the championship ahead of their clash with Togo on Tuesday. Victory over the Togolese will guarantee Nigeria a spot in the tournament semi finals.

Group B is made up of Cote d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic. 

A computer generated image of Lusail Stadium that will host the 2022 FIFA World Cup final, with seating capacity of 80,000, in Lusail City, north of central Doha, Qatar. Qatar Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy/Handout via REUTERS

Israelis will be able to attend 2022 World Cup games in Qatar, Israeli ministers said on Thursday, in a move they said would open “a new door” to a country with which Israel does not currently have formal diplomatic relations.

The agreement, which came after months of talks with FIFA, was announced by Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Sports Minister Chili Tropper.

“Love of football and sport connects people and states, and the World Cup in November opens a new door for us to warm ties,” the statement quoted Lapid as saying.

The Israel team failed to qualify for the finals.

Qatar, a small but wealthy Gulf Arab state, will host the first World Cup in the Middle East, starting in late November.

Qatar World Cup officials have repeatedly said that all nationalities are welcome during the tournament. All ticketholders must apply for the Hayya card, a fan identification, which doubles as their entry visa to Qatar.

Unlike its Gulf Arab neighbours Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, which recently signed historic agreements with Israel, Qatar has conditioned normalising relations on the establishment of a Palestinian state

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will on Monday take on São Tomé and Príncipe in their match day 2 fixtures of the qualifying series of the 2023  Africa Cup of Nations.

The Nigerian side go into the match slated for neutral ground in Morocco as the Estádio Nacional 12 de Julho in São Tomé and Príncipe did not meet the minimum requirement for international matches.

It is for the same reason that Sierra Leone are playing their home games away from home in Conakry, Guinea.

The São Tomé and Príncipe team is nicknamed “Falcão e Papagaio” and had been a punching bag for opponents in the qualification for the last three editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.

On Thursday, they slumped 5-1 to Guinea Bissau in a duel that  followed the sequence of the two previous qualifying series.

So, for the third consecutive time, the Santomean team started qualifying for the AFCON again, with a heavy defeat having lost to Cape Verde, 7-1 in 2015 edition and Sudan 4-0 in 2019 qualifiers.

If the trend persist on Monday, the Super Eagles should be able to not only win the match, but also score many goals to wrestle the group leadership from Guinea Bissau who will be away to Sierra Leone.

World Cup – South American Qualifiers – Ecuador v Argentina – Estadio Monumental Banco Pichincha, Guayaquil, Ecuador – March 29, 2022 Ecuador’s Byron Castillo in action with Argentina’s Nicolas Gonzalez Pool via REUTERS/Franklin Jacome

Ecuador will play at the 2022 World Cup after FIFA dismissed Chile’s claims that they had fielded an ineligible player in the qualifiers, world soccer’s governing body said on Friday.

The Chilean Football Federation (ANFP) last month said it had proof that Ecuador’s Byron Castillo was born in Tumaco, Colombia in 1995, and not in the Ecuadorean city of General Villamil Playas in 1998 as stated on his official documents.

It claimed the Barcelona of Guayaquil full back, who played in eight of Ecuador’s 18 qualifying games for Qatar, used a false passport and birth certificate.

“After analysing the submissions of all parties concerned and considering all elements brought before it, the FIFA Disciplinary Committee has decided to close the proceedings initiated against the FEF (Ecuadorean Football Association),” it said in a statement

“The present decision remains subject to an appeal before the FIFA Appeal Committee.”

Ecuador picked up 14 of their 26 points in matches Castillo played. If they had lost points for the games in which Castillo appeared, they would have missed out on a place in Qatar.

Ecuador are one of four South American teams who have already qualified for the World Cup finals later this year, along with Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. Fifth-placed Peru face a playoff next week.

‘SPORTING JUSTICE’

“Today sporting justice has been done,” FEF president Francisco Egas wrote on Twitter. “We always knew we were on the right side, let’s go Ecuador!”

Egas also attached the letter from FIFA which said the Disciplinary Committee had dismissed the charges and closed the disciplinary procedure initiated against the FEF.

Chile finished seventh in qualifying with 19 points.

However, the Chilean FA’s lawyer Eduardo Carlezzo had said that if Chile were given the points from the two games against Ecuador in which Castillo played they would have gone to the World Cup in their place.

“We celebrate it more because we felt humiliated, we felt trampled by the great media campaign from the Chilean federation,” Egas said later at a news conference.

“Especially their lawyer, who put forward a version that doubted the actions of the Ecuadorian soccer federation and also doubted the actions of our authorities.”

ANFP president Pablo Milad said they would appeal and even take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) if required.

“We are losing 1-0, but there is still the second half,” Milad said at a news conference with Carlezzo.

“The FIFA ruling surprisingly did not favour us despite strong evidence. We will wait for the arguments and we will appeal to FIFA. If it does not favour us, we will go to CAS.”

Ecuador are in Group A alongside hosts Qatar, Senegal and the Netherlands. The World Cup kicks off on Nov. 21.

WBC heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury is in talks to face the winner of Anthony Joshua’s rematch against Oleksandr Usyk despite having repeatedly spoken of hanging up his gloves

Fury knocked out fellow Briton Dillian Whyte in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley Stadium in April to retain his heavyweight crown, telling fans afterwards it was unlikely he would fight again

His wife, Paris, later told BT Sport that he would return only for a title unification bout. 

Usyk beat Joshua at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September last year to seize the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts. 

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn told the BBC that Joshua had signed his contract to fight Usyk in a re-match in Saudi Arabia in August, with a formal announcement expected next week.

The bout has been delayed several times after Usyk returned home to Ukraine to join a territorial defence battalion following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation”.

“(Joshua) understands that in a fight of this magnitude, things do take time. It’s taken time but we’re in a great place. He’s been training throughout, so has Oleksandr Usyk,” Hearn said on Saturday

English Football League (EFL) teams will be able to wear away or third kits when playing at home from next season to help colour blind supporters.

The governing body of the three divisions below the Premier League approved the changes to its rules during its annual general meeting on Friday.

“A home club will now be able to wear its ‘away’ or third kit where a clash may occur that would make it difficult for people who are colour blind to differentiate between the kits worn by both teams,” the EFL said in a statement.

“The amendment also allows clubs to further ‘mix and match’ elements of their registered kits in order to avoid kit clashes.”

The EFL added that it would work with clubs to identify situations where such clashes may occur.

“Fantastic news,” Colour Blind Awareness wrote on Twitter. “The colour blindness kit rule change proposed by the EFL has been approved at their AGM today!”

The EFL also approved the use of five substitutes per game in the 2022-23 season, following the Premier League’s lead, which voted in favour of the same in March.

England’s winless start to their Nations League campaign continued as an experimental Three Lions side failed to break down European champions Italy in a goalless draw at Molineux.

This was a game played behind closed doors as punishment for the chaos that preceded the last meeting between these two, when Italy beat England in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

Several thousand excitable schoolchildren in attendance did however provide Gareth Southgate’s side a lively backdrop in Wolverhampton and almost got the goal they craved when Mason Mount crashed an effort against the crossbar in the first half.

Raheem Sterling, captain for the evening with Harry Kane among the substitutes, also skewed a glorious opportunity over from close range from Reece James’ whipped delivery after the break.

But the hosts also needed goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to be alert on several occasions to stop the Azzurri inflicting another defeat on Southgate’s outfit, who remain bottom of Group A3 with two points after three games.

England too predictable for organised Italy

This was the third of four games in 11 days for England, after a draw in Germany followed an opening defeat by Hungary, and saw boss Southgate make six changes from that result in Munich.

The packed schedule comes straight after a long domestic season which itself the players had little time to recover for following last summer’s delayed Euros, when Southgate’s side finished as runners-up to a buoyant Italy outfit.

Despite that, and having taken England to the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup, Southgate continues to divide opinion – which England manager hasn’t? – and perhaps the combination of tired legs and an unfamiliar starting XI caused their lack of cohesion in attack.

The hosts were not adventurous enough, and too predictable, to trouble a well-organised but hardly vintage Italian side as much as they would have liked, with Roberto Mancini’s outfit also barely recognisable from their Euros victory last summer.

That said, England will feel they had chances to win the game.

Tammy Abraham, who finished the season with 17 goals in Serie A, was presented a glorious chance when goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma fluffed his pass but Manuel Locatelli’s last-ditch challenge threw the forward off his stride as he shaped to shoot.

Mount then fired against the bar after being played in by Sterling, who could only help James’ enticing delivery from the right-hand side over the top himself in the second half.

That was the result of a long, patient build-up, but too often England were slow in transition and easy to defend against.

At the other end, Arsenal’s Ramsdale, in for Jordan Pickford, did his future with the national team no harm by making several smart stops from a flurry of swift Italy attacks in the first half.

It means England remain without a victory over Italy since 2012, and in a competitive fixture since 1977.

Much-changed Italy remain unbeaten

While Italy’s last meeting with England saw Mancini’s side crowned European champions, the Azzurri were eliminated in World Cup qualifying in a shock play-off semi-final defeat by North Macedonia in March and will not be heading to Qatar later this year.

Their Nations League campaign got off to a more promising start with a draw against Germany and victory over Hungary and they remain unbeaten after a well-earned draw in Wolverhampton, as former Manchester City boss Mancini plots for their long-term future.

Just two of the players who started against England in the final at Wembley last summer began this one, but the visitors still managed to create several decent openings, especially in the first half.

Davide Frattesi missed a huge chance to give them the lead in the opening moments when he slid a low effort beyond the far post, while Ramsdale produced a superb stop to keep out Sandro Tonali.

Ginaluca Scamacca also sliced over from a dangerous position as Italy finished the opening 45 minutes with purpose, but were unable to build on that momentum after the break.