The three-time African champions ended a rough patch with the win over Egypt and may have won over another England-born footballer

Southampton star Nathan Tella believes he is ready to play international football and has confessed that it would be a ‘dream’ to wear the famous green and white colours of Nigeria.

The ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament in Cameroon may have played a significant role in helping the 22-year-old arrive at that major decision.

The popularity of Egypt’s captain Mohamed Salah drew the attention of many Premier League watchers to Nigeria’s first group game of the championship, with the Liverpool star expected to run riot in Garoua.

But the Super Eagles became the darling of many after producing an excellent performance to shock the seven time African champions and their iconic talisman

Tella admits he has been keeping tabs on the Afcon because of Nigeria and his Southampton teammate Moussa Djenepo, who was in action asMali defeated Tunisia despite several refereeing mistakes.

orn in England to Nigerian parents, Tella is eligible to feature for the Super Eagles.

The versatile forward will not be entangled by any of the change of nationality processes that denied Ademola Lukman his AFCON chances , as he has never played for any of England’s youth teams

And inspired by the exploits of Che Adams with Scotland at the Euros last year, Tella is convinced he can become a better player by representing the fatherland.

“I would love to play international football,” Tella said.

“That’s always been a dream of mine. If I went away with Nigeria, it would be something new and new experiences bring out the best in players.

“When I look at Che, I see that he has come back from Scotland as a more mature player. There is no reason why I can’t do that; come back a more mature person.

“Whatever happens in the future, I am just focussed on being here and, yes, trying to score goals and help the team win and progress.”

He continued: “I’m always keeping an eye on AFCON. I’m Nigerian, so I always want to focus and watch the games.

“Obviously, when I have any of my teammates (Moussa Djenepo, Mali) out there, I really want to know how they do.

“I’m happy he won yesterday, despite the ending, but it was good that he was able to win, and I wish him all the best.”

Having played anywhere from striker to right-back for Saints this season, Tella boasts a versatility that could be an advantage for the handlers of the Nigerian national team.

It, however, would be difficult to get a callup to the Super Eagles as the former Afcon champions have quality talents in nearly every department, especially in attack.

Australia has revoked tennis star Novak Djokovic’s visa for a second time in a row over his right to remain in the country unvaccinated.

The decision on “health and good order” grounds means he could be deported and get a three-year visa ban.

However, the 34-year-old Serbian can still launch another legal challenge to remain in Australia.

The men’s tennis number one was scheduled to play in the Australian Open, which begins on Monday.

“Today I exercised my power… to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds, on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so,” Immigration Minister Alex Hawke said in a statement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the decision followed “careful consideration.”

“Australians have made many sacrifices during this pandemic, and they rightly expect the result of those sacrifices to be protected” he said in a statement.

Djokovic will meet immigration officials in Melbourne on Saturday morning, and will be allowed to stay in his current accommodation on Friday night – some Australian media had speculated that he may be moved to an immigration detention hotel.

The nine-time Australian Open winner was hoping to defend his title next week, which if he won, would make him the most successful male tennis player in history with a record 21 Grand Slam titles.

For the moment, Djokovic remains in the Australian Open draw and is due to face fellow Serb Miomir Kecmanovic early next week. If he is deported, however, his slot will most likely go to Russian player Andrey Rublev.

Djokovic’s visa was first revoked shortly after his arrival in Melbourne on 6 January, after Australian border Force officials said he had “failed to provide appropriate evidence” to receive a vaccine exemption.

His initial announcement that he was coming to play in the Open prompted a backlash from some Australians, who have lived under long and strict Covid lockdowns, because it was unclear if he could meet the country’s strict entry rules.

Djokovic was detained for hours at Melbourne airport’s immigration control when he first arrived, and then spent days at an immigration hotel. Days later his visa was reinstated by a judge, who ordered his release, ruling that border officials ignored correct procedure when he arrived.

But on Friday evening in Melbourne, Mr Hawke cancelled Djokovic’s visa under separate powers in Australia’s Migration Act.

The act allows him to deport anyone he deems a potential risk to “the health, safety or good order of the Australian community”, however Djokovic can still appeal this.

It comes after Djokovic addressed allegations that his agent had accidentally made a false declaration on his travel form. Djokovic also admitted meeting a journalist and having a photoshoot after testing positive for Covid-19.

Burkina Faso muscled their way to an important 1-0 victory over Cape Verde in Thursday’s second Group A game at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

After an opening defeat by the hosts, this was a must-win for the Stallions, who claimed a narrow victory thanks to Hassane Bande’s 40th-minute goal.

Cameroon lead the group after beating Ethiopia, while Burkina Faso and Cape Verde stand level on three points each.

The Burkinabe were without Bertrand Traore after his positive Covid test.

While the Aston Villa forward was absent in Yaounde, coach Kamou Malo led the team for the first time after returning from his own Covid case.

In the opening half hour, the Stallions – who were the stronger team throughout – called Cape Verde keeper Vozinha into action a number of times.

The veteran 35-year-old, back in the team after also recovering from Covid, made a smart save from Edmond Tapsoba’s low free-kick in the 12th minute.

Ten minutes later, he stood his ground well as Bande, in the Burkina side to replace Traore, failed to finish off Tapsoba’s fine run from deep.

Shortly before half-time, Bande finally got the better of Vozinha, chesting home Isa Kabore’s fine cross to give the Burkinabe the lead.

Cape Verde’s best chance came around the half-hour mark, when Julio Tavares forced Herve Koffi into action for the first time, but the Burkinabe keeper tipped the shot round the post when a firmer strike may have beaten him.

In the second half, the Blue Sharks tried to be more positive – with Garry Rodrigues, Julio Tavares and captain Stopira all having opportunities.

Yet they were unable to convert them and coach Bubista, still missing because of yet another Covid infection, will have been a frustrated viewer as his team failed to capitalise on their opening win against Ethiopia.

Burkina Faso’s improved performance gives them every chance of claiming a spot in the last 16, and victory against pointless Ethiopia on Monday will see them finish second in the group should Cape Verde fail to beat Cameroon.

Cameroon lead the group with two wins from two, and have qualified for the next round already as one of the best third-placed runners-up at the very least.

It is less than 48 hours after their memorable defeat of the Pharaohs of Egypt in the opening match of Group D of the 33^rd Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon and the Super Eagles have shifted their focus completely to Saturday’s confrontation with the Falcons of Jediane (Sudan) at the Stade Roumdé Adjia in Garoua.

Just as happened in their debut at the 59 years ago, Nigeria had Egypt and Sudan lined up as their first two opponents of the competition. In 1963, the Egyptians hammered the Cinderellas 6-3, and Sudan followed with a 4-0 whiplash of the newcomers.

Tuesday’s 1-0 success was Nigeria’s first-ever win over Egypt in a first match at the AFCON. Twelve years ago, in the Angolan city of Benguela, the Pharaohs came from deficit as a result of Chinedu Obasi’s early goal to lash the Eagles 3-1.

Apart from their 4-0 win over the Eagles in 1963 in Accra, the Falcons’ 1-0 defeat of Nigeria in an AFCON qualifier in Khartoum in October 2014 was one of the principal reasons for the absence of the green-and-white in the 30^th finals in Equatorial Guinea seven years ago.

So much has changed in 59 years and the Eagles are quietly confident of victory over the Sudanese when both teams tango at the 30,000 –capacity venue in northern Cameroon on Saturday evening.

“I am happy with our output against Egypt and especially the way the boys set up and approached the game the way we agreed was best. Everything worked. But we have shifted our focus completely to the next match and it is another day and another team and a different approach. I am happy with the playing personnel that we have got and the way they are ready to give their all,” Coach Eguavoen told thenffnews on Thursday morning.

Former Eagles’ captain Eguavoen featured for the Nigeria senior team for 11 years, between 1987 and 1998, during which he lifted the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994, held aloft the Afro-Asian Cup the following year, played in three AFCON finals (it could have been six but he missed the 1990 finals in Algeria; Nigeria withdrew from the 1996 finals and; was barred from the 1998 competition) and featured at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cup finals. He won a total of 51 senior caps.

As coach, Eguavoen was assistant to another former captain Christian Chukwu when Nigeria finished third at the 2004 finals in Tunisia, then led the team to win another bronze in Egypt two years later. He is one of only 15 indigenous coaches to have taken charge of the Senior Men National Team of Nigeria, and also one of the 15 African coaches at these finals in Cameroon.

As Head Coach, the hard-as-nails defender has the most win-record with the Super Eagles, winning nine of his 12 matches in charge between 2005 and 2007, and is one of only three coaches to have steered an African country to the top 10 of the FIFA rankings (the other two being Clemens Westerhof and Egypt’s Hassan Shehata).

On Thursday, Eguavoen waved aside the record of his being the only Nigeria coach to have led the Super Eagles to win all three group phase matches at the AFCON, when his wards steamrolled Ghana, Zimbabwe and Senegal in Egypt 16 years ago.

“I am focused on winning against Sudan for now; I don’t want to think about any record or how we go about our third match. Sudan is in focus now and we have to deal with that, squarely.”

Three points on Saturday will guarantee group leaders Nigeria a place in the Round of 16 of the 33^rd AFCON, meaning a more relaxed approach to their final group phase clash with debutants Guinea Bissau also in Garoua on Wednesday next week. If they finish top of Group D, the three-time champions will remain in Garoua for their Round of 16 task.

Old hands in the Nigeria team’s backroom have told of a breath of fresh air in camp, in which democracy, liberty and communication have been instituted and everyone is made to feel a part of all activities, events and programmes. “Coach Eguavoen has insisted that everyone must communicate; they must say their mind at all times. He speaks to each and every player like he’s their uncle and notes and deals with their challenges. He does not discriminate.

“The camp is so interesting and is once more like a family setting. Everyone is like another’s brother. The spirit is high and I believe our team will go far in this competition,” said one backroom staff.   

The Confederation of African Football (Caf) has dismissed a formal complaint lodged by Tunisia’s football federation (FTF) about their game with Mali ending 13 seconds early.

In a statement CAF said, the Africa Cup of Nations organising committee met on Thursday and rejected the protest but gave no further explanation.

Caf also confirmed the result of Wednesday’s game as a 1-0 win to Mali which was the score when Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe, said to have suffered sunstroke, blew early.

He had already whistled for full-time after 85 minutes, only to notice his error and continue the match.

Earlier on Thursday, FTF official Hussein Jenaieh had insisted: “We will do whatever it takes to defend the rights of the national team. We are not children.”

FTF media officer Kais Reguez refused to go into details when asked about the nature of Tunisia’s complaint, which he did confirm.

Match referee Sikazwe reportedly had to go to hospital to recover after the match, which is why the fourth official was set to take charge of a failed attempt to restart the game over 20 minutes later.

While Mali turned up, Tunisia did not, since some of their players were taking ice baths.

“The referee had sunstroke, which affected his decisions in the game,” Caf refereeing official Essam Abdul Fattah told Egyptian media. “After the game, he needed to go hospital because the weather was so hot.”

After their unexpected 0-0 draw against Sierra Leone, defending champions Algeria blamed their display on the heat in Cameroon.

How a farce evolved

Tunisia, the 2004 champions, came into the tournament knowing that a young and vibrant Mali side were likely to be their main group rivals.

Trailing with just five minutes of regulation time left, they were stunned when referee Sikazwe blew for full-time.

The Zambian later checked his timings and continued the game, sending off a Malian player in the meantime, only to then blow up with the clock showing 89 minutes and 47 seconds.

In extraordinary scenes, the Mali coach’s ‘post-match’ press conference was interrupted as it was announced the game would have to re-start to conclude, which it never did.

“They asked us to get back on the pitch, we didn’t – we had no idea what was going on,” Tunisia defender Bilel Ifa told reporters.

“We hope the match is replayed. The referee had no idea what was going on since the beginning of the game.”

Tunisia’s assistant coach was left furious by both the incident and its possible reputational damage for the African game.

“Unfortunately, we cannot see things like this at this high level in Africa – African Football cannot move forward like this,” Tunisia’s assistant coach Jalel Kadri told reporters.

“The referee was “shaken” today. He was even hesitant to check the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), he didn’t even know how to get to the VAR.”

Full-blown chaos

Zambian official Sikazwe refereed two group-stage matches at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and took charge of the 2017 Nations Cup final.

His reported sunstroke would explain much of the chaos that followed from the 85th minute onwards.

“We understood nothing in the 85th minute – we were in shock,” added Kadri.

“We spoke to the fourth official who said there was miscommunication between him and the main referee who might have misunderstood him. We resumed the match only for him to whistle again in the 89th minute.”

“We headed to the fourth official who agreed the game still hadn’t ended,” FTF official Jenaiah told reporters.

“We complained it was the second time the referee had stopped the game prematurely.

“The fourth official first said the match will resume, but as he headed to the main referee, the latter said ‘No, I blew the whistle, the game is over’.”

Hosts Cameroon became the first team to qualify for the last 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations with an emphatic 4-1 win over Ethiopia in Group A.

Forwards Vincent Aboubakar and Karl Toko-Ekambi scored twice each after Ethiopia took an early lead in Yaounde.

Hotessa Dawa slid home after four minutes but the hosts were level after eight as Toko-Ekambi headed home.

In the second half, Aboubakar struck twice, and Lyon’s Toko-Ekambi then added his second after 67 minutes.

Cameroon are certain to qualify for the next stage as one of the best four third-placed sides at the very least, but will win their group if they avoid defeat against Cape Verde on Monday.

After scoring two penalties as the Burkinabe were beaten 2-1 on the opening day, Cameroon captain Aboubakar is the tournament’s top scorer – with his header and tap-in taking him to four goals.

He now has a record of five goals from 10 Nations Cup games, a marked improvement from his first eight games, which produced just one goal the winner itself in the 2017 final.

The Indomitable Lions, who are seeking a sixth Nations Cup title for Cameroon, have now won six games in a row – and have both feet in the last 16, with six points to their name.

Lions show bite

Cameroon had to work hard to secure their 2-1 win against Burkina Faso, riding their luck at times before the Stallions ran out of energy and ideas.

As they did on Sunday, coach Toni Conceicao’s side had to come from behind to win but this time they were convincing victors as their array of Europe-based stars overpowered a side whose players are all based in Ethiopia’s domestic league.

Hotessa’s early goal, though, showed other teams that Cameroon’s defence can be exposed, as Collins Fai switched off and allowed the Ethiopia striker to get ahead of him and tap home Amanuel Gebremichael’s low cross.

But the comeback was impressive as all three of Cameroon’s forwards were involved in their instant equaliser.

Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting and Aboubakar combined – before the latter’s fiercely struck but well-saved shot spilled to Fai, who atoned for his error when finding Toko-Ekambi with a perfect cross to make it 1-1.

As in the first period, Cameroon needed just eight minutes to score once the second got under way, and Fai was at it again – floating in another inch-perfect delivery that Aboubakar gobbled up in familiar fashion, heading down and firmly past the keeper.

Just two minutes later, it was 3-1 as Aboubakar showed his power on the floor this time, charging forward to bustle home a low cross along the six-yard box from Moumi Ngameleu.

Toko-Ekambi grabbed his second as he latched on to an inviting pass from impressive Napoli midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo-Anguissa before turning inside two defenders and drilling home.

While Cameroon impressed with their energy and free-flowing play, the scoreline was a little harsh on Ethiopia, who could easily have ended the game with more than one goal.

Both Abubeker Nasir and Hotessa wasted decent opportunities in the first half with the latter also guilty of spurning a fine chance in the second half.

Their best second-half opportunity fell to Bezabih Melayu three minutes from time but he failed to hit the target with the goal gaping after the ball fell kindly to him in the box.

There was still time for right-back Fai, who has never scored for Cameroon, to hit the post, just as Zambo-Anguissa did earlier in a game that entertained from the start in Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium.