The Super Eagles forward has been rewarded for a brilliant 2021 in which he was mostly unstoppable in front of goal

Genk striker Paul Onuachu has been named the winner of the 2021 Belgian Golden Shoe award, becoming the first-ever Nigerian and the fourth African to claim the prestigious honour.

Until Onuachu’s famous win on Wednesday night, no Nigerian had ever clinched the award given in Belgium at the beginning of each year to the best footballer of the Belgian First Division A for the past year.

Three Africans, Ivory Coast’s Aruna Dindane in 2003, Morocco’s Mbark Boussoufa twice in 2006 and 2010, and Democratic Republic of Congo’s Dieumerci Mbokani in 2012, had previously won the award.

Onuachu finished in third place last year in the running for the Golden Shoe, coming behind winner Israeli star Lior Refaelov and second-placed Raphael Holzhauser.

But after scoring an incredible 29 league goals over the entire 2020-21 season and adding another 12 in the first half of the current campaign, there was no stopping the Super Eagles striker this time.

The 27-year-old goal machine polled 333 votes to beat the Club Brugge duo of Noa Lang (272 votes) and Charles De Ketelaere (271 votes) to second and third, respectively.

With the win, Onuachu becomes only the third Genk player in history to be named Belgium’s best and the first in 20 years.

The former Midtjylland star is currently recuperating from an injury that kept him out of the Nigerian squad to the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.

There were fine performances all over the park for the Eagles as the three-time Afcon kings earned a memorable win over the most successful team in the competition

English Premier League club Watford and Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam have sent congratulatory messages to Super Eagles goalkeeper Maduka Okoye following his impressive performance in Nigeria’s 1-0 victory over Egypt on Tuesday. 

Okoye kept a clean sheet as the Super Eagles secured a dominant win over their illustrious foes in their opening Group D match of the ongoing 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

The Nigerian attack, led by Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon, and Taiwo Awoniyi, was impressive as they ran the Pharaohs ragged.

But just as impressive was the Nigerian defence, marshalled by the duo of Watford’s William Troost-Ekong and Leganes’ Kenneth Omeruo.

They ran, tackled, blocked, intercepted, and cleared the dangers posed by the Egyptians for ninety minutes, so much that Liverpool’s talismanic forward Mohamed Salah had his poorest game in recent times.

And on the rare occasion when Salah broke through, Okoye was on hand to block the attacker’s attempt with his leg and made the save, helping his team preserve the lead given by Iheanacho’s first-half volley.

And Okoye, who signed for Watford in November but will stay at Sparta Rotterdam until the end of the season, has received heartfelt greetings from both clubs for that fine showing.

Watford FC wrote on Twitter “Well done, boys! A clean sheet for Troost-Ekong and @OkoyeMaduka in Nigeria’s victorious #AFCON2021 opener against Egypt!”

On the same social media site, Sparta wrote “Congratulations @OkoyeMaduka and #TeamNigeria with the 1-0 victory in the @CAF_Online. Our home is in your colours! #NGAEGY.”

Okoye is at his first major tournament for the Super Eagles, having made his debut in 2019 after the Afcon tournament hosted by Egypt.

The 22-year-old and his international teammates will target another victory against Sudan on Saturday, knowing that another three points will guarantee passage to the competition’s knockout rounds.

Nigeria currently top Group D with three points after Sudan and Guinea-Bissau played out a goalless draw also on Tuesday.

The Nantes forward was the Pharaohs’ tormentor in chief when Nigeria beat Egypt, and he is ready to do the same to the Sudanese side

Nigeria forward Moses Simon has affirmed the Super Eagles’ readiness to take on the Falcons of Sudan when they square off against their North African counterparts on Saturday.

Moses was the tormentor in chief when the Super Eagles took on Egypt on Tuesday. He provided the cross that led to Kelechi Iheanacho’s clincher in the first half And his speed kept the Egyptian defence in check.

On paper, the game against the Pharaohs was supposed to be the most challenging tie in the group, but the Super Eagles made light of it after their dominant display.

Nigeria square off against Sudan next, and considering the disparity in quality between both sides, the Super Eagles are massive favourites going into the tie.

However, Moses has stated that he and his teammates would approach the game with all seriousness.

“The game against Sudan is something we just need to be careful with because now in Africa, there is no small team” Moses said.

“So, of course, we just need to go all in all. The way we took the game against Egypt is likewise the same thing that we are going to do against Sudan. We have to do our best and give 100 per cent to have three points.”

The Super Eagles will seal their spot in the knockout stages if they beat Sudan on Saturday.

The Eagles of Mali claimed their first win of the tournament, but it was the man in the middle that took the headlines 

Mali claimed their first three points of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations after beating Tunisia in controversial circumstances.

A 48th-minute penalty from Ibrahima Kone was enough to see the Malians through, albeit the Tunisians missed several chances to equalise.

The Carthage Eagles captain Wahbi Khazri missed a penalty in the 77th minute while Dylan Bronn and Ali Maaloul fired blanks.

However, the Tunisians will feel cheated due to the poor officiating from Zambian referee Janny Sikazwe. The 42-year-old was abysmal. The second half penalty he awarded to the Malians had question marks written all over it.

Also, he committed another blunder in the 86th minute after he awarded Malian forward El Bilal Toure a red card for a yellow card offence. The climax was when he ended the game in the 89th minute.

His decision caused an uproar, and the Tunisian officials ran into the pitch to protest the decision. And if not for the intervention of the stewards, the situation could have escalated.

After about thirty minutes, both teams were told to return to the pitch to conclude the game, but only the Malian Eagles obliged, while the Tunisians refused. In the end, the Malians walked away with the 1-0 controversial victory.

Meanwhile, it is not the first time the 42-year-old would be making dodgy decisions. In 2018, he was banned by CAF after his poor officiating in the CAF Champions League match between Espérance de Tunis and Primero de Agosto, which Esperance de Tunis won 4–2.

Sikazwe awarded Esperance a controversial penalty before ruling out an Agosto goal for a perceived foul on the Esperance goalkeeper.

According to the release from the CAF disciplinary committee, Sikazwe was found guilty of corruption, and he was suspended indefinitely. But his ban was lifted by FIFA just two months later.

The 23-year-old has not played a game of football in almost two months, but he is set for a return to action anytime soon 

Victor Osimhen has finally returned to team training at Napoli following the facial injury he suffered in Napoli’s clash against Inter Milan last November.

Osimhen fractured his left cheekbone and orbit in the game and had to undergo complicated but successful surgery.

Following the surgery, it was confirmed that Osimhen would be out for three months. But the former Lille man returned to individual training just two weeks later, which raised Nigerian fans expectations over his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations.

But the 23-year-old dashed the hopes of many Nigerians after pulling out of the squad due to the injury and coronavirus he contracted when he visited Nigeria in December.

Osimhen just returned to Naples after testing negative for the virus and took part in the team training for the first time since he suffered the injury.

According to Claudio Rosso, Osimhen took part in the team’s session on Wednesday after his individual training.

Chelsea eased into the Carabao Cup final as they closed out a comfortable semi-final win over Tottenham.

Spurs never seriously threatened to overturn Chelsea’s two-goal first-leg advantage and Antonio Rudiger’s bundled finish from Mason Mount’s corner after 18 minutes effectively confirmed a Wembley date with either Arsenal or Liverpool.

It was a night of frustration for Spurs and their former Chelsea manager Antonio Conte as they saw two penalties, awarded by referee Andre Marriner for fouls on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Lucas Moura, correctly overturned by VAR.

Harry Kane also saw a goal ruled out for offside in an improved second-half performance from Spurs but Chelsea always looked in control – and once they had extended their aggregate lead early on, they were able to control affairs without hitting their best form.

The game was paused late on following a medical emergency in the crowd and on resumption Chelsea completed the formalities of their victory.

Conte’s huge task exposed

Spurs manager Conte has made no secret of the size of his job in rejuvenating this club after their recent decline – and any doubts over that diagnosis were removed by Chelsea’s obvious superiority here.

It was still a mystery, however, as to why Conte felt the need to rest experienced keeper and captain Hugo Lloris with the tie still on the line and play deputy Pierluigi Gollini instead.

Gollini distinguished himself when he saved with his legs from Romelu Lukaku early on but was at fault when he made an unconvincing dash to claim Mount’s corner, a move that ended badly when the ball was diverted into net via Rudiger’s back.

This was surely a job that required the presence of Lloris when Spurs’ margin of error was virtually non-existent.

Spurs did mount a challenge of sorts after the break but it was too little, too late – and this was a mediocre display that only illustrated how much work Conte needs to do.

Kane battled but remains short of his best form while there was a lack of creativity in midfield that allowed Chelsea to contain Spurs with relative comfort.

Conte will be expecting serious backing from Spurs chairman Daniel Levy if his drive and fierce ambition is to be satisfied. At present, he has a squad that requires serious investment before there can be thoughts of getting anywhere near the Premier League elite.

Tuchel shows magic touch again

Chelsea are now in their third successive final under Thomas Tuchel since he arrived to succeed the sacked Frank Lampard almost a year ago.

He guided them to the FA Cup final last season, which Chelsea lost to Leicester City, before claiming the biggest European club prize of all by winning the Champions League against Manchester City in Porto.

The job of reaching the EFL Cup final was largely done in the first game at Stamford Bridge but Chelsea came out here with the sort of determination and attacking intent that made it clear they were determined to snuff out Spurs’ hopes as quickly as possible.

Lukaku wasted one chance to do that but the early goal they desired came from Rudiger, which gave Spurs a task they never looked like accomplishing.

Tuchel, standards as high as ever, cut a dissatisfied figure at times in the second half when Chelsea’s intensity dropped and a little complacency appeared to creep into their game, giving Spurs opportunities they never had in the first 45 minutes.

Chelsea’s players responded to their manager’s demands and this tie was played out in a testimonial atmosphere in the closing minutes as Spurs fans deserted the stadium in droves, leaving one corner packed with joyous, celebrating visiting supporters.

The strength of Chelsea’s squad was shown once more as Tuchel was able to bring on Thiago Silva, Marcos Alonso, Hakim Ziyech, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N’Golo Kante in the second half to ensure the door was never left ajar for Spurs. Indeed, it was slammed firmly in their faces.

It shows the scale of the job Tuchel has done that in the 350 days since his first game at Chelsea, he has become the first manager in their history to guide them to a Champions League, FA Cup and EFL Cup final.

And, on this evidence, Chelsea will take some stopping, whoever they face at Wembley at the end of February.