In-form Bologna forward, Joshua Zirkzee is a hot commodity in Europe at the moment with top clubs jostling for his signature, and so has a decision to make.

Same decision awaits at International level, as he is eligible to represent Netherlands and Nigeria. In a recent interview that has sparked discussions, the forward declared he will choose Nigeria only if Netherland aren’t calling.

Joshua Zirkzee said: “It’s not easy to say. If the Netherlands aren’t calling, then I’ll choose Nigeria. Are they even calling? Maybe. Nigeria is not a country that you just choose because you cannot play for your homeland.

” The competition there for attackers is perhaps just as great as in the Dutch team. Nigeria has Boniface from Leverkusen and Osimhen from Napoli. And they have many more attackers,” the 22-year-old added.

A brief yet decorated club career has seen Joshua Zirkzee win the Bundesliga, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, DFB Pokal, and the DFL Super Cup.

Zirkzee, aged 22, rose to prominence in the German Bundesliga during the 2019/2020 season with Bayern Munich, where he achieved the treble under the guidance of Hansi Flick. Since then, he has been loaned out to Parma and Anderlecht before securing a permanent transfer to Bologna in the summer of 2022.

His stellar form this season has sparked discussions about his potential inclusion in Ronald Koeman’s squad for the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany. Zirkzee has been a standout performer for Bologna, contributing nine goals and four assists.

Born on May 22, 2001, Zirkzee has a Nigerian mother and a Dutch father. Although he has represented the Netherlands from the U-15 to the U-21 level, he is yet to make an appearance for the senior team.

Zirkzee has expressed his preference for the Dutch national team, stating that playing in the Euro 2024 tournament with Ronald Koeman’s squad would fulfill a lifelong dream.

“My dream has always been the Dutch national team. However, the European Championships is not necessarily a crossroad. If that doesn’t happen then, I’ll look further. I’d be grateful if it did happen and if not, I have to make sure they call me. You hope to be there one day,” the former Bayern Munich man said.

As Bologna currently sits in 4th place in the Italian Serie A table, Zirkzee and his teammates are focused on securing a spot in next season’s UEFA Champions League, with only two points separating them from 5th-placed Atalanta.

The Nigerian forward opened his three-goal scoring spree in the 31st minute

Victor Osimhen stole the show with a hat-trick as Napoli defeated Sassuolo 6-1 in a thrilling Serie A encounter on Wednesday.

Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, where he managed only one goal, Osimhen has rediscovered his scoring touch for Napoli.

He took his performance to the next level with a memorable hat-trick in this midweek clash.

The Nigerian forward opened his three-goal scoring spree in the 31st minute, tapping in from close range after a well-worked move involving Matteo Politano and Di Lorenzo.

He completed his brace ten minutes later, displaying his pace and composure to beat the offside trap and flick the ball past the goalkeeper.

Osimhen completed his hat-trick in the second half, capitalising on a defensive error by Sassuolo’s Ruan Tressoldi, who gifted the ball to Kvaratskhelia, who selflessly squared it for the Nigerian to tap in.

This performance cemented Osimhen’s place in Napoli’s history. He became only the third player in the club’s history to score at least 10 goals in four consecutive Serie A seasons, joining the legendary Diego Maradona (1984/85 – 1987/88) and Attila Sallustro (1929/30 – 1932/33).

While Uros Racic had given Sassuolo a surprising lead in the 17th minute, Amir Rrahmani equalised for Napoli just twelve minutes later.

Kvaratskhelia in the second half further bolstered Napoli’s attack, as he added a brace of his own in the 51st and 75th minutes.

Substitutions were made on both sides in the closing stages, but the focus remained firmly on the dominant performance of Napoli.

While Osimhen’s hat trick and Kvaratskhelia’s brace secured a maiden victory for Francesco Calzona as Napoli manager, it marred the debut of his Sassuolo counterpart, Emiliano Bigica.

Napoli are ninth on the Serie A table with 40 points after 26 matches.

Zinedine Zidane has suggested a potential return to management amid speculation linking him to the soon-to-be-vacant position at Bayern Munich and also Manchester United where Erik ten Hag’s future is up for discussion.

Zidane’s hint at a managerial comeback in the summer comes in the wake of Bayern Munich’s announcement regarding their parting of ways with Thomas Tuchel. The Bavarians have struggled this season and so have made the decision to change manager at the end of the season.

During the screening of a documentary honoring former Italy and Juventus coach Marcello Lippi, Zidane shared his thoughts on his own future.

The former Real Madrid boss spoke highly of Lippi, emphasizing the key role the coach played in his career.

Zidane said “He was my coach, above all he made me come to Juventus. He’s the first one who believed in me and made me play, because in the end it wasn’t easy for him.”

When asked about the possibility of returning to coaching, Zidane expressed openness, stating, “Why not, anything can happen. Now I’m doing other things, but we’ll see – I’d certainly like to return to the bench.”

Since departing from Real Madrid in 2021, Zidane has been away from the limelight. However, his return to the managerial arena has been a subject of media speculation.

The 51-year-old enjoyed immense success during his tenure at Spanish giants, Real Madrid, winning a total of 11 trophies across two stints between 2016 and 2021, including three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles.

As for Zidane’s possible destination, Bayern Munich appears to be a leading contender to secure the services of the esteemed Frenchman. However, the situation at Manchester United will become clearer in the coming weeks, with reports suggesting that Erik ten Hag may leave the job this summer.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria were scheduled to face Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates, but the match has now been cancelled, SportsRation confirms.

Nigeria’s highly-anticipated friendly against Argentina in the United States next month will no longer take place as scheduled.

Argentina initially announced the friendly clash against the three-time African champions earlier this month, with the match scheduled for China.

However, the fixture came into question after China withdrew from hosting duties following Messi’s decision not to participate in Inter Miami’s pre-season friendly against Hong Kong XI.

Despite initial doubts, Argentina managed to secure a venue in the United States for the match. However, a new challenge has emerged, leading to the cancellation of the game.

Nigeria have now cited “logistical problems,” leading to the cancellation. While the specifics of these logistical issues remain unclear, it appears that some Super Eagles players may have difficulties traveling such a distance for the friendly.

As a result, Argentina have found a replacement for the March 26 fixture, with Costa Rica stepping in to play the World Champions in the United States on the same date.

This decision leaves Nigeria in search of a new opponent for the March international window.

The Super Eagles recently finished as runners-up at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, losing to Ivory Coast in the final and were scheduled to regroup for the Argentina game in March, but instead the NFF will search for a new opponent.

FIFA are launching a new series of friendly matches in one location during the international window called the FIFA Series, with a pilot project kicking off in four countries next month, world soccer’s governing body said on Monday.

Although there are no trophies or prize money, the series is designed to benefit national teams that do not have the opportunity to play teams from other confederations, with FIFA set to cover travel costs.

A soft launch of the FIFA Series will take place from March 18-26 at four locations — Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Azerbaijan and Sri Lanka. Four teams will be based in one location and will play two matches each.

“Some countries have never played teams outside their confederations,” Elkhan Mammadov, FIFA’s Regional Member Associations Director for Europe, told reporters.

“They can gain competitive experience playing teams outside their own confederation, playing teams with a completely different style of play.

“Currently we have 20 teams for the pilot edition. For the 2026 edition we hope to have many more.”

Saudi Arabia will host two groups although the hosts themselves will not be involved in the matches, which are designed to benefit teams that have never qualified for the World Cup.

“The next World Cup (in 2026) will have 48 teams which means you may have many member associations who never played in a World Cup,” said Kenny Jean-Marie, FIFA’s Chief Member Associations Officer.

“They may arrive in the U.S., Mexico or Canada with no international experience outside their continent.”

Mammadov said they are currently working on fixing television broadcast deals for the Series while they will also look to stream matches on the FIFA+ platform.

He added there were no disagreements with confederations regarding scheduling these tournaments as they were being played during the international break. The next edition in 2026 could see bigger teams looking to take part.

“We’ve started discussions with high-ranked teams and they hope to play and even host the next edition in March 2026. There is interest to host,” he said.

With FIFA only facilitating and not organising the tournaments, Mammadov said they were inviting member associations with their own sponsors on the ground to sponsor the Series.

“But if companies approach to sponsor the FIFA Series, FIFA will not close the door,” he added.

FIFA SERIES – MARCH 2024

ALGERIA

Teams: Algeria, Bolivia, Andorra, South Africa

AZERBAIJAN

Teams: Azerbaijan, Mongolia, Tanzania, Bulgaria

SRI LANKA

Teams: Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, Bhutan, Central African Republic

SAUDI ARABIA

Group A: Cabo Verde, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, Cambodia

Group B: Guinea, Vanuatu, Bermuda, Brunei

Confederation of African Football (CAF) is reportedly in negotiation with different stakeholders over the timing of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations to be held in Morocco.

The flagship African sports event has not been able to get a definite calendar since 2012 when it was shifted to the odd years to avoid clash with the World Cup.

In some instances, not only timing has been the issue, the host countries have had to change as it had happened in the last five editions.Morocco, the next hosts have opted for summer, which was CAF’s initial accepted calendar starting with the 2019 edition which shifted from initial host nation, Cameroon to Egypt.According to information gleaned from Morocco World News, CAF is in discussion with different stakeholders to set a date for the 2025 edition.  Veron Mosengo-Omba, the Secretary General of the  CAF is quoted by  Kenyan sports journalist Eric Njiru on X, formerly Twitter, that Mosengo-Omba informed that discussions are still ongoing between CAF, FIFA, and the European Clubs Association along with Moroccan officials to determine the timing of the competition.

The CAF official explained that they are delaying announcing the date to avoid it potentially coinciding with other significant international competitions, particularly the inaugural edition of the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, which is slated for the summer of 2025 with 32 participating teams.

“In order to see when we have the final [we] need also to meet the players. They need to rest after this competition. So the discussion is still ongoing,” Mosengo-Omba stated. Players who play for the national teams participating in the AFCON also play for FIFA international clubs, posing a challenge in timing to make sure that they can perform in both tournaments.

Patrice Motsepe, President of CAF, echoed Mosengo-Omba’s statement, emphasizing the importance of finding a suitable date to avoid conflicting with major global events.

Motsepe revealed that discussions have taken place with FIFA President Gianni Infantino to address these scheduling concerns.

A clash of epic proportion has been set up as Nigeria’s Super Falcons will play against African champions, Banyana Banyana of South Africa for one of the two African tickets for the women’s football event of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Banyana Banyana, reigning African champions on Tuesday night beat rejuvenated Tanzania team 1-0 at Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit to get a 4-0 aggregate scoreline

It was not a stroll in the pack for South Africa as expected following an earlier 3-0 away win last Friday. Thembi Kgatlana, skipper of the side, got them the only goal of the second leg in the 58^th minute.

Nigeria had on Monday beaten Cameroon 1-0 in Abuja after a 0-0 scoreline in Douala on Friday.

Nigeria will host the first leg on April 1 while the return leg will hold in South Africa on April 9.