Victor Boniface’s first goal for Bayer Leverkusen in their commanding 5-1 win over newly-promoted Darmstadt has been included in the Bundesliga’s top five goals of the weekend, Soccernet.ng reports.

Boniface netted a double – his second consecutive brace – to lift Leverkusen to a third straight league win of the campaign.

His first of the afternoon, which opened the scoring for the home side, was a stunning individual effort that raised the roof of the BayerArena.

The visitors fumbled at a corner, allowing Leverkusen to launch a counterattack, which Boniface spearheaded.

The former Union Saint-Gilloise forward dribbled past two defenders before dinking the ball past the goalkeeper into the net.

Boniface hit the target again in the second half with an expert left-footed finish (and added an assist later), but it is his first goal that has made it into the Bundesliga’s top five goals of the weekend.

After a stunning start to life in Germany, Boniface now has six-goal contributions (4 goals, two assists) in only three games for Leverkusen.

The 22-year-old claimed an assist on his debut in the 3-2 win over RB Leipzig on August 19 and followed it up with a brace in the 0-3 win at Borussia Monchengladbach on matchday two.

Boniface’s brilliance has been rewarded with his first Super Eagles call-up ahead of Nigeria’s AFCON qualifier against Sao Tome and Principe.

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro arrived in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Tuesday ahead of his side’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying fixture against Sao Tome and Principe.

Peseiro, who recently put pen to paper on a new contract, arrived in Uyo in the company of his assistants.

The 63-year-old inspected the playing surface of the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium on his arrival in the city.

The ground will host the game between the Super Eagles and the True Patriots on Sunday.

The Super Eagles camp for the game will open on Wednesday.

Invited Super Eagles players are expected in camp starting Wednesday, with training expected to begin the same day.

Coco Guaff said learning how to smile more often is behind her dazzling run at the US Open after she stormed into the semi-finals with a straight sets thrashing of Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday.

The 19-year-old sixth seed became the first American teenager to reach the last four of the US Open since Serena Williams in 2001 after demolishing Latvia’s Ostapenko 6-0, 6-2 in just 1hr 8min.

It was another polished performance that suggested Gauff is finally ready to land a breakthrough Grand Slam title, four years after she announced herself to the world with a magical run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2019.

Gauff’s season has been transformed since she began working with veteran coach Brad Gilbert in July, weeks after she was left distraught by a first-round exit at Wimbledon.

Since Gilbert’s arrival, Gauff has won titles in Washington and Cincinnati, where she also defeated outgoing world number one Iga Swiatek for the first time.

Gauff says one of the biggest changes Gilbert has made is to her mindset.

“I thought to play and win you have to be ultra serious and ultra focused, which is true, but also you still have to enjoy it,” Gauff said after Tuesday’s win.

“Honestly, the first meeting that I had with Brad before he started coaching with me, one of the first things he said is ‘You need to smile more’. It wasn’t really anything with my game or anything.

“I really took that, and when he said that I was a little bit surprised. I started to think and I was like, ‘Yeah, I do.’ That’s something I’m trying to work on and continuing to do, and obviously I think it’s helping my results.”

Gauff meanwhile says she is flattered by comparisons to Serena Williams after matching the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s feat in reaching the US Open last four as a teenager.

“I mean, being in any sentence with her is great. She’s the greatest player of all time,” she said. “I’m nothing close to that yet. I’m just really honored to be in the same sentence as her.”

“She’s my idol. I think if you told me when I was younger that I would be in these same stat lines as her, I would freak out.”

Gauff will face either Czech 10th seed Karolina Muchova or Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the last four on Thursday.

– ‘Crazy’ scheduling –

Coco Gauff sprints to reach a return during her quarter-final defeat of Jelena Ostapenko on Tuesday

On Tuesday’s evidence, Gauff will head into the last four brimming with confidence after producing a superb display to overwhelm Ostapenko.

Ostapenko had produced the shock of the tournament in the last 16 on Sunday, ousting world number one and reigning women’s champion Iga Swiatek in three sets.

But amid furnace-like heat on the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the inconsistent Latvian wilted in the face of a scorching performance from her American opponent.

Former French Open champion Ostapenko hit out at US Open scheduling after her defeat, stating she had not been given enough time to recover properly following her gruelling late-night victory over Swiatek on Sunday.

“I think it’s really hard to recover from those night matches, because after beating world No.1, I went to sleep at 5 a.m.,” Ostapenko said.

“You sleep for maybe like seven, eight hours, but you don’t completely recover.

“I think it’s a little bit crazy.”

Gauff broke Ostapenko’s serve three times in a lopsided first set which was over in 20 minutes, with the Latvian coughing 15 unforced errors to Gauff’s two.

Ostapenko was soon in trouble in the second set, suffering a service break in the opening game when Gauff’s sublime drop shot left the Latvian scrambling to the net.

However Ostapenko finally got on the board with a break of serve in the next game only to surrender that momentum in the next game when Gauff broke her for the fifth time for a 2-1 lead.

The next three games went with serve before Gauff turned the screw to break for a 5-2 lead that left the teenager serving for the match.

Although Ostapenko defiantly saved two match points, Gauff clinched victory with a forehand winner.

Despite the anticipated fierce contests, Agbo a very promising Judoka is confident he will maintain his fine form and land at least a medal for Nigeria at the African Championship.

Nigeria’s Michael Agbo will be the country’s sole representative at the forthcoming 2023 African Senior Judo Championship in Morocco.

The African Senior Judo Championship is scheduled for 7- 9 September in Casablanca, Morocco with 229 competitors consisting of 131 men and 98 women from 39 countries all jostling for honours.

Despite the anticipated fierce contests, Agbo a very promising Judoka is confident he will maintain his fine form and land at least a medal for Nigeria at the African Championship.

The African Champion revealed that he is 100% fit after attending various training tours in states across Nigeria.

He said, “I feel so privileged out of many judokas in Nigeria and I happen to be the only Judoka to represent my country.

“I will maintain my fine form with the level of training I undergo in preparation for this championship, with God by my side I will surely triumph.

“I am 100 per cent positive and I will win a medal in this championship because in Niamey I did not train that much compared to this Morocco Championship. I had to go for training tours with states for me to properly prepare well which I am confident that I am fully prepared for”

The multiple national champion said he had to change his weight class to train harder and ultimately compete for a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

He said, “My performances in the last two years were nothing compared to my current form because this year I changed my weight category from 60kg to 66kg and for me to succeed.

“I have to train more than I used to train when competing in the 66kg category. I believe and hope that the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will come here.”

Agbo is being accompanied to the 2023 African Championship by the President of Nigeria Judo Federation, Musa Oshodi.

The weightlifters would be aiming to garner points ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games

The Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF) has announced a strong team of six weightlifters that will fly the country’s flag at the 2023 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) Championships in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia from 4-7 September, 2023.

The list is made up of four female and two male weightlifters which comprises Folashade Lawal (59kg), and Adijat Olarinoye (55kg) for the female category.

Both were 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medallist in their categories.

Also on the list are 2019 African Games gold medallist, Joy Ogbonne (71kg) and multiple national champion, Ruth Ayodele.

The male athletes are the 2022 Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Edidiong Umofia (73kg), and the 2019 All Africa Games silver medallist, Desmond Akano (89kg).

Nigeria’s Rafiatu Folashade Lawal set a Games record of 206kg from her snatch and clean and jerk lifts at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in the women’s 59kg weightlifting.

Lawal has already conquered the continent by picking 59kg gold at the 2019 African Games in Morocco and the 2021 African Weightlifting Championships in Tashkent.

The weightlifters would be aiming to garner points ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The IWF has record entries of 117 countries with 719 lifters made up of 365 men and 354 women.

Nigerian winger, Samuel Chukwueze, has been included in Italian giants, AC Milan’s squad list for the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage.

The Nigeria international made his mark in the Europa League with Spanish side Villarreal and will look to impact Europe’s premier club competition with the Rossoneri,

The Super Eagles winger who joined from Villarreal this summer for a fee of €20m plus €8m in add-ons has already made three appearances in Serie A and has been a part of Milan’s impressive league campaign start.

However, Algerian midfielder Ismael Bennacer has been left out. Coach Stefano Pioli’s decision is due to Bennacer’s injury, and there is hope for his return should Milan advance to the knockout stages.

The exclusion list also features Luka Romero and Marco Pellegrino. In contrast, Milan has included former Fiorentina forward Luka Jovic and Yacine Adli in their squad.

UEFA regulations dictate that each club must have at least four homegrown players, a requirement that Milan has adhered to in their selection.

Recall that Milan reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, ultimately losing out to local rivals Inter in the Derby della Madonnina. This time, they face a daunting challenge in a group that includes Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and Newcastle United.

The Rossoneris will play their first match at home against Newcastle on Tuesday, September 19 before playing Borussia Dortmund away on Wednesday, October 4 and then travel to Germany to play PSG on Wednesday, October 25.

They return home to play PSG on Tuesday, November 7 and host Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, November 28 before traveling to be guest of Newcastle United on Wednesday, December 13.

Former World 100m hurdles champion, Tobi Amusan, and 400m hurdler, Ezekiel Nathaniel have secured their spots at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris, France.

Last December, World Athletics revealed the pathway to qualify for athletics at Paris 2024, including the entry standards athletes will need to achieve

between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

Amusan became the first Nigerian athlete to secure her place at the Games. She achieved this feat at the BAUHAUS-Galan Diamond League event in Stockholm, Sweden, on July 2, where she clocked an impressive 12.52secs in the 100m hurdles race at the Olympiastadion.

The entry standard for the 100m hurdles was set at 12.77 seconds.

The 26-year-old has since improved her time, recording a personal season’s best of 12.34secs at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial Diamond League event in Chorzów, Poland on on July 16.

Nathaniel, the 400m hurdles record holder (48.42secs) for Nigeria, earned his ticket to his first-ever Olympics by competing at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.

The 20-year-old clocked a time of 48.47secs, surpassing the entry standard of 48.70secs.

Meanwhile, long jumper, Ese Brume missed narrowly missed securing her spot for the Paris Olympics at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, falling short by just two centimeters with a jump of 6.84 meters, placing her fourth in the final. However, she still has an opportunity to meet the required 6.86m mark to qualify for the global event.

She will have her next chance at the Diamond League final in Oregon, USA, which is scheduled to take place between September 16-17. Brume has previously participated in two Olympic Games, finishing fifth in her debut in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and earning a third-place finish five years later in Tokyo, Japan.