Zambia’s women’s football team qualified for the first Olympic Games in their history when beating Cameroon 2-1 in Lusaka to qualify on away goals. Trailing 3-2 from the first leg, Zambia won through on away goals after drawing 4-4 on aggregate.
Archive | March 2020
Liverpool’s Alisson ruled out of Merseyside derby at Everton….
Liverpool have confirmed goalkeeper Alisson will miss next week’s Merseyside derby with a hip injury. The 27-year-old has missed the last two matches and has now been ruled out of Monday’s trip to Everton as well as Wednesday’s Champions League second-leg game with Atletico Madrid. Stand-in Adrian will continue in goal.
Coronavirus: Pep Guardiola prefers postponing games to keeping fans out….
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he would prefer matches to be postponed rather than played behind closed doors. Having seen matches across Europe played in empty stadiums, Guardiola feels it is only a matter of time before the Premier League is affected. The City manager said he will be guided by the game’s authorities about how games should be played but his preference would be postponements. “Does football work without spectators?” he said.
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has coronavirus….
Nottingham Forest and Olympiakos owner Evangelos Marinakis has tested positive for coronavirus. Marinakis, 52, was at the City Ground for Forest’s Championship fixture against Millwall on Friday. Olympiakos are due to host Wolves in the Europa League on Thursday, although the BBC understands Wolves have asked for the game to be postponed. “Mr Marinakis was diagnosed after showing the first symptoms on his return to Greece,” said Forest.
Thibaut Courtois and Marcelo injury doubts for Manchester City tie….
Real Madrid pair Thibaut Courtois and Marcelo are injury doubts for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Manchester City on 17 March. Belgium goalkeeper Courtois has an abductor injury while Brazil left-back Marcelo has a hamstring problem.
Coronavirus: Man Utd match at LASK behind closed doors….
The first leg of Manchester United’s Europa League last-16 tie at LASK on Thursday will be played behind closed doors because of coronavirus concerns. Chelsea’s Champions League last-16 tie at Bayern Munich on 18 March will also be played without fans present. LASK made the decision following advice from the Austrian government.
Coronavirus: Spain, French club matches & Barca CL game behind closed doors….
Matches in the top two divisions in Spain and France are to be played behind closed doors because of coronavirus concerns. La Liga announced its ruling will affect the next two rounds of fixtures while the French league said fans will be banned until 15 April. La Liga said it acted on guidance from Spain’s ministry of health. The French government announced on Sunday a ban on all gatherings of more than 1,000 people.
75 years old grandfather scores on professional debut….
An Egyptian bidding to become the oldest professional footballer ever scored on his debut – at the age of 75. Ezzeldin Bahader needs to play two full games to qualify as an entry in the Guinness World Records book. He started in impressive fashion, playing a full 90 minutes despite injury on Saturday for the October 6 team in the third tier of Egyptian football. The father of four and grandfather of six scored from the penalty spot, whereupon he was mobbed by team-mates, as October 6 drew 1-1 with rivals Genius.
Nigeria League player dies in the field of play….
Chineme Martins, a defender with Nasarawa United FC, slumped and died during the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) Matchday 23 against Katsina United in Lafia. The player was attended to by medics of the two clubs when he slumped and was later rushed to Dalhatu- Araf Specialist Hospital in Lafia where he was later pronounced dead.
Coronavirus: All sport in Italy to be suspended because of outbreak….
All sport at all levels in Italy is to be suspended until at least 3 April because of coronavirus, the country’s Olympic committee has announced. This includes football matches in Serie A but does not cover Italian clubs or national teams participating in international competitions. Serie A – Italy’s top flight – had already said all games would be played behind closed doors until 3 April. “This situation has no precedent in history,” a CONI statement said.
Two Moroccan or Two Egypt Clubs could meet in CAF Champions League final as history beckons….
The prospect of an all-Casablanca Champions League final is still on after Wydad knocked out Tunisia’s Etoile du Sahel late on Saturday. Leading 2-0 from the first leg, the Moroccans made it through as 2-1 aggregate winners despite losing 1-0 to Etoile du Sahel in Rades. No two teams from the same country have ever met in the final of African club football’s showpiece event before – and the prospect is not only alive for Morocco, but Egypt too.
Wydad, who finished as runners-up last year, will meet eight-time winners Al Ahly in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Wydad’s city rivals Raja will face another Egyptian side, Zamalek, in the last four. Zamalek knocked out defending champions Esperance on Friday and when Ahly defeated South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns a day later, the Cairo giants were both through to the Champions League semis for the first time since 2005. Wydad were the last of the four semi-finalists to progress, after Raja had made it through earlier on Saturday, and did so despite losing to Karim Aribi’s goal just before the hourmark. The Algerian forward scrambled home following a corner but he will rue the two chances he missed afterwards – with one bullet header directing itself straight at relieved Wydad goalkeeper Ahmed Reda Tagnaouti. Wydad went close late on as Ismail El Haddad thumped a strike against the crossbar before missing other openings in a nervy end-to-end finale where both sides had fine opportunities to score. Although no two teams from the same country have ever met in the final of either the African Champions League or its predecessor (the African Champions Cup), the final of Africa’s second-tier club competition – the Confederation Cup – has witnessed this before. In 2008, Tunisia’s CS Sfaxien beat compatriots Etoile du Sahel while four years earlier, Asante Kotoko won an all-Ghanaian clash against bitter rivals Hearts of Oak. This year’s semi-finals are scheduled to take place in the first two weeks of May, with the final set to be played in a neutral venue on 29 May.
Israel Adesanya beats Yoel Romero to retain UFC 248 middleweight title….
Israel Adesanya defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision win over Olympic wrestling medallist Yoel Romero at UFC 248 in Las Vegas. In a cagey, tactical contest that lacked the excitement many fans anticipated, Nigeria-born New Zealander Adesanya, 30, peppered the 42-year-old Cuban with powerful leg kicks to take victory on the scorecards. The bout started almost at a complete standstill, with Romero static in the middle of the octagon, holding a high guard. The Sydney 2000 freestyle wrestling silver medallist’s bizarre style clearly puzzled Adesanya, who struggled to find any openings through the first two rounds.
Coronavirus: Juventus beat Inter Milan in a game played behind closed doors….
Juventus beat Inter Milan to go top of the Serie A table – in a surreal match behind closed doors because of coronavirus. One of the biggest games of the Italian season took place with no fans, with all sport in Italy being played in empty grounds until 3 April at least. Some 366 people in Italy have died of coronavirus, with 7,375 infected. Aaron Ramsey and Paulo Dybala scored the goals to take Juve one point above Lazio at the top of the table. Wales midfielder Ramsey pounced onto a loose ball before rifling home the opener and Dybala scored a classy second – from Ramsey’s pass – with some nice footwork to dummy Ashley Young before poking home.
Al Ahly and Raja Casablanca through to African CL semi-finals
Egyptian giants Al Ahly kept up their quest for a record-extending ninth African Champions League crown as they joined Moroccan side Raja Casablanca in this year’s semi-finals. Ahly secured a 1-1 draw away to Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the second leg of their quarter-final on Saturday to book their place with a 3-1 aggregate win. Raja Casablanca held on against TP Mazembe of the Democratic Republic of Congo, progressing 2-1 overall despite losing 1-0 in Lubumbashi.
Ronaldinho in court in Paraguay over fake passport claims….
Former Brazilian footballer Ronaldinho and his brother appeared in court on Saturday over allegations the pair used fake passports to enter Paraguay. Prosecutors say the brothers were given the false documents when they landed in the capital Asuncion on Wednesday. The pair were taken into custody on Friday, just hours after a judge refused to uphold a prosecutor’s proposal for an alternative punishment. The prosecutor argued the brothers had been tricked. They deny any wrongdoing.
Tiger Woods out of Players Championship….
Tiger Woods will miss next week’s Players Championship at Sawgrass because of a back injury. Woods has not played since the Genesis Open three weeks ago where he came 68th and missed this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, citing back stiffness.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin signs new Everton contract….
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has signed a new five-year contract, running until June 2025. The 22-year-old, whose current deal was due to expire in 2022, has scored 15 goals in 31 games this season, eight of which have come since manager Carlo Ancelotti took over in December. He joined the Toffees from Sheffield United in August 2016 and has played 124 times for the club. “This is a very proud day,” the former England Under-21 international said.
Coronavirus: Strasbourg vs PSG postponed….
Paris St-Germain’s Ligue 1 game at Strasbourg, which was scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed because of the coronavirus outbreak. It is France’s first top-flight game to be called off, with 613 people testing positive and nine deaths in the country as of Friday evening.
Manchester United loanee Keeper banned for biting opponent….
Burton Albion goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara, on loan from Manchester United, has been banned for six games for biting an opponent. O’Hara was found guilty of a charge which arose from an incident involving Peterborough’s Sammie Szmodics during Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Burton. Brewers boss Nigel Clough later said his keeper was “adamant in denying” allegations of a bite and confirmed the club would be contesting the FA charge.
Guardiola wary of Manchester United ahead of Manchester derby….
Pep Guardiola says he does not agree with suggestions Manchester United are a defensive side, and says he expects them to be “incredibly aggressive” in Sunday’s Manchester derby. Manchester City visit Old Trafford on Sunday with United on a run of nine matches unbeaten in all competitions. After Liverpool drew 1-1 away to United in October, Jurgen Klopp said Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side “just defended” – but Guardiola is not expecting a repeat on Sunday. “For me it doesn’t look like that,” he said. “When I saw the last games, they’re incredibly aggressive. I think in Old Trafford, that’s going to happen. They are going to defend and we are going to control a lot.
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