Super Eagles goalkeeper, Daniel Akpeyi said he is determined to keep a clean sheet and justify his call up to replace injured first choice keeper Carl Ikeme for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Algeria in Uyo. Akpeyi said he considers the late call up as a rare honour and privilege even though he was cocksure he merited the early invitation. “Of course, I consider it always an honour and privilege to serve my fatherland, I’m happy with the call up as I’m 100 percent fit and determined to justify my inclusion in the game against the Algerian side.

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Ghana forward Asamoah Gyan will miss the 2018 World Cup showdown against Egypt on 13 November. The Black Stars captain is not expected to recover in time from the knock he picked up while training with his UAE club, Al Ahli on Tuesday. The 30-year-old is Ghana’s all-time top scorer with 48 goals but has had a rough time with injuries recently. Black Stars coach Avram Grant was hoping to have Gyan back for the must-win game against the Pharaohs. Egypt will host the Black Stars at Alexandria’s Borg El-Arab Stadium.

The 19-year-old goalkeeper of Gambia’s national women’s football team has drowned in the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe. Fatim Jawara was on board a boat that ran into trouble last month while crossing from Libya to Europe, the country’s football association says. Her family confirmed news of her death, according to association president Lamin Kaba Bajo. Many of the undocumented migrants who arrive in Italy are Gambians. Jawara made her debut with the women’s side a year ago, after playing in the national junior team. “She will be remembered for saving a penalty kick in a friendly encounter involving the national soccer team and the Glasgow Girls from Scotland,” Mr Bajo told AFP news agency. More than 4,200 migrants fleeing conflict and poverty have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean this year, figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) show.

The nominees are:

• Camille Abily (France) – pictured.
• Melanie Behringer (Germany)
• Sara Däbritz (Germany)
• Amandine Henry (France)
• Saki Kumagai (Japan)
• Carli Lloyd (USA)
• Dzsenifer Marozsán (Germany)
• Marta (Brazil)
• Lotta Schelin (Sweden)
• Christine Sinclair (Canada)

Gerd Muller (Football) – former Germany and Bayern Munich striker, born 1945.

Roswitha Krause (Swimming/Handball) – former German Olympian, born 1949

Larry Holmes (Boxing) – former world heavyweight champion, born 1949.

Ian Wright (Football) – former Arsenal and England striker, born 1963.

Dwight Yorke (Football) – former Aston Villa, Manchester United and Trinidad & Tobago striker, born 1971.

Colin Kaepernick (American Football) – San Francisco 49ers quarterback, born 1987.

West Ham striker Andy Carroll was held at gunpoint after training on Wednesday, Sky reports. A club statement said later on Wednesday night that the police were investigating an incident involving one of their players, believed to be Carroll. The statement said: “West Ham United can confirm an incident targeting one of our players on Wednesday November 2. The matter is now being handled by the police.” Carroll has not played for the Hammers since the Europa League qualifier against Astra Giurgiu on August 18, a game in which the England international sustained a knee injury. The problem was only meant to sideline Carroll for six weeks, but he has only just returned to training this week. The Hammers’ next game is against Stoke City at the London Stadium on Saturday.

Wednesday 2nd November, 2016:

Monaco 3 – 0 CSKA

Tottenham 0 – 1 Bayer Leverkusen

Borrusia Dortmund 1 – 0 Sporting Lisbon

Legia Warsaw 3 – 3 Real Madrid

FC Copenhagen 0 – 0 Leicester

FC Porto 1 – 0 Club Brugge

Juventus 1 – 1 Lyon

Sevilla 4 – 0 Dynamo Zagreb

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been given a one-match touchline ban for being sent off against Burnley. The Portuguese was sent to the stands by referee Mark Clattenburg for an incident “in or around the tunnel area during half-time” of the goalless draw. The Football Association also fined him £8,000 and he will serve the ban for the game against Swansea on Sunday. In a separate offence, Mourinho has been fined £50,000 for comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor who officiated Man United’s game with Liverpool at Anfield.

FIFA have released their shortlist for the coveted ‘Best FIFA Men’s Coach’ award for 2016, with a number of strong contenders that may prove difficult to separate. The ten-man list in full is:

• Chris Coleman (Wales/Welsh national team)
• Didier Deschamps (France/French national team)
• Pep Guardiola (Spain/FC Bayern Munich/Manchester City)
• Jürgen Klopp (Germany/Liverpool)
• Luis Enrique Martínez (Spain/FC Barcelona)
• Mauricio Pochettino (Argentina/Tottenham Hotspur)
• Claudio Ranieri (Italy/Leicester City)
• Fernando Santos (Portugal/Portuguese national team)
• Diego Pablo Simeone (Argentina/Atlético Madrid)
• Zinédine Zidane (France/Real Madrid)

The winner of award will be determined through a voting process which combines the choices of those involved in the game, as well as a public vote. 50% of the decision will be based on the choices of all captains and head coaches of national teams around the globe, while the other half of the vote will be split between the result of an online public ballot and submissions from a group of over 200 media representatives from the six continents.

Stevan Jovetic (Football) – Montenegro and former Manchester City striker, currently at Inter Milan, born 1989, 27 today.

Ken Rosewall (Tennis) – Australian who won eight grand slam singles titles, born 1934, 82 today.

Dario Silva (Football) – former Malaga, Portsmouth and Uruguay striker, born 1972, 44 today.

Liverpool striker Danny Ings has received another injury setback, as he requires surgery on cartilage damage in his right knee that will rule him out for up to nine months. Ings, 24, sustained the injury during the EFL Cup victory against Tottenham last week – his comeback from a cruciate ligament injury in his left knee last year. Liverpool say that the striker will make a full recovery. Coach Jurgen Klopp is “gutted” for Danny Ings, who will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury. “To say we are gutted would be an understatement; he is such a great boy and has worked so hard that he deserves better luck than this,” he said. “It is typical of Danny’s personality, on and off the pitch, that he picked up this injury to his knee when courageously trying to win the ball back for his team by making a tackle. “But it is this same personality that means he will come back as good and as strong from this latest setback as he has done in the past.”

Tuesday 1st November, 2016:

Besiktas 1 – 1 Napoli

Basel 1 – 2 PSG

Ludo Razgd 2 – 3 Arsenal

Benfica 1 – 0 Dynamo Kiev

Borussia Monchen 1 – 1 Celtic

Manchester City 3 – 1 Barcelona

Atletico Madrid 2 – 1 FC Rostov

PSV Eindhoven 1 – 2 Bayern Munich

You may have seen the image on the right on social media recently. A Twitter post showing a sign outside the Scottish bar went viral after the author seemingly gave up attempting to spell “Monchengladbach” – instead opting for “A German Team”. Gladbach saw the funny side, changing their own English account’s Twitter handle to “A German Team” and using it on their team-sheet on social media when they faced Celtic in the Champions League. Moenchengladbach’s Head of Corporate Communications, Markus Aretz, says the club ordered 2000 “A German Team” scarves and they sold out pretty quickly so they’ve ordered 2000 more for tonight’s game.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has been given a second Football Association charge in a week following his dismissal during Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Burnley. Mourinho, who on Thursday was charged over comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor, was sent to the Old Trafford stands by Mark Clattenburg. He is accused of using abusive or insulting words to the officials in or around the tunnel area at half-time. He has until Friday to respond. The FA have acted after considering Clattenburg’s match report – possible punishments include a warning, fine, touchline ban or stadium ban.

IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will defend his title against Eric Molina in Manchester on 10 December. Joshua, unbeaten in 17 fights, was close to agreeing a bout with Wladimir Klitschko but the deal fell through. Promoter Eddie Hearn blamed confusion over whether the WBA title vacated by Tyson Fury would be on the line. American Molina lost his only previous world title shot against WBC world champion Deontay Wilder in 2015.

Silvio Gazzaniga, the sculptor who designed the World Cup trophy, has died. He was 95. Gazzaniga’s son, Giorgio, said his father passed away in his sleep at home in Milan. “He just didn’t wake up this morning. It was a peaceful death,” Giorgio Gazzaniga told The Associated Press on Monday, adding that his father had been in the hospital recently for a series of minor ailments. Silvio Gazzaniga designed and created the World Cup trophy in 1971 after Brazil retained the right to keep the Jules Rimet trophy by winning its third World Cup in 1970. “The World Cup is a mythic object for the players and for all football lovers,” FIFA President Gianni Infantino said. “We will be eternally grateful. I express my condolences by joining the pain of the family.” The 18-carat solid gold trophy weighs approximately six kilograms (13 pounds). It depicts a moment of joy: two players celebrating with their arms outstretched and a globe resting on the backs of their shoulders.

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho donated his own watch as an auction prize at the club’s charity dinner last night. There was already a collection of Mourinho gear ready to be sold to an audience of fans at Old Trafford. But the United boss went one step further by taking off his watch, which helped raise a total of £215,000 over the course of the evening. United’s entire first team squad, including Bastian Schweinsteiger who returned to training with them for the first time this season yesterday, accompanied Mourinho to the event.

Germany legend Miroslav Klose has ended his playing career as he prepares to embark on a career in coaching. Klose, who retired from international football after winning the 2014 World Cup, had been without a club after leaving Lazio in the summer. The 38-year-old, who also played for FC Homberg, Kaiserslautern, Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich, remains Germany’s all-time leading scorer with 71 goals in 137 matches. He also scored the most goals in World Cup finals. The German (FA (DFB) confirmed his retirement on Tuesday (today) and said he would be working on his coaching badges.

Inter Milan have sacked head coach Frank de Boer after he won just four of his first 11 Serie A games. The Italian giants are 12th in the table after they were beaten 1-0 away at Sampdoria on Sunday – their fifth defeat of the campaign – and sit bottom of their Europa League group. Youth team coach Stefano Vecchi has been handed interim control of the senior side and will be in charge for Thursday’s Europa League trip to Southampton. A club statement read: “Internazionale Milan announce that it has today terminated the contract of coach Frank de Boer. “The club would like to thank Frank and his staff for the work they have done and wish them the best for the future.” De Boer signed a three-year contract to succeed Roberto Mancini in the summer after resigning as manager of Ajax following their failure to win the Eredivisie title.

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