Sports
Oshoala, Nkwocha listed among Africa’s 25 best athletes
Oshoala, Nkwocha listed among Africa’s 25 best athletes
Super Falcons attacker, Asisat Oshoala, and former Nigeria international, Perpetual Nkwocha, have been included in Africa’s 25 Best Athletes of the 21st Century list.
The list of Africa’s 25 Best Athletes of the 21st Century was compiled by ESPN.
Apart from Oshoala and Nkwocha, other Nigerians who made the list include Mixed Martial Art (MMA) stars Israel Adesanya, Kamaru Usman and American Football star Osi Umenyiora.
Samuel Eto’o, Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane made the cut while athletics greats such as Kenenisa Bekele (Ethiopia), Caster Semenya (South Africa), Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya), Tirunesh Dibaba (Ethiopia) among others were listed.
Commenting on Oshoala, ESPN wrote: “Oshoala, who currently plays for Bay FC in the NWSL, has taken African women’s football to new heights. The Nigeria striker has been the African women’s Player of the Year a record six times, thanks in large part to her stellar five seasons with Barcelona.
“Her 92 league goals for Barça came at a rate of roughly one every 65 minutes. There, she won the Spanish Primera Division four times, and the UEFA Women’s Champions League thrice. For Nigeria, she’s been part of the Super Falcons side that won the African title three times, and is set to represent the Super Falcons again at the Paris Olympics.“
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In its remarks on Adesanya: “Born in Lagos, although he moved to New Zealand aged 10 after a brief stint living in Ghana, Adesanya dominated the middleweight division of the UFC from 2019-2022, finally losing to Alex Pereira in November 2022 before beating him in a rematch five months later.
“Adesanya lost his belt again to Sean Strickland later that year, but has a chance to win it back against South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis at UFC 305 on August 17 in Perth.
Adesanya will be 35 years old by the time that fight happens but whether or not he dethrones du Plessis (30), he will go down in history as one of the sport’s greatest ever, fulfilling ESPN’s prophecy of him as the “next big thing.”
The global sport media outfit described Nkwocha as prolific in front of goal.
“A prolific goalscoring midfielder who conquered Africa five times with a dominant Nigeria side, former Super Falcons captain Nkwocha has made a name for herself in Sweden both as a player for Sunnanå SK and later as a coach for Clemensnäs IF.
“Nkwocha combined dazzling dribbling skills with ruthless efficiency in front of goal to etch her name into the history books as one of the greatest African women’s footballers ever.“
Writing on Usman’s exploits in MMA, ESPN stated: “Born in Auchi in Edo State, Nigeria, Usman’s run as UFC welterweight champion coincided almost precisely with Adesanya’s as middleweight king.
Both held their belts from 2019-2022, with five successful title defense. In 2021, Usman was ESPN’s Male Fighter of the Year after wins over Gilbert Burns by TKO, Jorge Masvidal by KO (punch) and Colby Covington by unanimous decision.“
Concerning Umenyiora: “Born in London to Nigerian parents, New York Giants legend Umenyiora spent much of his childhood in Nigeria and continues his post-NFL in Lagos as a talent developer.
Oshoala, Nkwocha listed among Africa’s 25 best athletes
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International
‘Completely False’ — Moreno Denies Using AI to Prepare Games
Robert Moreno has begun his interim tenure as South Korea’s coach with a denial of one of the more unusual controversies attached to his coaching career, claims that he used ChatGPT to help prepare his teams for matches.
The Spanish coach, who arrived in South Korea this weekend, was asked about the allegation as he began work with the national side.
Moreno was accused by Russian media earlier this year of heavily relying on artificial intelligence during his spell at Sochi, where he left in September 2025 following a poor run of results.
He has consistently rejected the claim.
Moreno said the reports were “completely false” and argued that his use of technology had been misrepresented.
His explanation comes as he takes over a South Korean side attempting to recover from a turbulent World Cup campaign. The team crashed out in the group stage, leading Hong Myung-bo to resign and leaving the Korea Football Association under pressure over both the team’s performance and its previous recruitment process.
The KFA appointed Moreno as a temporary replacement rather than immediately committing to a permanent coach. He is expected to lead the team through six international matches, beginning with September and October friendlies against Ecuador, Uruguay, Venezuela and Uzbekistan.
His first squad includes veteran captain Son Heung-min, who now plays for Los Angeles FC, as well as Lee Kang-in and Kim Min-jae.
Moreno said he wants his tenure to be about more than results, with the immediate goal of rebuilding the relationship between the national team and its supporters.
“I want to make Korean football fans happy,” he said.
For now, however, the AI controversy remains part of the baggage surrounding his appointment, something Moreno appears keen to put behind him as he begins the task of rebuilding South Korea’s national team.
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Sports
Falconets Crush New Caledonia 10-1, Set Up England Clash
Falconets Crush New Caledonia 10-1, Set Up England Clash
Nigeria’s Falconets have secured their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after producing a record-breaking 10-1 victory over New Caledonia in their final Group F match on Sunday.
The emphatic victory at the Stadion Miejski ŁKS in Łódź lifted Nigeria to second place in Group F with four points, behind Spain, and earned the team a knockout-stage meeting with England, who topped Group E. The Round of 16 clash is scheduled for Thursday, September 17.
The result marked a dramatic turnaround for the Falconets, who had struggled to find the back of the net in their opening two matches. Nigeria began the tournament with a 2-0 defeat to Spain before playing out a goalless draw against China, leaving qualification in doubt heading into the final group fixture.
With their knockout hopes on the line, coach Moses Aduku’s side responded in emphatic fashion, racing into a four-goal lead before half-time and adding six more goals after the break.
Ramotalahi Kareem opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute before Rebecca Adegbemile doubled Nigeria’s advantage two minutes later.
Janet Seimeyeha Akekoromowei added the third in the 23rd minute, while Kareem struck again in the 27th minute to complete a first-half brace and give the Falconets a 4-0 lead at the interval.
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Nigeria continued to dominate after the restart, with substitute Winner Onajite David joining the scoring in the 60th minute.
Kareem completed her hat-trick in the 64th minute before Tosin Rafiu added the seventh goal in the 70th minute. Adegbemile then scored her second of the match four minutes later.
David returned to the scoresheet in the 75th minute to make it 9-0 before New Caledonia finally found a consolation goal through Joceline Kourevi in the 89th minute.
David completed her own hat-trick in stoppage time to round off a remarkable 10-1 victory for Nigeria.
The win is the biggest victory recorded by Nigeria at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, giving the Falconets a significant boost in goal difference, which proved decisive in determining their final position in Group F.
Nigeria and China both finished the group stage on four points. However, Nigeria advanced in second position because of their superior goal difference, while Spain topped the group with nine points after defeating China 3-1 in the other final Group F fixture.
The victory also ensured that Nigeria maintained their impressive record of reaching the knockout stage of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The Falconets have been regular participants in the latter stages of the competition and have twice finished as runners-up, although they are still searching for their first world title.
For New Caledonia, the match brought an end to their historic debut at the U-20 Women’s World Cup. The Pacific island nation made history by qualifying for the tournament for the first time.
Despite the heavy defeat to Nigeria, Kourevi’s late goal provided a memorable moment for New Caledonia as the team recorded its first goal at the tournament.
The Falconets, meanwhile, will now turn their attention to England. The knockout fixture presents a significantly tougher challenge, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
Nigeria will enter the match with renewed confidence after scoring 10 goals in their final group game, while coach Aduku will be expected to build on the attacking display as the Falconets continue their bid to go all the way in Poland.
The dramatic victory has transformed what appeared to be a difficult group-stage campaign into another opportunity for Nigeria to make a deep run at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Falconets Crush New Caledonia 10-1, Set Up England Clash
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Sports
‘Unacceptable’ — Arteta Furious Over Sunderland Penalty in Arsenal Win
‘Unacceptable’ — Arteta Furious Over Sunderland Penalty in Arsenal Win
Arsenal left the Stadium of Light with another three points, but Mikel Arteta was far from satisfied with one of the major refereeing decisions in the champions’ 2-0 win over Sunderland.
The turning point came early in the second half when Sunderland were awarded a penalty following a physical battle between Arsenal’s Ezri Konsa and Dan Ballard.
Although VAR reviewed the incident, the original decision stood. Arteta strongly disagreed, insisting that the footage showed no offence worthy of a penalty and warning that such calls could have serious consequences in a Premier League title race.
Sunderland had a chance to capitalise, but Raya came to Arsenal’s rescue. The goalkeeper guessed correctly to keep out Le Fée’s penalty and turned the ball onto the post.
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Arsenal needed only a short time to make the save count.
Guimarães, introduced at half-time, collected the ball outside the area and unleashed a curling strike that flew into the top corner. It was his first goal since joining Arsenal and gave the visitors the breakthrough they needed.
Sunderland refused to collapse and continued to test the visitors, but Arsenal’s defence survived the pressure. Saka then put the result beyond doubt from the spot in stoppage time after Reinildo was sent off for a second yellow card.
The victory means Arsenal have won all four of their Premier League matches this season, maintaining their flawless start and moving to 12 points.
For Arteta, however, the result did not erase his concerns about the penalty decision.
He argued that football’s extensive use of VAR should ensure such controversial calls are corrected, saying the incident was not acceptable at the highest level.
Arsenal ultimately had Raya’s heroics, Guimarães’ brilliance and a resilient defensive performance to thank for turning a potentially difficult night into another important victory.
‘Unacceptable’ — Arteta Furious Over Sunderland Penalty in Arsenal Win
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