The NBA on Sunday issued a two-game suspension for Phoenix Suns center Mark Williams due to his role in an on-court brawl, and Jose Alvarado of the New Orleans Pelicans received two games of suspension.
In Phoenix’s 123-114 victory over New Orleans on Saturday, the incident occurred with 2: 06 left in the third quarter.
Williams was set for a pick, but Alvarado did it defensively. Williams and the smaller Pelicans standout grabbed Williams, spun him around, and swung punches at him as teammates from both sides attempted to end the fight. Williams was then shoved in Alvarado in the back.
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Technical fouls were imposed on both players, who were then expelled.
On December 27, 2025, in New Orleans, Louisiana, Jose Alvarado #15 of the New Orleans Pelicans and Mark Williams #15 of the Phoenix Suns engage in a scrum during the second half of a game at Smoothie King Center. (Photo by Tyler Kaufman/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/Getty Images via AFP)
On Monday when the Pelicans host the New York Knicks, and on Wednesday when New Orleans travels to Chicago, Alvarado will serve his suspension.
When the Suns travel to the Washington Wizards on Monday, Williams will serve his suspension.
The Suns are 18-13, seventh in the West, and the Pelicans are 8-25, last in the Western Conference.
Amad Diallo scored for Ivory Coast, the defending champion of the Africa Cup of Nations, in a 1-1 draw with Cameroon on Sunday, regaining them in Group F.
Diallo scored his second AFCON goal after 51 minutes of a Marrakech-trium match against Mozambique four days prior.
READ ALSO: Algeria’s Last 16 Faces Mahrez Penalty in the AFCON
Before Ghislain Konan’s deflected shot from Junior Tchamadeu to level Cameroon, the lead only lasted for five minutes.
Morocco and Ivory Coast each have four points, one more than Gabon, who defeated Gabon 3-2 in Agadir earlier.
The top two finishers in each group advance to round 16 of 16. The top four third-placed teams from the six mini-leagues also advance to the knockout stages.
On December 24, 2025, Ivory Coast’s forward #15 Amad Diallo (L) celebrates scoring the team’s first goal with the team’s #26 Yan Diomande at the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group F football game against Mozambique at Marrakesh Stadium in Marrakech. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI/AFP) related topics
The conflict between the Cameroonian Indomitable Lions and the Ivorian Elephants dates back to 1970 in Sudan, and it is among the best in the AFCON.
In victories prior to the Marrakech showdown, Cameroon held a 5-1 lead. The Ivory Coast won both matches in penalty shootouts, which followed two more matches.
Three La Liga players, Jules Kounde from Barcelona and Kylian Mbappe from Real Madrid, were among the 35, 165-person crowd.
South African Patrice Motsepe, the president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), was present at the stadium after Mozambique beat Gabon.
Diallo had a good first half chance, but he misfired after getting a cutback and fired wide.
Cameroon was in the lead at the other end when Christian Kofane hit a crossbar after Tchamadeu had already crossed midway through the half.
Diallo’s threat to the right was constant. Unmarked Vakoun Bayo crossed from one of his crosses.
Diallo made a superb sliding tackle just before half-time when Cameroon captain Nouhou Tolo burst into the box.
Franck Kessie, the captain of Ivory Coast, scored the winning goal in the second half despite a lively opening. Danny Namaso, a native of Cameroon, deflected a shot before striking the woodwork.
Diallo then broke the deadlock. Devis Epassy was denied by Konan’s left-footed strike from close range when he received a long lofted pass from the winger.
After winning 1-0 over Burkinabe on Sunday, Algeria moved into the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Algeria held on to win a bruising contest against a determined Burkinabe before Captain Mahrez converted from the spot midway through the opening period at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat.
Algeria, the African champions in 1990 and 2019, are the only team with six points after two Group E games and are unconcerned with a goal. Vladimir Petkovic’s side are considered to be one of the pre-tournament favorites.
On Thursday, Burkinabe and Sudan compete for the final spot in the group games, scoring three points each.
Algeria will play a last-16 tie in Rabat on January 6 after defeating both of them, meaning they are unavoidable even if they lose to Equatorial Guinea, who is currently pointless.
“We anticipated a very difficult match,” said the team. The most crucial outcome of our battle was a victory. The man of the match, Algeria’s Bayer Leverkusen forward Ibrahim Maza, said, “We are now qualified, and that was the main goal.”
He continued, “We knew that they would be very tough but we said we would have to fight against it, also be dirty, tackle very hard, and we did that well today,” referring to the encounter’s physical nature.
Read more about Late Penalty Miss’s Deny Uganda’s AFCON victory over Tanzania
During Algeria’s and Burkinabe’s (CAN) Group E football match against Burkinabe on December 28, 2025, Riyad Mahrez (C)’s #7 Riyad Mahrez (C) hands his armband to Algeria’s #2 Aissa Mandi (R). (Photo by Paul ELLIS/AFP)
When the Stallions and Algeria met at the final AFCON in the Ivory Coast, their group-stage elimination was forced to come from two goals down to draw level with them.
The penalty that decided the game was awarded when Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri was bundled over inside the box gave them all three points this time.
With his 23rd-minute kick, Mahrez was unaffected as he followed up his brace with a 3-3 victory over Sudan to increase his Cup of Nations tally to three goals.
The Algerian winger, who played for Manchester City and Leicester City at the time of his sixth AFCON, has now scored nine goals overall, which is an Algerian record.
In a stadium full of Algerian fans and 18, 522 spectators, the game was played amid a boisterous atmosphere.
Zinedine Zidane, a legend from France, was present to watch his son Luca score for the Desert Foxes while also watching their win over Sudan.
With a header from a corner, Pierre Landry Kabore’s Hearts striker headed in the direction of Burkinabe before Mahrez scored Mohamed Amoura for a shot that goalkeeper Herve Koffi saved in stoppage time.
As Burkinabe attempted to find an equalizer but were unsuccessful, Maza twice failed to convert good chances in the second half, while Georgi Minoungou fired just over the halfway mark.
Mozambique ended a 39-year wait for a first Africa Cup of Nations victory by defeating Gabon 3-2 in a Group F thriller in Agadir on Sunday.
The Mambas began the match having drawn four and lost 12 since making their first of six appearances at the tournament in 1986.
Goals from Faisal Bangal, Geny Catamo, and Diogo Calila won a seesaw struggle for the Mozambicans, who led 2-1 at half-time in the Moroccan coastal city.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Moussounda netted for Gabon, who twice halved two-goal deficits before suffering a second straight loss after falling to Cameroon.
Defending champions Ivory Coast and Cameroon, who meet later on Sunday in Marrakesh, and Mozambique , have three points each.
Catamo had the first clear-cut chance, but was let down by poor control, allowing the ball to run too far in front of him, and goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba dashed forward to gain possession.
Mozambique — 24 places below Gabon in the world rankings — were more adventurous and deservedly took the lead on 37 minutes through Bangal, a striker with an Italian fourth division club.
Bangal rose unchallenged from a corner and his header bounced off the ground into the left corner of the net with Mbaba helpless.
Mozambique increased their lead just five minutes later after Bruno Ecuele Manga pulled the shirt of Elias ‘ Domingues ‘ Pelembe in a clash of the rival captains.
Catamo calmly placed the penalty into the left corner as Mbaba dived in the opposite direction.
The Mambas almost scored again soon after with Witiness ‘ Witi ‘ Quembo bending a shot from outside the box that struck the woodwork.
READ ALSO:  , Late Penalty Miss Denies Uganda AFCON Win Against Tanzania
Gabon pulled one goal back five minutes into the first-half added time through their best known footballer, 36-year-old Marseille striker Aubameyang.
The 2015 African player of the year was perfectly positioned to tap the ball into the net after Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan Siluane failed to grasp a Didier Ndong shot.
Portugal-based right-back Calila scored the third Mozambique goal on 52 minutes, venturing forward to nod a Witi cross past Mbaba.
Aubameyang had a scoring chance soon after, but headed wide from point-blank range in a let-off for the Mozambicans.
Domingues, a 42-year-old and second oldest footballer to play at an AFCON, was substituted midway through the second half by a more defensive midfielder, Manuel Kambala.
Siluane saved superbly from Aubameyang and Ndong, but a subsequent corner led to a goalmouth melee that ended with Moussounda slamming the ball into the net on 76 minutes to set up a tense finish.
Sudan boosted their chances of qualifying for the knockout stage of the Africa Cup of Nations after a Saul Coco own goal gave them a 1-0 win over Equatorial Guinea on Sunday.
Unlucky Torino centre-back Coco saw the ball come off him and ricochet into the net in the 74th minute in Casablanca when his teammate Luis Asue attempted to clear a Sudan free-kick.
Sudan won the Africa Cup of Nations in 1970 but this is just their second victory in 18 matches across six appearances at the tournament since then.
They lie 117th in the FIFA world rankings, compared to Equatorial Guinea in 97th.
READ ALSO:  , Late Penalty Miss Denies Uganda AFCON Win Against Tanzania
The win leaves Kwesi Appiah’s team on three points from two games in Group E, while Equatorial Guinea have lost both matches so far.
Sudan are competing at this AFCON in Morocco despite the country having been devastated since war broke out between the army and rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in April 2023.
They will play Burkina Faso in their last group game on Wednesday and will be aiming to reach the knockout stages of the Cup of Nations for just the second time since that 1970 triumph — they got to the quarter-finals in 2012 before losing to eventual winners Zambia.
The Super Eagles won Group C at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) game against Nigeria and Tunisia to seal a nervy 3-2 victory.  ,
The Super Eagles and Carthage Eagles squared off in an AFCON for the seventh time.
Tunisia won once, and Nigeria won three. Following penalty shootouts, each nation won one of the two meetings.
The Super Eagles will want to keep their 100 percent record, but with the win, they are guaranteed top spot in Group C. Tunisia is aware that a draw will be sufficient to secure their spot as second-place.
Lessons from the match between Tunisia and Nigeria
Six things can be learned from Nigeria and Tunisia, as follows.  ,
The Masterclass picture by Mola. twitter.com/66ImeWYRzg
The Super Eagles dominated the Tunisian defense with effective interplay between Adams and Osimhen, approaching the game like a team with a mission. Iwobi was a key player for the three-time African champions because of Frank Onyeka’s addition in midfield and his freedom to roam.
A Shaky Defense
The Tunisians did a near-perfect game in the late stages of the match, with the Super Eagles restricting the Carthaginian Eagles to half-chances that Stanley Nwabali did not trouble in goal in the first 70 minutes.
Bruno Oyemaechi and Bright Osayi-Samuel were left anxious by the late pressure, so they needed to rely on Calvin Bassey’s brute strength to save them from blushes.
Read more about Late Penalty Miss’s Deny Uganda’s AFCON victory over Tanzania
Osimhen demonstrates aerial skill
On December 27, 2025, Nigeria’s forward #9 Victor Osimhen (R) and Nigeria’s defense #02 Bright Osayi-Samuel celebrate their goal in the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group C football game at Fez Stadium in Fez. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT/AFP)
The Galatasaray point man was desperate to get on the scoresheet in Nigeria’s previous encounter with Tanzania.
His header from an Akor Adams cross appeared to have flown in the same direction, but his header was only good enough to graze the top of the net. His persistence, however, paid off when he was Ademola Lookman’s cross was defeated by Aymen Dahmen with ease.
Moroccan Soaring by Lookman
X@NGSuperEagles in photo
Lookman, the man of the match, scored the game’s opening goal as Osimhen opened the scoring.
For a player who has struggled to maintain consistency throughout 2025. In this tournament, Lookman seems to have found his groove. The Atalanta man scored two goals and added two assists in the World Cup qualifiers for 2026, which many had hoped would happen.
His goal was well-taken to put him on the score sheet and increase Nigeria’s lead, but his crosses into the 18-yard box caused some concern for the Tunisians.
Midfield cohesion
Skippo is referencing the image from the “96 Spirit” series. twitter.com/TD2XVBoC9p
Fans and pundits had doubts about the team’s imagination and perseverance heading into the tournament. However, Wilfred Ndidi, Iwobi, and Onyeka are all capable of having a good understanding.
Iwobi, who plays for Fulham, was the middle-field trio’s star, pulling the strings and dictating play from the beginning. While the Captain Ndidi demanded the strength and stability of a person wearing an arm band, Onyeka displayed the strength and stability.
Nwabali Must Take a New berth
On December 27, 2025, Nigeria’s goalkeeper #23 Stanley Nwabali scored a goal from the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) Group C football match at Fez Stadium in Fez in front of Tunisia’s #02 Ali Abdi. (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT/AFP)
Many people would have assumed that Stanley Nwabali’s mistakes would no longer exist.
The Nigerian could have done better with Tunisia’s opening goal of the night, but the Chippa United man had other things in store. At times throughout the match, his communication with the defense line was questioned.
Knockouts were resolved, and priorities were changed
Nigeria’s goalkeeper #23 Stanley Nwabali, Nigeria’s defense #02 Bright Osayi-Samuel, Nigeria’s defense #10 Semi Ajayi, FC Porto’s Zaidu Sanusi, Nigeria’s defense #21 Calvin Bassey, Nigeria’s defense #17 Alex Iwobi, Nigeria’s forward #22 Akor Adams, and Nigeria’s midfielder #04 Wilfred Ndidi pose prior to the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) (Photo by Abdel Majid BZIOUAT/AFP)
