According to a statement from the national football association, Zimbabwe’s head coach Michael Nees was fired on Wednesday after not winning any of the country’s ten qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Read more about the 9 African Nations that will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026.
The Warriors finished bottom of a group that neighbours South Africa won thanks to their fourth appearance at the world championship after drawing five games and losing five.
Since taking over the top two matches last year, the 58-year-old German has only won two of their 16 matches in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against Namibia.
In the opening round of the AFCON competition, which begins in Morocco on December 21, Zimbabwe and South Africa were drawn.
In the 86th minute, Alisson Santos’ curling effort at the Estadio José Alvalade earns Sporting a victory over the 10-man Marseille side in the Champions League.
Champions League – Sporting 2-1 Marseille, a match report.
Real Madrid defeated Juventus 1-0 to win the Champions League game, Bellingham scored his first goal since June, keeping their 100-percent record in the Champions League this year.
Vinicius Jr. scored the goal in the 58th minute after taking on three Juventus players and making room for himself. Bellingham scored his first goal of the season since recovering from shoulder surgery with a rebound off the post.
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Since September 13, Juve have lost seven games in a row without winning in any way. From their three Champions League games, they have only two points, while Madrid has nine.
Real keeper Thibaut Courtois saved a few excellent saves for the Italians as they defied the Champions League’s record holders for nearly an hour.
The Belgium international stopper remained crucial even in the final moments as Juve pressured for an equalizer with Filip Kostic’s long-range effort in need of a volley.
In Frankfurt, Liverpool fought back from a goal down.
Liverpool’s 5-1 victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Wednesday marked a massive turnaround from a disappointing run.
Chelsea and Bayern Munich both recorded comfortable victories.
Liverpool lost four games, including Sunday’s Premier League home defeat to Manchester United, on a four-game winning streak. A defeat at Galatasaray in its second league match was one of its recent setbacks.
In the 26th minute, Rasmus Kristensen gave the hosts the lead, but Liverpool equalized nine minutes later when former Frankfurt player Hugo Ekitike outsprinted three of his former teammates before heading a low effort under Michael Zetterer.
Ekitike raised his hands in a sincere apologetic gesture rather than celebrate.
Within five minutes of each other, Liverpool took a comfortable half-time lead thanks to Virgil Van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate’s corner kick.
In the 66th minute, Florian Wirtz provided his first Champions League assist, setting up Cody Gakpo for a tap-in, and he followed it up with a low drive from Dominik Szoboszlai from 30 meters out.
Bayern won Club Brugge 4-0, while Chelsea defeated Ajax 5-1.
Osimhen from Nigeria makes a second-place appearance for Galatasaray.
Victor Osimhen’s impressive scoring streak in Europe was continued by Galatasaray with a 3-1 victory over Bodo/Glimt.
Osimhen scored two first-half goals to extend his scoring streak in continental competition to seven appearances, which included nine goals, dating back to Galatasaray’s Europa League campaign last term.
The Nigerian forward attempted to score a hat-trick on several occasions, most recently when Nikita Haikin parried his attempt in the 60th minute, but Yunus Akgun snuck away the rebound for Galatasaray’s third.
Shortly after Bod/Glimt left the bench, substitute Andreas Helmersen grabbed a consolation.
With a 3-1 victory over Qarabag, substitute Roberto Navarro made an immediate and stunning impact as he led Athletic Bilbao to its first points in the Champions League this season.
Five minutes later, Navarro took the lead with a delightful curled finish into the far corner, which was brought on in the 65th minute with the score 1-1.
After only 49 seconds, Leandro Andrade gave Qarabag the lead, which was surprisingly flawless at the start of the conflict.
With a 5-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League on Wednesday, Liverpool broke a four-game losing streak. Hugo Ekitike scored for the English champions against his former club.
After Ekitike scored for Liverpool, Florian Wirtz assisted him on his way back to Germany with goals assisted by Virgil van Dijk, Ibrahim Konate, Cody Gakpo, and Dominik Szoboszlai.
Hugo Ekitike, a French striker, and Arne Slot, a Dutch manager, celebrate after the UEFA Champions League football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool FC in Frankfurt, West Germany, on October 22, 2025. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP)
Liverpool were looking back on their worst losing streak in 73 years, which started in 1953-54, when they were relegated from the top flight.
Mohamed Salah was replaced by Arne Slot, and Liverpool won the match for the fifth consecutive game when Rasmus Kristensen scored on the counter.
However, the Reds quickly jumped into action, scoring three goals in ten minutes to give them a 3-1 lead at half-time.
For Gakpo and Szoboszlai, Wirtz laid on second-half goals to put the game to bed after he had not scored or assisted in either Premier League or Champions League since making his big-money move to Anfield.
Alexander Isak was substituted for Federico Chiesa at half-time after Wirtz failed to score on his goal contribution duck.
On October 22, 2025, Eintracht Frankfurt and Liverpool FC’s French striker Hugo Ekitike, Frankfurt’s Danish defender #13 Rasmus Kristensen, and Frankfurt’s Swedish midfielder #16 Hugo Larsson compete for the ball during the UEFA Champions League football match in Frankfurt, western Germany. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP)
Liverpool’s confidence will improve, but Arne Slot’s side will have to put up more pressing challenges than Frankfurt, who have already conceded 23 goals in their last six games.
After 26 minutes, Nathaniel Brown picked Wirtz’s pocket before Frankfurt stooped up the field, Mario Goetze finding Kristensen, who had switched to his preferred right foot, and hammered home the opener.
When Andy Robertson won possession and made a superb long-range pass from deep to the breaking Ekitike, Frankfurt was pushed for a second after 35 minutes.
The former Frankfurt player apologized to the home fans as he received the pass, advanced goalwards, and slid it under Michael Zetterer.
The strike sent a shiver through Liverpool as it approached the end of the match.
Just four minutes later, when Van Dijk headed in a Cody Gakpo corner past his helpless goalkeeper, Ansgar Knauff, the Reds were two up.
Van Dijk’s center-back partner Konate repeated the move one minute later, heading in the corner once more after passing Knauff once more.
Wirtz’s opening half was uneventful, but when Liverpool started to shine, he appeared more assured.
Within four second-half minutes, the German midfielder put Liverpool on course for a significant victory by laying on goals for Gakpo and Szoboszlai.
With a 1-0 victory over Juventus on Wednesday, record 15-time champion Real Madrid continued to be 100% successful in the Champions League with a goal from Juve.
After England international Bellingham scored from close range in the second half, Xabi Alonso’s Spanish giants mostly outplayed their visitors but were unable to increase their lead.
At the Santiago Bernabeu, Italian giants Juventus, who are currently without a win in seven games across all competitions, battled hard but were unable to find an equalizer.
Madrid, who is one of five teams to have won all three of their opening league matches, including Paris Saint-Germain, was a perfect preparation for Sunday’s Clasico game against rivals Barcelona in La Liga.
After making his 300th appearance for the club, Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois stated, “I’m very happy with the win. It was a very tough game with chances at both ends and we had to sweat for it.”
It’s not easy when they defend with 11 men and want to go on the counter because they are Juve, not a small side.
In a tentative opening period, both teams made an effort to master each other, but eventually Alonso’s team took control.
Kylian Mbappe, a top-notch French superstar, received the ball from Brahim Diaz, who was unable to stop Michele Di Gregorio to slam his shot.
The striker whistled a superb dribble from the right into the box before cutting the ball back to Eder Militao on the edge of the box, who had just drained a perfect dribble.
In the first half, either team came as close as either side could, but after the break, the game resumed.
At the end of a quick break downfield, Courtois made a good save with his leg to deny Dusan Vlahovic.
After Vinicius Junior’s excellent work, Madrid took the lead, but they haven’t scored in the Champions League this season.
The Brazilian made a few yards for a shot that he curled against the post despite being surrounded by defenders in the area.
Bellingham, who was attacking midfield, showed his poacher’s instinct to react quickly and scored the rebound after 57 minutes.
After a slow start to the campaign following shoulder surgery in the summer to treat a long-term issue, the 22-year-old scored his first goal of the season in his seventh game.
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The “Best way possible”
On October 22, 2025, Real Madrid’s French forward #10 Kylian Mbappe and Juventus’ Italian goalkeeper #16 Michele Di Gregorio square off against Real Madrid CF at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. (Photo by Pierre-Philippe MARCOU / AFP)
Mbappe, who had already scored in 11 of his previous matches for the club and nation, slipped as he shot, and Madrid sought a second goal with a low strike saved by Di Gregorio.
With a chance to get a draw, the Italian stopper made a stunning double save from Mbappe and Diaz.
As the clock struck zero, Raul Asencio slid in to block Lois Openda’s shot.
In an effort to extend his goalscoring streak, Mbappe needed one more effort from distance, but Di Gregorio was on par with him.
Igor Tudor’s Juve have lost all of their first three Champions League matches since Courtois was called back in stoppage time to stop Filip Kostic’s long-range strike.
Aurelien Tchouameni, a midfielder for Madrid, said, “We’ve kicked off this group phase in the best way possible.”
We faced a strong defense, which is not easy for us, but we were confident we would score.
At 17 years and 242 days old, Jennart Karl, the youngest player to score in the Champions League match against Club Brugge, defeats Club Brugge 4-0 at the Allianz Arena.
Champions League vs. Bayern Munich 4-0 at Club Brugge
