Category sport-news

Nigeria is expected to be one of the favorites to win the competition in Morocco, having been placed in Group C along with Tunisia, Tanzania, and Uganda.

The three-time AFCON champions were agonisingly close to increasing their total at the final edition of the continental football competition. After taking the lead, Nigeria lost to Cote d’Ivoire, who had earlier won the match-up, 2-1.

AFCON All-Time Leading Scorers and Goal Records, READ ALSO

Nigeria’s goal in Morocco will be to expand its footprint and conquer the Maghreb continent. The Super Eagles will face the Taifa Stars of Tanzania on December 23 at Fes’ Fez Stadium to begin the journey.

When the Super Eagles and Tunisian rival Carthage Eagles square off three days later, they will square off in a battle of the eagles. On December 30th, Nigeria will face the Cranes of Uganda in their final group game.

The top two teams from the lot will automatically advance to the round 16, and four other teams will compete for the best third-place finishers.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will play in group stages at the Morocco 2025 AFCON, and they have a list below.

Group C — Morocco 2025

23 Dec: Nigeria vs Tanzania — 06: 30 pm 
 (WAT/Nigerian time)

27 Dec: Nigeria vs Tunisia — 09: 00 pm

30 Dec: Uganda vs Nigeria — 05: 00 pm 
 (final group match).

Mario Pineida, an ecuadoran football player, was fatally shot on Wednesday in Guayaquil, according to his team.

Numerous football players in Ecuador have been the targets of recent months of gang violence in Guayaquil, which is a hotspot for drug trafficking.

Pineida, 33, did not make the squad for the 2022 finals in Qatar, but he did play for Ecuador’s national team for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers. In 2022, he also played for Fluminense.

His club, Barcelona SC, stated in a post on X that it regrets receiving a formal notification of the death of our player Mario Pineida following an attack against him in Guayaquil.

Read more about FIFA’s sanctions on Malaysia for forging documents for foreign players.

The interior ministry confirmed Pineida’s death, citing the existence of a special police force in the case.

Two motorcycle riders opened fire on Pineida, his mother, and another woman, according to Primicias, according to the digital news outlet Primicias.

Three second-tier players from Ecuador’s second division were killed in September, one of whom allegedly had ties to sports betting. Local football player Bryan Angula was shot in the chest a month later.

Ecuador, one of Latin America’s safest nations, has grown into a major transit hub for top producers Colombia and Peru and international consumers.

Guayaquil, which had the highest murder rate in Ecuador, recorded 1, 900 murders between January and September, which has seen a rise in car bombings, shootings, and extortion.

With a 2-0 victory over Brentford on Wednesday, Manchester City advanced to the League Cup semi-finals thanks to Rayan Cherki’s stunning strike.

With their sixth consecutive victory in all competitions, Pep Guardiola could afford to give Erling Haaland the night off ahead of the hectic Premier League schedule.

Guardiola made seven changes to the Etihad, leaving Haaland out of the lineup.

Abdukodir Khusanov, a rare start, was fortunate to only receive a yellow card for deflecting German-attacking Kevin Schade.

As the England international replaced the ailing Oscar Bobb after just 20 minutes, Guardiola was forced to substitute the in-form Phil Foden.

Also Read: 2026 World Cup Winners Will Win $50 Million in Prize Money.

Ten minutes before half-time, Cherki was the one to styleably unlock the Brentford rearguard action.

The Frenchman gathered a corner that was cut inside the box, cut inside, and slammed into the top corner with an unstoppable effort.

The home side’s second came much more favorably, 20 minutes apart, when Savinho’s shot deflected off Kristoffer Ajer to encircle Hakon Valdimarsson.

Between 2018 and 2021, City won the League Cup four years in a row under Guardiola.

However, this is their first time making it to the top four in five seasons.

With a 3-1 victory over Cardiff on Tuesday, Chelsea advanced to the semi-finals early in the year.

Later on Wednesday, Arsenal host Crystal Palace in their final quarter-final match against them, while Fulham or Newcastle will play them.

The country’s football authorities announced on Wednesday that the latest punishment in a simmering scandal was FIFA, which led to three 3-0 defeats for fielding ineligible players.

The Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) reported that friendly victories over Cape Verde and Singapore, both of which were held at home this year, were overturned.

Seven foreign national team players have already been suspended by FIFA because of forged documents that claimed to be from Malaysian descent.

The FAM was previously subject to a $ 440,000 fine, and it has since received a further $ 12,500 fine.

Malaysia is alleged to have lost 3-0 of its three matches, according to a ruling from a FIFA disciplinary committee meeting on Friday.

Following Malaysia’s 4-0 win over Vietnam in an Asian Cup qualifier in June, FIFA launched an investigation following a complaint.

READ ALSO: 2026 World Cup Winners Win $50,000,000 in prize money.

Two of the seven players each scored.

According to its investigation, none of Hector Hevel, Jon Irazabal, Gabriel Palmero, Facundo Garces, Rodrigo Holgado, Imanol Machuca, or Joao Brandao Figueiredo were selected for the national team because they were required to have a parent or grandparent born in Malaysia.

The FAM has filed an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport, alleging any wrongdoing.

FIFA, the world’s governing body, announced on Wednesday that the 2026 World Cup winners will receive $ 50 million in prize money as part of a record-setting financial contribution to the event.

The total World Cup prize fund, which is $655 million (5558.5 million euros), is an increase of almost $ 40 million over the previous Qatari tournament’s $ 40 million in 2022.

However, the United States, Mexico, and Canada will host the next World Cup, which will be held from June 11 through July 19. This year’s event will have 48 teams, a 50% increase over the 32 teams that were present last year.

FIFA Also Announces $60 World Cup Tickets for “Loyal Fans.”

Lionel Messi’s inspiration for glory three years ago, when they won on penalties in the final against France, earned the Argentine Football Association $ 42 million in prize money.

For their berth in the final, France received $ 30 million. The third-place finishers will receive $29 million, while the other defeated semi-finalists will receive $27 million. The beaten finalists will also receive $29 million this time.

Teams that are eliminated from the group phase will receive $9 million, while all 48 participating nations will receive an additional $1.5 million to cover “preparation costs.”

Following a glittering era, which included winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Ahmed Musa has ended his international career with the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Former Leicester City forward Musa announced his retirement on Wednesday, describing his time with the Super Eagles as being a thing of “pride.”

Dear Super Eagles family, I have made the decision to leave professional football, ending almost 15 years of my tenure with the Super Eagles. The winger, who is affectionately known as the “Governor,” announced his retirement from the national team in a post announcing his decision to wear green and white from the very beginning.

Musa thanked teammates, coaches, and fans for their continued support while playing for the Super Eagles.

Football gave me a career, but Nigeria gave me meaning. Thank you for believing in me, my teammates over the years, the coaches, the backroom staff, and the administrators,” he wrote.

Your support to the fans at home and abroad, in stadiums, and in front of their TVs, was more important to me than it is to you. I take a deep breath and express gratitude when I leave professional football.

I’m confident in my efforts. The Super Eagles will advance, I’m sure of that. And I am aware that this friendship will never end. Always an Eagle, once an Eagle.

FIFA Releases $60 World Cup Tickets Following Pricing Backlash.

For 15 years, I’ve worn this badge proudly.
From a boy, 17, who answered every call, to a 111-game Super Eagle record.
Champion of the AFCON
Nigeria’s top goalscorer at the World Cup
Captain . Servant . Believer in .

I gave everything.
Thank you for the Nigerian photo. twitter.com/Ri34E3UuAl

The Kano Pillar manager has four goals in 2014, including a brace against Argentina in Brazil, making it Nigeria’s top overall scorer. Four years later, when the Super Eagles defeated Iceland 2-0 in Russia, he did it again.

Musa, 33, started out with the Kano Pillars before moving to Europe, where he frequently appeared for Turkish teams Karagümrük and Sivasspor, as well as CSKA Moscow in Russia and VV Venlo in the Netherlands.

He also assisted Al Nassr in winning the Saudi Pro League, where he also played.

In September of that year, the AFCON champion returned to Nigeria as a player and was later appointed club’s general manager.

After William Troost-Ekong’s exit from the Super Eagles, he retired a few weeks later.