Nigeria’s world record holder Tobi Amusan took silver in the women’s 100m hurdles at the world championships in Tokyo on Monday.
Amusan clocked 12.29sec behind Switzerland’s Ditaji Kambundji who clocked a national record of 12.24sec to win a shock gold.
American Grace Stark claimed bronze in 12.34sec, while Olympic champion Masai Russell finished fourth with 12.44sec.
Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Monday superstar striker Kylian Mbappe feels no anxiety to win the Champions League for the first time as Los Blancos prepare to face Marseille.
Mbappe, 26, left Paris Saint-Germain last summer to join record 15-time winners Madrid, only to see his former club go on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
“He’s not anxious, we all feel this is a project that’s just starting,” Alonso told a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s opening match at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“One of the objectives is to win the Champions League hopefully sooner rather than later, Kylian is part of the path to getting there, but I don’t think he’s anxious.
“Today we spoke about what the Champions League means, but we were not talking about May (and the final), we were talking about the near future.”
Mbappe faced his former club PSG for the first time at the Club World Cup this summer, with Madrid thrashed 4-0 in the semi-finals.
However the striker was not fully fit at the tournament in the United States because of a stomach bug and has hit the ground running with four goals in four La Liga games this season.
“Gastroenteritis meant it was Kylian ‘lite’ at the Club World Cup,” said Alonso.
“Without doubt (he’s a leader), for his personality, experience, the influence he has on the others, he’s one of them.”
Real Madrid have won six of the last 12 Champions Leagues but Alonso said he did not feel extra pressure because of the club’s rich history in the competition.
“It’s a fact, unquestionable, an honour, a motivation and it is a responsibility you live with and enjoy,” added Alonso. “It’s a privilege.”
The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, has dismissed claims that Nigerian athletes participating at the World Championship in Tokyo are poorly kitted.
Dikko said that the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) should be commended for providing Nigerian athletes with kits for the international event.
While stating that the kits were not inferior, he also dismissed the notion that the NSC was responsible for kitting athletes.
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“Those kits were not inferior as people were trying to say, because other countries are using similar kits from Hiracer. It is just probably about the packing because it was not put in a box, like other countries are doing, and it was not bought in bulk.
“Tobi is our star athlete, and we respect her a lot. So, she did the video; it is what it is, but it is not the case, Dikko said on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Monday.
“That was why we kept quiet for the past two days, because now, you have seen that all the athletes have been using the same kit. Probably, she had an issue with the packaging, [or] she had an issue with the quantity at that particular time.
“I thought the AFN should have been praised for going quickly to get the transaction with Hiracer, which includes a lot of bonuses and motivation for the athletes if they win,” he added.
World record holder, Tobi Amusan, had in a video post criticised the AFN for allegedly handing over poor-quality kits to Nigerian athletes for the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.
But the AFN refuted the claim.
Amusan claimed silver in the 100 metres hurdles at the World Championship in Tokyo on Monday.
In May, she won the women’s 100 metres hurdles at the Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco.
Amid growing concerns over the poor performance of the Super Eagles at the ongoing World Cup qualifiers, the National Sports Commission (NSC) on Monday said that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will determine the fate of Super Eagles coach, Eric Chelle.
The Chairman of the NSC, Shehu Dikko, stated this on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief.
“Eric Chelle is the responsibility of the Nigeria Football Federation to decide. At the end of the day, after they finish, they’ll do the analysis, and then they will recommend to us, and then we look at it, we approve or disapprove, or we engage to do that,” said Dikko.
“As for the World Cup, we all know where we are. When we came on board, we only had three points out of 12, but now we have been able to, at least with Eric Chelle, the NFF, pull ourselves together. Now, we have eight points in another four games.
“If we had gotten these results before, probably, we could have been preparing to qualify for the World Cup,” he added.
Dikko explained that while the NSC has supported the team, the fate of Nigeria in the World Cup qualifiers was not in the hands of the sports commission.
“Based on the numbers, it’s out of our hands,” Dikko said on the breakfast show.
“So we just have to win our next two games and see what happens because it’s in football; somebody has to lose, for you to qualify.
“So, we have to win our next two games and see where it takes us. But we are still hopeful. Anything can happen.
“As a commission, we did all we had to do to support. For the last game we played, the National Sports Commission chartered a flight, paid for hotels, and made the bonuses available.”
With two matches left to play in Group C, Nigeria are six points behind South Africa, who are topping the group with 17 points, and three points behind Benin.
The Super Eagles are on 11 points on the table.
The Eagles failed to secure maximum points away to South Africa in Bloemfontein on September 9, leaving Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup hopes hanging by a thread.
An own goal by captain William Troost-Ekong and an equaliser from Calvin Bassey saw Nigeria held to a 1-1 draw in the crucial qualifier against the Bafana Bafana.
The situation has left Nigeria requiring a miracle to reach the tournament to be hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico.
Irked by the performance, a former Super Eagles captain, Mikel Obi, called for the disbandment of the NFF if the country failed to qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
Mikel said the country’s struggles in the World Cup qualifier were due to the football body’s inability to put its house in order.
“If Nigeria doesn’t qualify for the World Cup, the entire NFF board has to go… It’s unacceptable,” the former Chelsea star stated on the Obi One Podcast.
Nigeria’s next match will be against Lesotho on October 8.
Three days after, the Super Eagles will play their last game of the qualifiers against Benin on October 11.
Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Fermin Lopez struck twice each as Barcelona thumped Valencia 6-0 on Sunday in a La Liga match they were forced to play at their tiny training ground stadium because of delays in reopening the Spotify Camp Nou.
The rampant Spanish champions moved second, two points behind leaders Real Madrid, who boast a 100 percent record after their win at Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Hosting the game at the 6,000-capacity Johan Cruyff Stadium beside their training facilities west of the city, with the rebuilt Camp Nou not yet permitted to open, Barca’s first home game of the season saw high-calibre football in a low-key setting.
Star forward Lamine Yamal’s absence due to a groin issue was a further blow for Barca, with coach Hansi Flick criticising the Spanish national team for playing him twice despite the problem during World Cup qualifiers last week.
However, Barcelona’s display, above all in the second half, helped them forget his absence and their disappointing draw at Rayo Vallecano in their previous La Liga outing.
“I appreciate what I saw today a lot, and this is a start after the break,” said Flick, who was upset with his players after the Rayo game a fortnight ago.
Lopez said last season’s winners of a domestic treble were on the right track.
“The message is the same as last year, to play with intensity and humility, I think we’re on a good path and we have to continue like this,” said the midfielder.
Flick handed Roony Bardghji his debut on the right flank in Yamal’s stead after his summer arrival from Copenhagen.
Barcelona dominated Valencia in the first half without creating many clear-cut chances.
Marcus Rashford and Ferran Torres fired narrowly over and wide, respectively, as Flick’s side penned in the visitors.
Lopez, linked with a move to Chelsea during the summer, dug in to stay at Barca and proved his worth against Los Che.
Barca took the lead after 29 minutes when Torres flicked on a pass into the midfielder’s path.
Lopez scampered into the box and flashed a strike across Julen Agirrezabala and into the net.
Carlos Corberan’s Valencia, 15th, did not muster a shot in the first half to Barca’s 11, playing conservatively after a 7-1 thrashing by the Blaugrana in January.
Flick brought on Raphinha for the quiet Bardghji at half-time as he sought to put the game to bed, and soon had the goals he wanted.
Rashford, on his brightest outing since joining from Manchester United on loan, whipped in a dangerous cross which Raphinha slid home at the far post.
It was Rashford’s first direct goal contribution since arriving at the club.
Three minutes later Lopez blasted in a third from long range, which goalkeeper Agirrezabala might have dealt with better.
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“Today is a great step for (Lopez) and this is what I want to see every match,” said Flick.
“He has amazing quality… and when he has this confidence, he’s really great, (but) I think he can still improve.”
Raphinha smashed in Barca’s fourth at the near post as the Catalans ran riot.
Flick shuffled his pack with Thursday’s Champions League opener in mind, bringing on Polish veteran Lewandowski and Dani Olmo.
The 37-year-old striker grabbed his first goal of the season with a lethal finish after Olmo played him in behind the defence.
Flick was also able to bring on midfielder Marc Bernal following a long absence after a severe knee injury, and he set up Lewandowski to dink home the sixth.
“It seems like they’ve got the measure of us,” said Valencia defender Jose Gaya.
“We weren’t capable of diminishing their strengths once again, it was a big scoreline again…
“We tried to stop them with our game plan but the second goal did us a lot of damage, we couldn’t stop it and then came the third.”
Luka Modric scored his first goal for AC Milan in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Bologna, the veteran star making his mark at the San Siro days after turning 40 years old.
Modric, who celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, netted the winning goal at the end of a flowing move he started in midfield before meeting Alexis Saelemaekers’ low cross with a perfect first-time finish.
The six-time Champions League winner, who arrived at Milan as a free agent after 13 years at Real Madrid, wheeled away in delight at the decisive strike in a match which ended with coach Massimiliano Allegri sent off for his furious reaction at the hosts not being given a late penalty.
New signing Christopher Nkunku looked set to have a chance at scoring his first Milan goal from the penalty spot seconds after replacing Santiago Gimenez when he went down under challenges from Jhon Lucumi and then Remo Freuler.
But after looking at the pitch-side monitor, referee Matteo Marcenaro overruled his own decision to give the spot-kick for the Freuler foul, which sent Allegri into a rage on the touchline, his rant to officials costing him a red card.
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Sunday’s was also a successful start for new arrival Adrien Rabiot with an impressive performance alongside Modric in midfield for Milan, who also struck the woodwork three times.
However, his fellow France international Mike Maignan was forced to limp off with what Milan have confirmed is a problem with his right calf, the latest in a long line of injuries for Les Bleus’ goalkeeper.
Milan’s first home win of the season moved them to fifth, level on six points with Cremonese and Roma, who fell to a shock 1-0 home defeat to Torino earlier on Sunday.
Earlier, Ivan Juric confirmed that Ademola Lookman will sit out Atalanta’s Champions League opener at Paris Saint-Germain as the Nigeria forward continues to be sidelined following a protracted attempt to leave the Serie A club.
Atalanta warmed up for Wednesday’s clash with the European champions in Paris by beating Lecce 4-1 without star man Lookman, who hasn’t featured this season after trying and failing to force a move to Inter Milan in the summer.
Charles De Ketelaere struck twice in the second half, with Giorgio Scalvini and Nicola Zalewski netting Atalanta’s other goals.
It’s the second time in as many years that Lookman has tried to find the exit door after attempting to leave for PSG the summer after he helped win the Europa League for Atalanta in 2024.
“I don’t think so; it’s an unpleasant situation,” said Juric when asked if Lookman would travel to the French capital.
“He has given a lot to Atalanta, but Atalanta has given him a lot as well. We need players who are ready, who want to play for the shirt and improve… Looking ahead, we’ll see what happens.”
London-born Lookman has become one of the best players in Europe since signing for Atalanta three years ago after a middling early career in England and Germany.
The 27-year-old has scored 52 times in 117 matches for Atalanta, most famously netting a hat-trick in last year’s Europa League final, when the Bergamo club won their first European trophy by thumping previously unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen 3-0.
Lookman scored 20 times in all competitions last season, with five coming in seven Champions League appearances, but he soured his relationship with the club by abandoning team training in the hope that Inter would meet Atalanta’s asking price of 50 million euros ($59 million).
That never happened, and Lookman, whose contract doesn’t expire until the end of June 2027, was forced to return to Atalanta, where he has since been frozen out by Juric, who has replaced Gian Piero Gasperini in the dugout.