Black Stars of Ghana on Sunday succumbed 2-0 to Mexico’s El Tri in an international friendly

This is the first of two international friendlies the Black Stars are engaging in as they are currently touring the United States as part of preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to begin in November.

The four-time African champions started the game on a good note launching early attacks.

Mexico, however, reclaim dominance of the match from the 25th minute onward.

PSV Eindhoven star Hirving Lozano broke the deadlock in the 57th minute to put Mexico in front.

El Tri then extended their lead in the 72nd minute through Atuna, who took advantage of a counter-attack.

Ghana struggled to penetrate Mexico’s high defensive line for a foam with Atuna capitalizing on an error in the 72nd minute to secure the second goal and seal victory for Mexico.

Ghana will now shift their attention to their second friendly against the United States on Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Going by the loss, Ghana are now winless in four games against Mexico’s El Tri with a 6-1 aggregate scoreline and failed to record a shot on target.

[Vanguard]

Logan Paul has defeated MMA fighter Dillon Danis by disqualification after their six-round heavyweight grudge match ended in a mass brawl at the AO Arena in Manchester on Saturday night.

The final round escalated into chaos when Danis attempted to take Paul down with a guillotine move and Paul tried to punch his opponent while on the ground.

Initially, the incident brought one security guard into the ring, but he was promptly followed by more than 30 others with Danis starting to throw punches at them, and even Jake Paul getting involved, while Logan stood on the ropes celebrating.

‘El Jefe’ Danis has been relentlessly trolling Paul’s fiancee Nina Agdal on social media ever since the fight was announced and it eventually spilled over in the final round in a chaotic and controversial ending.

Paul, wearing pink shorts, boxed on the outside and at range, while Danis took the centre of the ring in a cagey opening round.

Paul won his Misfits heavyweight fight against Danis at the AO Arena after it descended into chaos.

Paul, 28, then opened up late in the next, unloading with a series of crushing body shots which Danis managed to soak up.

Danis threw a couple of backhand shots before lying flat on the canvas taunting his rival. It had Paul and the crowd frustrated and agitated at what resembled a pantomime, rather than a pay-per-view fight.

Danis had never competed in a boxing match before, with his experience instead coming in jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts, although he has not fought in MMA in four years, and he only has two professional bouts to his name.

The 30-year-old was set to fight KSI months ago but withdrew, but he got his crack at Logan Paul, whose only pro fight defeat came against KSI.

Paul, who has over 23 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, won easy fourth and fifth rounds with his opponent just looking to avoid the knockout, while Danis was deducted a point in the final round for trying to wrestle Paul to the ground before the brawl broke out.

The official result of the fight is a win for Logan Paul by disqualification.

[Leadership]

Qatari Billionaire, Sheikh Jassim has withdrawn from the race to buy Manchester United from the Glazers family.

The Qatari businessman has been competing with British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe to buy United after the Glazers put the club up for sale last November but new reports say the Glazers took United off the market last month after realising that neither interested party would meet their £10 billion valuation.

Sheikh Jassim had a £5bn offer for a complete takeover of United rejected earlier this year, while Ratcliffe, the petrochemicals billionaire, had considered buying a minority stake.

Both Sheikh Jassim and Ratcliffe had retained their interest, despite the Glazers’ high valuation, but the Qatari billionaire has now pulled out of the race.

‘Sheikh Jassim has had further discussions with Glazers family to buy 100 per cent of Manchester United,’ transfer expert Fabrizio Romano said on his YouTube channel on Saturday, October 14.

‘Sheikh Jassim’s bid proposition has been rejected again by Glazers family. As a result, Sheikh Jassim informed Glazers that he’s ready to withdraw from the process.

‘Sheikh Jassim has presented fully cash bid, clearing all old debt, with zero new debt, for 100% of the club.

‘Sheikh Jassim’s team decline to comment on this news citing ‘confidentiality restrictions’, but have confirmed they’ve withdrawn from the process.’

Former UFC middleweight champion Israel Adesanya has vowed to return to the octagon after announcing that he is taking a break from the UFC.

Israel Adesanya decided to embark on the break about a month after he lost his Middleweight belt to an underdog, Sean Strickland in Sydney, Australia.

His defeat to the 32-year-old American mixed martial artist is said to be the biggest upset in MMA history.

The 34-year-old Nigerian-born Australian fighter said his break from UFC is to help him refocus, change his way of life, and prepare for the future after suffering his third competitive loss in the UFC.

“I’m not making any excuses. Strickland got me on the night because he was the better fighter on the night, and he did his work well. He had a good team behind him. Now I’m going to take time to look after myself. I’m not going to fight for a long time. I’m definitely not going to retire, because that’s not me,” Adesanya told The Rock FM.

“But if I did, I’m fine. I don’t need to prove anything else. But I know what I can do, and I know what I can change in my lifestyle to make my body adapt to where I need to be. I’m going to heal myself up, you won’t see me fight for a long time.”

He added, “Four fights in the last 14 months, takes a toll on your body.

“I’m just going to take my time to heal, and then when I come back, f**king run for the hills”.

Israel Adesanya revealed that Khamzat Chimaev could have been his opponent at UFC 294, but his team declined the opportunity due to his sabbatical.

On Saturday, October 21, the unbeaten Chimaev will face fellow Nigerian fighter Kamaru Usman instead.

Meanwhile, Adesanya admitted guilty to charges of drunk driving in New Zealand and now faces a sentence of up to $2,680 in fines or three months in jail.

On August 19, Adesanya was stopped, and it was found that he had a blood alcohol level of 87 milligrams per 100 milliliters. The legal limit in New Zealand is 50 milligrams.

He will go back to court on January 10 to receive his punishment.

[NaijaNews]

In a thrilling night of football, three national teams secured their qualification for the 2024 European Championship, as France, Portugal, and Belgium emerged victorious in their respective matches.

France, led by star forward Kylian Mbappe, overcame the Netherlands with a 2-1 victory to secure their spot in the Euro 2024 finals. Mbappe, who played a pivotal role, scored twice, with the first goal coming just seven minutes into the match.

He added another early in the second half, while Quilindschy Hartman scored a consolation goal for the hosts late in the game. France has maintained a perfect record, winning all six Euro qualifying matches, confirming their place in the tournament with two matches to spare.

Belgium secured their qualification with a hard-fought 3-2 victory against Austria. The match in Vienna was a winner-takes-all contest, and Belgium emerged victorious to top Group F with 16 points, securing their place in the finals. The match was intense and closely contested, but Romelu Lukaku’s performance helped Belgium win.

Portugal also secured their qualification to the Euros after a thrilling 3-2 victory over Slovakia. Goncalo Ramos opened the scoring for Portugal, and Cristiano Ronaldo added two goals, including one from the penalty spot. David Hancko and Stanislav Lobotka scored for Slovakia, but Portugal held on for the win. Portugal won all their qualifying matches, and they join France, Belgium, and Germany as the teams qualified for Euro 2024.

The competition promises to be an exciting showdown, with these three strong teams booking their places in the tournament.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper, Ben Foster, has suggested that Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk is the best centre-back that has ever lived.

Speaking on the Fozcast, Foster said: “I have got one I think we probably will put in the top 10 [defenders list],” ‘Some people would say about longevity, but I still think in the whole pantheon of centre-backs, this guy stepped the game up a little bit. I really do. Virgil van Dijk.

“I think for three years in a row, he was the best centre-back in the world. He had a bad injury and is probably still finding his feet from that.

“Virgil van Dijk, at the peak of his powers, is the best defender that has ever lived. I genuinely believe that. When Liverpool are winning the Champions League and Premier League, Virgil is the number one.

“People have just got short memories and the cruciate ligament injury has probably taken a yard of pace off him.”

Van Dijk joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2018.

[DailyPost]

TOTTENHAM Hotspur captain Son Heung-min and the club’s head coach Ange Postecoglou have won the main English Premier League awards for September.

While Son has been voted September Player of the Month, Postecoglou secured the Manager of the Month prize.

Korea forward Son scored six goals in four matches in September as Spurs defeated Burnley, Sheffield United and Liverpool, and drew with Arsenal, to continue their unbeaten start to the season.

He netted a hat-trick at Turf Moor, a brace in the north London derby, and the opening goal in Spurs’ first victory over Liverpool since 2017.

Son’s award is the second for Tottenham players this season after James Maddison won August’s prize.

Son has now won the award four times in his career, matching Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp, Frank Lampard, Paul Scholes, Mohamed Salah, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Jamie Vardy.

Son topped a seven-man shortlist after votes on the EA SPORTS website were combined with those of a panel of football experts.

He beat the likes of Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen to the award.

On his part, Postecoglou has made Premier League history by winning September 2023 Manager of the Month award.

The Australian is the first manager to win the award in each of his first two months in the competition, having also claimed August’s prize, the first coach from his country to ever win it.

The last manager to win the first two awards of any season was Jurgen Klopp, in 2019/2020, when Liverpool went on to lift the Premier League trophy.

Postecoglou beat fellow nominees Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta, Aston Villa’s Unai Emery, Newcastle United’s Eddie Howe and Klopp after votes from the public were combined with those of a panel of football experts.

Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes won the Goal of the Month award for his strike against Burnley in the clash his side won 1-0.

[https://ntm.ng]

Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro has admitted that the Eagles will face a tough test against Saudi Arabia when both sides clash in an international friendly at the Estádio Municipal de Portimao, Portugal on Friday (today).

The three-time African champions also play Mozambique at the same venue on Monday.

The Eagles and the Asians have met just once, another friendly that ended in a 0-0 stalemate in 2010 in Austria.

Interestingly, Peseiro was in the opposite dugout as coach of Saudi Arabia in that encounter but he says they have a better squad now under new Italian manager Roberto Mancini.

Speaking exclusively to PUNCH Sports Extra, Eagles coach Peserio said the game against the Green Falcons would be a good test for his side as they prepare for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month.

The Eagles begin their World Cup qualifying matches against Lesotho and Zimbabwe in November.

“It will be a good preparatory game against a good team, which will be very useful for my team’s qualification for the World Cup,” Peserio said.

“The Saudi Arabian team has players with technical quality, who like to play an associative game and are now stronger than when I coached them.

“Saudi Arabia was the last team to defeat Argentina, so it will certainly be a tough game, which we will use to improve our organisation.”

Nigeria will begin their quest for a fourth Africa Cup of Nations title in 2024 against tournament hosts Ivory Coast alongside Equatorial Guinea and Guinea Bissau.

The draw, which was conducted at at a colourful ceremony inside the brand-new Parc Des Expositions in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on Thursday was hosted by global music star, AKON.

A heavyweight quartet of Africa’s biggest current and former football superstars, Didier Drogba, Mikel Obi, Sadio Mane and Achraf Hakimi supported the Confederation of Africa Football as draw assistants during the pairing.

The Super Eagles were seeded in Pot 2 following their drop in the FIFA rankings released in September.

By their seeding, the three-time African champions knew they faced the task of coming up against one of the top-seeded teams on the continent.

While they avoided a confrontation against the North African sides, Jose Peseiro’s men were, however, handed a tricky start to their campaign with a game against the Elephants.

The match at the 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan is one the most highly anticipated of the tournament’s group stage fixtures.

Ivory Coast have won the tournament on two occasions, first in 1992 and later in 2015.

Both sides were also in the same group in 1980 when Nigeria hosted the football showpiece with the game ending goalless.

In the other groups, record winners, Egypt were paired in Group B alongside Ghana, Cape Verde and Mozambique.

Group C has champions Senegal, 2002 winners Cameroon, Guinea and The Gambia.

Algeria will slug it out with Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Angola in Group D.

In Group E, Tunisia face Mali, South Africa and Namibia, while Group F has Morocco, who are ranked number one in Africa, DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania.

Next year’s edition of the AFCON will take place from January 13 to February 11, 2024.

The host cities are Abidjan, Bouaké, Korhogo, San Pédro and Yamoussoukro.