Everton defender Joseph Yobo grabbed the winner as Nigeria triumphed 1-0 in Equatorial Guinea on Sunday to maintain their perfect record in the 2010 World Cup-Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
It was the second consecutive weekend that Yobo was the Super Eagles’ star after he scored the only goal in Sierra Leone the previous weekend just 60 seconds from time. There was no late drama in Malabo, as Yobo struck after only five minutes to give Nigeria their third consecutive win in Group 4 and a six-point advantage over second-placed South Africa.
Radhi Jaidi, from Birmingham City was another England-based defender who was a match-winner, scoring on 66 minutes to earn resurgent Tunisia a vital 1-0 Group 9 victory over Burundi in Bujumbura. After a sensational home loss to Burkina Faso, the Carthage Eagles have bounced back under new Portuguese coach Humberto Coelho with away victories in the Seychelles and Burundi.
Giant killers Swaziland, who stunned 2006 World Cup qualifiers Togo in Group 11 the previous weekend, were indebted to goalkeeper Njabuliso Simelane as they fought out a 0-0 draw with Zambia. The visitors forced nine corners as they tried to atone for an away loss to Togo, but a string of acrobatic saves from Simelane kept the Copper Bullets at bay. Swaziland remain on top with four points, followed by Togo (3) and Zambia (1).
Libya joined leaders Ghana on six points in Group 5 thanks to a 1-0 away win over minnows Lesotho courtesy of a goal from Ahmed Osman nine minutes from time in the central South African city of Bloemfontein. Lesotho have been forced to switch their three home fixtures because the National Stadium in Maseru is being renovated. It was the second consecutive home loss for the Lesotho Crocodiles and realistically rules them out of contention.
Madagascar drew for the third consecutive weekend in Group 7 with Guy Mamihasindrahona scoring in the final minute to snatch a 1-1 draw against visiting Mozambique, who took a 33rd-minute lead through Dario Monteiro..
Cape Verde moved within one point of Group 1 pacesetters Cameroon thanks to a 1-0 win on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius, courtesy of a late first half penalty from Portugal-based Eduardo ‘Dady’ Gomes.
Results from Sunday’s CONCACAF World Cup 2010 qualifying:
• USA 8, Barbados 0
• Mexico 2, Belize 0
• St. Vincent 0, Canada 3
ANFIELD BLUES: Kylian Mbappe arrived at Anfield on a run of 21 goals in 17 games, but he managed just three attempts in the match, none of them hitting the target Kylian Mbappe has been nearly unstoppable this season, but he hit a roadblock in their UEFA Champions League match at Anfield on Tuesday. For the second year running, the Real Madrid forward had a night to forget at Merseyside as Liverpool won 1-0. Mbappe looked a shadow of the player who has been tearing defenses apart all season. “We were lacking that threat in the final third,” said Madrid coach Xabi Alonso, without naming Mbappe individually. The FIFA World Cup winner for France rarely looked capable of finding a breakthrough against a Liverpool team who have been so defensively fragile for much of the
For almost 30 minutes, Vitomir Maricic did not take a breath. Face down in a pool, surrounded by anxious onlookers, the Croatian freediver fought spasming pain to redefine what doctors thought was possible. When he finally surfaced, he had smashed the previous Guinness World Record for the longest breath-hold underwater by nearly five minutes. However, even with the help of pure oxygen before the attempt, it had pushed him to the limit. “Everything was difficult, just overwhelming,” Maricic, 40, told reporters, reflecting on the record-breaking day on June 14. “When I dive, I completely disconnect from everything, as if I’m not even there.
An amateur soccer league organized by farmers, students and factory workers in rural China has unexpectedly drawn millions of fans and inspired big cities to form their own, raising hopes China can grow talent from the ground up and finally become a global force. The nation of 1.4 billion people has about 200 million soccer fans, more than any other country, but it has failed to build world-class teams, partly due to a top-down approach where clubs pick players from a very small pool of prescreened candidates. The professional game is marred by a history of fixed matches, corruption, and dismal performances,
Amanda Anisimova on Wednesday pulled off a stellar comeback to get the better of Iga Swiatek 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-2 and book her spot in the last four of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei won in the doubles at the women’s year-ending event. Making her tournament debut this week, the fourth-seeded Anisimova secured the runner-up spot in the Serena Williams Group behind Elena Rybakina. Rybakina completed round-robin play with a perfect 3-0 record, thanks to a 6-4, 6-4 success against Russian alternate Ekaterina Alexandrova earlier in the day. Anisimova improved her three-set record this season to an impressive
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