Picks of the week: Arne Slot’s perfect start with Liverpool over, Falconets exit the U20 Women’s World Cup while the Junior D’Tigress makes a mark in the U18 Afrobasket championship as Charles Leclerc wins in a dramatic Baku race weekend.
Thrilling victories cut across various sports unfolded this week. Starting with the English Premier League.
The first London Derby of the Premier League season was a tense and dogged game with eight yellow cards. Both teams couldn’t find a breakthrough in the first half despite starting strongly. Alas, Gabriel Magalhaes got Arsenal in front with a goal, which eventually turned out to be the winner as it ended 1-0 in favour of Arsenal. In other games, Haaland became the first player in Premier League history to score nine goals across the first four games. He scored both the eighth and ninth in Man City’s 2-1 win against Brentford. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s perfect start with Arne Slot came to an end as Nottingham Forest secured a 1-0 victory for the first time in Anfield in 55 years. Check out the full-time scores of the games.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda in the second game of the Afcon 2025 qualifiers. Ademola Lookman, who scored a brace last time out, thought he had given Nigeria the lead, but the referee ruled it out for a foul on a Rwandan player. Despite introducing Osihmen in the second half of the game, Nigeria could not get a breakthrough. Nigeria remains top of Group D with four points and will host Libya in October.
Just after the game, rumours about Austin Eguaveon stepping down as the interim coach of the Super Eagles emerged but were quickly debunked by 7, stating he was still very much in charge of the team.
Another story surfaced concerning the Women’s national team, the Super Falcons, apparently not a rumour, as Super Falcons coach Randy Waldrum resigned from his role as head coach, citing his partner’s health issue and the worries that came with it. He said he was compelled to leave the job to take care of his wife as her health was deteriorating. Waldrum also recounted the memories and achievements of the team and wished them the best.
However, things went sour for the Falconets in the U20 Women’s World Cup. The Falconets fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Japanese U20 Women’s national team. Japan ended the first half with a 1-0 advantage, and by the second half, they added the second goal, but hope was restored for the Nigerian side when Olushola Shobowale scored a late goal which couldn’t change anything. With the result, the Falconets crashed out of the World Cup.
Before the Falconets exited the U20 Women’s World Cup, the Nigerian men’s U18 national team, junior D’Tigers, bowed out of the Afrobasket championship following their 80-71 loss against Mali in the quarter-finals. Meanwhile, the Junior D’Tigress, who got to the semi-finals for the first time in fourteen years, made it to the finals against Mali, losing 76-56 to get a silver medal and also pick the 2025 U19 FIBA World Cup ticket.
Meanwhile, Enyimba FC and Rangers International picked vital points on the continent. Rangers secured a 1-0 victory courtesy of Kazeem Ogunleye’s 77th-minute goal in the second preliminary round games against Sagrada Esperanca. While Rangers won, Enyimba played out a goalless draw with Etoille Filante away from home with the second leg billed for 22nd September at the Godwill Akpabio stadium.
The NPFL matchday two was characterized by four draws and three home wins, with the game between El-Kanemi and Kwara United postponed. Here are the results.
The 8th edition of the National Youth Games in Asaba Delta state, tagged Asaba 2024, was declared by the minister of sports, John Enoh, after which the rush for medals began. Team Delta State began their defence on a good note with gold medals in swimming and weightlifting, and their arch-rivals Edo State also racked in gold medals. But with River states not in the picture, other states that are doing quite well are Team Bayelsa, Oyo, Ogun, and Kogi, amongst others.
The Formula 1 race in Baku was marked with Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc going wheel to wheel, a dramatic clash between Sergio Perez and Carlos Sainz, and Norris’s brilliant recovery from fifteenth to fourth. In all, Piastri prevailed to win in the thrilling Azerbaijan GP. Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and George Russel for Mercedes made it to the podium as second and third. While Lando Norris zoomed into fourth with Max Verstappen in Fifth, Lewis Hamilton had a rather quiet race finishing tenth.
