OLT SPORTS

Following a goalless draw in their final group game against the RepublicofIreland, Nigeria representatives in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup, Super Falcons progress from Group B as runner-up to co host, Australia. Forward Asisat Oshoala missed two great chances, one in either half while Uchenna Kanu forced a very good save off the Republic of Ireland Goalkeeper, Courtney Brosnan moments after the restart. Despite being the lowest ranked nation in the group, Nigeria finished the group campaign with an unbeaten record, while also keeping two clean sheets in the three games played. The result takes Randy Waldrum's side up to five points, enough to qualify as runner-up to Australia, who humiliated Olympics champion, Canada in the other game of the group. The co host stormed into an early lead inside the opening ten minutes as the Candaians failed to deal with a Steph Catley's low ball into cross, which finds it's way to Hayley Rasso to make it 1-0. The Matildas double t

Japan walloped Spain by four goals to nothing to seal passage into the round of 16 as winners of Group C, leaving the European nation to claim second spot. Despite dominating for most part of the game, Spain were no match for their clinical and energetic Asian opponent, who stormed into an early lead through Hitana Miyazawa inside the opening 12 minute. The lead was doubled one minute before the half hour mark as Riko Ueki scored her second goal of the ongoing tournament from a Miyazawa assist. Ueki repaid the favour five minutes from the end of the normal time of the first half as she turned provider for Miyazawa to complete her brace and become the outright top scorer in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup with four goals. Substitute, Mina Tanaka scored eight minutes from time to complete the decimation of Jorge Vilda's side, who succumb to second spot and finish as runner-up. In the other game of the group, played for the culture, there was time for Zambia to make history as

As if the shockers were not enough for the first round, the second round of group games in the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicked off to another one of the unexpected. Of the highlights, Nigeria win a first ever game from losing position for the first time in the country's history while Morocco also enjoyed an historical moment in their win over South Korea, which was also their first ever in the tournament. Banyana Banyana of South Africa disappointed having surrendered a two goal lead against Argentina but Zambia reached the lowest of lows as they were again humbled in another 5-0 debacle to Spain. Starting this time with The Phillipines, who were humbled by Switzerland on debut, upset co-host, New Zealand to turn the Group A on its head after Norway's failure to beat Switzerland afterwards. Norway, the highest ranked nation in the group now have to beat The Philippines by good margins in their final group game to seal progression into the round of 16 as after two games, any of t

Switzerland and Norway seals next round spot as New Zealand misses out on history on home soil but The Philippines will have no complains, even after their tournament ends with a debacle. Switzerland and Norway have both qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup round of 16 from Group A as winners and runner up respectively while New Zealand exit the tournament. The Swiss, who kicked off their campaign with a 2-0 win over the Phillipines were able to add two more with draws against both Norway and host, New Zealand. Norway, despite their shocking loss to New Zealand in the tournament's curtain raiser and failure to beat Switzerland in their second game, needed a win of distant margin to be assured of progression if result in the other game didn't go their way. They set out with intent against The Phillipines and scored three goals in the opening 30 minutes thanks to a brace from hat-trick hero, Sophie Roman Haug and one more from Barcelona's Caroline Hansen. Three more goals

Arsenal are progressing well in talks with Brazilian side, Gremio for the signing of 23 year old playmaker, João Paulo de Souza Mares, commonly known as Bitello. First contact was made last month and a fee of around €8 million has been discussed between both club, with agreement seemingly very close. There's been a breakthrough in negotiations but Arsenal's focus on outgoings, has seen the deal delayed so far. The Gunners are in no rush to complete the deal as they have been fortunate to land their priorities, with Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and Declan Rice all joining earlier in the window. Arsenal will take their time but the deal is odds on to happen. “Yeah that is progressing, it is going a bit slow. I think Arsenal have had other issues they’ve been dealing with. It’s not an expensive deal, Gremio are looking for a €10m (£7.5m) deal, it is a deal Edu has picked out,” says 90 mins correspondant, Graeme Bailey. “they really want the player, they like him a lot, they’ve done

An eventful match, inside the AT and T Stadium in Arlington, Texas in the United States sees Barcelona emerge winners with three beautiful goals, against their Clasico rivals, Real Madrid. Despite having the better opportunities, Real Madrid were unable to beat Marc Andre Ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal as the German, and the woodwork ensure there's nothing for Los Blancos in the match. Moreso, Barcelona made it three consecutive Clasico wins for those played in the US having won the previous two held in Miami in 2017 and Las Vegas last summer. This time, the margin is bigger and to add to the excitement, it came in front of a record crowd for a Clasico match played in the United States as 82,026 fans made their way into the AT and T Stadium for the showpiece. Barcelona took an early lead after 14 minutes from a routine free-kick. It was taken short with the ball finding its way to Pedri, who teed up Ousmane Dembele to fire home from a very difficult angle. Less than five minutes

UEFA has on Thursday officially granted Football Club Barcelona the provisional clearance to participate in the 2023-24 Champions League edition amidst refereeing controversy in Spain. Was it ever in doubt that the Catalan giants will compete in Europe's most prestigious club competition next season after qualifying, even as so as winners of the LaLiga ? Well, maybe YES. The club had been under investigation since March following a complaint filed by Spanish Prosecutors over alleged payments Barcelona made from 2001 to 2018 totalling 7.3 million euros ($8.02 million) to firms owned by former refereeing official Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira. Barcelona, who was crashed out in the group stages of the previous two Champions League campaigns is also under the watch of UEFA, for a potential violation of the body's legal framework. However, on Thursday, the governing body of European football released an official statement, clearing the five times Champions League winner to take part

Nigeria's Super Falcons come from a goal down to record an emphatic 3-2 win over co host, Australia to boost their chances of reaching the round of 16 in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup. On the back of a resilient showing to earn a point against Canada in their opening game, Randy Waldrum side took a lot of time before finally get going against their Oceanian opponent and were made to earn their win coming from a goal down. Australia controlled much of the proceedings until scoring the opener in the first minute of added time of the first half when Caitlin Foord set up Van Egmond for the opening goal of the game. The Nigerians would not accept a half-time defeat and they managed to fashion an equalizer six minutes into the added time. Rasheedat Ajibade's shot caused choas in the Australian area and the ball fell into the path of Uchenna Kanu, who volleyed home from close range. Nigeria, before kickoff had never won a FIFA Women's World Cup game when they had conceded

Toni Kroos may be one of the greatest midfielders of his time but surely the German has not made too many friends with word from his mouth. The German is a controversial figure off the pitch and one of his latest comment of the like came this summer, when Real Madrid signed Jude Bellingham in a big money move from Borussia Dotmund. In one of the episodes of his Einfach Mal Luppen podcast, Kroos had said; "[Bellingham] is a top player who a lot of teams wanted, with the mixture of his quality and his age." "I have a lot of faith in those responsible [at the club]. If Real Madrid have spent so much, I hope it's a good signing for us. If he does as well as at Dortmund, we can say it's a good signing. If not, it isn't. "We also had someone who came for a lot of money and more or less let his career rest. It was a lot of money and I think everyone would say, looking back: it wasn't a good signing. But let's be optimistic." The former Germany inte

Lionel Messi has already started tearing it apart in the United States even before his Major League Soccer debut for his new club, Inter Miami. The Argentine had spent all his years tormenting football players in Europe and the time is here for those in the United States to have a taste of how it feels to compete against one regarded as the greatest of all time. Messi made the move to the United States to join David Beckham's Inter Miami. It first occurred as a shock to all and sundry, who had hoped he was on his way back to Barcelona as speculation over his future intensified earlier in the summer. The world has since accepted that the most decorated player in the history of the beautiful game now plays for Inter Miami of the Major League Soccer. On his debut against Cruz Azul on the 22nd of July in the League Cup, the seven time Ballon d'or winner came off the bench to score a trademark free-kick in the 94th minute to win the game, which was at the time tied at one each. The

Following the club's 2-0 loss to Manchester United in a preseason friendly in New York, Mikel Arteta has reply to comments of the team lacking physicality in midfield with Kai Havertz being a part of the three. Havertz, who made his first Arsenal start alongside Declan Rice and captain, Martin Ødegaard in the middle of the park was the center of criticism, with many fans not even convinced of what he offers from the start. “We're going to have to find the right balance as well, but a year ago Granit could never play that as an attacking midfielder. So let's try to get the work done." Arteta said. The Spaniard also went on to defend the fact that three players were making their first start for the club in the game, stating that with time, they'll all gel together. “It's the first time we played with four players inside, and three of them had never played for us. So three out of four, they never played together ever. So, tranquillo! Day-by-day, keep doing the rig

The main of every competition is for fans to enjoy the best of it and even if the timing of the games there in Oceania is not so friendly with the scheduled here in the West of Africa, the FIFA Women's World Cup has so far treated enthusiasts to priceless and plentiful moments of delight albeit in the early days. From co-host, New Zealand picking up their first ever win in the tournament history by ousting Norway in the curtain raiser, despite the latter parading superstars from some of the best clubs in the world. Eight new countries making their debut in the ninth edition, and the first ever 32 nation format of the FIFA Women's World Cup, New Zealand and Australia prove worthy as the host, and the showing there so far is evident that women's football is growing and in fast pace. Despite missing their main player in Sam Kerr, fans troop out in thousands to witness Australia's first match in the tournament, with 75, 784 recorded, a new record of spectors for a single Wo

Newly appointed captain at Manchester United, Bruno Fernandes will reportedly not entertain the chance of being interviewed by the club's former player, Gary Neville in the next season. The Portuguese will not acknowledge the former United full-back during pitch-side interviews in the coming campaign, according to reports. Fernandes still bear grudges of the harsh criticism he received from Neville, who had branded him 'embarrassing - a shambles" and called his behaviour a "disgrace" in the wake of United's 7-0 humbling in the hands of Liverpool back in March. Now tasked with fielding more pitch-side interviews having been named full time captain, taking over from Harry Maguire ahead of the new season, Fernandes will reject any approach to interview by Gary Neville. Kehinde Hassan Afolabi

Liverpool has had a bid worth £37 million to sign Belgian midfielder, Romeo Lavia turned down by Southampton. The Saints will not entertain any proposal less than their £50 million valuation of the Manchester City Academy graduate. Just last summer, Southampton paid an initial £10m, for the 20-year old midfielder with further add-ons structured into the deal, which also contains a buyback clause in the region of £40m for City. However, after an impressive first season and Southampton's unfortunate relegation, it has become inevitable that Lavia leaves the Saint Mary's this summer and City not willing to exercise the buyback clause, he has been linked with top teams in the division. Liverpool, the major of his many suitors has made the first move but has been rejected by Southampton, who had done a lot of business with the Reds in past years. Jurgen Klopp's side are expected to return with improved bid as they look to strengthen their midfield, having overseen mass departure

Chelsea are still in talks with Brighton for the signing of Ecuadorian midfielder, Moises Caicedo in a big money move but the London giants may soon find themselves in no man's land in the window. Having oversee the departure of their main midfield players in the last six months, the Blues are now left with just January signing Enzo Fernandez as the only main midfielder. Despite still having the likes of Conor Gallagher, Carney Chukwuemeka, Cesare Casadei and Andrey Santos on the book, they are not up to the standard to count on heading into a 38-game Premier League season. The consequences of their failure to start business earlier could ended up hurting their chances in the coming season, since they after all will be expected to make further midfield signing even after landing Caicedo. Chelsea finished out of the top ten in the Premier League last season and their fellow top six rivals have made one or two signings to strengthen the ranks and replace departed players this summer.

With all 20 teams confirmed for the upcoming Nigeria by Premier League season, we take a look at the teams owned and run by private investors. 1. Remo Stars Popularly known as the Ikenne Sky Blues, Remo Stars is owned by Nigerian politician, entrepreneur and sport enthusiast, Kunle Soname. 2. Doma United  Doma United of Gombe is owned by the current Vice Chairman (North) of the Nigeria Premier League, Alhaji Suleiman Umar. 3. Sporting Lagos The Naija Super Eight winner and new comers to the Nigerian top-flight, is owned by Shola Akinade, the Co-Founder/CEO of Paystack, one of the Nigeria's leading online payment platform. Only these three teams are owned by private investors of all the 20 participants of the next season's NPL and they are of the standouts to watch out for in the top-flight next season. Kehinde Hassan Afolabi 

Rasmus Hojlund has emerged as a real target for Manchester United as they look to secure a main goalscorer, who will lead the lines for the club on a long-term. Erik Ten Hag has opted for a different approach compared to previous managers of United in recent times, whom had all gone for players of different status. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Odion Ighalo, Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wout Weghorst are strikers the club has signed post Sir Alex Ferguson era, all of whom arrived at the club in their 30s. With Hojlund, United are looking to sign someone who just turned 20, though still has a lot more to learn to master the trade but at the same time, he has got the potentials to become one of the best around. The striker position has been a major issue for the club as many of those who had been signed has not lived up to expectations, while those who did ended up leaving due to their already ending careers. Cristiano Ronaldo and maybe Zlatan Ibrahimovic are the only two names who have m

Jonny Evans has signed a shot term deal with Manchester United as his search for a new club continues. The agreement will see the former Leicester City defender represent the club in the upcoming pre-season games. Evans, 35, who featured 13 times for Leicester City in the Premier League last season as they suffered relegation from the top-flight is still active in his search for a new club and joining United for pre-season will see him maintain fitness level. He will not be a part of the club in the new season as the agreement is only last for preseason games. Kehinde Hassan Afolabi 

Former Manchester United defender, Jonny Evans has returned to the club following the end of his five year stint with Leicester City. The Northern Ireland international is back in Carrington, where he has started training to maintain his fitness as he searches for a new club. Evans hailed from the Manchester United Academy and starred for the club, when between 2008 and 2015 he won several collective accolades, including the UEFA Champions League title in his first season with the first team. Now 35, the defender left relegated Leicester City having made over 150 appearances and winning the 2021 FA Cup by beating Chelsea in the Wembly final. Hassan Afolabi 

Tottenham Hotspur has made enquiries about the possibility of a move for Chelsea midfielder, Conor Gallagher as replacement for their want away midfielder, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The 27-year old Dane has expressed his desire to take up a new challenge elsewhere after three seasons since he moved to London from Southampton in the summer of 2020. The club and the player has an agreement to part companies if an important bid is received. Albeit no bid has been tabled, Atletico Madrid are believed to be monitoring the situation of the midfielder, whose current Spurs contract ends in the summer of 2025. Tottenham wants Gallagher to replace him. The Chelsea Academy graduate, who impressed on loan with Crystal Palace in the 2021-22 season is yet to secure his future at Chelsea, and could be willing to join Ante Postecoglou's side. Gallagher, whose Chelsea contract ends in 2025 is currently valued at €32 million, though Chelsea would want more having rejected a Everton bid of around €45 mi