Chelsea midfielder, Christian Pulisic has revealed that the team is battle-ready to overcome Leicester City in today’s FA Cup clash at Wembley Stadium. Pulisic, who is expected to be in the starting lineup against Leicester City made this known in an interview with ESPN. “We know what Leicester is all about. They are going to battle, they are a tough team. They’ve done extremely well in the league this year. We know about their attacking ability and some of the players they have. “So we expect them to come and battle. We are going to give it everything, and hopefully, if we play the way we do and we match their intensity, I think we can beat them.” The US international also debunked reports circulating in social media that he’s unsettled at Stamford Bridge. “I’m obviously happy here. It ha...
Nigeria national team coach Gernot Rohr believes the Republic of Benin will be a hard nut to crack, given their recent performances. The three-time African champions will square off against the Squirrels at Porto-Novo’s Stade Charles de Gaulle on Saturday. Michel Dussuyer’s men are on a five-game unbeaten run, having last tasted defeat against the Super Eagles in their first Afcon qualifying game in November 2019 Their home form has also been spectacular, given they have not lost for eight years, having last tasted defeat against Algeria in 2013 and Rohr has warned his side to be battle-ready for the encounter. “Benin have not lost a match for eight years at home, the last time they lost was in 2013 so you can imagine that we want to be the first team to win there in eight years,” Rohr tol...
Abia warriors defender Adekunle Adeleke has revealed his aim in the Nigeria national team squad is to prove there are quality players in the Nigeria Professional Football League. The defender is one of the three home-based players invited for the Super Eagles’ 2022 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers this month. The three-time African champions will take on the Republic of Benin on March 27 before slugging it out against Lesotho three days later in Lagos. Adeleke has set himself a target of representing the home-based players well in the national team in order to open doors of opportunities for them. “Definitely we are going to give a good account of ourselves and try to do our best to show that there are good and quality players in the league,” Adeleke told Brila FM. The defender is optimist...
Benin Republic forward, Razak Omotoyossi says he’s optimistic the team will defeat the Super Eagles 2-0 in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. The last time the two teams met, Nigeria triumphed 2-1 over the Squirrels at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium, Uyo. Currently, the three-time AFCON champions are top of Group L on Eight points while Benin sit second on seven points. However, in an interview with Footballlive, Omotoyossi said that they are battle-ready to defeat the Super Eagles at home. “I believe Benin will win 2-0, but you must tell Mr. Musa (Ahmed) to prepare the team, as the captain,” said Omotoyossi. “Nigeria won the reverse fixture, the Super Eagles picking up a 2-1 victory in Uyo. “It’ll be my dream to play for a bigger team and move to a team where I can play even in in th...
As a precautionary measure against the second wave of COVID-19, the Akwa Ibom State government has announced the cancellation of “all state government events requiring large crowds”. The Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Emmanuel Ekuwem, who disclosed in a statement on Friday, said “test results from our PCR laboratory clearly indicate a sharp increase in the number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our state”. The statement said Governor Udom Emmanuel has directed strict enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines and protocols at the Christmas village in Uyo, the state capital. The government said large political meetings are to be discouraged until the current spike of COVID-19 infections is reduced. It said the use of face mask and adherence to other COVID-19 guidelines and proto...