Football

9 February 2011 England manager Fabio Capello has admitted he faces tough decisions over his first-choice strikers after Ashley Young and Darren Bent scored the goals to beat Denmark 2-1 in a friendly international. Young, only recently converted from winger to striker by Aston Villa, came off the bench to win the game at the Parken Stadium here on Wednesday…

9 February 2011 Samson Siasia got off to a winning start as Nigeria coach as the Super Eagles defeated Sierra Leone 2-1 in an absorbing friendly Wednesday night in Lagos. The Eagles took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Olympique Marseille ace defender Taye Taiwo tucked away a penalty past John Tyre in goal for the Leone…

10 February 2011 South Africa's 2-0 victory over Niger in the 2011 African Nations Championship has put them on the brink of the knockout stages, despite the majority of the squad only competing in the third-tier of the game in that country. Premiership and First Division sides refused to release their players at this important time in the season, and…

9 February 2011 Having seen his side breeze into the knockout stages of the 2011 African Nations Championship (CHAN), Sudan coach Mohamed Abdallah says the best is yet to come from his charges. The CHAN hosts have recorded 1-0 victories over Gabon and Uganda  in Group A, which mean they cannot finish outside the top two spots in the pool…

9 February 2011 South Africa warmed up for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt next month with a comfortable 2-0 friendly victory over Kenya in north-west mining town Rustenburg on Wednesday. Bafana Bafana (The Boys) dominated the first half and led 2-0 at half-time courtesy of goals from Leeds United striker Davide Somma in the second minute and…

8 February 2011 The midweek FIFA-sanctioned dates are packed with international friendlies involving European teams, but two matches featuring four former world champions stand out: Brazil v France in Paris/Saint-Denis and Germany v Italy in Dortmund. The latter clash sees the Azzurri head back to the scene of their famous semifinal win over Germany en-route to winning the 2006 World…

7 February 2011 Angola snatched a stoppage-time equaliser against Tunisia and Senegal stunned Rwanda with two late goals as the drama continued Monday at the African Nations Championship in Sudan. Veteran defender Carlos 'Kaly' Alonso was the toast of Angolan football after he scored in the second additional minute to cancel a lead Tunisia had held since the sixth minute…

8 February 2011 High-riding Bukola Babes of Ilorin managed to salvage a point against bottom team in the Nigeria Premier League JUTH FC two minutes from time. Abdulkadir Aminus tap-in inside the six-yard box in the 88th minute of a highly entertaining duel Monday meant Bukola Babes dropped to fourth spot with 24 points, but still preserved their seven-game unbeaten…

7 February 2011 No less than 28 African national teams will play international friendlies this midweek as they prepare for the resumption of the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month. That all but two of the fixtures see sides from the continent take on one another makes it clear that getting match practice against African opponents is the…

7 February 2011 Defending champions DR Congo suffered an opening game loss at the 2011 African Nations Championship as they went down 2-0 to Cameroon in Group C on Sunday. In the pool's other match, Cote d'Ivoire beat Mali 1-0 to move into second after the first round of matches. Joseph Mamosso and Ousmaila Baba netted for Cameroon against the…

7 February 2011 Ekhigo Ehiosun netted the first hat-trick this season in the Nigeria Premier League to shoot to the top of the goals chart and propel Warri Wolves to third spot in the standings. Ehiosun hit target in the 15th, 63rd and 83rd minutes to take his goal haul to seven, one better than Sunshine Stars midfielder Ajani Ibrahim.…

7 February 2011 Carlo Ancelotti insists Fernando Torres will quickly live up to his 50 million price tag despite the Chelsea striker's dismal debut in a 1-0 defeat against his former club Liverpool. Torres looked totally out of sorts as Liverpool enjoyed a sweet moment of revenge over their former idol just seven days after his controversial British record transfer…

5 February 2011 Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona made history by winning a record 16th successive Spanish League match to beat the previous best of Alfredo Di Stefano's 1960-1961 Real Madrid. Messi scored all the goals in the 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou as the defending champions opened up a 10-point lead over Real Madrid…

5 February 2011 South Africa created the first shock of the 2011 African Nations Championship with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory against Ghana in Sudan Saturday. Most of the winning team play for third-tier league clubs as Premiership and first division sides refused to release their stars for a tournament restricted to home-based footballers. Ghana, runners-up to the Democratic Republic of…

6 February 2011 Dolphin have reopened a four-point lead at the top of the Nigeria Premier League after a 1-0 home win over closest rivals Sunshine Stars. Dolphin thus have 30 points from 14 matches, while Sunshine Stars stay on 26 points. Ghanaian striker Owusu Addae was the match hero for the Port Harcourt side with a 20th minute strike…