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2026 WCQ: FIFA could still hand South Africa points deduction despite Lesotho’s withdrawal

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FIFA could end up deducting points from South Africa for fielding an ineligible player during the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, despite Lesotho reportedly withdrawing their protest.

Bafana Bafana played Teboho Mokoena against Lesotho when he should have served a one-match ban.

Mokoena picked up two bookings against Benin Republic and Zimbabwe earlier in the series.

Instead the 28-year-old featured as South Africa won 2-0 in Polokwane.

Lesotho had submitted a complaint about the incident to FIFA, but there are rumours that it has been withdrawn.

But according to the former media officer of the Super Eagles, Colin Udoh, that is irrelevant.

Udoh cited Nigeria’s punishment in 2018.

“In 2018, when Nigeria were in a similar position with Shehu Abdullahi, Algeria did not lodge a protest.

“FIFA still took action and turned a 1-1 draw into a 0-3 loss,” Udoh wrote on X.

South Africa could lose three points, while Lesotho are awarded three goals and three points, if FIFA rules on the matter.

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Club World Cup 2025: Six Round of 16 fixtures confirmed

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At least six Round of 16 fixtures at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup have now been confirmed.

Inter Milan finished top of Group E, thanks to a 2-0 victory over 10-man River Plate.

Late goals from Francesco Pio Esposito and Alessandro Bastoni sealed the win for the Serie A side, who will face Fluminense in the next round.

Monterrey, who are Group E runners-up, will play Borussia Dortmund for a place in the quarter-final.

Benfica will take on Chelsea in another last-16 game on Saturday, while Palmeiras will go head-to-head with Botafogo in an all-Brazilian affair.

On Sunday, Paris Saint-Germain will square up against Inter Miami, in what has been dubbed the Lionel Messi Derby. Flamengo play Bayern Munich.

There are two more Round of 16 match-ups yet to be determined.

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Messi remains highest-paid player in MLS [Top 5]

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Inter Miami superstar, Lionel Messi, remains the best-paid player in the Major League Soccer, MLS, for the second consecutive year.

This was revealed in data published by the MLS Players Association. It showed that Messi earns a total guaranteed compensation of $20.45m.

The figure also represents a bit of the 38-year-old’s earnings, as he also gets from other revenue streams like an endorsement deal with Adidas and a revenue-sharing agreement with league broadcast partner Apple.

According to Sportico, Messi could rake in up to $150m over the course of his two-and-a-half year contract with Miami and MLS back in the summer of 2023.

Toronto FC forward, Lorenzo Insigne, is in second place with a guaranteed earning of $15.44m.

In third spot, is Messi’s Inter Miami teammate Sergio Busquets at $8.5m. Atlanta United forward Miguel Almirón is in fourth position at $7.87m followed by San Diego FC forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano at $7.63m.

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Transfer: It doesn’t matter – Ighalo speaks on Osimhen moving to Saudi Arabia

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Former Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has said it does not matter whether his compatriot Victor Osimhen moves to Saudi Arabia now or in the future.

Ighalo, speaking with News Central, claimed that the option of moving to the Middle East would always be available to Osimhen.

“He knows what he wants. We were together two days ago, but we didn’t talk about football; we just had fun,” he said.

“I believe he knows what he wants; he’s grown, he’s worked hard, and if he calls me for a word, I’ll speak from my opinion, but any decision he makes, it’s a win-win for him.

“If he goes to Saudi now, if he doesn’t go until two years later, it doesn’t matter, because last year they came, he didn’t go; they came this year, he’s declined; they’ll still come again.”

Ighalo himself played in the Saudi Pro League for Al-Shabab, Al-Hilal, and Al-Wehda.

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