Onana: Cameroon Knockout at the AFCON

Published

1 year ago

February 2, 2024

Onana

Andre Onana’s participation at the Africa Cup of Nations has drawn to a close after Cameroon suffered a 2-0 defeat against Nigeria in the last 16.

Our no.24 was an unused substitute at the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny, with his cousin Fabrice Ondoa selected in goal instead.

Ademola Lookman, formerly of both Everton and Leicester City, opened the scoring after 36 minutes played, latching onto a pass from Victor Osimhen to slam home his effort past Ondoa.

The game was put beyond the Indomitable Lions’ reach inside the final stages, with Fulham man Calvin Bassey’s low cross turned home by Lookman once more, securing progression for Jose Peseiro’s side.

Nigeria had the ball in the net during the opening stages in the Ivory Coast, with Semi Ajayi’s effort ruled out for offside, sparing Cameroon’s early blushes.

Frank Magri’s shot was the first chance Rigobert Song’s side had on goal with 20 minutes played, as the former’s volley sailed into the stands.

It was, however, the three-time AFCON champions who took the lead before the interval, with Osimhen initially showing great strength to hold off Oumar Gonzalez.

The Napoli forward played in Lookman with a neat pass and the 26-year-old made no mistake from close range, tucking home despite Ondoa’s best efforts.

As the second half began, Cameroon’s Georges-Kevin N’Koudou looked to threaten down the right flank, with his advances thwarted by the resilient Nigeria defence.

Lookman took aim from distance as he went in search of both his and his nation’s second goal of the game, but he couldn’t quite connect with his own drive.

But as we reached the final stages, the former RB Leipzig man made no mistake in securing Nigeria’s progression to the last eight, notching home from close range.

Bassey’s cross from the right was cleverly flicked home by the tricky forward, beating Ondoa for a second time across the 90 minutes.

It wasn’t to be for Cameroon and Onana on this occasion, as their AFCON hopes ended in this last-16 defeat, as they failed to reach the heights of their success back in 2017.

Our commiserations go to Andre and the Indomitable Lions.

Club World Cup: Why we thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 – PSG manager, Enrique

Published

35 minutes ago

July 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Paris Saint-Germain manager, Luis Enrique has suggested that his team thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 in the Club World Cup semi-final tie on Wednesday because his players played a great great match against the Spainsh LaLiga giants.

According to Erinque, PSG did really good against the Los Blancos, adding that his players kept playing and fighting despite the “stifling heat”.

Four goals from Fabian Ruiz, Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos gave the Parisians the victory against Xabi Alonso’s side.

“It is a very special moment for us, Parisians, for all the supporters, the entire club,” Erinque told PSG TV.

“I think we did a really good job and played a great match. We are happy, we are in the final and it has been an incredible season. We want to win this [Club World Cup] final.

“Everyone saw the stifling heat, it is incredible to play in that. I think it affected both teams [PSG and Real Madrid], but we kept playing and fighting,” he said.

Enrique’s side will now face Chelsea in Sunday’s final at the MetLife Stadium.

SportsNews

Transfer: 3 Real Madrid players to leave club after 4-0 dedeat to PSG

Published

39 minutes ago

July 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

At least three Real Madrid players would be leaving the club after the humiliating outing in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night.

The players include Rodrigo, Lucas Vázquez and Luca Modric.

Rodrygo is no longer pleased with the way he is being treated at the club.

The Brazilian’s camp and the people in charge of transfer will discuss the future from next week, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Brazilian forward was an unused substitute in Real Madrid’s humiliating 4-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

The decision will be up to Rodrygo either to stay or leave as Real Madrid are open to accept exit if the player decides to leave.

Although the immediate past manager, Carlo Ancelotti did not treat him any better, it appears the situation would be worse under Xabi Alonso.

With the 2026 FIFA World Cup approaching, the Brazilian would be needing regular football in order to stand a chance of playing in the Brazil squad.

Rodrygo has not made Real Madrid starting XI at the Club World Cup for 5 consecutive games.

Asked why the player was left on the bench, Alonso said after the game, “I didn’t play Rodrygo because of a technical decision.

“We thought we would be better off with other players. It’s not about his future”.

Meanwhile, Spain International, Lucas Vázquez, will now leave Real Madrid after they crashed out of the FIFA Club World Cup.

He is set for next move as a free agent following the expiration of his deal at the club.

Lucas Vázquez is a legend of the club, having won every available title with the Spanish capital city club.

Luka Modric has already agreed a deal with AC Milan and is heading straight to Italy to join up with the Serie A side.

In a similar development, Inter Miami have made progress in talks with Atlético Madrid for Rodrigo de Paul.

Football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano reports that negotiations are underway with a deal now advancing well.

He has already said yes to Inter Miami and the two clubs are also getting closer to an agreement.

SportsNews

Transfer: Galatasaray suffer major blow as Napoli turn down Osimhen’s release clause amount

Published

44 minutes ago

July 10, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Galatasaray have suffered a big blow in their attempt to secure Victor Osimhen’s signing on a permanent transfer from Napoli.

This comes after Napoli opted to to turn down Osimhen’s release clause amount of €75million.

This was revealed by Nigerian broadcast journalist, Onyebuchi Onokala, also known as Buchi Laba, in a post on X.

According to him, the Serie A champions rejected Galatasaray’s €75m third offer for the 26-year-old which was the official release clause of the player.

He tweeted in the early hours of Thursday morning: “Napoli officially turns down Galatasaray €75m 3rd offer for Victor Osimhen. The official Release clause Figure.”

Buchi Laba added that Napoli are frustrating the deal intentionally, adding that they want to push Osimhen to Saudi Arabia club, Al Hilal.

But Osimhen has already made it very clear that going to Al Hilal is not possible and he only wants to join Galatasaray on a permanent transfer.

The Super Eagles striker has also made it very clear to Napoli that he won’t report for the club’s pre-season starting this month as he doesn’t want to play for Antonio Conte’s side anymore.