Headlines
Messi Makes Dream Come True, Helps Argentina Break 36-Year World Cup Jinx
Lionel Messi and Argentina won an all-time classic World Cup final despite Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick taking France into a penalty shoot-out following a 3-3 draw on Sunday.
Gonzalo Montiel converted the winning spot-kick to clinch a 4-2 shoot-out success for Argentina at the end of a thriller at Lusail Stadium, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez having saved Kingsley Coman’s attempt and seen Aurelien Tchouameni fire wide.
France, aiming to become only the third side to ever retain the trophy, battled back from two goals down in normal time after Mbappe converted an 81st-minute penalty and scored a delightful volley 97 seconds later.
Messi had opened the scoring, before Angel Di Maria rounded off a stunning counter-attacking move, and the Albiceleste number 10 restored his side’s lead in the 108th minute, only for Mbappe to respond again two minutes before the end of extra time.
That teed up penalties, with both Mbappe and Messi converting before Argentina gave their captain a fitting World Cup farewell.
A bright Argentina start was rewarded when Messi calmly beat Hugo Lloris from the penalty spot in the 21st minute after Ousmane Dembele made contact on Di Maria in the box.
The second goal from Di Maria was sublime, as Messi played a fine flicked pass into the path of Julian Alvarez, who in turn played in Alexis Mac Allister to find the scorer on the far side.
But Didier Deschamps introduced Marcus Thuram and Randal Kolo Muani in a double change before half-time, and both players made a telling impact.
After initially toiling for much of the second half, France were gifted a penalty that Mbappe converted when Nicolas Otamendi dragged down Kolo Muani.
Mbappe, a peripheral figure until that point, then levelled up moments later with a powerful volley from Thuram’s pass.
Messi again looked to have won it for Argentina in extra time when reacting quickest to a saved Lautaro Martinez attempt, only for Paris Saint-Germain club-mate Mbappe to equalise once more through a penalty after his shot hit Montiel on the arm.
Montiel would have the final say, though, with the help of Martinez, as Messi and Argentina ended their wait.
In a World Cup that saw a record 172 goals scored, overtaking the 171 netted in the 1998 and 2014 editions, this was a fitting finale in Qatar.
The game appeared all but over with 10 minutes to go as France, who became the first team on record not to attempt a first-half shot in a World Cup final, struggled to get going.
Mbappe made sure a rather one-sided final turned into a true epic, although it was not enough as Argentina, led by Messi, added to their previous titles won in 1978 and 1986.
Mbappe joins England’s 1966 hero Geoff Hurst as the only men to have scored a World Cup final hat-trick, netting his three goals from six shots.
Not that it will be much consolation for the PSG star, but he finishes the tournament as top scorer with eight goals, one more than Messi.
Messi may have just about been overshadowed on an individual level by Mbappe, but he more than played his part in both this victory and Argentina’s tournament triumph.
Making a record 26th – and final – appearance on the biggest stage of them all, he became the first player to score in each round of the competition, while his 21 goal involvements are the most of any player in World Cup history.
The Punch
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Biodun Oyebanji, winner of the 2026 Ekiti State governorship election.
Oyebanji secured a landslide victory, polling 319,224 votes to defeat his closest challenger, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr. Wole Oluyede, who garnered 40,543 votes. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) candidate, Dare Bejide, came a distant third with 12,872 votes.
The election, held across all 16 local government areas of the state, was overshadowed by reports of irregularities and widespread allegations of vote buying, drawing strong condemnation from observers.
The official results were announced on Sunday morning by the Chief Returning Officer, Professor Adenike Oladiji, who declared Oyebanji duly elected after meeting the constitutional requirements.
In her declaration, Professor Oladiji stated: “I, Professor Adenike Oladiji, hereby certify that I am the Returning Officer for the Ekiti State Governorship Election held on June 20, 2026, and that the election was conducted in compliance with the provisions of the law. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of the All Progressives Congress, having satisfied the requirements of the law and scored the highest number of valid votes cast, is hereby declared the winner and returned elected.”
Source: Reuters
Arise Television anchor, Rufai Oseni, has alleged that there may be attempts to prevent key opposition figures, including Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, from appearing on the ballot for the 2027 general elections.
Oseni’s remark followed a Federal High Court judgment ordering the de-registration of some political parties.
Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples’ Party (APP), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), and Action Alliance Party (AAP) over alleged constitutional breaches.
The judgment arose from a lawsuit filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL), which argued that the affected parties failed to meet constitutional and statutory electoral performance requirements necessary for continued recognition as political parties.
Justice Lifu subsequently barred INEC from recognising the affected parties, accepting nominations from them or permitting them to participate in activities related to the 2027 general elections.
The ruling, if upheld, could affect the political ambitions of several politicians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who is the ADC presidential flag-bearer, and Osun State governor Ademola Adeleke, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the Accord Party.
But speaking on Arise TV’s Morning Show on Tuesday, Oseni described the court ruling as a “test” of public reaction, warning that more actions could follow ahead of the next general election.
According to him, opposition parties such as the African Democratic Congress, ADC, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, should be cautious, claiming that efforts could be made to stop major figures from participating in the election.
Oseni argued that the judgment was part of a broader process aimed at shaping the political landscape ahead of 2027.
He maintained that the ruling came despite some of the affected parties having recorded electoral victories in recent elections.
He warned that Nigerians must remain vigilant to safeguard the country’s democracy, stressing the need for judicial reforms alongside efforts to tackle insecurity.
Oseni said: “NDC, ADC should be careful because there will be attempt, and this is me predicting now, to ensure that Obi, Atiku and other big contenders are not on the ballot.
“This that you saw yesterday is just a test. This is not the real place where the whole thing is going. This is me predicting now.
“You know before you have a show you test the microphone. They want to see the reactions of Nigerians. More is still coming.
“You can see how they carry a judgement when ADC won two House of Representatives seats in Kogi, one Kogi House of Assembly seat, APP one chairmanship seat in Jigawa, Zenith Labour party won several seats in Abia, but they still went ahead and issued judgement for deregistration after the Court of Appeal, a higher court, said it should stay on that.
“If we want to deal with this judicial rascality, can I tell you something? The judge that gave this judgment, nothing will happen to him. Nothing on this earth. They are just coming.
“And who is leading this group? Gbajabiamila. Have you forgotten what Gbajabiamila said on Hon Ajibade’s birthday? So they are just coming. This one is just a test. The next one they will do is the NDC.
“With the way they’re going, if Nigerians don’t shine their eyes when they will finally have this election, you will not have the major contenders in the ballot. This thing they have just done is to test reactions from Nigerians.
“I saw this thing coming. You know we are going into an election in which Atiku Abubakar is the only major candidate from the North. It’s not like the last one you have Kwankwaso that can split the Kano votes. And you have Peter Obi and general consensus that a lot of people are in abject penury, insecurity is raging hard.
“This is the beginning of many things. They are just testing the microphone. It’s engineered. More is coming. Nigerians, it is you that will save your democracy. Judicial reforms have become so important as insecurity in Nigeria.”
