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Super Falcons Trash Equatorial Guinea 9-0 to Win Antalya Tourney
Barcelona forward, Asisat Oshoala, scored four goals as the Super Falcons thrashed Equatorial Guinea 9-0 to emerge champions of the Festival Women’s Cup 2021 Antalya on Tuesday.
The competition had the Falcons, Equatorial Guinea, Uzbekistan and CSKA Moscow Ladies in attendance.
Falcons finished as champions with maximum nine points from three matches, scoring 11 goals and conceding none.
Glory Ogbonna opened the scoring for the nine-time African champions in the ninth minute, before captain Oshoala scored two goals from the spot in the 12th and 13th minutes, and then added a third in the 26th minute.
Uchenna Kalu made it 5-0 in the 36th minute, while Eibar forward Charity Adule scored the sixth goal with a fine header three minutes later.
The hardworking Toni Payne’s 43rd minute thunderous strike, after shielding off two of her opponents, ensured that the Falcons took a seven-goal advantage into the half time break.
Falcons coach Randy Waldrum brought on Gift Monday, Ramat Abdulkareem, Esther Sunday and Maryam Ibrahim for Chiwendu Ihezuo, Chidinma Okeke, Payne and Kalu respectively, ensuring all the 23 players for the tournament had a taste of action.
The Nigerians, however, took their foot off the pedal in the second half, but still scored two goals to confine Equatorial Guinea, two-time African champions to a humiliating defeat.
Substitute Gift, who plays for Robo FC in the domestic league, scored the eight goal in the 69th minute, before Oshoala grabbed her fourth of the game in the 85th minute to cap an emphatic win for the African champions.
Two minutes later Equatoguinean defender Gina was given the marching orders after a harsh tackle on the rampaging Ramat Abdulkareem on the left flank.
With the result, the Falcons became the first African team to win the tournament, following three straight wins.
Waldrum’s side defeated CSKA Moscow Ladies 1-0 in their opening game of the tournament before beating Uzbekistan by the same margin in their second encounter.
Oshoala attributed the performance to the hard work of the players.
“As a team I’m really happy and also with the attitude the girls put up in the tournament because we came all out to make sure we had fun.
“Also, we worked very hard. We just want to make sure that we give our best and keep getting good results and goals as much as we can,” Oshoala told NFF Media.
Uzbekistan and CSKA Moscow will play the final game of the group later today to determine who finishes runners-up to the Falcons.
Uzbekistan and CSKA both have three points but the Uzbeks are have a superior goal difference of +4.
Equatorial finished the competition without a point, after losing all three matches.
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
