Author: The Nation

Almeria forward Umar Sadiq may not be available for selection when Nigeria meet Cameroon in an international friendly slated for June 4th in Austria.

Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr included the former youth international in the 31-man squad set to trade tackles with the Indomitable Lions during the next FIFA break.

It is not a surprise call-up as Sadiq has been delivering spectacular performances for Almeria this season, scoring 18 goals and providing five assists in 35 league games. But Almeria may be reluctant to let go of their top striker for a friendly encounter during a crucial period of their season.

The Rojiblancos, having high hopes of gaining promotion to La Liga this term, currently sit third in the Segunda Division and are favourites to make it to the playoffs.

The promotion playoff semi-finals run through June 2 to June 6 – the weekend that Sadiq would have possibly been making his debut for the Super Eagles.

It is unlikely that Almeria will allow the former AS Roma starlet to depart Spain when he could be leading the line for the club in their hunt for a promotion ticket.

It would be recalled that the Spanish side stopped Sadiq from making his senior debut for Nigeria in March.

Umar was part of Gernot Rohr’s 24-man squad named to face the Republic of Benin and Lesotho for the AFCON qualifiers.

But La Union held on to their prized asset and stopped him from honouring the invitation, citing Covid-19 protocol breach as the reason, with Rohr replacing him with Enyimba’s Anayo Iwuala was duly called up as his replacement, with the youngster going on to earn his first two caps for the three-time African champions.

Tyson Fury has ‘quit alcohol’ in preparation for his heavyweight clash with Anthony Joshua – weeks after confessing he was sinking up to “12 pints a day”.

The Gypsy King is set to take on his British rival for a unification bout in August, looking to defend his WBC belt won against Deontay Wilder.

AJ’s opponent, though, suggested that his preparations were not as intense by saying he had stopped in recent months to take on heavy drinking.

But a source close to Fury has revealed a turnaround in the 32-year-old’s preparations for the fight that is now three months away.

Speaking to The Sun, an insider said: “Tyson has kicked the booze on the head for good.

“It is not because of the boxing, because he can always get in shape for fights and obviously doesn’t drink during training camps. Tyson is doing this for himself and his family — especially his wife Paris.

“And he reckons it is the best way to be a great dad and stay in shape physically and mentally.”

Meanwhile Fury said his world heavyweight title showdown with Joshua will take place in Saudi Arabia on 14 August.

The all-British bout has been billed as one of the biggest in heavyweight boxing for decades and the winner will become undisputed champion.

Joshua, 31, holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts, while Fury, 32, is WBC champion.

In announcing the fight date in a video on Twitter, Fury said: “All eyes of the world will be on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and I cannot wait to smash Anthony Joshua on the biggest stage of all times.

“This is going to be the biggest sporting event ever to grace the planet earth. Do not miss it.”

By Oluwamayomikun Orekoya

Henry Onyekuru and Oghenekaro Etebo’s dreams of lifting the Turkish Super Lig with Galatasaray have been dashed after Besiktas emerged as champions for the 13th  time in their history.

Onyekuru did not make the matchday squad while Etebo sat on the bench throughout as Galatasaray handed a 3-1 defeat to Yeni Malatyaspor in Istanbul. But it was still not enough as coach Fatih Terim’s side finished second behind Besiktas on goal difference.

Besiktas won 2-1 at Goztepe to amass 84 points, equal with their eternal city rivals, but a superior plus one goal difference sealed the title for them in one of the closest races in recent memories.

In Italy, Simy Nwankwo scored his 20th  league goal of the season in Crotone’s 1-1 draw against Benevento, making the lanky striker the second African after Samuel Eto’o to reach the 20 goal mark in a single season in the Italian Serie A.

Eto’o scored 21 league goals for Inter Milan in 2010/2011 campaign- the highest scored by an African in a single season of the Italian top-flight.

Still in Italy, Victor Osimhen played for 84 minutes to help Napoli beat Fiorentina 2-0 in the Italian Serie A and move just one win away from securing Champions League football next season.

Napoli went into the clash, knowing a win would put them back into the top four ahead of the final round of games next weekend.

In Holland, Tyronne Ebuehi helped FC Twente to a narrow 3-2 victory over ADO Den Haag and a tenth place finish while Maduka Okoye made three saves as Sparta Rotterdam finish in a European playoff spot following their hard-earned victory at SC Heerenveen.

Nwankwo Kanu has said that the FA Cup triumph can help Nigeria duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi to kick on and win more trophies at club and international level.

Both players made major contributions in Leicester City’s cup run, culminating in the triumphant scenes at Wembley after they edged Chelsea 1-0 to claim a first ever FA Cup title for the club and the duo themselves.

Kanu, who won the FA Cup with Arsenal (twice) and Portsmouth as well as Olympic gold with Nigeria, was thrilled for them.

“It is wonderful to see them as FA Cup champions,” the former Nigeria captain told ESPN. “They needed to go for it and they did. Congratulations to them, they did really well.

“This will now give them the belief that they can go and do more. When you win one, you want to win another and another one. At least you know that you have won the FA Cup. The next thing now is to look for more trophies and it gives them more confidence and more encouragement and the belief that they can do anything and win against anybody.”

Winning the FA Cup comes as something of a personal triumph for Iheanacho, who has endured really trying times since joining the Foxes from Manchester City in the summer of 2017.

Iheanacho has emerged from those dark days to become a starting fixture for Leicester and Kanu said the way he handled adversity is the mark of a great player.

“He has gone through some really bad times and I know what a lot of people have said about him when he was in those low periods,” he said. “But we know it is football. When you are not doing well, people talk anyhow and say what they want but when you start doing well, the same people come back.

“For me, I always know he is a good footballer. I always talk with him, encourage him, send him messages when he is doing well and when he is not doing well and telling him to keep his head up. The only thing was for him to work hard, Talent with hard work works. If you believe only on the talent, it will disappoint you so you have to marry the two together.

“It is something great that he is back now. Not only for himself but for the country. We need all our players to be in top form. Right now he is. If you mention the top strikers in the world now, Kelechi’s name will be there because he is scoring and that is what you need from strikers. What happened to him is a very big lesson, and the way he responded is what makes a great player. He didn’t talk too much, he just worked hard and see where he is now.”

Almost 60 percent of people in Japan believe the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games should be cancelled, according to a study released on Sunday, as coronavirus infections surge across the country and anti-Olympics protests continue.

A total of 59.7 percent stated that they were opposed in a two-day Kyodo News telephone survey, which also found more than a quarter, 25.2 percent, felt the Games should happen without fans, with 12.6 percent wanting them to go ahead but with limited fan numbers.

The results demonstrate rising opposition to holding the sporting event, put on hold from its planned start in summer 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic, in the current context of a fourth wave of infections including more contagious variants.

Despite Olympic organisers already ruling out any overseas fans to avoid spreading Covid-19, 87.7 percent of those studied expressed concern that the mass arrival of athletes and staff could spread the virus.

A survey in April showed 39.2 percent wanted the event to be cancelled, with 32.8 percent keen for it to be rescheduled and just 24.5 percent happy for it to continue as planned.

Coronavirus cases are on the rise across the country in the last month, with a slow vaccine rate, a lack of hospital beds and the new variants exacerbating the situation – a trend which 90.3 per cent of responses raised concerns about.

Over half of those studied – 53.9 per cent – said athletes should be prioritised for vaccinations, with 13.1 per cent saying otherwise and around a third, 32.7 per cent, unable to give a clear reply.

The Kyodo News study covered 715 randomly selected households of eligible voters and 1,254 mobile numbers, receiving 542 and 523 responses respectively.

Olympic Games in the Japanese capital are set to begin on July 23, with the Paralympics currently planned to start on August 24.