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Hummels Sends Dortmund Into Champions League Final
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Matt Hummels was the hero on the night as his 50th-minute header sent Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday, giving the Germans a 2-0 win on aggregate.
Dortmund will face either fellow German side Bayern Munich or 14-time champions Real Madrid in the final at Wembley on June 1.
Hummels struck five minutes into the second half at the Parc des Princes and PSG were unable to muster a response, the home side all out of luck as they hit the woodwork four times in total.
Dortmund, who sit fifth in the German Bundesliga, were never expected to go so far and will be underdogs in the June 1 showpiece regardless of whether they face their old rivals Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who meet on Wednesday.
It will be their first final since 2013 when, remarkably, the match was also played at Wembley and Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund team lost to Bayern.
Hummels played in that final and here, 11 years later, he was the hero as Dortmund built on the advantage given to them by Niclas Fuellkrug’s goal in the first leg.
The story of this semi-final, however, is just as much about PSG’s failure in another crunch knockout tie in the competition.
They have still never won the trophy despite all the money invested by their Qatari owners since the 2011 takeover, and there will be no dream send-off for Mbappe.
He will leave when his contract expires after this season and had been hoping to play his last game for the club in the June 1 final.
Instead PSG will be left to reflect on how they failed to get their hands on the biggest trophy of all during Mbappe’s seven years at his hometown team.
PSG’s last two semi-final appearances both came during the pandemic, meaning this was the first time they had hosted a match at this stage of a European competition with fans in 29 years, since losing to AC Milan in 1995.
They were favourites to reach their first Champions League final since 2020, despite their defeat in Dortmund six days earlier.
– Woodwork to rescue –
Luis Enrique’s team had won 2-0 at home against the same opponents in the group stage and were safe in the knowledge that a repeat of that performance would be enough.
The PSG coach made one major selection decision, dropping Bradley Barcola and bringing in Portuguese striker Goncalo Ramos. That meant moving Mbappe out of a central position and onto the left wing.
Dortmund would have been bracing themselves for an onslaught from kick-off, but that did not transpire.
Mbappe took only seven minutes to produce his first attempt, yet his volley was easily saved by Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
The hosts had most of the possession but struggled to get Mbappe into the game, with the France captain often looking isolated on the wing.
In fact it was Dortmund who had the best chance of the first half, when Karim Adeyemi led a counterattack before seeing his shot saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma.
It felt as though the hosts needed to change something or risk going out with a whimper.
They should have been ahead two minutes after the restart, when Ramos touched on a ball driven into the box by Mbappe, but Warren Zaire-Emery somehow contrived to hit the post from close range.
That was to prove crucial as Dortmund struck moments later.
PSG cheaply conceded a corner, and Julian Brandt’s resulting delivery from the Dortmund right was headed in by Hummels.
Ramos swept a shot over from a Vitinha pass on the hour mark before Nuno Mendes became the second PSG player to strike the right-hand post, this time with a powerful shot from outside the box.
It was starting to look as if it would really not be PSG’s night, and Luis Enrique realised he had to act as he sent on Barcola and Marco Asensio for Ramos and Fabian Ruiz, moving Mbappe through the middle.
Dortmund responded by withdrawing Jadon Sancho and sending on an extra defender in the hulking Niklas Suele.
They withstood everything PSG threw at them but were also helped by the frame of the goal, with Kobel turning Mbappe’s shot onto the bar on 86 minutes and Vitinha then rattling the bar too.
NFF has announced the appointment of Augustine Eguavoen as interim head coach of Nigeria Super Falcons.
The former Nigeria international will take charge of the Super Falcons for their upcoming 2028 Olympic Games qualifying fixtures against Comoros, as the NFF continues its search for a permanent head coach.
Eguavoen previously guided the Super Eagles to a bronze medal finish at the 2006 AFCON and has also coached the team on an interim basis. He will be assisted by Nasarawa Amazons head coach Christopher Danjuma, while former Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer Olatunji Baruwa joins as goalkeeper trainer. Former Super Falcons defender Ayisat Yusuf will also serve as an assistant coach.
Nigeria received a bye into the second round as one of the three highest-ranked teams in the competition and will face Comoros, with both legs scheduled for the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo on October 9 and 13, 2026.
Comoros advanced after defeating Sudan 30-0 on aggregate, with the winner set to face either DR Congo or Morocco in the third round between February 23 and March 6, 2027.
Football icons Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo could finally share the pitch as teammates for the first time, with both superstars expected to feature in Carlos Tevez’s long-awaited testimonial match in December.
Messi and Ronaldo have spent much of their careers as fierce rivals, particularly during their years at Barcelona and Real Madrid, when their battle for supremacy dominated world football.
However, their paths could cross on the same side later this year after former Manchester United and Argentina star Tevez revealed plans to bring the two legends together for his testimonial at Boca Juniors’ iconic La Bombonera Stadium.
“Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be there,” Tevez said. “I’ll go pick them myself if I have to. I have both of them on WhatsApp.”
Tevez, who retired from professional football in 2021, has yet to hold a testimonial match despite a glittering career that included spells at Boca Juniors, Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus.
According to reports by A Bola, Boca Juniors president Juan Roman Riquelme has approved Tevez’s request to stage the testimonial at La Bombonera.
Messi and Ronaldo are expected to headline an impressive list of invited former teammates and rivals, including Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon.
Messi played alongside Tevez for Argentina between 2005 and 2015, while Ronaldo and Tevez formed part of Manchester United’s formidable attacking unit alongside Rooney from 2007 to 2009.
The trio helped United win back-to-back Premier League titles, as well as the UEFA Champions League, League Cup and FIFA Club World Cup.
If Messi and Ronaldo both honour Tevez’s invitation, the testimonial could deliver a football moment fans have waited years to see: two of the greatest players in history wearing the same colours and sharing the pitch as teammates.
Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen and Trabzonspor forward Paul Onuachu may miss Nigeria’s opening 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau later this month due to injuries, The PUNCH reports.
Galatasaray confirmed on Sunday that Osimhen is dealing with a groin injury, while Onuachu was also taken off in the 44th minute after scoring a brace in Trabzonspor’s 5-0 win over Gençlerbirliği.
Osimhen picked up the injury during Galatasaray’s thrilling 3-2 win over Istanbul Basaksehir after scoring the opening goal. He lasted 33 minutes before being substituted.
Onuachu was also reported to have broken his chin during a challenge, with both players adding to the growing list of injury concerns for coach Eric Chelle ahead of the two fixtures.
Already on the treatment table are Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, Sadiq Umar, Tochukwu Nnadi and Zaidu Sanusi, who all recently picked up knocks.
In an update provided on Sunday, Galatasaray said Osimhen and midfielder Mario Lemina had suffered moderate-to-advanced strains with bleeding in the right groin area.
“Following the completion of MR and advanced examinations at our sponsor Acıbadem Hospital, advanced-moderate level strain (bleeding and strain) has been detected in the right adductor (groin) muscle group of our footballer Victor Osimhen,” the club said on Sunday.
“Similarly, advanced-moderate level strain (bleeding and strain) has been detected in the right adductor muscle group of our player Mario Lemina, whose examinations have also been completed, and their treatment processes are ongoing.”
The update puts Osimhen in doubt ahead of Nigeria’s September fixtures, with the Super Eagles beginning their 2027 AFCON campaign against Madagascar on September 25 before travelling to face Guinea-Bissau four days later.
The two matches are part of Group L, where Nigeria were drawn alongside Madagascar, Guinea-Bissau and co-hosts Tanzania. Only the highest-ranked team apart from automatically qualified Tanzania will advance from the group.
Osimhen’s absence would leave Nigeria without one of their most important attacking players at the start of the campaign.
Missing the window could also delay his climb up Nigeria’s all-time goalscoring chart. The 27-year-old has scored 35 goals for the Super Eagles, two behind the late Rashidi Yekini, who remains the country’s all-time leading scorer with 37 goals.
At club level, Osimhen has also scored six goals and provided two assists in four games this season.
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