Sports
World Cup: At 41 you can only be a goalkeeper, Paul Scholes tells Ronaldo
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s former team mate Paul Scholes has remarked that he has become somewhat of a ‘problem’ for Portugal, asserting that it is inappropriate for the superstar forward to still be leading the team at the age of 41.
Ronaldo matched Lionel Messi’s record by participating in six different World Cups, captaining Portugal during their opening group-stage match against DR Congo on Wednesday.
Roberto Martinez boasts a talented squad this summer, and the 2025 Nations League champions are considered strong contenders for the prestigious trophy, alongside teams such as France, Spain, England, and the current champions, Argentina.
Although Joao Neves scored early in the sixth minute, giving Portugal a promising start, Martinez’s team was unable to take advantage of their control in Houston.
Newcastle forward, Yoane Wissa scored an equalizer against the run of play just before half-time, leaving the match tied, and Portugal could not find a winning goal, ultimately settling for a draw.
It was a forgettable evening for Ronaldo, who did not create any opportunity, take any shots, successfully dribble past an opponent, or win a single duel during a particularly disappointing first half.
Despite this, Martinez chose to keep Ronaldo on the pitch until the end of the match, substituting Pedro Neto, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva, Tomas Araujo, and Nuno Mendes instead.
‘I believe it’s challenging for the manager,’ Scholes, a former England and Manchester United midfielder, stated on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast.
I once had a conversation with Roberto Martinez off-camera during a Stick to Football session, where I inquired, “Is he a problem for you?”, as I feel he is somewhat of a concern.
‘At 41 years of age… I believe there is only one position on the field where a player of that age should be starting, and that is as a goalkeeper, in my opinion.
Now look, he is going to score goals and he’s in a team that have a lot of possession, but once there’s a game where it has to be transition… and there will be games like that. His movement at 41 years of age…’
Scholes, who shared a dressing room with Ronaldo for six years at Old Trafford, ‘feels sorry’ for Martinez and believes the five-time Ballon d’Or winner would be far more effective coming off the bench in the closing stages.
“The trouble with Portugal is they haven’t really got an outstanding centre-forward anyway, have they? You’ve got to have somebody who runs,” he added.
“For me, he has to be a player for the last 15 minutes. For a 40 or 41-year-old to be playing centre-forward, I just don’t get it.
You might get away with it at centre-half, you might do in a team that keeps the ball and you probably get away with it as a goalkeeper, but as a centre-forward at 41… it’s not right.
“We saw it with Croatia and Luka Modric last night at 40 years old. Central midfield at 40…
“Cristiano will be so pissed off because Lionel Messi got a hat-trick, Kylian Mbappe got two… it will be killing him.
“I feel sorry for Martinez because he’s trying to embrace it and he’s saying, “No, I’ve got the best goalscorer in the world”, but deep down he must know that’s hurting his team.”
Sports
Countries That Qualified For 2027 Women’s World Cup As Cameroon Beat Nigeria In Quarter- Final
Cameroon on Sunday secured their place at the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup after edging Nigeria’s Super Falcons 1-0 in their 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final encounter.
The victory also sent the Indomitable Lionesses into the WAFCON semi-finals, securing their qualification for next year’s global tournament in Brazil.
The 2026 WAFCON doubles as Africa’s qualifying competition for the 2027 Women’s World Cup, with the four semi-finalists earning the continent’s automatic tickets to the tournament.
Cameroon join Algeria and Morocco, who had already sealed their places after reaching the semi-finals on Saturday.
Brazil will host the 2027 tournament, while the remaining qualifying places are being determined through continental competitions across the various confederations.
See full list of countries that qualified:
Host:
Brazil
AFC:
Australia
China PR
Japan
Korea DPR
Korea Republic
Philippines
CAF:
Algeria
Cameroon
Morocco
Concacaf:
None yet
CONMEBOL:
Argentina
Colombia
OFC:
New Zealand
UEFA:
Denmark
France
Germany
Spain
More teams are expected to secure qualification as the various continental qualification campaigns conclude.
The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will feature 32 teams.
Sports
Just in: Unlucky Sunday for Nigeria as Super Falcons, Flying Eagles crumble, World Cup hopes dimmed
It is an unlucky Sunday for two National teams of Nigeria, the Super Falcons fell to Cameroon just as Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have been knocked out of the race for the 2027 FIFA U-20 World Cup after suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat to Burkina Faso in the final of the 2026 WAFU Zone B U-20 Championship.
The defeat at the Stade Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, also ended Nigeria’s hopes of qualifying for the 2027 U-20 Africa Cup of Nations.
The WAFU Zone B final carried added importance, as the winner was guaranteed a place at the 2027 U-20 AFCON, which will serve as the qualifying tournament for the FIFA U-20 World Cup.
With Burkina Faso emerging victorious, the Young Stallions secured the region’s ticket, while Nigeria’s hopes of returning to the global youth tournament came to an end.
Burkina Faso took control of the final from the opening whistle, scoring three goals within the first 15 minutes and leaving the Flying Eagles with a huge deficit.
Nigeria struggled to contain the Young Stallings’ attacking pressure and could not recover from the early setback before the break.
Coach Abdu Maikaba’s side attempted to fight back after the interval but failed to produce the response required to turn the game around.
Burkina Faso eventually added another goal to complete a convincing 4-1 victory, while Nigeria’s consolation effort was not enough to change the outcome.
The result was particularly painful for the Flying Eagles after Burkina Faso had already defeated them 2-0 during the group stage.
Nigeria had hoped to avenge that earlier loss in the final but instead suffered another defeat to the Young Stallions when the stakes were highest.
The Flying Eagles had reached the final after overcoming Côte d’Ivoire in a dramatic semi-final.
Sports
WAFCON 2026: Super Falcons suffer shock defeat as Cameroon gets automatic ticket for World Cup
The defending champions Nigeria Super Falcons suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Cameroon at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium in Casablanca, ending their WAFCON title defense and missing an automatic spot for the World Cup.
A 20th-minute free-kick by Maeva Nyadjou sealed the historic win for the Indomitable Lionesses .
Breakthrough: Teenage defender Maeva Nyadjou scored from a powerful 20th-minute free-kick to put Cameroon ahead.Nigerian Pressure: Nigeria dominated possession and created numerous chances, racking up heavy pressure and shots on goal, but couldn’t break down a resolute Cameroonian defense.Goheroics: Cameroon’s goalkeeper put in a player-of-the-match performance, denying late attacks including a final-moments chance from Esther Okoronkwo.Consequences of the LossWorld Cup Qualification: Cameroon booked an automatic ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil and advanced to the WAFCON semi-finals against Morocco.Play-off Path: Nigeria’s title defense is over, but they move into a Wednesday play-in match against South Africa to chase a remaining inter-confederation play-off spot.Watch the match highlights and key moments from the dramatic quarter-final encounter:
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