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Hosts Côte d’Ivoire Elephants win AFCON, beat Super Eagles 2-1

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Sebastien Haller scored a dramatic late winner as hosts Ivory Coast fought back to beat Victor Osimhen’s Nigeria 2-1 in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final and complete the most remarkable of major tournament turnarounds by claiming their third continental title.

Nigeria looked set to repeat their 1-0 victory over the Ivorians here at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium during the group stage when captain William Troost-Ekong – who had netted a penalty to decide that first meeting – rose to head in the opener late in the first half.

However, Franck Kessie equalised just after the hour mark and Haller turned in Simon Adingra’s cross in the 81st minute to spark wild celebrations among the sea of orange in the Abidjan stands.

Ivory Coast’s success sees them add this year’s title to those claimed in 1992 and 2015, while this win also allows them to join Nigeria on three Cup of Nations triumphs overall.

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Only Egypt, Cameroon and Ghana have won the title more often, with the Super Eagles squandering the opportunity to match their Ghanaian rivals on four victories.

Spearheaded by reigning African player of the year Osimhen, the Nigerians had looked the most formidable team in the competition over the last month.

But Ivory Coast’s sense of destiny was simply too overpowering, as they became the first host country to win the AFCON since 2006.

Didier Drogba captained the Elephants team that lost on penalties to Egypt in Cairo in that final 18 years ago, while this time he was among the spectators to witness a stunning victory for his country.

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– Back from the brink –

It is an incredible achievement for a side that was on the brink of elimination in the group stage after losing 4-0 to Equatorial Guinea on January 22.

That was their heaviest ever home defeat and the Ivorians then parted company with coach Jean-Louis Gasset, replacing him with Emerse Fae, a teammate of Drogba’s in 2006.

They then began a remarkable turnaround which saw them oust holders Senegal on penalties, beat Mali with a last-gasp goal in extra time, and edge out DR Congo with a Haller goal in the last four.

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Their supporters packed out the stadium to its 60,000 capacity, with many fans having to watch the game from vantage points on stairways.Related News

Anyone wanting to dampen the excitement levels might have pointed out that Cup of Nations finals tend to be low-scoring affairs.

There were just 10 goals scored in the last 11 finals, five of which were decided on penalties after a 0-0 stalemate.

Indeed, Ivory Coast’s four previous final appearances had all ended goalless before going to penalties, two of which they had won.

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This looked set to be another nervy, low-scoring affair with chances few and far between early on.

However, the home side then had a great chance on 34 minutes when Kessie found Adingra on the left and his shot was turned away by Nigerian goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.

That proved crucial as Nigeria went ahead just four minutes later when Ademola Lookman’s corner from the left was touched on and Troost-Ekong headed in from the edge of the six-yard area.

Earlier in the tournament the Ivorians would have crumbled in such a scenario, but they deserve great credit for regrouping at the interval and throwing everything at Nigeria.

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Max-Alain Gradel’s netbound shot was blocked in front of the line by Calvin Bassey five minutes after the restart before Nwabali turned an Odilon Kossounou long-range piledriver around the post on 62 minutes.

They drew level from the corner that followed that, as Kessie -– whose late penalty had rescued the hosts against Senegal in the last 16 –- appeared at the back post to head into the net.

It seemed inevitable that a second Ivory Coast goal would follow and it duly did with nine minutes of the 90 to play as Haller got his studs to Adingra’s cross and diverted the ball into the far corner.

Behind for the first time since their opening match, Nigeria could not react, and Ivory Coast held on for victory.

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Liverpool Legend, Mo Salah Joins Tranzonspor On Two-Year Deal

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MOHAMED SALAH has agreed to join Turkish side Tranzonspor on a free transfer.

The Liverpool legend had been a free agent since his contract at Anfield expired at the end of the 2025/26 campaign.

Salah, 34, has agreed to move to Turkey on a two-year contract.

Tranzonsport confirmed that they were in negotiations with the attacker on social media.

The club then revealed that Salah would be arriving in Istanbul on Wednesday ahead of finalising the transfer.

A statement read: “Professional footballer Mohamed Salah, with whom we have begun transfer negotiations, will be at Istanbul Atatürk Airport General Aviation Terminal at 12:00 on Wednesday, August 5 (tomorrow).

“The player is scheduled to arrive in Trabzon on the same day in the evening hours.

“The time and other details regarding the welcome program in Trabzon will be shared with the public through our club’s official communication channels during the day.”

It read: “Professional footballer Mohamed Salah, with whom we have begun transfer negotiations, will be at Istanbul Atatürk Airport General Aviation Terminal at 12:00 on Wednesday, August 5 (tomorrow).

“The player is scheduled to arrive in Trabzon on the same day in the evening hours.

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Infantino Could Have Earned £47m Annually From Abandoned World Cup Proposal

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FIFA president Gianni Infantino could have earned nearly £47 million ($63 million) annually if his controversial proposal to sell a stake in the FIFA World Cup had gone ahead, according to reports.

The proposed deal was abandoned following widespread opposition from football governing bodies and member associations, with reports suggesting it could have increased Infantino’s annual earnings by about £42 million from his current salary of approximately £4.5 million.

That would have taken his total annual compensation to almost £1 million per week.

The plan involved raising about £3.1 billion in private investment for FIFA’s Football Future Enterprise (FFE) project. Investment bank JP Morgan was reportedly advising on the initiative, while Thrive Capital, backed by Jared Kushner, was among the investors expected to acquire a 20 per cent stake.

Infantino had repeatedly insisted that “nobody is selling football” as criticism of the proposal mounted.

UEFA reportedly spearheaded the opposition, with its member associations threatening to boycott FIFA competitions, including the World Cup. Concacaf and the Asian Football Confederation also voiced their opposition, while England’s Football Association backed UEFA’s position.

The FA called for a comprehensive review of FIFA’s leadership and governance, stressing the need for greater transparency and long-term protection of the global game.

Facing mounting pressure, Infantino eventually announced that the proposal would not proceed, saying the project had created divisions that were no longer in the interest of its intended objectives.

“Having listened carefully to all the views, it has become clear that the project has created divisions of a nature that, regardless of the level of support, are no longer in the interest of the objective set out in the first place,” he said.

Infantino added that FIFA’s purpose remained to unite and improve the sport, while pledging to bring football stakeholders together and rebuild unity.

Despite the collapse of the proposal and the criticism surrounding his leadership, reports indicate that Infantino intends to seek another term as FIFA president at the organisation’s 2027 election.

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Oshoala Scores As 10-Woman Super Falcons Defeat Zambia In WAFON 2026 Cracker

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After loosing to Malawi in there Opening match of 2026 WAFCON cracker, The Super Falcons dig deep to secure a vital victory over Zambia in Rabat, despite playing the entire second half with 10 players.

The Super Falcons stumbled to a catastrophic loss in their July 28 opener against Malawi but put up a disciplined display against Zambia, a tournament favourite, to earn their first three points of the tournament on Saturday night.

Head Coach Justin Madugu made five changes to the side, bringing in six-time CAF Women’s Player of the Year winner Asisat Oshoala in place of Toronto-based Esther Okoronkwo, and Rofiat Imuran for Shukurat Oladipo.

The Copper Queens of Zambia came into the side with a lot of confidence after thrashing Egypt 6–0 in their opener, and it showed from the first blast of the whistle.

A misplaced possession move led to a turnover, with Super Falcons captain Rasheedat Ajibade sending a long ball toward Oshoala, whose speed helped her beat the Zambian defence and allowed her to get to the ball before the Zambian goalkeeper, who saved the initial attempt but was unable to stop the ball from ricocheting off Oshoala for the only goal of the encounter.

It was Oshoala’s 15th WAFCON goal in a storied career.

The Super Falcons went a woman down when Oluwatosin Demehin got sent off for bringing down the Copper Queens’ captain, Barbara Banda.

The game plan changed from then, as the Super Falcons maintained a strong defensive shape and only attempted forays into the opponent’s half on the counter.

In the end, their defensive grit, captain Ajibade’s disciplined play, and good goalkeeping from Chiamaka Nnadozie helped the Super Falcons to secure their first three points of WAFCON 2026.

Attention will now turn to the Cleopatras of Egypt, whom they face on Wednesday for a chance to progress to the next round.

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