Burkina Faso head coach rues missed opportunity to defeat Tunisia
Burkina Faso head coach Hubert Velud said his side had a greater chance of winning but let it slide in the last minute against Algeria in their second game of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
The Stallions conceded a late goal to draw with Algeria at the Stade de la Paix in Bouake on Saturday afternoon.
Velud praised his side for their intensity and blamed the late equalizer for lack of concentration, hoping they would learn from it.
“We had a perfect game. We came close to winning but regret losing concentration for conceding at the last minute. it was a very beautiful game. I’m satisfied. We did what we wanted to do. Very efficient, but we could have taken things more seriously in the last minutes. We need to work on the little details, and then we will return better,” he said after the game.
With 4 points, Burkina Faso is still on top of Group D and will play Angola in their last group game at the Charles Konan Banny Stadium stadium in Yamoussoukro on Tuesday, 23 January.
Angola put themselves in an excellent position to qualify for the knockout stages of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 after a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Mauritania on Saturday at the Stade de la Paix in Bouaké.
From the outset, the Palancas Negras were the most enterprising with their desperate search for the opener.
Gelson Dala found the opener for Angola at the half-hour mark to give his side the lead, which was short-lived as Sidi Bouna Amar pulled one back in the 43rd minute to level matters before the break.
Angola continued from where they left off in the second half, with Dala getting his brace in the 50th minute before Gilberto stretched the lead further in the 53rd minute to put Angola in the driving seat.
However, a relentless Mauritania continued pushing forward. It was rewarded in the 58th minute with a well-struck goal by Aboubakary Koita to set up a photo-finish to the clash that ended 3-2 in Angola’s favor.
With this victory, Angola joins Burkina Faso at the top of Group D with 4 points. The two teams will play in the final day to decide the group winner. With 0 points, Mauritania remains last and will face Algeria in their final group match.
Odegbami, 1980 AFCON winner, canvasses support for Super Eagles’ success in Cote d’Ivoire
Dr. Patrick Olusegun Odegbami
By Rasheed Adewuyi
Former Nigeria captain, Dr. Patrick Olusegun Odegbami, has called on Nigerians at home and in the diaspora to provide ample support for, and have a strong belief in, the Super Eagles to triumph at the ongoing 34th Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cote d’Ivoire.
Speaking on his radio programme on Eagle FM on Saturday morning, the one known as ‘The Mathematical’ in his playing days reiterated his much-vaunted belief that Nigeria will emerge champions of the continent for the fourth time at the final tournament in Cote d’Ivoire, and called on all patriotic Nigerians to do their bit in their own place and sector to back the team’s campaign.
“I have unflagging confidence that this team will do it again. I have been saying it for weeks now, and the belief is getting stronger by the day. That is why I drove from Nigeria with my team, across the stretch of one thousand and one hundred kilometers of single carriage way, all to cheer the team to victory.
“Some people have said that anytime we play or defeat Cote d’Ivoire at the AFCON, we go all the way to the Final and even win it. That may be superstitious, but there are facts in there. Our team was not in a good place before the tournament, and the opening game against Equatorial Guinea was not reassuring. Still, the victory over the host nation and one of the strong favorites has turned things around, and we’re looking good.”
Odegbami is a true legend of the African game. He was the top scorer of the 1980 finals that Nigeria hosted and won, battling Cote d’Ivoire to a scoreless draw in a group phase encounter. ‘The Mathematical’ scored 23 goals for Nigeria in an international career that spanned seven years, during which he won the AFCON gold and two bronze medals, he played at the 1980 Olympics after the Nigeria team was recalled from the 1976 Olympics as the country led an African boycott of the Montreal Games, and was voted third best player in Africa in 1980.
“I am very convinced that this is our year, and I want Nigerians from high and low places to support the NFF in whichever way they can to motivate and galvanize the team. That win over Cote d’Ivoire has strengthened my faith. It takes a champion team to beat the host nation with self-belief, panache, and calmness.”
The Super Eagles have continued their preparation for Monday’s encounter with the Wild Dogs of Guinea Bissau at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, in which victory will confirm Nigeria as group winners, barring a massacre of the Ivorian Elephants by the Thunder of Equatorial Guinea the same day at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara.
Guinea Bissau’s Dogs are pointless and essentially hopeless but could be dangerous on the take as they have nothing to lose on the day.
“We are not in the business of under-rating any team in this tournament,” defender and on-field captain William Ekong said on Saturday afternoon. “Every team that is here qualified to be here; no one got a free pass. We must approach every match with a business-like mentality. No team ever wins a match before the final whistle.”
On the final day of action at World Boxing Cup: GB Open – Sheffield 2024
As World Boxing reports, a pulsating final day of action at the sold-out ‘World Boxing Cup: GB Open – Sheffield 2024’ was brought to a dramatic close with a stunning super-heavyweight contest, which the referee stopped after 65 seconds when a spectacular knockdown by Germany’s Nikita Putilov left Norway’s Omar Shiha unable to defend himself.
It was Germany’s only gold medal on a mixed final day for the team, which finished with three silvers.
Speaking in the mixed zone after his stunning victory, Putilov said:” It went good for me today. Sorry for my opponent, but that’s boxing. I am not sure I have ever done that before. Maybe as a junior, but never at an elite level – that was my first stoppage.
“It was a good victory for me and my future. In Germany, I am the number two super-heavyweight. I hope that shows them that I might be number one. I hope they choose me for the Olympic qualifier in Italy (in March), and I will show my best.”
Putilov’s stoppage was a fitting end to a week of top-class boxing action at the English Institute of Sport, which saw the home nation finish on top of the medal table with eight golds.
English boxers won four medals in both the men’s and women’s categories to cap a triumphant week for the hosts in a tournament that was only the fourth international Olympic-style boxing event in the UK since the London 2012 Olympics.
The last English gold medal went to Ramtin Musah, who narrowly defeated his fellow countryman and GB Boxing squad mate, George Crotty, in the light-heavyweight (80kg) final to round off the tournament.
Musah said: “I could not be happier right now. It’s hard boxing your teammates because you know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but it’s great to get the win. I have enjoyed boxing at home this week, and I hope this puts me in the frame for selection for the Olympic qualifier.”
The light-heavyweight clash was one of three all-English finals on the day. In the women’s lightweight (60kg) competition, Shona Whitwell outpointed Lucy Kings Wheatley, while the men’s light-welterweight (63.5kg) match-up saw Patris Mughalzai get the better of Joe Tyers.
Other home nation boxers to win gold included Savannah Stubley at flyweight (50kg), Lauren Mackie at bantamweight (54kg), and Dionne Burman at welterweight (66kg) in the women’s competitions. For the men, flyweight (51kg) Kiaran MacDonald and heavyweight (92kg), Patrick Brown both topped the podium in their round robin competitions.
English boxers that had to settle for silver included featherweight (57kg), Elise Glynn, who lost out to Maud van der Toorn from the Netherlands, Lewis Richardson, who Denmark’s Nikolai Terteryan outpointed at light-middleweight, and Jack Dryden, who was prevented from boxing in his featherweight (57kg) final by a hand-injury and conceded the gold medal to Wales’s Owain Harris by walkover.
The remaining gold medal went to Cindy Ngamba from the IOC’s Refugee team, who got the better of Panama’s two-time Olympian Atheyna Bylon in an engaging middleweight (75kg) final of contrasting styles.
After her medal ceremony, a delighted Ngamba said: “At the moment, I’m just happy that I listened to the team. The next time we go to the qualifier, my next competition, I’ll do what needs to be done.
“She (Bylon) is one of the best, an amazing girl, so for me to share a ring with her and handle her shows that I’m getting better each time. I hope other people enjoy that, which makes my coaches happy because that is important.”
Looking to the forthcoming Olympic qualifier in Italy in March 2024, she added: “It would mean the world to qualify for myself and the refugee team.”
Details of all the gold and silver medallists from the final day are below
The ‘World Boxing Cup: GB Open – Sheffield 2024’ was organized by England Boxing in association with World Boxing and GB Boxing and was supported by the National Lottery, UK Sport, and Sheffield City Council.
Saint Lucia’s double world finalist Julien Alfred started her season by running 22.28 to win the 200m at the Dr. Martin Luther King Collegiate Invitational in Albuquerque on Saturday (20).
The 22-year-old, who sits second on the world short track all-time list with the 22.01 she ran to win last year’s NCAA title, held off her training partner Rhasidat Adeleke, who clocked 22.49. That was Adeleke’s second Irish record of the day, who had earlier improved her 60m mark to 7.15 when winning the invitational race. She now sits second on the season’s top list behind Aleia Hobbs with 7.11.
Alfred, who is also the second-fastest woman of all-time over 60m, will race that shorter sprint at the Millrose Games – a World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting – in New York, where her competition will include Britain’s 2019 world 200m champion Dina Asher-Smith.
Asher-Smith was also in action in Albuquerque on Saturday, and she won the 300m in a national best of 36.77.
Her compatriot Yusuf Bizimana, the NCAA champion, won the men’s 800m in 1:46.47, while Kenya’s Amon Kemboi won the mile in 3:58.30.
Over at the Hokie Invitational in Virginia on Friday, Tinoda Matsatsa improved Bizimana’s week-old US collegiate 1000m record by 0.05, clocking 2:18.05.
Also, on Friday at the Corky Classic in Lubbock, Temitope Adeshina cleared a Nigerian record of 1.96m to win the high jump.
Müller leaps 6.81m in Dortmund
Germany’s Laura Raquel Müller was among the winners at the Sparkassen Indoor Meeting, a World Athletics Indoor Tour Bronze meeting, in Dortmund on Saturday (20).
The 19-year-old added 30cm to her PB by leaping 6.81m to win ahead of her compatriots Mikaelle Assani (6.72m) and Olympic champion Malaika Mihambo (6.65m). Splitting them to finish in third place was Servia’s Milica Gardasevic, who had a leap of 6.69m.
Kuwait’s Yaqoub Al-Youha set a meeting record of 7.58 to win the 60m hurdles ahead of Job Geerds of the Netherlands in a 7.63 PB.
Britain’s Georgia Bell also got a meeting record in winning the 1500m in 4:03.54, while Magdalena Stefanowicz of Poland won a close 60m, clocking a PB of 7.22 to pip Alexandra Burghardt of Germany, who recorded the same time.
Ethiopia’s Lamecha Girma will return to the scene of his world indoor 3000m record when he competes at the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Lievin, France, on 10 February.
The multiple world and Olympic 3000m steeplechase medallist clocked 7:23.81 at the World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold meeting last year to break the previous world record of 7:24.90 set by Daniel Komen in 1998. He improved the world 3000m steeplechase record in Paris in June, running 7:52.11.
Now Girma gets ready to race at the Arena Stade Couvert again, six days after he competes at the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston, where he will also run the 3000m.
Girma is the second athlete named for this year’s Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais, following the announcement of USA’s Olympic and world pole vault champion Katie Moon.
This year’s World Athletics Indoor Tour Gold season kicks off in Astana on 27 January, and the fields for the men’s and women’s 60m hurdles there have recently been announced.
Britain’s 2018 world indoor champion, Andrew Pozzi, is among the entries for the men’s event, and he will be joined by athletes, including Cuba’s Roger Iribarne, Milan Trajkovic of Cyprus, and Yaqoub Al-Youha of Kuwait.
In the women’s event, USA’s two-time world indoor champion and 2019 world 100m hurdles gold medallist Nia Ali features in a field including 2022 world 100m hurdles champion Tobi Amusan, USA’s Tia Jones and Alaysha Johnson, and Ireland’s Sarah Lavin.
Kelati and Teare take titles at the US Cross Country Championships
Weini Kelati and Cooper Teare claimed top spots at the USATF Cross Country Championships in Pole Green Park in Richmond, Virginia, where World Athletics Cross Country Championships team places were up for grabs.
Clocking 32:58.6 for the 10km women’s race on Saturday (20), Kelati was a dominant winner, finishing 37 seconds ahead of runner-up Emma Hurley.
That winning performance comes six days after Kelati ran 1:06:25 to improve the North American record on her half marathon debut in Houston.
The top six finishers in the senior women’s and men’s races are in line for US team places for the World Athletics Cross Country Championships Belgrade 24 on 30 March, should they accept them.
Kelati finished 21st at last year’s World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst after placing fifth at the national event.
Following Kelati and Hurley over the finish line on Saturday was Katie Camarena. In contrast, Allie Ostrander finished just ahead of Cailie Logue to secure fourth place, and Abby Nichols was sixth.
While Kelati made her move in the first half of the race, Teare waited until the final kilometer to kick in the men’s 10km contest, and the 2022 US 1500m champion went on to triumph in 29:06.2, finishing five seconds ahead of Anthony Rotich, the 2020 champion.
Ahmed Muhumed was third, and Olympic triathlete Morgan Pearson was fourth after pushing the pace along with Teare earlier.
Defending champion Emmanuel Bor, who placed 32nd at the World Cross Country Championships in Bathurst, finished fifth this time, and Christian Allen was sixth.
Zariel Macchia won the 6km U20 women’s race in 20:31.0, and Kevin Sanchez claimed the title in the 8km U20 men’s race in 24:07.1.
Gambia coach refuses to give up despite loss to Guinea
Gambia coach Tom Saintfiet remains defiant about their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations chances despite Friday’s 1-0 defeat to Guinea in Group C.
Speaking after the loss, Saintfiet conceded Guinea was better in the first half before Gambia improved after the break.
“In the first half, Guinea was stronger, but in the second period, we raised our level more,” the Belgian stated.
“I’ll stay positive because we did it against a difficult, quality team like Guinea.”
Saintfiet felt the Gambia created openings and was unfortunate to have a goal disallowed before Guinea’s winner.
“The goal against us was unexpected. I thanked the players because I can’t speak negatively about the team I lead,” he added.
Despite two defeats, Saintfiet refuses to surrender hope for Gambia, saying: “We’re still alive, the situation just got more complicated.”
“We can still qualify with three points in our next game,” the Scorpions’ boss insisted.
Saintfiet identified scoring goals as key to beating Cameroon in their final group match.
“We haven’t scored yet, so to win, we have to find goals against Cameroon,” he said.
The Belgian reiterated he never called Guinea the group’s weakest side, stating: “The weakest in Group C is Gambia; Guinea is the most dangerous.”
Despite the odds, Saintfiet believes his side can pull off a famous upset to reach the AFCON knockouts.
Interesting clash ahead as Mozambique and Cape Verde square off
In addition to sharing linguistic heritage, Cape Verde and Mozambique defied the odds when they opened their TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations, Cote d’Ivoire 2023, with impressive results against their more fancied opponents.
Cape Verde stunned a star-stunned Ghana 2-1, while Mozambique was unlucky not to win against tournament record holders Egypt, who snatched a late 2-2 draw.
The two sides meet on Friday, 19 January, in what promises to be a highly entertaining encounter between two sides who have shown up in Cote d’Ivoire.
A victory for Mozambique could see them make history by advancing from the tournament’s group stages for the first time, but a tactically sound Cape Verde will not make it easy for them.
This will be the first meeting between the two sides in the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON.
Cape Verde remains on three unbeaten matches against Mozambique (2 wins, one draw), all played in the qualifiers for the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations.
Teranga Lions, Indomitable Lions up for a big clash
The Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro will host one of the biggest games on the continent between Senegal and Cameroon on Friday, 19 January, at 17h00 in the second round of Group C matches of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.
Matches between the Teranga and Indomitable Lions have been characterized by excitement and enthusiasm throughout history.
This will also be the case for the match, bringing them together in the 34th edition of the competition on Ivorian soil.
The defending champion, Senegal, seeks to confirm its strong entry into the competition after winning the first match 3-0 against Gambia.
The objective is to win a second match, allowing them to qualify early for the second round. The Senegalese coach, Aliou Cissé, is counting on the high morale of his squad to continue on the same path of positive results during the confrontation with Cameroon, and he will also be able to benefit from some of his returning players, like Pape Matar Sarr or Gana Gueye.
Cameroon, who finished fourth during the last edition of the competition, intends to win its first game in the tournament and make amends for their slow start, which they drew with Guinea.
Aliou Cisse Senegal Coach
“It was essential to enter the competition with a victory, which encourages the players. We are ready for the second match against a strong team and have prepared well for it. We know Cameroon well, and it is a solid African team.
“Cameroon remains Cameroon. Our match against them is not revenge. Cameroon have already won many continental titles and we are going to face a team motivated to make up for the result they got in the first match.
“We have a competitive group and all players can participate, it doesn’t matter who starts the match, the most important thing is the performance provided. Our team does not suffer from a lack of efficiency, and we scored 3 goals in the first match.
Idrissa Gana Gueye, Senegal midfielder
“We prepared well for this competition and are in good shape. We have been with the coach for a while. He led us to the title in Cameroon. To try to do the same thing again, you have to keep the same state of mind: living well in the group.
Everyone is going in the same direction; that is to say, the Senegalese team wins, listens to the coach’s instructions, lives together, trains well, and is in shape to go as far as possible.
We need 3 points in the match but will not go into details. We must not go into calculations. We will seek victory, and I trust the players that the match against Senegal will be different.
Georges Kevin Nkoudou, Cameroonian striker
“It’s true that Senegal is the favourite, but as I always say we must never bury Cameroon, we remain a great team and a great nation.
“They started this tournament with an excellent victory against Gambia. We had a good match for our part, but unfortunately, we only got one point. We must put this behind us for now and focus on our match against Senegal, which will be very difficult for both teams. We have all the weapons necessary to put them in a more difficult position”.
Julien Alfred in the 200m at the NCAA Indoor Championships (© Kirby Lee)
Lamecha Girma breaks the world indoor 3000m record in Lievin (© Baptiste Daniel)
Weini Kelati on her way to the US cross country title (© Kevin Morris)
