International Football
SHOWDOWN IN POLAND: FLYING EAGLES FACE ZERO OPTION IN LAST GROUP MATCH WITH UKRAINE
“To be or not to be? That is the big poser for Nigeria’s Flying Eagles in their encounter with current table-toppers, Ukraine. Will the Flying Eagles cross the group stage Hurdle as the team goes into the last match day of Group D on Thursday in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland.
After a below par outing against Team USA in Bielsko-Biala on Monday night, Nigeria’s U20 boys know they must earn a result against group leaders Ukraine at the same venue on Thursday to prolong their stay at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Poland.
Goals by Sebastian Soto and a sterling performance by the entire USA squad condemned the seven –time African champions to a 2-0 defeat.
They still have three points and two goals advantage from their defeat of Qatar in Tychy on Friday, but any slip could be costly for further interest in the tournament.
Although they already have a spot in the Round of 16, Ukraine could still finish third on the log and be condemned to face the first –placed team in Group B (race still between Italy and Japan).
That is, if they lose to Nigeria and USA, on three points as Nigeria, racks up a big win over Qatar.
Both teams go toe-to-toe at the Bielsko-Biala Stadium as from 7.30pm Nigeria time on Thursday, with the Flying Eagles determined to take the game to their opponents and get a win.
However, Paul Aigbogun’s boys will do well to avoid the kind of lethargic start they contrived against USA, and put together more fluent attacking moves complemented by clinical finishing.
If they end up as group D winners, the Flying Eagles will travel back to Tychy to play a third –placed team in the Round of 16 on Monday.
If they finish in second place, they would be off to Bydgoszcz to play the winner of group E (which has another African flagbearer Mali, as well as France, Panama and Saudi Arabia). And if they end up as one of the best third –placed teams, they would be off to Lodz to play the winner of group B.
Whatever their game plan for Thursday night’s encounter, Aigbogun’s wards must watch out for Ukraine’s Denys Popov, who has scored two of the Ukrainian side’s three goals at the championship so far, as well as Serhi Buletsa, who scored one of their goals against USA.
Two of Africa’s three other representatives, Mali and Senegal, are also on good ground to reach the knockout rounds.
Senegal top Group A after amassing six points from beating Tahiti and Colombia, while Mali perch in second place in group E with four points after drawing with Panama and edging Saudi Arabia in a seven –goal thriller.
South Africa, after losses to Argentina and Korea Republic, are pointless in Group F.
Representatives from four national players’ unions on Thursday launched a new global organisation in Madrid, which they say will strengthen footballers’ rights and improve dialogue with governing bodies.
Opening a new front in the battle over who speaks for players, the International Footballers’ Association (AIF) was unveiled, with David Aganzo, president of Spain’s Association of Footballers (AFE) and a former head of the global union FIFPRO, appointed to lead the organisation.
Players’ unions from Brazil, Mexico and Switzerland were also represented.
The initiative drew a swift rebuke from FIFPRO, which said in a statement that Aganzo was acting out of self-interest and aligning himself with organisations linked to football governing bodies, as well as groups expelled from FIFPRO over alleged mismanagement.
Aganzo rejected the criticism, saying he “will not seek confrontation with FIFPRO”.
The launch comes amid strained relations between players’ unions and football authorities, particularly over the expanding international match calendar.
Relations between FIFA and FIFPRO deteriorated in 2024 after the union lodged a complaint with the European Commission, arguing that the global governing body was abusing its dominant position by adding competitions without sufficient consultation.
Aganzo denied suggestions that the new initiative was backed by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but said “direct dialogue with FIFA” was essential.
AFE’s Extraordinary General Assembly approved the initiative in February with 99.8% of votes cast in favour of spearheading the creation of the AIF.
The same assembly also backed AFE’s withdrawal from FIFPRO, citing what it described as a “complete lack of transparency, as well as its total lack of dialogue with international bodies.”
“We represent over 30,000 footballers, and we come here with a new model aimed at safeguarding players’ rights and facilitating direct communication with all international bodies,” Aganzo told reporters.
“We are in contact with 15 to 20 unions already who were very aware of this moment and waiting for this announcement to make their move and join our initiative.”
He declined to identify any unions beyond those present.
Asked about a report that a senior envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had urged FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, Aganzo urged caution.
“These are more political issues; on April 30th, I’ll be speaking to Gianni (Infantino) at the FIFA Congress, and we will discuss those things,” Aganzo said.
“People who want to go to the World Cup have to earn their place on sporting merit.”
-Reuters
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A new trial over the death of Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona will begin on Tuesday, with seven members of his medical team charged with negligent homicide nearly a year after a previous case collapsed in a mistrial.
An enduring presence in Argentina – from towering murals to tattoos, opens new tab – Maradona died on November 25, 2020, at 60, after a heart attack while he was recuperating from brain surgery to remove a blood clot.
A court in San Isidro, near Buenos Aires, will hear testimony from just under 100 witnesses as it tries Maradona’s medical team over alleged negligence in the death of the 1986 World Cup champion.
His medical team has denied wrongdoing. The defendants are psychiatrist Agustina Cosachov, neurosurgeon Leopoldo Luque, psychologist Carlos Angel Diaz, physician Nancy Edith Forlini, nurse Ricardo Almiron, head nurse Mariano Ariel Perroni, and physician Pedro Pablo Di Spagna. An eighth defendant, nurse Dahiana Madrid, will be tried in a separate jury trial, with no date yet set.
Two months into the first trial, which started last March, a mistrial was declared when one of three judges, Julieta Makintach, resigned after video surfaced showing her being interviewed by a camera crew in the corridors of the courthouse and in her office as part of a documentary, in breach of judicial rules.
The retrial will require both prosecutors and defense lawyers to reassess their strategies after the first trial aired photographs, videos, audio recordings and forensic evidence. Many witnesses, including Maradona’s children and his former wife, Claudia Villafane, have already testified.
Prosecutors argued in the initial trial that medical professionals broke treatment protocols and that the home where Maradona was recovering from surgery amounted to a “theatre of horror,” where necessary care was not provided.
The defense countered that his death was inevitable given his longstanding health problems. Maradona struggled for decades with cocaine and alcohol addiction.
The negligence charges emerged in 2021 after prosecutors appointed a medical board to investigate Maradona’s death. The panel concluded his medical team acted in an “inappropriate, deficient and reckless” manner.
-Reuters
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Aliou Cisse has been named coach of the Angola national team, the country’s football federation (FAF) announced on Thursday, 24 hours after the Senegalese left his post in Libya.
The 50-year-old coach, who led Senegal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in 2022, ended his short stint with the Libyan national team on Wednesday, after taking charge in March 2025.
“Welcome, Aliou Cisse, head coach of the Angola national team,” the FAF said on Facebook. Angola, which failed to reach this year’s World Cup, will start their 2027 AFCON qualifying campaign in September.
-Reuters
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