International Football
How Nigeria’s Falcons held Portugal to 3-3 draw in Houston
Early this morning, Portugal and Nigeria played to a wild 3-3 draw in the second match of the 2021 WNT Summer Series as the Super Falcons battled from twice two goal deficits to equalize in the waning seconds.
The match featured Portugal scoring twice inside the first 34 minutes, Nigeria pulling a goal back just before halftime, Portugal once again going up by two goals early in the second half and then Nigeria fighting back for two more goals.
Nigeria came off a 1-0 loss to Jamaica on the first match day of the Summer Series on June 10 while Portugal was coming off a 1-0 defeat to the USA, scores that did not foreshadow the goal fest that was to come.
Nigeria is coached by American Randy Waldrum, the former head coach for the Houston Dash from 2014-2017, and his new position (he was hired last October) took him back to his old stomping grounds for his fourth international match as head coach of the Super Falcons.
Both teams had a quality chance early. In the 11th minute, Nigeria goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi made a great one-on-one stop near the top of the penalty box after a Portuguese attacker had busted through.
In the 16th minute, Super Falcons star striker Asisat Oshoala, fresh off winning the UEFA Women’s Champions League with Barcelona, but who did not arrive in Texas until yesterday, got behind the defense on the right side with her powerful strides before shooting wide left of the goal.
Portugal scored first but not without a little help from Nigeria. In the 22nd minute, defender Catarina Amado sprinted down the right side on an excellent overlapping run and bent a cross on the ground into the middle of the penalty area. As Oluehi came out of her net to try to cut off the service, which was hit with good pace, defender Chidinma Okeke darted in front of crashing Portugal forward Telma Encarnação and inadvertently knocked the ball into her own net while making a sliding attempt to clear the ball away.
In the 30th minute a well-constructed Portugal attack up the middle ended up with Encarnação toe-poking the ball past Oluehi and into the net as the Nigerian goalkeeper upended her, but the goal was waved away for offside. Replays show she was likely onside.
Portugal doubled its lead in the 34th minute off a free kick from just outside the penalty area on the right side. Midfielder Andreia Jacinto crossed to the far post where Portugal captain Carole Costa was left explicably wide open and she volleyed home with authority from a somewhat sharp angle inside the six-yard box.
Portugal could easily have made it 3-0 in the 42nd minute as Jessica Silva of Kansas City NWSL got free in the penalty area for a one-on-one chance. Oluehi came out to cut down the angle and Silva rounded her to the right but pushed the ball too far wide before shooting into the side netting outside the right post.
That turned out to be a key miss in the match as just before halftime, Nigeria pulled a goal back off a short corner kick from the right side. Former U.S. youth international Toni Payne took the pass and dribbled into the penalty before seeing her cross blocked. The ball bounced back out to the right and directly to midfielder Rita Chikwelu, who had taken the corner kick, and she smashed a first-time cross back into the middle. Forward Michelle Alozie, who plays for the Houston Dash reserves, was positioned directly in front of the net and did well to knock the ball home from the doorstep on the volley to cut the lead in half heading into the break.
Portugal wasted no time restoring its two-goal lead, but it came from a mistake in the back by halftime substitute defender Salome Zogg. Her poor clear attempt went straight to Jacinto who then played Encarnação behind the defense. She raced into the penalty area and then deftly scooped the ball over the onrushing Oluehi for a classy finish.
Four minutes later, Nigeria once again pulled to within one, this time on a Portugal own goal. Rasheedt Ajibade raced down the right side and crossed to the near post. Diana Gomes was trying to hold off the charging Oshoala but the ball hit her foot as she fell and plowed into her own net. Oluehi then denied Portugal another goal in the 61st, pushing away an almost point black shot for a corner kick.
Nigeria had a chance to tie in the 83rd minute when a curling shot struck the crossbar and it seemed that would be it for the Super Falcons, but six minutes of stoppage time was just enough to equalizer.
The goal came after Portugal forward Melissa Gomes made an ill-advised back pass in her own defensive third and it was picked off by forward Gift Monday. She then played a short pass to Payne who flew into the left side of box on the dribble and cut a short pass back to Ajibade who slid to knock the ball into the right corner, sparking a wild celebration from the Nigerians.
The final whistle blew seconds later.
After playing two matches each in the Summer Series, Portugal and Jamaica now head home while the USA and Nigeria will finish the Summer Series on June 16 in Austin, Texas in what will be the first-ever match at the brand new Q2 Stadium (8 p.m. CT / 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2). The game is expected to be a sell-out.
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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