International Football
Portugal stun Cameroon in stoppage time to secure Women’s World Cup ticket
A 94th-minute winner has sent Portugal to their first FIFA Women’s World Cup after a dramatic Play-off Tournament final with Cameroon in Hamilton.
Diana Silva scored a 94th-minute winner as Portugal saw off Cameroon in the Play-off Tournament final to qualify for their first FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Francisco Neto’s side were deserving, dominant winners at Hamilton’s Waikato Stadium, with the Indomitable Lionesses – last-16 participants at the last two global finals – ultimately fortunate not to lose by a heavier margin.
Cameroon started the match with a 16-year-old-keeper, their first choice Ange Bawou having been sent off against Thailand, and Portugal – perhaps unsurprisingly – made an immediate point of peppering Cathy Biya’s goal.
Jessica Silva tested the youngster inside two minutes with a dangerous cross-cum-shot and, from the resultant corner, Kika Nazareth headed against the post.
Kika, still just 20 herself, is one of Portuguese football’s most exciting talents and she was the inspiration behind the team’s opening goal.
Taking control of a free-kick wide on the left flank, she caught out the Cameroon defence by going directly for goal with a powerful, swerving shot.
The ball rebounded back off the right-hand post but defender Diana Gomes was in the right place at the right time to pick up the rebound and slot gleefully home.
Cameroon offered little at the other end but the dangerous Ajara Nchout threatened occasionally on the break, producing one effort of note that Patricia Morais did well to parry to safety.
Portugal continued to dominate possession and create the better chances, though, and Diana Silva went close to doubling their lead early in the second half with an acrobatic, if wayward, volley.
Jessica had set up that chance from the right flank and this elusive winger proved equally effective after switching to the left, leaving her marker for dead on one occasion to tee up Kika for a header that flashed wide when it seemed easier to score.
In between times, Andreia Norton had gone closer still with a superb 35-yard strike that left the crossbar shuddering.
Despite their dominance, every missed chance increased Portuguese fears of being caught by a Cameroonian sucker-punch. And with good reason.
Their warning came when Michaela Abam raced through to score on 85 minutes only to find that, in making her run, she had strayed narrowly offside.
But it was not heeded, and when Portugal afforded Nchout too much time at the edge of the area, she punished them with a powerful low left-foot finish into the bottom-right corner.
Eighty-nine minutes had already been played at this stage and extra time looked to be beckoning. But when an Estelle Johnson handball was spotted following a VAR check, it handed the Europeans a golden opportunity to reclaim the lead and secure their World Cup spot.
Costa stepped up to take on this awesome responsibility and kept her cool admirably, side-footing low and hard beyond Biya to spark wild Portuguese celebrations.
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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