AFCON
Nigeria’s Peseiro Eyes End Of Goal Drought Against Cameroon –
Nigeria coach José Peseiro compared his team’s meagre goal tally at the Africa Cup of Nations to a bottle of ketchup, saying the goals might come all at once in the next match against Cameroon.
The Super Eagles face their old rival and five-time champion Cameroon in the last 16 on Saturday.
The lack of goals — one in each of the three games so far — are a concern for a Nigeria team boasting African player of the year Victor Osimhen and speedy wingers Samuel Chukwueze and Moses Simon.
Napoli star Osimhen, in particular, has endured a frustrating tournament by missing a host of good chances, He scored in the opening 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea, but only two of his six shots were on target. Osimhen had three shots in the 1-0 win over Ivory Coast, none of them on target, while he was unsuccessful with four efforts in the final group game, a 1-0 win over Guinea-Bissau.
“I saw some statistics that said our team until now has created more clear opportunities than the other opponents,” Peseiro said on Friday. “If you create opportunity, I cannot change our model, our game.”
The Portuguese coach said the goals will come.
“It can happen for the next match like ketchup. Sometimes the ketchup doesn’t come, but (then) all the ketchup comes at once. It’s possible, in the next match or another match, that all the goals can come with less opportunities.”
Osimhen’s 13 shots and four clear chances are the most for any Nigeria player at the tournament, but no player created more opportunities for his teammates in the group stage than Cameroon’s Georges-Kévin Nkoudou with 10.
Defense is more of a concern for Cameroon coach Rigobert Song, whose team conceded six goals in Group C and scraped into the knockout stage only with a late winner from Christopher Wooh over Gambia in their final group game.
“I want to approach this competition in relation to what happened in the last match and by correcting what did not work,” Cameroon coach Rigobert Song said. “Everything wasn’t perfect and you have to improve every day, so my players are aware. I know what needs to be done.”
Song will need to decide which goalkeeper to play after dropping Manchester United’s André Onana to the bench in favor of Onana’s cousin, Fabrice Ondoa, for the last group match. Ondoa made important saves in the 3-2 win over Gambia, while Onana produced a shaky performance in the previous match against Senegal.
“This is a country that has always had great goalkeepers,” Song said. “You remember the time of Thomas N’Kono, (Joseph-)Antoine Bell – it can be shared. They’re very good goalkeepers. I’ve no problem with the goalkeeper today, all my goalkeepers are competitive. And I’ll say it again, I’m counting on 27 players and all 27 are present and ready to respond to what we need. I don’t think there’s any controversy in picking one of these goalkeepers. They get along very well and I think everyone has a chance.”
Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions, will be playing in the same stadium where they won the first of their five Africa Cup titles by beating Nigeria 3-1 in the 1984 final. The rivals went on to play again in the deciders in 1988 and 2000, with Cameroon winning both times.
Angola plays Namibia in the first round-of-16 match earlier Saturday in Bouaké.
-AP
Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe would welcome an investigation into corruption at the organisation, saying they have nothing to hide following a meeting with Senegalese officials in Dakar on Wednesday.
Senegal’s government last month demanded an investigation into corruption after the country was stripped of their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title by the CAF Appeal Board, and the trophy was awarded to the final opponents, Morocco.
It follows unruly scenes in the January 18 decider in Rabat that Senegal won 1-0, but during which they left the field for several minutes in protest at a late refereeing decision.
Motsepe met with officials from the Senegalese Football Federation and Senegal president Bassirou Diomaye Faye on Wednesday, where he urged unity following the fallout from the final. He will be in Morocco on Thursday for a similar set of meetings.
“I would welcome any investigation into corruption at CAF, be it by a government or any institution,” Motsepe told reporters. “In fact, I would encourage it. We will give them our full cooperation.
“I have been told there were problems in the past and we intervened. It is not just in football, but in business and politics too. We cannot give our children the perception that if you want to succeed in life, be corrupt. There has to be zero tolerance (for corruption).
“That’s the best gift we can give football in Africa. Not just talking about corruption, but intervene, put the necessary laws in place) and implement them.”
Motsepe would not be drawn on the matter between Senegal and Morocco, which is now before the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
“There is nothing I can tell you that I haven’t said already 10, 15, 20 times. You can ask me the same question 100 times, I’ll give you the same answer 100 times. I have an obligation to respect that the matter is now in front of the highest (sports) court in the world.”
Motsepe quashed any suggestion that Morocco had been treated favourably in the appeal process.
“Under no circumstances will any single country in Africa be treated more preferentially or more favourably than any other. That will never happen,” he said.
“We are confident we will come out of these challenges more united amongst the 54 nations in Africa.”
-Reuters
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By Kunle Solaja.
Patrice Motsepe has intensified his diplomatic shuttle across African football corridors with a crucial visit to Morocco scheduled for Thursday, as the fallout from the controversial AFCON 2025 Final continues to reverberate across the continent.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) confirmed that Motsepe will meet with Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF), alongside other key stakeholders within Morocco’s football ecosystem.
Fouzi Lekjaa, President of the Fédération Royale Marocaine de Football (FRMF)
The high-level engagement in Rabat comes barely 24 hours after Motsepe’s crisis-management visit to Senegal, underlining CAF’s urgency in addressing the tensions and conflicting reports that have trailed the AFCON final.
Thursday’s meeting is expected to focus on fact-finding, reconciliation, and institutional alignment following the chaotic circumstances that marred the tournament’s climax. The Moroccan FA has been central to the unfolding controversy, with administrative and refereeing decisions from the final still under scrutiny.
CAF disclosed that the visit will conclude with a press conference in Rabat at 17:00 local time (16:00 GMT), where Motsepe is expected to address the media and possibly provide updates on CAF’s ongoing review of the final.
While details of the agenda remain closely guarded, the visit signals a continuation of Motsepe’s hands-on approach to crisis resolution, engaging directly with national federations in a bid to preserve the integrity of African football competitions.
CAF and the FRMF have indicated that further details regarding the outcomes of the visit will be communicated in due course, as stakeholders across the continent await clarity on one of the most contentious finals in recent AFCON history.
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CAF President Patrice Motsepe is set to visit Senegal on Wednesday for high-level talks with President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and the leadership of the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football, in what is widely seen as a crucial diplomatic move amid lingering controversy over the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Final.
The visit comes against the backdrop of the chaotic and disputed AFCON 2025 final in Rabat, a match marred by heavy rainfall, administrative confusion, and conflicting official reports from within CAF and its committees.
The uncertainty surrounding the outcome of that final has cast a shadow over African football governance, prompting urgent calls for clarity and institutional accountability.
Sources indicate that Motsepe’s meeting with President Faye will extend beyond routine courtesy, touching on broader issues of football governance, tournament integrity, and the role of national associations in safeguarding the credibility of continental competitions.
Senegal, a major stakeholder in African football and one of the continent’s most influential football nations, is expected to play a key role in shaping the narrative going forward.
Motsepe will also hold discussions with Abdoulaye Fall, focusing on collaboration between CAF and its member associations, as well as mechanisms to prevent a recurrence of the controversies that plagued the AFCON final.
While CAF has yet to officially outline the agenda, observers believe the visit signals an attempt by the continental body to consolidate support among key football nations and manage the fallout from the final’s unresolved issues.
The optics of engaging directly with political leadership further underline the seriousness of the situation.
CAF and the Senegalese Football Federation have both stated that more details regarding the visit will be released in due course, leaving stakeholders across the continent watching closely for signals on how African football’s governing body intends to restore confidence in its competitions.
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