At least six European clubs have reacted to Nigeria’s 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, final on Sunday night.

Ivory Coast came from behind to beat Nigeria, thanks to second half goals from Franck Kessie and Sebastien Haller.

William Troost-Ekong did score for the Super Eagles in the first half.

Reacting after the game, Napoli in a tweet via their X account wrote: “Regardless of the final result, you have made us and your nation proud. Congratulations, Victor!”

Also reacting, Leicester City wrote: “A heartbreaking end for Kel and Nigeria at #AFCON2023.”

Similarly, Atalanta tweeted, “An amazing #AFCON2023 campaign anyway for #Lookman and his @NGSuperEagles. We’re proud of you.”

On their part, the official account of Cádiz Club de Fútbol in Nigeria, wrote: ” S. Tough end for the @NGSuperEagles after defeat to Côte d’Ivoire. Proud of the road to the final, making a whole nation dream again.”

Also reacting, Brentford tweeted: “An incredible journey, Frank. You carried the hopes of a nation superbly. We are so proud of you.”

Similarly, Nottingham Forest wrote: “Commiserations, Ola.”

Ahead of Sunday’s Africa Nations Cup final clash between Nigeria and Ivory Coast, doctors have warned Nigerian fans with hypertension and other heart-related diseases to be cautious and take sleeping pills if possible.

The Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners warned Nigerians in a trending video on Saturday.

The association noted that the AFCON finals portend more health hazards because it will be a thriller.

It advised that those who could not occupy themselves with other activities should take a sleeping pill to avoid the tension associated with the encounter.

“The Association of the Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners warn Nigerians with hypertension and other heart-related issues to watch the AFCON finals slated for Sunday with utmost caution.

“We are concerned about the sudden death of Nigerians during the Semi-Finals between Nigeria and South Africa.

“The final match portends more health hazards as it promised to be a thriller.

“A caution to all Nigerians with hypertension and other heart-related morbidities to watch with caution.

“Otherwise, take a sleeping pill and wake up to hear the result if you cannot occupy the time with other activities. Remember your loved ones, win or lose, life must continue”, it stated.

Nigeria and Ivory Coast will slug it out for the star cash prize of $7 million by 9:00 pm Nigerian time on Sunday.

At least five Nigerian fans died during Nigeria’s semi-final victory against South Africa on Wednesday.

Chinese officials have cancelled two Argentina friendlies that were due to take place in the Asian country after Lionel Messi did not play for Inter Miami in a match in Hong Kong.

The world champions were set to face Nigeria in Hangzhou and the Ivory Coast in Beijing in March.

Fans in China were angered when the Argentina captain did not play for his club against a Hong Kong XI on Sunday.

Messi, 36, said he could not play because of a groin injury.

However, his non-appearance drew widespread criticism in China when he then featured off the bench three days later against Vissel Kobe in Japan.

“Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate,” the Beijing Football Association said on Saturday.

When the Hangzhou match was cancelled on Friday their sports bureau said: “Given the reasons that everyone knows, according to the competent authorities, the conditions for the event to take place are not met.

“Fans in Hong Kong jeered Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham and chanted for their money back after Messi did not take to the pitch.

They have since been promised a 50% refund by match organisers Tatler Asia.

The match officials for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final have been announced by the Confederation of African Football, CAF.

Referee Dahane Beida from Mauritania will be the man in the middle for Sunday’s game.

The first assistant referee will be Jerson Emiliano Dos Santos of Angola.

Diana Chikotesha has been appointed second assistant referee for the match.

The fourth official will be Morocco’s Bouchra Karboubi.

The final on Sunday will kick off at 9pm WAT at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.

In 1988, Nigeria lost 1-0 to Cameroon in the final, with referee Idrissa Sarr from Mauritania controversially ruling out a Henry Nwosu header for offside.

An Akure-based medical practitioner, Thomas-Wilson Ikubese, has warned Super Eagles fans and football lovers who are highly emotional and have heart conditions to avoid Sunday’s final.

Mr Ikubese, who stated this in a statement on Friday in Akure, said these categories of persons should instead be involved in diversionary measures.

Super Eagles of Nigeria will face host nation, Elephants of Cote D’ivoire, on Sunday in final of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Reports said about four Nigerians died while watching the Eagles’ semi-final match against South Africa on Wednesday.

Mr Ikubese suggested that such people should pick up their phones and follow the live scores to avoid screaming and leave the update if they were feeling uncomfortable.

“They can pick up their phones and be engaged therein while watching the match and deliberately play down their emotions, acting like the outcome of the match is of no consequence to them.

“On no account should they scream or jump up. If, in spite of all these, they yet begin to feel uncomfortable, they should quit watching.

“If they are not sure of conducting themselves with such level of decorum, they should boycott the live transmission and watch the highlights thereafter,” he said.

Mr Ikubese later condoled with the families of those who lost their loved ones while watching the football encounter.

Football enthusiasts in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia, have pleaded with the Aba Power Limited (APL) to improve the power supply in the city to enable them to watch Sunday’s AFCON final.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria will be locking horns in the final match with the host, Cote d’Ivoire, at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium.

Nigeria defeated South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on penalty shootouts in Wednesday’s pulsating quarter-final to secure a spot in the final.

Some football fans in Aba said in separate interviews with journalists on Thursday that they had not watched any match in the tournament with public power.

A football agent, Bamidele Ayo, said that people no longer depended on public power but on generating sets.

“In civilised countries, power and water remain the basic amenities citizens get from the government, but in Nigeria, the government privatised them.

“Nigerians ought to watch the AFCON matches with public power, but it is not to be due to the power company’s failure to live up to expectations.

“I always use my solar power to watch matches in the comfort of my house for security reasons,” he said.

The media manager of Enyimba International FC, David Orji, said that he watched the Super Eagles semifinal match against Bafana Bafana with generator even with the high cost of petrol.

“Nobody can trust APL again in terms of power supply, so I will keep my generator ready for the final on Sunday.

“Power supply in Aba, a commercial town with millions of people who need it to carry out their day and night businesses, is not encouraging at all.

“I wish to call on the power company to improve on its supply because I know it can do better than what it has been doing all this while,” he said.

A resident, Uche Maduako, expressed dismay over his inability to watch the AFCON matches with public power.

Mr Maduako, therefore, urged APL to do the needful to ensure that people watch the AFCON final with public power.

He advised the Super Eagles to play massive attack and massive defence to ensure that they lift the trophy for the fourth time.

Kelechi Makwe, who deals in sportswear, said that he was not going to depend on APL to watch the AFCON or any other match.

“We need electricity light every day to power our fridge, iron our clothes and other neccesary things not only to watch AFCON,” Mr Makwe said.

Cote d’Ivoire head coach, Emerse Fae says he will work out a way to beat the Super Eagles in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of the Nations.

The Elephants will look to win a third AFCON title when they confront Nigeria at the Alassanne Quattara Stadium, Ebimpe, Abidjan on Sunday.

The hosts defeated Democratic Republic of Congo 1-0 in the semi-final on Wednesday night.

“We will take stock in the next two days, we will analyze Nigeria, even though we played them in the group stage, we will see the strategy to implement for the final,” Faé said after the game.

Cote d’Ivoire lost 1-0 to the Super Eagles in the group stage.

The final will kick-off at 9pm Nigeria time.

Vice President Kashim Shettima met with the Super Eagles following their win over the Bafana Bafana of South Africa and promised that the Federal Government will reward  them for their “commitment and dedication.”

The Super Eagles disclosed this in a statement and photos shared on their official X handle early Thursday.

The statement read, “The Federal Government has promised to reward the Super Eagles for their commitment and dedication in reaching the final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cote d’Ivore.

“Vice President Kashim Shettima told the players and their officials in the dressing room, following their hard-fought victory over South Africa in the semi finals on Wednesday, that the government  and people of Nigeria are proud of their accomplishment.

“The VP was in company with Governors Dapo Abiodun (Ogun) and Duoye Diri (Bayelsa), Minister for Youths, Dr. Jamila Ibrahim  as well as oil mogul, Wale Tinubu, FIFA Council member, Amaju Pinnick, and NFF President, Ibrahim Musa Gusau.”

The Super Eagles of Nigeria advanced to the final of the tournament after beating Bafana Bafana of South Africa 4-2 on penalties.

Nigeria holds the record for the highest number of appearances at the AFCON semi-finals, having played 15 times.

Nigeria will face hosts Côte d’Ivoire in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) after the Elephants defeated DR Congo 1-0 in their semi-final clash, courtesy of Sebastian Haller’s goal.

Côte d’Ivoire advanced to the knockout round of the tournament on the final match day of the group stage after Morocco defeated Zambia, allowing the hosts to progress as one of the four best third-placed teams.

Although Nigeria had already beaten Côte d’Ivoire once in the group stage of this tournament, the game is expected to be another intense face-off between the two footballing giants, who have five AFCON titles between them.

The Super Eagles earlier defeated the Bafana Bafana of South Africa via penalty shootout to book their place in the finals.

The final match will take place at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Ebimpé on Sunday, February 11, 2023.

The executive committee of the Cameroon Football Federation on Monday rejected the resignation tendered by its president, Samuel Eto’o.

Eto’o has been dogged by allegations of improper conduct, match-fixing and corruption.

The federation met to evaluate the Indomitable Lions’ outing at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

The meeting started with Eto’o offering to resign from the role and also invited the other members “to do likewise in good faith.”

“At the end of discussions and subsequent deliberations, the members of the executive committee decided to maintain their current mandates and thus unanimously rejected the president’s resignation thereby renewing their confidence in him to continue with the same spirit of reconstruction and development of Cameroon football at all levels as envisaged in his plan adopted by the elective general assembly of Dec. 11, 2021,” the federation said in a statement, referring to the date Eto’o took over as president.

There was no mention of head coach Rigobert Song’s future.

Cameroon needed a win in its final group fixture to qualify from the group stage, only to be eliminated by Nigeria in the round of 16.

Super Eagles forward, Victor Osimhen, will not fly with the rest of the team to the city of Bouake, the venue of Nigeria’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semifinal match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana on Wednesday.

The Nigerian contingents are expected to fly from Abidjan to Bouaké on Monday night, but the team’s media officer, Raji Babatunde, confirmed to Peoples Gazette that the Napoli forward will not travel with the team as a result of abdominal discomfort.

Osimhen will stay put in Abidjan, where the team has been based since the tournament began more than three weeks ago, and will be watched closely by members of the Nigerian medical team.

However, if he recovers by Tuesday morning, the reigning African football king will fly to Bouake to join the rest of the squad by evening.

Despite having scored only one goal at the ongoing AFCON so far, Osimhen has contributed massively in other areas on the pitch and his presence is very crucial for the team when Nigeria and South Africa face off at the Peace Stadium in Bouaké on Wednesday.

Arsenal will be fined £25,000 after six of their players picked up yellow cards against Liverpool, Goal reports.

The Gunners won 3-1 on Sunday in what was a feisty encounter.

Seven seven players were booked, including six yellow cards and a red for Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate.

Three out of the four Arsenal defenders who started the game – Ben White, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes – were all booked while Jakub Kiwior, who came in as a substitute for Oleksandr Zinchenko, also saw his name taken by the referee.

Declan Rice and Kai Havertz were also shown yellow cards.

The Premier League will slap a fine worth £25,000 on the north London side for the amount of yellow cards picked up.

Earlier in the campaign season, Chelsea and Liverpool were also fined, after at least six of their players were booked.

Former Nigeria captain, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha has backed the Super Eagles to beat South Africa in the semi-final of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, AFCON, and have the chance of winning the trophy.

Okocha, who spoke with Arise News ahead of Nigeria’s clash with South Africa on Wednesday, also said the last-4 clash is open.

The former Paris Saint-Germain star also advised Jose Peseiro’s men to take it one game at a time to achieve their ambition of winning the 2202 AFCON.

“It is open but of course as a hardcore Nigerian fan I expect our team to grab the opportunity and make it to the final and give themselves the chance to win it,” Okocha said.

“It’s one step at a time, we have South Africa to play next. We just have to earn the right to win a football match. It doesn’t matter how now, we just have to win.”

Okocha has been present at the 2023 AFCON matches involving the Super Eagles.

The former Bolton Wanderers’ star has been motivating and inspiring the Super Eagles players to victory.

Egypt Football Association (EFA) has sacked the head coach of the country’s national team, Rui Vitoria, following a disappointing outing at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d’Ivoire.

“We want to thank the Portuguese Rui Vitoria, the coach of the Egyptian national team, and his assistant staff while studying the biographies of foreign coaches and presenting them at the next meeting,” the EFA said in a statement on Monday.

The seven-time champions managed to reach the round of 16 at this year’s AFCON with just three points, having drawn all of their three group stage matches, but were knocked out by DR Congo in a penalty shootout.

With the outcome at the tournament, which the EFA concluded did not suit the country’s football profile, the association has now decided to relieve Vitoria and his assistants of their positions.

He was the highest-paid coach in Africa before his dismissal.

“The council decided to approve the appointment of Mohamed Youssef as general coach of the first Egyptian national team until a foreign technical director is selected and the rest of the staff is formed,” the statement added.

He joined a growing list of coaches who have lost their jobs following disappointing outings at the AFCON. The names on the list include Jalel Kadri, who was sacked by Tunisia, Djamel Belmadi, sacked by Algeria and many others.

Cotê d’Ivoire midfielder, Oumar Diakite, has credited home fans for their comeback win over Mali on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)Côte d’Ivoire 2023.

Diakite, who scored the winning goal, admitted the game was a difficult one, but they had their home fans who supported them throughout the 120 minutes.

“The supporters did what they had to do, and since this tournament started, we have seen the support of Ivorians; they have been pushing.

“Today, we had a difficult time in the game, including the red card, but they continued to push us and for us as players, when things begin to go like that, we only have the option to give our very best and look out for the victory and it is the reason why we were the winners,” he said.

Cotê d’Ivoire had a player sent off in the first half before going down by a goal to nil.

They, however, managed to come back into the game and won it at the closing stages of extra time.Diakite added that they knew the game was going to be difficult after the red card.

“We knew it was going to be complicated, it made it difficult for us, but we were able to do what we wanted with our mentality in place.

“We ran and we made efforts and I think we were paid at the end of the day, and we all went out to get this particular victory.

“We are happy because I scored the second goal. With this goal, I think I put happiness on the faces of about 30,000 Ivorian fans who were at the stadium.

“No words can describe how I’m feeling right now, but I’m happy,” he said.

Cotê d’Ivoire will now meet DR Congo in the semi-finals at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan on Wednesday.

Chelsea boss, Mauricio Pochettino, has told his winger, Mykhailo Mudryk that he needs to improve and must learn to play for the team.

The Argentine said this was the only way the Ukrainian could earn a regular place in his team.

Mudryk, 23, moved to Stamford Bridge in January 2023 but has struggled to make much of an impact in the year since then, scoring just four goals in 41 appearances.

Pochettino admits the winger has a lot of work to do.

“He started the game against Middlesbrough in the semi-final, which is one of the most important games for us,” Pochettino said of Mudryk appearing in the Carabao Cup.

“Yes, now he is on the bench. Look, it’s about the form during the season – if you keep your form and you are the best during every training session.

“As coaching staff, we are a meritocracy – we are going to play with the players who are going to do their best on the pitch.

“Of course, he needs to improve. He has amazing quality and potential, but it’s a [team] game, it’s not tennis.”

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun has congratulated the national ream, the Super Eagles for qualifying for the semi-final at the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.

The Super Eagles on Friday evening beat their Angolan counterpart by one goal to nil, scored in the 41 minutes by Ademola Lookman.

Governor Abiodun praised the resilience, tenacity and the team spirit displayed by the players in overcoming their opponents.

He urged the team to do Nigeria proud by qualifying for the finals of the African football showpiece.

He said: “I extend my warmest congratulations to our beloved Super Eagles on their impressive triumph over Angola, securing a well-deserved spot in the semi-finals of the African Cup of Nations.

“The team’s extraordinary display of skill, tenacity, and teamwork has made our nation proud. This victory is a testament to their hard work and dedication, and I commend every player and member of the coaching staff for their exceptional performance.

“As a state, we stand firmly behind our national team and will continue to support them as they strive for further success.”

Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman has entered the history book as the fourth Nigerian player to score three plus goals in the knockout stages in a single edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Lookman joined the exclusive list after netting the winning goal in the Super Eagles hard-fought 1-0 victory against the Palancas Negras of Angola on Friday night.

The 26-year-old, it would be recalled, bagged a brace in Nigeria’s Round of 16 win over perennial rivals Cameroon last week Saturday.

The late Rashidi Yekini was the first Nigerian to achieve the feat at the AFCON 1994 finals in Tunisia.

Former midfielder, Austine Jay Jay Okocha joined him on the list at the 2004 edition hosted by Tunisia.

Also, Odion Ighalo equaled the feat five years ago in Egypt.