Sports

All you need to know about the AFCON semi-finals

Published

3 months ago

February 7, 2024

Melody 911FM

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has not disappointed with only four teams now remaining ahead of tomorrow’s semi-finals.

Nigeria will face South Africa at 5pm GMT while hosts Ivory Coast take on DR Congo at 8pm for a place in the final.

Read on as we turn the spotlight on the final four.

Nigeria

Nigeria remain hot favourites to win their fourth AFCON title and have found form at the perfect time.

After securing second spot in Group A, the Super Eagles have excelled in the knockout stages, beating Cameroon and Angola.

Ademola Lookman has scored three goals in his last two outings and may have to step up again with manager Jose Peseiro sweating on the fitness of star striker Victor Osimhen.

A Nigerian Football Federation statement said: “Team medics confirmed that he [Osimhen] has been placed under close watch with a member of the medical team staying behind in Abidjan with him.

“If cleared by tomorrow morning, he will join the rest of the squad before 5pm.”

But even with their talisman fit and firing, South Africa are no pushovers and will be keen to cause a huge upset.Nigeria are eyeing a spot in the Africa Cup of Nations final

South Africa

2010 World Cup hosts South Africa are underdogs in their semi-final clash but this year’s tournament proves there are no easy games.

Bafana Bafana and Nigeria have lots of history and have faced each other 14 times but the outsiders have only beaten their opponents twice.

Their most recent AFCON clash came in 2019 when South Africa lost to an 89th-minute winner from William Troost-Ekong but head coach Hugo Broos will be keen to get one over their rivals and go on to win their first title since 1996.

After picking up four points from the opening three games, Bafana Bafana stunned Morocco in the last 16 before seeing off Cape Verde in the quarter-finals on penalties.

Goalkeeper Ronwen Williams pulled off a remarkable four saves in the shootout and the 32-year-old will need to be at his best once again to keep Nigeria at bay.

South Africa beat Cape Verde in the quarter-finals

Ivory Coast

Ivory Coast have done things the hard way on home soil and narrowly avoided falling at the first hurdle.

The Elephants lost back-to-back against Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea in the group stage but snuck through as one of the best third-placed teams — sacking head coach Jean-Louis Gasset along the way.

Since then, former midfielder Emerse Fae has stepped in as caretaker boss and masterminded a win on penalties over reigning champions Senegal in the last 16.

In the quarter-finals, it took a 122nd-minute winner from Oumar Diakite to see off a brave challenge from Mali and the heroic substitute was bizarrely then sent off for removing his shirt in celebration.

He will sit alongside Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou in the stands for the penultimate round of the tournament after the 23-year-old was also dismissed against the Eagles.

Ivory Coast beat Mali at the death in the quarter-finals

DR Congo

Standing in the way of two-time winners Ivory Coast are underdogs DR Congo.

Africa’s second-largest nation drew all three of their group stage games but clicked into gear for the knockout stages.

A penalty shootout victory over much-fancied Egypt has been the highlight of their tournament so far but do not underestimate their win against Guinea in the quarter-finals.

Brentford forward Yoane Wissa has been starring for the Leopards and could inspire his country’s first AFCON title since 1974.

Sports

Barcelona optimistic of signing Nico Williams in the summer

Published

4 days ago

May 16, 2024

Melody 911FM

FC Barcelona is hopeful about their prospects of acquiring the skilled winger Nico Williams during the upcoming summer transfer period.

Footballghana has previously reported that the La Liga team is eyeing the Spanish forward with Ghanaian roots to bolster their lineup for the forthcoming season.

Recent updates from Spain suggest that Barcelona’s management is actively pursuing the transfer.

The club is confident in finalizing an agreement with Athletic Club to secure Nico Williams prior to the commencement of the next season.

At present, Nico Williams’ contract includes a release clause valued at €55 million, which FC Barcelona is positioned to activate.

The forward’s exceptional performance over the last year has established him as one of the standout forwards in European football.

During the 2023/24 Spanish La Liga campaign, Nico Williams has contributed four goals and 10 assists across 29 matches.

In addition to Barcelona, numerous leading clubs, including Liverpool, have shown interest in him.

Sports

Tariq Lamptey featured in Brighton’s defeat to Chelsea.

Published

4 days ago

May 16, 2024

Melody 911FM

The Electoral Commission (EC) has reassured the public that the missing Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) Kits cannot be utilised to access its system or data.

According to Dr Eric Bossman Asare, the BVRs, which include a laptop, are ineffective on their own and can only be activated by the EC.

Thus, they pose no threat to the integrity of elections, he stated.

Additionally, they cannot be used to register anyone during the ongoing limited voter registration exercise nor do they contain any sensitive data from the EC’s system, he said in an interview with JoyNews’ Evans Mensah.

Dr Bossman Asare stated, “The laptops on their own are insignificant. They are just like the laptops you use at your workplace. We’ve accounted for every single device that we’re going to be using.

“In 2020, when we did the registration, we bought 8,500 of the registration devices. We are not using all of them in this registration.”

“So that means the ones we are using now, we still have some there. So are you saying the EC will come and tell the Ghanaian people that five laptops are missing and we want to use those laptops to register people? Who in the EC is going to do that?” he quizzed.

Sports

Wollacott keeps clean sheet for Hibernian in 3-0 mauling of Motherwell

Published

4 days ago

May 16, 2024

Melody 911FM

Ghana international Jojo Wollacott delivered a fine performance for Hibernian on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, when the team secured a 3-0 victory over Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership.

The Black Stars goalkeeper was in the starting lineup for his team in their Week 37 fixture.

Guarding the goal for the hosts, Jojo Wollacott made several good saves and maintained a clean sheet at the end of the 90 minutes, helping his team clinch all three points.

Hibernian was ahead by two goals at halftime, thanks to strikes from Myziane Maolida and Martin Boyle.

After the break, Martin Boyle found the net again to complete his brace, sealing a significant win for Hibernian against Motherwell.

Wollacott’s performance in today’s game is particularly important ahead of the June international break.

He needed the playing time to secure a spot in the Ghana squad for the upcoming matches against Mali and the Central African Republic in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.