Mali were scared of Nigeria, says Onyedinma

Chairperson of the Nigeria Women's Premier League, Dilichukwu Onyedimma has expressed delight with the Mali women national team withdrawal from the final qualifying round of the Rio 2016 Olympics football event saying the development would help Edwin Okon Ladies prepare well for the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup in Canada.
The reigning African queens were expected to host Mali on Saturday, May 9 before playing the return leg a week later, sealed a spot to the next round without kicking the ball.

A delighted Onyedinma told Goal that the Fédération Malienne de Football took the decision to prevent their ladies from being humiliated against the red-hot Falcons.

“When I was asked last week on our readiness for the Malians, my reply was that we will beat them anytime and anytime. Their decision to pull out of this game has justified that we can beat them,” Onyedinma told Goal.

“Mali are scared we would beat them silly, moreover their officials feel it’s a waste of resources coming to Nigeria to concede eight goals or more.

“I’m happy we will have enough time to prepare for the Women’s World Cup in Canada. These Olympics and All African Games qualifiers have keep [the Falcons] in here, they ought to have travelled out for a training tour that has been arranged for them since.”

“Ideally, they ought to have been in camp at least six weeks before the commencement of the tournament but we had to wait to complete the assignment on the continent first. That was why we wrote to the Malienne Federation to allow us play them a week after the first leg so as to have enough time prepare,” she continued.

“When I meet with the NFF today [Friday], I will be able to know if we the plans we have are still intact.”

She concluded saying the Falcons are poised to challenge for the World Cup claiming Nigeria are not frightened by the presence of big names in the competition.

“All the participating team’s target is the cup and ours is not an exemption,” she added.

“We know there are tough teams in our group but this time around, we are not intimidated by any name because we believe we have the strength and will do our talking in the pitch. You never can tell, we may beat the team who feel they are favorites,” she concluded.

Nigeria had previously defeated the Malian women 9-1 on aggregate to seal a place at the 2015 All African Games.

Nobody can defend against Messi - Moyes

Real Sociedad head coach David Moyes has followed Pep Guardiola in claiming that it is impossible to defend against Lionel Messi .

The Argentina forward was at his stunning best on Wednesday, scoring twice in Barca's 3-0 success over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final.

That double included a wonderful individual goal that helped put his side on the verge of reaching the final, with Sociedad next up in La Liga on Saturday.

Moyes' side have already beaten Barca this term, but, as the Scot targets a famous double, he waxed lyrical about Messi's talents.

"No-one can defend against Messi," the former Manchester United boss said.

"He may have the odd off day, but he's one of the best players of all time. Teams try and stop him but he carries on, makes no fuss.

"I admire Messi for what he represents, his fantastic football and the fact that he doesn't dive or fake injury - things that repulse me in the world of football."

Barca lead rivals Real Madrid by two points at the summit going into the final three games of the campaign.

With Luis Enrique on course for a treble in his first season at the helm, Moyes added: "They have a great team aside from Messi and can call on the likes of Neymar, [Andres] Iniesta and Xavi.

"I have nothing but admiration for Iniesta and Xavi, two of the finest players in the past decade.

"But we will travel to Barcelona with that intention [of winning again] but we are also realistic enough to know that Barcelona are one of the best teams in the world.

"We hope to put on a good performance and hope to secure a positive result."

Batista to become Bahrain boss

Former Argentina coach Sergio Batista has agreed to take charge of Bahrain's national team.

The 52-year-old Buenos Aires native has been out of work since parting company with Chinese Super League outfit Guangzhou Evergrande last year but will sign a two-year contract with the Middle Eastern nation.

Batista, a former defensive midfielder who was a part of his country's 1986 World Cup-winning squad, led Argentina to Olympic glory at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

He subsequently took charge of the senior squad in 2010, succeeding former team-mate Diego Maradona at the helm, but was dismissed after a poor showing at the Copa America the following year.

Batista returned to the game in 2012 by taking a management role at Guangzhou but has now been charged with trying to qualify Bahrain for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The 2022 hosts have never before performed for the biggest tournament in the game, though they were beaten in a play-off with New Zealand for South Africa 2010, losing 1-0 on aggregate.

Benteke named Premier League Player of the Month as Pearson scoops manager prize

Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke has been named the Premier League's Player of the Month for April, while Leicester City's Nigel Pearson has scooped the Manager of the Month award.

Benteke scored five goals in four Premier League matches in April - strikes against Manchester United and Tottenham and a hat-trick against QPR - to fire Villa to four vital points that lifted them clear of the relegation zone.

Pearson, meanwhile, led his Leicester side to four consecutive victories prior to defeat to Chelsea as the Foxes hauled themselves a point clear of the Premier League drop zone from a seemingly hopeless position.

Jose Mourinho is ready to make a summer approach to sign Benteke, who has been revitalised under Tim Sherwood and scored 11 goals in his last nine matches in all competitions.

Leicester are looking increasingly likely to preserve their Premier League status under Pearson, who has courted controversy on several occasions this season and was forced to apologise after calling a journalist an "ostrich" following his side's loss to the champions.

You can't keep tabs on Messi - Boateng

Jerome Boateng says it is impossible to "keep tabs" on Lionel Messi after the Barcelona man embarrassed the World Cup winner on Wednesday.

Messi scored two brilliant goals, while Neymar grabbed the third, as the Catalans ran out 3-0 winners at Camp Nou.

After smashing in the first from the edge of the area, the Argentine ghosted past Boateng, leaving the defender in a heap on the floor before clipping the ball beyond Manuel Neuer.

"You can't keep tabs on such a quality individual," he told the DFB's official website.

"You can only manage to reduce their threat as a team and, as shown by the closing stages, that certainly takes a lot out of you.

"You can't keep Messi out of the game for 90 minutes. We did really well to limit his influence for the first 70, but then you have to continue to defend as a team.

"After falling behind, which shouldn't happen in the first place, you can't then allow the other team to further increase their advantage."