Nigeria 2-0 Chad: Keshi's second coming celebrated with three points

The Super Eagles got their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign off to a winning start in Kaduna

Goals from Gbolahan Salami and Odion Ighalo ensured Nigeria began their Africa Cup of Nations 2017 qualifying campaign in winning fashion with a victory over Chad .

After a lethargic, uninspired first half, the Super Eagles improved after the break and took the lead on 69 minutes when Salami finished well after an excellent assist from substitute Ighalo.

The Watford man, who was promoted to the Premier League this season, confirmed the victory with a penalty on 80 minutes after being brought down in the box.

Stephen Keshi’s side played out the final ten minutes with ten men following a red card for Ogenyi Onazi during the pre-penalty melee, but the visitors' man advantage wasn’t enough for Chad to stage an unlikely late comeback.

The match marked Stephen Keshi’s return to the national team top job after being re-appointed by Amaju Pinnick and the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Big Boss opted to include several new faces in his first starting XI back in the hotseat, and understandably, Nigeria were disjointed and lacked cohesion during the opening 45 minutes.

The terrible pitch in Kaduna hardly helped, and the Super Eagles struggled to retain possession in the face of an uneven surface and well-organised Chadian pressure.

Ahmed Musa and Salami both took the opportunity to demonstrate their dribbling ability with the ball at their feet early on, but both—the former in particular—was guilty of poor delivery.

Chad also had their chances, and could have taken the lead on 17 minutes, when Marius Mbaiam's shot flew wide of Vincent Enyeama's post.

Michael Babatunde—returning to the starting lineup for the first time since the World Cup defeat to Argentina last summer—struggled to get a handle on the game from the heart of the park. The midfielder worked tirelessly, but failed to demonstrate the creativity that the Super Eagles were looking for.

After the break—doubtless following some terse words from Keshi—Nigeria began to impose themselves.

Kingsley Madu, one of the debutants, began to show his quality in possession, while his counterpart in the right-back berth, Leon Balogun, was similarly confident with the ball at feet.

It took two changes to break the deadlock, however, with Ibrahim Rabiu replacing Babatunde, and Ighalo coming on for the injured Aaron Samuel.

It was the latter who made the telling contribution, first setting-up Salami for the opener-a powerfully struck shot into the roof of the net-before firing home himself from the spot after winning the penalty.

Onazi’s late red was an unfortunate footnote, with the Lazio midfielder dismissed after shoving a Chad defender in a momentary lapse of discipline.

While the victory ensured that Nigeria got their Group G campaign off to a winning start, Keshi’s return to the side—and the indifferent performance of his chosen team—failed to truly erase memories of the disastrous 2015 qualifying campaign.

There is still much work to be done, both for the Super Eagles to secure a spot in Gabon, and for the Big Boss to mend his tarnished reputation.

BREAKING! Nigerian Player Dies In Malaysia

Nigerian defender David Faramola Oniya died on Saturday after collapsing on the pitch during a friendly match between his Malaysian club T-Team and Kelantan. He was 30.

Local media said the T-Team skipper collapsed three minutes into the match in Kota Bharu and was taken to hospital.

T-Team CEO Syahrizan Mohd Zain said Oniya did not receive medical treatment quick enough.

"He suffered a heart attack but it could have been a different story had the ambulance driver been alert," he told the New Straits Times.

"The driver was at the stands watching the game when Oniya suddenly collapsed and our defender was deprived of oxygen for several minutes."

Syahrizan said the match was called off after 60 minutes after they were informed by the hospital Oniya had died.

"He was pronounced dead at the hospital about 30 minutes later," he told the Star newspaper.

Oniya had only just joined the Malaysian club this season after spells in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

Ronaldo, Lewandowski Hit Hat-Tricks

Yet another Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick propelled Portugal to a crucial 3-2 win in Armenia in Euro 2016 qualifying on Saturday while Poland's Robert Lewandowski hit one of the quickest triples in the competition's history.

Andre Schuerrle also bagged a hat-trick in Germany's 7-0 thrashing of Gibraltar but former European champions Greece's embarrassing campaign continued as they were beaten 2-1 in the Faroe Islands.

Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo scored his third hat-trick in his last three games for club and country as Portugal held on with 10 men for the final half-hour in Yerevan to claim a crucial win in Group I.

Brazilian-born Marcos Pizzelli gave Armenia the lead but Ronaldo equalised from the penalty spot before adding two more in the space of four second-half minutes.

Fernando Santos' side then had Tiago Mendes, the Atletico Madrid midfielder, sent off and were left to hang on after Hrayr Mkoyan pulled a goal back for the hosts.

Portugal have now won four games in a row since starting their campaign with a 1-0 home defeat to Albania and they top Group I by two points from Denmark, who beat Serbia 2-0 in Copenhagen thanks to a goal in each half from Yussuf Poulsen and Jakob Poulsen.

Poland remain top of Group D ahead of World Cup holders Germany after Lewandowski's late hat-trick sealed a 4-0 win against Georgia in Warsaw.

Arkadiusz Milik put the Poles in front before captain Lewandowski doubled their lead in the 89th minute.

The Bayern Munich striker added another in the 92nd minute and completed a remarkable treble in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a handsome win.

It is the second-fastest hat-trick in the history of European Championship qualifying, bettered only by Arif Erdem, who scored three in three minutes for Turkey against Northern Ireland in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2000.

Poland are a point clear of Germany, who won 7-0 against minnows Gibraltar in Faro, southern Portugal, despite Bastian Schweinsteiger having an early penalty saved.

Schuerrle set them on their way and six more goals followed in the second half, including two more from the Wolfsburg forward, a brace from Max Kruse and one each for Ilkay Gundogan and Karim Bellarabi.

Scotland deny Ireland

Scotland remain third, two points better off than the Republic of Ireland, after coming from behind to draw 1-1 in Dublin, Shaun Maloney's shot deflecting in off home skipper John O'Shea to cancel out Jon Walters' opener for Ireland.

The prospect of seeing all four British sides qualify together for a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup remains a very real one, with Northern Ireland still second in Group F after a 0-0 draw at home to leaders Romania at Windsor Park.

Michael O'Neill's side are a point behind the Romanians and two better off than third-placed Hungary, who boosted their own chances by winning 1-0 in Finland thanks to a late goal by Zoltan Stieber of Hamburg.

However, Greece's disastrous campaign continued as they were beaten 2-1 by traditional minnows the Faroe Islands in Torshavn.

A goal in each half from Hallur Hansson and Brandur Olsen secured a famous win for the hosts, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Borussia Dortmund getting one back in vain for Greece.

It is the second time the Euro 2004 winners have lost to the Faroes in this campaign – coach Claudio Ranieri was sacked after a 1-0 loss at home in November.

There has been no improvement yet under his Uruguayan successor Sergio Markarian, and Greece are rock bottom of the group with just two points from six games.

Germany Coach: How We Stopped Nigeria

Germany coach Frank Wormuth has revealed how his team were able to overcome the Flying Eagles in their round of 16 FIFA U-20 World Cup clash which they won 1-0.

Reacting to the win, Wormuth who spoke highly of the Flying Eagles, however said his players deserved to advance at the expense of Nigeria.

He told fifa.com: “I like Nigeria and they are very good technically, which makes them extremely difficult to play against.

“We were able to keep the ball under pressure and that was our only chance to break through their defence. In the end, I give congratulations to my team for finding the answer to the problems Nigeria posed us. They deserved the win and I am very impressed with them.

“I am especially proud of my team’s defence today. Of course, our aim is to get to the final in Auckland but to get there we must go step to step and our next step is Mali. The German mentality is to always think this way. I expect Mali to play in quite a similar way to what we saw today from Nigeria.”

A 19th minute strike by Levin Öztunali was enough for the European champions to see off a lackluster Flying Eagles side.

'Germany Won't Underestimate Gibraltar'

Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger insists the world champions will not underestimate minnows Gibraltar in Saturday's Euro 2016 away qualifier in their bid to top their group.

The Germans are joint second in Group D, a point behind leaders Poland, as they head to Faro, Portugal, for Saturday's tie against the part-timers who have lost all five qualifiers so far, leaking 27 goals in the process.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has sent several star players, including Bayern Munich pair Thomas Mueller and Manuel Neuer, plus Borussia Dortmund winger Marco Reus, on holiday, but the world champions still expect three points.

A shock defeat in Poland and a home draw against the Republic of Ireland means Germany find themselves in the unusual situation of fighting for first place.

The Germans were beaten 2-1 by the United States on Wednesday in their warm-up friendly when the world champions' finishing was again an issue, as it has been since lifting the World Cup last July.

"We won’t make the mistake of underestimating Gibraltar," said Schweinsteiger.

"Of course we know that we’re better than them and it's clear that we have to pick up a win there, but it doesn’t have to be double-digits.

"It has to be a good game from us. We have to find the breakthrough against a team which will sit back a lot."

The game is being held at Faro's Estadio Algarve, Gibraltar's home ground, even though it lies several hundred kilometres from the British territory.

HUGE GULF

The team from the tiny Iberian peninsula have a Scottish caretaker coach in Dave Wilson after Allen Bula was sacked in March, four games into their campaign, having been in charge for four years.

Bula was boss when Germany trounced Gibraltar 4-0 in Nuremberg last November, which was greeted as something of a triumph by the visitors given the huge gulf in class between the two teams.

Wilson's side lost a friendly to Croatia 4-0 last Sunday and a similar scoreline would be a welcome result for both hosts and visitors alike.

Ireland and Poland have already posted 7-0 wins over Gibraltar, whose striker Lee Casciaro scored their first competitive goal in a 6-1 loss to Scotland in March.

Gibraltar's only win in ten matches as a Uefa member nation was a 1-0 success at home against Malta in a friendly in June last year, although European football's newest members have drawn 0-0 with Slovakia and 1-1 with Estonia.

Lukas Podolski is two goals shy of his 50th for Germany going into the match, in which the Inter Milan forward is set to win his 125th cap.

Germany can finish the weekend top of Group D if results go their way with Ireland hosting Scotland in Dublin and Poland at home to Georgia on Saturday.

"It’s especially important to pick up three points," added Schweinsteiger.

"We can’t influence the other results and at the end of the day, the main priority is to qualify for Euro 2016, everything else is of secondary importance."

Chelsea Sign Manea, Hagi Joins Fio

Romania's young defender Cristian Manea has signed for Premier League champions Chelsea from FC Viitorul Constanta while his teammate Ianis Hagi is joining Serie A side Fiorentina, the club said on Thursday.

"Manea and Hagi deals were completed," Viitorul general director Cristian Bivolaru told local media without giving details of the transfer fees or length of contracts.

Manea, who turns 18 in August, made his Romania debut aged just 16 against Albania in a friendly in May 2014.

The teenager, considered one of the best young players in Romania, also attracted interest from Arsenal, Ajax Amsterdam and Udinese before signing for Chelsea, local media reported.

Botosaru said the versatile Manea, who can play at right back, centre back and as a holding midfielder, will probably be loaned out in the Netherlands for the 2015-2016 season.

Ianis Hagi, 16, is the son of former Romania captain Gheorghe Hagi, who founded and owns the club which is known for nurturing young talent in the Black Sea state.

He is an under-17 international and scored once in seven league appearances for Viitorul last season when they finished 11th in the 18-team Romanian league.

Botosaru said there is a possibility Hagi could be loaned back to Viitorul for a season.

Akpan, Thank God Close To Warriors Debut

There are strong indications that Abia Warriors’ newly signed duo of Ike ThankGod and Bassey Akpan will make their debut against Glo Premier League leaders Sunshine Stars, on Sunday.

The duo joined the Umuahia side as free agents ahead of the resumption of the league, on Sunday.

“Everything depends on what they put up during training on Wednesday and Thursday. Both players are great additions to the team,” Bosso said to supersport.com.

ThankGod joins the club after a stint in Oman, while Akpan is set to play for his second club this term after brief romance with Bayelsa United.

Interestingly, the former youth international played in Vietnam before returning to the country.

Akpan has already been assigned the number 18 shirt.

Germany, Canada Held; Ivorians Lose

Wang Lisi's late winner got China's Women's World Cup campaign back on track as Germany were held 1-1 by Norway and Canada played a goalless draw against New Zealand on Thursday.

China's Group A tie in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium looked to be heading for frustration before Wang broke through to roll the ball past Sari Van Veenendaal in the Dutch goal one minute into extra time.

It gave the 'Steel Roses' a vital three points after losing their opening match to Canada, who had to settle for a goalless draw against New Zealand.

Canada remain top of Group A with four points from two games, ahead of China and the Netherlands, who have three. New Zealand are bottom of the group with one point.

"I think they did an excellent job today. We could have scored more and been more efficient," said China coach Hao Wei.

"In the beginning I said Group A was very even, all teams are similar in their strengths so I wish we could have scored more," added the Chinese coach.

In Group B ties over in Ottawa, a second half Maren Mjelde equaliser grabbed a 1-1 draw for Norway against top ranked Germany in a clash of former champions.

Anja Mittag had put 2003 and 2007 champions Germany ahead after just six minutes with her fourth goal following her hat-trick in their opening 10-0 whipping of Ivory Coast.

But midfielder Mjelde equalised for 1995 winners Norway with a stunning free kick past former world player of the year Nadine Angerer in the Germany goal after 61 minutes.

THAILAND MAKE HISTORY

The Germans next play Thailand who came from a goal down to keep their hopes of advancing alive with a 3-2 win over fellow newcomers Ivory Coast.

"We are very lucky, because even though we had less attacking chances, we got our first victory in our country's history," said Thailand coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian.

"We are honoured to be playing the best team in the world Germany in our next match and will do our absolute best to win."

Ivorian striker Ange Nguessan had given the African side the lead after four minutes but Thailand hit back with three unanswered goals.

A double from Orathai Srimanee after 26 and 45+3 minutes, and a Thanatta Chawong effort on 75 saw the Asian side bounce back from a 4-0 loss to Norway in their opener.

Josee Nahi got one back for the Ivory Coast two minutes from time, but it was too little for the African side with just one game remaining.

"It's a sad night for us and for the people of Ivory Coast," said Clementine Toure of the the lowest ranked side in the tournament at 67.

Germany coach Silvia Neid admitted her side had nearly paid heavily for letting their guard down after dominating early against the 11th-ranked Scandinavians.

"We just didn't play as well in the second half - and then Norway gained hope," said Neid.

The result leaves Germany and Norway topping Group B with four points. Thailand are third with three points with Ivory Coast bottom with none.

"The end result was fair, but we were lucky - (Germany) could have killed this game in the first half," said Norway coach Even Pellerud.

In the final round of group games on Monday, Germany play Thailand in Winnipeg and Norway take on the Ivory Coast in Moncton.

Champions Japan and the United States will play their second round matches on Friday.

Japan come up against Cameroon in Group C in Vancouver, with group rivals Switzerland up against Ecuador.

The United States play Sweden in Group D in Winnipeg, with Australia up against African champions Nigeria.

Liverpool Reject City's Bid For Sterling

Liverpool have rejected Manchester City's £25 million offer for unsettled England forward Raheem Sterling, according to reports on Thursday.

Sterling has told Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers he wants to leave Anfield to join a club who can offer him Champions League action next season and City have made the first move in what could prove a lengthy saga to settle his future.

According to the Times, City's bid valued Sterling at £25 million, with an additional £5 million to be paid in potential add-ons.

But Liverpool are determined to keep hold of their most gifted youngster and have snubbed the approach for the 20-year-old, who has two years remaining on his current £35 000-a-week contract.

It is believed that only an astronomical offer of at least £50 million could persuade Liverpool to consider letting Sterling leave.

Liverpool remain keen to convince Sterling to sign a new contract, even though he rejected a deal that would have paid him around £100 000-a-week earlier this year.

Sterling's refusal to commit to Liverpool has angered the club's supporters, who jeered him at an end of season awards dinner.

The situation turned even uglier when his agent Aidy Ward last month said there was no chance Sterling would extend his contract no matter how much money Liverpool offered.

Liverpool responded by cancelling a scheduled meeting with Sterling and his representative, while Rodgers left the winger on the bench for the team's 6-1 thrashing at Stoke on the final day of the Premier League season.

City's approach for Sterling is unlikely to be their last since it came just hours after the club's chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak promised "high-quality" signings and admitted Manuel Pellegrini's team failed to meet expectations during their failed defence of the Premier League title.

Speaking in an interview with City TV, Khaldoon said: "We want a squad that is able and has the capability and quality to win the Premier League, compete and win the Champions League, compete and be able to go all the way in two cup competitions in England.

"I think you will see some changes. You will see some players who have served us well and maybe it is time for them to move to their next challenge, and you will see us in the market bringing high-quality individuals that fit within what we are aspiring to coming in this summer.

"I can assure you the squad will be stronger, the team will be more competitive. I am both confident and excited about what is coming next year."

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United are also reported to be interested in Sterling, who is currently on international duty with England ahead of their Euro 2016 qualifier in Slovenia on Sunday.

Diaby On Arsenal Release List

Abou Diaby's injury-scarred nine-year stint at Arsenal is due to finish after he was included on a list of players to be released by the club on Wednesday.

Diaby, 29 and capped 16 times by France, had his ankle broken by Sunderland's Dan Smith shortly after joining Arsenal from Auxerre in January 2006 and has been bedevilled by injury ever since.

The midfielder's Arsenal tenure has been a succession of lengthy absences followed by aborted comebacks, with a cruciate knee ligament injury restricting him to just two appearances over the past two seasons.

While Diaby's contract is due to expire on June 30, the Premier League stresses that its list of released players "should not be seen as definitive for players leaving their club".

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has repeatedly expressed his belief in Diaby, in whom he has shown great patience.

"Diaby is a player that I have an enormous amount of respect for," Wenger said last November.

"Every time he comes back he has to start from zero with another injury. He is not a fragile player. He was the victim of an assassin's tackle that went unpunished."

Japan midfielder Ryo Miyaichi, who has had several spells on loan at other clubs since arriving in January 2011, was also named on Arsenal's release list.