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Senegal 1-2 Nigeria: Falconets advance as South Africa, Egypt exit World Cup race

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Nigeria’s Falconets moved one step closer to the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after a strong 2-1 win over Senegal U20 Women’s National Team on Saturday, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Moses Aduku-tutored lads were calm and confident at the Annexe du Stade du Sénégal in Rufisque, sealing a 3-1 victory on aggregate to reach the final qualifying round.

Kindness Ifeanyi opened the scoring in the first half, rising highest to head in a corner. Precious Oscar then wrapped things up with another headed goal after the break.

Nigeria had already taken control of the tie with a 1-0 win in the first leg in Abeokuta, once again thanks to Ifeanyi’s header from a corner.

The victory keeps alive Nigeria’s proud record as the only African country to qualify for every edition of the U-20 Women’s World Cup since the tournament began in 2002.

Falconets in as final qualifying picture takes shape
Nigeria’s success means all eight teams for the final qualifying round are now confirmed.

Malawi produced the biggest wins of the round, thrashing Guinea-Bissau 5-1 at home after drawing the first leg 1-1. Uganda also progressed with a narrow 1-0 away win over Zambia.

Ghana edged past South Africa 1-0 to stay on course for another World Cup appearance, while Tanzania showed great spirit by overturning a first-leg loss before winning on penalties against Kenya.

Ivory Coast squeezed through despite losing 1-0 to DR Congo, thanks to their earlier 2-0 home victory.

Second-leg results (third round):

Benin 4-0 Egypt
Botswana 1-0 Cameroon
Malawi 5-1 Guinea-Bissau
Zambia 0-1 Uganda
DR Congo 1-0 Ivory Coast
South Africa 0-1 Ghana
Tanzania 1-0 (3-1 on penalties) Kenya
Final qualifying fixtures
In the final round, Nigeria will face Malawi. Ghana take on Uganda, Cameroon meet Tanzania, while Benin will battle Ivory Coast.

The four winners will book their places at the World Cup in Poland, which begins on September 5.

Teams through to the final round:
Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria.

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Champions League: Osimhen, Icardi partnership will rattle Juventus, says Buruk

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Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk has expressed his delight at seeing Victor Osimhen and Mauro Icardi combine so effectively in Friday night’s emphatic victory over Eyuspor, Soccernet.ng reports.

The striking duo were simply too hot to handle as Galatasaray cruised to a dominant 5-1 win in front of their home fans.

For much of the season, Buruk had stuck with a familiar 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 setup, which usually meant only one of Osimhen or Icardi led the line at a time.

Attention now quickly turns to a mouth-watering UEFA Champions League playoff clash with Italian heavyweights Juventus.

The first leg will take place in Istanbul next week, before the decisive return match in Turin. While Juventus go into the tie as favourites, Buruk believes his side can trouble the Serie A giants.

“We will prepare for Juventus,” Buruk added.

“A very different match and a very strong opponent awaits us. We will immediately recover mentally and prepare. You know how Atletico Madrid plays, but Juventus has very different formations. Their build-up play can change from time to time. They have players who are very difficult to predict. They have very good wing players up front. Kenan Yıldız is very valuable. They don’t give away easy chances.”

Galatasaray have not reached the Champions League round of 16 in more than a decade, but Buruk is determined to change that this season.

“It’s a two-legged match and we will think like that,” he noted. “We are in a much better place physically, mentally and in terms of squad. Our goal will be to beat Juventus.”

Osimhen’s impact has been crucial so far, with nine league goals in 16 appearances, alongside another six strikes in the Champions League.

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Paul Onuachu set for a record held by only Osimhen after Trabzonspor lose to Fenerbahçe

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Paul Onuachu is moving closer to a special record in Turkey after scoring again for Trabzonspor, even though his team lost 3–2 to Fenerbahçe in a thrilling Super Lig match, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles striker has now scored in five league games in a row. His powerful header against Fenerbahçe took his total to 16 goals in just 19 appearances this season. That makes him the outright top scorer in the Turkish top flight.

Onuachu is now leading the race for the Golden Boot, known in Turkey as the ‘Gol Kralı’ award. If he finishes the season as top scorer, he will become only the second Nigerian ever to win it.

The only Nigerian to achieve that feat so far is Victor Osimhen. The striker scored 26 league goals last season, helping Galatasaray win the title after joining on loan from Napoli. His impact later earned him a permanent move.

Onuachu is now trying to follow that same historic path.

A thrilling match that slipped away from Paul Onuachu’s Trabzonspor
Both teams went into the game knowing a win would help them close the gap on league leaders Galatasaray, and the match quickly lived up to expectations.

Trabzonspor struck first after just six minutes. A long pass split the defence and allowed Ernest Muçi to run through on goal. He calmly lifted the ball over the goalkeeper to give the home side an early lead.

Fenerbahçe responded strongly. Anderson Talisca equalised in the 15th minute with a fine finish, before Kerem Akturkoglu completed the turnaround just before half-time to make it 2–1.

But Onuachu had the final word of the first half. Rising highest in the box, he powered home a header to bring Trabzonspor level at 2–2 and send the crowd into celebration.

The joy did not last long.

Only three minutes after the restart, Marco Asensio finished off a smooth passing move to restore Fenerbahçe’s lead. Despite late pressure from Trabzonspor, the visitors held firm to secure all three points.

The win keeps Fenerbahçe second in the table, just three points behind Galatasaray. The defeat, however, leaves Trabzonspor 10 points off the top, but Onuachu’s record chase remains very much alive.

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