World Cup 2018: What went wrong for African teams in Russia?

Fans from Nigeria, Morocco and Senegal
Fans in Nigeria, Morocco and Senegal express their sorrow after their teams were knocked out the tournament

Senegal’s World Cup exit on Thursday means Africa has suffered its worst World Cup display for 36 years, with no side from the continent in the knockout stage for the first time since 1982.

Going into the tournament, there were high hopes Africa could build on its display in Brazil in 2014 when two teams – Nigeria and Algeria – reached the second round for the first time.

Instead, a continent will be wondering where it went wrong as its 15 games resulted in 10 defeats, two draws and just three wins.

So what is to blame: bad luck, VAR, or a lack of flair?

Wounded Egyptian king

This was supposed to be the tournament in which Egypt changed their lamentable World Cup record, in part because of what was supposedly a weak group and in part because they boast one of the world’s best players.

However you look at it, Mohamed Salah dominated Egypt’s campaign – ultimately scoring seven, and assisting two, of the 10 goals they scored both in qualifying and in Russia.

Mo Salah Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption Mo Salah did not light up the tournament as many had hoped he would

It was painfully obvious to the fans how much he would be missed when a shoulder injury sustained in the Champions League final ruled him out of the first game against Uruguay.

In his absence, forward Marwan Mohsen – one goal in 23 internationals – looked an inadequate replacement.

Even if Salah had been fully fit it is questionable how far the Pharaohs – at their first World Cup in 28 years – would have gone because of costly defensive errors.

This is not what you would expect of a team coached by the defensive pragmatist Hector Cuper, but too often they erred – with Ali Gabr and Ahmed Hegazi’s central partnership often suspect.

Nonetheless, their goalkeepers impressed – Mohamed El Shenawy performing superbly against Uruguay while African legend Essam El Hadary, 45, celebrated World Cup history in fine style against Saudi Arabia by not only becoming the tournament’s oldest player but also making a stunning penalty save.

But the team that has long dominated African football (with seven continental crowns) ultimately disappointed, never more so than in their final last-gasp defeat by Saudi Arabia.

That was the first time they had been in front in a World Cup match, but after 84 years of trying they are still searching for their first win.

Atlas Lions fail to roar

Morocco’s World Cup campaign was undone in the worst possible fashion – conceding a calamitous own goal in stoppage time of their opening game to gift Iran a 1-0 win.

Coach Herve Renard had called this match his team’s “World Cup final”, hardly surprising given that Portugal and Spain lay next, and his pained face after the match encapsulated his immense regret.

Morocco fans Image copyright AFP
Image caption Morocco fans were impressed by their team’s performance at the tournament

From then on though, Morocco hugely impressed.

They fell behind early to European champions Portugal in their next game but after that, it was largely one-way traffic, with the North Africans impressing with their passing, fluidity and constant attacking drive.

Like nearly all African teams in Russia, they were undone by the lack of a reliable goalscorer and, when chances did come Morocco’s way, they either fell to the wrong people (defender Mehdi Benatia twice guilty) or they were thwarted by top goalkeeping (Rui Patricio denying Younes Belhanda).

In their final game, the Atlas Lions continued to impress and were seconds away from inflicting Spain’s first defeat in 23 games only for the 2010 world champions to draw 2-2 after yet another stoppage-time goal against an African team.

Given that Spain boasted seven players from Real Madrid and Barcelona, with the rest from European heavyweights Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid, this was a match that showed Morocco in the best possible light.

“They are an excellent team who had lost two matches 1-0 while deserving much more,” said Spain coach Fernando Hierro afterwards.

It is hard to disagree.

Nigeria – a team for the future

Nigeria’s last-gasp loss to Argentina may have attracted much criticism back home, with plenty wondering why the defence wasn’t bolstered in the closing stages, but the Super Eagles’ Russian campaign was ultimately packed with positives.

Despite being placed in the traditional “Group of Death”, the youngest squad in the tournament – featuring 18 players who had never played at a World Cup before – were just four minutes away from qualifying for the knockout rounds.

Nigerian players Image copyright AFP
Image caption Victor Moses’s penalty had given Nigeria hope against Argentina before they conceded a late goal

This was not a Nigeria team blessed with the talents or physical power of the magnificent side in the 1990s, but it made up for that with a solidity and team spirit not often seen in Super Eagles squads.

“I think the future is for Nigeria because there is a big solidarity – you saw in the difficult moments how great the spirit in the team is,” coach Gernot Rohr told BBC Sport.

The German lamented the slow starts to every game for his side in Russia, with Nigeria failing to trouble their opponents in every first half.

It is worth noting that unlike previous campaigns, this one went smoothly for Nigeria with next-to-no reports of administrative chaos and with bonuses sorted out months in advance.

That bodes well for the future, as does the vast experience the team will have gained from their Russia campaign.

Poor Tunisia

Tunisia were simply not good enough to progress from a difficult group featuring both Belgium and England, and that is an admission made by the coach himself.

“We are far from the required level,” former international Nabil Maaloul said, with captain Wahbi Khazri also venturing that his side found the level against both top-drawer European opponents to be “too high, too elevated”.

Tunisia players Image copyright AFP
Image caption Tunisia won their first World Cup match against Panama but they were poor in the other group matches

The Carthage Eagles only lost their opening game to England in stoppage time, as an African team once again suffered at the hands of both set-pieces and late goals, but they also created precious little.

There can be no doubt that a team shorn of top talents badly missed their star man – injured playmaker Youssef Msakni – but his impact may well have been limited as Belgium’s 5-2 destruction of the Carthage Eagles proved.

Nonetheless, Tunisia leave the competition as Africa’s top scorers – with five goals from three games – and a sense of satisfaction.

Despite trailing against Panama, the North Africans fought back to 2-1 and so secure their first win in the competition since 1978 – a year when they became the first African team to win a World Cup game.

Africa’s last stand falters

After four straight defeats for Africa at the start of the competition, Senegal became the continent’s great hopes after winning their first game – and the continent’s – against a poor Poland.

The 2-2 draw with Japan in their next game may have entertained the fans but having twice let go of the lead, it opened the door for a potential slip-up against Colombia – and how damaging that proved.

Senegal lost out after receiving more yellow cards than the Japanese – six to four – with two of the West Africans’ yellows coming in the final seconds of their clash with the Asian side.

Many fans felt Senegal was Africa's best team in the tournament and were disappointed when they were knocked out Image copyright AFP
Image caption Many felt Senegal were Africa’s best team in the tournament and were disappointed when they were knocked out

While many Senegalese have lamented the new Fifa ruling which eliminated them from the competition on their inferior disciplinary record, coach Aliou Cisse refused to do so – saying simply his side “didn’t deserve” to make the second round.

As with Egypt and Salah, plenty of hope was placed on Sadio Mane but he struggled to make an impact in the games – seldom getting in behind opposing defences and often straitjacketed by tactical demands that seemed to limit his ability to roam free, certainly in the first two games.

Senegal were another African team which lacked midfield creativity but they impressed at the other end, where Kalidou Koulibaly and Salif Sane formed a fine and imposing central partnership.

The Senegalese defeat by Colombia was their first in a World Cup group game but they exit the competition with Africa’s strongest record at the finals – with three wins and just two defeats from their eight games so far.

Did Africa lose to VAR?

A lot is being written and said about the impact of the newly introduced video assistant referee (VAR) in the tournament and there is no surprise that opinion is divided.

VAR Image copyright Getty Images
Image caption The video assistant referee (VAR) was used to review some of the contentious decisions

Nigerians have argued that VAR decisions went against them, saying Argentina’s Marcos Rojo should have been penalised when heading the ball onto his own hand in St Petersburg – especially since Iran had been awarded a penalty in very similar circumstances on Monday.

However, while that latter decision seemed wrong, the referee in the Nigeria-Argentina match got his decision right.

Elsewhere, Morocco’s Nordin Amrabat left no-one in any doubt as to his views on VAR following Spain’s late equaliser in their 2-2 draw but once again it was the right decision, as was the penalty awarded against Egypt for Saudi Arabia.

In both Egypt’s – and Africa’s – favour was the decision to award Mohamed Salah a penalty, which he converted, against host nation Russia.

And African fans should not be too despondent as the continent’s referees – who have performed well in Russia so far – are still here, meaning at least some Africans might make it to the World Cup’s latter stages.

Kenya’s Olympic team leader charged, denies stealing $256K

Kenya Olympics Athletic team Manager Michael Rotich at a Milimani court where he is facing doping allegations, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. Kenyan police arrested the country's Olympics team manager Rotich, on his arrival at Nairobi airport from Brazil on Tuesday over alleged crimes linked to possible doping and are seeking a court order to hold him in custody while completing their investigations. (AP Photo)
Kenya Olympics Athletic team Manager Michael Rotich at a Milimani court where he is facing doping allegations, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016. Kenyan police arrested the country’s Olympics team manager Rotich, on his arrival at Nairobi airport from Brazil on Tuesday over alleged crimes linked to possible doping and are seeking a court order to hold him in custody while completing their investigations. (AP Photo)

Stephen Arap Soi, the Kenya chef de mission in Rio, on Wednesday denied five charges relating to the alleged theft of the money.

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s team leader at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics stole $256,000 from government and sports authorities meant for the athletes’ and officials’ stay at the games, prosecutors alleged in court on Wednesday.

Stephen Arap Soi, Kenya’s chef de mission at the Olympics last month, denied five counts of stealing money.

Prosecutors said he took $234,000 with him on a flight to Brazil without declaring it to customs officials, and which then went missing, and stole the remaining $22,000 in smaller amounts on separate occasions.

The money belonged to the National Olympic Committee of Kenya, Athletics Kenya, or the sports ministry, prosecutors said.

Two other officials, Kenyan Olympic committee vice president Pius Ochieng and secretary general Francis Kinyili Paul, appeared alongside Soi in a Nairobi court, and denied charges of stealing Olympic team uniforms provided by sponsor Nike.

Prosecutors this week dropped charges against a fourth Kenyan Olympic official, treasurer Fridah Shiroya. Shiroya is expected to be a state witness who will testify against Soi, Ochieng, and Paul.

The Olympic case is the latest in a long line of scandals for Kenyan sport, and particularly athletics, which has seen a barrage of doping cases involving athletes, and allegations of wrongdoing by senior officials.

Senior officials at both the Olympic committee and the athletics federation are accused of corruption, and the Olympic committee was disbanded by government because of the Rio scandal. The International Olympic Committee has given Kenya until the end of the year to reform its Olympic body or it could face a ban.

Last year, Athletics Kenya president Isaiah Kiplagat, vice president David Okeyo and former treasurer Joseph Kinyua were all suspended and put under investigation by the IAAF for allegedly embezzling around $700,000 given to it by Nike. The three were also accused of covering up doping cases for money. Kiplagat, the longtime head of AK and a former member of the IAAF ruling council, died last month. Okeyo and Kinyua remain under investigation.

AK chief executive Isaac Mwangi is being investigated separately after two athletes alleged in an interview with The Associated Press that he tried to extort bribes from them in return for organizing lenient punishments for doping.

And at the Rio Olympics, Kenya sent two track coaches home after they were embroiled in two separate doping scandals. One of them is the subject of a criminal investigation in Kenya.

On Wednesday, prosecutors released more detail of the allegations against Soi and the others. They said the $234,000 they accuse Soi of taking on a plane from Kenya to Brazil on July 20 was not accounted for at the Olympics. Soi was also charged with stealing $18,000 given to him by AK to pay for track officials’ accommodation in Rio. He stole two separate batches of $3,000 and $1,000 from the sports ministry offices, according to court documents.

Despite almost constant scandals at the Olympics, Kenya won the second-highest number of medals in athletics in Rio behind the United States.

Nigeria Football Federation says it cannot afford to attend World Cup qualifier

Happier times: Nigeria's players William Ekong (L) and John Obi Mikel (R) celebrate with bronze medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics. A Japanese fan gifted the cash-strapped team $390,000 after the match.
Happier times: Nigeria’s players William Ekong (L) and John Obi Mikel (R) celebrate with bronze medals at the Rio 2016 Olympics. A Japanese fan gifted the cash-strapped team $390,000 after the match.

(CNN) – As it stands, Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign may be over before it even begins. With the country in the midst of a crippling recession triggered by weak oil prices, funding for its men’s national football team has suffered to the point that it risks World Cup disqualification.

Although the Super Eagles — who are led by Chelsea star John Obi Mikel — have had their bonuses suspended for six months, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) now says it is so broke that it cannot afford to fly its players to Zambia for next month’s third-round qualifier.
Although many of its squad earn lucrative salaries playing for clubs in Europe, the NFF is courting a sponsor to raise $270,000 in order to charter a plane to Ndola, Zambia for the match on October 9, according to Nigeria’s Guardian newspaper.
“As we speak, we don’t have any kobo (a denomination of Nigeria’s naira currency) in our purse,” an unnamed member of the NFF told the newspaper, adding that they were appealing to regional telco giant Globacom for aid.
“The charges for the Airline alone is $200,000 for a 140-seater plane, and it will be on ground with the team for two days,” the spokesman added. “We need between $6,000 and $10,000 for flight ticket(s) to bring in the players (from Europe).”
The NFF member also noted that players will be due a further $95,0000 each in bonuses, and said the only way forward is to receive stronger backing from the Nigerian government.
“The federal government still has to play its part, because this is the beginning of our campaign for the 2018 World Cup qualifying ticket. If we must get it right, every hand must be on deck,” he told The Guardian.
The Nigerian Statehouse did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on the matter.
Nigeria has been one of the most successful African countries when it comes to the World Cup, reaching the round of 16 in three out of its five appearances — most recently in 2014.
The Super Eagles have had even greater success at the Olympics, winning a gold medal at Atlanta in 1996, a silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, and a recent bronze medal at Rio 2016.
Reaching the bronze medal match in Rio de Janeiro prompted one Super Eagles superfan to donate $390,000 as charitable aid.
Learning of the team’s financial hardship, Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu flew in from Tokyo for Nigeria’s bronze medal match against Honduras, which it won 3-2.
“I was so happy and cried for their winning. Japanese are sentimental,” Takasu told CNN in August.
Takasu personally delivered the checks to Nigeria’s captain, Mikel and coach Samson Siasia after being impressed by the team’s resilience when they emerged victorious in the Olympic football group stage despite nearly missing the tournament.
The team were stranded at their Atlanta training base and arrived just seven hours before their opening match against Japan, which they won 5-4, due to a logistical mix up — the airline hired to charter the team to Brazil, it turned out, had not been paid on time.

Nigeria excels as the English-speaking world’s Scrabble superpower

Nigeria is the English-speaking world’s Scrabble superpower. Africa’s most populous nation is home not only to the global Scrabble champion, but team Nigeria ranks as the world’s top Scrabble playing nation — ahead of the U.S. in second place.

The Scrabble world champion is Wellington Jighere. He’s 33, has a soft voice, a slow smile and a penchant for fedoras, earning him the nickname “the Cat in the Hat.” Jighere acknowledges that he’s taciturn by nature, but also has an explosive, infectious laugh, though he considers Scrabble is serious business.

“You can’t afford to waste too much energy doing unnecessary chatter,” he says. “During a tournament, I see it as business time. And that is no time to be joking around.” Jighere plays chess to relax, “and for fun,” he says.

Jet-lagged and weary, Jighere was crowned the world Scrabble champ last year in a grueling 32-round competition in Australia. Up to 30 of the top 100 global players are from Nigeria, which has the highest percentage of any country in the top 200. The Nigerians’ apparent collective strategy — short words that rack up the points.

Nigerians have been credited with perfecting that tactic under the tutorship of senior team coach, Prince Anthony Ikolo. He says Nigerians are passionate about Scrabble and the short word method gives them an edge. Many put Nigeria’s towering Scrabble prowess down to its players ability to “choke the board” as they say, with this defensive play.

The game of Scrabble is actually built around short words — especially five letter words,” says Ikolo. “If you have such a word base, then you are good to go. But it would be a very big mistake for the world to think our players only know short words, especially five-letter words,” he warns.

The coach says “the short words help you to be defensive [by blocking longer words from opponents], but when it’s time to be offensive, we know those long words also. Nigeria is a force to be reckoned with when it comes to Scrabble,” says Ikolo.

Ikolo, who’s also a university mathematician, came up with lists of five-letter words and distributed them to his players, including Jighere the world champion, to train them how to block the board. The coach says, armed with these, the Nigerians could take on and beat competitors playing seven-eight- or even nine-letter words.

The other strategy was to gather his players at a hotel, before the tournament, and have them play two days of nonstop Scrabble. It appears to have worked.

Jighere though says his personal strategy is to have “no strategy at all. I play a fluid kind of game. Yah. I really don’t have a particular kind of style that you can pin me to, “he says. So, when you are expecting me to do the traditional thing, I will just choose to do something that is uncharacteristic. It’s what sets me apart from everyone else.”

Jighere should know. He and team Nigeria triumphed at the World English-Language Scrabble Players Association world championship in Australia in November 2015. They fully intend to hang onto that success when they defend those titles next year in Kenya, he says.

Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, phoned Australia to congratulate him, says Jighere with a big smile. “It felt so warm to have him speak with me right then and there. It was a very, very important experience. He told me how proud he is of my accomplishment and how proud I have made the nation as a whole, not just the nation but Africa as a whole. And that it has really gone to prove that we are truly the giants of Africa.”

Jighere bested a Briton in Perth, while Team Nigeria dethroned the U.S., which had been at the pinnacle for about decade, with Nigeria yapping at its heels, determined to topple the Americans.

“We are currently ranked No. 1 nation in the world for Scrabble,” says the champ. “In the world we have the highest number of persons in the top 100 rated Scrabble players. We have as many as 20 to 30 tough masters in Nigeria that can really give you a tough fight any time any day.”

Ikolo, the coach, will attest to that. Jighere’s friends and fellow Scrabble masters cut him no slack, in the jovial, noisy and garrulous atmosphere during the Lagos tournament.

Ikolo gleefully told NPR that, until the Nigeria National Scrabble Players competition, in the main city Lagos, at the tail end of July, Jighere had failed to win any significant tournament after his success in Australia last year.

“Since he became the world champion, he has been beaten blue and black by his colleagues. It tells you how strong Nigeria’s Scrabble is. It tells you that the Scrabble scene we have here is a very tough one. It’s highly competitive and nobody can boast tomorrow that I’m going to win this, I’m going to win that when it comes to Nigerian Scrabble playing.”

So why Scrabble? “Ah, I didn’t exactly choose Scrabble,” says Jightere. “I ran into some friends who were tournament players and I beat them. They told me ‘Ah, if I could do this well against them, that means I should come to the next tournament.’ ” He adds, “And I was like, “Ah, you mean they play this in tournaments? OK, let’s go. And the rest, as they say, is history.” And he laughs.

That was in 2002. Today, Jighere sits atop the global Scrabble tournament ladder. He describes how he had to overcome fatigue and jet lag to win in Australia. Learn those words, commit them to memory and stay cool – and awake.

Scrabble was given official recognition as a sport in Nigeria in the 1990s. But local players, coaches, parents, officials and tournament organizers say government assistance has been patchy and more must be done to support, sponsor and finance Scrabble.

“Why will the government and corporate firms not look the way of Scrabble?” laments coach Okolo. “Government and corporate firms should come to the aid of Scrabble.”

The Lagos State government provided the venue — Teslim Balogun stadium for indoor sports — for the recent tournament, as well as organizing some logistics.

But senior team coach Ikolo says while cash prizes are welcome, the authorities — and corporate sponsors — should do more to capitalize on Nigeria’s global success at Scrabble. “We don’t value that Nigeria is ranked the best Scrabble playing nation in the world,” says Ikolo, “and we have the world Scrabble champion, Wellington Jighere.”

Angela "I'm not very shy!" Osaigbovo, 10, of Nigeria came in second in a recent youth tournament, and triumphed at Scrabble camp in August. She'd hoped to win the MSI World Youth Scrabble Championship in Lille, France, this weekend, but was refused a French visa.  Ofeibea Quist-Arcton/NPR  hide caption
Angela “I’m not very shy!” Osaigbovo, 10, of Nigeria came in second in a recent youth tournament, and triumphed at Scrabble camp in August. She’d hoped to win the MSI World Youth Scrabble Championship in Lille, France, this weekend, but was refused a French visa. Ofeibea Quist-Arcton/NPR

And yet Scrabble has caught on in Nigeria in a big way, among veterans and youth. There are scores of clubs up and down the 36 states of a nation of 180 million people. Daylong and weekend tournaments are held regularly and young players, like 10-year-old Angela Osaigbovo, are champions in their own right.

She’s been playing Scrabble since she was 5 and began competing at age 6. “Scrabble for me is a fun way of using my academics, to help me in my hobbies and afterschool life,” says Angela with a big smile. Thrusting her Scrabble board into the air, she then shakes her bag of tiles, and tells me, “I’m good in Math and Literacy. And I think it’s due to Scrabble.”

As a scrabbler, she likes using “premiums, or bingos, which are 7-letter words – such as zaniest, quiting and players.”

Relaxed and confident, Angela sits next to Vincent Okere, who’s 13. The teen won the local players championship and the trophy in the youth category in Lagos. He spent most of the tournament weekend prowling around the Masters, watching every Scrabble move by the veterans and, no doubt, learning.

But no hard feelings, says Angela, who came in second. She was working hard in the build-up to the youth championship at the Mind Sports International (MSI) global tournament in Lille, France, starting Saturday.

Every other year, MSI organizes a championship for all-comers, while WESPA holds its tournaments the other years.

“Yes, I’m very excited. I’m aiming to win the WYSC – which is World Youth Scrabble Championship” in Lille at the end of August, Angela told me, adding. “I’m not very shy!”

Her mother, Toyin Osaigbovo, is delighted that Angela loves Scrabble and says her daughter possesses what Nigeria has in abundance — focus and determination.

“Nigerians are very determined and dogged people,” says Osaigbovo. “And once we set our minds to something, we achieve it.”

Angela had this warning for their global competitors — “Watch out, because Nigeria is coming, with force!”

However, Angela’s disappointed mother told NPR her daughter was refused a French visa, so won’t be able to compete in Lille since the youth championship began Saturday.

The champ, Wellington Jighere, announced yesterday that most Nigerian players who applied had also been denied visas to travel to France. Social media has been twitching with outrage. Now Jighere says they’ve been told to report to the French Embassy on Monday morning to be issued with visas.

So Scrabblers, you’re warned, Nigeria’s champions are on the warpath!

Hot shooting Nigeria take down Croatia to claim first win

RIO DE JANEIRO (Rio 2016 Olympic Games) – Nigeria earned their first win at the 2016 Olympic Basketball Tournament by pulling off the biggest upset to date in the competition with a 90-76 defeat of Croatia on Saturday night.

With the victory, the African champions improved to 1-3 to keep alive their hopes of advancing to the Quarter-Finals. Croatia, meanwhile, dropped to 2-2.

Croatia led 28-21 at the end the first quarter but Nigeria outscored them 22-11 in the second to take a 43-39 half-time lead. Michael Umeh hit 5-of-8 three-pointers for 16 points first half points.

Nigeria’s hot shooting from long range continued in the third quarter as they hit 4-of-7 attempts and saw their lead reach 50-35 when big man Ike Diogu connected from beyond the arc.

An 8-0 run spanning the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth enabled Croatia to cut the deficit to single digits, 70-61. They would get within 74-71 on a Bojan Bogdanovic free-throw with 4:14 left to play but down the stretch Josh Akognon and Ebi Ere hit clutch three-pointers to secure the impressive win.

Turning Point: After Bogdanovic got Croatia within 74-71, Akognon knocked down a three-pointer and Ere hit a trifecta of them in the final 2:37 as Nigeria closed the game out on an 11-3 run.

Stats Don’t Lie: To say that three-point shooting was a big part of Nigeria’s win is an understatement. They shot 17-of-36 (47 percent) from beyond the arc. By comparison, they were 13-of-32 (41 percent) inside the arc.

Hero: The trio of Umeh, Akognon and Ere combined to shoot 13-of-21 from long range.

Bottom Line: This has to rank as Nigeria’s biggest win at the world level since they surprised Greece, 80-79, at the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Heading into their final game against hosts Brazil on the back of this win can only do their confidence a world of good. Croatia will face European rivals Lithuania and whether or not they reach the Quarter-Finals may be dictated by more than the result of their game.

Olympics 2016: Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana wins gold medal in women’s 10,000m run

Ayana, 24, has typically run at distances of 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during her career. In the 5,000-meter run, she has the second-best time in history. Now the Ethiopian also has the best 10,000-meter time ever after breaking the record Friday in Rio.
Ayana, 24, has typically run at distances of 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during her career. In the 5,000-meter run, she has the second-best time in history. Now the Ethiopian also has the best 10,000-meter time ever after breaking the record Friday in Rio.

The first track and field gold medal of the 2016 Olympics goes to Ethiopia’s Almaz Ayana in the women’s 10,000-meter run. Ayana shattered the world record with a time of 29:17.45, beating silver medalist Vivian Cheruiyot of Kenya by over 15 seconds.

Cheruiyot finished in 29:32.53 for second place, while Ethiopia’s Tirunesh Dibaba won the bronze medal with a time of 29:42.56. Dibaba won gold medals in this event at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, so this is the third straight time that Ethiopia has taken the top spot. Ayana destroyed the old world record of 29:31.78, which was set by China’s Junxia Wang in 1993. American runner Molly Huddle, competing in her second Olympics, finished in sixth with a time of 30:13.17.

Ayana, 24, has typically run at distances of 3,000 meters and 5,000 meters during her career. In the 5,000-meter run, she has the second-best time in history. Now the Ethiopian also has the best 10,000-meter time ever after breaking the record Friday in Rio.

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These are the first two medals in Rio for Ethiopia, which entered the Games with a total of 45 Olympic medals since its athletes started competing in 1956. All of the medals have come in track and field, where Ethiopia’s elite long-distance runners have historically performed well. Dibaba has long been one of the world’s best, and now Ayana is following her up. From the looks of it, Ethiopia’s success in this event should continue for the foreseeable future.

Nigeria soccer team set to arrive hours before opening match vs Japan

A first plane was delayed because of problems in payment.

When Nigeria opens its men’s soccer tournament against the Japanese at 9 p.m. EDT Thursday, it will do so mere hours after some players arrived for the tournament. That’s because the players thought the plane was too small, a second delay in their trip to Rio. Reports emerged Wednesday that a first plane was delayed because of problems in payment. The second plane, too tiny, according to the BBC:

“The players were uncomfortable with the size of the plane,” team media officer Timi Ebikagboro told BBC Sport. “The [Nigerian] government stepped in,” he added. “The players have been assured of adequate medical care on the plane. It’s been challenging but most importantly we will be ready for the first game.”

Nigeria has struck gold before, in 1996, and boasts Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi (he recently corrected the long-organization of his name from John Obi Mikel) as well as Roma starlet Umar Sadiq and Sampdoria defender Amuzie Stanley.

Nigeria is in a tough Group B with Sweden, Japan, and Colombia.

Afcon 2017: Nigeria fail to qualify after defeat by Egypt

Nig_Egypt

Nigeria have failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations after falling to a 1-0 defeat in Egypt in their Group G match on Tuesday.

With just one game remaining and only the group winners to qualify, Nigeria cannot make up their five-point deficit to table-toppers Egypt.

Ramadan Sobhy’s 65th-minute winner puts Egypt on the verge of qualification.

Egypt face Tanzania in June and will book their place in Gabon with any result better than a 3-0 defeat.

Nigeria won the Nations Cup in 2013 but have now suffered back-to-back eliminations in qualifying.

Tuesday’s match in Alexandria became a virtually all-or-nothing tie after Chad withdrew from the group on Sunday, citing financial difficulties, and all results from their matches them were erased.

That left only three teams in Group G and in accordance with the rules of the Confederation of African Football only the winner would qualify for the finals.

Egypt have seven points with one match to play, against bottom club Tanzania, who have only one point but two games remaining.

To have any chance of qualification Tanzania would need to beat Egypt by a better scoreline the 3-0 defeat they suffered in Egypt last June because head-to-head records would come into effect in the event of the sides finishing level on points.

Tanzania would then have to beat Nigeria in their final match.

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