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World Cup: We’ll deliver as expected, Super Eagles assure

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Super Eagles’ head coach Gernot Rohr and captain Mikel Obi say the team is capable of delivering on its promise on Saturday against Vatreni of Croatia.

The Nigerian side will face Croatia at the Kaliningrad Stadium in their opening Group D match at the FIFA World Cup, needing to win for a bright start.

This will be against the backdrop of disappointing opening match losses by fellow African sides Egypt and Morocco on Friday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Egypt had lost their opening Group A match at Ekaterinburg 0-1 to Uruguay, after an 89th-minute goal by Jose Gimenez.

Morocco followed in their trail hours later with a 0-1 loss to Iran at St. Petersburg in Group B, falling to an own goal in added time by Aziz Bouhaddouz.

Rohr, who earlier in the day had addressed the media before the team’s training session, said he was sure that his team was in shape to get a good result.

“We know the importance of getting a good result. It is important that we set out well, and we have been doing our best to be in good condition, just like I said earlier today.

“Now that we are here and close to the hour, the players are in the right mood and ready for Croatia. We will do what is necessary,” he said.

Rohr assured that injuries were not the team’s worries at the moment, but how to get it right during the game.

“What we need to worry about is how to get our tactics right, and I am confident that we have done all that is necessary in this regard,” he added.

Team Captain Mikel Obi equally assured that his teammates were ready and raring to go against the Croats.

“As a team, we have done all that is needed, training and getting fit. We the players are also ready to do the job on the pitch as expected.

“I can assure Nigerians and all our other fans worldwide that we will do our best and ensure we do not disappoint them,” he said.

NAN reports that Africa’s two other representatives at the 2018 World Cup — Tunisia and Senegal — will join the fray on Monday and Tuesday respectively.

Tunisia takes on England at Volgograd in Group G, while Senegal faces Poland in Group H at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow. (NAN)

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Robinho To Serve A 9 Year Jail Term Over Gang Rape

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Former Manchester City and Real Madrid striker Robinho will reportedly serve a nine-year jail sentence for gang rape – Imposed on him by an Italian court — in Brazil, judges in Brasilia has ruled.

The 40-year-old was found guilty in Italy in 2017 and according to Globo, Brazil’s Superior Court of Justice (BSCJ), made the ruling on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The former Premier League player, whose real name is Robson De Souza, was one of six men who were found guilty of a§§aulting an Albanian woman in an Italian nightclub in January 2013.

In January 2022, the Supreme Court in Rome dismissed his final appeal against the conviction, according to the report.

Robinho claims he is innocent and has been living in Brazil for the past seven years. It came after nine of the court’s 15 ministers had voted in favour of the decision to incarcerate the footballer in Brazil.

Globo also claims that the ex-footballer, who also spent time at AC Milan and Real Madrid, will now be arrested in Santos, where he currently resides.

Robinho, who was 28 and was playing for AC Milan at the time, admitted during his appeal to having ‘contact’ with the woman, but the Brazilian insisted it was consensual.

The Milan Court of Appeals found Robinho had ‘belittled’ and ‘br¥tally h¥miliated’ the victim as it upheld his original sentence in December 2020.

Intercepted phone calls between the Brazilian and those allegedly involved in the assault were used as key evidence in his initial conviction.

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Former Tennis Champion, Tania Okpala Returns To Tennis After Rehabilitation

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Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has revealed that former tennis champion, Tania Okpala, has resumed playing on the courts.

This development follows Soludo’s assurance that she would undergo rehabilitation after a video surfaced online showing her in distress on the streets of Awka, pleading for assistance.

In an update on his social media handle on Thursday, Soludo expressed his satisfaction with Okpala’s return, stating, “Tania Okpala is back on the courts!

“A few months ago, social media was flooded with a viral video showing Ms. Tania in a distressing state on the streets of Awka. I am pleased to report that we have successfully restored Tania to her winning ways.”

Okpala, who hails from Anambra and has a Belarusian mother, represented Nigeria in the 1990s.

Here are pictures of her in the tennis court.

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AFCON: Victor Osimhen Now Cleared To Join The Other Super Eagles Ahead Of Tomorrow’s Game

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Good News has it that Victor Osimhen has finally joined the Super Eagles Nigeria team in Bouake, Ivory Coast.

He has been given the clear from the medical team on the abdominal discomfort issue. Earlier it was reported that the player could not join the rest of the team who flew to Ivory Coast ahead of Tomorrow’s football match against South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.

He’s fully fit and ready to play in the Semifinals against South Africa tomorrow.

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