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Francis Uzoho kept a clean slate on his debut for APOEL in Wednesday’s 4-0 triumph over PAEEK in a Cypriot Cup fixture.

The game against the second division outfit saw him return from a long injury layoff that spanned over one year.

At the Makareio Stadium, goals from Kostas Apostolakis, Omer Atzili, Morocco's Anuar Tuhami and Stavros Gavriel powered the 28-time Cypriot Championship winners past Makis Sergides' men.

Uzoho suffered ruptured ligaments and was carried off on a stretcher after the hour mark during the Super Eagles’ 1-1 international friendly draw with Brazil on October 13, 2019 at the National Stadium, Singapore.

Since then, he has been on the sidelines that kept him off Nigerian duty – missing two Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers versus Benin Republic and Lesotho plus the recent friendlies with reigning African kings Algeria and Tunisia.

After loan spells at Elche, Anorthosis and Omonia, the 22-year-old joined the Cypriot outfit on a three-year deal from Spanish second division club Deportivo La Coruna.

The towering shot-stopper commenced his European career at Deportivo after he was scouted while in action for Aspire Academy.

He featured prominently for the Blue and Whites’ reserve team yet struggled to break into the first-team although he made two La Liga appearances, against Eibar and Girona, in the 2017-18 campaign.

On the international scene, he made his full international debut – replacing Daniel Akpeyi in a 4-2 friendly triumph over Argentina. Subsequently, he benched the South Africa based goalkeeper and Ikechukwu Ezenwa to become Nigeria’s first-choice at the 2018 Fifa World Cup in Russia.

A lack of regular club football cost him his place at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Egypt. His only appearance was against Tunisia’s Carthage Eagles in the third-place play-off inside Cairo’s Al Salam Stadium.

With his return to full fitness, he must be at his best to displace Maduka Okoye who seems to be Gernot Rohr’s most preferred choice in goal for the three-time African champions.

Uzoho would be expected to be in goal when APOEL visit Ethnikos Achna in their next league game on November 7. The Legends are 10th on the log after garnering eight points from seen outings so far.

Joe Hart has insisted he is aiming to become Tottenham's No 1 while praising his "virtually faultless" team-mate Harry Kane.

Spurs snapped up Hart on a free transfer in August after seeing him leave Burnley at the end of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 33-year-old was once revered as one of the best goalkeepers at the Premier League, having spent the peak years of his career on Manchester City's books.

He won two league titles with the Citizens and managed to establish himself as England's first-choice goalkeeper before Pep Guardiola's arrival at Etihad Stadium in 2016.

The Spanish head coach quickly deemed Hart surplus to requirements, and he was sold to Burnley in 2018 following loan spells at Torino and West Ham.

The veteran shot-stopper was unable to get his career back on track at Turf Moor, but he believes he has plenty to offer a Tottenham side currently heading in an exciting new direction under Jose Mourinho.

"I crave football. I realised I just love being at the top. I love being around a club where you play three games a week and if you don't win it is a big deal," Hart told BBC Sport.

"I am not stupid. That opportunity was not going to come in a given number one slot. After working out what Jose wanted from his squad and what he thought I could bring to it, it matched what I thought. I haven't come to shake it up. I have come to make Tottenham better."

The former City star went on to express his admiration towards Kane, who has enjoyed a superb start to the season with five goals and eight assists recorded in six Premier League outings.

"He has always had that ability," Hart said of the Spurs captain. "I struggle to find a fault with Harry. He is absolutely brilliant. Every single pass, every single shot, every single decision.

"He is such a team player. His leadership is doing it, which is often more important than being vocal. We have seen how selfless he is. He is a special player and I love being in the same team as him."

The Tottenham keeper added on the club's chances of winning silverware in 2020-21 and his relationship with Mourinho: "We are moving in the right direction. Jose inherited a good team and he has made some shrewd additions.

"There is a big difference between saying you want to win something and showing and believing and doing the right things to put yourself in the best position to win.

"Where you want to be is when all the finals are over and the Premier League is finished, everyone can look at each other and say we left nothing out there and threw everything at it.

"Jose is very clever at how he works the media. He is a different guy in his own environment, with his own players. He asks you to give your best and show your quality. That is how I work.

"I don't claim to be the most talented guy in the world but I will give it everything. Trust works both ways. He definitely gives that and I enjoy working with him."

AFC Leopards Football Operations Manager Tom Juma is confident Kenya can qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) 2022 edition.

Juma, who featured in the 2004 tournament, believes Jacob ‘Ghost’ Mulee has got a strong squad that is capable of earning back-to-back qualifications.

“Mulee has got a strong squad that is going to perform, I have no doubt about that at all,” Juma told Goal.

“We have foreign-based stars and the local ones too and some are very young; a team that has not been built yesterday but one that has undergone a restructuring process for quite some time.

“The majority were in Afcon, some are good leaders, many have the right character of players and those are the most important things.

“The main objective is to qualify for Afcon again and if we manage that the team is going to get better and better.”

The retired midfielder also spoke about the approach the coach should take as he interacts with the players chasing their Afcon dreams.

“One must be a disciplinarian and an interactive character at the same time because this is work and it must be done in a way you deem fit,” he added.

“You cannot freely interact with the players and forget to enforce boundaries. Once respect is established, everything falls into its place but free interaction with the players cannot be underrated again.”

Juma stated it would be difficult to know what kind of playing style Mulee would implement after he was re-appointed, having spent more than a decade away from the touchline.

“For now, it would be difficult to point out what kind of plan and playstyle he is going to adopt,” he explained.

“One, he has been out for a very long time. Two, I do not know whether he is going to use the same formula he used before. But again one cannot totally change from what he used to be. What I know is that he is a good coach.

“In football, one cannot stick and say for example that my style is solely attacking football or defensive football. Both phases are integral and implemented interchangeably.

“There is no way one is going to play attacking football alone because such style begins with a good defensive style.

“You have to defend with all you have got and attack with all you have got. That is what I know about football. If you defend well you are not going to lose.”

Kenya will face Comoros twice in November as they look for a maiden win in Group H.

Rangers FC manager Steven Gerrard has included midfielder Bongani Zungu in the squad to face Polish side Lech Poznan in Thursday’s Europa League Group D match at Ibrox.

After signing for Rangers on a loan deal from French Ligue 2 side Amiens SC, Zungu went into quarantine for two weeks, soon after arriving in Glasgow.

But the 28-year-old finished his isolation period and began training with the rest of the Rangers squad on Wednesday, positioning himself for a debut appearance in Europe.

“I'm very excited to have him available. I think it has been a long two weeks for him in quarantine alone in a flat in Glasgow,” Gerrard told the club website.

“He’s desperate to be involved so I'm sure it has been a long two weeks for the player himself. He trained for the first time today [Wednesday], which was fantastic. We managed to get a running machine and a bike and some dumbbells to his apartment, so he has been ticking over and doing a certain level of training.

“But obviously today he'll feel that session because the tempo was high. We trained for just over an hour so I'm sure he'll feel that later, but he's happy and smiling and it's great to have him finally with us.”

Zungu is back in action at a time when he was included in the Bafana Bafana squad to take on Sao Tome e Principe in Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers next month.

But before flying to South Africa, Zungu will have a taste of European football with Rangers.

It is the first time for the former Mamelodi Sundowns player - who has previously played in Portugal and France - to play in a Uefa club competition.

Liverpool legend Gerrard has emphasised the importance of the Lech Poznan encounter.

“Obviously at the moment my focus is mainly on Lech Poznan,” Gerrard said.

“If there is any space or we don’t defend properly and we are not aggressive out of possession, they are a team that can certainly hurt you.”

Borneo-based Malaysia Super League side Sabah have been sidelined from the coming Malaysia Cup, announced the Malaysian Football League (MFL) on Thursday.

On top of the ejection, they have also been handed a 3-0 defeat for their round 11 league home encounter against UiTM FC, the only top-tier match yet to be played this season.

The decisions were reached by the MFL board after a meeting on Wednesday, October 28, due to the failure of the Rhinos to obtain the National Security Council's permission to leave the state of Sabah, which has been placed under a Covid-19 lockdown until November 9.

The clash against UiTM had initially been moved to the Hang Jebat Stadium, Melaka on October 31.

Fortunately, Sabah are still safe from relegation despite the defeat, as they have cleared the relegation zone.

The statement issued by MFL chief Dato’ Ab Ghani Hassan provided more detail:

"Sabah's exemption application has been denied, rendering their league match unplayable, therefore UiTM are handed a 3-0 win. Their 14-day self quarantine [if Sabah were to arrive in West Malaysia on October 29] will only end after the first round of the Malaysia Cup has been played.

"The team that is drawn against Sabah in the first round of the 2020 Malaysia Cup will also receive a 3-0 win and qualify for the quarter-finals. Sabah will remain in the Super League for 2021 and will not receive a punishment for this matter."

MFL has also decided that despite an earlier request from a number of teams, the bottom two top-tier finishers; Felda United and PDRM FA will still be relegated as per the original league regulations.

Due to the pandemic, this year's Malaysia Cup competition will be run in a truncated, single-legged straight knockout format, which will kick off on November 6. The draw for the cup will take place on Sunday, November 1.

Kenya international defender Brian Mandela Onyango has joined the South Africa Premier Division defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns.

The towering central defender has been confirmed at the club for the next three seasons. The Brazilians have also confirmed the two parties have the option of extending the deal after the expiry of the initial term.

"Brian Onyango has joined Mamelodi Sundowns on a three-year deal with a two-year option to extend," Mamelodi confirmed on their official portal.

"The centre-back comes with a wealth of international and local experience as he has played for Santos, the Team Of Choice, and his national side. Onyango first moved to South Africa in 2012 to join the now ABC Motsepe based Santos.

"The Kenyan International joins Masandawana as a free agent, he last turned out for Maritzburg United.  

 "Welcome to Masandawana Brian Onyango."

Initially, newbies Tshakhuma Tsha Madzivhandila (TTM) FC had stated Mandela was part of their squad for the new campaign. However, it has not been the case as the player has opted to play for the Masandawana.

The 26-year-old started his career at Posta Rangers in the 2010 season and after a year, he secured a move to the 11-time Kenyan Premier League (KPL) champions Tusker FC where he played for two years before he moved to South Africa.

Mandela's first stop was at Santos where he played for three seasons and made 48 appearances, scoring three goals in the process.

His exploits interested Maritzburg United who went for his signature in 2015. He managed to make 77 appearances for the Team of Choice until 2019 when his contract expired. Since then, the towering defender has been a free agent.

However, he was part of Kenya's team that beat Zambia 2-1 in a friendly match staged at Nyayo Stadium on Friday, October 9. Mandela started in the heart of the Francis Kimanzi-led charges but was substituted later on for Wazito FC defender Johnstone Omurwa.

Mandela will now be part of the Mamelodi Sundowns team for the 2020/21 campaign.

The defending champions are currently second on the table with four points after playing two games this season.

Tokmac Nguen’s strike in Ferencvaros’ 2-2 draw versus Dynamo Kiev has been shortlisted for the Champions League Goal of the Week.

With the Ukrainian Premier League side leading 2-0 at Budapest’s Groupama Arena thanks to goals from Viktor Tsyhankov and Carlos de Pena, the 27-year-old winger pulled a goal back for the Green Eagles in the 59th minute.

Oleksandr Zubkov chipped a ball into the Dynamo Kiev box and Ngeun took it under control. He found space and fired a right-footed effort into the far corner from 12 yards.

In the closing stages of the game, Franck Boli levelled matters for Serhiy Rebrov’s team as the Hungarian topflight side picked their first point in Group G as well as their first group stage point in 25 years.

The stunning strike from the former Norway youth international has been nominated along with efforts from Joshua Kimmich's goal for Bayern Munich against Locomotive Moscow, Marcus Thuram's strike for Borussia Monchengladbach versus Real Madrid and Duvan Zapata's effort for Atalanta versus Ajax.

Next up for Ferencvaros is a trip to Fehervar back in the Hungarian topflight whilst Dynamo Kiev face a trip to SC Dnipro-1 in Ukraine.

Born in Kenya to South Sudanese parents, Nguen who has scored 10 times across all competitions for Rebrov’s side this season is eligible to represent either the Bright Stars or Harambee Stars at senior international level.

 He was called up by the South Sudan national team in September 2019.

Indian women's national team skipper Loitongbam Ashalata Devi feels that she is ready to take up the challenge of playing abroad. 

The 2018-19 AIFF (All India Football Federation) Women's Footballer of the Year has praised the impact Bala Devi and Aditi Chauhan have made on the youngsters who dream to travel to foreign countries to play football.

"Aditi and Bala opened the doors for others to go abroad and play. So now everyone will work hard and strive to fulfil their dreams of playing abroad, taking inspiration from Bala and Aditi," she told AIFF via an Instagram Live chat on Thursday. 

Bala Devi became the first Indian women footballer with a professional contract at a foreign club when she signed for Scottish side Rangers. 

Ashalata added, "Every player dreams to play at a professional club abroad but right now I am more focused on the 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, but if I get an opportunity (to play abroad), I will go for it."

The 2022 AFC Women's Asian Cup, along with the FIFA U-17 World Cup that will be hosted by India in 2021, will be important events for the rise of women's football in India, according to the talented footballer. 

"This (FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup) is a very big opportunity for us because there are a few corners in India where they don't know that women's football exists. So I feel that the U-17 World Cup and the Asian Cup will be very good for us.

"These girls (U-17 women's national team) are very lucky to get an opportunity to play for the country at such a young age. With your hard work, you will perform well and the whole of India is backing you. When you come from the U-17 team to the senior team also, you will learn a lot more. So give it your all and don't let this opportunity slip from your hands," the 27-year-old imparted her words of support to the Indian eves.

The Indian FA has meanwhile officially expressed their interest in hosting the 2027 AFC Asian Cup men's event. 

The former Rising Student Club defender also shared her plans for the future. 

"When I just started off (playing football), there were a lot of struggles. I didn't have support from my family who felt that this game is not for girls as they were more worried about getting me married. I was punished, so stopped playing for a few months but slowly started playing again.

"Ever since I got selected in the India U-17 team, my mother realised that I can grow in the sport and started supporting me unconditionally. Now she wants me to play at the highest level and not think about retirement anytime soon. 

"Only when I feel that I have contributed enough to my country, only then would I think of retiring. Right now, I have my priorities for (to play for) my country."

Juventus are still working with Maurizio Sarri’s entourage in order to come to an agreement over the compensation he is due for departing the club in the summer, Goal understands.

Sarri was jettisoned following a disappointing showing in the Champions League, exiting at the last-16 stage to Lyon. Meanwhile, Juve sealed the Serie A title in unconvincing fashion.

The board acted to dispose him and installed rookie boss Andrea Pirlo into the role, a matter of days after he had been appointed as the Under-23 coach in Serie C.

Sarri, though, is still contracted to Juventus for another two years, but the parties wish to come to an agreement that will allow them to sever this deal as quickly as possible.

Juve do not wish to keep paying a salary to a figure who is doing nothing for their cause, while Sarri cannot take charge of another club while he is still contractually obligated to the Turin side.

It is this desire to get back into work that is driving Sarri’s desire to come to an accord, and it is unlikely to be a question of money because of this.

The 61-year-old has been coaching since 1990 but has endured a torrid couple of years since departing Napoli, where he elevated the side to become a major force both in Italian and European football.

Although he achieved a third-placed finish in the Premier League and Europa League glory with Chelsea, he failed to find favour at Stamford Bridge and departed after a year, posting a record of 40 wins from 63 matches. That success in Europe was the first major honour of his career in the dugout.

At Juve, meanwhile, he took charge of the club 51 times and recorded 34 wins, securing the Scudetto.

The man who replaced him, Pirlo, is already coming under scrutiny after just a handful of months in the job.

Juventus have made a slow start to their season by their illustrious standards, and post only nine points from their five league matches.

They were also defeated 2-0 by Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday but remain well placed to qualify after winning their opening game in the competition away to Dynamo Kiev.

Barcelona could have scored eight against a Juventus side lacking speed across the pitch, according to Fabio Capello.

Barca stormed to the top of Group G by picking up an impressive 2-0 victory in Turin on Wednesday night.

The battle between two European giants had been highly anticipated since the draw for this season's group stages at the start of the month, with supporters and experts excited by the prospect of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo renewing their rivalry.

However, Juve had to make do without Ronaldo after he was tested for Covid-19 again before the contest, having first been diagnosed with the virus while away on international duty with Portugal.

The Italian giants lacked inspiration in the final third in the absence of a talismanic figure, while Messi and Co produced their best performance of the new season to date to bounce back from a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the weekend.

Ousmane Dembele's deflected strike from long-range gave Barca a deserved 14th-minute lead, but he also squandered a glorious chance to double the visitors' lead before the break.

Messi and Griezmann were also guilty of wasteful finishing, while at the other end, Alvaro Morata found the back of the net on three occasions only to be denied by the offside flag.

Barca finally rounded off a morale-boosting win in stoppage time as Messi coolly converted from the penalty spot, with Capello left surprised with the gulf in quality between the two sides.

"Juventus suffered a lot against a Barcelona in crisis. I was struck by the difference between a team under construction that also lost the Clasico and one at the top in Italy," the ex-Juve boss told Sky Sports post-match.

"I was shocked by the difference in intensity and play. Barcelona really impressed me, they could have scored eight goals instead of two.

"I saw an aggressive team and a lot of dynamism. Messi also contributed a lot."

Capello added on Juve's failure to create openings going forward and Barca's superiority in terms of energy levels: "[Federico] Chiesa was often free [in midfield] but all the bets were always concentrated on [Paulo] Dybala and his side. 

"It was therefore not possible to open the game and therefore Barcelona had a chance to recover the ball quickly. There was another speed and this makes me doubt what we have in Italy. 

"It was all of Juve that lacked speed, they were always pressed and anticipated."

Thomas Tuchel rounded on critics of his team after Paris Saint-Germain swept to victory at Istanbul Basaksehir.

The former Borussia Dortmund head coach is into his third year with PSG, whom he has led to back-to-back Ligue 1 titles and a place in the 2019-20 Champions League final.

Although the Paris giants were edged out by Bayern Munich in last season's European showpiece, they have rebounded by recovering from a slow start to this campaign and lead their domestic championship once again.

Defeat to Manchester United last week in the Champions League was a setback, but a 2-0 victory against the Super Lig winners on Wednesday put PSG back on an even keel in Group H.

Tuchel feels his side are not getting the credit they deserve, having followed up a late-finishing 2019-20 season, which featured a domestic treble, with signs that this campaign could also prove a success.

"Okay, we can keep this conversation and say that it is always my responsibility," Tuchel said.

"It's not a problem, you can be critical towards me, there is no problem, but let's be realistic.

"In Italy, are Juventus first in the league? No. In England, is it Liverpool or Manchester City?"

As Tuchel pointed out, City were among the eight teams that travelled to Lisbon in August to take part in the final stages of the Champions League. They have found it a challenge to get up to speed early in the new season.

"In Spain, is it Barcelona first or Real Madrid? No, they are not," Tuchel added, continuing with his theme.

"We are first in Ligue 1, but everyone keeps saying, 'Oh yeah, it's PSG, it's easy for them.'

"But it's not easy! Maybe people should start to accept this is a real performance [to be first in the league]."

Two goals from Moise Kean, the Italian striker that PSG signed on loan from Everton, secured their latest European win, with both set up by Kylian Mbappe.

By playing a part in both goals, Mbappe took his assists haul in the Champions League to 15 since the start of the 2017-18 season, which is more than any other player has achieved.

The only real negative on the night was an injury to Neymar that could keep him sidelined for a number of games.

That recent loss to United is PSG's only defeat in their previous 13 Champions League group games (W9 D3), and they have scored in 36 of their past 37 games in European competition - the conspicuous blip in that run being the final against Bayern in August.

Kean, meanwhile, became the youngest Italian to score when starting a Champions League game for the first time, at 20 years and 243 days, beating a record previously held by Alessandro Del Piero.

Such records and high achievement are factors in Tuchel's thinking that his team should be celebrated.

Since losing to Lens and Marseille in their opening two Ligue 1 games this term, PSG have reeled off six straight wins to leap to the top of the standings.

Clearly, Tuchel has grown sick of attitudes towards his high-achieving side.

"We can't keep going like that, we can't have this atmosphere all the time," he said.

"Inside the team, we can't always focus about negative things and negative comments because there are positive things to talk about. Obviously, there are also things to improve for sure and we will never stop to do it and that's it."

Arsenal will welcome Dundalk for a Europa League tie at the Emirates looking to win a game since they went down 1-0 to Leicester City in the Premier League on the weekend.

Arsenal vs Dundalk Latest Odds

English sides have won 11 of their 12 home matches against sides from The Republic of Ireland in European competition and Arsenal extending the record with another win has been valued at (1.40) with ZEBet.

Dundalk have won one game in the last 18 matches in European competitions (W1 L15 D2) and a second win happening in London has been tipped at (40.00).

Dundalk have faced English opponents on six previous occasions in European competition and the only game in which they avoided defeat came against Spurs drawing 1-1 and another draw occurring has been valued at (14.00).

Arsenal vs Dundalk Team News

Mikel Arteta is expected to miss David Luiz who suffered an injury during the weekend and so Shkodran Mustafi’s probable return is expected to be a sigh of relief for him.

Cedric Soares, Mohamed Elneny, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock could all return for the match at home.

Dundalk’s Gary Rogers is expected to return and replace former Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Aaron McCarey.

Dane Massey is out with a hip injury while Nathan Oduwa could make an appearance if he shrugs off a hamstring problem in time.

Arsenal vs Dundalk Preview

Arsenal's form has been inconsistent just as their captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has not been at his best. They came from behind to win 2-1 against Rapid Vienna in a Europa League Group B match. They are 11th on the Premier League log with as many defeats as wins in six games.

Dundalk have faced English opponents on six previous occasions in European competition, drawing Liverpool in the Fairs Cup in 1969-70, Spurs in the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1981-82 and Liverpool again in the European Cup in 1992-93.

Arsenal vs Dundalk Tips and Predictions

On matchday one, Arsenal’s Aubameyang became only the sixth player since 2009-10 to net 20 Europa League goals. Aubameyang has netted 16 goals in his last 23 appearances in the competition.

Dundalk, on the other hand, have not kept a clean sheet in their last three matches, therefore, punters can take the offer of under 2.5 goals at (3.35) with ZEBet.

Under 2.5 goals at (3.35) with ZEBet.

Odds correct at the time of writing. Please gamble responsibly.  

Aisha Falode believes Nigeria can extend its superiority to the Caf Women's Champions League, though admits winning the inaugural event will not come easy for the West Africans.

In July, Caf announced the inauguration of the Champions League for women, which will be held annually and during the second half of the year, with eight clubs competing in the finals in 2021.

For a Nigerian club to claim the title, the team must emerge 2020-21 domestic champions and move on to win the Wafu B regional play-off to earn the ticket to feature in the eight-club final.

So with that in mind, Falode, who is the Nigeria Women's Football League chairperson, is upbeat the country can replicate its women's national team dominance on the continent at club level.

“We will not only win it [Champions League] but we will prepare for it,” Falode told The Cable.

“We started women's football in Africa. Let it also be said that the maiden edition of the Champions League will be won by Nigeria.

“This time we are asking you (Amaju Pinnick) again, that we don’t want to compete in the Caf Champions League for women for fun and we have fantastic teams in the NWPL.

"We have teams who have produced a lot of players for the national teams. We will need to encourage these teams. We’ll need to play more competitive matches.

“We’ll need to play a season which is not abridged. We need to play a full season in order to prepare our teams for that competition that’s ahead of us.

“Though, the Champions League is not a given. If you see that Caf has also said there’s going to be a zonal play-off and the winner will qualify for the Champions League. 

"Even if you win the NWPL for instance, that does not give you an automatic qualification for the Champions League. You still have to meet other winners of the other leagues from another zone. 

"And it is the winner from that zone that will represent them at the Champions League proper. So, it’s going to be a difficult one and that is why we have to prepare well.”

Kaizer Chiefs coach Gavin Hunt is pleased with midfielder Nkosingiphile Ngcobo's progress but has cautioned the South African football fraternity not to get carried away with praise of the youngster.

Chiefs' transfer ban means Hunt has been forced to turn inwards to find solutions for his team and this has meant giving several of the club's younger players a chance.

So far it's worked as the likes of Njabulo Blom and Ngcobo have acquitted themselves well while Siyabonga Ngezana also had a solid game in defence during Chiefs' 1-0 win over Chippa United on Tuesday night.

Speaking to the media after the Chilli Boys match on Ngcobo's progress this season, it was clear Hunt thinks the player is hugely talented.

But he did touch on a couple of areas where he thinks the 20-year-old can add to his game.

"I won't say much to him, but if he drops below the standard, then he won't play," the newly-appointed Glamour Boys coach cautioned.

"Every young player goes through ups and downs. What he does off the ball is the most important thing. He's got so much ability, the boy."

Apart from working hard off the ball, Hunt also wants Ngcobo to become a greater threat in front of goal.

"He should have scored [against Chippa], he's had two, three chances in the last three games as well to score," the coach said.

"So that's the next step of that he's got to take. But also what he's got to do is to be better without the ball. He's got to have that in him, I can only give him the platform and show him and explain to him and coach him.

"But it's up to the boy. What we mustn't do, and we do it too much in South Africa - they have one good game and we blow them up. We've got to keep his feet on the ground and really demand more from him," Hunt continued.

"Which he's got, I think he's got more in him. But ability....you can't just have players with ability, you need players doing the right thing.

"Let's take it one step at a time with him. He's played three games now. I was only there a week and I put him straight in. The next step as I say is to try to get on the scoresheet."

Andrea Pirlo insisted this season would not simply be a transition campaign for Juventus, saying he still wants to win.

After just two wins from their opening five Serie A games, Juve also suffered a 2-0 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Pirlo, who took charge in August, said while the Italian giants were rebuilding, he still wanted to win.

"No, it's a year in which we're building, but we want to try and reach results. I'm not here to build without winning," the Juve coach told his post-match news conference. "Maybe we will need a bit more time, but we have to know that results must come through a certain type of play style that maybe we are struggling to assimilate."

Goals from Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi either side of Merih Demiral's red card saw Barca to their win in Turin. Juve forward Alvaro Morata incredibly saw three strikes ruled out for offside.

The defeat was just Juventus' second home loss in their past 25 Champions League group-stage games.

Pirlo said the encounter showed just how much his team had to improve.

"We have to improve a lot in terms of attitude, in being good at playing this kind of game," he said.

"For many players it was one of those games they had never played, one of the first appearances in Champions League and therefore the difference in terms of personality and skill at playing this kind of game becomes visible.We will need this to improve in the future."

Pirlo's counterpart at Barcelona, Ronald Koeman, meanwhile praised what he thought was his side's most impressive performance of the season so far.

"This was our best game all season," he told reporters. "This is a big win against an important European side and we were able to play the football we're trying to impose. 

"I wanted us to play with three at the back, pushing one man forward to have extra in the middle of the pitch. That meant we created a lot of goal chances and, frankly, I think we should have finished the match off much earlier. 

"I'm very content with the football we played, with the result and especially with the character my team showed."

Juve visit Spezia in Serie A action on Sunday.

Kenya and Uganda have been pooled in Group B of the Cecafa U17 Championship following a draw that was conducted in Arusha, Tanzania.

The two leading teams in the U17 qualifiers – that will be staged in Rwanda – will qualify to represent the zone in the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) U17 tournament. The junior Afcon tournament will be held in Morocco in 2021.

Ethiopia are the other opponents in a group that is expected to be the toughest especially taking into account the recent rivalry between Kenya and the Uganda Cubs.

Tanzania have been drawn alongside Sudan and Djibouti in Group C whereas Rwanda, Eritrea, and South Sudan are in Group A.

The championship has been scheduled to take place between December 13 to December 28 in Rwanda where the Cecafa Kagame Club Cup was held in 2019.

The top team in each group and the best runners-up will qualify for the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, Cecafa also conducted the draw for the U20 competition that will be held in Tanzania.

Kenya have avoided Uganda in the group stage as they landed in a pool that has northern neighbours Ethiopia and Sudan and this is the only group with three participants.

Tanzania, Rwanda, Somalia, Djibouti are in Group A whereas Group B is expected to be a rather smooth-sailing journey for Uganda given that they have been pooled alongside Burundi, Eritrea, and South Sudan.

The three top teams in Group A and B will enter the quarter-finals where they will be joined by the two top teams from Group C. The winner of the U20 competition will seal a place in the U20 Afcon tournament set to be held in Mauritania in 2021. 

The tournament has been scheduled to be played from November 22 to December 6 before the focus will shift to the U17 competition.

No country has so far confirmed to participate nor pulled out of the tournament as the focus is now in the upcoming Afcon double-headers set for November.

Cecafa U17 Groups:

Group A: Rwanda, Eritrea, South Sudan

Group B: Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya

Group C: Sudan, Djibouti, Tanzania

Cecafa U20 Groups:

Group A: Tanzania, Rwanda, Somalia, Djibouti

Group B: Burundi, Eritrea, South Sudan, Uganda

Group C: Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan

The World Cup winner has got involved in a public feud over his role at Camp Nou this season, complaining about being used out on the right when he prefers to feature centrally.

Griezmann has featured in all five for Barca’s league matches this season without finding the net, while in the Champions League he struck the post twice during Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Juventus in Turin - a match in which he was used through the middle.

Having been a prolific scorer previously at Atletico Madrid, where he netted 133 times in 257 outings, this represents a drought, yet Koeman has urged the 29-year-old to keep plugging away in order to receive his reward.

“As far as Antoine is concerned, it’s bad luck,” the Dutchman explained to the media after Barcelona had continued their perfect start on the continent. “He couldn’t have done any better with his first shot against the post and it was the same on his second.

“He must continue to work. What he’s doing well is creating chances for others, and we can’t complain about him.

“When luck’s not on your side, the only solution is to keep working. That’s the same for any player. The goal will come, I have no doubt about that.”

Barcelona’s victory in midweek was welcome after they suffered a disappointing loss in El Clasico to Real Madrid at the weekend – their second loss in as many Primera Division matches, ramping up the pressure on the coach who only took charge of them in the summer.

The big news breaking from Camp Nou this week, however, has surrounded president Josip Maria Bartomeu, who resigned his post in the face of increasing pressure from the club’s fans.

Bartomeu is seen as one of the reasons that Lionel Messi pushed to depart in the summer, so there is renewed optimism that the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, who got the second from the penalty spot against Juve, will sign a new contract with the club.

Barca are back in action on Saturday, when they make the trip to Alaves.