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Algeria defeated Nigeria 1-0 in Friday’s international friendly encounter in Austria, thanks to Ramy Bensebaini’s lone strike in the opening 10 minutes.

The Borussia Monchengladbach defender fired the reigning African champions to victory at the Jacques Lemans Arena after pouncing on a loose ball from a corner-kick in the sixth minute.

FC Midtjylland midfielder Frank Onyeka was handed his debut appearance in the middle of the park while Porto left-back Zaidu Sanusi made his bow for the West Africans.

Algeria, on the other hand, were led by Manchester City playmaker Riyad Mahrez and Metz midfielder Farid Boulaya made his debut.

A few minutes after Bensebaini’s opener, Everton’s Alex Iwobi tried to equalise for the Super Eagles after a fine team movement but his effort went off target.

William Troost-Ekong led Gernot Rohr’s side in Austria as Ahmed Musa started from the bench, however, the new Watford signing received the first yellow card of the encounter after bringing down Brentford’s Said Benrahma in the 26th minute.

In the 35th minute, Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was forced to make a fine save off Mahrez’s free-kick after the Man City playmaker was brought down by Sanusi just outside the penalty area.

Nigeria’s best chance in the opening 45 minutes came three minutes later, with Sanusi linking a cross to Onuachu in Algeria’s box but the Genk striker’s effort was parried away for a corner by goalkeeper Alexandre Oukidja.

Algeria preserved their lead into the break but Benrahma was shown a yellow card for a late challenge on Samuel Chukwueze on the stroke of half-time.

Nigeria were forced to make their first substitution immediately after half-time due to an injury to Samuel Kalu, who was replaced by Nantes winger Moses Simon.

Just after the change, Tyronne Ebuehi hit a shot from outside the penalty area but it went wide across the face of goal.

The Benfica loanee was next to go off for Germany-based defender Kevin Akpoguma to make his Nigeria debut in the 67th minute, while Kelechi Iheanacho replaced Onuachu.

Rohr’s men intensified their efforts for an equaliser as Ahmed Musa was introduced in the 75th minute for Chukwueze but they could not hit the target.

Meanwhile, former Golden Eaglets captain Samson Tijani was thrown into the fray to make his Super Eagles debut at the age of 18 as an 85th-minute substitute for Iwobi.

After Friday's loss, Nigeria will turn their attention to their second international friendly encounter against Tunisia on Tuesday.

They will be hoping to secure a win before their double-header Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sierra Leone in November.

Luis Suarez has hit out at Barcelona's board for how they handled his departure, saying he only discovered he wasn't in the club's plans when he saw the news in media reports.

After he took over as Barcelona head coach, widespread reports suggested that Ronald Koeman did not have the Uruguayan forward in his plans, forcing Suarez to scramble to find a new team.

Suarez nearly moved to Juventus before eventually joining Atletico Madrid in a €6 million transfer last month.

Speaking to ESPN, the 33-year-old said he wasn't happy to have learned of his likely Barcelona departure along with the rest of the world, rather than being told by someone at the club. 

"What they did hurt me and my family a lot," Suarez said. "Their form and manners were not correct.

"The moment they told me [I wasn't in their plans], I confirmed what I saw in the press, what other people told me. No one from the club had told me anything until the coach's call.

"Koeman called me to tell me that I was not in his plans when I had already known what was going to happen 10 days before.

"I spent six years at Barcelona and I always said that the club needed a young forward. They never brought anyone who could compete with me. Forwards have streaks and moments. I deserved at least that before I found out from the press that they didn't want me.

“I had a lot of uncertainty, because I had to go to train. I told Leo [Messi] that I knew what they were going to do to me. I was going to train happy, but I returned home sad."

Given his sour relationship with the club, Suarez was asked if he would celebrate a goal if he scored against the Blaugrana. The Atletico man said he wouldn't celebrate wildly, but he might choose to send a message to the club's board instead.

"If I scored against Barcelona, I would not yell or go crazy, but I surely would point somewhere," Suarez said.

Suarez will get his first chance to take on his former club when Barcelona visit the Wanda Metropolitano on November 22.

Marcus Rashford hopes to speak directly to Prime Minister Boris Johnson about extending the program offering free school meal vouchers, as the Manchester United star prepares to be honoured by the Queen.

Rashford is set to receive an MBE in recognition for his campaign to help vulnerable children during the coronavirus pandemic.

The England forward campaigned to extend free meals for vulnerable children with the government eventually allowing the initiative to continue outside of term time. More recently, Rashford has formed a taskforce with England's food brand giants to combat child poverty across the country.

Set to be recognised for his services, Rashford told BBC Breakfast that he is honoured but is still hoping to meet with the Prime Minister in an effort to continue helping vulnerable children across the country.

"It’s a nice moment for me personally but I feel like I’m still at the beginning of the journey that I set out to try and achieve," Rashford said.

"I think what I would like to do now that I’m in this position is just speak directly to the Prime Minister and really ask for the vouchers to be extended until at least until October half term because I think that’s what the families need.

"Speaking to them and knowing how much they’ve been helped and how much it’s going to affect them if they don’t have it, that’s got to be my main focus now to get that message across.”

Throughout his campaign, Rashford has emerged as one of England's brightest young role models, with many crediting him just as much for his off-the-pitch work as for what he does for Manchester United and England.

The 22-year-old forward admits that, when he was young, he was inspired by the like of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo but, as he's grown older, his mother has become his primary role model.

"See my heroes was always just footballers," he said. "Whenever I was watching TV it would be football, so I didn’t actually have any heroes within the community but not because there wasn’t any there, just because my focus was just on one thing, but, yeah, my heroes was Wayne and Cristiano so they was my two [inspirations]”.

He added: “I’d probably say towards my teenage years […] my role model just became my Mum. I think it’s important to try and listen to people outside of football more than what I’ve done in the past, it’s more things like that [make me] feel like I’m learning every day whether it’s to do with sports or not.”

Rashford's mother will accompany him to Buckingham Palace to pick up the award, with the forward joking that he would be in "big trouble" if he selected anyone else to come along.

He says the honour is something that neither he nor his mother ever expected, making it even more special.

"She’s just dead happy and it’s obviously a proud moment for her and it’s all just a little bit strange, you know," he said. "People from where we come from don’t get these type of things so we don’t know how to act or behave but it’s just a proud moment for everyone.”

Rashford is currently with the England squad ahead of Sunday's Nations League clash with Belgium. Following a meeting with Denmark on Wednesday, he will return to Manchester United ahead of a clash with Newcastle next weekend.

Luis Suarez believes that Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona if the club brings in a new board, which would include replacing current president Josep Maria Bartomeu.

Messi nearly left Barcelona in the summer, telling the club he wanted to activate a release clause in his contract, before reversing his decision when he told Goal that he had decided to stay to avoid a potential legal fight against the club. 

The 33-year-old, whose contract expires at the end of the current season, is still far from happy with the club's board, saying Bartomeu and Co. have failed to build a winning team around him for some time.

“The truth is that there has been no project or anything for a long time, they juggle and cover holes as things go by," Messi said.

Messi's anger was part of the reason that a vote of no confidence will proceed against Bartomeu, who could be forced out of his position.

Suarez, who himself departed Barcelona last month when he joined Atletico Madrid, said he spoke to his good friend often about his desire to leave Barcelona.

“Out of respect for the relationship I have with Leo, I'm not going to say what we talked about at the time, but he lived through a difficult and complicated situation," Suarez told ESPN.

"He wanted to leave and the club did not want him to. I tried to support him, take care of him and distract him a little."

Suarez believes that part of the reason Barca wanted to see him leave was because he had grown too close to Messi.

“I think they wanted to get me away from Messi’s side, perhaps it bothered them that I have a good relationship with Leo," he said. "Maybe they wanted him not to be with me so much."

The Uruguayan added that he does not believe Messi's desire to leave Barcelona had anything to do with the club's treatment of him, though Messi has since hit out at Barca's behaviour toward the striker.

“That Messi wanted to leave Barcelona was not a gesture towards me. They should have respected his decision to leave," Suarez added.

Suarez said that he will respect whatever Messi decides to do after the current campaign but he believes that if there is a change at the top, the Argentine will be more inclined to stay at Camp Nou.

"There may be the possibility that Messi plays for another club, but if he feels comfortable, happy again and another board arrives, he will want to continue at the club," Suarez said.

"As a friend, I'll be happy if he does well there and if he has to go to another club, I'll be happy too."

Nicklas Bendtner has opened up on his relationship with Arsene Wenger and his career regrets, insisting he doesn't blame the ex-Arsenal boss for his failures in north London.

Bendtner began his professional career at Arsenal in 2005, having risen through the club's youth ranks as a teenager.

He went on to appear in 174 games in all competitions for the Gunners, scoring a respectable 47 goals, despite never quite managing to nail down a regular spot in Wenger's starting XI.

The ex-Denmark international took in loan spells at Birmingham, Sunderland and Juventus before being sold to Wolfsburg in 2014, where he spent two seasons before returning to English football with Nottingham Forest.

Bendtner went on to play for Rosenborg, Copenhagen, and Danish fourth-division side Tarnby, but was denied the chance to secure a final lucrative payday in China when the coronavirus crisis struck in March.

Having dropped into the free-agency pool at the age of 32 it remains to be seen whether the ex-Arsenal star will be able to find another club, and he has now admitted to having failed to live up to his full potential.

Asked if Wenger could have done more to nurture his talent at the Emirates, Bendtner told The Guardian: “It’s difficult because he could not take the time to just focus on one person.

"I think if I had a strong figure in my background that could have made the difference. But Arsene and I had a good relationship and I have tremendous respect for him.

"I don’t blame him for anything. He was always honest and he understands there are things I did that I’m not proud of.”

Bendtner's best performances came on the international stage, as he hit 30 goals in 80 outings for Denmark and appeared at the 2010 World Cup and 2012 European Championships.

The veteran forward has also managed to notch 116 goals at club level to date, but he believes he could have reached far greater heights had he not become too distracted by the luxurious lifestyle of being a footballer.

“I had dreams and hopes and I could have done more," said Bendtner. "There’s definitely some regret I didn’t take my career in a more positive way.

"Looking back definitely [made] me upset because there are moments which were very hurtful and difficult to talk about.

“I became too fond of the lifestyle that came with the money. I want to go back in time and hit that young lad on the head with a hammer.

"Make him understand what a chance it is. That he has something special – something he has to look after.”

Ahmed Musa surpassed John Obi Mikel as the third most capped Super Eagles player having featured in Friday’s international friendly against Algeria.

The 27-year-old replaced Samuel Chukwueze in the 75th minute as Gernot Rohr’s men bowed 1-0 to the reigning African champions inside Jacques Lemans Arena, and in the process got his 92nd Nigeria cap.

Musa went into the game on 91 caps, on level terms with the former Chelsea star who quit international football after the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations staged in Egypt.

Now, only Joseph Yobo and Vincent Enyeama stand in front of the ex-Leicester City and CSKA Moscow man, who boasts of 15 international goals to his credit.

Borussia Monchengladbach's defender Ramy Bensebaini settled the game in the sixth minute after firing past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye after profiting from an assist from Andy Delort.

Despite stepping up their game in the second-half, the three-time African champions were unable to launch a comeback. Incidentally, Nigeria’s suffered their last defeat to the North African during a semi-final game of Afcon 2019 in Cairo.

Musa shot into international limelight after helping Nigeria U23 win the 2010 Wafu Nations Cup where he scored a goal against Benin Republic and Burkina Faso.

His performance saw him invited to the senior national team prior to the 2010 Fifa World Cup, albeit, he did not make the 30-man squad due to an ankle injury.

At the 2011 Fifa U20 World Cup in Colombia, the former Kano Pillars man scored three goals in five matches as was included by Fifa’s shortlist for the Adidas Golden Ball.

After representing the country at youth levels, the speedy forward made his senior debut on August 5, 2010 in 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualification versus Madagascar – coming in as substitute for Mikel in the 2-0 win.

He scored his first goal for the Super Eagles in an international friendly against Kenya in March 2011.

The three-time Russian Premier League winner has gone to feature for Nigeria at two Afcon championships as well as two Fifa World Cup. Also, he is the country’s leading goal scorer in the global football showpiece with four goals to his name all coming against Argentina.

Nigeria take on Tunisia in another friendly on Tuesday and he is expected to be dressed for action by the Eagles’ German tactician.

Jack Grealish has welcomed comparisons between himself and England legend Paul Gascoigne, while outlining his ambition to cement a place in Gareth Southgate's team.

Grealish made his long-awaited England debut when coming on as a substitute during a 0-0 draw against Denmark in the UEFA Nations League last month, before receiving a second successive call-up for the latest round of international fixtures.

The Aston Villa midfielder was handed his first senior start for the Three Lions as Wales arrived at Wembley for a friendly clash on Thursday night, and he produced a stellar display to help Southgate's side secure a comfortable 3-0 victory.

The 25-year-old set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin's opener and generally dictated the pace of the game with his superb passing range and movement, before being replaced by Leicester's Harvey Barnes in the 76th minute.

Ex-England boss Steve McClaren has been among those to point out similarities between Grealish and Gascoigne, who became a cult figure for England at the height of his career in the 90s.

The in-form playmaker says being mentioned in the same breath as the former Everton and Tottenham star is a huge feather in his cap, and he wants to entertain supporters in the same vein with his unique style of play.

“I would love to be like Gazza,” Grealish told The Guardian. “He played with such joy and that is what I want to do. One of the biggest compliments for people to say to you is that you make them happy watching football.”

The Villa talisman added on his determination to become a key part of Southgate's plans going forward: “Everyone knows one of my long-term goals was to get into the England squad and play for England. Now that I am here, I want to cement my place. I was absolutely desperate to come here.

“There is so much talent in the wing positions and it will be difficult to get into those positions. I have full respect for those guys and the numbers they have got.

"But I also have respect for how much ability I have got. In the last two or three years, I have played half my games on the wing and half my games as a No.8 or No.10.

"I fully believe that I can do both going forward. I think the manager knows that now.”

Grealish went on to insist that he can continue delivering the goods on a consistent basis, while revealing that he hopes to follow the example set by Tottenham striker Harry Kane in terms of his professionalism and commitment on and off the pitch.

“I’m capable of these types of performances,” he said ahead of England's Nations League doubleheader against Belgium and Denmark. “The aim is to do it every weekend like some of the players in this squad – Harry Kane, Raheem [Sterling], Marcus [Rashford]. It is the standard these guys set.

"You only have to look at Harry Kane. He is first on the training pitch, he is first in the meetings. He is last off the training pitch, he is practising his finishing, free-kicks – every single day.

"No wonder he is one of the best strikers in the world. It makes you want to go back to Villa and set those standards.”

Jack Wilshere has revealed plans for his next career move after leaving West Ham, while outlining his desire to "be happy playing football again".

Wilshere's two-year stint at the London Stadium came to an end when he agreed to an early termination of his £100,000 per-week contract on Monday.

The 28-year-old joined the Hammers on a free transfer from Arsenal in July 2018, but only made 19 appearances for the club in total - including just six Premier League starts.

The former England international has endured a spectacular fall from grace since bursting onto the scene as a teenager at Emirates Stadium, with persistent injuries ultimately preventing him from reaching his full potential.

Despite his struggles for form and fitness, however, Wilshere still believes he can turn his fortunes around, and has opened the door to a potential move abroad as he bids to rediscover his passion for the game.

“I think I want to try something different – I am leaning towards that. Maybe La Liga, Italy, something a little bit different that not many English players have done," he told talkSPORT.

“At the same time, I am probably going to take a week or two to decide. I was in this position when I left Arsenal and if I have learnt anything from that, it is to take your time and make sure it is right for you.

“Not that I have regrets that I went to West Ham because in my head things would have turned out differently. But this time I am going to take my time and find something that suits me.

“I just want to be happy playing football again. When I first signed for West Ham and the first three games when I started, before I picked up a little injury, that was probably the last time I could tell you I was happy playing football.

“I want to go back on the pitch with a smile on my face and play 20-30 games a season where I am an important player for a team.”

Wilshere went on to insist that he has been in peak physical condition since before the coronavirus outbreak in March, but was ultimately deemed surplus to requirements by David Moyes at West Ham and didn't want to waste any more time on the bench.

“It didn’t turn out the way I wanted to at West Ham and I was frustrated at that, but that is football," he said. "At the end of the day the manager picks his team and it is difficult once he has his team to change that.

“I thought maybe I would get more of a chance this year but I was thankful to [Moyes] that he made it clear to me that I wasn’t [in his plans] and it was probably in my best interests that I left and tried to find something else, so I did and here I am.

“I have been fit since February and I am ready to go. I knew I wasn’t going to play at West Ham and could have stayed and sat there but I thought I couldn’t lose another year of my career.”

Wilshere also admitted to getting in touch with former Arsenal head coach Arsene Wenger to seek his advice on a possible next move, having looked up to him as an important mentor throughout his professional journey.

“I don’t want to say he’s like my dad, because he’s not my dad, and my dad would be annoyed!" he added on his relationship with the Frenchman. "But he was almost like that father figure. Even now, when I was going through all this with West Ham I picked up the phone and spoke to him.

“I asked for his advice. He’s almost like the godfather of football. I just listened to his advice and straight away I was like ‘I need to listen to his advice’ because he’s been there for a lot of my career, guiding me from when I was a young player to a senior player at Arsenal. He was unreal for me.”

Former Algeria head coach Jean-Michel Cavalli has been appointed as the new manager of the Niger national team.

The new man has described his new role as “a marvellous challenge” according to France Football, having taken over from his compatriot Jean-Guy Wallemme, who was relieved of his duties in September.

The 63-year-old, who has penned a two-year deal with Niger, oversaw a two-year spell with Algeria following his appointment in 2006 as a replacement for Ali Meziane Ighil.

Born in Ajaccio, Corsica, he represented hometown club Gazelec Ajaccio during his playing career as a midfielder, before moving onto AS Monaco in 1976.

During a nomadic managerial career which began with Gazelec in 1990, he’s since taken the reins of French clubs such as LOSC Lille, Racing Club de Paris and Nimes, while also overseeing the Corsica national team.

Cavalli also has extensive experience in African football.

Following his brief tenure with Algeria, he took over at various North African club sides including Wydad Casablanca of Morocco, Algerian heavyweights MC Oran and Sudanese giants Al-Hilal Omdurman.

In 2016, he returned to Algeria with USM Alger and MC Oran, either side of a stint in Egypt with Al-Ittihad Alexandria.

The veteran’s previous role was as technical director of Russian club PFC Sochi.

Cavalli’s first challenge will be a double-header against Ethiopia next month as part of qualification campaign for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, now rescheduled to January and February 2022.

Niger have been pooled in Group K alongside the Walias, as well as Madagascar and Ivory Coast, but must improve their form dramatically after losing both of their opening matches.

The Frenchman will also be asked to put up a strong showing in World Cup qualification, where Niger have been pitted against Algeria, Burkina Faso and Djibouti.

The Mena are currently ranked 112th in the world, according to the latest Fifa World Ranking.

The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has confirmed all medical tests carried out on Super Eagles players and coaches returned negative results.

Gernot Rohr’s men were subjected to the assessment ahead of Friday evening’s international friendly against reigning African champions, Algeria, in Austria.

A tweet from the NFF read: “News just in: All Super Eagles players and officials test negative to Coid-19 ahead of the game against Algeria tonight.”

The football ruling body had dismissed reports in some sections of the media that four of the Super Eagles in camp had contracted the coronavirus.

“Please discountenance any reports that some of our players tested positive to Covid-19 ahead of tomorrow’s friendly game against Algeria. It is a blatant falsehood,” they wrote in a statement.

“The writer of the story, who was not part of the press conference earlier today, totally misrepresented what coach [Gernot] Rohr said that since the outbreak of the pandemic, four of our players had tested positive but were all now fully recovered from the virus and back in action.

“The results of the Covid-19 tests carried out on the Super Eagles ahead of tomorrow’s [Friday] game are still being awaited.”

The three-time African champions were initially billed to take on Cote d’Ivoire, however, the Elephants pulled out due to internal problems.

The encounter billed for Jacques Lemans Arena would be the fourth meeting between the Super Eagles and the Desert Foxes in three years.

A brace from wing-back Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel propelled the team to a 3-1 triumph over the North Africans in the first leg of the third round of 2018 Fifa World Cup qualifications at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Although the second leg ended 1-1 at the Stade Mohamed Hamlaoui, Constantine, Fifa awarded the game to Algeria, while the NFF was fined for fielding Abdullahi Shehu, who was meant to serve a suspension following yellow card offences against Swaziland and Zambia.

The most recent outing saw Djamel Belmadi’s men defeat Nigeria 2-1 en route to winning the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt thanks to an own goal by William Troost-Ekong and Riyad Mahrez's goal, with Odion Ighalo’s strike rendered as a mere consolation.

Bafana Bafana coach Molefi Ntseki says his side needs to improve their concentration in the match against Zambia on Sunday, an aspect of their game he fears may have a negative effect during November’s back-to-back 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Sao Tome e Principe.

After South Africa were held to a 1-1 draw by Namibia at Royal Bafokeng Stadium on Thursday, Ntseki was not pleased with the manner his charges conceded their goal from an Absalom Limbondi strike.

The coach attributed Namibia’s equaliser to a lapse in concentration and wants to correct that weakness when his team faces Zambia in another friendly match.

“Our first match of this difficult year had some great tactical moments,” said Ntseki as per Safa.net.

“I believe we had a good first half, with some good combination play that led to Luther Singh’s goal. There are moments where our final passes were not timed well inspite of good combinations.

“We had moments where the players lost concentration which lead to Namibia almost equalizing in the first half. The lapse in concentration which lead to Namibia equalising is one of the areas we will focus on ahead of our next match this coming Sunday.

“We started the match with three debutants who did well under our instructions. There were moments where we had to remind them to keep the shape, and moments where we had to direct them; however, they did well and showed us some great moments."

Ntseki handed debut Bafana caps to Thibang Phete, Siyethemba Sithebe and Thabo Nodada.

Seasoned players like captain Thulani Hlatshwayo, Themba Zwane, Andile Jali, Percy Tau, Lebogang Manyama, goalkeeper Darren Keet, who did not feature against Namibia, are expected to be back for the Zambia game.

“Our attention has moved to our next match against Zambia, where players who were rested will get a run,” Ntseki said.

“We rested four of our senior players last night to try and work on new combinations and we saw new ideas going forward. We have a style of play that the players need to remember after so many months out of action and this will be re-emphasized during our morning video sessions.”

After the Zambia game, Ntseki and his men will wait for November’s home and away fixtures against Sao Tome, their first competitive games of 2020.

U.S. women's national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has said he is "confident" that Stanford prodigy Catarina Macario will be eligible to play for the USWNT by the time the Tokyo Olympics take place next summer.

Macario was born in Brazil and moved to the U.S. at age 12 before going on to become a star at Stanford University. Now 21, Macario is considered a can't-miss talent after winning the Hermann Trophy — the highest individual honor in collegiate soccer — in back-to-back seasons.

On Friday, Macario announced on Twitter that she had secured her U.S. citizenship, but also added that "there is still a ways to go to be eligible to play for the USA."

Having become a U.S. citizen, Macario will now apply to FIFA to obtain her eligibly for the USWNT. With the rescheduled Olympics nine months away, Macario is in a race against time to be eligible for the 18-player U.S. roster heading to Japan. 

On a conference call Friday, Andonovski said he believes Macario will win that race.

"From the logistical standpoint, the next step is a U.S. passport which she already applied for and hopefully will get soon," Andonovski said. "Then we’ve got to get permission from FIFA so she can get her eligibility for the U.S. national team.

"I’m pretty confident, obviously confident in our federation, [U.S. Soccer managing director of administration] Tom King – he’s been through this, he’s done it before so I think that she will be ready for Tokyo."

Though Macario only received her first USWNT call-up this week for the team's upcoming training camp in Colorado, the forward's ability should place her in the mix for playing time whenever she become eligible.

"Anyone who has seen Catarina play in college can tell she’s a special talent," Andonovski said. "She’s incredibly skillful, can score in many different ways and is just fun to watch. She’s got flair, she’s very creative and she’s got the ability to create chances and score goals that anyone would welcome on their team."

Recent FIFA rule changes mean that anyone like Macario, who arrived in their country between the ages of 10 and 18, will be eligible for their senior national team after living in the territory for five years total.

Former AmaZulu FC winger Jabulani Ncobeni has completed his move to Bloemfontein Celtic.

The skillful player was released by AmaZulu at the end of the recent 2019/20 season having helped the team avoid relegation from the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Phunya Sele Sele have since made a move for Ncobeni and signed him on a three-year deal ahead of the new campaign which is set to start later this month.

“Bloemfontein Celtic is delighted to announce the signing of Jabulani Nkosingiphile Ncobeni [Right Wing] on a three-year deal. Welcome home Siwe,” a club statement read on Friday.  

Ncobeni has become Celtic's fifth signing in the current transfer window with the club having announced the arrival of four new players on Thursday afternoon.

Menzi Ndwandwe, Gerhard Phafoli, Robert Smith and Mokone Mereko have all been confirmed as new Siwelele players.

Celtic are preparing for the new season which will see them compete in four major competitions including the 2020/21 Caf Confederation Cup.

Ncobeni spent three seasons with AmaZulu and he made 50 appearances in the league and netted twice in the process. 

The former Lamontville Golden Arrows player joined Usuthu from Thanda Royal Zulu where he played some of his best football in the 2016/17 campaign.

Ncobeni was an ever-present for the now-defunct Thanda in the National First Division (NFD) as he made 30 appearances in the competition and hit the back of the net five times.

Thanda secured promotion to the PSL at the end of that season after winning the NFD title. 

However, the club sold its top-flight status to AmaZulu and Ncobeni was amongst the players, who moved to Usuthu.

Ncobeni will now be looking to impress Celtic coach John Maduka in pre-season with the Free State giants set to start their 2020/21 campaign next week.

Phunya Sele Sele are scheduled to face reigning PSL champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the 2020 MTN8 quarter-final clash at Lucas Moripe Stadium on October 18.

Maduka's side will then square off with Ncobeni's former club, Arrows, in their first league game of the new season at Dr Molemela Stadium on October 24.

Gor Mahia striker Nicholas Kipkirui has revealed how he is going to face off with the new attackers brought into the side.

The Kenyan champions signed Benson Omalla and Andrew Numero, who are expected to be Kipkirui’s direct competitors but the former Zoo star has stated how he has prepared to compete.

“My body has responded quite quickly and I think if I did not do home-based training I would not have caught up with the rest,” Kipkirui told Gor Mahia’s Youtube Channel.

“Competition at the striking department is very high now and so as an individual, you have to do more, work extra hard so that you can improve. One cannot afford to sleep especially given the new level of competition.

“I played better at Zoo and I came to Gor Mahia where I have continued to compete and that is why I have got chances and scored from them. That is the only way the fans would end up loving you.'

Kipkirui also opened up on how he launched his career and time with his first Kenyan Premier League (KPL) side Zoo.

“I started at Matrix FC, a club in Belgut from Kericho County where I made my name in the Madaraka tournament we played then and that was at the time when I was a class 8 pupil,” revealed the forward.

“I joined Zoo while in Form One in 2012 and I am happy for the talent I have. Human beings are not equal as someone can be a good singer and another will be an athlete and that is just but life.

“Zoo also had fans who ended up loving me a lot and for the fans to like you, one must do exactly what he is required to do on the pitch.”

The Kenyan striker also spoke about his experience in both the Caf Champions League and in the Confederations Cup, and a goal he scored when Gor Mahia defeated Zamalek SC 4-2 in 2019.

“Continental football has never been easy and many people did not believe I could feature in those games,” concluded Kipkirui.

“During the game against Zamalek, I scored a header and fans started calling me 'hit master'. The fans have been amazing and what I have come to fall in love with most is the music and the accompanying instruments whenever we have matches.

“It is always a great source of morale as players would remain encouraged.”

Gor Mahia started joint training sessions even though the club has parted ways with coach Steven Polack earlier on Friday.

Alex Morgan played a crucial role in the U.S. women's national team's historic victory in the 2019 World Cup in France, scoring six goals in the tournament - including five in the opener against Thailand.

One of her most memorable contributions, however, came in her winning goal in the semi-final against England. Putting her side 2-1 ahead just before half-time, she rejoiced by putting her fingers to her lips as if sipping an invisible cup of tea.

Most England fans thought Morgan was mocking their culture by alluding to the act of drinking tea during her goal celebration.

After scoring, the striker put her fingers to her mouth with her pinky out, tilted her head back as if to take a sip of the imaginary beverage, which drew irate criticism from opposition fans.

It was Morgan's goal indeed that knocked England out of the tournament, with Christen Press and Morgan's strikes cancelling out Ellen White's equaliser.

Obviously, drinking tea is something scared to English culture, with viewers quick to take her celebration personally.

Piers Morgan brandished her celebration as "a declaration of war," while former England international Lianne Sanderson stated: “I’m not that happy with that celebration.

“That for me is a bit distasteful and I don’t think she needs to do that. For me this was a little bit disrespectful.

“I could be wrong but it’s based upon playing against England and we love our tea in England, I’m not a tea drinker but that’s what we’re connected with.”

Legions of England fans took to Twitter to criticise her celebration. While many supporters took it as an innocent celebration - on Morgan's birthday, no less - others said it was rude and unnecessary.

“My celebration was actually more, ‘That’s the tea,’ which is telling a story, spreading news,” Morgan later said.

“I know Megan Rapinoe has the best celebration. I had to try and step up this game.”

Her national team-mate Rapinoe is also known for her celebrations in the World Cup, particularly the one in which she stands with her arms outstretched.

Morgan's celebration invited many theories. Possible explanations that don't involve making a mockery of English culture include a reference to the Boston Tea Party - a significant event in American history - or an allusion to "tea" being slang for "gossip."

Morgan herself stated that she had merely meant to pay tribute to Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner, who uses the phrase “and that’s the tea” frequently in her social media.

“It wasn’t a hit to England in any way,” explained Morgan. 

The USWNT striker went on to call out the double-standards that take place in sport regarding how women are treated for a supposed "controversial" goal celebration.

"I feel that there is some sort of double standard for females in sports to feel like we have to be humble in our successes and have to celebrate, but not too much, and have to do something but it always has to be in a limited fashion," she said.

"You see men celebrating all around the world in big tournaments, grabbing their sacks or whatever it is, and when I look at sipping a cup of tea, I'm a little taken aback. You have to laugh about it to see all of the criticism."

Robbie Fowler's infamous "sniff the line" celebration - in which he hit back at rumours he used cocaine by sniffing the goal line after scoring - in contrast, has been deemed one of the most iconic moments in football.

When asked about the celebration, Rapinoe defended her team-mate, stating: “Wah, wah, wah. We’re at the World Cup - what do you want us to do? This is the biggest stage, the biggest moment. I don’t think anyone truly believes that we disrespect the game or disrespect our opponents.”

“We had the utmost respect for England and every team that we faced and every team that we will face, forever and ever,” she added.

“That’s just part of the DNA of the squad. With that said, we work hard, we like to play hard, and we like to have fun and enjoy ourselves.”