Football

Home-based Super Eagles captain and goalkeeper Ikechuckwu Ezenwa has been ruled out of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) final against Morocco.

Ezenwa suffered a leg injury against Sudan in the semi-final on Wednesday and will not be fit in time for Sunday’s championship decider in Casablanca.

in his absence, Plateau United Goalkeeper Dele Ajiboye would continue in goal after he was named the man of the match against the Sudanese in Marrakesh.

Home-based Super Eagles goalkeeper, Dele Ajiboye, says the team will strive hard to make history by winning Nigeria’s first African Nations Championship title when they face host nation Morocco in the tournaments' final game in Casablanca on Sunday.

Salisu Yusuf’s men will be playing in their first final in the history of the competition against the North Americans.

The team finished third four years ago in their debut appearance in South African and failed to progress beyond the group stage in the last edition in Rwanda.

The Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick has charged the Home Eagles to win the African Nations Championship (CHAN) trophy for President Muhammadu Buhari.

The Nigerians face host nation Morocco in the final on Sunday in Casablanca.

Pinnick met with the players and commended them after their semi-final win over Sudan in Marrakech on Wednesday. But the big message was that they could not afford to go this far only to go down to the host country.

Arsenal new signing, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is sick and would be assessed on Friday by the club's team of medical personnel to ascertain his fitness ahead of a crucial encounter against Everton On Saturday evening. Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger who disclosed this on Friday hinted that the player was recovering from bug. "I have to assess how well he is physically today and how well he feels," said Wenger.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria on Thursday said they are optimistic of beating Morocco on Sunday to win their first ever CHAN. Super Eagles assistant coach, Salisu Yusuf who is in charge of the CHAN assignment also expressed his excitement at the prospect of making history as the first manager to win tournament. He admitted that his side struggled when they confronted Sudan but noted that the players' doggedness earned them a place in the final.

Algerian, Leicester City’s winger Riyad Mahrez has missed training for the second successive day after failing to secure a move to Manchester City, according to Sky Sports. The 26-year-old, who handed in a transfer request earlier this week, was the subject of multiple offers from the Premier League leaders on Deadline Day, with the last of those understood to be a player-plus-cash offer worth an estimated £65m.