Latest news with #IsmailaSarr
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Sport
- New Straits Times
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa draw World Cup warm-ups
JOHANNESBURG: African powerhouses Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa all drew on Friday in warm-up matches for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers from September. Tolu Arokodare came off the bench in the second half to score his first goal for Nigeria, who drew 1-1 with Russia in Moscow. Ismaila Sarr, a FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace last month, brought Senegal level in a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. South Africa were unable to maximise home advantage over Tanzania and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in northern city Polokwane. Nigeria and South Africa, who will clash in a key World Cup qualifier during September, finished second and third in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, while Senegal won the previous edition. In Moscow, an own-goal by Semi Ajayi, who deflected a low cross past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, gave Russia a 27th-minute lead. There were no further goals until a blunder by goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who understudies Gianluigi Donnarumma at Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germanin, gifted Nigeria an equaliser. An intended short pass to a teammate by Safonov from his area was intercepted by Belgium-based Arokodare and he scored on 71 minutes. It was the last of three warm-up matches for the Super Eagles, who won the Unity Cup in London last week by defeating Ghana 2-1 and Jamaica on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Russia have been banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA since 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine. It was their second friendly match against African opposition this year after hammering Zambia 5-0 in Moscow three months ago. Meanwhile, Senegal fell behind midway through the first half in the Irish capital when Kasey McAteer fired a rebound into the net after his header struck the woodwork. The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations champions levelled on 82 minutes when Sarr pounced on a weak clearance by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and slammed the ball into the net. Senegal travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo in September for a showdown set to decide which country automatically qualifies for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Polokwane, South Africa had the lion's share of possession, but were unable to break down a well organised Tanzania defence. South Africa came closest to scoring in added time when an audacious lob by substitute Relebohile Mofokeng landed on top of the netting. Zambia were unable to fulfil a fixture against Sudan in Morocco due to a boycott by the national squad over unpaid allowances following the match in Russia.
The Sun
a day ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa Draw in World Cup Warm-Ups
AFRICAN POWERHOUSES Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa all drew on Friday in warm-up matches for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers from September. Tolu Arokodare came off the bench in the second half to score his first goal for Nigeria, who drew 1-1 with Russia in Moscow. Ismaila Sarr, a FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace last month, brought Senegal level in a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. South Africa were unable to maximise home advantage over Tanzania and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in northern city Polokwane. Nigeria and South Africa, who will clash in a key World Cup qualifier during September, finished second and third in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, while Senegal won the previous edition. In Moscow, an own-goal by Semi Ajayi, who deflected a low cross past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, gave Russia a 27th-minute lead. There were no further goals until a blunder by goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who understudies Gianluigi Donnarumma at Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germanin, gifted Nigeria an equaliser. An intended short pass to a teammate by Safonov from his area was intercepted by Belgium-based Arokodare and he scored on 71 minutes. It was the last of three warm-up matches for the Super Eagles, who won the Unity Cup in London last week by defeating Ghana 2-1 and Jamaica on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Russia have been banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA since 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine. It was their second friendly match against African opposition this year after hammering Zambia 5-0 in Moscow three months ago. Meanwhile, Senegal fell behind midway through the first half in the Irish capital when Kasey McAteer fired a rebound into the net after his header struck the woodwork. The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations champions levelled on 82 minutes when Sarr pounced on a weak clearance by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and slammed the ball into the net. Senegal travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo in September for a showdown set to decide which country automatically qualifies for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Polokwane, South Africa had the lion's share of possession, but were unable to break down a well organised Tanzania defence. South Africa came closest to scoring in added time when an audacious lob by substitute Relebohile Mofokeng landed on top of the netting. Zambia were unable to fulfil a fixture against Sudan in Morocco due to a boycott by the national squad over unpaid allowances following the match in Russia. Recently elected national football association president Keith Mweemba told reporters he inherited an organisation 100 million kwacha ($4 million) in debt.
The Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Confidence is growing within Republic of Ireland squad
Republic of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson believes 'confidence is growing' within his side after a 1-1 draw against Senegal at the Aviva Stadium. Kasey McAteer marked his first start for the Irish by giving them the lead in the first half but Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr struck with nine minutes remaining as it finished honours even. Hallgrimsson, though, took heart from how his side carried out his vision to largely stifle a Senegal side who are now 21 matches unbeaten and ranked 19th in the FIFA world rankings. That is 41 places higher than the Republic's current position, having been as high as 28th in October 2019, but Hallgrimsson senses this is a side on the up after making it three games without a defeat. 'There were times where we defended without the ball, we made them look quite average,' Hallgrimsson said. 'But I'm mostly happy that they didn't create a lot of goalscoring chances. 'Let's be honest, we're not one of the best teams in the world and this is how we need to play against teams that will dominate possession. 'We need to wait for our chances and take them when they come. In this area, confidence is growing. 'We will need to be patient, these steps are taken small steps at a time but this was really pleasing because if we wouldn't have done this as well as we did, we would have suffered against this team.' The Republic travel to Luxembourg on Tuesday in their final outing before beginning their qualifying campaign for the 2026 World Cup, with Portugal, Hungry and Armenia their opponents. Hallgrimsson was especially pleased with the display of Leicester's McAteer, who scored his first goal for the Irish in the 21st minute when firing in the rebound after his initial header had been kept out. 'If you've watched Kasey, he got a run for Leicester at the end of the season so you can see his club progress and he brought that into the national team,' Hallgrimsson said. 'That's always the answer you would like to have when you try out new players. 'It was a really good first start for him. He's a confident player on the ball, he has speed, good dribbling technique and if we can isolate him going one v one, that is his strength. 'He's just a clever footballer with a good football brain; he knows where to pass the ball and not to pass the ball, etc.' A Senegal side without star names such as Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly levelled from close range through Sarr, with Hallgrimsson lamenting the absence of VAR as he felt the FA Cup winner was offside. 'VAR probably would have given it offside but we knew VAR was not in-house so we cannot complain,' the Icelander added. 'I think the referees did a good job, there was a really good flow in the game, so I was happy.'
Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa draw World Cup warm-ups
African powerhouses Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa all drew on Friday in warm-up matches for crucial 2026 World Cup qualifiers from September. Tolu Arokodare came off the bench in the second half to score his first goal for Nigeria, who drew 1-1 with Russia in Moscow. Ismaila Sarr, a FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace last month, brought Senegal level in a 1-1 draw against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. South Africa were unable to maximise home advantage over Tanzania and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in northern city Polokwane. Nigeria and South Africa, who will clash in a key World Cup qualifier during September, finished second and third in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations, while Senegal won the previous edition. In Moscow, an own-goal by Semi Ajayi, who deflected a low cross past goalkeeper Maduka Okoye, gave Russia a 27th-minute lead. There were no further goals until a blunder by goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, who understudies Gianluigi Donnarumma at Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germanin, gifted Nigeria an equaliser. An intended short pass to a teammate by Safonov from his area was intercepted by Belgium-based Arokodare and he scored on 71 minutes. It was the last of three warm-up matches for the Super Eagles, who won the Unity Cup in London last week by defeating Ghana 2-1 and Jamaica on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Russia have been banned from international competitions by FIFA and UEFA since 2022 after the country invaded Ukraine. It was their second friendly match against African opposition this year after hammering Zambia 5-0 in Moscow three months ago. Meanwhile, Senegal fell behind midway through the first half in the Irish capital when Kasey McAteer fired a rebound into the net after his header struck the woodwork. The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations champions levelled on 82 minutes when Sarr pounced on a weak clearance by goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher and slammed the ball into the net. Senegal travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo in September for a showdown set to decide which country automatically qualifies for the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. In Polokwane, South Africa had the lion's share of possession, but were unable to break down a well organised Tanzania defence. South Africa came closest to scoring in added time when an audacious lob by substitute Relebohile Mofokeng landed on top of the netting. Zambia were unable to fulfil a fixture against Sudan in Morocco due to a boycott by the national squad over unpaid allowances following the match in Russia. Recently elected national football association president Keith Mweemba told reporters he inherited an organisation 100 million kwacha in debt. str-dl/mw
BBC News
a day ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Hallgrimsson happy with positives in Senegal draw
Republic of Ireland manager Heimir Hallgrimsson says he is taking the positives from Friday's 1-1 draw with excellent Kasey McAteer gave the Irish the lead in the 21st minute when he reacted quickest after Yehvann Diouf saved his initial header. Senegal were unbeaten in 20 matches heading into the friendly and got a deserved equaliser when Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr scored from close range with nine minutes remaining."I'm happy with the performance and there are a lot of positive things we can take from this," Hallgrimsson told RTE Sport."The negative thing is we conceded goals from crosses. It wasn't tactical, there we enough bodies in the box but we need to be a little bit more brave." The former Iceland manager handed a first start to Leicester City's McAteer and he rewarded the faith shown by his manager by netting the opening goal in Dublin. Hallgrimsson said the 23-year-old put in a "really good performance" on his maiden international start. "He showed a lot of confidence, took players on and got the goal as a reward. "I'm really happy for him."The Republic are back in action on Tuesday away to Luxembourg in their final friendly before the start of World Cup qualifying, when the Irish will face Portugal, Hungary and side are now unbeaten in three matches and he wants his team to carry that momentum into Tuesday's friendly before their World Cup bid begins."The big thing from this game is we can play top teams," he added."We are disappointed not to win the game tonight, and at times we made them look an average team. "I'm mostly happy with how we dealt with their possession game, we limited their goalscoring chances and when you play good teams that's an absolute priority. "If you look at where we are at the moment, and what run they are on I think we should be happy with the performance of the players tonight."
