Sport
Karpin Says Super Eagles is Still Strong Even Without Osimhen and Lookman
Russia’s head coach, Valery Karpin, believes Nigeria will still pose a strong challenge despite the absence of star forwards Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman. As Russia prepares to take on the Super Eagles in a friendly match at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium this Friday, Karpin acknowledged the quality of the players missing from the Nigerian squad, but insisted their absence doesn’t weaken the team in a major way.
“I would have liked to see Osimhen and Lookman in action,” Karpin said in a chat with Komsomolskaya Pravda. “It would have been a good test for us. But even without them, Nigeria remains a solid side.” Nigeria’s coach, Eric Chelle, also left out Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey for the clash, but the team still has momentum. The Super Eagles are coming off a Unity Cup win, having edged Jamaica 5-4 on penalties after a thrilling 2-2 draw in regulation time. The friendly against Russia is set to kick off at 6 p.m. Nigerian time.
Footballer Lamine Yamal speaks on the Ballon d’Or award and shares how he will still be happy if his teammate, Pau Cubarsí, gets the award.
“Last year, for me, Cubarsí was the best young player in the world. Either the Kopa award or the Ballon d’Or should go to him. There’s no difference between us.
“When I won it, I told him that he would be next. If he doesn’t win it for whatever reason, I will give it to him.”
Popular footballer Cristiano Ronaldo speaks on retirement and shares how he actually thought of retiring from international football after the 2026 World Cup.
“I thought about retiring from international football after the World Cup, but I spoke to the president, coach, and I am still here. I am an asset, I can help.”
He adds, “The young kids love me because they see me as an example, and that, for me, is the most important thing. I will continue to do that even when I retire after 10 years.”
Footballer Kylian Mbappé shares that he actually came close to signing with Liverpool.
“I was close to Liverpool. My mum was a big fan of Jurgen Klopp, and the favourite destination for my mum was Liverpool. She wanted me to go there,” Mbappé told The Athletic.
“I didn’t listen because I wanted to play in my city, Paris. I didn’t want to leave my country before I was someone. But yes, my mum was always saying, ‘Liverpool — you’re going to be there, playing at Anfield, it’s going to be insane for you.’ I was like, ‘OK!’
“All the time we were talking. ‘What do you think, Mum?’ She’d say, ‘For me, you have to go to Liverpool.’ I said, ‘OK, OK, OK!’ because Jurgen Klopp was an amazing manager. I met him and had a wonderful relationship with him. I had big respect for him.”
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