Sport
Yamal Says Dembele Is Great Player But Spain Are the Ones in Nations League Final
Spain’s Lamine Yamal sent a respectful message to his 2025 Ballon d’Or rival Ousmane Dembele after helping Spain knock France out of the Nations League on Thursday. The young Barcelona winger praised Dembele as a top player but made it clear that Spain have secured a place in the Nations League final.
Yamal was the star of the match, scoring twice in Spain’s thrilling 5-4 win over France in Germany. Spain will now face Portugal in the final. After the game, Yamal told RTVE, “The best way to prove yourself is on the pitch. Dembele is a great player, but we’re the ones in the final now.”
Both Yamal and Dembele are seen as serious contenders for the 2025 Ballon d’Or, thanks to their outstanding performances over the past year. At just 17, Yamal has already lifted the LaLiga title and Copa del Rey with Barcelona, while 28-year-old Dembele enjoyed a successful season with Paris Saint-Germain, winning the Champions League, Ligue 1, and Coupe de France.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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